As you may know, I haven’t made a Top 10 of 2011 list yet, for two reasons. 1: There have been so many of them published in the blogging world lately that mine wouldn’t add anything new to the discussions. 2: I just haven’t seen enough films for the list to really mean much. Such a list made now would nigh-assuredly look vastly different to the same list made a year from now. While it’s true that all ranked opinionated lists are fleeting by nature, this would probably be a particularly big shift.
So when will I have seen enough to make my list? I didn’t make my 2010 list until just this past September. It was right after catching up with Scott Pilgrim vs the World, which I then haphazardly decided was the last 2010 film I had really high hopes for. In hindsight, I could have waited a bit longer. I have since seen some movies that could might well have made it onto the Top 10, such as Easy A and Cyrus. While the latter wasn’t really on my radar at that point, I had been wanting to see Easy A for quite some time. I really should have held out for that one. It slipped my mind.
So for 2011, I’m getting organized. I have compiled a list of films I must see before making my Top 10 for the year. These are films I figure there’s a good chance I might really like, and thus would have a good shot at making my 2011 list. After some reminding research, I ended up with a collection of 22 movies. For some, it’s because they’re by a director whose prio work I admire. For others it’s because of the actors involved, an intriguing premise, strong word of mouth, or just a gut-feeling. Many are among the current slew of Oscar hopefuls.
By no means are these all the 2011 films I want to see, or the ones I’ll see before any others. Some haven’t been released here in Sweden yet. Many I’ll catch up with through rentals, so the randomness of Lovefilm will also play a part (unlike Netflix’s neatly ordered rental queues, Lovefilm only offers a tiered system of organizing). Also, this list was put together on the spur in 10 minutes or so. There might be films that have slipped by my attention, so there could be later additions.
Here is the current list in alphabetical order.
The Artist – because crowd-pleasers can be pleasing.
The Beaver – because as polarizing as the response has been, the premise fascinates me.
Bridesmaids – because it’s Judd Apatow.
Carnage – because it’s Roman Polanski.
A Dangerous Method – because why wouldn’t I want to see Keira Knightley get a beating?
The Descendants – because it’s Alexander Payne.
The Future – because I have never been able to forget Me and You and Everyone We Know.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – because while I think it’s an unnecessary idea, it’s still David Fincher doing a thriller.
Hanna – because it sounds fresh and people I trust have recommended it to me.
Horrible Bosses – because I’m a big fan of comedies and Kevin Spacey.
Hugo – because of a gut-feeling and Martin Scorsese.
The Ides of March – because of Ryan Gosling.
Martha Marcy May Marlene – because too many people have talked about it for too long for it not to be worth seeing.
Melancholia – because it’s Lars von Trier.
Rampart – because The Messenger showed great potential in the Oren Moverman, Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster trinity.
The Skin I Live In – because I can’t look at that poster without being thoroughly intrigued, plus I haven’t seen many Pedro Almodóvar films.
Sleeping Beauty – because I need more Emily Browning to wash the taste of Sucker Punch out of my mouth.
Submarine – because I like the main character’s coat.
Take Shelter – because I want to be prepared for the end of the world.
We Need to Talk About Kevin – because of Tilda Swinton.
Win Win – because the trailer made it seem so by-the-numbers, yet everyone has so much love for it.
Young Adult – because Jason Reitman seems incapable of making films that aren’t great.
What 2011 films do you still really want to see?
A Swede Talks Movies 