The things you own end up owning you (Fight Club)

I realized early on that my Top Ten list for 2011 would be very difficult. In my first draft list, I had 18 films. Obviously it was a pretty good year for film (from my humble perspective, anyhow). Don’t judge me too harshly; I also missed some films that I hear are classics: Hugo, The Descendants, and The Artist just to name a few. The rules of my list are as follows:  The film should come out in 2011, and I would have to have seen the film personally. It’s an imperfect list, but I’m throwing it out there unapologetically. The list is not in any specific order. Like my kids, I can’t give you a favorite. They’re all great.

1.    Melancholia – Lars Von Trier is becoming one of my favorite directors. This meditation on sadness stays with you. I had heard that he felt the film was too polished. I didn’t mind at all. Visually stunning and, with the music of Wagner, sonically stunning, too.

2.    Warrior - Wow. Great performances. Adrenaline-pumping fight scenes. And Nick Nolte is the cherry on top of it all, showing the world what a great actor he is. Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are also fantastic.

3.    Midnight in Paris - Holy crap! Who knew Woody Allen would hit the ground running in the new millennium? My favorite of his last few films, and I’ve enjoyed, for the most part, his films of the last 10 years or so (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Scoop and Match Point I really like). But this film makes me smile. Great performances set in a city I have yet to visit.

4.    Super 8 - This beautiful child of E.T. and The Goonies reminded me of my own childhood, without the alien, of course. JJ Abrams.....bravo.

5.    I Saw The Devil – Not since Seven have you seen a serial killer that you are more interested in. Absolutely, awesomely disturbing.

6.    The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo - David Fincher has yet to disappoint me (back off, Alien 3 haters). He’s a technical wizard and visual artist, and Mara Rooney is off the charts amazing in this dark, dark adaptation.

7.    50/50 - This movie never felt fake. I enjoyed the ride and Joseph Gordon-Levit needs an Oscar nod for this film.

8.    Drive - Super violent, super stylish and super cool. Like visual eye candy with ice cold amazing performances from films of my youth (Manhunter, To Live and Die in LA, and Blue Velvet. Oh heck, let’s throw in Miami Vice for good measure). Nicolas Winding Refn is worth looking into as a writer and director.

9.    13 Assassins - Classic samurai movie from the king of disturbing moviemaking, Takashi Miike

10. Tree of Life - Just allow yourself to fall into this dream. Loved it.

11.  Stake Land – End of the world, vampire style. Gritty and dark. Epic and personal. Loved it.

Let me throw in a “disappointed” list as well. Worst? Maybe, but I found moments of enjoyment in this as well, but not as much as I’d hoped. Only 1 film. I just shake my head...

1.    The Hangover, Part II:  Next verse, same as the first, but with more male frontal nudity.

I refuse to put movies like Battle: LA, Transformers: Dark of The Moon, I am Number 4, Season of The Witch, Green Lantern, Conan the Barbarian, Or Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  on my worst list. I enjoyed each of these. And I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of movies had semicolons in their titles. Weird.

And I enjoyed the heck out of Sucker Punch. Sue me.