2011 End of the Year Wrap Up - Sounds of Cinema

Top 10 Films of 2011

What follows are Nathan’s picks of the best films of 2011.

1. Margin Call

Directed by: J.C. Chandor

Premise: Set at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis, risk analysis and executives at a major investment bank realize that the firm is headed for a collapse and try to find a solution.

Why It Made the List: One of the recent trends in movies over the past few years has been the subgenre of recession cinema. Some of these pictures deal with the experiences of those losing jobs or homes, such as Up in the Air, while others dramatize the actions of major players in the political and financial world. Margin Call fits into the latter category and even though it is entirely fictionalized, this picture succeeds in ways that similar films like Too Big To Fail or Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps fell short. Although Margin Call is not as in depth as those films in terms of the financial details, Margin Call does its job as a dramatization far more effectively. (The kinds of economic and political details that some critics may wrongfully demand from a film like this are much better addressed in the documentary form, and have been in Inside Job and Client 9.) A dramatization of something as academic and mathematical as the 2008 financial collapse must be about the human issues and Margin Call does exactly that. The film presents a group of characters at various levels of the bank’s hierarchy, from risk analysts up to the bank president, and within the twenty-four hours in which the story takes place these people are confronted with serious ethical challenges in which issues like greed, ambition, integrity, and loyalty come into play. This comes out especially well through the characters played by Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons. Spacey realizes the ethical implications of all this while Irons, in what is an extraordinary performance, embodies corporate survivalism and will sink his customers and even the whole economy in order to save the firm. Margin Call is ultimately about the relationship between individuals and financial institutions, and the arbitrary way those individuals might be rewarded or destroyed based on little more than circumstance. The film’s layered and sophisticated portrait of corporate culture and its intelligent and complex ethical subtext makes Margin Call one of the most impressive films about capitalism in the post-TARP era and the best film of 2011.

2. Shame

Directed by: Steve McQueen

Premise: A sex addict (Michael Fassbender) living in New York is visited by his sister (Carey Mulligan) who disrupts his life.

Why It Made the List: Movies about sexuality are tough to get right. Even well intentioned films often fall into traps set by deeply entrenched storytelling traditions and end up portraying sexuality in a leery pornographic way or in a puritanical fashion. The year 2011 saw the release of two mainstream studio films, No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits, which attempted to break that mold. Although neither of them was entirely terrible, both films ultimately retreated to traditional notions of sexuality within the confines of a standard romantic comedy relationship. Shame attempts—and succeed—at doing something much more risky and confrontational. This is the story of an addict and when films deal with addiction they can take one of two routes: either they make the addict a fool who the audience holds to ridicule or the film makes the addict a figure of empathy whose appetites have some relevance to the audience. Shame takes the latter route, recognizing that addiction is a symptom, not the illness, and it sets about exploring why this man can go on sexual binges but cannot maintain an emotional relationship. As the main character, Michael Fassbender gives a fearless performance, exposing himself both physically and emotionally, and despite some extravagant sexuality there is also a sad desperation to the character that Fassbender effectively conveys in a lingering gaze or an exhausted slump. And that’s what gives Shame’s portrayal of sexual dysfunction its lasting punch. This isn’t a film appealing to our inner-scopophiliac; Shame suggests that contemporary life has rendered all of us a little like Fassbender’s character, seeking temporary relief from the emptiness of our lives through endless stimulation.

3. The Artist

Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius

Premise: Set in Hollywood at the end of the 1920s, a silent film star finds himself out of work when sound is introduced into filmmaking.

