The 25 Best Movies Of 2011 (So Far)

From a strictly financial standpoint, movies in 2011 have been defined by unimaginative crap. The year’s two biggest worldwide smashes, The Hangover Part II and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, exemplify all that’s wrong with big studio fare, drying out creative wells with lazy rehashing and generally unnecessary existences outside of instant monetary satisfaction. With two of the year’s worst flicks topping the box office charts, it’d be easy to get discouraged and write off the first half of ’11 as a artistic disappointment.

That is, if there weren’t so many high quality films to choose from on the lower end of the profit spectrum. From legitimate hits to more obscure independent genre entries, the year’s first two quarters have poured a surfeit of commendable pics, making it easy to forget about the Wolfpack’s substantial letdown and Johnny Depp’s continued descent into lameness.

With 2011’s midpoint upon us, and plenty of worthwhile cinema still yet to premiere, we’re taking a look back at the best of what’s been presented thus far; chances are, many of these flicks will be unfamiliar, but that’s a positive—there’s too much under-appreciated goodness out there in theaters for us not to champion the underdogs. But then, of course, we love Michael Fassbender’s Magneto as much as the next popcorn junkie. Check the duality as Complex counts down The 25 Best Movies Of 2011 (So Far).

Director: Brad Furman

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, Josh Lucas, Michael Pena, Margarita Levieva

Starring two guys who’d just recently made it onto our Worst Actors in Hollywood History list , The Lincoln Lawyer seemed like it’d be an uneventful bit of generic crime drama buoyed by arguable has-beens Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe. Little did we know, however, that director Brad Furman wouldn’t let his first mainstream production succumb to mediocrity; yanking a charismatic and dynamic performance from McConaughey and pacing the film with slick energy and some nifty twists, Furman shocked the entire film world—well, at least us—with a solid piece of entertainment. Not to mention, a comeback for an actor whose career had degenerated into Surfer, Dude hell.

McConaughey channels the magnetism that defined his earlier days to play a hotshot defense attorney who takes on a case involving a millionaire player (Phillippe) accused of rape and attempted murder; as the story progresses, McConaughey’s lawyer character begins to question himself for defending a guy he clearly knows is guilty, which leads to a few surprises and some surprisingly tense back-and-forth banter between the two stars.

The Lincoln Lawyer isn’t a game-changer, nor will it linger in critics’ minds come December, but that’s OK. Furman’s quick-paced thriller works best as a flashy escapism that’s best left unexamined, since deeper analysis could unravel the script’s slightly convoluted final act. Just applaud McConaughey’s revival and keep it moving.

Director: Miguel Angel Vivas

Stars: Manuella Velles, Fernando Cayo, Ana Wagener, Xoel Yanez

It’s a good thing that Spanish filmmaker Miguel Angel Vivas’ home invasion horror/thriller Kidnapped is barely 90 minutes long—one can only withstand so much emotional punishment before hyperventilating. Lean and incredibly mean, Kidnapped is a cinematic endurance test, presenting a run-of-the-mill, Funny Games-like setup with technical prowess and uncompromisingly bleak developments. Vivas shot the film with only 12 single-take sequences, giving Kidnapped an in-your-face immediacy that heightens the brutality on display. And, damn, is it brutal.

After a brief prologue in which Vivas’ single-take approach stages a guy’s run-in with a speeding car as if Vivas himself took a fender off the chest, Kidnapped storms into a night from Lucifer’s playground for a husband/wife pair, along with their teenage daughter. Three masked goons break into their new home, tie them up, and attempt to drain the fam of its finances, but, in typical foreign horror fashion, the plan devolves into follies such as a man’s face being smashed in, an enthralling split-screen sequence involving a boyfriend kissing a gun’s barrel, and one of the darkest, gut-kicking endings in recent memory.

At times, Kidnapped falls victim to Vivas’ overzealousness with technique, particularly through a late-game use of split-screen that’s more distracting than immersive. But the whole experience is so unrelentingly visceral that the film’s downsides are secondary; the viewers’ senses are battered in too much to care about flaws.

