SLFS Top Ten(ish) Lists 2011

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Here at SLFS, we pride ourselves not just on knowing our content inside and out, but by holding strong (sometimes to a fault) opinions on what we love and hate. Admittedly, what some of us love is not always what we end up playing, and what some of us hate may stick around long past its subjective expiration date. But that’s the beauty of doing what we do, getting an up-close glimpse at just how subjective the appreciation of this art form can be, not just by assessing the overall attendance of a particular film, but by listening to our beloved patrons personally exalt and/or pan films day in, day out. Allow us to turn the tables for a minute and give you, our patrons and admirers, a glimpse at what the cinephiles/snobs/experts/dorks behind SLFS loved about 2011.

Take a look and see how our favorite films compare to yours, then let us know what you think and share with us your favorites on facebook; or, better yet, find one of the employees below at either of our venues and discuss film with them in person. They’re always willing:

(Disclaimer: We’re well aware that it’s now almost two full months into 2012. However, since we ARE in Utah, where the arms of the cinematic world take just a little longer to reach, we believe we are entitled to take a bit more time.)

 

Jim Faulkner

Note from Jim: Sorry my list is so long. You’d think I just like every movie I see, but I swear I don’t. There were plenty of movies I hated in 2011, promise.
 
1. A Separation
2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3. Weekend
4. Poetry
5. Meek’s Cutoff
6. 13 Assassins
7. Take Shelter
8. Le quattro volte
9. The Tree of Life
10. Certified Copy
11. Midnight in Paris
12. Incendies
13. Shame
14. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
15. The Artist
 
Honorable Mentions: Beginners, Drive, Heartbeats, Into the Abyss, Le Havre, Melancholia, Moneyball, Of Gods and Men, The Skin I Live In, Tabloid, The Trip

Alex Henry

1. 13 Assassins
2. The Artist
3. Trollhunter
4. Drive
5. Beginners
6. Bellflower
7. Carnage
8. Attack the Block
9. Take Shelter
10. Martha Marcy May Marlene
 

Dagny Horton

1. The Artist
2. Midnight in Paris
3. Melancholia
4. Madrid, 1987
5. Beginners
6. A Dangerous Method
7. Page One
8. Drive
9. Tabloid
10. Circumstance

James Ramirez

1. A Separation
2. Martha Marcy May Marlene
3. Meek’s Cutoff
4. The Artist
5. The Tree of Life
6. Take Shelter
7. Shame
8. 13 Assassins
9. Le Havre
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Runners up:

Attack the Block, Drive,
Melancholia,
The Skin I Live In, Tabloid,
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Andik Wijaya

1. A Separation
2. War Horse
3. Drive
4. The Artist
5. J. Edgar
6. The Kid with a Bike
7. Take Shelter
8. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
9. The Iron Lady
10. Moneyball
11. The Tree of Life
12. The Skin I Live In
13. Jane Eyre
14. Hugo
15. A Dangerous Method

Zoey Reynolds

Tier 1
The Artist
Brighton Rock
Drive
La Havre
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Tier 2
13 Assassins
Incendies
Jane Eyre
Le quattro volte
Midnight in Paris
Tier 3
Bellflower
Carnage
Gainsbourg
Meek’s Cutoff
The Rum Diary
 

Marcus Salem

1. The Artist
2. Midnight in Paris
3. Drive
4. Melancholia
5. Hugo
6. Monsieur Lazhar
7. Circumstance
8. Martha Marcy May Marlene
9. Brighton Rock
10. 13 Assassins

Stephen Simmons

1. Midnight in Paris – 1920’s nostalgia, gorgeous cinematography and Woody. Of course this is my #1.

2. My Afternoons with Marguerite – Gérard Depardieu is looking haggard these days. But he still has some magic to charm, tickle my funny bone and do I dare say make me weep.

3. Certified Copy – The first twenty minutes made me think this is a waste of……ohhh wait a tick there is something else going on here. Man I love films about dysfunctional relationships.

4. Melancholia – Half drama, half black comedy about the end of the world. Lars you beautiful bastard.

5. Drive – An anti-action film that keeps you on the edge of your seat with a hint of David Cronenberg violence. By a hint I mean a guy gets his head bashed into a million pieces such that Gaspar Noe would blush. Ryan Gosling is a babe.

