11. The Artist
In an era where studios and filmmakers seem perpetually in search of the latest high-tech enhancement to lure audiences to theaters, French director Michel Hazanavicius crafted the year’s most enthralling moviegoing experience by doing quite the opposite. That The Artist is a silent film may strike some as a gimmick – an easy way to grab headlines for a low-budget arthouse flick – but such notions melt away shortly after the curtain rises on Hazanavicius’ sumptuous tale of Hollywood romance and intrigue during the advent of “talkies.” Deprived of sound, our remaining senses are more highly attuned to the story, the cinematography, the set design, and the performances – all of which are uniformly superb. – Thomas Leupp
This year marked the final chapter in the epic Harry Potter film franchise, and the spectacular conclusion was everything we could've asked for and more. As a fan of both the books and the movies, I can say with complete certainty that the film did the series justice, bringing equal amounts of intrigue and raw cinematic wonder to its audience while adhering to the novel's accuracy.
Jam-packed with non-stop action ranging from fire-breathing dragons to Hogwarts battle scenes, and culminating with the final showdown between The Dark Lord Voldemort and The Boy Who Lived, even the most anti-Potter critic would’ve found themselves on the edge of their seat eager to see what fate lied in store for The Chosen One. And let's not forget the highly anticipated Ron-Hermione kiss that we've been waiting for since Day 1 (swoon). It's truly a magical experience you don't want to miss. – Kelly Schremph
9. 50/50
No movie in 2011 made me laugh or cry as hard as 50/50 managed to. We’re thrust almost immediately into Adam’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) struggle with cancer, which earns him the company of an unfaithful girlfriend, an overbearing mother, an inexperienced therapist and a best friend who seems apathetic to his situation. But 50/50 is just as much about these people’s journey with Adam’s disease as it is about Adam’s. The main character does not have a cinematic epiphany. He does not come to terms with a new meaning of life, or set off on a quest to change himself or the world. He undergoes a very sincere, often painful and regularly hilarious (because that is generally the combination of ingredients that go into a meaningful life experience) bout with the disease. The movie isn’t about a predetermined endpoint, it’s about Adam’s (and his loved ones’) ride through a tragic, profound, authentic experience. – Michael Arbeiter
8. Drive
It's not often that films are able to seamlessly blend violent, crowd-pleasing genre with stunning artistry. Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive walks that line with blood-soaked, immaculately-photographed sneakers. Ryan Gosling stars as a getaway driver with more rules than Fight Club who can't seem to remain as coolly detached from his beautiful neighbor and her son as he knows he should. The performances across the board are striking in their genuine, understated adeptness; minus Ron Perlman of course who may earn himself a spot in the vulgarity hall of fame. The cinematography moves like poetry and the soundtrack flows like water. By the end, you feel as if you've witness a strange new breed of Shakespearean fable stylishly adorning the trappings of neo-noir. Drive is a movie never shy to deliver the bloodshed, but always reaching for a higher plane of artistic expression.– Brian Salisbury
7. Moneyball
How can you not get romantic about baseball? - Billy Beane
For years, Brad Pitt, working as a producer, struggled to bring Michael Lewis' baseball novel Moneyball to the big screen. Chronicling Oakland A's manager Billy Beane's unique departure from conventional talent scouting practices, it's a story entangled in statistical theory and analysis, a struggle to create division from the emotional side of the game. In other words, the material didn't exactly scream "cinema."
But working with director Bennett Miller (Capote) and writers Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Pitt shepherded one the most emotional, composed and inspirational films of the year—everything you want from a classic baseball movie. Pitt does his finest work to date as Beane, a hushed observer who raises his shields to criticism, forms a bond with lowly, young rabble-rouser Peter Brand (a restrained Jonah Hill), watches his family disappear and revisits the memories of his own failed baseball career. On the surface, Moneyball is a data-driven business movie. But thanks to luscious photography, brilliantly calm orchestration from Miller and Pitt's layered performance, it's easily one of the best sports movies of the new millennium. – Matt Patches
6. Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids came into summer 2011 bearing the unofficial taglines “The Hangover for chicks!” and “The chick flick dudes can see!” It spat, er, shat on both labels (yes, that’s an unsubtle nod to the toilet-humor sequence, probably the funniest – or only funny – such sequence ever), outshining pretty much all other summer movies in every way. Even its box office, percentage-wise (budget vs. profit) is near the top. There’s also suddenly talk of Oscars for the movie – the Hollywood Foreign Press Association clearly loved it – and why the hell not? It shouldn’t be taboo to honor comedy, because great, smart comedy is just as difficult to pull off as, if not more difficult to pull off than, great drama. And Bridemaids – thanks largely to co-writer/star Kristen Wiig but also director Paul Feig, producer Judd Apatow and the amazing supporting cast – is that rare outstanding comedy. The best of 2011, in my opinion, and (cliché alert) the most important for female entertainers in a long time. Note to Hollywood: Women can be funny, too. And lucrative. Shhhh. – Brian Marder
