Midpoint 2011: What's worth remembering?

To get yet another pet peeve out of the way, it is never appropriate to write in a review of any film, no matter how great it is, that it's the best film of the year thus far. After a time, it becomes far too redundant and honestly irritating. I don't like revealing my cards before they're played, and for that reason it seem ridiculous to remark on the best films of the year thus far. We're six months in and we haven't really gotten much to show for it. The first three months were a depressing slog through the gutters, and April was only refreshing in the most carnal of fashion.

How do I believe that? Well, you look at the standouts of the month, such as Hanna and Source Code, and while they are entertaining mainstream efforts, they offer little more than basic thrills and stylish conceits. Then May came along and the onslaught of fire, explosions, and death began, but not without a few small achievements. Thor proved to be a solid fantasy blockbuster adventure, Bridesmaids was a fascinating introspective comedy that succeeded where most failed, and Kung Fu Panda 2 is commendable for bringing us another fantastic performance from Gary Oldman.

June is where things got decidedly dicey, with anticipated films like X-Men: First Class, Super 8, and Cars 2 leaving this viewers infinitely disappointed. Even Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a film I was honestly ready to enjoy for what it was, managed to fail on a few levels that Revenge of the Fallen just didn't. I know! I really need to stop being so dead inside. I'll get my review for the film up by tomorrow, but the fact of the matter is that this year has thus far been largely a disappointment. I'd write it off as irrelevant when it comes to what I remember at the close of the year, but there are things worthy of mention.

I might be showing my hand a little too much with this, but there are three films that are likely to show up on my end of year article, at least from where I'm standing now. Two of them are pretty obvious, as I was very much delighted with Midnight in Paris. It fits perfectly into the chronology of my year, having just been immersed in the world of the 1920s through general college and film studies. Still, don't expect to see it on my 10. The only film from this time period that you can expect to see there, and this should be modestly obvious by now, is Certified Copy. A true pinnacle of filmmaking that works as massively affecting the fourth time as it does the first.

So what's the elusive third film? Which early 2011 film will find itself in my honorable mentions by year's close? All I'll say is that I gave the film a B in my review, and I said very clearly that it wasn't a very smart film. Speculate away!