Why It Made the List: The year 2011 had a large number of films that were self-reflexive, metatextual, or made sport of the filmmaking process, ranging from Martin Scorcese’s Hugo to Tom Six’s The Human Centipede 2. One of the most successful at this was The Artist, which uses the format and style of films of the silent era such as the 1.37:1 picture ratio, inter-titles, black and white footage, and a Franz Waxman-like music score. By doing this, the filmmakers of The Artist draw attention to the techniques of filmmaking and how technology shapes the way we experience the world. This is shown most clearly through the performance by actor Jean Dujardin, as his movements and facial expressions at the beginning of the film are consistent with the overly expressive and theatrical acting styles of the silent era but by the end he behaves in a more subtle and natural manner. But while all this sounds like something only a viewer with a degree in film theory would appreciate, The Artist manages to be accessible to a wide audience because this film possesses something a lot of 2011’s summer tent pole pictures lacked: a heart. The Artist is about a man put out of work by changing technology and the story is compelling enough that it doesn’t matter that there is no audible dialogue. Despite the special effects and hyperactive editing of many summer blockbusters in 2011, The Artist is much more satisfying because of its sense of fun and coherent narrative, and the scenes of Dujardin’s character performing with his dog are far more entertaining than computer generated fights between giant robots. The Artist is, like its main character, very charming and likable. That it also manages to be a bold experiment in cinema form and technique makes it among the most exceptional films of 2011.

4. Melancholia

Directed by: Lars von Trier

Premise: Sisters (Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg) cope with depression while a newly discovered planet heads on a crash course for Earth.

Why It Made the List: There were a number of avant garde films released in 2011 that attempted to make broad statements about the meaning of life or capture the essence of life on a global scale. The trouble with many of those films, such as The Tree of Life or Life in a Day, is that as they were often shapeless or directionless and although they presented extraordinary visuals those images were not arranged in a way that was meaningful or directed the viewer toward an intelligible conclusion. Of these films, Lars von Trier’s Melancholia has certainly the most depressing take on the existential truth but it also tells a coherent story and captures the essence of life. Melancholia demonstrates a high degree of cinematic craft, such as the slow motion cinematography of the introductory sequence and the inclusion of the planet in the background, from which doom creeps in on the characters in the foreground. At the center of Melancholia are two key performances by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg’s character attempts to control everything by planning her sister’s wedding, taking care of her sister in her depression, and later trying to outrun an inescapable event. Dunst’s character recognizes the futility of all this; she has the depressed perspective of a wise philosopher as she recognizes the transitory and superficial nature of everything. And as nihilistic as that sounds, Melancholia has a soothingly meditative quality about it. This film may not be an audience pleaser, but Melancholia is a smart film about the impermanence of everything and viewing it is an extraordinary cinematic experience.

5. Hanna

Directed by: Joe Wright

Premise: A seventeen year old girl (Saoirse Ronan) raised in the forest by a former CIA operative enters the world and engages in a cat and mouse game with intelligence agents intent on capturing her.

Why It Made the List: On the surface, Hanna might be dismissed as nothing more than a knockoff of the assassin films that Luc Besson churns out in his sleep. But Hanna is more than a shoot-‘em-up picture. This film takes the spy thriller and combines it with a travelogue and a coming of age story, resulting in a picture that manages to be simultaneously sweeping and personal. As the title character goes on the run, she travels through various cultures and countries and encounters the amenities of civilization for the first time. Because of her feral upbringing, the character sees technology, manners, and traditions with fresh eyes and the audience is able to experience that newness with her due to some interesting choices on the part of the filmmakers and because of the performance by actress Saoirse Ronan. Director Joe Wright makes interesting choices in nearly every scene, staging the action and manipulating the elements of the film to draw attention not only to what is happening but also to how we process the information. The unique cinematic techniques are complemented by Saoirse Ronan’s performance as Hanna. Her character could very easily be silly or slip into the clichés of assassin characters. But despite the extraordinary stunts and set pieces, Hanna remains a real character. Her interactions with other people, such as a vacationing family and her father, span an impressive emotional range and although she is on a mission she is also learning about the world and about herself. Hanna’s travels and adventures from the beginning of the film to the end make this not only a satisfying action picture but also a story about a girl becoming a woman.

6. A Better Life

Directed by: Chris Weitz

Premise: An illegal immigrant (Demián Bichir) attempts to raise his teenage son (José Julián) while working as a gardener in Los Angeles.

