By Howard McQuitter II
#1 “The Tree of Life” PG-13 Drama 139 minutes Many will find “The Tree of Life” esoteric but it”'s enlightening about one man”'s story starting in the 1950s and weaving into what is at times a convoluted cinematographic wonder. Directed by Terrance Malick.
#2 “Of Gods and Men” PG-13 Drama/History 122 minutes Country: France Language: Arabic/French. Eight Trappist monks in a monastery in Algeria (in the 1990s) working with poor Muslims clash with government and military forces. Directed by Xavier Beauvois.
#3 “War Horse” PG-13 Drama? War. 146 minutes A horse named Joey is bought by a poor farmer in England on the edge of World War I. The horse is sold to the army, the boy goes to war, too. That”'s not the end of the story. Directed by Steve Spielberg.
#4 “Extremely Loud &Incredibly Close” (PG-13) Drama 129 minutes First time actor Thomas Horn, as Oskar Schell, loses his dad (Tom Hanks) in the World Trade Center leads to much turmoil and a mysterious key. Directed by Stephen Daldry..
#5 “Drive” R Action/Drama/Thriller 100 minutes Stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) for film productions by day and assists robbers committing heists by night. He meets his neighbor Irene Cary (Carey Mulligan) whose husband Standard (Oscar Issac) team up spurs more trouble with the latter”'s unpaid debts. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.
#6 “The Descendants” PG-13 Drama/Comedy 115 minutes Matt King(George King) lives in Hawaii, son of Hawaiian royalty caught in difficult dilemmas. Directed by Alexander Payne.
#7 “Midnight in Paris” PG-13 Fantasy/Comedy/?Romance 94 minutes Gil”'s(Owen Wilson) trip to Paris with his girlfriend (Rachel McAdams) finds himself a time clock backwards to the 1920s where he meet Scott (Tom Hiddleston) and Zelda (Alison Pill) Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) in the Paris nightclubs. Directed by Woody Allen.
#8 “The Artist” PG Silent.Black&White.Comedy/Drama 100 minutes It”'s Hollywood 1927, George Vaentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie star with a Jack Russell named Uggie. George finds himself out of work when talkies appear; his love interest Pepper Miller (Berenico Bejo) sours as a star when talkies take hold.
#9 “Ides of March” R Drama/Mystery 101 minutes. Presidential aspirations by Democrat Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) in Ohio leads to a scandal which campaign press secretary Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) get entangled. Directed by Micheal Hazanavicius.
#10 “Hugo” PG Fantasy/Adventure 126 minutes One small boy Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) and one small girl Isabella (Chloe Grace Moretz) meet one of silent film”'s earliest directors George Melies (Ben Kingsley). Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Best Animation of 2011; ”Adventures of Tintin “by Steven Spielberg.
Scariest Film of 2011: “Melancholia” directed by Lars von Trier.
