40 Years of Movies: 2011

 


2021 is the year I turn 40. As part of my celebration, I'm looking back at 40 years of movies, picking my favorite film from each year I've been around! To learn more about the criteria for this process, check this introduction. Each post will feature my pick, plus three runner's up. So check back over the next 40 weeks of this journey!

2011:

X-Men: First Class
About: As we begin the fourth and final decade of this countdown we arrive to an interesting year. This prequel/re-boot launched a new group of X-Men. It focused on the relationship between Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender). It has a great 1960s setting and a fascinating story. This is one of my favorite superhero films.

Other Considerations:
Moneyball
About: This one sees Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the GM who used a new way of thinking to make the cash-strapped Oakland A's relevant. Based on the non-fiction book, this one was a Best Picture nominee and it works to make some pretty dry material come to life.

Bridesmaids
About: A few years earlier we got the hard-R comedy The Hangover that was one of the most fun of summer. This one led by Kristin Wiig is another hard-R comedy that focuses on an upcoming wedding and the bridesmaids that are participating in it. Wiig is great, but the rest of the cast that includes Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and Melissa McCarthy is a lot of fun.

Tree of Life
About: I wrestled with this one. It comes from Terrence Malick and has a very unique cinematic style. It was a polarizing film when it was released. I don't know if I love it, in fact I've wrestled with it a lot. But it's a film I come back to frequently. There is something about the story and its religious themes that I find appealing and thought-provoking.

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