Best films of 2011

2011 was a film dominated by big spectacle, but few remarkable films. That being said, there were great works from fantastic directors. 3D continued to pave the way for higher ticket prices, but not necessarily for better film experiences. Here is a list of what I found truly amazing during the year of 2011.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Joely Richardson, Robin Wright, Yorick Van Wageningen, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter

Hugo
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Emily Mortimer, Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Christopher Lee

La Piel que Habito/The Skin I Live In
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, Robert Alamo, Eduard Fernandez

Moneyball
Director: Bennett Miller
Cast: Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Spike Jonze, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Brent Jennings

Beginners
Director: Mike Mills
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller

X-Men: First Class
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Zoe Kravitz

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Kathy Burke, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Stephen Graham, Christian McKay

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Director: Brad Bird
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Michael Nyqvist, Lea Seydoux

Drive
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks

Special mentions should go for the following films. "Shame" from Steve McQueen, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" from Stephen Daldry, "Rango" from Gore Verbinski, "Young Adult" from Jason Reitman, "We Need to Talk About Kevin" from Lynne Ramsay and "Contagion" from Steven Soderbergh.