6. The Artist – A silent masterpiece about the death of silent film and the birth of talkies. Chaplin and Keaton would have been proud.

7. Of Gods and Men – 122 minutes of panic attacks, tears and monks.

8. Monsieur Lazhar – Touching, brilliant and well acted. One of my favorites that showcased at Sundance.

9. Take Shelter – Dark, unsettling and beautiful nightmarish imagery. This movie is crazy good…..or is he crazy?

10. Meek’s Cutoff – Have a group of friends at your house that you want to entertain? Watch Midnight In Paris. This is movie is a moving painting. Eat it Tarantino, your top ten sucks.

11. Scream 4 – The cast is back and so is the writing that made the first Scream so damn good. It is clever and fun.

Curtis Russell

In alphabetical order
Attack the Block
Bellflower
Bridesmaids
Drive
The Future
Incendies
Le Havre
Paul
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Viva Riva!
 

Tyler Hamill

In alphabetical order
Goodbye First Love
Incendies
The Kid with a Bike
Le Havre
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meek’s Cutoff
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation
Shame
Weekend

Rachel Getts

Note from Rachel: Of course this list was made before some major cinema releases such as A Separation and We Need to Talk About Kevin reached my eyeballs, but they’d have to be pretty awesome to be better than Drive.
1. Drive
2. Moneyball
3. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
5. Contagion
6. Certified Copy
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene
8. Super 8
9. The Tree of Life
10. Bridesmaids
 

Vaughn Robison

1. Meek’s Cutoff
2. Take Shelter
3. Melancholia
4. Weekend
5. The Skin I Live In
6. Buck
7. 3

11 Great Films You May (Or May Not) Have Missed in 2011

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At the end of every year, I anxiously await the release of “Best of Year” lists from both film critics and from friends. Quite frequently, however, I’m a bit saddened to see the selections of many of my peers based largely on high-budget Hollywood blockbusters. This isn’t to say that all of these films aren’t deserving, however, but as a perennial supporter of “the little guys,” I hate to see the merit of so many of the films that we showcase throughout the year be dismissed. Sure, various critics do recognize these films, and my friends’ lists do sometimes feature a few of the “Indie Darlings” that we’ve played that year that go on to be award show “surprise” winners, but these cases are far too infrequent and far between.

With that said, words can’t explain how excited I was when The Huffington Post released its Best Films of 2011: 11 Great Films You May Have Missed. I, of course, had to share this with my friends, and of course the fact that of the 11 films on the list, Salt Lake Film Society has proudly played, is currently playing, or has booked to play 9 of the films.

I applaud the The Huffington Post and the list’s curator, Amy Lee, for recognizing the excellence of these films, and hope to see many more of the greats we’ve played in 2011 be recognized on the “Best of Year” lists of more critics, and more importantly, the “Best of Year” lists of my friends.

 

Vaughn
Salt Lake Film Society

 

Message from our founder Kris Liacopoulos

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I am so pleased and even downright amazed to see the Salt Lake Film Society today, especially as I remember that night my brother Paul came to me over 10 years ago and said, “We’ve got to save the Tower!”  When we wrote those personal checks and got those loans, we did so with the hope that our community would believe in the importance of coming back to and supporting the Tower and art, independent and foreign film in Salt Lake.

Within a couple of years, we knew our community indeed felt it was important, and furthermore viewed our independence from Hollywood mainstream multiplexes and films as a valuable community asset.  That is when we explored adding more screens and creating the SLFS with a core mission of building community engagement and general appreciation for film exhibition and creation.

Now, several years later, through a lot of hard work from our board and our staff, great leadership from our Executive Director Tori Baker, and fantastic support from our members and community at large, we continue to ensure that our community has access to diverse voices through films that might not otherwise make it to Salt Lake.

Film is such an important communication medium — it captures our imaginations, provides inspiration, and informs us of important stories needing to be told.  Finally, it records our cultures and our histories in intensely personal ways and brings them to life when projected on screen.  When there are no longer living survivors of World War II or the holocaust, many individual stories will transcend time to be told again and again, in their own voices, because they are recorded on film.

At the Salt Lake Film Society, we are honored to be part of the foundational concept of freedom of speech that is so important to our democracy.  Thank you for being a part of our story through your engagement, support and patronage.

Sincerely, Kris