Review Fix’s Top Ten Films of 2011

Ah, another year in film. Just like last year, there were some sequels, some flops and some big names attached to ultimately mediocre projects. Oh yeah, and Smurfs. But the bevy of experimental and artistic films and amazing documentaries changed us forever and actually managed to get us excited about what is on the horizon. The independent scene is crazier than ever, but there’s significant talent out there, just starting to blossom.

With that, Review Fix counts down its picks for the top ten movies of 2011.

10: Boy Wonder: Mike Morrissey’s “Boy Wonder” isn’t your average hero flick. Much like Jeff Lindsay’s “Dexter,” the lines of good and evil are carefully blurred. If the success of that franchise has proven anything, it’s that there’s a beauty in getting the audience to support a character who isn’t pure. This is where this film succeeds the most. Taking place in various locations all over Brooklyn, New York, the gritty scenery and dark tones of the street are a perfect visual aide to guide the story. A Marine Park native, Morrissey didn’t have to travel far to find the perfect locations for his film. Shot with precision, “Boy Wonder” doesn’t look or feel like an independent flick.

To read our review of Boy Wonder, click here.

9: Killing Bono: Directed by Nick Hamm, “Killing Bono,” tells the story, well, the side story, of U2’s rise to fame and introduces the lives of Neil and Ivan McCormick, two brothers who grew up with the one day iconic band in Dublin. At the same time U2 was forming its group, the McCormicks start a band of their own, both groups not realizing that one day U2 would outshine the other into world notoriety, while the other, well, you’ve probably never heard of the band, Shook Up.

To read our review of killing Bono, click here.

8: Martha Marcy May Marlene: Trapped inside the theatre and your own mind. That’s how Sean Durkin’s film “Martha Marcy May Marlene” makes you feel. Ultimately it’s a mixed blessing though, as the journey Elizabeth Olsen goes on, stuck in a cult before escaping and trying to put the pieces of her life back together, should make you feel uncomfortable, impatient and claustrophobic. Behind earthy, beautiful and deceptive cinematography by Jody Lee Lipes, you, like Olsen’s character, are almost brainwashed into loving this film.

To read our review of Martha Marcy May Marlene, click here.

7:Moneyball: In 2002, Billy Beane, Paul DePodesta and the Oakland A’s made baseball history after they took a small-market team at the bottom of the league payroll to the American League Division Series. Nearly a decade later, director Bennett Miller’s ultimate achievement in “Moneyball” isn’t nearly on the same scale, but it is still an enjoyable film based on Michael Lewis’ amazing book. Behind powerful cinematography and a story that is much more about the human spirit and perseverance than sabermetrics and the revolutionary ideas of Bill James, “Moneyball” has what every baseball movie should: heart.

To read our review of Moneyball, click here.

6: Dragonslayer: When you think of pro skate boarding, you think of Tony Hawk, ESPN, sponsors, cool boards, rocker chicks and smile-inducing hi-jinx. You don’t think of homelessness, drug-induced stupor and depression. But that’s exactly what you get in Tristan Patterson’s “Dragonslayer.” A tragic, yet heartfelt documentary of a renegade pro skater, Josh “Screech” Sandoval, it’s a film that will expose the underbelly of the sport. In spite of that, it ironically leaves you with a smile.

To read our review of Dragonslayer, click here.

5: Unfinished Spaces: Surreal, beautifully shot and intelligently composed, Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray’s “Unfinished Spaces” tells a story of five schools in Cuba, which compose the schools of art– one each for modern dance, the plastic arts, the dramatic arts, music and ballet, all built on a former golf course. Their fate is ironically mirrored the complex post-revolutionary history of the country.

Wonderfully sourced, the tale centers around the stories of the schools architects, Ricardo Porro [easily the most engaging and charismatic character in the film], Vittorio Garratti and Roberto Gottardi and how the revolution not only changed Cuba, but their vision for what their schools would ultimately turn into. A modern history lesson of the country, the previously unreleased footage of Fidel Castro [Hearing him discuss the importance of these schools, but continually fail to fund them adequately is the driving force behind the film.] adds another level of depth to an already brilliantly told story.

To read our review of Unfinished Spaces, click here.

4: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II: Potter mania is alive and well with the last Harry Potter Movie, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II,” finally released in theaters to great anticipation. Through the series, we’ve seen these actors grow from little kids to mature adults. As well, the movies have gotten darker and more mature too. However, after each movie, it was always easy to wonder if the new addition to the series would break the mold and lose the sustainability that has made it so special. But have no fear this time around. It’s safe to say “Deathly Hollows Part II” exceeds all expectations. It’s totally worth it.

To read our review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II, click here.

3: War Horse: The songs of birds in the distance and their flight over the the beautiful pristine moorlands of Dartmoor, England, circa 1900 will be the first things you’ll hear and see. Once you land, you’ll witness a foal’s fragile first moments of life: the first breath, the rippling shiver across his body that shakes off the blood, before it takes stand on it’s hooves, ready to set about the journey within Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse.”

Based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Morpurgo, the picture guises itself as a movie about a horse, his beloved boy and their journey to reunite in the midst of the first World War. However, Spielberg’s film profoundly explores the inexplicable bond between man and animal, the strength of courage, all the while bears out the futility of war.

To read our review of War Horse, click here.

2: Melancholia: It would be too easy to write-off Lars von Trier’s Melancholia as a beautiful, yet incomprehensible drama. It would be even easier to get lost in the inorganic dialogue that spews out of many of the characters’ mouths. In the end, there’s something more important. The horrible wedding and impending apocalypse that guide the picture, which make it feel more experimental than real, are all a farce.

This film is a puzzle that takes far longer than its running time to understand. Like those old 1,000 piece epic jigsaw puzzles you put together as a child, once you find the heart of the art, the corners attach quite easily. It takes time to find the rest though; they aren’t apparently obvious at first. But, by the end, the desperation the film intended to induce is apparent.

To read our review of Melancholia, click here.

1: Shame: Brandon has a secret. He’s addicted to sex. Brandon has another secret. Sex doesn’t satisfy him. Not in the least bit. Hidden behind a layer of charismatic professionalism, Brandon’s life in Steve McQueen’s latest film, “Shame,” is a mess, but a self-contained one. That is until his sister comes back into his life and destroys any semblance of balance his existence once contained.

Sexy, disturbing, taut and experimental, Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of Brandon will automatically remind casual movie buffs of Christian Bale in “American Psycho.” But putting that film in the same category as this one would be too novel. Surreptitious and far from as straight forward in its debauchery, which ultimately consumes the film, “Shame” pushes the limit of acceptable sexuality in a film and succeeds in delivering a thought-provoking drama of a man lost.

To read our review of Shame, click here.

Note: This list is made up of only the films we have reviewed on the site.