The Best Films of 2011, Volume I

It ended up being a solid year for film following a slow start in the spring and some long stretches in the summer.

This is my unofficial Best of 2011 list. Next week, I will post my best of the year list on Patch that will include explanations for my choices as well as my worst of the year.

I will update this list as necessary.

Also, I would be remiss not to mention that I've missed a few notable pictures this year. I currently have "Margin Call" at home and plan to view it this week. But I won't be catching up with "United Red Army," "Mysteries of Lisbon" or "Margaret" until the new year.

For now, here are my acting choices for 2011:
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Best Actress: Keira Knightley, "A Dangerous Method"
Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, "Drive"
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, "The Tree of Life"

And, here are my ten runners up and ten best films:

Ten Runners Up:
20. Higher Ground (Vera Farmiga)
19. Contagion (Steven Soderbergh)
18. The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar)
17. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)
16. Shame (Steve McQueen)
15. J. Edgar (Clint Eastwood)
14. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
13. Moneyball (Bennett Miller)
12. Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
11. Bellflower (Evan Glodell)

Ten Best:
10a. Hugo (Martin Scorsese)
10b. The Artist (Michel Hazanavicious)
  9. City of Life and Death (Chu Luan)
  8. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)
  7. The Descendants (Alexander Payne)
  6. Le Havre (Aki Kaurismaki)
  5. A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg)
  4. Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols)
  3. Melancholia (Lars Von Trier)
  2. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
  1. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)