Critic's Choice: Best of 2011 So Far
Six months in, how is the movie year shaping up for you? Here are the best memories from the class of 2011 to date – and a few of the not-so-good too…
Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com
The Best of the Year so Far
127 Hours
James Franco, stuck between a rock and a hard place in this true story dynamic nail-biter
- Directed by: Danny Boyle
- Starring: James Franco, Kate Mara, Clemence Poesy
- DVD Release: Out Now
- Read the review
True Grit
The Coens' eloquent western picaresque.
- Directed by: The Coen Brothers
- Starring: Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld
- DVD Release: Out Now
- Read the review
13 Assassins
Takashi Miike's brilliantly choreographed samurai bloodbath.
- Directed by: Takashi Miike
- Starring: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Goro Inagaki
- DVD Release: 5th September
- Read the review
Source Code
Murder on the Chicago Express: Jake Gyllenhaal reruns the possibilities.
- Directed by: Duncan Jones
- Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
- DVD Release: 15th August
- Read the review
Submarine
The Life Aquatic with Oliver Tate
- Directed by: Richard Ayoade
- Starring: Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige, Craig Roberts
- DVD Release: 1st August
- Read the review
Blue Valentine
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams do a double take on their marriage.
- Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
- Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka
- DVD Release: Out now
- Read the review
Win Win
Low-key charmer with Paul Giamatti as a smalltown lawyer who tries to pull a fast one but can't bring himself to get away with it.
- Directed by: Thomas McCarthy
- Starring: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan
- DVD Release: TBC
- Read the review
Armadillo
Searingly cinematic document of the Afghan war.
- Directed by: Janus Metz Pedersen
- DVD Release: Out now
- Read the review
And some pleasant Surprises...
Also Worth a Mention
Best Performance in a Bad Movie
- - Javier Bardem, terminally strong in Biutiful
- - David Andrews puts Naomi Watts through hell as Scooter Libby, Fair Game
- - Bruno Ganz shows Liam Neeson how it's done, Unknown
- - Geoffrey Rush makes Johnny Depp look like a landlubber in Pirates 4: On Stranger Tides
- - Greta Gerwig subverts the dreary rom-com, No Strings Attached
Best Baddie
- - Hector Hammond: Peter Sarsgaard wipes the floor with Green Lantern
- - The Accountant: William Fichtner on a mission from Satan in Drive Angry 3D
- - Lily: Mila Kunis in leg warmers, Black Swan
- - Smurf: Jackie Weaver as the godmother, Animal Kingdom
- - Elizabeth Halsey: Cameron Diaz gets nasty, Bad Teacher
Strangest Casting
- - Nicole Kidman slumming with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, Just Go With It
- - Lucas Haas, not everyone's idea of a medieval priest in Red Riding Hood
- - Seth Rogen, superhero, The Green Hornet
- - Vincent Gallo, Taliban fighter, Essential Killing
- - Derek Jacobi, playing Derek Jacobi in Hereafter
Unmissable Natalie Portman
Ms P was everywhere: winning the Oscar for Black Swan, getting naked with Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached, camping it up in Your Highness, and falling for a Norse God in Thor. She was even in the news when American right-wingers took potshots at her for being pregnant and unwed.
