Another year down and it’s time to sift through the mire of releases and bring you the Bloglin’s top movies of 2011. It was a weird year for movies and if you pay attention to box office grosses, kinda pathetic. More sequels were released in 2011 than any other year in history and seven of those sequels were the highest grossing films of the year. This wasn’t a big shock – Hollywood ran out of original ideas years ago. Not to knock all of the well-funded money makers – Deathly Hallows was fantastic and Fast Five brought the fun back to summer action movies that have been gunning too hard lately to be “gritty” and “intelligent.” But where’s the originality?

It’s all across the ocean, apparently. Four foreign language films made our cut and 11 directors on the list come from overseas. A few of the films on our list that actually were made by U.S. citizens came from directors making their first feature length or scrappy indie kids taking big leaps with their art. Step up your game, America! Smaller distributors kicked major ass this year too. Distributors IFC and Magnet both scored hat tricks below, while the bigger dogs like Sony and Fox have a weaker presence as they continue to hoard their precious money, refusing to drop their nuts and take some goddamn risks.

It’s noteworthy to mention that three of our favorite comedians each appear twice on the list: John C. Reilly, Rainn Wilson, and Tim Heidecker! We know, Tim only had blink-and-you-miss-him roles in both films, but it still counts!

One last thing before we jump into this. I want to say that it was a huge year for the Bloglin’s movie coverage. We got more screener invitations, festival press badges, and DVD/Blu-ray review copies than ever. There are a million other blogs you could waste your time on everyday, so thanks for hanging out with us dorks. It means a lot. Okay enough yammering. Here’s the Bloglin’s favorite films of 2011 with a few honorable mentions for fun. Feel free to tell us how absolutely right we are in the comments.

Honarble Mentions: Werner Herzog showed us some of the cave drawings he did as a child in Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Steven Soderbergh scared the shit out of us with Contagion, we wanted to drink really bad with Brendan Gleeson in The Guard, the second best movie about the discovery of a planet near ours was Another Earth, and Jonathan Levine showed us the funny side of cancer with 50/50.

So join us after the jump as we countdown the Bloglin’s favorite films of 2011.

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20) The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence [IFC] // Director: Tom Six

The largest complaint leveled at the still very effective first Human Centipede was that, despite it’s promise of extreme grossness, it really was not all that hardcore. Well, either director Tom Six really took that to heart, or he’s been playing one hell of a long con, because Full Sequence certainly didn’t skimp out on the gore. At all.

Finding just as fucked up and fun a central performance out of newcomer Laurence Harvey as he did from Dieter Lauser in First Sequence, Six really pushes the limits of taste with panache.

Original Bloglin review

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19) 13 Assassins [Magnet] // Director: Takashi Miike

Eclectic director Takashi Miike’s relentless samurai epic 13 Assassins kicked my ass at Action Fest back in April and my balls have been swollen ever since. A group of samurais fight to take down the Shogun’s brother as he rapes, dismembers, and murders his way up the government.

Exposition moves breezily leading up to the final, 45 minute showdown. Yes, the last battle is nearly an hour long and it’s glorious. It’s a gory, well-crafted underdog story from a master.

Original Bloglin review

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18) The Last Circus [Magnet] // Director: Alex de la Iglesia

Visionary Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia created a thing of operatic cinematic joy with The Last Circus. It was visually one of the most batshit insane movies of 2011 and one of the most unforgettable in recent years. Following the sad clown Javier through his trials and tribulations and uzis of a mad circus, The Last Circus is a raging feast for the sense.

Give Alex de la Iglesia a ton of money and let him make original and crazy films forever.

Original Bloglin review

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17) Super [IFC] // Director: James Gunn

How the hell did this movie go under so many people’s radar? James Gunn’s Super was a vibrant, gleefully violent twist on the superhero genre. It took the promise of Kick Ass and pushed it over the edge – giving it real-life stakes and oodles of stylistic flair. Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson make a terrific, oddball team and what’s not to enjoy about Rob Zombie playing the voice of God?!?!

Gunn lulls the audience into a rhythm of expectation then cracks their forehead open with a wrench – metaphorically, that is. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but that just makes it so much more charming than all the superhero bullshit festering in theaters nowadays.

Original Bloglin review

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16) Tabloid [IFC] // Director: Errol Morris

OG documentarian Errol Morris didn’t try to get behind the truth of Joyce McKinney, “The Manacled Mormon.” That wasn’t the point of his masterfully-crafted Tabloid. He presents both sides of the McKinney controversy from those who supported her and those who shitted on her and uses them to look at how the makes celebrities out of talentless goofballs. Is there anything more relevant than that?

