This is my final edit of the best films of 2011, as well as the most significant and/or the ones certainly worth seeing and perhaps more so, minus all the empty comic-book CG crap that will do little or nothing but bring spiritual poison and/or foolish repetition and distraction to the world. Okay, I’ve listed two cheap-ass CG entries — Paul and Cowboys & Aliens — but that’s all. I’ve got three groupings here, alphabetical listings within each. This is the final post before putting up the new 2011 Oscar Balloon sometime Monday or Tuesday:

Major League (15):

1. The Descendants (d: Alexander Payne), cast: George Clooney, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Shailene Woodley, Robert Forster, Michael Ontkean;

2. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (d: Stephen Daldry, screenwriter: Eric Roth), cast: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn;

3. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (d: David Fincher), cast: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson, Steven Berkoff;

4. God of Carnage (d: Roman Polanski ), cast: Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz ;

5. The Ides of March (d: George Clooney), cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Max Minghella, Jeffrey Wright;

6. The Impossible (d: Juan Antonio Bayona), cast: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Gitte Julsrud, Marta Etura, Tom Holland;

7. The Iron Lady (d: Phyllida Lloyd), cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman;

8. J. Edgar (d: Clint Eastwood), cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Charlize Theron, Judi Dench, Damon Herriman;

9. Larry Crowne (d: Tom Hanks), cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Nia Vardalos, Pam Grier;

10. Moneyball (d: Bennett Miller), cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, Tammy Blanchard;

11. Shame (d: Steve McQueen), cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale;

12. The Tree of Life (d: Terrence Malick). Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Joanna Going, Fiona Shaw;

13. The War Horse (d: Steven Spielberg), cast: Jeremy Irvine, Tom Hiddleston, David Thewlis, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan;

14. We Bought A Zoo (d: Cameron Crowe, w: Crowe, Aline Brosh Mckenna), cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning, Patrick Fugit, Thomas Haden Church, Angus Macfadyen;

15. Young Adult (d: Jason Reitman, w: Diablo Cody). Cast: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe, Patton Oswalt.

High Expectations, Wait & See (20):

1. Contagion (d: Steven Soderbergh). Cast: Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Ehle, John Hawkes;

2. A Dangerous Method (d: David Cronenberg) , cast: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassel;

3. Drive (d: Nicolas Winding Refn), cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks;

4. Haywire (d: Steven Soderbergh, w: Lem Dobbs), cast: Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, Mathieu Kassovitz;

5. Hanna (d: Joe Wright), cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Olivia Williams, Tom Hollander;

6. Hugo Cabret (d: Martin Scorsese), cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Jude Law, Richard Griffiths, Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Ray Winstone, Michael Stuhlbarg;

7. Jane Eyre (d: Cary Fukunaga), cast: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins;

8. Live With It a.k.a. formerly I’m With Cancer (d: Jonathan Levine), cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anna Kendrick, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston;

9. Melancholia (d: Lars Von Trier), cast: Kirsten Dunst , Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellan Skarsgard;

10. Mildred Pierce (d: Todd Haynes), cast: Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood, Guy Pearce, Melissa Leo, Victor Slezak, Daniel London, Mare Winningham.

11. Nanjing Heroes (d: Zhang Yimou). Cast: Christian Bale;

12. On The Road (d: Walter Salles), cast: Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Terrence Howard, Alice Braga;

13. One Day (d: Lone Scherfig). cast: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Jodie Whittaker, Georgia King;

14. Rampart (d: Oren Moverman). cast: Steve Buscemi, Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, Brie Larson;

15. The Skin That I Inhabit (d: Pedro Almodovar), cast: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes;

16. Straw Dogs (d: Rod Lurie), cast: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgaard, James Woods, Dominic Purcell, Willa Holland;

17. This Must Be The Place (d: Paolo Sorrentino), cast: Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Harry Dean Stanton, Shea Whigham, Judd Hirsch, Kerry Condon;

18. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (d: Thomas Alfredson), cast: Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Stephen Graham, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, Christian McKay;

19. The Whistleblower (d: Larysa Kondracki), cast: Rachel Weisz, Monica Bellucci, Benedict Cumberbatch, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn;

20. Wuthering Heights (d: Andrea Arnold). Cast: James Howson, Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley, Oliver Milburn, Steve Evets, Amy Wren.

Potential Quality and/or Elite Popcorn (25):

1. Albert Nobbs (d: Rodrigo Garcia), cast: Glenn Close, Aaron Johnson, Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Brenda Fricker, Janet McTeer;

2. At-Swim-Two-Birds (d: Brendan Gleeson), cast: Cillian Murphy, Michael Fassbender, Colin Farrell , Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne;

3. The Beaver (d: Jodie Foster), cast: Mel Gibson, Foster, Jennifer Lawrence, Anton Yelchin;

4. Blackthorne (d: Mateo Gil), cast: Sam Shepard, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Stephen Rea;

5. Butter (d: Jim Field Smith), cast: Olivia Wildem, Ashley Greene, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Garner, Alicia Silverstone;

6. Cowboys & Aliens (d: Jon Favreau). cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano;

7. Damsels in Distress (d: Whit Stillman), cast: Adam Brody, Greta Gerwig, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Billy Magnussen, Caitlin Fitzgerald.

8. Crazy, Stupid, Love (d: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa), cast: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Marisa Tomei, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon;

9. Dream House (d: Jim Sheridan), cast: Daniel Craig;

10. Extraterrestre (d: Nacho Vigalondo), d: Michelle Jenner, Carlos Areces, Raul Cimas;

11. The Help (d: Tate Taylor), cast: Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mike Vogel, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, Viola Davis;

12. Hobo With A Shotgun (d: Jason Eisener), cast: Rutger Hauer:

13. Midnight in Paris (d: Woody Allen), cast: Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Owen Wilson, Alison Pill, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates;

14. The Monk (d: Dominic Moll), cast: Vincent Cassel, Geraldine Chaplin, Sergi Lopez, Deborah Francois, Roxane Duran;

15. My Week With Marilyn (d: Simon Curtis), cast: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Dougray Scott, Julia Ormond, Dominic Cooper, Derek Jacobi;

16. Now (d: Andrew Niccol), cast: Olivia Wilde, Cillian Murphy, Raymond Leon, Amanda Seyfried;

17. The Oranges (d: Julian Farino), cast: Leighton Meester, Alia Shawkat, Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Adam Brody;

18. Paul (d: Gregory Mottola), cast: Simon Pegg, Jane Lynch, voice of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Sigourney Weaver. Jason Bateman, Blythe Danner, Bill Hader;

19. Red Riding Hood (d: Catherine Hardwicke), cast: Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, Gary Oldman, Virginia Madsen, Michael Shanks, Julie Christie;

20. Source Code (d: Duncan Jones), cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright;

21. Super (d: James Gunn), cast: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Gregg Henry;

22. Super 8 (d: J.J. Abrams), cast: Elle Fanning, Noah Emmerich, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Zach Mill;

23. Take This Waltz (d: Sarah Polley), cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman;

24. Water for Elephants (d: Francis Lawrence), cast: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook;

25. We Need To Talk About Kevin (d: Lynne Ramsay), cast: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Siobhan Fallon.

January 9, 2011by Jeffrey Wells35 Comments