Why It Made the List: This gritty story about an illegal immigrant and his son trying to survive was one of the most provocative portrayals of the American Dream in a motion picture in recent years. When a film deals with a hot topic like illegal immigration it is easy for a viewer to judge the picture based on how flush it is with his or her personal beliefs. That’s understandable but A Better Life should not simply be embraced or abandoned based upon meager political allegiances. This is a very good piece of filmmaking; the story is told briskly with some powerful visuals and it has a pair of great performances by Demián Bichir and José Julián. Bichir plays the father and he is a weathered but decent man doing the best he can in a difficult situation. The story sends him through dramatic highs and lows but the major arc of the story belongs to the son played by José Julián. His character is stuck between his father’s life of labor and the sense of privilege and entitlement that pop culture espouses. The way the story casts the relationship between Bichir and Julián’s characters is heartwarming but in an authentic way and the lessons that the young man must learn about life and about his father are tough but genuine. What A Better Life does by its end is to reimagine the immigrant story, which is one of the essential American narratives, and in the process offer a contemporary vision of those on their way in and what that means for those of us who are already here.

7. Page One: Inside the New York Times

Directed by: Andrew Rosi

Premise: A documentary about the New York Times, examining the decline of the newspaper industry and the relationship between old and new media.

Why It Made the List: Timing is crucial in the making of certain kinds of documentaries and the filmmakers of Page One benefit from being in the right place at the right time. This documentary is ostensibly an examination of the way in which the Times conducts its business but the filmmakers find themselves making this documentary at a moment in which the entire media landscape is being uprooted and long established institutions such as the New York Times face an uncertain future. As a result, Page One is an important time capsule of a period of upheaval in the news industry and for that reason alone this is an important film. But it is also a well-made, exciting, dramatic, and insightful piece of filmmaking. Page One primarily follows columnist David Carr, who is a staunch defender of the Times and of traditional media. Carr is an effective figure to organize the picture around because he possesses a sharp intellect and an equally adept wit and because he is a realist who comes to recognize the inevitably of the changes to the news industry while also warning of the potential compromises in quality that could result from a decentralized news culture. What this documentary captures is an important moment not only for the employees and readers of the New York Times but for the culture as a whole. As goes the Times, so goes the rest of the traditional news industry and Page One is able to raise many of the relevant questions about what that means for all of us.

8. 50/50

Directed by: Jonathan Levine

Premise: A young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) discovers he has a rare kind of cancer.

Why It Made the List: Cancer is one of the most obnoxious Hollywood plot devices because filmmakers often use the disease as a cheap hook to gain audience sympathy or resolve a relationship by killing off a character and actors in these films are often encouraged to indulge in a lot of ostentatious sentimentality. That tendency by Hollywood filmmakers to exploit cancer makes 50/50 all the more exceptional. Rather than a melodrama, this film exists somewhere between a dark comedy and a coming of age piece as 50/50 finds humor in the patient’s experience after his diagnosis and through his treatment. There is a lot of humor in 50/50 but it is never done as a way that cheapens the severity of the illness or trivializes the character’s struggle with it. In fact, the humor of 50/50 is razor sharp, and it is no surprise that many of the supporting characters occasionally get cut by it. But that sharpness cuts another way too, as the film slices through characteristic Hollywood sentimentality. By doing that, 50/50 is able to get at the real issue facing its patient; this isn’t a film about dying, it is film about living. What bothers the main character is not that he might die but the randomness by which that death sentence is meted out. 50/50 is ultimately about the main character acknowledging what is within his control and taking responsibility for it and that pushes this film beyond just a story about illness and turns it into a film about how people choose to spend the time that they have and ultimately enhance their appreciation for life.

9. Hugo

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Premise: Set in Paris in the 1930s, an orphan (Asa Butterfield) living in a train station discovers that the owner of a toy shop may be a famous filmmaker.

