My Top 10 Movies of 2011

As the year draws to a close, I feel compelled to look back, not only in terms of family and friends, but also in entertainment. Here are my ten favorite movies from this year. Keep in mind, however, that I am not a professional movie critic. I don’t look at a movie and have thoughts like “the cinematography exhibited here is wonderful” or “wow, look at the skill with which the set designer decided to place that blue cup there on the table instead of the more obvious red choice.”

In no particular order because it would be too hard to choose:

1. Real Steel (PG-13)

The only robot that could challenge my undying love for the Transformers series’ robots would be Atom, the über lovable sparring bot featured in this movie, released in November. Disappointingly, Hugh Jackman decided to lose his Australian accent for this film, but he made up for it with some marvelous virtual robot fighting scenes. The little boy is impressive in his debut as the clichéd long-lost son who inspires hope in his wistful father’s completely collapsed career.

2. Bridesmaids (R)

Released on May 13th, a chick-flick managed to make my list this year (Of course, I’m a chick so go figure). Now, I realize that the movie is not appropriate for many high-school students, but if you’re ever over in a shady not-really-a-friend’s house and they suggest you watch a movie like this your parents would kill you for watching, you should go for it. I promise you won’t regret it. A movie cast almost entirely made up of women normally ends up a little like that 2008 flop The Women, but this one uses the talents of its ensemble (including Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Maya Rudolph) so well that each actress is absolutely indispensable to the movie. Featuring some of the best comedy I’ve seen in a while (as a girl who hates Adam Sandler/Will Farrell movies, I realize this may not be true for some others), this movie definitely impressed me. OMG, those puppies are so cute!

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (PG-13)

Filled with unreal special effects and following close to the book’s plotline, this final installment in the franchise did not disappoint. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson all gave stellar performances, even though they were several years older than their characters at that point. Moving at a perfect pace, I can actually say that there were fewer slow moments in that movie than awkward conversations between characters I never wanted to see “get together.” (Interesting debate topic for you and your friends: who’s more awesome, Dumbledore or Gandalf?)

4. The Help (PG-13)

Before seeing this movie, my mom had been bothering me for several months to read the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I had no desire at all to read a novel set in a different time period, especially about a period in about which I had absolutely no interest in learning. I prepared myself to go sit in a dark theater and be bored to tears, but, to my surprise, that never actually happened. The movie was a mix of light comedy (chocolate pie, anyone?) and climactic drama. The story and characters delighted me to tears in a completely different way. Unfortunately for my mom, however, I still have zero desire to read the book.

5. Horrible Bosses (R)

I hate comedies that focus only on crude, inappropriate humor. This was exactly that…for the first thirty minutes at least. After that, though, the movie only improves. Jennifer Aniston is featured in a role so out of her comfort zone that the friends (who are not really into pop culture, obviously) I saw the movie with did not even recognize her. Jason Bateman, one of my favorite actors to begin with, did a fantastic job as the only sane individual performing in the movie.

6. Rio (PG)

I honestly don’t know how an animated movie was able to penetrate the supposedly impenetrable firewalls of this list. In fact, right after watching it, the only thought running through my head was how Jesse Eisenberg’s voice as the parrot made him sound like a stuck-up, arrogant, Harvard student who founded Facebook. Oh wait, that wasn’t the goal. But the colors and beautiful scenery (animated as it may have been) definitely impressed me, and Anne Hathaway’s voice as the beautiful and elusive female bird also stood out from the character, making the birds a perfect match for each other.

7. War Horse (PG-13)

The first scene of the movie pans the green, rolling hills of England. Set in the year before and the years during World War II, the cast of this movie definitely performed amazingly, and I’m saying this having recognized absolutely none of their names. Running at a perfect pace, Albert and his horse Joey manage to find each other even in the face of one of the world’s most devastating wars. Despite the inevitable happy ending, I thought the saddest movie I had seen all year deserved a place on this list. I’ll probably never look at barbed wire again the same way.

8. Water for Elephants (PG-13)

Robert Pattinson acting in a serious role? And you say he did an okay job of it? No way! Unfortunately, though, for myself, a pronounced Twilight hater, his performance was actually touching. I had read the book long before I had even heard that they were making a movie, so when I entered the theater I was a little fuzzy on the details. As far as I could tell, however, the book and the movie matched up really well.

9. The Tree of Life (PG-13)

With absolutely no trailers to indicate the story of this movie, I refused to spend my good money to see it in the theaters. Sitting at home, watching the movie, I realized what a mistake I had made. Now, I suppose that you really only need to see movies in the theaters if they contain fast-paced action sequences and special effects that wouldn’t really be the same anywhere else. Tree of Life does not fit into that category. It is a truly touching movie that tells the story of a man and his relationship with the people around him. Although it may have fell a bit short at the box office, it did not disappoint me one bit.

10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (PG-13)

As the conclusion (probably) to one of my favorite robot action series of all time, this movie clearly tried really hard to be a good movie. Shia LeBeouf, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime showed up to reprise their roles. The new love interest for our hero Sam Witwicky, Rosie Huntington Whiteley, doesn’t have the presence of Megan Fox, but she does make a go at bringing some depth to the film. Cheesy and predictable as the movie may have been, I really do think that it was a great movie to see.