This year, in addition to picking my ten best films of the year, I have decided to rank them. Not necessarily in order of greatness, but in order of how much they meant to me personally. So, without any further ado (or honourable mentions of omitted films), here are my top ten movies that were released in the UK in 2011:
10. Trolljegeren (Troll Hunter)
The Final Verdict: In making my selection, some might say I should have included something more “worthy” (The King’s Speech), more “shocking” (We need to talk about Kevin), or more “gritty” (Tyrannosaur – which actually did almost make the final list). But darn it all, Norwegian trolls are serious business and Troll Hunter appeals to my rather deranged sense of humour. Breathing new life into the faux found footage genre, the great strength of this film is that it portrays its clearly preposterous subject with a completely straight face.
Best bit: When fairy tale literate audiences suddenly realise they are watching three goats on a bridge with a troll underneath it…
9. Tangled
The Final Verdict: This hugely underrated Disney animation was a genuine surprise. Funny, warm-hearted and stunningly drawn, the tale of Rapunzel is given a fresh twist by telling it from the perspective of thief and rogue Flynn Rider. There is tremendous (animated) chemistry between the two leads, and the film is also surprisingly touching.
Best bit: The interrogation scene, as Flynn is tied up with Rapunzel’s hair and pounded with a frying pan.
8. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Final Verdict: Packed with action-packed set pieces, Spielberg’s motion-capture adaptation of Herge’s famous comics worked a treat, in spite of some minor flaws. Andy Serkis’s Captain Haddock steals the show, although Jamie Bell is very good as Tintin, and Daniel Craig’s sinister Red Rackham provides the regulation cackling villain.
Best bit: The stunning Moroccan motorbike chase which takes place in a single shot – something that would be impossible in live action.
7. Source Code
The Final Verdict: Duncan Jones’s followed the excellent Moon with this equally excellent sci-fi thriller, in which Joe Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan fall in love as he tries to stop a bomb destroying the same train over and over again. Well worth repeated viewings, not just to get one’s head around the brain bending metaphysical twists, but to properly appreciate the emotionally resonant subplots (such as the one involving Gyllenhaal’s father).
Best bit: The freeze-frame tracking shot during the kiss.
6. Warrior
The Final Verdict: Fantastic performances by Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy fuel this pounding, visceral, bruiser of a film. Essentially a tale of estranged brothers who compete in Mixed Martial Arts, every cliché in the book is present and correct, yet somehow it all works brilliantly. Released in the UK around the same time as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, this was every bit as much of a must-see for altogether different reasons. Brutal, cathartic, redemptive and very emotional (I heard plenty of grown men crying in the audience).
Best bit: The genuinely unpredictable and hugely satisfying final fight.
5. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Final Verdict: The best thriller of the year is a dark, cerebral yet riveting intellectual puzzle, as a brilliantly subtle Gary Oldman attempts to uncover a mole at the heart of British intelligence during the Cold War. Director Tomas Alfredson is clearly on a roll after this and Let the Right One In, and the supporting cast is also terrific. Oscar nominations could well follow.
Best bit: The Christmas party, where drunken British spies sing the Soviet national anthem – one with a little less irony than the others…
4. True Grit
The Final Verdict: This Coen Brothers western is, for once, a remake that betters the original. With more of the book’s original dialogue, and the reinstatement of Christian elements that were stripped out of the 1969 version, the characters are more convincing and the story is more emotionally involving. Jeff Bridges is very good in the role that won John Wayne an Oscar in the original film, but it is the brilliant Hailee Steinfeld that really steals the show.
Best bit: Steinfeld uses the King James Bible to insult one of the villains: “The love of decency does not abide in you!”
3. Senna
The Final Verdict: Astonishingly and criminally overlooked in the longlist (let alone the shortlist) for this year’s Best Documentary at the Oscars, Senna is an absolutely riveting and tragic must-see, even if like me you have no interest in Formula 1. This isn’t really a story about racing. It’s about ambition, rivalry, faith, courage and loss – universal human themes that everyone can relate to.
Best bit: “Best” isn’t the happiest adjective to use in this context, but the emotionally devastating finale, as Brazil loses one of its greatest national heroes, is poignant, respectful and heartbreaking.
2. Hugo
The Final Verdict: Martin Scorsese’s dazzling, heartfelt love letter to early cinema gets my vote as the best family film of the year. Not only is it involving, educational and emotionally satisfying, but it is also visually stunning, and contains the best use of 3D I have seen to date. Unfortunately, due to poor box office and marketing, it will probably not be seen by many people, which is a crying shame. See it now, before it disappears from cinemas.
Best bit: When Ben Kingsley walks into the screening of A Trip to the Moon and subsequently recounts his life story.
1. The Tree of Life
The Final Verdict: Terrence Malick’s masterpiece is a bona-fide marmite film. You’ll either absolutely love it, in which case you’ll overlook its flaws, or you’ll absolutely hate it. In spite of having manfully attempted an objective review back in July, I must confess that I am firmly in the former category for very personal reasons. This is a film that I know has been used by God. For instance, I recently read about a grieving couple who claimed watching The Tree of Life helped them come to terms with the tragic death of their baby. Yet another example of my belief that art – or rather the power of God through art – can transform lives.
Best bit: The audacious, self-indulgent yet staggeringly beautiful Creation sequence.
Looking ahead to 2012, there’s plenty to watch our for – from Oscar frontrunner The Artist, to Spielberg’s War Horse, the long awaited Avengers film, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, Meryl Streep playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, Pixar’s Brave, the next James Bond film Skyfall, and the first in Peter Jackson’s two-part adaptation of The Hobbit next Christmas. There will no doubt be plenty of disappointments, hidden gems and other surprises along the way.
Merry Christmas!
Simon Dillon, December 2011.
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