Total Film: Top 10 Films Of 2011
Sam Ashurst (Deputy Digital Editor)
1. Kill List
“Bleak, eerie and utterly weird - and, like all truly great horror films, totally in sync with our times. Kill List wasn't just the best cult flick of the year, it could end up being the best terror tale of the decade.”
2. Animal Kingdom
3. 13 Assassins
4. I Saw The Devil
5. The Tree Of Life
6. Snowtown
7. I Spit On Your Grave
8. The Guard
9. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
10. Rubber
Honourable mentions:
1. Blue Valentine
2. Lake Mungo
3. Never Let Me Go
4. X-Men: First Class
5. Warrior
6. 50/50
7. Paranormal Activity 3
8. Captain America
9. Super 8
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2012 Top Ten Predictions:
1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Django Unchained
3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
4. Prometheus
5. The Avengers
6. Lords Of Salem
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Chronicle
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D
10. Halloween 3D
Matt Maytum (Digital Contributing Editor)
1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
“ Tinker… gracefully straddles the cavernous abyss between multiplex and ‘arthouse’: big, starry and thrilling enough to fall into the former category, but intelligent, classy and rich enough for the latter. Great performances, lean scripting, and stylish, crisp direction make for a genuinely deserving awards-contender (as opposed to a cynical one). And it deserves endless credit for making dialogue exchanges more tense than any of this year’s punch-ups.”
2. Blue Valentine
3. Drive
4. The Skin I Live In
5. The Fighter
6. The Tree Of Life
7. Black Swan
8. X-Men: First Class
9. Source Code
10. The Artist
With very honourable mentions to: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 , Sleeping Beauty , Super 8 , The Ides Of March , Super 8, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
Jane Crowther (Acting Editor)
1. Blue Valentine
"Lovely / awful, romantic / destructive look at love that showcases two talented actors at the height of their powers. The year's most painful, pleasurable film."
2. Drive
3. Bridesmaids
4. 50/50
5. Passenger Side
6. Crazy Stupid Love
7. Another Earth
8. Tangled
9. True Grit
10. My Week With Marilyn
Jamie Graham (Deputy Editor)
1. Blue Valentine
"The most tender, traumatic film of the year, recalling Bergman and Cassavetes in its committed turns and emotional devastation."
2. Kill List
3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
4. Snowtown
5. A Separation
6. Midnight In Paris
7. Le Quattro Volte
8. The Tree Of Life
9. Drive
10. Weekend
Matthew Leyland (Reviews Editor)
1. The Tree Of Life
"Visual splendour, poetic rapture, lost summers of childhood rekindled... The Smurfs had it all, plus a cat being shot out of a leaf blower. Malick's film had a better soundtrack, though."
2. Bridesmaids
3. Hugo
4. We Need To Talk About Kevin
5. Moneyball
6. NEDS
7. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
8. A Separation
9. The Fighter
10. Black Swan
Rosie Fletcher (News Editor)
1. Animal Kingdom
"I was completely blown away by this right from that dark opening - it's one of the most tense and surprising crime dramas I've seen in a very long time, with astonishing performances all round and so many standout moments - the supermarket, the raid, the embankment, the fish shop. I've been banging on about it for the entire year and I intend to carry on doing so in 2012."
2. Black Swan
3. Take Shelter
4. Tucker & Dale vs Evil
5. Bridesmaids
6. Sleeping Beauty
7. The Guard
8. Hugo
9. Snowtown
10. Super
Kathryn Twyford (Production Editor)
1. Black Swan
" Black Swan is so very powerful, which is surprising for a film about ballet. I was gripped by this from the very start - an exhilarating, melodramatic ride."
2. Senna
3. TT: Closer To The Edge
4. Drive
5. Crazy Stupid Love
6. Source Code
7. The King's Speech
8. 127 Hours
9. The Ides Of March
10. Tangled
Sarah Tully (Picture Editor)
1. Biutiful
"Er, it's beautifully gut wrenching."
2. Bridesmaids
3. The King's Speech
4. Animal Kingdom
5. True Grit
6. Melancholia
7. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
8. The Way
9. Meek's Cutoff
10. The Adjustment Bureau
Louise Brock (Designer)
1. Bridesmaids
"I came out the screening with panda eyes from crying with laughter and on consequent viewings it's been just as amusing. It was fun, didn't take itself seriously and is far better than the stereotypical SATC dross :) "
2. Black Swan
3. Thor
4. X-Men: First Class
5. The Hangover Part II
6. The King's Speech
7. Jane Eyre
8. Drive
9. Arriety
10. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
Richard Jordan (Production Assistant)
1. The Skin I Live In
"A taut, twisted revenge tale laced with plenty of black humour and even a bit of body horror, beautifully shot and featuring an intense performance from Antonio Banderas. Almodovar back to his brilliantly weird best."
2. Black Swan
3. Drive
4. Animal Kingdom
5. We Need To Talk About Kevin
6. The Fighter
7. Super 8
8. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
9. Submarine
10. Fair Game
Ben Chapman (Digital Designer)
1. Drive
"Post-Schrader Lone Wolf violently outsmarts The Genre with a tale of love, vengeance and existentialism. This is Ultra-Cool, Neon-Noir, Anti-Hollywood Cinema at its most bleeding edge."
2. Snowtown
3. The Tree of Life
4. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
5. The Guard
6. X-Men: First Class
7. Captain America: The First Avenger
8: Source Code
9. The Rum Diary
10. Rango
George Wales (Digital Contributor)
1. Drive
"From the rulebook-shredding heist scene, to the unspeakable violence in the elevator, this modern day noir was a masterclass in celluloid cool."
2. The Fighter
3. Black Swan
4. Blue Valentine
5. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
6. Source Code
7. Bridesmaids
8. Animal Kingdom
9. Submarine
10. The King's Speech
Josh Winning (Digital Contributor)
1. The Guard
"Armed with a caustic wit and a hilariously belligerent hero, this was the surprise of the year, with Brendan Gleeson winningly tart as the twinkly-eyed lead. An instant, unforgettable classic."
2. The Fighter
3. True Grit
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
5. The Skin I Live In
6. The King’s Speech
7. X-Men: First Class
8. Rabbit Hole
9. Bridesmaids
10. Weekend