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh

Stars: Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Laura Ramsey, Vincent D’Onofrio, Paul Sorvino, Steve Schirripa

Kill The Irishman is a Frankenstein’s monster of a gangster flick, following the templates set by all of Martin Scorsese’s mob pics, The Sopranos, and every other Mafia tale this side of Mario Puzo. Yet, despite the constant familiarity throughout, indie director Jonathan Hensleigh’s scrappy little film is a triumph of performance over material. It’s no Goodfellas, but it’s certainly worthy addition to the genre’s canon.

Dominating a well-deserved starring role, Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone) brings depth, hulking presence, and brutish charm to the role of Danny Greene, a real-life Irish gangster in 1970’s Cleveland who made it his mission to piss off the local Italian Mafia and defy death on numerous occasions. Stevenson plays Greene as an angel with a dirty face, the kind of guy who’ll look after an elderly neighbor before pummeling a dude’s face in front of his kids. It’s a noteworthy turn, supported nicely by a who’s who of tough-guy character actors and an impressive Val Kilmer as Greene’s cop friend/foil.

The gangster genre has been dormant since The Sopranos called it quits, so, in some ways, Kill The Irishman’s endearment could be attributed to its void-filling timeliness. That it’s a well-made, tightly acted, and riveting flick in its own right is a welcomed bonus.

Director: André Øvredal

Stars: Otto Jespersen, Hans Morten Hansen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Johanna Morck

Just when we thought we’d had enough of the whole found-footage subgenre of horror, along came TrollHunter, a creature feature crammed with enough dark humor, awesome visual effects, and wild ideas to rightfully earn its place alongside the likes of Cloverfield.

Taking cues from an eclectic range of influences (includingJurassic Park and Man Bites Dog), Norwegian writer-director André Øvredal mines a whole lot of fun out of his country’s longtime obsession with trolls, the Godzilla-sized, ogre-ish ones that’d flick America’s beloved little Troll keychain figurines like dirt off shoulders. A crew of ambitious documentary filmmakers trail an aged, rugged Troll Hunter through the woods as he chases down and kills a variety of beasties, such as a three-headed behemoth and somber monster given the facial expressions of an old, ailing man.

With genuine laughs and several rollicking action set-pieces, TrollHunter is a hoot that knows when to play it straight and when to wink at its own absurdities. If such praise doesn’t leave you wanting to catch this one, just check out the trolls themselves; J.J. Abrams could’ve used some of Øvredal’s input when designing his own giant monster in Super 8. TrollHunter shows its mammoth antagonists clearly and often—they’re easily the year’s coolest CGI creations thus far.

Director: Dan Rush
Stars: Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Christopher “C.J.” Wallace, Laura Dern, Michael Pena
At first glance, Everything Must Go is off-putting. It’s a Will Ferrell movie with laughs, but the gags are nowhere to be seen, nor any pratfalls, man-child freak-outs, or outlandish characters to render things sophomoric. There’s just Ferrell playing a normal guy, in a film about how guys cope with such devils as alcoholism and domestic fallout. The man once known as Ron Burgundy is simply acting, well at that, playing a role that’s vulnerable, self-effacing, and down on his luck; how Ferrell handles all of those facets like a boss is the movie’s charm, as well as why it’s the funnyman’s best acting to date.

Based on a Raymond Carver short story, Everything Must Go follows Nick Halsey (Ferrell), who’s fired from his job due to booze, and whose wife leaves him, throws all of his shit on their front lawn, and changes their house’s door locks. As Nick establishes residence on his lawn, he befriends an insecure kid (C.J. Wallace, son of Biggie Smalls and a fine young actor) and a recently married neighbor (Rebecca Hall), both of whom help him to not drink himself into a Pabst Blue Ribbon-doused grave.

The debut of writer-director Dan Rush, Everything Must Go coasts on Ferrell’s nuanced performance, breaking the quiet drama up with sporadic, and effective, comedy moments that allow Ferrell’s core fan base to connect with it. But, in the end, this small character piece is most notable for showing that he has a legitimate acting career to fall back upon once the lure of cashable duds like Land Of The Lost wears thin. Who would’ve known that we’d end up looking forward to that day?

