FILM COMMENT’S BEST RELEASED FILMS OF 2011
The Top 10
1. The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick, U.S.
2. Uncle Boonmee, Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directedy by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/U.K./France/Germany
3. Melancholia, directed by Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany
4. A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, Iran
5. A Dangerous Method, directed by David Cronenberg, Canada/Germany
6. Mysteries of Lisbon, directed by Raúl Ruiz, France/Portugal
7. Certified Copy, directed by Abbas Kiarostami, France/Italy/Belgium
8. Meek’s Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt, U.S.
9. Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese, U.S.
10. Poetry, directed by Lee Chang-dong, South Korea
The Next 20, after the cut
11. Film Socialisme, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Switzerland
12. Le Havre, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, Finland/France
13. The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu, directed by Andrei Ujica, Romania
14. Le quattro volte, directed by Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy/Germany/Switzerland
15. The Descendants, directed by Alexander Payne, U.S.
16. Nostalgia for the Light, directed by Patricio Guzmán, Chile/France/Germany
17. A Brighter Summer Day, directed by Edward Yang, Taiwan/Japan
18. Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen, Spain/U.S.
19. Take Shelter, directed by Jeff Nichols, U.S.
20. Margaret, directed by Kenneth Lonergan, U.S.
21. Shame, directed by Steve McQueen, U.K.
22. Drive, directed by
Nicolas Winding Refn, U.S.
23. Cave of Forgotten Dreams, directed by Werner Herzog, U.S.
24. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson, U.K./France/Germany
25. To Die Like a Man, directed by João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal/France
26. The Interrupters, directed by Steve James, U.S.
27. The Artist
, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, France
28. Tuesday, After Christmas, directed by Radu Muntean, Romania
29. Aurora, directed by Cristi Puiu, Romania
30. Weekend, directed by Andrew Haigh, U.K.
The Rest
31. The Skin I Live In, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
32. City of Life and Death
, directed by Lu Chuan, China/Hong Kong
33. Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, U.S.
34. Of Gods and Men
, directed by Xavier Beauvois, France
35. Martha Marcy May Marlene, directed by Sean Durkin, U.S.
36. Bridesmaids, directed by Paul Feig, U.S.
37. The Trip, directed by Michael Winterbottom, U.K.
38. Moneyball, directed by Bennett Miller, U.S.
39. The Arbor, directed by Clio Barnard, U.K.
40. The Future
, directed by Miranda July, U.S,/Germany
41. Incendies
, directed by Denis Villeneuve, Canada/France
42. Super 8, directed by J.J. Abrams, U.S.
43. United Red Army, directed by Koji Wakamatsu, Japan
44. Road to Nowhere, directed by Monte Hellman, U.S.
45. Tabloid, directed by Errol Morris, U.S.
46. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt, U.S.
47. Terri
, directed by Azazel Jacobs, U.S.
48. J. Edgar, directed by Clint Eastwood, U.S.
49. Jane Eyre, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, U.K.
50. Pina
, directed by Wim Wenders, Germany/France
Of Gods and Men deserved better positioning. Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Super 8 were not good films. Uncle Boonmee and Tree of Life are way over my head, or they just plain suck. A Separation may be remembered as the Best Film of the Decade. It is simply brilliant!
Did everyone thought it was boring when they stood inline wearing HP costumes?
Americans and british critics are not “overall”. Rotten Tomatoes are made by “critics” connected to the industry who sell their own fish. Chicago Sun Times and Daily Telegraph are not independent newspapers. They’re are supposed to be sold to the masses. There are great movies like Aliens that made great B.O. sucess but Harry Potter doesn’t have any great idea of direction since it was made to not shock the fans of JK Rowlings. I said that and I have the opportunity to know JK Rowlings before her sucess and, personally, I don’t have nothing against her. I just think the film it’s boring and too politically correct.
HP8 is not only a best box office achievement, according to Wikipedia “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 received universal critical acclaim; as of November 2011 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating of 96% based on 266 reviews and an average score of 8.4/10. The site’s consensus describes the film as “Thrilling, powerfully acted, and visually dazzling, Deathly Hallows Part II brings the Harry Potter franchise to a satisfying – and suitably magical – conclusion.” On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on individual reviews, the film achieved an average of 87 based on 41 reviews, signifying “universal acclaim”. The film received a score of 93 from professional critics at the Broadcast Film Critics Association; it is their highest rated Harry Potter film.
The first review of the film was released on 5 July 2011 by The Daily Telegraph. Philip Womack commented, “This is monumental cinema, awash with gorgeous tones, and carrying an ultimate message that will resonate with every viewer, young or old: there is darkness in all of us, but we can overcome it.” He further expressed that David Yates “transmutes [the book] into a genuinely terrifying spectacle.” Another review was released on the same day, this time from Evening Standard, who rated the film 4/5 and stated “Millions of children, parents, and those who should know better won’t need reminding what a Horcrux is – and director David Yates does not let them down. In fact, in some ways, he helps make up for the shortcomings of the final book.” The Daily Express remarked that the film showcases “a terrifying showdown that easily equals Lord of the Rings or Star Wars in terms of a dramatic and memorable battle between good and evil.” First Stop News gave the film a rating of 9.6/10 calling the film a “truly magical ending” to the series that “will become the most-discussed and praised film of the year.”
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 1/2 out of four stars and said that “The finale conjures up enough awe and solemnity to serve as an appropriate finale and a dramatic contrast to the lighthearted (relative) innocence of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone all those magical years ago.” Mark Kermode of the BBC said that the film is a “pretty solid and ambitious adaptation of a very complex book”, but he criticised the post-converted 3D. Christy Lemire of the Associated Press gave the film 3 1/2 out of four stars and said “While Deathly Hallows: Part 2 offers long-promised answers, it also dares to pose some eternal questions, and it’ll stay with you after the final chapter has closed.” Richard Roeper, also of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film an A+ rating and said that “This is a masterful and worthy final chapter in one of the best franchises ever put to film.”
And you know, i know, everyone around the knows that’s true. and I did watch those films, besides how come the Artist wasn’t on there as well?
OCO 300, this is the list of the film they consider the best of the year, not the Best Box Office achievement.
Harry, you probably didn’t even watch 30% of those films. You’re criticizing them for not being made in Hollywood standards or made in english language.
The year of the incredibly pretentious art film?
Film Comment always gives us something most of us can only aspire to – truly an international “best” list.
With the crush of releases this time of year and the non-US product inaccessible to most of us for awhile, yet, a list like this is a menu for 2012 viewing during the relatively dead release period that gets larger every year (like Jan – Sep?).
This is the kind of list that will change your own top list once you’ve seen all these titles. But it will be something like March until I can do that.
I’ve only seen 15 plus a those handful of 2010 releases that are included here. Those older releases I won’t be counting for my 2011, obviously.
I’ve only seen half this list. Sad.
50 films and no Potter? Ridiculous!
Totally dig this list. At least with regard to most of the films included.
Good luck finding a better Top 10 list.
Bravo, Film Comment.
Hey, they put super 8 and rise of planet of the apes in there!
Oh come on, not even Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 or X-Men First Class?