Ten Best Films of 2011 as seen in the cinema: –

1) Black Swan– directed by Darren Aronofsky – Stunning Psycho-Sexual Ballet Thriller with Natalie Portman giving an Oscar Winning performance as a Prima Ballerina fighting not just the competition but her own darkest demons as well as her demented mother beautifully portrayed by Barbra Hershey.

2) The Kings Speech – directed by Tom Hooper – Brilliant British film about King George VI’s speech impediment and the great lengths he goes to to overcome his disability in the wake of the abdication crisis and the build up to World War II. Colin Firth deserved the Oscar for best actor.

3) True Grit- directed by Ethan Coen. A Western directed and written by the Coen Brothers – the Oscar winning team behind No Country for Old Men. Brilliant performances by Jeff Bridges and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld seeking revenge for her murdered father.

4) Blue Valentine – directed by Derek Gianfrance. Sombre and superb portrayal of a young married couple’s relationship slowly disintegrating. Featuring intense performances by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

5) Lincoln Lawyer – directed by Brad Furman. Los Angeles Film Noir crime thriller with an eighties style featuring a sharp talking performance by Matthew McConnaughey defending a rich young man’s murder rap with a mommy complex. Look out for great roles by Frances Fisher and Ryan Philippe.

6) Animal Kingdom – gritty Australian crime drama set in Melbourne featuring a wonderful performance by Jacki Weaver as the Matriarch controlling a family of violent young men.

7) The Tree of Life – directed by Terence Malick. Reclusive creator of the war epic The Thin Red Line brings to life a visually impressive film about a male-dominated family living in Texas in the 1950s seen through the eyes of a young boy coming to grips with a strict and authoritarian father. Featuring great performances by Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, but the film will divide opinions.

8) Contagion – directed by Steven Soderbergh. Brilliant medical thriller about the effects of a virus spreading across the globe featuring a heavy weight cast including Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law. Recommended viewing right until the final frame.

9) The Help – directed by Tate Taylor. Emma Stone, Voila Davis, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard star in this superb social drama about inter-racial relations at the start of the civil rights movement in Jackson, Mississippi. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer give powerful performances as the help.

10) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – directed by Brad Bird. Fourth installment of the Mission Impossible Franchise and much better than its two previous films, with unbelievable stunt sequences in Dubai and Mumbai. See it for the Burj Khalifa breathtaking scene.

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Obviously this a list of the top films seen at the cinema, and there are many more brilliant films available on DVD or made for TV which have also been released in 2011.