Director: Justin Lin

Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brester, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon, Sung Kang

Let’s put it all out there: the acting is merely passable; the story is an arrogant Ocean’s Eleven knockoff; tricky camerawork somehow makes it seem that Vin Diesel is the same height as The Rock; the girls are hot, in a shallow way; and the action scenes defy all kinds of logic. Yes, Fast Five is a lobotomized case of style over substance, and we don’t love ourselves for saying this, but here goes: This movie kicks tremendous amounts of brain-numbing ass!

The fifth entry into everyone’s favorite drag-racing, car-jacking action franchise, director Justin Lin’s massive hit redefines the series, shifting from automotive obsession to intricate heist intrigue—it’s a brilliant strategy, since the whole Dub Gone Wild shtick petered out in 2009’s lame Fast & Furious.

Reassembling key players from each of the films, stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a pack of wisecracking cohorts through several adrenaline-charged action sequences, especially a climactic chase through busy Brazilian streets with a huge bank vault tied to two of the vehicles. Fast Five is a textbook example of giving fans what they want, succeeding through lack of pretension and a self-awareness that, yes, it’s a ridiculous romp, but that’s all the more reason to shut one’s brain off and have a blast.

Director: J.J. Abrams

Stars: Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Rylie Griffiths, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Amanda Michalka

In the months leading up to J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi flick Super 8’s premiere, speculation mounted around the film’s monster. Is it an alien? Some kind of Cloverfield-like beast? The smoke monster from Lost out to avenge the show’s unsatisfying conclusion? Unfortunately, once the world finally saw what Abrams had dreamed up, the impact was minimal at best; turns out, it’s the Cloverfield creature with spider legs, not to mention a vicious killing machine that’s suddenly able to feel emotions once a little kid bats his eyes. As a monster movie, Super 8 actually fails.

Fortunately, though, Abrams’ ode to the vintage films from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment (The Goonies, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial) is really a film about likeable teens making a little zombie flick while dealing with troubled fathers, and, on that scale, Super 8 is a knockout. The kids all deliver stellar performances, namely Elle Fanning and newcomer Joel Courtney; Abrams has an uncanny knack for developing multifaceted characters, especially younger ones.

So it’s a shame that the film’s alien has to constantly pop up and distract us from emotional, adolescent core. Had Abrams resisted the urge to go all sci-fi, he’d have a cinematic marvel on his hands; as it stands, Super 8 is a frequently great movie held back by its genre inclinations. But, hey, at least folks got that Cloverfield sequel they’ve been dying for…well, maybe not.

Director: Jodie Foster

Stars: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence

The Beaver never stood a chance at the box office. The toxic combination of star Mel Gibson’s self-image assassination and a plot about a suicidal father who wears a puppet on his hand and talks in an Australian accent doomed Jodie Foster’s pic months before any critics were able to see it. What a shame—with a marvelous performance from Gibson and an alternately emotional and batshit script, The Beaver is one of the more fascinating movies to come out of Hollywood in quite some time. Hopefully, it’ll have a second life on DVD, at some point in time; it’s too unique and potent to be dismissed for good.

Crazy Mel finds the right balance of pain and weirdness needed to sell all of The Beaver’s storytelling quirks, giving one of his career’s bravest turns. It’s hard not to wonder how different the film’s reception would’ve been had Gibson’s whole “abusive husband tapes” never surfaced online; we’d probably be pondering early Oscar buzz. Or at least a comeback of Mickey Rourke proportions. As is, though, The Beaver’s flop status has driven nails into the former megastar’s big screen coffin. Foster film deserved better.

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Rene Russo
Comic fans didn’t know what to make of Thor leading up to its release. With an unproven actor (Chris Hemsworth) playing the Norse God of Thunder, and sketchy production stills that made Asgard seem like a set from The Chronicles Of Riddick, Marvel’s first big entry into the Summer 2011 blockbuster season had great potential for failure. So it remains one of the year’s best surprises that Kenneth Branagh’s triumph rivals the humor, wit, visual splendor, and overall fun of the first Iron Man flick.

