The notion of ranking films and declaring one “better” than the other is a losing effort; as opinions will, and should, vary for each and every one of us. However, with March Madness upon us, who says only sports fans should have fun this time of year? As such, we present to you March Movie Madness: a 16-film bracketed match-up system to determine what cinematic effort really was the Champion of 2011.
In order to do this, one can think of our selection process in a similar fashion to how college basketball fills their bracket. Here, there were three main factors: audience approval, awards consideration, and critical reception. When a film gets released, it receives positive or negative reviews, earns box office and viewer ratings, and eventually there is awards season; which is sort of the conference tournament section of the season.
We compiled statistics from each of those categories and ran them through an ad-hoc algorithm to narrow down the field from hundreds to dozens. From there, certain accolades like Oscar nominations, other major awards, recognition by critics’ societies, and money earned per theater all factored into a manual selection method (via our two-man committee) to determine seeding for the brackets.
Like the NCAA, we determined the “Last 4 Films Out” of the competition. This year, that dubious distinction fell on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, War Horse, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Take Shelter. Each had elements that put them near the rest of the field but they fell just short of the final cut.
Ranking the top 16 was at times easy, like giving The Artist the #1 seed due to winning multiple awards such as the Oscar and the BAFTA, inclusion and/or wins on most critic society lists, and high audience approval. Not wanting to stay locked into a spreadsheet full of numbers, it seemed only fair to make sure that one of the top four films not only received decent critical reception but also widespread public approval. As such, The Help was able to lock up the #4 slot, despite other films earning better overall tabulated scores based on the criteria we used.
Some selections were not so simple, and in the spirit of full disclosure, the choice to land Midnight in Paris at #3 and The Tree of Life at #5 was literally a coin flip (it was Ian’s fault for giving Malick’s effort ‘Heads’ that cost it two spots, blame him). Also, trying to actually compare Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 to Moneyball in selecting the 10 and 11 seeds was a bit like asking Billy Beane to use the Sorting Hat to pick starting pitchers.
So without further ado, here is how the initial selection shook out. Be sure to check back to see which films move forward, which get left behind, and which one claims the title of 2011 March Movie Madness Champion. It’s gonna be awesome, baby!
And the results are in: The Elite 8 / The Final Rounds
In order to do this, one can think of our selection process in a similar fashion to how college basketball fills their bracket. Here, there were three main factors: audience approval, awards consideration, and critical reception. When a film gets released, it receives positive or negative reviews, earns box office and viewer ratings, and eventually there is awards season; which is sort of the conference tournament section of the season.
We compiled statistics from each of those categories and ran them through an ad-hoc algorithm to narrow down the field from hundreds to dozens. From there, certain accolades like Oscar nominations, other major awards, recognition by critics’ societies, and money earned per theater all factored into a manual selection method (via our two-man committee) to determine seeding for the brackets.
Like the NCAA, we determined the “Last 4 Films Out” of the competition. This year, that dubious distinction fell on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, War Horse, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Take Shelter. Each had elements that put them near the rest of the field but they fell just short of the final cut.
Ranking the top 16 was at times easy, like giving The Artist the #1 seed due to winning multiple awards such as the Oscar and the BAFTA, inclusion and/or wins on most critic society lists, and high audience approval. Not wanting to stay locked into a spreadsheet full of numbers, it seemed only fair to make sure that one of the top four films not only received decent critical reception but also widespread public approval. As such, The Help was able to lock up the #4 slot, despite other films earning better overall tabulated scores based on the criteria we used.
Some selections were not so simple, and in the spirit of full disclosure, the choice to land Midnight in Paris at #3 and The Tree of Life at #5 was literally a coin flip (it was Ian’s fault for giving Malick’s effort ‘Heads’ that cost it two spots, blame him). Also, trying to actually compare Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 to Moneyball in selecting the 10 and 11 seeds was a bit like asking Billy Beane to use the Sorting Hat to pick starting pitchers.
So without further ado, here is how the initial selection shook out. Be sure to check back to see which films move forward, which get left behind, and which one claims the title of 2011 March Movie Madness Champion. It’s gonna be awesome, baby!
And the results are in: The Elite 8 / The Final Rounds
#1 – 'The Artist' vs. #16 – 'The Ides of March'
© The Weinstein Company
The Artist: A tale of a silent film star being pushed out of the limelight when talkies begin to take over Hollywood and a budding actress who might just be his salvation, both literally and figuratively. Winner of multiple Best Picture awards (Oscar, César, BAFTA, etc.), included on over twenty critics’ society lists, and earning widespread approval from audiences, this was the clear overall #1 seed.
