2011: A Top Ten Films List

10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

 9. Attack the Block

8. The Kid with the Bike

7. The Skin I Live In

6. Hugo

5. Le Havre

4. Drive

3. Take Shelter

2. A Separation

1. The Tree of Life

Honorable Mention: The Mill and the Cross, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Midnight In Paris, The Ides of March, Moneyball, Melancholia, The Adventures of Tintin, Source Code

On the fence: Super 8, 50/50, Jane Eyre, A Dangerous Method

One-night stands: The Green Hornet, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

I defended you once, but now I just don't care: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Toilet Bowl: Beginners, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Your Highness

Still want to see...I guess??: Shame, The Descendants, The Rum Diary, War Horse, J. Edgar, The Artist, Another Earth, Carnage

The movie I'll rip-on most despite not seeing it: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Theme of the Year: The protection of family

Additional comments:

So where's Meek's Cutoff? I admit, John has officially broken my will. I stand here a defeated man, and I will update and add Meek's Cutoff to my 2010 list even though it only premiered in ONE Canadian city in 2010. Seems silly, but whatever, it actually helps me in the end because there were so many films that I felt bad about leaving off of my 2011 list.

The top five films on my list are ones that I absolutely love from this year. The Tree of Life is the hands-down favorite. I was in love with the film the moment it ended, and even if I ever started to question my feelings after that point, my second viewing only enhanced my opinion of the film. It's an ambitious film that delivers in every sense.

Choosing between A Separation and Take Shelter was difficult. Ask me to choose between the two tomorrow and I might go with Take Shelter instead. Both are quite brilliant.

I'm a little embarrassed, I took all of this time and I don't even have write-ups for each film. I started to do that, but a lot of what I wrote completely sucked. I just want to skip the part where I dance around what each film is about (refraining from the use of spoilers) and move to the discussion part. I can't wait to discuss The Skin I Live In...should be a lot of fun. I prefer to write a longer post on a single film anyway. And I probably will write some individual posts for some of the films that I saw recently...like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Surprise, Jeff!

As far as my honorable mentions are concerned, I really love The Mill and the Cross, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Midnight In Paris. And it really pains me that none of the three made my list. I think we should all make top thirteen lists from now on.