25 In 25: My Favorite Films of the First Quarter Century - 2011

 2011 gave us cinephiles some gems!!

Mission Impossible made a comeback in stylish fashion with killer stunts.

The women of Bridesmaids had us all rolling on the floor with laughter. 

Gareth Evans kept us on the edge of our seats with The Raid, which to this day has one of the best examples of cinematography as a storytelling and tension-building device in the “sixth floor” fight scene (I just watched it again and didn’t breathe for the first two minutes).

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Margin Call made us think. 

Drive gave us that jacket!!!!

We got not one but TWO Marvel Cinematic Universe films in Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Matt Reeves reinvented the Planet of the Apes franchise with Andy Serkis doing what he does best in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 

And Terrence Malick, yet again, gives us yet another film of astronomical ambition with The Tree of Life. 

In 2011, I was fully immersed in my baseball fandom.  And yet again, an Aaron Sorkin-penned film captured my attention.  With Moneyball, Sorkin, Brad Pitt, and Bennett Miller were able to take something as boring as baseball analytics and craft a riveting film that held your attention through its run time.  We can forgive it for not once mentioning the murderers row starting rotation of those Oakland A’s, because that wasn’t the story.    

The montage of the streak is such an amazing scene!!

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Call me a Fincher lover if you want to, but there isn’t a working director today who makes films like he does.  I don't think there is a filmmaker with ten years quite like Fincher’s from 2002 to 2012. 

Panic Room, Zodiac, Benjamin Button, The Social Network, and then my modern favorite film for 2011, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Holy hitmaker, Batman! 

While the Swedish version is out of this world, Fincher directing the American version is ethereal and brutal. 

From the title sequence showing the nightmares Lisbeth has been subject to all the way to the final shot, Fincher and his normal crew (most returning from Social) bring us on a wild ride from murder mystery to thriller to revenge story to character study. 

Simply another stunner from one of the best American directors of our generation.