2011 Best Reviewed Movies

Based on third-party critic ratings, the best reviewed 2011 movie releases.

Hell and Back Again

100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews

From his embed with US Marines Echo Company in Afghanistan, photojournalist and filmmaker Danfung Dennis reveals the devastating impact a Taliban machine-gun bullet has on the life of 25-year-old Sergeant Nathan Harris. The film seamlessly transitions from st

Documentary

New York

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A Separation

99% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 179 reviews

Set in Contemporary Iran, Nader And Simin, A Separation is a compelling drama about the dissolution of a marriage. Simin wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader and daughter Termeh. Simin sues for divorce when Nader refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer-suffering father. Her request having failed, Simin goes back to her parents’, but Termeh decides to stay with Nader…

Drama

Limited

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The Interrupters

99% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 93 reviews

The stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed.

Documentary

New York

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Bill Cunningham New York

99% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 74 reviews

For decades, the Schwinn-riding Bill Cunningham, cultural anthropologist, has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the New York Times Style section.

Documentary

New York

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Born to be Wild

98% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 50 reviews

This film documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them--saving endangered species one life at a time.

Documentary

Limited

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Project Nim

97% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 147 reviews

The life of a chimpanzee who was raised like a human child as part of a pioneering 1970s experiment. The film combines interviews with participants in the experiment and archival footage to depict the chimpanzee's experience.

Documentary

Limited

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Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

97% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews

A documentary about the folk singer Phil Ochs.

Documentary

New York

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 332 reviews

The final adventure of Harry Potter as he attempts to bring an end to his nemesis, Lord Voldemort.

Fantasy

Nationwide

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Cave of Forgotten Dreams

96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 137 reviews

Documentary about the Chauvet caves in Southern France that contain the oldest known cave paintings.

Documentary

Limited

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The Arbor

96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 46 reviews

The true story of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar (The Arbor, Rita, Sue and Bob Too) and her daughter Lorraine.

Documentary

New York

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The Artist

95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 322 reviews

Takes place in 1927 Hollywood and focuses on a silent movie star whose career seems about to be ended because of the arrival of the talkies. At the same time, a pretty young extra sees the new format as an opportunity to launch her star.

Romance

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The Muppets

95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 231 reviews

The story revolves around The Muppets reuniting after a huge falling out to save The Muppet Studios in Hollywood. They have to put on a show in the Muppet Theater and get 10 million viewers to save the Studios from an evil Texas oil tycoon.

Family

Nationwide

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13 Assassins

95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 132 reviews

Set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

Action

New York / Los Angeles

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Pina

95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 106 reviews

"Dance, dance, or we are lost." Pina Bausch's final words summarize her life and provide the inspiration for director Wim Wenders' (WINGS tribute to the legendary choreographer. The documentary features interviews with and performances by Bausch's beloved original company members, and offers an indelible image of an artist who went the full distance in her uncommonly rich creative life.

Documentary

Limited

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Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 78 reviews

Kevin Clash, the man behind Elmo of Sesame Street, as he chases and ultimately achieves his childhood dream of working with master puppeteer Jim Henson.

Documentary

New York

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Moneyball

94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 267 reviews

Based on a true story, Moneyball is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's more than baseball, it's a revolution - one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart and soul of the game.

Sports

Nationwide

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Win Win

94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 177 reviews

A light-hearted comedy about how a rough-and-tumble runaway changes the lives of a suburban New Jersey family and turns around the luck of a high school wrestling team.

Comedy

Limited

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The Guard

94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 139 reviews

A small-town cop gets pulled into the investigation of an international drug smuggling ring.

Comedy

New York / Los Angeles

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