11. Contagion
Forgive me for a weak field from which to choose (only 41 movies that released in 2011!), but Contagion isn’t a terrible number 10. With a big name cast of Oscar winners and a realistic, fear-inducing plot, Contagion struck fear into America’s hearts after the H1N1 pandemic.
Based on the incredible true story, The Devil’s Double stars Dominic Cooper in two amazing roles, and he pulls it off surprisingly well! It’s violent, it’s abrasive, it is pure cinema!
9. Warrior
Already grabbing a Golden Globe nomination, Warrior is the deeply emotional story of two brothers and their father. Finally, Hollywood is taking mixed martial arts more seriously.
8. J. Edgar
Though the make-up leaves something to be desired, J. Edgar‘s direction and acting are superb. How can you go wrong with Leonardo DiCaprio?
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The biggest box office success of the year is finally something worth watching! The explosive finale is a completely flawless display of wizardry, and I can only hope for a nomination for Alan Rickman.
6. The Beaver
Mel Gibson is back! But it’s the beaver that deserves the Best Actor nomination. Jodie Foster takes a thrilling comedy approach to her directing debut.
5. Margin Call
Best cast of the year, as well as best directing debut. No question. Margin Call tells the perfectly humanized story of one financial firm’s collapse. Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons are great together.
4. The Help
Emma Stone is wonderful, and Jessica Chastain completes her year full of films. It’s uplifting, it’s fun to watch, and Sissy Spacek is the unsung hero of the year.
3. Super 8
The greatest sci-fi film of the year by far, J.J. Abrams’ latest is a tribute to film, and starred fantastic performances by a few young newcomers.
Easily the greatest animated film of the year, and likely the one with the highest action! It has as many exciting chase scenes as the Indiana Jones trilogy, and in 3D the action is even greater.
1. Hugo
Talk about a tribute to film! Hugo completes the year of the child actor, with Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz having the best movie chemistry of the year. Martin Scorsese’s best ever, Hugo is a wonderful film the whole family will adore!
Cinema or Cine-meh 
Bashing the poetic TREE OF LIFE? Gasp! Put James Franco on top of your 10 bottoms.
I don’t understand how anyone can enjoy watching that movie! Even without the 20 minute ode to Earth I wouldn’t have liked it. Awfully overrated.
I agree, breaking dawn was about the worst movie i’ve ever seen. And bad teacher was so stupid. I was so excited to see it, and then i was terribly let down.
They were both terrible, but Bad Teacher was so disappointing. And there’s not many likeable characters, it’s hard to watch. Thanks for reading!
I see what you mean are worst choices are very similar! I cannot believe I missed off The Dilemma!
It was a horrible movie, very disappointing. But it doesn’t help that I saw Black Swan, a fantastic punch-in-the-gut movie, the night after. After Black Swan I completely forgot about The Dilemma! Thanks for reading!
You have some very interesting, controversial lists. I found purpose in The Tree of Life, but I can see why you wouldn’t enjoy it.
Thanks for reading! I must have just missed the point. What else do you find controversial?
J. Edgar, Tin Tin, Margin Call, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Crazy Stupid Love
I haven’t seen many movies like The Artist or The Decsendents because I live in a tiny town with a small movie theater. I thought Tintin was amazing, it should definitely win Best Animated Picture and likely get a Best Picture nod like Toy Story 3 and Up the past couple years. Margin Call was a great humanized story, and J. Edgar just had a pretty darn good performance by Leo DiCaprio.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was definitely not James Franco’s best movie, his emotion needed more depth and so did the story. For example, the relationship lasted 5 years without us ever seeing them without the ape.
And C,S,L wasn’t very funny, and the ending seemed like it was thrown together last minute.
I can relate. Those two haven’t opened yet in my town either. I like lists that aren’t mainstream, by the way.
So do I, I enjoy telling people that I like some movies that most people don’t like, and that I dislike critical favorites.