TEN BEST OF 2011

THE BEST OF 2011

2011 started out like a dying lamb and faded to a dying hyena in the summer, then got better finishing like a pouncing tiger. These are strictly feature films and not documentaries, though the docs didn't fare much better.

1) "THE ARTIST" - A Hollywood silent black and white film directed by a Frenchman. Go figure. Every film student must see. It reminds us that once upon a time making a movie was an art and not just an cheap effect.

2) "MY WEEK WITH MARILYN" - Michelle Williams makes love to the camera, just like Marilyn Monroe did. This is a film that transports us back to when a Hollywood sex symbol actual was sexy! It tells a terrific story rather than merely pay homage to an actress; a superb film disguised as an acting clinic.

The Artist will be hard to top even in the face of special effects, 3D and CGI

3) "MIDNIGHT IN PARIS" - This was my best film of the year until a month ago and is still in my top three. For Allen fans... rejoice he has finally returned to his past glory with one of the best films he has ever directed.

4) "THE DESCENDANTS" - Here's a movie that came out in the wrong year - it's an acting clinic that is going up against other acting clinics that have better stories. It's George Clooney practicing the craft of acting and holding court.

5) TIE "RANGO" - Remember this animation feature? It's the great one that didn't rely on 3D to bring realism. It's great animation that offers vivid details of the desert and brings to life marvelous creatures in great fantasy.

5) TIE "TREE OF LIFE" - For the three people who saw this Brad Pitt feature, you were transported into a creative alter-reality of life in the 50's and now. Great acting, thoughtful story, fabulous cinematography.

6) "THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO" - After all the hype, this one lived up to it. It takes a slightly different take on the Larsson novel, broadens the characters, and redefines the relationship between the two leads with a nice dose of sinister tossed in for good measure.

7) TIE "50/50" - Remember the performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt? This is a film that affects so many people in a less dramatic way than most films about cancer victims. You can easily relate to every character no matter how minor. Gordon-Levitt puts on yet another acting clinic.

7) TIE "HUGO" - Martin Scorsese's first venture into the family market is one of the few to get the 3D right. Colors are richly saturated and the cinematography is award worthy. This is the epitome of a Scorsese film.

We shouldn't forget a performance that affected so many people.

8) "SHAME" - Sex and how to get it without making it personal. This NC-17 film has Michael Fassbender as a sick anti-hero. He takes sex and removes the mystique, intimacy and romance and makes it an act of necessity. It is unlike any other film involving human sexuality.

9) "BEGINNERS" - Okay, I know only three people saw this one as well - even the LBGTQ community missed it. However it is a very well made film about relationships - between a father and a son, a man and woman, a man and a another man, and people and dogs. Not eye opening, but fun and interesting.

10) "THOR" - Yeah, I said it! Super hero becomes super movie! This made a lot of people interested in an Avenger character that largely was overlooked. The cinematography is fabulous and the special effects the best of the year.

ALSO RANS: "TEXAS KILLING FIELDS, "WINNIE THE POOH, "X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, "BEAUTIFUL BOY, "THE DEVILS DOUBLE, "EVERYTHING MUST GO, "HORRIBLE BOSSES, "HELP*"

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