The Best of 2011: The Best New Movies I Saw in 2011

Due to working a good bit more and other such complications, I saw nowhere near the number of movies in 2011 that I did in 2010. Probably well less than one-third.

I saw a comparable number of new release movies in theaters--plus some 2011 films on DVD--but didn't take in nearly the number of foreign films, documentaries or classic older movies.

So unlike 2010, when I was able to cobble together separate Best Of lists for English-language feature films, foreign films, documentaries and the best of everything I saw from any era, this year I'm really only prepared to give you a list of the best new movies I saw in 2011.

This does include a foreign film or two, and I watched a few documentaries, but primarily covers mainstream movies that were newly shown at a screen near me within the past 12 months.

For Academy Award purposes, some of the films on my 2011 list were actually 2010 releases. But I didn't see them until this year--they weren't released in the Chicago area until then, or perhaps very late in 2010--so for my purposes, they count.

Admittedly, I may not all that vividly remember some of the ones I saw earlier in the year, so take my rankings with a grain of salt. Especially as there are several critically-acclaimed movies I have yet to see, which I have listed underneath (feel free to weigh in with the best of these).

But for what it's worth, here is Seth Saith's list of:

The Best New Movies I Saw in 2011

* = officially a 2010 release; ** = a foreign film (non-U.S., England, Canada)

1. The Artist

2. Hugo

3. Poetry**

4. Trust

5. Rabbit Hole*

6. Barney’s Version*

7. Moneyball

8. The Descendants

9. Beginners

10. Young Adult

11. Super 8

12. Another Year*

13. Blue Valentine*

14. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

15. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

16. My Week With Marilyn

17. Midnight in Paris

18. Margin Call

19. Warrior

20. The Company Men

Honorable Mention
Source Code
Unknown
Life, Above All**
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Bridesmaids
X-Men First Class
Melancholia
Hanna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Adjustment Bureau

Notable 2011 Films Not Yet Seen
The Ides of March
A Dangerous Method
Take Shelter
Drive
Martha Marcy May Marlene
J. Edgar
A Separation**
Shame
Kinyarwanda**
The Tree of Life
Le Havre**
Terri
Margaret
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Certified Copy**
The Help
War Horse
The Iron Lady
Albert Nobbs
Pariah
The Adventures of Tintin
50/50
The Muppets
The Guard
Coriolanus
The Skin I Live In**
In A Better World**
Incendies**
Like Crazy
Crazy, Stupid, Love

My Friend Dave's Top 15

Incendies**
Another Year
The Artist
The Illusionist**
Poetry**
The Housemaid
Bridesmaids
Le Havre**
Rapt**
The Trip
The Descendants
Margin Call
Tabloid
The Skin I Live In**
The Guard