The Year in Review- 2011

It was the year that Brad Pitt played baseball and drifted through Terry Malick's dream world. George Clooney hung out in Hawaii, Marvel made their intentions clear, and Emma Stone's career got some serious help. Meryl Streep made more Oscar history, Steven Spielberg staged more war, and we all entered the Octagon. Here are the ten best films for 2011.

1. "The Tree of Life"(2011) Terrence Malick is one of the most polarizing filmmakers in the world, and I'm not going to pretend that his abstract(often) wordless wonderland will appeal to everybody. However, in an age of excessive superhero franchising, we must not ignore an artist that takes chances and attempts to push the medium forward. Malick employs virtuoso cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki to achieve the hypnotic visual splendor that previously inspired awe in 2005's "The New World". Brad Pitt stars in the(mostly) 1950s-set story as a disciplinarian dad in the deep South, while Sean Penn appears in the present day to recall a less-than idyllic childhood. To reveal more would rob adventurous viewers of a truly original and transcendent trip through time and space that earns comparisons to(dare I say) Stanley Kubrick's "2001".

2. "Moneyball"(2011) Brad Pitt got better with age, as further evidenced by this smart sports drama that documents the improbable MLB success of the 2002 Oakland Athletics. After drifting through Terrence Malick's dream-world, Brad introduced Sabermetrics to baseball as the A's general manager Billy Beane. His innovative analytical approach to America's favorite pasttime sends the lowest-paid team in the league on a record-setting twenty-game winning streak to conclude a season that saw them match the all-mighty NY Yankees. Director Bennett Miller finds more action in the front office than on the field, thanks to a sharp Steven Zaillian-Aaron Sorkin screenplay and a supporting roster that includes Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

3. "Captain America: The First Avenger"(2011) Marvel knows what they're doing. Director Joe Johnston("Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", "The Rocketeer") brings a pleasingly old-school sensibility to a character created in 1941 that, until recently, hasn't had the same pop culture presence as Batman and Superman. Chris Evans was well-cast as Steve Rodgers, the skinny Brooklyn kid turned WWII ass-kicker that clashes with Hugo Weaving's Nazi villain Red Skull. "The First Avenger" was another successful debut/origin story and one of the building blocks, along with "Thor"(released just two months earlier), for the Marvel Cinematic Universe- the decade's biggest blockbuster brand.

4. "The Descendants"(2011) George Clooney is terrific as a soon-to-be widower with two difficult daughters(Shailene Woodley is particularly good) in Alexander Payne's high-quality dramady. Hawaii was a unique setting for an emotionally-complex tale of love and loss, and the Oscar-winning screenplay, based on a 2007 novel, contains many humorous insights into insulated island life. It had been a long seven years since the "Election" writer-director's most celebrated effort "Sideways". "The Descendants" was worth the wait. Robert Forster, Beau Bridges, Amara Miller, Matthew Lillard, and Judy Greer costar.

5. "The Help"(2011) Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, Cicely Tyson, Mary Steenburgen. Can you name a movie with a greater group of women? Writer-director Tate Taylor's ace adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel explores the lives and struggles of black domestic workers in 1960s Jackson Mississippi(maids, to be exact). "The Help" was a major box office success, in addition to it's positive critical reception. Octavia("eat...my...shit.") Spencer was rightly rewarded with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

6. "The Iron Lady"(2011) Meryl Streep had to wait 19 years for her second Best Actress Oscar, and third overall(the first two were for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Sophie's Choice") for this appropriately-titled biopic that could just as easily be used to describe Streep herself. Margaret Thatcher was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th Century, and the first woman to hold the office. Her reign from 1979-1990 was characterized by steely uncompromising policies which seemed to draw an equal amount of praise and scorn. Streep perfectly captures this divisive figure as we're taken from Thatcher's glory days to her reclusive final years(dementia forced her from public view in the 2000s) with a dazzlingly diverse display of her unrivalled talents.

7. "War Horse"(2011) I think we take Steven Spielberg for granted. The GOAT directed TWO quality films, for Christmas 2011(the other was the animated "Tintin") that I hope you eventually got around to. There's echoes of "E.T." in this classy adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel, about the unbreakable bond between a British teen(Jeremy Irvine) and a bay Irish Hunter. After realizing that World War I had never received his full attention, Spielberg promptly changed that in rural England with 5,800 extras and 300 horses. This is grand, gloriously-old-fashioned filmmaking(CGI is used sparingly) that doesn't look or feel like "Saving Private Ryan". Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is right there with John Williams as a key Spielberg collaborator.