Why It Made the List: Hugo was one of the most pleasant cinematic surprises of 2011. Although it is directed by Martin Scorsese, it does not look like any other film Scorsese has made; it is whimsical and romantic, it is told from the point of view of child characters, and it has a wide-eyed wonder about it. This film is also a different for Scorsese in its use of technology. Hugo was released theatrically in 3-D and although 3-D has largely been an oversold gimmick, the effect works in Hugo. It works in part because it is used effectively, with objects coming off the screen or allowing greater depth of field, but also because it emphasizes cinema as a magic trick. Hugo short hands the history of cinema, reminding the audience of the form’s roots as a sideshow attraction, and the 3-D effect complements the love and appreciation that the story has for the marriage of stagecraft and technology that cinema embodies. The mechanical qualities of Hugo are balanced by its humanistic sensibilities, found in in the film’s excellent performances. Young actors Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz lead the cast and the pair does a great job. Also impressive is Ben Kingsley as a filmmaker-turned-shopkeeper. The combination of the technical filmmaking craft and organic human qualities makes Hugo an impressive synthesis of and meditation on what filmmaking can and should be. Whether emboldened by the prospect of making family film, inspired by the new filmmaking technology, or enchanted by the subject matter, Scorsese has made Hugo his best film in over a decade.

10. Warrior

Directed by: Gavin O’Connor

Premise: A pair of brothers, one a school teacher (Joel Edgerton) and the other an Iraq war veteran (Tom Hardy), enter a mixed martial arts tournament in order to secure their financial futures.

Why It Made the List: Warrior is the best fight film since Rocky Balboa hung up his gloves. That comparison is apt because this film has a lot in common with the best elements of the Rocky pictures; most importantly, the filmmakers understand that the fighting is not an end in itself but a way to dramatize the struggles that each man has to overcome. This is a picture about men and their families, the struggle to survive, and reconciliation. Characters in fight films, whether it is a low budget picture like 1992’s Gladiator or a high profile Oscar winner like Raging Bull, tend to fit into familiar categories and Warrior does follow those established patterns, such as the drunkard trainer seeking redemption played by Nick Nolte or the dutiful fighter’s wife played by Jennifer Morrison. But unlike many other fight films, Warrior has some very strong performances at the center of it. Joel Edgerton plays a science teacher who is forced back into the ring in order to make ends meet and Edgerton has the unique position of playing a civilized man in an uncivilized sport. Tom Hardy is also impressive as the troubled ex-Marine; he could simply be a difficult tough guy but there are moments that reveal deeper issues, such as his recalcitrance toward any kind of adulation. Of course the main attraction of a fight film is the fights themselves and Warrior’s scenes of combat are brutal pieces of showmanship. The cinematography and sound pick up on the violence of mixed martial arts but they also capture the spectacle inherent when men come to blows. Warrior’s combination of fights and human drama might strike some viewers as reminiscent of other films (including some that have won Oscars) but few have done it this well.

Honorable Mentions

What follows are films that were either runners up to the Top 10 list or other pictures that came out in 2011 that are worth mentioning.

13 Assassins – Takashi Miike’s remake of the 1963 film applied a furious and gritty approach to the samurai film.

The Adjustment Bureau – One of the better adaptations of a Philip K. Dick story and a thoughtful tale about freewill with a very believable love story between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.

Another Earth – A thoughtful meditation on guilt and hope grounded by a pair of strong performances by Brit Marling and William Mapother.

The Beaver – This overlooked film about a man coping with depression mixes humor and drama very effectively and has a great performance by Mel Gibson.

Beginners – A story about people encountering disruptions and new beginnings in their life has some wonderful character work and is one of the most interesting story constructions as it shifts effectively back and forth through the timeline of events.

Black Death – One of several impressive sword and shield films released this year.

Bridesmaids – Although it’s a little overwrought, this was one of the funniest films of 2011.

Cinema Verite – This made-for-HBO film about the first reality television program raises a lot of relevant issues about documentary filmmaking ethics and celebrity culture.

The Conspirator – An impressive courtroom drama that manages to make effective connections between the trial of Mary Surrat and contemporary issues about internment and counter terrorism.

