Even though I didn't see every movie I wanted to see last year (not even close), I did manage to watch ten of 2011's big releases. Like 2008, 2011 saw several comic book adaptations make their way to the silver screen, and the popularity of these films doesn't seem to be on the wane, as next year will see things like The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, and, of course, The Dark Knight Rises. Though I'd only call one or two of the following "serious" films, the bar has certainly been raised in recent years when it comes to even our most mindless entertainment. From the few movies I saw and despite a few high-profile missteps, it certainly looks as though 2011 was a pretty good year for the state of the art.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Release Date: Jul 22
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $65.1
To-date: $176.7

Captain America had the potential to be a troublesome adaptation, especially in this day and age when so many people no longer see the difference between patriotism and jingoism. Still, Marvel Studios stuck to its guns and did exactly what they should have, setting the film in World War II and not bothering to turn down the volume on the flag-waving ra-ra-ra that defines its character. While the first half of the film is clever, exciting, and full of some pretty impressive visual effects (the transformation of Chris Evans being the highlight), the story eventually devolves into a cartoonish orgy of explosions, incredibly fake-looking digital sets, and mind-numbingly cliché plot beats. While not a total miss, Captain America: The First Avenger is probably the weakest of Marvel's recent adaptations.

CONTAGION

Release Date: Sep 9
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $22.4
To-date: $75.7

Steven Soderberg is the only modern master of using a stellar ensemble cast to twist multiple storylines into a cohesive, tense drama. Contagion continues this trend by creating a terrifyingly realistic scenario where a perplexing virus breaks out across the world. Especially notable is Jude Law's horrifically evil character who rides Big Pharma conspiracy thinking into making millions of dollars selling snake oil to the sick masses, many of whom die because they trust him. On one hand, the directing and editing are playful, demonstrating an expertly subtle mastery of chronological manipulation and the interweaving of plots, but on the other hand, everything about the film is so serious, sterile, and joyless that it never succeeds in being entertaining. It's a good film for people who want to be terrified of the next plague, but you shouldn't expect it to be Outbreak.

THE GREEN HORNET

Release Date: Jan 14
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $33.5
To-date: $98.8

While Seth Rogen and Jay Chou are fun as Britt Reid and Kato, The Green Hornet winds up being an incredibly sloppy piece of filmmaking that manages to waste a treasure trove of potential. It can't seem to decide on a consistent tone, which would have helped immensely, and the pacing is excruciatingly uneven. The fight scenes, in particular, feel wildly out-of-place, containing bad and unnecessary Matrix-esque effects between awkwardly delivered gags and one-liners. If it were a straight-up, surreal satire of comic book films--which is what one would expect from the collaboration of Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen--it could be a much better film. However, as it is, it feels like an unfinished mess with only a handful of salvageable scenes.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Release Date: Jul 15
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $169.2
To-date: $381.0

The Harry Potter saga comes to an epic and intense conclusion in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. From the first action sequences involving the dragon in the goblin bank to the lengthy and exciting climax at Hogwarts (which at times is shot more like a war movie than a children's story), everything keeps you on the edge of your seat, even if you know exactly what's going to happen next. Just like the first part, this film is very faithful to the source material, making only a handful of changes that seem logical and deserved. It is an emotional roller-coaster from start to finish, not shying away from the inevitable death and destruction that comes from such a long build-up and such high stakes. It may be too violent for younger audiences, but it's still a fantastical ride that hides its timeless messages behind magic and mystery. But why am I bothering to tell you this? If you had any interest in seeing this, you've seen it already.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

Release Date: Dec 16
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $12.8 (limited)
To-date: $141.2

The fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible series finds the IMF completely shut down following an incident that implicates it in an act of war against Russia. Ethan Hunt and his team must work outside of the law and without any help in order to prevent the real terrorists behind the incident from launching a nuclear missile at America. While this sounds like a taut action thriller more in-line with 24, it actually takes itself less seriously than any of the previous films in the series. The film is loaded with gags and jokes--most notably from Simon Pegg, who's character from Mission: Impossible III has been upgraded to a strong supporting role--which lightens up the action and keeps it from being as white-knuckled as its predecessors. It ultimately feels like one of the goofier James Bond flicks--certainly not Moonraker, but somewhere around Goldfinger or The World is Not Enough. Having said that, many of the action scenes are clever and unique (I love the stuff in the Kremlin), and technical difficulties keep this latest mission from ever going according to plan, which is a welcome change of pace. At one point, the machine they use to create fake faces breaks down, forcing the team to do without their favorite plot device. Also, there are some good performances from the likes of Jeremy Renner and Anil Kapoor, though the main villains are pretty forgettable and Josh Halloway's glorified cameo feels campy and jarring. As popcorn entertainment, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol succeeds, but I'd have liked it to take itself just a little bit more seriously. In other words, it's better than Mission: Impossible II, but not as good as the others.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

