My View of the Best Movies of 2011

In honor (dishonor?) of the Oscars, which just announced their nominees, I would like to offer an opposing view.  In as much as they are called the Oscars, I'll call mine the Felixes.  (Which seems so appropo, since Oscar was a cultural opposite of Felix.)  Now, I'll have to apologize, a bit.  First of all, I have not seen all that Hollywood had to offer this year, thank God, and so I may be missing a few gems out there.  And my view is merely that of a midwesterner-turned-southerner who, as Barak Obama once said, is clinging to my guns and religion.  This can only mean my choices will not coincide with the bigwigs in Tinseltown.  Again, thank God, I say, as I cling to Him.

I watched 32 movies that were released in 2011.  A few of these are listed as 2010, though they did not reach wide release until 2011.  I do not include movies I saw on DVD that were officially released in 2010.  So, limited though my view is, here are my nominees for the 2012 Felixes.  (I will only nominate three in each category.)

Best Picture:

The Debt
The Lincoln Lawyer
Midnight in Paris

Best Director:
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
John Madden, The Debt
 

Actor in a Leading Role:

Bradley Cooper, Limitless

Ryan Gosling: The Ides of March

Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Actress in a Leading Role:
Diane Kruger, Unknown
Helen Mirren, The Debt
Zoe Saldana, Colombiana

Actor in a Supporting Role:
Clancy Brown, Cowboys & Aliens
Cliff Curtis, Colombiana
Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

Actress in a Supporting Role:
Kathy Bates, Midnight in Paris
Jessica Chastain, The Debt
Elle Fanning, Super 8

Admittedly, I don't see too many movies that are mainstream other than action movies, which I like to catch on the big screen.  Most of my movie watching is older movies.  It was not a good year for movies, and I had to really jog my memory to recall any actors worth mentioning here.  Mostly, you can say Midnight in Paris for any category, other than special effects.  And special effects is a funny category now.  Is the category about great filmed effects?  Or simply the best computer wizardry?  I watched two dozen action films this year and none of the whiz-bang special effects caught my eye.  About the best effects I saw last year were on the movie Apollo 18. 

As you can see by this list, I most heartily recommend Midnight in Paris as well as The Debt, and The Ides of March.