Top Films of 2011

Unlike 2010, last year was full good films. The only problem was that the cream didn't rise high enough. There's plenty to debate about on this list, but these are my top films of the year.

Limitless - Bradley Cooper's best work in a film about a blocked writer who is given a drug to unlock the full power of his brain. Believe it or not, this film did not fall into the cliches and stayed pretty true. Cooper carries the film and DeNiero plugs just enough tension in to let the story flow.

Captain America - Chris Evans stars as Marvel's World War II super-hero and doesn't make him look like a tool. It also helps when Joe Johnstone directs it perfectly with a villain that really makes the people trouble. Hugo Weaving's Red Skull is among one of the best villains to come along in a while and he hit every note. It's a fun story with the charm of the WWII era all wrapped into it.

Super 8 - JJ Abrams tribute to the older monster movies of the day is a well directed film about a group of teens filming a zombie movie when an air force train crashes. During the crash, a big freakin' alien creature escapes. The cast of kids somehow manage to outshine the performances of their older co-stars, but that is not an insult in anyway.

Crazy Stupid Love - The Rom-Com genre is dying, but Crazy Stupid Love is a reason to think there's still hope. Ryan Gosling and Steve Carrell headline a talented cast in a story about a man coping with his  wife's betrayal. At the same time, his younger friend becomes infatuated with a woman who resisted his charms. A mutli-tiered story that eventually leads to an heartwarming conclusion.

Horrible Bosses - A hilarious romp about three friends that want to whack their bosses that make their lives a living hell. They plan a Hitchcock-like criss cross killing that goes horribly wrong and the craziness that ensues will make you cry in laughter. Still Jennifer Aniston as a sex-crazed dentist seems like every guy's dream.

The Muppets - Part nostalgia, but The Muppets was one of the funniest films of 2011. Muppets worshiper Jason Segel co-wrote a great homage to Jim Hensen's most popular creations with cameos from several of Hollywood entertainers both young and old. If there's any other reason you should she this movie, Chris Cooper rapping is enough to split your sides.

Bridesmaids - Kristen Wiig was always a funny actress, but most of the time she was a supporting player. Not in this movie that she co-wrote about a failed baker that is the maid of honor for her best friend's wedding. Adding on a competitor to be a maid of honor and a supporting cast that just makes the movie a non-stop laugh-a-thon. Wiig gives a thorough performance where she's funny and touching as the girl who everything hasn't worked out for while her friends' lives have, but Melissa McCarthy steals the movie. This also teaches us that food poisoning and bridal shops don't mix.

50/50 - "I can't have cancer... I work out. I recycle," recants Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a film about a guy in his twenties facing death. He soon finds who is the right support and the wrong support. Whether it's a friend (Seth Rogen) who treats it as a pickup tool for girls or a cheating girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard) who didn't sign up for being a caretaker. Through it all, Gordon-Levitt encounters a roller-coaster of emotions and his counsellor (Anna Kendrick) start to become involved. Gordon-Levitt continues his string of great performances since (500) Days of Summer.

The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo - David Fincher's remake of the Swedish series was right in his wheelhouse from "Zodiac" or "Se7en". Daniel Craig is his usual reliable self, but Rooney Mara's Oscar Nomination was well deserved as the title character. She gives a performance both funny, odd, straightforward, tormented, sadistic and clever. She's one of the oddest protagonists you'll find yourself rooting for.

X-Men: First Class - Though this film took some liberties with the X-Men stories, it also paid tribute to the franchises other films. Taking place in the early 60's before the Cuban Missile Crisis, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) come together and try to put their different approaches aside to stop a Sebastian Shaw from starting a nuclear war that would destroy mankind. In the process, they find that their war is only beginning.

The Help - This isn't a story about the people that live in the gray areas of white and black in 60's Jackson, Mississippi. The story is about maids that fight racism and the employers who don't seem to see the problem with it. In a film littered with great performances by Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, it causes Emma Stone to go unnoticed. The film will make you laugh as well as move you- especially at the very end.

The Artist - Who says a silent movie still can have an impact in the modern world? "The Artist" proved just that. Taking the charm from the old Charlie Chaplin films, it stars two relatively unknown actors (Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo) to US audiences and fills out his cast with very capable known physical actors like John Goodman and James Cromwell. The film is about the end of the silent movie era and an artist who never really spoke much at all when it mattered. Dujardin and Bejo deliver outstanding performances of a lost art. This film is as delightful as it is original.

Best Film of the Year:

The Descendants - George Clooney is likely to get an Oscar for this performance of a man who's wife is dying and his life is coming apart. Due to a boating accident, Matt King's wife is in a coma and will be taken off life support. As he gathers his family, his daughter tells him that his wife was having an affair, which eludes to a journey to meet the other man. If there's a scene that is most memorable, it's when Clooney has a closed door argument with his comatose wife. For a guy who is the personification of suave, is anything but that in this film.