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The Ides of March: George Clooney directed and co-wrote the film, enlisting A-listers like Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Evan Rachel Wood for the effort. The story depicts the loss of innocence over a campaign scandal and attempts to project hope via a change to the system as candidates try to make it to the big dance. This did okay at the box office considering its budget, did all right with the critics and garnered nominations with the Producers Guild Awards and Golden Globes.
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The Ides of March: George Clooney directed and co-wrote the film, enlisting A-listers like Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Evan Rachel Wood for the effort. The story depicts the loss of innocence over a campaign scandal and attempts to project hope via a change to the system as candidates try to make it to the big dance. This did okay at the box office considering its budget, did all right with the critics and garnered nominations with the Producers Guild Awards and Golden Globes.
#8 – 'A Separation' vs. #9 – 'Beginners'
© Sony Pictures Classics
A Separation: Slotting this into the field wasn’t just an automatic bid to throw in the Foreign Language Oscar winner. An Iranian film handling heady subject material, this garnered widespread acclaim amongst critics and stands out on its own, regardless of the need for Americans to read subtitles. It also had the highest audience approval ratings of any film that made this field.
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Beginners: Writer/director Mike Mills’ semi-autobiographical tale of a father coming out of the closet in his seventies after decades of marriage to a woman features outstanding performances by Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Mélanie Laurent. It would go on to earn praise from critics and a few award nominations, though mostly in the independent arena. An early summer release, in limited fashion, did not help keep it relevant for the awards push.
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Beginners: Writer/director Mike Mills’ semi-autobiographical tale of a father coming out of the closet in his seventies after decades of marriage to a woman features outstanding performances by Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Mélanie Laurent. It would go on to earn praise from critics and a few award nominations, though mostly in the independent arena. An early summer release, in limited fashion, did not help keep it relevant for the awards push.
#5 – 'The Tree of Life' vs. #12 – 'Bridesmaids'
© Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
The Tree of Life: Well received by critics and sporting some of the best cinematography in years, director Terrence Malick’s latest effort covers a lot of ground, from the formation of the Earth, to the dissolution of a family, to what may lie beyond our physical lives. Although not released in thousands of theaters, the per screen average, award nominations, and critical reception land it high on the list.
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Bridesmaids: Affectionately referred to as The Hangover for women. Bridesmaids showed both moviegoers and Hollywood executives that female centered comedies could be both entertaining and incredibly profitable. Entertainment value aside, this buddy comedy about the evolutions of friendship through adulthood was also endearing to critics, earning SAG, AFI, PGA and Golden Globe nominations.
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Bridesmaids: Affectionately referred to as The Hangover for women. Bridesmaids showed both moviegoers and Hollywood executives that female centered comedies could be both entertaining and incredibly profitable. Entertainment value aside, this buddy comedy about the evolutions of friendship through adulthood was also endearing to critics, earning SAG, AFI, PGA and Golden Globe nominations.
#4 – 'The Help' vs. #13 – '50/50'
© DreamWorks Studios
The Help: At first blush, this film about a young Southern belle interviewing a group of African-American housekeepers in the heart of the civil rights movement seems a little high (4th seed) considering the competition in this bracket. But considering that public perception was a key part in ranking these films, the selection committee could not deny the overwhelming popularity of this film from audiences and critics alike.
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50/50: Inspired by screenwriter Will Reiser’s own life, the movie is a dramedy about a young man’s struggle to overcome cancer with the help of his best friend was both wildly amusing and incredibly emotional. This squeezed into the bracket as a sort of “at large bid” and could be a Cinderella when the tournament starts. The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and multiple nominations in the same category from critics groups certainly doesn’t hurt its chances.
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50/50: Inspired by screenwriter Will Reiser’s own life, the movie is a dramedy about a young man’s struggle to overcome cancer with the help of his best friend was both wildly amusing and incredibly emotional. This squeezed into the bracket as a sort of “at large bid” and could be a Cinderella when the tournament starts. The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and multiple nominations in the same category from critics groups certainly doesn’t hurt its chances.
#6 – 'Drive' vs. #11 – 'Moneyball'
© FilmDistrict
Drive: Director Nicolas Winding Refn’s tale of a nameless driver (Ryan Gosling) falling in love with a married woman (Carey Mulligan) and having to settle a score with local gangsters suffered from mis-marketing, as there were some so confused by the difference between the trailer and the actual film that they filed suit. This wasn’t just some mindless popcorn flick, it slowly built its characters until the shoe dropped and Gosling exacted his sense of justice. So although some people seemed taken aback by getting something requiring far more brain cells than another Fast and the Furious clone, critics recognized the exceptional filmmaking.