The Descendants – Alexander Payne’s latest film has a great pair of performance by George Clooney and Shailene Woodley although the script is too problematic to get it into the top ten.

Drive – This mix of art house and exploitation cinema is beautifully shot and well-acted but too narratively problematic.

Drive Angry 3-D – A guilty pleasure that was a throwback to the exploitation films, road pictures, and occult cinema of the 1960s and 70s.

Everything Must Go – This adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story about a relapsed alcoholic is smart and sensitive with Will Ferrell demonstrating (or maybe mocking us?) that he can act if he really wants to.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – David Fincher’s adaptation of the Stieg Larsson’s novel was an impressive thriller and had a very good performance by Rooney Mara.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – Morgan Spurlock’s latest documentary was a fun and informative piece of product placement.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – The Harry Potter series wrapped up in a satisfying finale.

Hesher – A kooky story with some very good character acting by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, and Rainn Wilson.

The Ides of March – A political thriller with some very good performances by Ryan Gosling and George Clooney.

Last Night – A well-acted character piece about a married couple who each encounter temptations in a night spent apart.

Life in a Day – This film strived for the same kind of broad statement about life as Terrence Malicks’ The Tree of Life and although both films suffer from a lack of focus, Life in a Day managed to do in ninety minutes what The Tree of Life took two and a half hours.

Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen’s latest was an interesting if flawed examination of nostalgia.

Miral – This controversial film was a unique take on the Jewish-Palestinian conflict that raised a lot of interesting and valuable insights.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – In a year that was full of sequels, this was a fresh take on the Mission: Impossible series.

Moneyball – An impressive story about Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane and his attempts to put together a winning team with the help of a statistician.

My Week With Marilyn – More notable for Michelle Williams performance than anything else, this was nevertheless a well-made story about fantasy and reality.

Paul – An ode to fanboys and the movies they love with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at their best.

Pearl Jam Twenty – One of the best music documentaries ever made.

Red State – This was one of the best and most mature films Kevin Smith has ever made and it has chilling performance by Michael Parks.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes – This reboot of the Planet of the Apes series is a terrific action film that is consistent with the best qualities of the original series.

Sarah’s Key – This story about the internment of Jews in World War II-era France had a very smart script and a very good performance by Kristin Scott Thomas.

Super – An interesting take on the super hero film, doing successfully what 2010’s Kick-Ass attempted.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – One of the most intelligent spy films to come along in quite some time.

Tree of Life – Terrence Malick’s picture was an ambitious attempt to get at the meaning of life by crosscutting macroscopic and microscopic events. Although it is ultimately too amorphous and directionless, it is an ambitious film.

Win-Win – A well-acted, intelligently written, and richly complex story about ethical dilemmas.

X-Men: First Class – The best comic book film of the year was a thoughtful story about moral choices.

Young Adult – A fascinating character study with a great performance by Charlize Theron.

Good Buzz List

These are films that were released in 2011 and have strong word of mouth, and in some cases award nominations, but Nathan was unable to see them in time for the year end summary, usually because they did not open here.

In the Land of Milk and Honey – Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut about the Bosnian civil war was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Feature Film.

Le Havre – A story about a young African refugee and an elder Frenchman has won or been nominated in nearly every major award ceremony.

Like Crazy – A love story about British and American college students that has been receiving high praise for the performances by Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones.

Martha Marcy May Marlene – This film about a woman recovering from her experiences in a cult has been recognized by a number of critics groups and nominated for Independent Spirit Awards.

Pariah – The performance by Adepero Oduye as a transgender African American woman has received a lot of praise.

A Separation – This Iranian film about a married couple’s strained relationship has been nominated and won many awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and been named among the best pictures of the year by several film critics.

The Skin I Live In – Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s latest picture about a mad plastic surgeon has been nominated for a number of awards.

Take Shelter – Michael Shannon’s performance as a man suffering from apocalyptic visions has received a lot of praise from critics and awards groups.

We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lynne Ramsay won in the best director category at the British Film Institute Awards and Tilda Swinton’s performance has received a lot of praise.

