Quentin Tarantino’s list of ten best movies from 2011 shouldn’t matter, and yet they do. Oh excuse me, top eleven movies. From now on, it seems, Tarantino will make it his personal annual agenda to populate his blog with a list of his favorites at the end of each year.
It certainly doesn’t help that he provides a list, but offers no extrapolated opinion on his choices. Without an accompanying statement of opinion, dissection, or declaration it’s just a nerd’s list. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is a damn good movie, but if you’ve seen it, don’t you think it’s a bit whacked that it’s number two? An explanation is warranted! At least when he did his picks two years ago of the twenty best films in recent cinema history he participated in a video blog to discuss his choices.
Yet somehow, the list matters. Would I have ever seen or heard of pulp revenge thriller “Rolling Thunder” (1977) if it hadn’t been for his Sight & Sound list of his top ten films of all time? No, I probably would not have but I’m glad I found it. He has such idiosyncratic taste that to find a movie under his recommendation adds wonders to your appreciation.
His number one choice of the year was my number four (see original review link.) And yes, that’s twelve titles ultimately, not eleven. As for his number eleven choice, you might take it as a joke but I have the red dead feeling that he’s serious. He must admire it for purposes of kitsch, perhaps? And I assume his “Nice Try Award” winners are movies that were Grade-A for an hour, but succumbed to a final B- or C+ in his eyes. Behold the list:
Woody Allen directs Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams in “Midnight In Paris”
Q.T.’s Top Eleven of 2011
1. Midnight In Paris directed by Woody Allen
2. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes directed by Rupert Wyatt
3. Moneyball directed by Bennett Miller
4. The Skin I Live In directed by Pedro Almodovar
5. X-Men: First Class directed by Matthew Vaughn
6. Young Adult directed by Jason Reitman
7. Attack The Block directed by Joe Cornish
8. Red State directed by Kevin Smith
9. Warrior directed by Gavin O’Connor
10. The Artist / Our Idiot Brother (tie) directed by Michel Hazanavicius and Jesse Peretz, respectively
11. The Three Musketeers directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Other movies he liked (in no particular order):
50/50
Beginners
Hugo
The Iron Lady
Carnage
Green Hornet
Green Lantern
Captain America
The Descendants
My Week With Marilyn
Fast Five
Tree Of Life
The Hangover Part II
Mission Impossible 4
The Beaver
Contagion
The Sitter
War Horse
Nice Try Award winners:
Drive
Hanna
Drive Angry
Real Steel