Release Date: May 20
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $90.2
To-date: $241.1

Rarely have I ever disagreed with critics in general as much as I disagree with them about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. After the tiresome and unnecessarily complicated At World's End, the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean adventure is a lean and enjoyable ride that is neither convoluted nor bland. As a matter of fact, it's probably my favorite film in the entire series. Doing away with any pretense that he is not the reason you're going to see the movies, Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow is put front and center as the movie's main character, though Penelope Cruz does a good job being his sidekick-slash-antagonist-slash-love interest. Granted, Ian McShane's Blackbeard isn't as memorable as Bill Nighy's Davy Jones or Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa, but he is a serviceable villain. In short, On Stranger Tides is a fun flick that doesn't try to be anything other than what it is, and if the critics are unable to see that, they shouldn't be reviewing it.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Release Date: Aug 5
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $54.8
To-date: $176.7

My hopes were high but my expectations were low going into Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but the movie simply blew me away with its awesomeness. It's a clever reimagining of the franchise that pulls off the impressive magic trick of honoring its source material while showing audiences something fresh and new. It could have easily turned into a tired parable about the evils of messing with science--and indeed, the science is pretty weak and the scientists are responsible for everything bad that happens--or it could have easily turned into a mindless orgy of apes-running-amok violence, but the story manages to be heartfelt and deep. Many characters are overly simple and some of the plot points are a little too convenient, but at the end of the day, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an exciting breath of life for an intellectual property that seemed all but dead a few months ago. (Read the full review!)

SOURCE CODE

Release Date: Apr 1
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $14.8
To-date: $54.7

Source Code is a complex and intelligent sci-fi thriller filled with big ideas and mind-bending plot twists. It attempts to do the impossible by turning relatively cutting edge theoretical physics involving parallel universes into a cohesive and emotionally satisfying narrative, and for the most part, it succeeds. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan are brilliant as always, but Jeffrey Wright phones in an unnecessarily schlocky and uneven performance as the idiosyncratic scientist behind everything. Sophomore director Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie and director of Moon, a film I cannot recommend highly enough) weaves a lot of seemingly unrelated threads with ease, mixing philosophical sci-fi with actiony motifs of terrorism and an unlikely, star-crossed romance. It never falls victim to any of the potential stumbling blocks--it doesn't turn into a Hollywood love story or a series of explosions that would make Michael Bay proud, for example--but it also manages to be completely relatable and easy to follow, even when it tries to explain the heady science or spy movie twists. On the whole, this Groundhog Day-meets-a post-9/11 12 Monkeys existential acid trip is well worth your time, if you're into that sort of thing.

THOR

Release Date: May 6
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $65.7
To-date: $181.0

Though a fun comic book adaptation and more successful than Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor is a little bit more on the silly side of the comic book adaptation spectrum than, say, Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk. Director Kenneth Branagh and his suite of serious acting talent, including Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleson, and Anthony Hopkins, do a good job selling an incredibly fantastical story, and the ride is fun for anybody with reasonably tempered expectations. Still, the movie can't help but be a little awkward when the two competing worlds of fantasy and reality mix, and the film's major turning point isn't as compelling as it wants to be. I'd recommend it to comic book movie fans and anyone interested in The Avengers, but not to many others. (Read the full review!)

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

Release Date: Jun 3
Domestic Box Office (in millions)
Opening weekend: $55.1
To-date: $146.4

After two underwhelming installments (X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine), X-Men: First Class is a reinvigorating shot in the arm for Marvel's biggest franchise. I wouldn't call it the best entry--that honor goes to X-2 in my humble opinion--but it proves that there is still plenty of life and potential in the X-Men. Headlined by a bunch of up-and-comers, including James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, along with veteran actor Kevin Bacon, who dances effortlessly on the line between hammy and serious as the film's antagonist, the movie sells itself as fresh and new, even as it treads over extremely familiar themes and plots. The action scenes are good, the effects are passable, the story feels true to its comic origins, and the characters are incredibly strong. For these reasons, it is sure to please fans of the franchise and newcomers alike.