Great Performances

This is a list of some of the great performances in 2011, although not all of them were in great movies.

50/50 – Joseph Gordon Levitt is very good in this film as a cancer patient, as is Anna Kendrick as his counselor.

Another Earth – A thoughtful meditation on guilt and hope grounded by a pair of strong performances by Brit Marling and William Mapother.

The Artist – Jean Dujardin and Uggie the Dog are great in this film.

The Beaver – Mel Gibson is very good in this film as are Anton Yelchin and Jodie Foster.

A Better Life – This gritty story about an illegal immigrant has a pair of great performances by Demián Bichir and José Julián.

Beginners – Ewan McGreggor, Christopher Plummer, and Mélanie Laurent are very good as people people encountering disruptions and new beginnings in their lives.

Bridesmaids – Kristen Wiig is great in the film and the rest of the female cast are very good as well.

The Debt – This otherwise average spy thriller has a notable performance by Jesper Christiansen as a Nazi war criminal.

The Descendants –George Clooney and Shailene Woodley’s performances make this film.

The Devil’s Double – Dominic Cooper is great playing both Uday Hussein and his body double.

Drive – Ryan Gossling is the best thing in this highly overrated film.

Fright Night – This remake of the 1985 film has a fun performance by Colin Farrell as the vampire next door.

The Help – A highly problematic film with some very good performances by Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, and Sissy Spacek.

Hesher – A kooky story with some very good character acting by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, and Rainn Wilson.

The Iron Lady – Meryl Streep gives a great performance as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, although the film itself is mediocre.

Margin Call – Jeremy Irons is great as the head of a major bank on the verge of collapse. Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, and Kevin Spacey also make important contributions.

Mildred Pierce – Kate Winslet is very good in the title role.

My Week With Marilyn – Michelle Williams performance is the standout quality of this film, although Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh also deserve recognition.

The Other Woman – Natalie Portman is very good in this domestic drama.

Our Idiot Brother – Paul Rudd gives a very strong performance as an idealist who drives his family crazy.

Red State – Michael Parks gives one of the most frightening performances of the year as a religious zealot and John Goodman co-stars as a ATF agent both literally and figuratively caught in the crossfire.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Andy Serkis’ performance as Ceasar the chimpanzee is the most recent and best case for the artistic integrity of motion capture performances.

Sarah’s Key – This story about the internment of Jews in World War II-era France had a very good performance by Kristin Scott Thomas.

Shame –Michael Fassbender gives a fearless performance as a sex addict and Carey Mulligan is also impressive as his suicidal sister.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Gary Oldman gives a very understated but precise performance as a veteran of the British intelligence service.

Warrior – Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, and Nick Nolte are great, taking on masculinity and family issues in one of the year’s best films.

Win-Win – Paul Giamatti and Alex Shaffer are terrific in this film and Amy Ryan and Melanie Lynskey also provide effective supporting performances.

X-Men: First Class – Michael Fassbender plays the young version of Magneto and he makes what might be silly into a serious story about morality.

Young Adult – The entire film rides on Charlize Theron’s performance and she makes it work while Patton Oswalt provides a fine supporting contribution.

Bottom 10 Films of 2011

What follows are the very bottom of the cinematic heap for 2011.

1. Jack and Jill

Directed by: Dennis Dugan

Premise: The oafish sister of a middle aged man (Adam Sandler) comes to visit for the holidays.

Why It Made the List: Although there were a lot of really awful films released in 2011, Jack and Jill represents the very bottom in a deep barrel. Other pictures that were similarly bad, like the sexist Sucker Punch, the disingenuous Mr. Popper’s Penguins, or the crass Your Highness, cannot touch Jack and Jill because, for the most part, the filmmakers behind those pictures at least appeared to try and make a legitimate film but failed. Jack and Jill does not look like a film. It doesn’t even look like a Saturday Night Live skit. Jack and Jill is a commercial break disguised as a motion picture. The film is bookended by advertisements and in between the viewer is treated to Adam Sandler, in a dress, hawking products placed none-too-subtly. Even though this year has seen a lot of pictures that were clearly motivated by commercial interests none of them showed such a contempt for the audience as Jack and Jill. This film reveals Adam Sandler for what he is: a hack who will intentionally produce terrible films to make a quick profit.

