Jim Turnbull’s Top 10 Films of 2011
2012 is finally here, and what better time to reflect on what has been a truly terrific year for films. Exempting Twilight and Transformers. Anti-blockbuster propaganda aside, 2011 was a year in which film was wrapped up in nostalgia, culture, and memories. Whether it be a throwback to the silents films of the 1920s, fantasy homages to the art of classic film-making, or time travel comedies through vintage France, it was a formula that commonly employed, and commonly brought success.
The list itself took a little longer to be released into the wild than I would have liked, as trying to watch every noteworthy film of the past year proved to be quite a chore. I’m sure I’ve missed some out along the way (no – Tree of Life is not one of them!), so do let me know if I have in the comment section! But without further ado, here are what I thought were the best films of 2011.
Honorable mention: Warrior
Warrior was a film of two halves. The first half was brilliant. The immersing insight into the worlds fastest growing sport was complemented well by some good performances and some nice cinematography, but the second half we’d seen all before. As soon as the bell rang there were enough cliches to floor a heavyweight, which compromised its overall potential to be a knockout film, but despite its familiar approach, the movie still packs a punch. You don’t have to be an MMA fan to enjoy Warrior, and if you let it, the film will more than go the distance.
MMA-related pun count: Too many.
10. I Saw the Devil
Some critics will argue that the days of ‘great’ thrillers are behind us, lost somewhere in between the 50s and 80s, mostly within Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography. In the last 10 years, South Korea has been doing its very best to prove them wrong. Maintaining his usual high standard, Jee-woon Kim has created a stylish and shocking thriller starring Korean mega-star and heart throb Byung-hun Lee in a brilliantly told tale of revenge and morality. Admittedly the intensity and content isn’t for everyone, and as much as I’d love it if you were to take your prospective partner out to see this on a first date, I’m not sure it’d go down too well. But if it did you’d be on to a winner. Another gory victory for modern Korean cinema.
9. Hugo
A departure from the usual gangsters that inhabit Scorsese’s other work, but a welcome one nevertheless. Hugo is a film that may be slightly contradictory, revolving around the beauty of traditional film-making whilst being composed largely by CGI and 3D effects, but is still wrapped in magic and marvel. Supporting actors Sir Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen steal the show, but Scorsese has created a rare breed of family film that will not bore the adults in the room. Funny, surreal, and packed with geeky film references to keep people like me happy, Hugo is a wondrous adventure that will make everyone in the room reminisce, and leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy. Aww.
8. Midnight in Paris
Midnight in Paris is quite unlike anything Woody Allen has directed before. In fact it is quite unlike anything anyone has ever directed before for that matter. A combination of this originality and enough cultural references to dizzy the head of a classics academic are what makes Woody Allen’s latest cinematic outing a success. Owen Wilson who usually infuriates outside of Wes Anderson pictures is exceptionally likeable, and partly resembles a young bumbling Allen from his earlier films. Whilst the film is a romance on certain levels, it is not a romance between Wilson and McAdams. It is one between Wilson and Paris, and it is as profound and as beautiful as any human connection.
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
American remakes of recently released foreign films are one of my least favourite things. That being said, David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is by far one of the best of a bad bunch. Niels Arden Oplev set standards pretty high with his wonderfully dark adaptation of Steig Larson’s international best seller in 2009, and not Fincher has not only matched the quality of the Swedish original – he has surpassed it. Daniel Craig and particularly Rooney Mara had some size 12 shoes to fill, but they have both rose to the occasion, and put on some truly sterling performances. Not one for your mum though. Trust me.
6. Drive
If this list were to be ‘the coolest films of 2011′ Drive would be more than definitely be a contender for the number 1 spot. An unforgettable opening sequence and an even better soundtrack, Ryan Gosling will no doubt capture the hearts of even more female fans as he continues his rise to stardom. Drive is not your standard action film, and that is what makes it so refreshing. It is a work of art which trades meaningless explosions for hard hitting violence, and unnecessary hand-held camera for picturesque cinematography. By the time you are done watching, you will already by on Google trying to find a replica jacket and pair of gloves for the drive to work in the mornings.
Continue to my top 5 films of 2011
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36 Comments
Great list man. Your honorable mention was my #2. Glad to see you give it love.
Cheers Mitch! Warrior certainly deserves it :]
Yes!! I love this list man. Really happy to see Dragon Tattoo here (I’m seeing it tomorrow!). 13 Assassins was incredible – and I’m looking forward to revisiting it again. But the main reasons I love this list is the appearance of Senna, A Separation, Rango and Drive. As you know, Senna and A Separation were my #1 and #2, while Rango was in my Top 10 for most of the year, but ended up being squeezed out when We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Skin I Live In came along. I still love it, though. Great choices Jim!
Cheers mate
you won’t be disappointed if you liked the original! Glad to see some love for Senna and A Separation though. We Need To Talk About Kevin and The Skin I Live in are two I’m still chasing – hopefully I can get to see them soon :]
Great list, Jim. Naturally, great to see ‘The Artist’, ‘Drive’, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ (a film not getting enough respect, I think), and ‘Rango’ on your list. I’m steeling myself for a run at ‘I Saw The Devil’. Loved ’13 Assassins’, too. If it just didn’t have that CGI misstep scene that I found jolting and poorly executed (I’m sure you know what I’m referring to), I’d have had it higher. Thanks.
Let us know what you think of I Saw the Devil Michael!
Thank you :] I can’t recommend I Saw the Devil enough. And yeah I think I know the scene you mean – but you’d be surprised how well samurai films do with me!
Nice list! I am very happy to see 13 Assassins recognized, as that was one of my favorites as well. Senna, Drive, Hugo and I Saw the Devil were also films I really enjoyed from last year.