“Polarizing” was the label most commonly affixed to Terrence Malick’s existential opus, his first film since 2005’s The New World and only the fifth in his four-decade career. Contemplative and melancholic, its nearly two-and-half hour running time dotted by the slimmest of narratives, Tree of Life inspired many a heated debate among critics and cinephiles, with opinions roughly divided between “absorbing and transcendent” and “pretentious and overblown.” Both sides have a point. But there is something to be said about a film that avails itself to such wildly divergent interpretations and opinions – especially when it’s as staggeringly beautiful as this one. Yes, Tree of Lifeis confounding, but in a rather sublime sort of way – much like life itself. Which, I suspect, is precisely Malick’s point. – Thomas Leupp
The Descendants isn’t the most thought provoking, compelling or original film of 2011, but there is a quality of extreme value that should be attached to Alexander Payne’s movie: it feels like real life. If a harrowed man and his self-entitled daughter had to deal with the impending death of his unfaithful wife, this is how it might play out. It is heartbreaking, it is quite funny and it never strays from its mission to make us feel like the characters stars George Clooney and Shailene Woodley play are authentic, multifaceted people. They’re not over-the-top, though certainly not boring. In the two hours we spend with them, we get particularly attached to the King family. In this way The Descendants is a work of art: it victimizes and vilifies all parties—no one is “the hero,” no one is “the bad guy.” Everyone is dragging their own baggage along in this soft, approachable movie. And everyone’s baggage—as well as their method of dragging it—rings wholeheartedly true. – Michael Arbeiter
3. Hanna
Hanna is a major accomplishment. Not just for its studio, Focus Features, which is best known for cerebral, art-house cinema. Or for its director Joe Wright, whose adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement have secured his reputation as the go-to guy for romantic dramas and literary adaptations. Or even its star Saoirse Ronan, who completely transformed to take on the role of an assassin-in-training living in isolation before being thrust into a cross-continental fight for her life. It’s an accomplishment for the action genre, which doesn’t see a lot of innovation. The film, which was released this past April, touches upon so many themes – from alienation and identity to familial relationships to east vs. west values – that it’s a miracle its narrative didn’t get lost within itself. Wright balances them with the precision of a veteran auteur (especially impressive as it’s only his fourth and biggest feature to date), creating a canvas large enough to present intricate action sequences and a complex character study without one undermining the other. There’s more heart and smarts in this film than any summer tent pole, and it’s as exhilarating as any big-budget flick the major studios released this year. As stated in my original review, it’s “a radically original action experience” that has a rightful place among the years’ best films. –Daniel Hubschman
This rom com seemed like little more than your typical Steve Carell starrer, wherein he plays a lovable dad who has adorable trouble with just about everyone around him. Throw in his impromptu dating coach, played by Ryan Gosling, and you've got a recipe for box office gold, right? Fortunately for us, this movie is more than the sum of its parts. It still tells a fairly accepted romcom fairy tale, with two crucial new elements: (actual) surprise and the ability to take it slow. Crazy, Stupid, Love doesn't throw you around in its bounding plot for 90 minutes. Instead, it takes its time and delivers a conclusion worth waiting for, and if that's not the mark of a good romantic comedy, I don't know what is. – Kelsea Stahler
1. Hugo
The magic of movies is an intangible element near and dear to legendary director Martin Scorsese's heart. Since the beginning of his career, he's been crafting pure cinema, luxuriating in every element of the craft—performance, lighting, camera movement, sound—to realize some of the best works of the later 20th century. But with Hugo, Scorsese finally bottles the magic. The film is a love letter to his early inspirations, an exploration of the ties between modern and classic filmmaking and a truthful journey through a child's eyes. A point of view of pure wonder.
Adapted from author Brian Selznick's popular children's storybook/novel hybrid, Scorsese transcends the run-of-the-mill kid adaptations by giving his titular hero, Hugo Cabret, emotional hurdles. With both parents gone, his drunken caretaker out of the picture, Hugo must rebuild his deceased father's mysterious automaton (a wind-up robot), survive the bustling chaos of his Parisian train station home and connect the dots to an old toymaker's past. Over the course of the journey, we're introduced to a colorful array of well-developed supporting characters—including Sacha Baron Cohen's bumbling Station Inspector and a curious film historian played by Michael Stuhlbarg—and the mechanical world of Hugo's clock interior home, a character in itself. The environment, as well as countless clever visual gags, make the film's 3-D truly mind-blowing. The real emotional crux of Hugo comes through the reveal of the toy man, Uncle George's (Sir Ben Kingsley), tragic past, but the film is such an engrossing ride, a passionate work of art from Scorsese, that it's hard not to be taken by minute one. No tricks here—just pure magic. – Matt Patches
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