After a huge 2010 with cinephiles being treated to movies like The Social Network, Inception, and many others, 2011 didn’t slow things down. 2011 wasn’t especially known for any specific kind of trend in movies, as we wouldn’t see the huge surge in superhero movies until the following year, but it did see a massive amount of franchises continue their successes.
On top of that, there were a significant amount of successful adaptations of novels, with many of them being gripping crime movies and one film that shockingly predicted the times we’re living in today. And it’s truly hard to believe that they’re already turning 10 years old, especially as Ryan Gosling doesn’t look a day older than he a decade ago.
Drive
Being one of the movies with a misleading trailer, as the marketing for the movie had people believe Drive was going to be a high octane action movie, it in fact turned out to be almost the exact opposite.
The movie is extremely slow-paced, and it hardly features a single scene that could be called “action,” but it does feature a fascinatingly Lynchian narrative and an incredible soundtrack that’s a fantastic throwback to the 80s.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
As The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo isn’t the only adaptation of the novel of the same name, many people see this as a remake of the Swedish version. However, director David Fincher has stressed that it isn’t a remake, but is instead another adaptation of the original novel.
Surprisingly, the movie doesn’t come off as an Americanised version of the source material like most American adaptations of foreign material do, and it’s extremely faithful to the book. And on top of that, it’s typically beautiful looking, as are all Fincher films, and it’s also one of Daniel Craig’s best movies.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger was one of the very first movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When the movie was first released, few people had any idea that it was connected to a larger universe, but 10 years later, even people who don’t watch movies know who Steve Rogers is and his place in the MCU.
Though the MCU got into a rhythm of releasing quality movies in the mid-2010s, The First Avenger remains one of the mediocre movies in the series, but there’s a lot of heart in the movie, at times it’s a fantastic period drama, and it’s still great to see where it all began.
Hugo
A lot of people forget that Martin Scorsese isn’t just the guy who directs gangster movies, but that he’s actually a very experimental filmmaker. Putting aside the fact that The Irishman was the biggest experiment in de-aging ever, Hugo was shot in 3D.
It’s no surprise that it is actually the best use of 3D of the 2010s, though it might say something about the medium that the director never returned to it. The movie also marked the first time that Scorsese directed a family movie, but it didn't do great in the end - the movie was a box office flop.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
With the Mission: Impossible series being full of cool stunts, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol marked the first time in which Tom Cruise would seriously up the ante by using a real-life monument as a set piece (or a climbing frame.) And that monument just happened to be the Burj Khalifa, the world's largest skyscraper.
Coming from working in animation, most notably The Incredibles, director Brad Bird clearly set out to make the closest thing to a live-action Incredibles movie he possibly could, and it was a huge success.
Fast Five
Being one of the best action movie sequels, Fast Five all but abandoned everything we knew about the franchise. No longer were Brian and Dom street racing fanatics, but instead were the most wanted men in the world. Though the franchise jumped the shark with this movie, many fans argue that the series is better for it, as it has essentially become Mission: Impossible-lite.
Coming 10 years after the first movie, the grounded reality of that gritty crime drama is missed, but Fast Five is completely in a lane of its own.
The Hangover Part II
With The Hangover over-performing at the worldwide box office, it was a no-brainer that a sequel would be fast-tracked into development. Though it was initially perceived as repeating the same jokes in a different city, switching out Las Vegas for Bangkok, The Hangover Part II didn’t wow audiences like the original.
But 10 years later, it’s obvious that the sequel wasn’t given the credit it deserves. The movie is more outrageous and had much higher stakes and not only that, but it’s also home to some of the series’ most hilarious quotes
Bridesmaids
Even 10 years later, the Oscar-nominated Bridesmaids still remains unrivaled on the comedy landscape, as no other outright comedy has been nominated for an Academy Award since, and few other movies have had fans begging for a sequel like audiences of Bridesmaids.
Being written by Kristen Wiig, this movie has helped her score so many roles in the 10 years since. The movie was somewhat of a breakthrough for Melissa McCarthy too, as she has been trying to replicate Bridesmaids’ success with every movie she seems to release on an almost annual basis.
Red State
As Kevin Smith is mostly known for his stoner comedies such as Clerks, Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the director shocked audiences by going against-type and helming one of the most intense thrillers of the past 10 years.
The movie follows a group of teenagers who think they are meeting up with girls they met online, only to fall into the trap of some crazy fundamentalists. As Smith is now completely in his element hosting several different podcasts, Red State was his last truly great movie.
Contagion
In 2020, there was no movie more talked about than Contagion, and it was even talked about more than when it was first released almost 10 years ago.
Being about a worldwide pandemic, without spoiling anything, the catalyst of the pandemic in the movie is suspiciously close to COVID-19 that it makes viewers think the screenwriter could very well have been from the future.