The Top 35 Films I Saw In 2011 (35-11)
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
Whew, long time no blog. Sometimes I feel like I’m just biting more than I’m willing or have time to chew with this thing, but I like having Vikings and Beekeepers in existence as it gives me the opportunity to write about the things I love. In 2011 I decided to add “film essays” to my blogging resumé and I figured it was worthy of a year-end list as much as the (forthcoming) music list was. Unfortunately, with the rate I watch current cinema, it wasn’t worth it for me to discuss my favorite films of 2011. I’ve seen some, but not enough to put together a comprehensive solid list. What I figured I could do, however, was talk about the films I did see. And some of these are doozies. Here are the 35 best non-2011 films I saw in 2011. Why didn’t I include films from 2011? I didn’t want to, that’s why!
Before I get to the list itself, here are some of the films I saw this year that didn’t crack my list. Some of them are actually very good. Some of them were pretty disappointing. This list is in no order whatsoever.
Little Big Man (dir. Arthur Penn, 1970); Clerks (dir. Kevin Smith, 1994); Where The Wild Things Are (dir. Spike Jonze, 2009); Where The Buffalo Roam (dir. Art Linson, 1980); Encounters At The End Of The World (dir. Werner Herzog, 2007); Bound For Glory (dir. Hal Ashby, 1976); Mother (dir. Albert Brooks, 1996); Machete (dir. Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez, 2010); Revenge Of The Nerds (dir. Jeff Kanew, 1984); The Getaway (dir. Sam Peckinoah, 1972); North By Northwest (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1959); Drunken Angel (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1948); The Hit (dir. Stephen Frears, 1984); The Prestige (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2006); Serpico (dir. Sidney Lumet, 1973); Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (dir. David Lynch, 1992); Midnight Cowboy (dir. John Schlesigner, 1969); The Kids Are Alright (dir. Lisa Cholodenko, 2010); Rashomon (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1950); Fast Times At Ridgemont High (dir. Amy Heckerling, 1982); Burden Of Dreams (dir. Les Blank, 1982); Terms of Endearment (dir. James L. Brooks, 1983); Defending Your Life (dir. Albert Brooks, 1991); The Ballad of Cable Hogue (dir. Sam Peckinpah, 1970); Cyrus (dir. Jay and Mark Duplass, 2010); and, of course, Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call: New Orleans (dir. Werner Herzog, 2009), a film I would have loved to include on this list, but couldn’t quite justify. Anyway, you should check it out in all its ridiculous glory.
Anyway, on to the top 35.