The 40 best films of 2011
I've seen almost 200 films from 2011 and these are the 40 best, in my opinion.
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- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsRyan GoslingCarey MulliganBryan CranstonA mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderCarey MulliganJames Badge DaleA sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.
- DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsAnna PaquinMatt DamonMark RuffaloA young woman witnesses a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives.Extended Cut
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMiki MizunoMakoto TogashiMegumi KagurazakaA grisly murder occurs in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya, Tokyo - a love hotel district - a woman was found dead in a derelict apartment. Kazuko (Miki Mizuno) is a police officer called to investigate on this case, she will discover the story of two women who, despite appearing respectable on the outside have all manner of darkness hidden away.
- DirectorPaddy ConsidineStarsPeter MullanArchie LalJag SangheraJoseph, a man plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction, earns a chance of redemption that appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsTilda SwintonJohn C. ReillyEzra MillerKevin's mother struggles to love her strange child despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMichael ShannonJessica ChastainShea WhighamPlagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMitsuru FukikoshiDendenAsuka KurosawaThe lives of a bored suburban couple are changed forever when a seemingly nice old man gives their daughter a job at his fish store, and soon his gruesome hobbies are brought to light.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsTom HardyNick NolteJoel EdgertonThe youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
- DirectorAndré ØvredalStarsOtto JespersenRobert StoltenbergKnut NærumA group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
- DirectorPeter MullanStarsConor McCarronGreg ForrestJoe SzulaEncompassed by violent street gangs, neglectful parents, bullying teachers and a dearth of positive role models, a studious but emotionally abandoned kid turns thug.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJeremy IrvineEmily WatsonDavid ThewlisA young farm boy enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. His hopeful journey takes him out of England and onto the front lines as the war rages on.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsChanning TatumJamie BellDonald SutherlandIn Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem.
- DirectorXavier GensStarsLauren GermanMichael BiehnMilo VentimigliaSurvivors of a nuclear attack are grouped together for days in the basement of their apartment building, where fear and dwindling supplies wear away at their dynamic.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsHenry CavillMickey RourkeJohn HurtTheseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsSaoirse RonanCate BlanchettEric BanaA sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoMunetaka AokiNaoto TakenakaA tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- DirectorDavid MackenzieStarsEwan McGregorEva GreenLauren TempanyA chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.
- DirectorIcíar BollaínStarsGael García BernalLuis TosarKarra ElejaldeAs a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.
- DirectorDaniel MonzónStarsLuis TosarAlberto AmmannAntonio ResinesThe story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
- DirectorTom SixStarsLaurence R. HarveyAshlynn YennieMaddi BlackInspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoYûko NakamuraCoccoWhen a single mother suffers a nervous breakdown, she is suspected of child abuse and her child is taken away. Her mental suffering escalates as she succumbs to her darkest fantasies.
- DirectorSean DurkinStarsElizabeth OlsenSarah PaulsonJohn HawkesHaunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.
- DirectorMichaël R. RoskamStarsMatthias SchoenaertsJeroen PercevalJeanne DandoySint-Truiden, Belgium. Jacky, a young cattle farmer who is constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, is approached by a veterinarian to make a deal with a notorious beef trader.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
- DirectorMagnus MartensStarsKyrre HellumMads OusdalHenrik MestadTerrified and bloody, Oscar Svendsen awakes clinched to a shotgun in a strippers joint. Around him 8 dead men, and police aiming at him. To Oscar it's clear that he is innocent. It all started when four chaps won 1,7 million on the pools...
- DirectorJonathan EnglishStarsPaul GiamattiJason FlemyngBrian CoxIn thirteenth-century England, a Knights Templar and a few of the Barons men fight to defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsDominic CooperLudivine SagnierRaad RawiA chilling vision of the house of Saddam. The world of Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was given a choice; either be the double for Saddam's sadistic son, or die.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsAksel HennieSynnøve Macody LundNikolaj Coster-WaldauAn accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergDanny McBrideNick SwardsonTwo fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else...
- DirectorJulian GilbeyStarsAlec NewmanEd SpeleersMelissa GeorgeA group of mountaineers in the Scottish Highlands discover a kidnapped girl and are pursued by her captors.
- DirectorMarkus SchleinzerStarsMichael FuithDavid RauchenbergerChristine KainFive months in the life of a pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsKirsten DunstCharlotte GainsbourgKiefer SutherlandTwo sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
- DirectorDarren Lynn BousmanStarsRebecca De MornayJaime KingShawn AshmoreThe sadistic members of a villainous family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new home owners and their guests.
- DirectorIan SharpStarsRay WinstoneNicholas McGoughGareth ReevesAn Afrikaner veteran of the Boer War has just immigrated to New Zealand and is hired to track a man accused of killing a soldier. While hunting through the countryside he captures his fugitive, only to learn that he's innocent of the crime. When faced with the life-changing decision to turn him in or set him free only, one man will walk away alive.
- DirectorDavid SchwimmerStarsClive OwenCatherine KeenerLiana LiberatoA teenage girl is targeted by an online sexual predator.