8. "The Artist"(2011) This lively, entertaining love letter to the silent-film era seems to have already joined "Crash" and "Shakespeare in Love" on the list of unpopular Oscar recipients. That's a shame, because open-minded viewers won't find anything to dislike in it's black-and-white 100-minute runtime. Best Actor Jean Dujardin is a dashing star in late 1920s Hollywood, until "talkies" irreversibly change the industry(and his career fortunes) at the end of the decade. Berenice Bejo is delightful as his beautiful rival and eventual sound partner. "The Artist" is a film about history that managed to make some- Writer-director Michel Hazanavicius made the only French-produced Best Picture winner, and the most celebrated silent movie since 1927's "Wings".

9. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"(2011) Is Lisbeth Salander the greatest female film character of the 2010s? Rooney Mara makes a strong impression as the damaged goth-girl/anti-heroine hacker at the center of David Fincher's stylish adaptation of Stieg Larrson's 2005 novel. Daniel Craig takes a break from Bond as a down-and-out journalist in over his head in a wintry Swedish labyrinthe. The complex mystery plot may take a second viewing to fully digest, but Mara's magnetism and Fincher's clinical direction will keep you seated for all 158 minutes.

10. "Warrior"(2011) The rise of mixed martial arts has been one of the most compelling sports stories of the early 21st Century. Once considered a barbaric sideshow, it's participants now enjoy a level of fame and prestige that was unfathomable in the 1990s. It was about time that Hollywood got clued in on the skull-crushing phenomenon, and "Miracle" director Gavin O'Connor can say he made the first serious MMA movie. Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are both gritty and believable as battling brothers, as is wrestling legend Kurt Angle as a Russian villain. A 70 year old Nick Nolte nearly steals the film as the colorfully-crusty patriarch.

Honorable Mentions- "The Dilemma"(2011) Vince Vaughn and Winona Ryder vibrate this Ron Howard romcom. "The Lincoln Lawyer"(2011) Mathew McConaughey makes a comeback. "Rango"(2011) Johnny Depp's green chameleon was the Best Animated Feature. "Fast Five"(2011) The Rock joins Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, the box office explodes. "Bridesmaids"(2011) Kristen Wiig is hilarious in the year's hottest comedy. "Midnight in Paris"(2011) Woody Allen wins his third Original Screenplay Oscar.

"Thor"(2011) Chris Hemsworth wields his mighty hammer. "Kung Fu Panda 2"(2008) Po and the gang get a sequel. "Mr. Popper's Penguins"(2011) Jim Carrey in a jolly adaptation of the 1938 children's book. "X-Men: First Class"(2011) Matthew Vaughn's 1962-set prequel is among the best "X" movies. "Bernie"(2011) Jack Black and Richard Linklater reunite. "Super 8"(2011) J.J. Abrams channels '80s Spielberg. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"(2011) Johnny Depp's fourth voyage as Captain Jack Sparrow. "Beginners"(2011) Christopher Plummer comes out for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. "Crazy, Stupid, Love"(2011) You may love this Ryan Gosling-Emma Stone romcom. "The Smurfs"(2011) The Belgian blue group invades the big screen. "Rampart"(2011) Woody Harrelson is a wayward California cop.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"(2011) Andy Serkis' Caesar leads a new "Apes" series. "Colombiana"(2011) Zoe Saldana should be more famous. "One Day"(2011) Hang out in London with Anne Hathaway. "Contagion"(2011) Steve Soderbergh predicts the pandemic. "Drive"(2011) The year's #1 film according to Empire magazine. "Shame"(2011) Michael Fassbender is a sex addict. "Killer Joe"(2011) is played by Matthew McConaughey in William Friedkin's crazy comic thriller. "The Thing"(2011) This prequel can be paired with John Carpenter's 1982 classic. "Margin Call"(2011) J.C. Chandor's directorial debut details the '08 financial crisis. "The Rum Diary"(2011) Johnny Depp meets Amber Heard. "The Ides of March"(2011) George Clooney campaigns with Ryan Gosling. "We Have to Talk About Kevin"(2011) We have to talk about Tilda Swinton.

"My Week with Marilyn"(2011) Michelle Williams impresses as the immortal Monroe. "J Edgar"(2011) Clint Eastwood directs Leonardo DiCaprio as the FBI's intensely-focused founder. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I"(2011) Bella gives birth. "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol"(2011) Tom Cruise's fourth mission. "We Bought a Zoo"(2011) Cameron Crowe's last good movie stars Matt Damon and Scarlet Johansson. "Hugo"(2011) Martin Scorsese makes a classy kids movie. "Young Adult"(2011) Charlize Theron can't get her shit together. "Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy"(2011) Gary Oldman gets his first Oscar nomination. "Albert Nobbs"(2011) Glenn Close gets her sixth Oscar nomination. "The Adventures of Tintin"(2011) Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson join forces. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"(2011) Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Max von Sydow star in this 9/11 drama. "Carnage"(2011) Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and John C. Reilly in a Roman Polanski production.