Good choices Eric! Thanks for reading! :]
Very cool indeed. I too would have had your honourable mention in my top 10!! Thanks for sharing
Thanks Scott! I really wanted to put it in but I couldn’t bring myself to take any of the others out – think of the list as a top 11!
glad you enjoyed it though.
Nice list Jim, and nice to see ‘I Saw The Devil’ on your list, and the fact that you refer to it is a ‘thriller’ rather than a ‘horror’ (I’ve noticed it an incredibly large amount of ‘Horror Top 10′s’, but just see it as an overtly violent thriller myself). Also as a huge fan of Miike, I will have to see ’13 Assasins,’ especially since you sold me with “flaming freakin bulls.”
Thanks Jordan. I think a ‘violent thriller’ is a good description. Just because something has excessive levels of gore in it doesn’t make it a horror. Haha! You will LOVE it
Honestly I have not seen a whole bunch of the films on your list. I think I will catch Senna on Netflix. And A Separation looks awesome based on the trailer.
Interesting to see Dragon Tattoo included; I personally liked it and thought it was better than the Swedish-language version.
Both are definitely worth a watch – let us know what you think when you get around to them! And me too – I enjoyed the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but Fincher is one heck of a director. He really makes a difference.
Nice selections Jim, glad to see Warrior makes your honorable mention. Wow you like Rango that much huh? I think it’s fun but overall it’s not as impressive as I thought it’d be. I haven’t seen Senna yet but I have a feeling that would’ve make my top 10 too. Yay for The Artist at #2. 13 Assassins is not my cup of tea, but it did make one of my blog staff’s top 5 list.
Thanks Ruth :] and yeah I really enjoyed it. I’m quite a big animation fan though – there’s quite a lot of it in my top 250. I’m sure Senna would impress as well – do let us know what you think when you see it! 13 Assassins isn’t one for everyone but I semi-wish I was a samurai so hit the spot with me
I’m so ashamed to tell you I haven’t seen “13 Assassins” yet. It’s #5 or 6 in my Netflix queue. I’ll move it up! I promise! Clearly, as you state, it’s must see.
Also, I think you should make a short film of you trying to find replica “Drive” gloves and jacket for driving to work in the mornings. I’d watch it.
Haha! I wouldn’t have seen it too if my friend wouldn’t have told me about it – an easy one to miss! You won’t regret it though!
I’m seriously considering doing that now, Nick!
I’ll keep you posted!
Great list. Glad to see the love for Drive in there. Can’t say I can agree with your number – I found Miike’s film quite boring – but I know many (obviously yourself included) that loved the film.
Cheers Kevyn! Loved Drive – a great film. I do see where you’re coming from – I’m a big Miike/samurai film fan though so was a winning combination for me :]
That was what surprised me about 13 Assassins. I usually love Samurai films and have liked many of Miike’s films, but for some reason I just could not get behind this one. Oh well, my loss probably.
Wow, you really liked 13 Assassins! Although I thought it was a good movie, I was disappointed by the lack of emotional attachment to most of the assassins. I wasn’t particularly impressed by Rango either which felt much longer than its run time suggest.
In any case, fun list Jim!
I personally loved Rango. I didn’t have any real problems with it. And as for 13 Assassins the only major problem i had with it was a certain female character getting forgotten about at the end(Don’t want to detail to avoid a spoiler, but those who watched it should know what i’m talking about)
Indeed I did! I think thats a very fair comment though – and in retrospect it would have easily been one of my all time favourites if we had more emotional involvement. Rango wasn’t a film for everyone as well – heard a few similar criticisms. Thanks though, Castor :]
I LOVE YOUR LIST Jim!!
I have 13 Assassins for my World Cinema Series and my friend just recommended me to watch A Separation. i will note down I saw A Devil for my Korean movie.
Nice to see many world movies in your list.
Cheers Novroz!
Let us know what you think of them! In retrospect it has been a mighty fine year for world cinema! It’s refreshing to see countries like Iran and Korea doing so well! Hopefully they continue to carry on this trend :]
Nice list! A surprise to see 13 Assassins as number one, but it is a great film with a cracking final act.
Thank you :] the final act of 13 Assassins was what really impressed me. It’s a fun film :]
Interesting list. I did enjoy 13 Assassins, though it fell just short of my list. It’s definitely a slow burn like you describe, and the final sequence is remarkable. I also really enjoyed Drive and Midnight in Paris. I still need to check out a good portion of your list, including The Artist and A Separation. Nice job.
Thanks Dan :] Drive and Midnight in Paris were both excellent! Can’t recommend the top 5 enough though. Let me know what you think if you get round to them. Thanks for reading!
I was doing pretty good with the bottom 5, but the only one I’ve seen from the top 5 is The Artist. I’m looking forward to A Separation, but 13 Assassins is probably not my genre.
It felt slightly jarring to have A Separation as number 4, because it doesn’t do it any justice. I hope you enjoy it!
I Saw the Devil is yet another demented–and wonderfully so–turn from the ever-prolific Korean horror circuit. Old Boy will probably be recognized years from now as the movie that opened Western Civ’s eyes to the unfathomable imagination of Korean film making, akin to 500 Blows and French movies, or Seven Samurai and Japanese movies.
Also, The Artist was beautiful. It took awhile for my eye to adjust to the very dim, gray-ish black and white (it’s not a starkly lit movie at all), but the subtleties in the acting and camerawork are gorgeous.
Wonderfully put, Greg! Hopefully it will open the flood gates to more recognition and acclaim, but at the same time I hope Hollywood don’t think of it as ‘ore vein’ and just start mining remakes from it.
Complete agreement about The Artist as well. A real work of art! Thank for reading :]
Interesting and diverse list. There’s a few films I still need to see, particularly, your number one choice 13 Assassins.
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