2011 in Film - Highs and a Low

2011 has been a vintage year for movies. Even though it seems every other release has contained a superhero of some kind, there have been some genuine classics that have blessed multiplexes over the past 12 months. For me personally, it's been the first year where I've seen most of the major releases what with my exposure to press screenings and red carpet premieres, somewhat falsely giving me a sense of entitlement that I can compose a best-of list. I've narrowed it down to four and put them in order. Agree/disagree/keep your views to yourself.

4. Super 8

Proof that virtually everything J.J Abrams touches turns to gold, this homage to Spielberg movies of old is a great science fiction film with a touching relationship between two young teenagers at its heart. Following a group of young teenagers who are filming their own Super 8 film in the late '70's, their mini-blockbuster leads them to a local station where they witness a huge train crash (one of the great spectacles this year), releasing a dangerous creature into the town.

Having teenagers at the centre of a plot means the child actors have to be good enough to carry the narrative. Fortunately, Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning give two mesmerising performances; Fanning's in particular exuding a maturity of someone far more experienced. Between them, Courtney and Fanning bring tenderness and affection to adolescent life giving Super 8 an emotional depth that many summer blockbusters think they can do without.

With Spielberg as producer, Super 8 always feels well paced, barely pausing even when the slower more heartfelt moments dominate the screen. The visual effects are outstanding, and the final act where the army decide enough is enough and begin their assault on the creature is an incredibly thrilling sequence.

If you think this all sounds quite like War of the Worlds, then you'd be half right. Especially when it comes to the ending, because like Spielberg's update of the H.G. Welles classic, you can't help but feel short changed by Super 8's ending. It's a shame, but I am prepared to forgive it's dismal outcome, purely for the fact that the proceeding 90 minutes are so strong.

3. Source Code

Those who thought Jake Gyllenhaal was merely a pretty face should really take a long hard look at Source Code, an action-packed-techno-thriller from Duncan Jones. The film tells the story of a army helicopter pilot who wakes up on a commuter train unaware of his surroundings. Suddenly the train explodes, but rather than waking up in front of the pearly gates, he wakes up on the train again, and works out he must repeat the same 8 minutes in order to find the bomber.

Jones, son of David Bowie handles a multi-layered and intricate story with aplomb, keeping the film hurtling along at the breakneck pace of the film's train. At only 90 minutes, it's a short sharp blast with no excess flab. There are plot twists in virtually every scene, and the narrative unravels in a manner that reminded me of Christopher Nolan's Memento, which in my eyes is one of this milennium's great masterpieces.

Which brings me on to Gyllenhaal. Whilst he was rather good in Brokeback Mountain, he was always in the shadow of Heath Ledger (which given the subject matter of the film is a poor choice of words on my part). Yet here he leads the line brilliantly, with a compelling yet haunting performance.

This has been a year of action films punching well above their critical weight. Fast Five, Thor and MI:4 have all had critics retracting thoughts about the quality of blockbusters. Source Code is the best one of the lot. For thought provoking story and explosions, you can't go far wrong.

2. Submarine

No end of year best-of list is complete without an obscure film that many people are unlikely to have seen yet you wish they had. Submarine is the debut feature film of The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade and is based on the novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. It's a coming-of-age comedy-drama focusing on teen sex, but not quite in the same ballpark as films like Superbad. Instead this is wonderfully stylistic, with Tarantino-esque sections and self-aware narration.

It tells the story of Oliver Tate, who falls in love with the cheeky and straight talking Jordana Bevan. From there, Ayoade explores all the trials and tribulations of a teenage relationship, set in a fabulously bleak mid-eighties Wales.

But it never becomes a lesson in style, because like Super 8, there's a lovely little romance right at the centre of it. And once again, the performances of Craig Roberts and Yasmin Page are just fantastic and enormously likeable. Then there's the brilliant supporting cast with the likes of Noah Taylor and Paddy Consadine meaning we're not longing for the teenage couple when they're off-screen.

It says a lot about my partiality to a coming of age story that two of them grace my list. And when there's a style reminiscent of Wes Anderson holding it all together, it gains a direct line to my heart.

1. Drive

We've seen many things in the cinema this year, but it turns out what we really wanted was to see Ryan Gosling crush a man's skull into a bloody pulp with the sole of his boot.

This film ticks about just every box. Classy and stylist direction. Cars. OTT violence. A strong male lead. A stonking electro-pop soundtrack. Carey Mulligan. Evil Jewish gangsters. Retro '80's detailing. I'm nursing a semi just thinking about it. No, that's just Cliff Martinez's score thumping through the subwoofer into my abdominal area.

Drive tells the story of an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver - played on the limit of mannered and madness by Ryan Gosling - who moonlights as a wheelman for criminals, offering a five minute window before his skills become obsolete.

The first half is the Mulligan and Gosling show, with a charming chemistry that is played out through actions, with very little dialogue between the two. The subtle movement of Mulligan's lips and Gosling's deep blue eyes say so much more than reams of dialogue.

Then, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn comes into his own. Proving adept at mastering the human elements, Refn sets about making Drive one of the most beautifully crafted films of the year. From the helicopter shots of a rarely seen side of Los Angeles to the car chase segments that are left to play out rather than horribly spliced together like most modern action sequences, it's a feast for your eyes.

There's a real nod to films like Bullitt and Pulp Fiction, both in it's styling and content. Never does Refn feel like he's struggling with bringing all these elements together; such confidence in a young director is rare.

There's so much to like about Drive that it's difficult to put a finger on any negatives. It's been criminally overlooked by the Golden Globes, but leads the line in nominations at the London Film Critics Awards. Here's hoping it gets the recognition it deserves, because Drive is, by a considerable margin, my favourite film of 2011.

...and the Biggest Disappointment of the Year - The Hangover 2

It was a sleeper hit when it came out in 2009, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't find the original Hangover film a brilliant and original comedy. Featuring a cast of relative unknowns but in the capable hands of Todd Phillips, everything about it was funny. The set up was funny, each of the principal characters were funny and there were funny twists and turns. As this list suggests, the Hangover was funny.

The Hangover 2 took everything that was original (and funny) about the first installment and turned it spectacularly stale. It was like a bacteria that rapidly turns bread into mould. You can't just copy the plot of the first one, proclaim it's 'bigger in every way' and expect the audience to lap it up.

Unfortunately, the audience did lap it up. With over half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, it guarantees there'll be a third installment of the drunken Sherlock Holmes-like series.

I had such high hopes for The Hangover 2. Especially as the principal cast and crew were all back in play, thinking they'd build on the original. Instead, they built next to it, but when stood next to the original, it paled into comparison. Wahh.