The Best Films of 2011: Revisiting The Rankings

Solzy at Movies takes a look back at the best films of 2011 and updates the rankings after a decade of time has passed.

Choosing the best films of the year in early or mid-December sometimes isn’t the best idea. There are times when you really need more time to rank the films. Or in my case, I grew up in Louisville, Ky., so not everything came out before the end of the year. In many instances, we didn’t get some of the Oscar contenders until after the new year. When this happens, those films are ineligible for my awards by default. I didn’t see The Artist until January 27, 2012, for example. In the ten year period since, I’ve joined various critics groups. While I’m happy to see the top contenders early, I’m still not sure I got it right when it comes time to post my awards. Even when it comes to the top ten films of the year, I see way to many films to just post the top ten.

The Muppets, Best Films of 2011 — Jason Segel, Amy Adams and the Muppets. Courtesy of Disney.

Upon looking back at the best films of 2011, one thing that I am factoring in is replay value. How do they hold up upon viewing when we’re five, sometimes ten, years removed from release? For instance, one film that I’ve repeatedly seen since 2011 is Captain America: The First Avenger. However, it wasn’t even in my top ten of 2011! To go even further, I didn’t even place it in my next seven! The same also applies to The Adventures of Tintin. I initially had The Muppets at #7 and the film moved up to #2. But honestly, you can really count Bridesmaids as #1A and The Muppets as #1B. This is how close they are! In revisiting a decade later, both The Help and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have dropped out. Other films have moved up or moved down in my rankings. The Artist is just on the outside looking in.