2. Your Highness

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Premise: A parody of fantasy movies. A heroic prince (James Franco) quests to rescue his bride-to-be (Zooey Deschanel) while his dim-witted brother (Danny McBride) tags along.

Why It Made the List: Your Highness is intended to parody the fantasy genre but it does not appear as though anyone involved actually bothered to watch any of these films. The humor of Your Highness consists of nothing more than dropping foul language into the dialogue. The film is a loser, the performers involved know it, and James Franco, Natalie Portman, and Zooey Deschanel sleep walk through their roles, presumably dreaming of the paychecks that they netted for being in this film. Hopefully they use that money to fund the greatest independent feature of all time because these Oscar-nominated performers have made the equivalent of a Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer parody-pic like Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Disaster Movie.

3. The Hangover Part II

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Premise: A sequel to the 2009 film. The original cast reunites in Bangkok the day before one of them gets married and once again the group finds themselves trying to recall what happened the night before.

Why It Made the List: The most accurate assessment of The Hangover Part II was made by Richard Roeper, who observed that viewing this film is like laughing at a great joke and then someone telling the same joke right after that. That is exactly what this films is: the same joke, only louder and not as funny. And what was bad or troublesome about the first Hangover is amplified here. Both Hangover films are about being a chauvinistic pig and getting away with it, but this second film has none of the charm or originality of the first film while it makes a deliberate attempt to turn sexism, homophobia, and racism into comic virtues. This is an ugly movie whose filmmakers cynically think the audience is too stupid to realize they are being fed a recycled script.

4. Priest

Directed by: Scott Charles Stewart

Premise: Set in a post-apocalyptic world, humans live in enclosed cities controlled by a denominationally unspecified church following a war between humans and vampires. When a family is massacred by the vampires, a priestly warrior (Paul Bettany) disobeys the church leadership and goes on a rescue mission.

Why It Made the List: This year had plenty of mediocre, disappointing, or outright bad fantasy and comic book films but Priest is the worst. Priest is a third and fourth generation copy of visuals and techniques from genre classics like Aliens, The Matrix, and Blade Runner and perhaps to conceal how derivative it is, Priest lights its settings as darkly as possible and edits its scenes so sloppily that the action is impossible to follow. The incompetent filmmaking is matched by an impossibly convoluted script. Priest introduces characters or ideas in one scene and then sends its story to another location and sets up another character or idea and then runs off to do it again, but never brings anything together. This film doesn’t even manage to be a guilty pleasure. It is just a bore.

5. Sleeping Beauty

Directed by: Julia Leigh

Premise: A cash strapped college student (Emily Browning) finds employment with a high class sex business in which she is anesthetized for the pleasure of clients.

Why It Made the List: Sleeping Beauty views like something a first-year film student would make. It is such an ill-conceived, under written, vacuous, and pretentious piece of nonsense that it is a stretch to even call this a motion picture. Almost the entire film is composed of master shots and the subjects within these shots barely move. The result is a cold, static, emotionless, and above all boring film. Even trying to appreciate Sleeping Beauty in terms of art house values is fruitless. What the film has to say about men, women, money, and sex isn’t original and even interesting and its handling of the topic is as clumsy and amateurish as its filmmaking.

6. Bad Teacher

Directed by: Jake Kasdan

Premise: An outrageously irresponsible woman (Cameron Diaz) takes a job as an elementary school teacher. Her careless demeanor puts her into conflict with the rest of the staff.

