Half Way Report: The Best/Worst Films of 2011

Well, we have reached the half way point of 2011. Wow, that was fast. I'm not going to go over every week of releases throughout the first half, but I will say, if I hadn't seen the films I saw at the Sydney Film Festival, it would be a much shorter list. Very early in the year I saw mostly 2010 releases that had been delayed in Australia. So, Black Swan, 127 Hours, True Grit, Rabbit Hole, Another Year, Inside Job etc. aren't considered. They do appear on my 2010 list, though.

I think The Adjustment Bureau or The Green Hornet were the first 2011 releases I watched, with Rango being the first one to be truly great. I have decided to consider any 2010 films released after March though. So films like Incendies and In A Better World, even though they were considered for Oscars last year, appear on this list. Some of the Festival films were also 2010 releases (for example Even the Rain, The Trip, 13 Assassins and Armadillo), but they had previously never been released in Australia until the festival (or later). I'm going to count them.

As honorable mentions, or films that provided solid entertainment value and proved to be worthwhile viewing: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within, Paul, The Troll Hunter, Super 8, X-Men: First Class, Jane Eyre, Kung-Fu Panda 2, The Lincoln Lawyer, Insidious and Griff the Invisible.

  

My Best and Worst of 2011 after the jump... 

Top 20

20. Source Code - "A smart, compelling and action-packed sci-fi thriller, with a sensational performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. Likely to be one of the better blockbusters of the season."

19. Never Let Me Go - "A mesmerising film endowed with poignant beauty and tragic heartbreak that asks us to consider our own mortality, and what we value above all in our uncertain existence. Fueled by a wonderful central performances from Carey Mulligan, it is an unforgettable journey."

18. Even the Rain - "Escalated beyond my expectations. An effective film-within-a-film premise is fueled by powerful performances from Luis Tosar and Gael Garcia Bernal and a well balanced screenplay."

17. The Trip - "Enhanced by the beautiful footage of the northern hills and moors, Winterbottom has created a hilarious comedy onslaught that reflects both the creative process and the cult of 'personality' through Coogan and Brydon, two gifted and eccentric comedians."

16. The Guard - "Writer/director John Michael McDonagh's hilarious black comedy is not only an amusing character study, but also a subversive twist on the buddy cop genre. Gleeson, who delivers what is likely to be one of the year's most memorable performances, effortlessly anchors the film."

15. Snowtown - "Though it's distressing and uncomfortable viewing, and doesn't provoke the desire for a second viewing, Snowtown is one of the best Australian films I have seen in some time. The performances are fantastic and the direction is impeccable."

14. Of Gods and Men - "Though it takes some patience to savour the beautifully shot Of Gods and Men, it is an extremely powerful experience."

13. 13 Assassins - 'With some of the most dazzling battle sequences you will ever witness accounting for nearly half of the film's running time, it is nothing short of epic. It's a brutally intense, relentless, bloody assault on the senses."

12. Win Win - "As a freshly unique, poignant, funny (hilarious at times) and heartwarming tale, Win Win is a delightful, well acted comedy/drama. It's a winner all the way."

11. Armadillo - "It addresses the psychology of these young men amidst a senseless conflict, sparking controversy by bringing to light the harrowing atrocities we know occur amidst the adrenalin of warfare, but no one wants to recognise."

10. The Cave of Forgotten Dreams - "Wondrous, intriguing and informative, Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a triumph from one of cinemas most visionary filmmakers. There is so much more to this than a privileged journey into a now inaccessible Wonder of the World, but even if that was all it was, it would be more than enough."

9. Rango - "Weaves together allusions to great films such as Chinatown, but also manages to not only conform to the structure of the Western but provide enough action-packed chase sequences to keep hold of the interest of modern audiences. This superb animated feature may just be the most fun you will have at a cinema this year."

8. Take Shelter - "Shannon and Chastain are outstanding, the ending is killer, and it addresses some very real contemporary fears. A brooding, ominous and slow-burning thriller."

7. Martha Marcy May Marlene - "With an ambiguous narrative that deftly balances past and present, assured direction from Sean Durkin, some striking wide lens cinematography and phenomenal performances, this captivating experience is not only relentlessly intense, but overwhelms the audience with this sense of dread."

6. In A Better World - "A powerful and riveting drama that offers up several chilling moments. Successfully extenuating the ever-present threat of violence, In A Better World is richly symbolic, atmospheric, impeccable paced and perfectly balances its dual settings."

5. Incendies - "Every now and then a powerful, emotive and chilling political tragedy endowed with harrowing realism will come along that forces viewers to cower in horror at the state of the world they live in. The means by which the plot lines converge and how the secrets culminate, is a masterstroke of dramatic filmmaking."

4. Project Nim - "A brilliant documentary. The story of Nim Chimpsky is a harrowing account of the tragic life of a a beautiful creature. It is what happens when human emotion botches well-meaning science."

3. A Separation - "Winner of the Golden Bear, this compelling masterpiece, though relatively subtle and simple in its plot development, reveals stunning complexity in its portrayal of morality, class, gender and religion amidst the social, political, legal and psychological context of contemporary Iran. It features a mechanically perfect screenplay and outstanding performances from its ensemble."

2. The Tree of Life - "A technical masterpiece. The rich emotional resonance really left a profound effect on the transformative second viewing. Expertly balancing something as monumental as the Big Bang with something as little as capturing a young boy staring intriguingly at his baby brother is something few of us have seen before."

1. Senna - "You don't have to be a Formula One fan to be brought to tears by Senna. This vibrant, engrossing, powerful and ultimately tragic portrayal of the life and untimely death of beloved sporting icon Ayrton Senna, from British director Asif Kapadia, is documentary filmmaking at its most exciting."

And now, The Bottom 5 

EASY!

5. The Green Hornet - "I'm usually a Rogen fan, but this was both a diabolical screenplay and the most annoying character he has ever played."

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - "The newest addition to this tired franchise is uninspired, calculated, flat and often downright boring."

3. Sucker Punch - "Full of over-the-top stylistic devices and a series of ever-tiresome visual spectacles, Sucker Punch is soulless, pointless and maddening. I squirmed uneasily throughout both through frustration and boredom."

2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - "Bay just doesn't seem to understand how difficult his films are to watch. It's either cringe-worthy, inconsequential and unnecessary plot developments, woefully out-of-place and poor-taste attempts at comedy, blatant Nationalism or headache inducing, haphazardly edited action sequences. Everything is overblown."

1. Your Highness - "This torturous film suffers from an unfortunate curse that has plagued few comedies worse than this. It just isn't funny. Nothing works. Nothing at all."

Please, feel free to comment. What are your top/bottom films from the first half of the year?