And, much like Iron Man, Thor benefits immensely from its superlative leading man, Hemsworth, who checks in with an eye-opening showcase of authentic physicality and larger-than-life charisma. It’s no small feat that the Australian newcomer isn’t overshadowed by Thor’s mighty effects, nor is the equally impressive Tom Hiddleston, who nearly steals the show as the antagonistic Loki.

Branagh, to his credit, was the perfect choice to direct, a veteran of Shakespearean productions capable of handling Thor’s familial conflicts, yet, more importantly, surprisingly able to maneuver around grandiose action. Thanks to Branagh, Hemsworth, and Hiddleston, one of Marvel’s least mainstream characters is now set to be one of The Avengers; biggest draws. Let’s hope Captain America: The First Avenger falls in line.

Director: Jim Mickle

Stars: Nick Damici, Connor Paolo, Kelly McGillis, Danielle Harris, Sean Nelson, Michael Cerveris

The thought of yet another vampire project has lost its gusto. That’s what happens when popular culture transforms the once-scary bloodsuckers into both sissy pin-ups who glisten and don’t eat meat (see: Twilight) and sex-crazed citizens (see: True Blood). Going against such adversity, writer-director Jim Mickle, along with co-writer and star Nick Damici, charged right into the vamp genre with Stake Land, an independent mish-mash of 28 Days Later…, The Road, and 30 Days Of Night.

But Mickle and Damici figured out how to set their post-Dracula flick apart: by making the vampires unsociable killing machines that are actually secondary to rich character development. Damici, a worthy action hero for the IFC circuit, and fresh-faced Connor Paolo play a pair of grizzled survivors (which includes scream queen Danielle Harris) trudging through a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of supercharged vamps, Satanic cults, and gorgeous cinematography.

Through all of the horror and clever ideas (dropping vampires into a block party from helicopters, specifically), Stake Land remains about its human leads, offering several extended moments of sharp dialogue without any scares. Which, of course, makes the inevitable scares all the more jarringly strong. Unfairly passed over during its brief theatrical run, Stake Land is a godsend for those who’d love to smack Bill Compton and Team Edward members in their respective faces with a Nosferatu DVD pack.

Director: James Gunn

Stars: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon

Last year, Kick-Ass earned acclaim for its subversive approach to the superhero genre, yet, when compared to genre veteran James Gunn’s bonkers Super, that Mark Millar adaptation is quite pedestrian. A fascinating mess of a film, Super ricochets around tones like a Pong ball, going for laughs, shocks, gore, and utter bleakness. Though it doesn’t all congeal, Gunn’s passion project is an odd little movie that’s too strange and ambitious to ignore.

Taking a break from playing the maniacal Dwight Schrute on The Office, an effective Rainn Wilson receives top-billing as a loser who becomes a homemade superhero to save his druggie wife (Liv Tyler) from the clutches of a slithery drug-lord (Kevin Bacon, camping it up something fierce); Wilson even gets a sidekick in Ellen Page, who goes all-out in a boisterous, kinetic, and unexpectedly sexy performance.

Gunn fearlessly goes off the deep end, working animated dream sequences, random outbursts of graphic violence, and unpredictable main character arcs (one, in particular, leading a half-blown-off face) into his gonzo script. At times, Super’s unwillingness to settle upon one vibe turns frustrating; ultimately, though, Gunn’s wild ride earns its singular stripes. It’s also the source of 2011’s catchphrase-to-beat: “Shut up, crime.”

Director: Terrence Malick
Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain
Whether its loftiness dazzles your mind or bores you to tears, The Tree Of Life is a must-see film. After a six-year absence (following 2005’s The New World, enigmatic filmmaker Terrence Malick returned with a philosophical examination of man’s existence complete with psychedelic light shows, peculiar dinosaurs, and a voiceless Sean Penn. Epic in scope, The Tree Of Life is also cluttered in its execution, spending too much time trying to pad its central coming-of-age story (with Brad Pitt as a tough father in 1950’s Americana) with forcibly transcendent imagery. But, in a climate overcrowded with lazy remakes and unimaginative sequels, Malick’s ostentatious intentions are pretty magical.

