Spitball Army

At the start of 2011, I began compiling a list of films and other entertainments that I viewed either in the theater or via disc and cable. My Mom does this and, while I can’t say that she necessarily inspired me to take up the habit, I have enjoyed going back to the list and reviewing it on occasion. What caused me to begin this list was an article in The New York Times, dated April 29, 2003, that alphabetizes “The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.” I printed it out, went through it – checking the ones I’d seen – and decided to subsequently start watching the ones I hadn’t. That, and a bit of a clean-sweep through some boxes of DVDs that I had piled in the corner of a closet to eventually view and pass on, propelled me to this geekiest of list-making endeavors.

Here are the films I saw this year (either for the first time or in a re-visitation) that made the top tier (9.0 to 10.0) on my 10-point rating scale, organized in ascending order by rank and the alphabet.

9.0
Another Earth (2011)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Le Quattro Volte (2010)

9.1
George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011)
Skyfall (2012)

9.2
Blue Valentine (2010)
The Red Balloon (1956)
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
We Were Here (2011)

9.3
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) [On first viewing, I rated this film 8.0; this rating is from a subsequent screening.]
How to Survive a Plague (2012)
The Mill and the Cross (2011)

9.5
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

9.8
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Other films I saw this past year that I enjoyed and would recommend (and that I ranked between 8.0 and 8.9, listed here in descending order) are:

8.9
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)
The Flat (2012)
The Flowers of War (2011)

8.8
Drive (2011)
Frankenweenie (2012)
The Hunger Games (2012)
The Intouchables (2012)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012)
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
A Separation (2011)
Shrek Forever After (2010)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

8.7
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Brave (2012)
The Lookout (2007)
Pina (2011)

8.6
Broken Embraces (2009)
The Circus (1928)
Dogville (2003)
Georgy Girl (1966)
Monsieur Lazhar (2011)
A Passage to India (1984)

8.5
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
End of Watch (2012)
Lincoln (2012)
Marathon Man (1976)
Where Do We Go Now? (2011)

8.4
Amelie (2001)
Being Elmo (2011)
The Counterfeiters (2007)
Hitchcock (2012)
In Darkness (2011)
War Horse (2011)

8.3
The Celebration (1998)
Flight (2012)
The Gold Rush (1925)
Looper (2012)
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2010)
Pollyanna (1960)
Prometheus (2012)
Tetro (2009)

8.2
The Artist (2011)
Life of Pi (2012)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Take Shelter (2011)

8.1
Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
The Debt (2010)
The Grey (2011)
Trumbo (2007)
21 Jump Street (2012)

8.0
Brother’s Keeper (1992)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
The Company Men (2010)
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
The Skin I Live In (2011)