Why It Made the List: The film Bridesmaids was unfairly accused of being a knock off of The Hangover (which it isn’t) but Bad Teacher is The Hangover‘s true feminine equivalent. Like that film, Bad Teacher focuses on a lead character that is superficial and unsympathetic and her bad behavior is the gag that is supposed to sustain the film. Of course this sets up Bad Teacher with an inherent problem: for the story to sustain its comedy the character has to change for the better but to make that change, the character loses the very quality that makes her interesting to watch. This tension starves Bad Teacher of its humor and the picture shows no imagination and fails even as a bawdy comedy. It isn’t funny or even shocking, just stupid.

7. Road to Nowhere

Directed by: Monte Hellman

Premise: A director making a drama based on an unsolved crime finds that his leading lady has links to the case.

Why It Made the List: Films attempting to be meta-textual, self-reflexive, or just clever were common in 2011, providing some of the year’s best films but also some of the worst. Road to Nowhere attempts to merge the crime stories of the Coen Brothers with the unsettling absurdities of David Lynch and this comes to an incomprehensible mess, with neither the Coen’s wit and intelligence nor Lynch’s artfulness. This film is impossible for the viewer to follow but the story is so mishandled and the ideas are so garbled that it is unclear if the filmmakers can follow it either. When a film manages to foul up its execution so thoroughly that The Human Centipede 2 looks brilliant by comparison, it’s a sign that something has gone terribly wrong.

8. Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Directed by: Mark Waters

Premise: Based on the book by Richard and Florence Atwater. A New York real estate dealer (Jim Carrey) receives a crate of live penguins. As he tries to take care of the animals, he finds his lifestyle changing.

Why It Made the List: There were a few lousy family films released in 2011 like The Smurfs and Cars 2 but Mr. Popper’s Penguins is rotten to the core because of some awful ideas at the center of it. The story follows the familiar format of a neglectful parent who realizes that there is more to life than work and learns to value his family. But Mr. Popper decides that the penguins are actually more important than his children. This movie also suggests that divorced parents will get back together just as soon as the father shows compassion to a flightless bird. This kind of pernicious wish fulfillment encourages false hope in the children who are likely to see this film and that makes Mr. Popper’s Penguins not just a poor family film but also a dishonest one.

9. 30 Minutes or Less

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Premise: A pizza deliveryman (Jesse Eisenberg) is captured by a pair of dimwitted criminals who strap a bomb on him to force him to rob a bank.

Why It Made the List: 30 Minutes or Less is one of the more aptly titled films of the year. Although 30 Minutes or Less only runs eighty-three minutes, the story runs out of momentum after the first half hour and the remainer of the picture is a series of pointless errands and subplots. The rapid cutting between these subplots only adds to the confusion and the film is progressively more frustrating to watch. Aside from all of the script problems, 30 Minutes or Less is also largely miscast with Jesse Eisenberg, the lead of The Social Network, cast as a pizza delivery man. Whatever comic potential is left over from the slapdash script and the miscasting is sucked up by Danny McBride’s ever obnoxious shtick.

10. Sucker Punch

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Premise: A young woman (Emily Browning) is institutionalized when her stepfather frames her for murder. In order to survive inside the institution, she hallucinates that she is a sex worker in a brothel who copes with the horrors of her lot by dreaming that she and her fellow prisoners are a squad of superheroes on life and death missions.

Why It Made the List: Director Zack Snyder’s technical faculty is beyond dispute but Sucker Punch proves that he has no other filmmaking credentials. This film is a disaster and Sucker Punch stands as the prime example in the recent trend of Hollywood spectacles trying to cover for a lack of story by piling on special effects, hyperactive editing, and other distractions. Despite the fact that the film is overflowing with sexuality and violence, Sucker Punch is a drag to watch and all the slow motion combat, short skirts, and explosions cannot compensate for how vacuous the film is. But the last straw is that this film purports to be some kind of statement on women’s empowerment. It isn’t. Sucker Punch is PG-13 pornography that manages to be lazier and stupider than Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Trends of the Year

Men Behaving Badly/Adult Adolescence

Films About Film

Mediocre (or Worse) Sci-Fi/Fantasy Films

Low Budget (But Well Made) Sword and Shield Films

Adaptations of Children’s Programs

Recession Cinema

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