Jan 19, 2012         Blogs         by Chris Elena

Horrah! 2011 was much better than 2010 in terms of films. In 2010 we had A Single Man, Inception, The Killer Inside Me, and I can assure you, it was easy making 10, in 2011 however, it wasn’t. We have the usual 10 best of the year and 6 of the worst (it was originally 5 but one film couldn’t be left out).

And at the end of each list, I’ll be including some of your favourites.

Note: Some of these films will have been released in the US in 2010, but they were released in Australia in 2011, I include them on this list because, how in the hell are we meant to include them on a best and worst of the year list when we didn’t see them at that time? (That’s the ridiculous and poor release system Australia has).

Before we continue, some that just missed the list but are definitely worth seeing:
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
The Woman
Attack the block
The Tree of Life
Hobo With a Shotgun
How Do You Know
and The Guard

So, without further ado:

10. Terri
      A coming of age story with John C Reilly as a cool yet desperate principal? Yep, it’s heartfelt and 
      genuine alright.

9. Moneyball
     I have no knowledge of baseball and this is about its players and statistics, it makes you care and 
     it’s the best directed film of the year. Plus Brad Pitt gives one of his best performances (of many)

8. Biutiful
     Javier Bardem plays a single father of two who finds out he’s dying of cancer. It has some of the
     toughest scenes to watch in 2011 and it’s VERY depressing but every bit of it is rewarding.

7. Cedar Rapids
     The funniest comedy of 2011 and one that ACTUALLY has a heart and good-intentioned 
     characters. Ed Helms and John C Reilly deserve any acclaim they get for their performances.

6. The Fighter
     Focusing on the families rather than the sport. Mark Whalberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and
     Amy Adams all give great performances, and brilliant direction from David O Russell, this is raw,
     genuine cinema.

5. Super
    Rainn Wilson from The Office running around the streets dressed in an odd superhero outfit
    bashing drug dealers and child molesters with a wrench while yelling “Shut up, crime!”? Yep,
    that’s best movie of the year material alright.

4. Drive
    Everyone’s pick for best movie of 2011 for a good reason; it’s also the coolest movie of this year or
    any year. With a hero who utters very few words yet can stomp someone’s head in and drives
    around at night listening to 80’s esque pop-songs... Yeah, this is great stuff.

3. The Ides Of March
    All the performances are brilliant and it’s the best thriller of the year, do you know why? It   
    doesn’t need a gun or a single ounce of blood to keep you on edge. George Clooney is a good 
    actor but he’s shaping up to be an even better writer and director, this is beyond riveting material.

2. Red State
    Red State and my pick for best film of the year, could be placed in a tie, they’re both brave and 
    original and challenge average film conventions, This is Kevin Smith’s best film; it’s dark, ugly,    
    brutal, and its three films in one, it challenges everything we know about conventional cinema
    and has a performance from Michael Parks who gives a 15 minute sermon on the state of America
    which is probably the best scene of any film this year. I’m grateful that movies like this exist.

1. Birthday
    An entire film that’s filled with human drama and cinema magic? Yes, that’s why Birthday’s the
    best movie of the year. From a pitch perfect performance from Natalie Eleftheriadis and
    outstanding direction from James Harkness, this is what people should see when questioning the
    quality of Australian films and well, drama’s in general, they have a sense of humour, something to
    say, and when all’s said and done, they give you something in return. This is why we go to the
    movies.

And for other people’s choices for best movie of the year:
- We Bought A Zoo
- Drive (x100)
- Warrior
- Hanna
- The Tree Of life
- Senna
- Contagion
- Melancholia
- The Ides of March
- Game of Thrones – Entire series (It’s not a movie, but they were adamant)
- Midnight in Paris
- Red State
- Captain America

And just to make this quick here are the worst movies of 2011:

6. Bad Teacher – She’s a bitch and she wants a boob job, that’s the joke...and the plot too.
5. Battle: LA – There was a battle? The cameraman was breakdancing way too much for me to tell.
4. Fright Night – One of the worst CGI 3D crap fests I’ve seen. See the original, right now, please.
3. Faster – A guy named ‘Killer’ shows up and pouts, The Rock is named ‘Driver’....smart flick.
2. Final Destination 5 – Terrible acting, boring deaths while CGI is thrown at you non-stop
1. Just Go With it - This isn’t comedy and no adult could’ve funded it, and you can’t say Adam                                  Sandler for that one.

2011, you were kind, but enough about me, what did you think? See anything that made you laugh or cry, intentional or otherwise? Like or comment and let us know.