The Tree Of Life is more of an experience than a movie, rewarding viewers stricken into their uncomfortable theater seats for 140 minutes with breathtaking visuals and free-flowing scene montages, both Malick trademarks. The fact that much of it doesn’t connect (Seriously, what’s up with those fucking dinosaurs?) is mute; The Tree Of Life, more than any film in recent memory, if not the last 30 years, is the exhaustive work of a filmmaker looking to push the medium’s abilities to new heights, something that very few others ever attempt. We’ll just have to accept those dinosaurs as byproducts of innovation.

Director: Rodman Flender

Stars: Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter

Through all of last year’s publicized heartbreak over the loss of his The Tonight Show hosting gig, Conan O’Brien appeared to be in good spirits, cracking jokes whenever a microphone was nearby. Dude’s only human, though, so it was understood that, behind closed doors, he was either ramming a butcher knife into pics of Jay Leno or grappling with profound sadness and anger; as filmmaker Rodman Flender’s intimate documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop shows, it was the latter. That’s just one of the many revelations in the year’s most entertaining and revealing documentary to date, an equal parts funny and fascinating look at O’Brien’s emergence from public victim to on-stage redemption recipient.

Flender hangs in the writers’ rooms, backstage areas, and personal quarters throughout O’Brien’s live show tour (The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour), shooting moments of lightheartedness (the playful ways he mocks his loyal assistant) and vulnerability (O’Brien’s growing contempt for never-ending autograph signings and hand-shaking) with unassuming eyes. Bravely, O’Brien grants Flender unrestricted access; as a result, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop presents one of TV’s goofiest and funniest personalities as an attention-craving yet internally conflicted entertainer who had to deal with monstrous disappointment before the public eye. And, yes, there’s even an appearance by the Self-Pleasuring Panda.

Director: Jason Eisener

Stars: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Robb Wells

Hobo With A Shotgun wears its sleaze badges with gleeful pride. Unbelievably violent and spot-on hilarious, rookie writer-director Jason Eisener’s loony homage to old-school exploitation cinema exists solely to shock and awe in the trashiest ways possible. And, for that, it’s a movie that features a school bus full of kids getting torched and still manages to earn the “endearing” adjective.

Much of the credit goes to star Rutger Hauer, a B-movie stalwart fully aware of the flick’s inherent ludicrousness and wisely playing it straight, which only adds to the overall silliness. Hauer plays, you guessed it, a hobo with a shotgun, walking around one of the vilest towns ever put on film and blasting deviants away in the name of vigilante justice. Naturally, he bonds with a prostitute, who, in turn, eventually gets soaked in blood and guts and helps our hobo pal battle a sadistic crime lord, his two douchebag sons, and two gargantuan, armor-wearing demons known as The Plague. Why not, right?

Clearly a fanatic of drive-in-era moviemaking, Eisener achieves the desired throwback effects much better than either Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino did in Grindhouse. Hobo With A Shotgun is entirely one-note, but when that one note is “nostalgic bloodshed,” who are we to complain?

Director: Takashi Miike

Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Goro Inagaki

You don’t need to be a longtime fan of samurai movies to appreciate, or even love, controversial genre master Takashi Miike’s exemplary 13 Assassins. Boasting a well-formed villain and Wild Bunch-like crew of sword-wielding antiheroes, the Japanese director’s enormous action flick is a visceral jaw-dropper accessible enough for anyone who’s paid to see mindless fisticuffs pics like The Expendable; unlike Sly Stallone’s altogether generic work, though, 13 Assassins is one-of-a-kind.