McKinney is infamous for the ridiculous 1977 kidnapping/multiple rape case of a Mormon. Instant celeb, baby. I can’t tell you entertaining it is to listen to an old, dog-cloning nutcase talk about how she kidnapped a Mormon and raped him.

Not originally review on the Bloglin

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15) Beginners [Focus Features] // Director: Mike Mills

A film filled with cutesy gimmicks might sound like a turn-off for some Bloglin readers, but writer-director Mike Mills makes it work in his painfully poignant narrative of a father (Christopher Plummer) and son (Ewan McGregor) finally getting to know each other at the tail end of the father’s life.

You’re never too old to learn, whether it be about house music, love, or graffiti. Ewan McGregor’s tag: “1985 Bush Finds Jesus.”

Not originally reviewed on the Bloglin

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14) Hesher [New Market Films] // Director: Spencer Susser

Spencer Susser’s debut feature Hesher tackles mourning and loss and wraps it in an old Metallica shirt. There’s a lot of depressing stuff in the film as young T.J. and his self-medicating father (Rainn Wilson) try to deal with the loss of their mom and wife, but every time the gloom gets almost unbearable, in walks Hesher.

Played with a totally convincing “I Don’t Give a Fuck” approach by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hesher is a morally ambiguous metalhead who uses tough love on T.J. to show him that sometimes, you have to shove your middle finger up life’s asshole then go burn a car.

Original Bloglin review

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13) Bridesmaids [Universal Pictures] // Director: Paul Feig

In recent years, movies in the wedding comedy genre have sucked pretty bad. Especially the ones that focus on women (Bride Wars, The Proposal). Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids vomits all over the genre with a superb blend of raunchiness, sentiment, and sincere buddy comedy.

Kristen Wiig (who also co-wrote the movie) heads the eclectic ensemble in a role that should, if there’s any justice in this cruel world, lead to her scooping up many more high-profile roles. And how bold for them to give Tim Heidecker a dialogue-less cameo!!!

Original Bloglin review

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12) Terri [ATO Pictures] // Director: Azazel Jacobs

There’s something really really special about Azazel Jacobs’ Terri. It’s an honest, painfully personal, and sometimes gut-wrenching film about an overweight, high-school outsider. Newcomer Jacob Wysocki plays Terri with a brave confidence while exuding stoic, sympathetic fat kid wisdom.

John C. Reilly plays Terri’s assistant principal and mentor, Mr. Fitzgerald, in a role that strengthens Reilly as one of the best working men in dramedy. The scene in the shed was one of the most tense of 2011!

Original Bloglin review

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11) Hanna [Focus Features] // Director: Joe Wright

Joe Wright’s hyper-fairtytale Hanna raised the bar in early 2011 for stylistic action movies – the brilliant choreography in the cargo container fight helped make it on of the best action scenes of the year. Wright injected the violent action with a believable coming of age story.

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan makes Hanna as completely real as a 16 year old girl raised in the woods being chased by the CIA can be. Cate Blanchett is wickedly good as the villain and let’s not forget those bizarre skinhead hitmen. One of the best scores of the year too by the Chemical Brothers.

Not originally reviewed on the Bloglin because I’m lazy. I’ve watched it three times though.

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10) The Skin I Live In [Sony Pictures ] // Director: Pedro Almodovar

Pedro Almodovar’s beautifully twisted tale of an obsessive plastic surgeon and his live-in patient/prisoner floored me with its tremendously batshit twist. I’m not going to say anything else for spoiler’s sake. It’s beautifully photographed and Almodovar’s funniest film in years.

Antonio Banderas gets to flex his acting muscles for once – The Skin I Live In allowed him to tackle a more complex character than those he portrayed in Spy Kids 4D and Puss in Boots.

Not originally reviewed on the Bloglin

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9) I Saw the Devil [Magnet] // Director: Jee-woon Kim

South Korea continues to murder the U.S. with their unparalleled revenge thrillers and Jee-woon Kim’s I Saw the Devil is one of the best yet. It was also deemed “severely damaging to the dignity of human values” by the Korean censor boards who banned the film. This cat and mouse of a serial killer and his hunter is relentless in its ferocious violence and blurs the line of morality.

Like every great revenge thriller, the vigilante doesn’t find solace in his revenge and becomes more like the monster he’s hunting down. Choi Min-sik’s portrayal of serial killer Kyung-chul was one of the most chilling villains of the year.

