Gallery: Best of 2011: Pop Culture's Tastiest Bits
01game-of-thrones
Pop culture in 2011 was filled with stealthy stunners that were variously weird and wonderful. From a fantasy revival and rampaging Bridesmaids to chimp empaths and found-footage troll-umentaries, this year dug beneath our technocratic veneer to find its beating heart (which Game of Thrones' [dragon queen ate without a napkin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AacImm1SHTg) — bon appetit!). Here are the best bits of pop culture from 2011, the irresistible nuggets and undeniable trends that kept us hungry for more in 2012. Drop your own favorites in the comments section below. __Above:__ Fantasy Fandom Finds a Home (Finally!) -------------------------------------- Zombies, vampires, whatever. Our wish-fantasies of various vermin just begging for extermination has fit the post-9/11 terrordome like a straitjacket for years. But they're all far too small to fit into fantasy proper's greater concerns, which rewardingly ranged in 2011 from [Game of Thrones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_%28TV_series%29)' award-winning intrigue to [Camelot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_%28TV_series%29)'s adult soap to [Merlin](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/01/merlin)'s campy magic and beyond. (The less said about Once Upon a Time, the better.) HBO's gripping adaptation of [George R.R. Martin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin)'s Game of Thrones books deservedly got most of the love as it led fantasy's excellent pop-culture surge. The wave will crest next year when [Peter Jackson's long-awaited Hobbit](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/hobbit-trailer) duology arrives to captivate gore-drunk earthlings in need of less nihilism. —*Scott Thill* *Image courtesy HBO* http://www.youtube.com/embed/sBrsM\_WlfV8
WETA02rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes
Andy Serkis' Chimp Act in *Rise of the Planet of the Apes* ---------------------------------------------------------- You thought [Andy Serkis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0785227/) was good as Gollum? The English actor famed for his pioneering motion-capture performance in *The Lord of the Rings* really goes bananas in this stunning prequel to the 43-year-old *Planet of the Apes* saga. Rarely does a franchise revive itself six installments past the original movie, but *Rise of the Planet of the Apes* exceeds expectations in large part because Serkis does such a remarkable job of mimicking a chimpanzee's facial tics and body language. Working from the outside in, Serkis uses primate behavior to express the bittersweet triumph of his character, Caesar, the laboratory chimp raised as a human child after getting injected with IQ-boosting meds. Directed by Rupert Wyatt, Serkis' soulful performance orbits around intriguing questions about nature, nurture and interspecies communication. Next up: Serkis reprises Gollum in 2012 for Peter Jackson's *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*. And in the real world, scientists are rethinking animal experimentation in the wake of a recent report confirming the *Rise* thesis that [chimpanzee lab tests are neither effective nor humane](http:/ /stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/iom-chimp-report/). — *Hugh Hart* *Image courtesy 20th Century Fox*
RICHARD FOREMAN JR SMPSP03drive
*Drive* Takes Us Into Overdrive ------------------------------- If there was a moment of *Drive* where we didn’t have to stop and remember to breathe, we don't remember it. Nicolas Winding Refn's darkly beautiful story about a stunt performer and mechanic (played by Ryan Gosling) who moonlights as a getaway driver is about as pulse-pounding as they come. Yet, its pulse is slow. A burning score by Cliff Martinez set a something-bad-is-about-to-happen mood, and Gosling's Driver exudes a charming air that seems protective while completely untrustworthy. Grotesque acts of violence never seemed so suspenseful while also feeling so compelling. —*Angela Watercutter* *Photo courtesy FilmDistrict*
04animal-man-2
Jeff Lemire's Animal Instincts, Grant Morrison's Superheroism ------------------------------------------------------------- Although [DC Comics' New 52 reboot campaign](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/10/dc-comics-best-worst-new-52) reset sales expectations for the comics industry, it was stuffed mostly with turkeys. But one shining, subversive star was writer [Jeff Lemire](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/tag/jeff-lemire)'s run on [Animal Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Man), which remixed horror and supernatural tropes into a brain-teasing concoction. Lemire even managed to erect some strange structures atop those laid by the animist superhero's last great scribe, Grant Morrison, whose reboot of DC's oldest series, [Action Comics](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/10/dc-comics-best-worst-new-52/?pid=5040), and its greatest hero, Superman, were the best thing about The New 52. Morrison's engrossing cultural history of comics [Supergods](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/07/grant-morrison-supergods) was also a 2011 blast, as was the animated feature adaptation of his timeless [All-Star Superman](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/02/all-star-superman-review), written by the late, great [Dwayne McDuffie](http://dwaynemcduffie.com), who passed suddenly this year. Rest in peace. —*Scott Thill*  *Images courtesy DC Comics*
05bridesmaids
Kristen Wiig Rings the Bell With *Bridesmaids* ---------------------------------------------- *Bridesmaids* only had one thing to prove: that a female ensemble cast could pull off the raunchy wedding movie shtick as well as the goofball dork boys could. It did that with ease — then stole the boys' lunch money and ran away. Thanks to a damn-near-genius performance by Kristen Wiig, who also co-wrote the film, almost every comedic note in *[Bridesmaids](http://www.bridesmaidsmovie.com/)* was perfect. Add brilliant wing-woman turns by Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and Melissa McCarthy, and you have the best comedy troupe of 2011. The film just got nominated for a Golden Globe (Wiig was nominated for her performance as well), and if the film doesn't have at least one horse in the race come Oscar time it'd be shocking. Moreover, the film proved female funny was bankable — [*Bridesmaids* made $169 million at the box office](http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wiigapatow.htm) domestically, more than *Knocked Up*. And if that wasn't enough, the movie brought back Wilson Phillips. Full. Of. Win. —*Angela Watercutter* *Photo courtesy Universal Pictures*