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Moneyball: When you parlay the writing abilities of Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin you're bound to come up with an Oscar nominated screenplay. Now sprinkle in the commercial appeal of Brad Pitt and you have an extremely popular movie about a MLB General Manager’s plight to keep his “Mid-Major” team competitive against the likes of the “Power Conferences” in baseball. *Special consideration was given to this film by the selection committee on the basis that it is the only sports movie in this list.
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Moneyball: When you parlay the writing abilities of Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin you're bound to come up with an Oscar nominated screenplay. Now sprinkle in the commercial appeal of Brad Pitt and you have an extremely popular movie about a MLB General Manager’s plight to keep his “Mid-Major” team competitive against the likes of the “Power Conferences” in baseball. *Special consideration was given to this film by the selection committee on the basis that it is the only sports movie in this list.
#3 – 'Midnight in Paris' vs. #14 – 'The Guard'
© Sony Pictures Classics
Midnight in Paris: 35 years after Annie Hall, Woody Allen reminded us that he still has what it takes to stay competitive in filmmaking. The story centers on a Hollywood screenwriter’s romantic love affair with Paris. He finds unlikely creative inspiration from the famous writers of the 1920’s who, like him, fell in love with the city of lights. As with most Woody Allen films, this may be too pseudo-intellectual for some, but strong performances by an all-star cast and a fantastic script make Midnight in Paris a strong pick to make it to the finals.
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The Guard: It may seem like an air ball at first glance, when looking at the other entries, but the story of a belligerent, bombastic Irish policeman (Brendan Gleeson) paired up with a straight-laced FBI agent (Don Cheadle) featured one of the sharpest scripts of 2011. That, and Gleeson’s performance, curried a lot of favor with critics and the limited audience it was exposed to on the big screen.
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The Guard: It may seem like an air ball at first glance, when looking at the other entries, but the story of a belligerent, bombastic Irish policeman (Brendan Gleeson) paired up with a straight-laced FBI agent (Don Cheadle) featured one of the sharpest scripts of 2011. That, and Gleeson’s performance, curried a lot of favor with critics and the limited audience it was exposed to on the big screen.
#7 – 'Hugo' vs. #10 – 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2'
© Paramount Pictures
Hugo: Director Martin Scorsese balanced the story of an orphan hoping to reconnect in some way with his late father with the story of Georges Méliès, who was one of the forefathers of cinema. It’s a cross between a kids movie and a film class, also signaling Scorsese’s entry into the 3D market. It won 5 Oscars, was nominated for many other awards and, thanks in part to its pedigree, was also a huge hit with critics.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: The highest grossing film of 2011 ($381 million domestic), The Boy Who Lived finally had his showdown with Voldemort and brought a decade-long franchise to its triumphant close. It was one of the finest ensemble performances of the year, featured top-notch production, and satisfied a fan base with the highest of expectations. As the first films were tossed off as kids’ fare, the later installments didn’t receive the respect they should have been given and the lack of award nominations for the finale was proof of that.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: The highest grossing film of 2011 ($381 million domestic), The Boy Who Lived finally had his showdown with Voldemort and brought a decade-long franchise to its triumphant close. It was one of the finest ensemble performances of the year, featured top-notch production, and satisfied a fan base with the highest of expectations. As the first films were tossed off as kids’ fare, the later installments didn’t receive the respect they should have been given and the lack of award nominations for the finale was proof of that.
#2 – 'The Descendants' vs. #15 – 'Super 8'
© Fox Searchlight
The Descendants: The story of a father (George Clooney) now being thrust into the primary parent role following his wife falling into a coma, and realizations that their marriage may not have been entirely exclusive, the buzz surrounding the film was extensive from the beginning. Like The Artist, this went on to earn multiple award nominations (Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe), did well with audiences, and found itself high on most critics’ lists.
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Super 8: Director J.J. Abrams was able to tap into the Steven Spielberg zeitgeist, delivering a throwback to classics like E.T., The Goonies, and Jaws while enjoying the benefits of modern CGI and maintaining his love of lens flares. Although this didn’t garner much awards attention, high audience approval and decent critical reception helped it make the list.
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Super 8: Director J.J. Abrams was able to tap into the Steven Spielberg zeitgeist, delivering a throwback to classics like E.T., The Goonies, and Jaws while enjoying the benefits of modern CGI and maintaining his love of lens flares. Although this didn’t garner much awards attention, high audience approval and decent critical reception helped it make the list.
