Best of Best Picture 2011

By Anthony Daquano

February 22, 2011

He thinks the girl on this bed is ugly and too young to boot, but neither one is a dealbreaker. Clas

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1. Black Swan

Black Swan marks Aronofsky’s third film to land a lead acting nomination and his first Best Picture and Director nomination and deservedly so. I’m still recovering from my first viewing of Requiem for a Dream some seven years ago, but have been hardly been able to do a complete viewing since. However, despite Black Swan’s relentless pace as we spiral into Nina’s psychosis, I knew leaving the theater that I would have to take that trip again. It wasn’t only the crazy mother (Barbara Hershey) attempting to dump a birthday cake in the trash or Winona Ryder realizing the '90s are over that dragged won me over, but the pulsing score and dizzying cinematography mirrored the world of ballet to enhance the hypnotic effect. Aronofsky deftly mixed high art while giving us a pop culture treat in the tandem of Portman and Kunis and resulted in not just my favorite movie of the Academy’s ten but my favorite of the year.

2. True Grit

True Grit may not be the Coens' darkest movie, it may not be the funniest and it may not be the quirkiest but it is certainly the most beautiful. Mattie Ross, an afterthought in the campy John Wayne film, comes to life and stands as one of the Coens' greatest protagonists. Rooster Cogburn, a caricature of John Wayne, becomes a surrogate father in the hands of Jeff Bridges. It may not have the rapid fire wit of The Social Network or display a triumph over adversity, but True Grit may give us the most human relationships of the Academy’s ten this year and for that it deserves to be applauded.

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3. Inception

I’ve heard all the criticisms and yes, Inception may not hold up to the same scrutiny on a second viewing, but none of the fun is lost on that second viewing. Regardless, summer entertainment is rarely this enthralling anymore and few big stars produce the level of films DiCaprio has lately. And despite the criticisms that the film allows for too many interpretations, it will likely become one of most talked about movies for Freshman Philosophy classes since The Matrix.

4. Toy Story 3
I’ll admit it was a bit odd when the man in his 20s was wiping away the tears from his eyes while the four-year-old next to him was swinging his feet. Yet, such was the power of Pixar’s latest which derived emotion from our familiarity with such beloved characters. In a year with many films focusing on the bonds of family and friends, Toy Story stood above them all despite the anthropomorphizing of play things.

5. The Fighter

Another 2010 film focusing on strong family bonds and another film that works despite a well played out story arc. Featuring the strongest cast of the year with what will hopefully bring Christian Bale an Oscar, this family feels real and thus our investment becomes real, despite the familiar faces portraying them.


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