LRA writes: This was a big year for the independent film market and smaller studios in general. Looking back I think it is kind of remarkable that most of the films I saw this year that surprised me with their quality had no real major studio backing them. It wasn't that the major studios put out bad films per say, a good number of my top films are from those studios, its that they didn't give us anything we weren't already expecting (Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the lone exception here). Almost every single movie I saw from an independent studio surprised me. Surprised me by their quality, uniqueness, originality and most of all their ability to constantly surpass my expectations for them. By far the one studio that stood tall amongst all the rest was Magnet, they delivered some of the best film experiences I had all year and proved that when done right digital distribution is a viable alternative to a mass theatrical release. Overall I thought this year ended up being much better than I imagined it would but once again I believe that is mostly in thanks to the smaller film studios and their willingness to produce, distribute or otherwise market most of what this year had to offer. Without further ado, here are my picks for the best films of 2011, as well as some honorable mentions, my biggest disappoints and my pick for worst film of the year...
Nekki has announced that the forthcoming gun fu game, SPINE, will receive a movie adaptation to expand the franchise.
Anthracite Review: This Netflix thriller makes us go down several engaging roads and the twists and turns are delicious.
Stolen Review: Elle Márjá Eira makes an attempt at creating a story revolving Sámi people of Sweden.