06doctor-who-2
The British Sci-Fi Is Coming! Nevermind, It's Here -------------------------------------------------- See that 10-gallon hat? It signifies [Doctor Who](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/tag/doctor-who)'s American takeover, which dominated stateside sci-fi television this year. For that, you can thank magnetic Time Lord Matt Smith, head brainiac Steven Moffat and what could be the longest-running sci-fi series' finest episode ever, "The Doctor's Wife." That cerebral escapade was written by "[British Fonzie](http://io9.com/5861230/on-the-simpsons-neil-gaiman-was-the-british-fonzie)" and comics' gentleman [Neil Gaiman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman) (who married one of America's boldest talents and tech geeks, Amanda Palmer, right after New Year's Day). But Who's stellar invasion didn't end there. Its excellent spinoff series Torchwood debuted its [Miracle Day](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood:_Miracle_Day) story arc stateside this year, with a disturbing dystopia of healthcare horror that made some never want to see a doctor again in their lives. The intrepid British detective leading Torchwood's charge into American sci-fi television? [Captain Jack Harkness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Harkness), played with balls to spare by [John Barrowman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barrowman). —*Scott Thill* *Image courtesy BBC* http://www.youtube.com/embed/4h4-7N9jtN8
07the-troll-hunter-2
Best Found-Footage Movie: *The Troll Hunter* -------------------------------------------- The found-footage genre got an imaginative kick in the shaky-cam from *[The Troll Hunter](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/05/troll-hunter-review/)*, a droll Norwegian flick about a bored-yet-badass bureaucrat who works for Norway's version of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Tapping some of his country's best comedians for roles in his myth-fueled mockumentary, Norwegian director [André Øvredal](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/06/trollhunter-andre-ovredal/) crafted a genuinely original film. If the deadpan jokes don't slay you, the fantastic giant trolls will. *—Lewis Wallace*
08rooney-marathe-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo
Rooney Mara Rules *The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo* --------------------------------------------------- Hackers often get a bad name in films, but with *The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo* they got a badass name instead: Lisbeth Salander. Noomi Rapace did wonders with the character in the the 2009 Swedish version of the tale, but in director David Fincher's adaptation, Rooney Mara's performance is by-the-throat gripping. Heretofore known to fans of Fincher's *The Social Network* as the girl who told Zuckerberg, "The internet's not written in pencil, Mark, it's written in ink," Mara took that steely confidence to whole new levels with her portrayal of Lisbeth — the icy/brilliant purveyor of not-taking-any-shit in Swedish author Stieg Larsson's [Millennium series books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_series). Armed with a face that can turn a pensive look into a piece of Aaron Sorkin dialog, Mara wrings blood out of the stone of Salander's shut-down demeanor in a way that's as chilling as it is heartbreaking. The upcoming year will be rife with tough women ([Jennifer Lawrence](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2225369/) in *The Hunger Games*, [Gina Carano](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2442289/) in *Haywire* and [Kristen Stewart](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0829576/) in *Snow White and the Huntsman* to name a few), but all will have to measure up to Mara in *Dragon Tattoo*. Hers is a performance that will get under your skin — in more ways than one. — *Angela Watercutter* *Photo courtesy Columbia Pictures*
09the-weeknd-house-of-balloons
The Weeknd's *House of Balloons* -------------------------------- They say the best things in life are free. In the case of the Weeknd's album *House of Balloons*, that is absolutely and totally true. [The Weeknd](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeknd) (the moniker of mysterious R&B crooner Abel Tesfaye) seemed to emerge out of nowhere to [drop this free album](http://www.the-weeknd.com/TheWeeknd_HouseOfBalloons.zip) (.zip) on an unsuspecting internet. *House of Balloons*' future-sex grooves took everyone by surprise ([Pitchfork gave it an 8.5](http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15264-house-of-balloons/)), and the follow-up, *Thursday*, proved equally mesmerizing. A third installment, titled *Echoes of Silence*, was [released this month](http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2011/12/download-the-weeknd-echoes-of-silence). We're still digesting the latest Weeknd offering — it opens with a killer cover of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana," so it's ambitious if nothing else — but suffice to say that if the best tracks of all three albums were to be combined into a single release, it would be one of the best debuts from a new artist in years. Here's hoping the Weeknd have many more tricks to turn in 2012. —*Angela Watercutter*
10stephen-colbert-2
