This page lists 27 films I saw in theaters in 2011. My movie database lists only films I see in theaters, not those I see on TV, videotape, DVD, or the internet. My culture page lists other cultural events.

Bari and I saw King Vidor's La Bohème at the Castro as part a special San Francisco Silent Film Festival day, with Dennis James playing his Puccini-based score on the organ. Both of us were unexpectedly overwhelmed; what an emotional experience! Lillian Gish is a devastating Mimi and John Gilbert a charming Rudolphe. If you find silent film acting stilted, see this; there's not a false note in it.

The SF Silent Film Festival provided another highlight: Ozu's delightful I Was Born, But..., which I've wanted to see for years. It's charming, one of the great movies about childhood, unexpectedly deep, flawlessly acted.

As to the cinema of the present... I found Iñárritu's Biutiful overlong, but that's a quibble. It's a very strong film, deeply depressing, featuring a wonderful performance by Javier Bardem. I loved Scorsese's Hugo too, especially the 3d tracking shots through Gare Montparnasse clocks and the hommages to Méliès. At the bottom of my list for the year is The Muppets, what an embarassment for poor Kermit and Piggie, not to mention the spirit of Jim Henson!

I have kept movie date/title/director data consistently since 1982, with additional details since 2010. I also have some incomplete data from earlier years.

See also: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1972 1973
1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 All

Click on a heading below to sort the list accordingly. Click on a title or director entry to search for it in IMDB.


Date Title Director Year Theater City
01/09/11 @ 16:55 Country Strong Shana Feste 2010 Elmwood Berkeley
02/12/11 @ 15:30 L'Argent Marcel L'Herbier 1928 Castro San Francisco
02/12/11 @ 20:00 La Bohème King Vidor 1926 Castro San Francisco
02/19/11 @ 13:30 Biutiful Alejandro González Iñárritu 2010 Stonestown San Francisco
03/06/11 @ 15:30 The Wicked Lady Leslie Arliss 1945 Stanford Palo Alto
03/06/11 @ 17:15 Caravan Arthur Crabtree 1946 Stanford Palo Alto
03/12/11 @ 13:40 The Adjustment Bureau George Nolfi 2011 Century 20 Daly City
03/19/11 @ 16:10 One Hour with You Ernst Lubitsch 1932 Stanford Palo Alto
03/19/11 @ 17:50 The Merry Widow Ernst Lubitsch 1934 Stanford Palo Alto
03/28/11 @ 13:20 Of Gods and Men Xavier Beauvoir 2010 Embarcadero San Francisco
04/14/11 @ 13:30 Bridesmaids Paul Feig 2011 Century 20 Daly City
05/26/11 @ 14:00 Cave of Forgotten Dreams Werner Herzog 2010 Century SF Centre San Francisco
06/04/11 @ 16:30 Midnight in Paris Woody Allen 2011 Stonestown San Francisco
07/09/11 @ 14:00 Larry Crowne Tom Hanks 2011 Angels Angels Camp
07/15/11 @ 16:15 I Was Born, But... Yasujiro Ozu 1932 Castro San Francisco
07/24/11 @ 16:50 Friends with Benefits Will Gluck 2011 Angels Angels Camp
08/20/11 @ 13:00 Sarah's Key Gilles Paquet-Brenner 2010 Embarcadero San Francisco
08/24/11 @ 20:30 Kundun Martin Scorsese 1997 Hidden Valley Carmel Valley
08/25/11 @ 17:00 Point Blank Fred Cavayé 2010 New Osio Monterey
98/24/11 @ 13:10 Love Crime Alain Corneau 2010 Clay San Francisco
09/25/11 @ 12:50 Moneyball Bennett Miller 2011 Empire San Francisco
11/13/11 @ 11:45 In Time Andrew Niccol 2011 Centurn 20 Daly City
11/25/11 @ 14:14 The Muppets James Bobin 2011 Century 20 Daly City
12/03/11 @ 14:30 Into the Abyss Werner Herzog 2011 Opera Plaza San Francisco
12/17/11 @ 15:45 Hugo Margin Scorsese 2011 Angels Angels Camp
12/25/11 @ 13:00 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tomas Alfredson 2011 Century SF Centre San Francisco
12/31/11 @ 12:00 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo David Fincher 2011 Empire San Francisco