Oklahoma Film Critics Circle

After seeing about 200 movies in 2011, I decided that there was no definitively great movie of 2011. I can’t imagine people talking about any of these movies in 20 years as having been “all-time classics.”

If last year’s “The Social Network,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Black Swan,” “True Grit” or “Inception” had been released this year, any one of them would have topped the list for this year.

That said, I felt as though 2011 was a year in which many genre films - in categories including comic-book and science-fiction - were better than in the past. A couple were even pretty great.

The result is a 10-best list for 2011 that is, as always, something more like my 10 favorites for the year.

Click here for the list …

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Phil Bacharach’s Top 10 Films of 2011

Not one of the better years for movies, 2011 ultimately might wind up best remembered as the year everyone finally got a collective migraine from 3-D. Still, there were some outstanding films here and there:

Click here to see the list …

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Rod Lott’s Top 10 Films of 2011

With even fewer great movies in 2011 than 2010, I was unsure whether I’d be able to find enough to fill the standard 10 slots. (Oddly, Tom Cruise to the rescue!) I’m also unsure what it says about me that I know general audiences would not be able to handle four of these films, starting with the top three.

Click here to see the list ….

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Dec
23rd

Fri

Oklahoma Film Critics Circle names “The Artist” best film of 2011

Oklahoma City, Dec. 23 — The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, the statewide group of professional film critics, has announced its sixth annual list of awards for achievement in cinema, giving top honors to the “The Artist,” a black-and-white, silent film that speaks volumes about movies and the people who make and watch them.

It also earned two additional wins for Michel Hazanavicius in the categories of Best Director and Best Screenplay, Original.

Set in the early days of Hollywood’s motion picture industry, “The Artist” celebrates the wonders of film as it explores the hazards of celebrity in the structure of a charming love story. Like another of the group’s Top 10 films of the year, Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” it pays tribute to the creative force behind filmmaking while also focusing on the impact the business has on the creative process and product.

“This was a close year in our voting,” OFCC President Rod Lott said. “’Drive,’ a film that in many ways is the polar opposite of ‘The Artist,’ came in a close second for best film of 2011. We had to have a tie-breaker vote, our first, for two categories: Best Screenplay, Adaptation and Best Supporting Actress.”

Rounding out the Oklahoma critics’ list of 10 best films of 2011 list are “Drive,” “The Descendants,” “Hugo,” “Shame,” “Moneyball,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Melancholia,” “The Tree of Life” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

Best Actor honors went to George Clooney in “The Descendants.” His subtle portrayal of a man struggling with core issues of being a good father, husband and steward of a large area of pristine wilderness in Hawaii is funny and moving.

Best Actress honors went to Michelle Williams for her stunning portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn.”

Octavia Spencer earned the Best Supporting Actress for her role as a maid who finds a new kind of freedom in telling the truth about her life in “The Help,” while Albert Brooks, in a role far different from his usual comedic persona, won Best Supporting Actor for his role as a gangster in “Drive.”

“These performances surprised and impressed,” Lott said. ”While the Clooney, Spencer and Brooks films were major studio releases, Williams won for her big role in a small film. One of our goals is to call attention to those films without large distribution patterns or budgets.”

While 2011 was a year of intelligent and surprising films in all genres, it also was a year of some failures. OFCC members selected “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” as their Obviously Worst Film of the Year. Their nod to the sequel “The Hangover Part II” as the Not-So-Obviously Worst Film of the Year suggests that, sometimes, once is enough.

“As professional moviegoers, we see many more unsuccessful films than successful ones,” Lott said. “The Not-So-Obviously Worst Film category contains films that may have great talent behind them, but somehow add up to less than the sum of their parts.”

A new category was added this year, Best Guilty Pleasure, which was won by the “Fright Night” remake.

OFCC members are Oklahoma-based movie critics who write for print, broadcast and online outlets that publish or post reviews of current film releases. Among the media outlets represented are Oklahoma Gazette, The Oklahoman, Tulsa World, Edmond Life & Leisure, This Land Press and Urban Tulsa. Also represented are television station KOKH FOX 25; radio station KJYO/Clear Channel; and the websites 411mania.com, ionOKmag.com, crosswalk.com, u-out.net and shadowcabaret.com.

Film buffs can find the complete list of awards on the OFCC website, ofccircle.org, as well as frequent postings on film-related items and links to individual reviews.

Not all the films named as award winners opened in Oklahoma before voting took place; studios arranged press screenings and provided DVDs of many of their films so OFCC members could assess and consider them for year-end awards.

“We honor achievements in motion pictures each year both to celebrate film and to continue to draw attention to Oklahoma as a place with a sophisticated audience of people who appreciate movies that challenge and entertain,” Lott said.

OFCC promotes film in Oklahoma and strives to increase the visibility of the state’s film-viewing and filmmaking communities.

Complete List of OFCC 2011 Film Awards

Top 10 Films

1. “The Artist”

2. “Drive”

3. “The Descendants”

4. “Hugo”

5. “Shame”

6. “Moneyball”

7. “Midnight in Paris”

8. “Melancholia”

9. “Tree of Life”

10.“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Best Film

“The Artist”

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”

Best First Feature

Sean Durkin, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”

Best Actress

Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Actor

George Clooney, “The Descendants”

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Supporting Actor

Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Best Screenplay, Adaptation

“Moneyball,” Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin

Best Screenplay, Original

“The Artist,” Michel Hazanavicius

Best Documentary Film

“Page One: Inside The New York Times”

Best Foreign Language Film

“The Skin I Live In”

Best Animated Film

“The Adventures of Tintin”

Obviously Worst Film

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

Not-So-Obviously-Worst Film

“The Hangover Part II”

Best Guilty Pleasure

“Fright Night”

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Nov
18th

Fri

Jeffrey Huston’s Review: The Descendants

While the quirky, satirical and even provocative sensibilities of Payne’s previous efforts emerge here, The Descendants is his most tender film to date.

Click here to read the full review…

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Nov
16th

Wed

Joe O’Shansky Reviews: These Amazing Shadows/Immortals

Apparently, even my editors think Ted Turner is an asshole. Meanwhile, Tarsem should just make the world’s awesomest looking commercials. They take less time.

Click: It’s Not Just an Adam Sandler Movie…

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Nov
11th

Fri

Jeffrey Huston Review: Tower Heist

This movie is a lot of fun and, in the era of Occupy Wall Street, ends up being a perfectly-timed wish-fulfillment caper for the 99%.

Click here to read the full review…

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