The first half of Miike’s film is straightforward, introducing the baker’s dozen amount of heroes and establishing their suicide mission (to get rid of an evil warlord) through expository monologues and quick shots of gory violence. But once the climactic battle sequence kicks off, 13 Assassins instantly upgrades into pure astonishment. The film’s last 40 minutes comprise one masterfully staged battle, with Miike providing each character his own satisfying payoff in the midst of impeccable sword fights and more corpses than two George A. Romero’s movies combined. It’s truly a sight to behold.

Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Timothy Olymphant, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone
You’d think a “kids’ movie” that leaves children dumbfounded shouldn’t be considered an artistic victory; the thing is, Rango isn’t really worthy of the rugrat cinema tag. Sure, it’s animated, and Johnny Depp voices a lovable chameleon who embarks on a crazy adventure and would look right at home on any pre-schooler’s lunchbox. But none of that hides the fact that Rango’s humor is adult, the animation is more freaky than cuddly, and director Gore Verbinski’s employment of western tropes go right over the tiny heads of youngsters.

When the films of Sergio Leone and Deadwood come to mind during an animated film, it’s definitely geared more for the older crowd, and that’s quite alright. Besides, kids are the reason why derivative crap like Hop makes so much money; we grown-ups are overdue for a cartoon-ish romp to call our own.

Depp brings tons of life to the titular character, a Hawaiian-shirt-rocking lizard who becomes a reluctant Clint Eastwood type after he stumbles into an Old West town, populated with other talking creatures and a landscape straight out of Unforgiven. Rango ultimately saves the day, of course, yet it’s a predictable turn of events rendered superbly enjoyable by left-field humor, striking character designs, and a uniform sense of unbridled imagination. The kids’ miss is our gain.

Director: Miguel Arteta

Stars: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Sigourney Weaver

Success wise, it’s been a huge year for comedies, with the wretched The Hangover Part II breaking worldwide records and the far better Bridesmaids easily moving past the $100 million mark. Totally under the mainstream’s radar, however, a little charmer called Cedar Rapids debuted in theaters this past February and lobbied for Best Comedy of the Year status, a title it rightfully held until the aforementioned Bridesmaids premiered (more on that one to come). Now, it’s the year’s second best comedy (so far), which is no minor consolation.

Led by an affable Ed Helms and John C. Reilly’s whirlwind of raunch, Cedar Rapids depicts a weekend-long insurance agent convention as an Animal House for the post-college working class. Though the film’s humor is often juvenile, and even filthy, director Miguel Arteta keeps the emphasis on its eclectic characters, riding the ensemble’s tight chemistry straight into a routinely happy ending that actually feels earned. It’s nearly enough to forgive Helms for The Hangover’s abhorrent sequel—the key word being “nearly,” though.

Director: Jorge Michel Grau

Stars: Adrian Aguirre, Miriam Balderas, Francisco Barreiro, Carmen Beato, Paulina Gaitan

The most passionate of horror fans love discovering those rare scare flicks that pay as much attention to intelligence and social commentary as they do to gore; they’re the perfect movies to show to friends and significant others who constantly ridicule their genre-obsessed companions for watching “those disgusting movies.”

Halfway into 2011, this year’s winner of such unique distinction is the Mexican cannibal horror-drama We Are What We Are, dark gross-out touching upon ideas of family strife, the oppression of poverty, and the most effective ways to cut human flesh before snacking on it. How first-time writer-director Jorge Michel Grau blends the shocks and brains into this lean, 85-minute freakshow is best left unspoiled, since We Are What We Are packs a fair amount of surprises and unforeseen gruesomeness.

We’ll just say this, for now: It’s about a recently widowed poor woman who’s raising three not-so-fine young cannibals, and how the kids must lure unsuspecting victims back to their home, where the fam performs elaborate, candlelit rituals before pigging out on human flesh. Name one other movie with a set-up even close to that one; once you see it, you’ll also have difficulty citing a recent horror flick that’s similarly thought-provoking and patient with its money-shots.

