The Best Films Of 2011 According To Dante

At the beginning of the year I was expecting to have my heart broken by a series of crappy films. I honestly believed that I was going to head to the theaters maybe once and that would be it. I was so wrong! This was the most I’d gone to the theater in years! I decided to compile a list of The Best Films Of 2011 According To Dante. I don’t care about award shows anymore so I wont even bring up who should win what. Let’s hope in the next week before the end of the year that I don’t see another great film. Click the titles to read my original reviews.

The Ides Of March. This movie didn’t get the credit it deserved. One of those films that people will rent and ask themselves “Uh, why didn’t I see this when it was in theaters?” Full of fantastic acting and actors and actresses. I sat in the seat just in awe of the story and performances. it’s a movie about a political race that on paper does not sound good but, damn, this was one of my favorite movies in years. I really do wish that more of you had seen this.

Drive. A lot of people have talked shit about this movie. One woman even sued saying it wasn’t about car chases. That happened. This movie was awesome as hell. I ended up seeing it two times. There are a lot of quiet moments but it only sets you up to damn near shart yourself when something happened. It also had one of the best movie soundtracks I’d heard in forever. I wanted it as soon as the movie was over. But I had to wait weeks.

Trollhunter. This movie was a independent film that got attention but not as much as it deserved. Who could not like a movie about a group of young reporters following a nutjob who hunts and kills trolls for a living? This movie was very intense and there were times where I was screaming at the screen…because I’m Black and that’s how we express ourselves. I had no idea who would live and who would die and that always makes these kinda films cool.

50/50. Superb story about the true story of a young guy that gets a rare form of spinal cancer. Oh, and you will laugh your ass off! I know that the premise doesn’t seem to lend itself to funny but it does. But don’t go into it thinking its all about laughs. There are serious moments when it needs to be. But as someone that used to work in a hospital I know that one of the most important things to have is a positive attitude and laughter. Check this out if you haven’t already.

Warrior. Goddamn whoever made the trailer for this movie! This tanked so hard when it was one of the best films in years…period! This was a super emotional ass film and if I were this much more human I would’ve cried. The acting is great. The fights are brutal. This was one film where I walked out of the theater going “Wow, that was completely different than I thought it was gonna be.” But in a very good way.

The Artist. If you had told me that I was going to fall in love with a French silent film at the beginning of the year I would have thrown a rock at you and told you to get off of my nonexistent lawn. I ended up liking this so damn much that I saw it twice in the same weekend. That hasn’t happened since I saw Snatch years ago. Whoa. That sentence was so pervy. If you don’t see this you fail.

Attack The Block. Oh my god this movie kicked so much ass! A super original take on a classic story. Aliens invade a city and people fight back. This time its violent children. I saw this a few times in theaters and each time I still cheered and jumped at the same parts. The soundtrack was cool as well. I still plan on making my little stuffed animal version of the alien from this film. Watch this film. It will change your mind on child actors and sci-fi.

Bridesmaids. I fought so hard to not watch this movie but my cousin is very persuasive. I watched and laughed so hard my face hurt. I ended up even buying this on DVD. I hadn’t laughed this hard at a movie since Tropic Thunder and Stepbrothers. This also reminded that I really need to stop judging movies by the trailers.

Captain America: The First Avenger. I said that I wasn’t gonna watch this movie but ended up thinking it was one of the best comic book based films ever made. It was close to Batman in terms of pure enjoyment I’ve ever had watching a character come to life. Before the movie was even over I wanted to grab a trashcan lid and fling it at strangers. Normally its just knives. Even if you’re not into the character and doubt you’ll like this, just check it out. You might be surprised at how cool it was.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Out of any film I said I wouldn’t see this one was the absolute one I knew I would hate. I didn’t like the original films or the remake years ago so I figured this would be the shits. It ended up being one of the coolest and action packed films of the year. This also got people into saying that CGI characters played by live actors should now be nominated for major awards. I know I wasn’t gonna talk about awards but I was hoping that you’d forget I said that by now.