Best Films of 2011

3D depth composition in 'Hugo'

1. Hugo
2. Drive
3. The Artist
4. Melancholia
5. The Tree of Life

In looking back at the movies of the year 2011, especially take note of the leading ladies of 2011, who form an exceptionally strong slate. I’d even say, and this is rare, the Best Actress line-up this year is stronger than Best Actor. Part of this has to do with the relative dip in the latter category, which usually is one of the strongest ones. Despite the ridiculously all-star list the Golden Globes have produced in Clooney, DiCaprio, Fassbender, Gosling and Pitt, there were no real transformative male leading performances. There was no Colin Firth in The King’s Speech, no Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote, no Sean Penn in Milk, and definitely no Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Hoover is just not up to par. The Best Actress field however, is more interesting.

Male self-destructive tendencies in 'Moneyball'

We’d have the established names in Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Viola Davis (The Help), Charlize Theron (Young Adult) and, dare I say, Saoirse Ronan (Hanna). The field is livened up with fresh faces in their breakthrough year such as Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene). They’ll have a tough time getting an Oscar nomination for their breakthrough performance, trying to follow in the footsteps of Jennifer Lawrence last year and Carey Mulligan the year before.  Some actresses even had to reinvent themselves, including Keira Knightley (A Dangerous Method) and Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia). Unfortunately, Dunst will probably be ignored come Oscar time due to the Von Trier Cannes debacle, despite her Best Actress win at the festival. Sometimes there really is such a thing as bad publicity.

Paranoia in 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Like the list above, the following picks are personal favorites, NOT awards predictions, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they somewhat overlap. As I haven’t had the opportunity to see everything, they’re only based on what I’ve seen.

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris

Best Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball

Best Editing: Hugo

Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life / Hugo (can’t choose)

Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Help

Best Art Direction: Hugo

Best Sound Mixing: War Horse

Best Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Breakthrough of the year: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life, The Help, Take Shelter, The Debt, Coriolanus

Below you’ll find some archived picks.

Best Films of 2010

1. The Social Network
2. Inception
3. Black Swan
4. True Grit
5. Toy Story 3

Best Films of 2009

1. Avatar
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. A Serious Man
4. Up in the Air
5. The Hurt Locker

Best Films of 2008

1. WALL-E
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. Frost/Nixon
4. Låt den rätte komma in
5. Gomorra

Best Films of 2007

1. No Country for Old Men
2. There Will Be Blood
3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
4. Into The Wild
5. The Bourne Ultimatum

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