Over the last decade, Hollywood released hundreds of movies, with even more coming to streaming services like Netflix. With so many movies flooding out of Hollywood, it is easy to forget about some of the smaller gems that hit 10 years ago. For some movie fans, it might be a surprise to realize that movies from 2011 are a decade old.
In 2011, there were many major movie releases. This included movies in the Harry Potter, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight, Mission Impossible, and Fast and Furious series. With so many tent pole movies, it is easy to forget about the great smaller movies that came out in a quality year for feature films.
The Cabin In The Woods
The Cabin in the Woods turned 10 years old in 2021. Drew Goddard directed the movie based on a script he wrote with Joss Whedon, and in 2011, it was one of the best horror movies of the year.
The Cabin in the Woods had a massive twist midway through that turned the story on its head, turning a basic horror movie into a meta-analysis of the horror genre itself. With an early career performance by Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, this is a movie that deserves an audience today as much as it did 10 years ago.
Hanna
Joe Wright is a director best known for historical dramas like the 2005 Pride & Prejudice adaptation and 2012 Anna Karenina adaptation. In 2011, he took on a different genre with the spy action movie Hanna.
Saoirse Ronan enjoyed her breakout in Wright's 2007 movie Atonement and she paired up with the director for the lead role of Hanna, a 15-year-old trained as a skilled assassin by her father (Eric Bana). When a CIA officer (Cate Blanchett) guns for them, the two end up in a fight for their lives.
The Adjustment Bureau
Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Mackie starred in the 2011 science fiction movie The Adjustment Bureau. Few people talk about it today, but the movie has a huge pedigree and an all-star cast.
George Nolfi made his directorial debut with this movie, based on the short story “Adjustment Team” by Philip K. Dick. Matt Damon is a Congressman who accidentally learns that a group known as the Adjustment Bureau controls everything that happens in his life, and he fights to break the cycle.
Fright Night
Many movie fans turn their noses up at remakes, but in 2011, Disney remade the horror movie Fright Night, and it has a lot going for it. The movie stars the late Anton Yelchin as Charley Brewster, a teenager who learns his new next-door neighbor is a vampire.
The cast makes this remake a great horror movie. Colin Farrell turns in an impressive performance as the vampire next door while Christopher Mintz-Plasse continued his string of significant roles (Kick-Ass, Superbad) as Charley’s old friend who becomes a vampire. A true highlight is David Tennant as Peter Vincent, a Las Vegas magician who is an expert on vampires.
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer is coming to Netflix in 2021 as a TV series, 10 years after it hit big screens with Matthew McConaughey in the lead role. Brad Furman adapted the movie from the Michael Connelly novel series, which itself was a spinoff of the Bosch novel series.
McConaughey starred as Mickey Haller, a defense attorney whose office is his Lincoln Town Car. When a wealthy young man hires him to defend him in a murder case, Mickey discovers the truth and soon realizes he has to succeed in this case or those close to him could suffer.
Warrior
In 2011, the UFC was growing by leaps and bounds and Warrior arrived to capitalize on that trend. Gavin O’Connor, who previously made the inspirational sports film Miracle, directed the movie with Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy in the lead roles.
Hardy is Tommy, a U.S. Marine who signs up for an MMA tournament. Edgerton is Brendan, his estranged brother who ends up entering the same tournament. The movie is as much a family drama as it is a sports movie.
Super 8
J.J. Abrams has made a career out of trying to surprise his fans. When he released Cloverfield in 2008, he released a small teaser that revealed nothing about the movie and pleasantly surprised fans when the movie hit theaters. He did something even more surprising in 2011 with Super 8.
The trailers for Super 8 didn't even include the name of the movie. The movie hit in 2011 as a science fiction monster movie, where a group of kids ends up coming across a train crash where a monster escaped and went on a rampage.
Source Code
Duncan Jones broke out in 2009 with the science fiction movie Moon. The movie was impressive because Jones made a movie that has basically one actor playing multiple roles and created effects with limited funding. What resulted was a critically acclaimed sci-fi movie that made fans excited about his first big-budget release.
That was Source Code in 2011, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. The movie had Gyllenhaal as a U.S. Army pilot on a train that terrorists blow up. They brought Gyllenhaal back to life, before the train trip, and sent him in to find the terrorists responsible.
Attack The Block
Ten years after Attack the Block hit theaters in 2011, a sequel is in development. John Boyega, who enjoyed superstardom thanks to his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequels, broke out in this movie.
Attack the Block tells the story of a teenage street gang who ends up fighting for their lives when an alien invasion lands in South London. The movie had low box office numbers, but great critical acclaim. Edgar Wright’s co-writer Joe Cornish directed the movie and Nick Frost co-starred in the movie.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
One of the best spy movies in history hit in 2011 with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Based on the 1974 novel by John le Carre, Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) directed the movie, which received the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. It was also an Oscar contender, with Gary Oldman nominated for Best Actor.
Oldman is George Smiley, is a retired British Intelligence officer brought back in to discover a mole. The cast includes heavyweights like Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Graham, John Hurt, and Toby Jones.