Director: Paul Feig

Stars: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm, Wendi McLendon-Covey

Understandably, all of the press surrounding Bridesmaids has harped on the box office smash’s “women first” motif, hailing it as the genesis of dirty all-female comedy. You know, evidence that the estrogen set can exist in the same funny universe as Seth Rogen and his foul-mouthed chums. In hindsight, though, all of the gender-based praise seems reductive; Bridesmaids, co-written by and starring Saturday Night Live queen Kristen Wiig, is just flat-out funny, despite its stars mutual DNA makeup.

Produced by the ubiquitous Judd Apatow, Wiig’s breakthrough project hits the same tonal sweet spot as Apatow’s best productions (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), that of tender character moments punctuated with potty-minded hilarity. The flaws are at times glaring (wasted side characters, sequences that go on too long a la SNL sketches), yet director Paul Feig (creator of Freaks & Geeks) pulls such winning performances from all involved, and Wiig is such an inspired lead, that Bridesmaids overcomes its faults through pure amiability. And, yes, we just wrote an entire Bridesmaids blurb without pairing the words “chick” and “flick.” Dig on that.

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Carice van Houten

And the award for 2011’s least inviting movie title thus far goes to…Black Death! Granted, British filmmaker Christopher Smith’s utterly dark period drama/religious horror pic takes place in Europe circa 1348, when the plague known to historians as, yes, Black Death dramatically decreased the population on a daily basis. Plot description aside, though, Black Death isn’t a title that will entice those who are opposed to unpleasant cinema. They’re better off, frankly, because Smith’s provocative work here is about as congenial as spiked armor.

Sean Bean, basically playing the same character he recently did on HBO’s Game Of Thrones, leads a group of hardcore knights, along with a young monk, into a village said to be inhabited by folks immune to the Black Death. The religious authorities suspect that some kind of supernatural heresy is afoot, and want Bean’s team to snoop around and get answers.

And that’s where we’ll cease to explain anymore about Black Death; winking at films such as the original The Wicker Man, Smith’s film heads takes several unexpected turns near its end, upending its themes and challenging religion in ways that most genre flicks rarely do. Once it’s over, you’ll need time to think, not to mention recover from the mental beat-down its vicious climax dishes out. Again, it’s called Black Death, not Pink Bunnies.

Director: Woody Allen

Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Tom Hiddleston, Adrien Brody, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll

It’s tricky to discuss Midnight In Paris without giving too much away, but we’ll give it a shot. First, let’s acknowledge Owen Wilson’s fine performance, a comeback of sorts for the once-hilarious actor; here, he’s a familiar Allen leading man (witty to a fault, misunderstood, unable to connect with his woman) at the center of an atypical Allen set-up, a fantastical French world that’s more Rod Serling than Annie Hall. Woody Allen does The Twilight Zone? Yes, please.

Wilson plays a hack screenwriter who’s disenchanted with his crappy movies; on vacation in Paris with his gold-digging, obnoxious chick (Rachel McAdams), he becomes engulfed in the city’s history and settings, which motivate him to write a novel. His exact sources of inspiration are where that Twilight Zone angle comes into play; think a literature-obsessed English major’s “Name five celebrities, living or dead, you’d love to have dinner with” response come true.

Elegant with its visuals and consistently vibrant, Midnight In Paris works on multiple levels: comedic, romantic, even supernatural. And, like most of Allen's films, there's an abundance of eye candy (McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Alison Pill). Good looking out, Woody.

Director: Kim Jee-woon

Stars: Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi, Gook-hwan Jeon, Ho-jin Jeon

It’s always a good time when a beloved genre filmmaker takes his gloves off and gets uncompromisingly dirty; yet, with I Saw The Devil, South Korean director Kim Jee-woon, shreds those gloves into itty bitty pieces, puts on brass knuckles adorned with thumbtacks, and pulverizes your eyes. Trust us-it’s the best kind of punishment.

The lines between good and evil are drenched with blood in this twisty revenge thriller, which starts off a traditional serial killer flick and then shifts into a cat-and-mouse game between a charismatic murderer of young women (Min-sik Choi) and the husband (Byung-hun Lee) of one of the killer’s victims. Once the “good guy” is established, Jee-woon wastes no time in blurring his moral code, subjecting Choi’s character to torture and brutality that’s arguably sicker than what doles out to captive ladies, before murdering them, of course.

