Top ten of 2011: the list

And now, my top ten of 2011:

10. Super 8. As almost everyone has noted, this is an excellent throwback to the 80s filmmaking of Steven Spielberg. And as alsost everyone has noted, Elle Fanning proves here she is an absolute movie star. And almost everyone was right.

9. The Muppets. As a lifelong Muppet fan, I have been dismayed as The Muppets couldn't seem to find their way over the past decade or so. This film is on my list simply becasue it got the tone right, and was the first time I really felt that about the Muppets than about circa Muppets Christmas Carol.

8. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. The funniest movie of the year. If you haven't heard of it, it takes the tired horror movie trope of threatening hillbillies, tells the story from the point of view of the hillbillies, and milks every last cliche for all the humor it can.

7. Incendies. A devestating drama about the pain Middle Eastern fighting over religion causes and the power of forgiveness.

6. Hugo. Of course Martin Scorsese's first family film is also a call for film preservation. Of course it is also stunningly beautiful and the best use of 3D since Avatar.

5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Since the original was on my list last year, how does an English language remake show up this year? Because of Rooney Mara's performance. Noomi Rapace played the lead in orginal as damaged, but Mara throws in an emotional disconnect (clearly a suggestion of Asperger's) that puts a frsh spin on it.

4. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. What a rush. The best action movie in years, with one set piece that will make you scared of heights, but pedal to the floor pacing throughout.

3. The Descendants. It's nice to see Alexander Payne writing and directing again. If George Clooney is not the most consistantly interesting actor working today, then I don't know who tops him.

2. Blue Valentine. I really need to write a full column on this film. It captures the frustration of working class males, and how those frustrations go on to destroy relationships, in a way I have never seen before.

1. The Tree of Life. Well it's my list, so I don't care if you disagree. The film may have polarized audiences, but it spoke to me like no other. This was the one film I saw this year that was inventing new film language.