The Pick'n'Mix Award Winners, 2011

Posted on December 30th, 2011

So, that’s 2011 done with. I’ve reviewed roughly 250 films this year, and seen plenty more that didn’t get written about because they were either big budget movies (you can read about those pretty much anywhere) or low budget films that weren’t any good. I’m afraid I don’t have the heart to slam films made cheaply, but with good intentions; they’ve all managed to do something that I cannot, and it feels wrong for me to criticise them.

Of the ones I have seen, the best are listed below. 2011 saw me refine my tastes some more, with an awful lot of documentaries watched and more discoveries from non-English language moviemakers. In the documentaries category, it’s interesting (to me, at least) that the first three films all show the heart-warming side of the human personality. I’ve stated many times how worried I am about the way I perceive society to be changing, detrimentally, so perhaps my choices here are the wistful longings of an old man. Allow me my indulgences. When it comes to foreign cinema, 2011 was the year of the Norwegians and the French-Canadians, two sets of filmmakers whose work often gets overlooked.

I’d just like to point out some movie sites that I read often, mostly for their individual views on film. The ever-excellent, charmingly elitist Ferdy on Films is still high on my list, as is Philip Concannon’s Phil on Film site. I’d like to recommend Andy Buckle’s Film Emporium and Tyler’s Southern Vision blogs (antipodeans, both of ‘em, so the buggers always post 12 hours before me), Alex’s And So It Begins site, Nostra's My Filmviews and bigger sites such as Anomalous Material and Subtitled Online. I’d also like to mention David Nusair’s Reel Film Reviews and the chaps at Eye for Film, who seem to have seen every film ever released. They’re usually my first point of call when checking reviews.

It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t moan about something, so I’ll take this opportunity to get a couple of things off my chest. I’m fed up of bleating about it, but we still are no nearer to getting mainstream movies which feature black actors and we really should be. Secondly, if I see one more movie with graphic projectile vomiting I’m going to start deducting marks, and thirdly Oscar season drives me mad, with all the decent mainstream movies squeezed together in a one month period, making the other eleven months a bit of a challenge. (And, on a personal level, making my year-end list look pretty silly, considering that at time of compiling I hadn't seen many of this year's hopefuls.)

Enough fluff, and on with the show. Below is my list. If you agree, then stick around and bookmark the site. If you don’t agree, stick around and bookmark the site and I’ll eventually convince you. Season’s greetings!

Best Film

1. Trust
2. Tyrannosaur
3. A Separation
4. 50/50
5. The Trip
6. Midnight in Paris
7. Melancholia
8. Attack the Block
9. Farewell
10= A Better Life
10= The Skin I Live In

Best Director

1. Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur)
2. David Schwimmer (Trust)
3. Lars von Trier (Melancholia)
4. Asghar Farhadi (A Separation)
5. Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)

Best Foreign Language Film

1. A Separation - Iran
2. Farewell (l'Affaire Farewell) - France
3. The Skin I Live In (La Piel que Habito) - Spain
4. Troll Hunter (Trolljegeren) - Norway
5. 20 Cigarettes (20 Sigarette) - Italy
6. Headhunters (Hodejegerne) - Norway
7. Agnosia - Spain
8. Funkytown - Canada
9. A Somewhat Gentle Man (En Ganske Snill Mann) - Norway
10. The Passion (Il Passione) - Italy

Best Actor

1. Demián Bichir (A Better Life)
2. Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur)
3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50)
4. Guillaume Canet (Farewell)
5. Stellan Skarsgård (A Somewhat Gentle Man)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Daniel Henshall (Snowtown)
2. Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
3. John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
4. Eddie Marsan (Tyrannosaur)
5. Albert Brooks (Drive)

Best Actress

1. Agnes Kittelsen (Happy Happy)
2. Kim Cattrall (Meet Monica Velour)
3. Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
4. Emily Watson (Oranges & Sunshine)
5. Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Liana Liberato (Trust)
2. Catherine Keener (Trust)
3. Yasmin Paige (Submarine)
4. Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In)
5. Mélusine Mayance (Sarah's Key)

Best Ensemble Cast

1. A Separation
2. Margin Call
3. Midnight in Paris
4. Agnosia
5. Funkytown

Best Documentary

1. Marwencol
2. Becoming Santa
3. Still Bill
4. The War You Don't See
5. Page One: Inside the New York Times

Best Screenplay

1. Trust
2. A Separation
3. Tyrannosaur
4. 50/50
5. Margin Call

Best Low-Budget Film

1. Bellflower
2. Down Terrace
3. The Point of Regret
4. Cold Weather
5. Now & Later

Top 5 Good Heavens! Moments

1. David Hyde Pierce, The Perfect Host
2. The Big Bang's physics/noir script
3. The Skin I Live In's reveal
4. Headhunters' unfortunate dog
5. Troooollll!!

And Finally: The Worst 5 of the Year

1. Passion Play
2. Father of Invention
3. Kill the Irishman
4. Sleeping Beauty
5. Red State