I Saw The Devil roars along its nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time at a breathless pace, with each horrific set-piece topping the previous one as Jee-woon puts on a directorial clinic (a rotating camera shot inside a cab provides for the year’s best murder sequence to date). To put it succinctly, filmmaking doesn’t get much rawer than this.

Director: Joe Wright

Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett

With Hanna, English director Joe Wright pulled off the year’s biggest one-eighty. Prior to this Saoirse Ronan-starring mind-blower, about a young girl groomed to be an assassin who goes rogue, Wright’s credits included such stuffy costume dramas as Pride & Prejudice and Atonement; not for one second did he give off the impression of being capable of totally killing a punk rock remix of the Bourne Identity motif.

Fueled by a truly badass Chemical Brothers score, Hanna is an action flick for the art-house crowd, equipped with off-kilter camera angles, a nihilistic edge, some unexpectedly haunting imagery, and a bravura performance from Ronan. Petite and angelic-looking, she’s an inspired choice to play a one-gal wrecking crew who’s proficient in both hand-to-hand combat and gunplay, thanks to lifelong assassin's training.

Wright gets the most out of Ronan’s physicality, combining his inventive direction and her fight skills into a hypnotically visceral sequence set within a vast container park—it’s the crowning achievement in a film that’s loaded with brilliant execution. Here’s to Wright never picking up another Jane Austen novel.

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Nicholas Hoult, Lucas Till, Zoe Kravitz, Oliver Platt

After the ineptitude of Brett Ratner’s 2006 fanboy devastator X-Men: The Last Stand, all director Matthew Vaughn needed to do in order for X-Men: First Class to revive Marvel Comics’ mutant property was tell a coherent story. Fortunately, he and his fellow Kick-Ass screenwriter Jane Goldman matched coherence with revisionist history, framing the origin story of Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) within the Cuban Missile Crisis. As much of a James Bond action flick as it is a CGI-laden superhero blockbuster, X-Men: First Class succeeds on all accounts, granting Vaughn the bragging rights associated with resurrecting one of the comic book world’s most iconic titles.

A great deal of the credit here goes to McAvoy and Fassbender, who dominate—in a great way—a film that’s not lacking in solid performances (Kevin Bacon’s villainous Sebastian Shaw is particularly memorable). McAvoy gives Charles Xavier a nice balance of smooth-talking charm and cerebral smarts, yet, when all’s said and done, X-Men: First Class is Fassbender’s show; already an in-demand actor on the verge of A-list acceptance, he’s, for lack of a better word, magnetic, covering the spectrum of emotions as his character evolves from vengeful ass-kicker to maniacal antagonist. Much like X-Men: First Class as a whole, Fassbender commands attention and supplies excellence.

Director: James Wan

Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell

Can’t believe that Insidious sits atop our list here? You clearly didn’t see Saw co-creators James Wan (director) and Leigh Whannell’ (writer) supernatural chiller in a packed theater. More than any other mainstream horror movie in lord knows how long, Insidious elicited emphatic yelps, nervous laughter, and fervent applause, and we took part in it all.

Cleverly throwing things back to trippy spook-flicks like Carnival Of Souls and Poltergeist, Wan’s wildly directed scary movie is, in many ways, the anti-Saw, his and Whannell’s defiant attempt to shake the “torture porn kings” tag off their backs; with hardly any blood and frights delivered through sound design and perfectly timed jump scares, Insidious does just that.

For horror fans, it’s also a cool example of how credible actors can elevate schlocky material. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, both critically appreciated, bless Wan with the cache of having typically non-horror performers gamely play through some of very bizarre story beats, such as a warped séance via gas mask, an alternate dimension populated by ghouls in white makeup, and a scary old lady who’s actually a dude.

Produced for a measly $1 million, Insidious has grossed more than $53 mil domestically, making it the year’s most profitable movie so far. For our money, it’s also the year’s best.