Brandy McDonnell's Top 10 films of 2011

Sure, Hollywood churned out mass quantities of its usual bombastic action flicks and insipid romantic comedies, but the year just past also brought an electric new version of Charlotte Bronte's often-adapted Gothic novel “Jane Eyre,” a particularly smart and well-written underdog sports drama with “Moneyball” and a joyfully entertaining and tuneful comeback for the playful puppets known as “The Muppets.” And those were just the honorable mentions on my list.

My top 10 picks of 2011 were even more diverse:

1. “The Artist” — Numerous critics lauded French writer-director Michel Hazanavicius' powerfully charming tribute to cinema's silent era as a love letter to moviemaking, and the name of the main character, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is surely no accident. But the black-and-white, largely soundless story of a silent film star coping with the emergence of talkies even as he falls for a vivacious ingenue (Berenice Bejo) eagerly embracing the new format will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever faced or glimpsed the obsolescence of their livelihood.

2. “Drive” — Nicolas Winding Refn casts an unshakable pall of dread over his sun-soaked slice of Los Angeles neo-noir, which was breathlessly adapted from crime writer James Sallis' book. Ryan Gosling adds to his rapidly burgeoning leading man resume with his can't-take-your-eyes-off-him turn as an enigmatic Hollywood stunt driver/getaway wheelman whose tentative friendship with his lovely neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son entangles him with ruthless gangsters.

3. “War Horse” — Nobody does a war epic like Steven Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan”), and the three-time Oscar winner's latest literally takes viewers into the trenches of World War I with his unabashedly old-fashioned horse story. Again partnering with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg creates a visually stunning rendition of Michael Morpurgo's acclaimed youth novel that balances horrifying battle sequences with earnest emotional payoffs.