Original Bloglin review

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8) The Descendants [Fox Searchlight] // Director: Alexander Payne

Hard to go wrong with Alexander Payne. Though the marketing may make this movie look cheesy, it’s nothing but saccharine, and is a sometimes uncomfortably raw look at the sadness and strangeness of losing a family member.

It’s got a great script, but also knockout performances all around, with a never better George Clooney at the center.

Original Bloglin review

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7) Meek’s Cutoff [Oscilloscope Laboratories] // Director: Kelly Reichardt

Kelly Reichardt’s bleak story of pioneers lost in the desert is a slow and sometimes uncomfortable movie. Shot in the old 1:33 aspect ratio, Reichardt made her unconventional Western deliberately ambiguous – some viewers were shocked by the brevity of the film’s ending.

Michele Williams leads the wagon train into the harsh, unforgiving realities of the desert and Reichardt never lets the party forget that it’s the desert who’s boss. Bleak and beautiful cinematography and strongly stark storytelling. A unique entry in the Western genre indeed.

Original Bloglin review

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6) Take Shelter [Sony Pictures Classics] // Director: Jeff Nichols

Michael Shannon is currently the go-to-guy for crazy-eyes, but Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter is at least an honest look at the craziness that leads to mad eyes. Nichols reteamed with his Shotgun Stories star Shannon to tell the story of schizophrenic Curtis, a man preparing for doomsday and taking his whole family down with him.

It’s a superbly-crafted, genre-bending, subtle thriller about a father’s mental collapse and the consequences of doing crazy shit like, you know, taking out a huge loan to upgrade your storm shelter.

Original Bloglin review

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5) We Need to Talk About Kevin [Oscilloscope Laboratories] // Director: Lynne Ramsay

Acclaimed British art-house director Lynne Ramsay invaded America at the tail-end of 2011 with her terrifying, unsettling tale of inherit evil, We Need to Talk About Kevin. In the role of her career, Tilda Swinton portrays a mother coming to terms with her wicked spawn and the tremendous violence he’s done.

Ezra Miller is sinister as a basket of cobras as the teenage Kevin and John C. Reilly, well, you just want to give him a hug. It’s a haunting film about a touchy subject. Show this to your lady if she’s bugging you about having a kid – this film is great birth control.

Original Bloglin review

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4) Senna [Working Title Films] // Director: Asif Kapadia

Director Asif Kapadia brought his narrative flair to the documentary world with the tale of F1 legend Ayrton Senna’s turbulent life. The result was one of the most moving films of the year; an incredible sports documentary about a niche subject that used only found footage from news reports, interviews, and race cameras.

It’s a gripping portrait of an artist at odds with politics and technology. It also documented one of the great unsung sports rivalries of all time: Senna vs. Proust. How this got snubbed on the Best Documentary Oscar long-list is baffling to me.

Original Bloglin review

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3) Attack the Block [Sony Pictures] // Director: Joe Cornish

This movie just kicks ass. A perfect storm of sci-fi-action-comedy-horror and social commentary, Attack the Block took the alien invasion genre and compresses it onto a small South London council estate. A group of dodgy, teenage hoods take on the primal aliens head-on with fireworks, baseball bats, and high-grade weed.

Filled with a cast of first-time actors (and Nick Frost’s fat face), Attack the Block is relentlessly entertaining – leading up to the Moses’ white-knuckle dash through his flat during the finale – one of my favorite action scenes of the year. A much better Amblin-style creature feature than that doofy Super 8.

Original Bloglin review

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2) Melancholia [Magnolia Pictures] // Director: Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier’s follow up to 2009′s Antichrist had us laughing with him, instead of at a talking fox. Melancholia is a deeply personal science fiction film that showed von Trier’s deep understanding of depression and Udo Kier’s comedic potential. It’s absolutely stunning from the wordless, slo-mo prologue to the apocalyptic end.

Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsboug both deliver achingly raw performances and von Trier even managed to squeeze a terrific role out of Keifer Sutherland. A brilliant and gorgeous film that encaptures several of the themes previously explored by von Trier.

Original Bloglin review

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1) Drive [Film District] // Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicloas Winding Refn’s mean little poetic masterpiece was a box-office flop but one of the biggest critical hits of 2011 – including here at the Bloglin. Ryan Gosling turned every man in the nation completely gay with his cooled out, hypnotic performance of Driver – a quiet psychopath looking for some love.

Backed by a brilliant supporting cast, Cliff Martinez’s stripped-down score, Refn’s way with violence and mood, Newton Thomas Sigel’s seductive cinematography, and that fucking “Real Hero” song none of us could get out of our heads – Drive was easily the best movie of the year.

Original Bloglin review

- Oh Mars