Stephen Colbert Owned You This Year ----------------------------------- What is there to say? As a hyperreal experiment in comedy, journalism, politics, culture and whatever, the [Stephen Colbert](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert_%28character%29) you see on television four nights a week is the postmodern hydra spawn of [Network](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_film) and [Monty Python](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Flying_Circus), all rolled into one bespectacled [geek from South Carolina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert). This year, he's managed to p0wn journos, politicos and other major (and minor) cultural figures, all while raking in money for his [world-beating Super Pac](http://www.colbertsuperpac.com). A postmillennial narcissist to beat us all, he's cataloged every single month's worth of his achievements on [Colbert Nation's official site](http://www.colbertnation.com). Hands down, Best of 2011 in television news and satire. Nobody else even comes close. (We still owe him back pay for that immortal [2006 White House Correspondents Association Dinner](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-thill/truthiness-and-consequenc_b_20388.html) prank.) —*Scott Thill* *Image courtesy Comedy Central*
11another-earth
Another Earth ------------- It's very rare that at sci-fi movie can also have the tags "heart-wrenching," "indie" and "Sundance darling" attached to it. But then again, *Another Earth* isn't your average sci-fi flick. Set in an alternate world where a planet that mirrors Earth has emerged in the sky, the picture goes to great lengths to explain concepts like the [multiverse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse) in explicitly human terms. The story of a young woman named Rhoda who falls for the man whose life she ruined in a terrible accident is just the beginning. The tale of what would happen in any one of her possible alternate realities is the narrative that stays with you for weeks and months (I surprised myself recently when I blurted out "*Another Earth*!" without hesitation when asked for my favorite film of the year — it's stuck with me that strongly since July). Thank co-writer/star Brit Marling (Rhoda) and co-writer/director Mike Cahill for that — their big-think script takes viewers to places special effects just can't. "With money, [it’s easy to trip into cliché](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/07/another-earth-filmmakers/). Because you can afford everything, you can afford to buy your first idea," Marling, who majored in economics at Georgetown University told Wired.com this summer. "Usually your first idea is cliché. It’s the second or third or fourth one where you start getting more original. If you can’t buy anything you want, it forces you to be more creative." Here's hoping Marling and Cahill make films for years to come (and never get *too* big of a budget). —*Angela Watercutter*
12all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace
Best Techno-Doc: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace ------------------------------------------------------------- Documentary auteur [Adam Curtis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis) charted the rise of our machines, and the programming of our minds, in [All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Watched_Over_by_Machines_of_Loving_Grace_%28television_documentary_series%29). Taking its name from Richard Brautigan's poem, Curtis' three-part epic spoke truth to technocracy using the director's inimitable palette of remixed vault imagery. Tackling topics from Ayn Rand's callous objectivism to Wall Street's desensitized securitization, from Jay Forrester's cold cybernetics to Silicon Valley computer utopianists, and from selfish genes to selfless posers, the BBC documentarian's bizarre but captivating juxtapositions make this work thoroughly rewarding. —*Scott Thill* *Image courtesy BBC* http://www.youtube.com/embed/hc-YMpgcqKg
13moneyball
*Moneyball* Swings for the Fences --------------------------------- It's taken some time, but stats geeks finally got their very own sports movie with *Moneyball*. Director Bennett Miller's adaptation of Michael Lewis' bestselling book [*Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game*](http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/030788743X) had a not-so-easy task: Turning Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) and his oddball use of "sabermetrics" into a suspenseful sports flick. Miller [hit it out of the park](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/09/moneyball/), thanks in large part to an out-of-character performance by Jonah Hill, who plays Yale graduate number-cruncher Peter Brand. "I really studied hard and I think when you watch the movie it sounds like I know what I'm talking about," Hill told Wired.com earlier this year (video above) about getting into character. (Math + Baseball) x (Hill + Pitt) = Brilliance. —*Angela Watercutter* *Photo courtesy Columbia Pictures*
14community
The Many Stunts of *Community* ------------------------------ NBC sitcom *Community* took its hyper-meta jokes and plotlines and cranked them up to 11 this fall. There were [anime foosball](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/community-anime/) sequences, [*Glee* send-ups](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/community-christmas-rap/) and even a [*Beetlejuice* Easter egg](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/11/community-beetlejuice-easter-egg/) that was three years in the making. Where does the geeky magic come from? It could be all the [fans on Twitter](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/09/tv-fact-checker-community/) that the show's creators pay attention to or just the fact that [Dan Harmon is a genius](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/magazine/2011/09/mf_harmon/), but all we know is this season was awesome. *Community*'s future is a little uncertain — it's being replaced by *30 Rock* in the new year — but in 2011, it went out with a bang. —*Angela Watercutter*
15rosa
*Rosa*'s Spanish Sci-Fi Eye Candy --------------------------------- Somebody comes out of nowhere every year to produce an ass-kicking short film that blows up on the web and prompts an avalanche of phone calls from Hollywood. This year, comic book artist Jesus Orellanos hit the jackpot. After spending a year in the basement of his Barcelona apartment equipped only with a computer and a head full of animatronic fantasies, Orellanos came out on the other side with a gorgeously rendered animated [sci-fi short called *Rosa*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/11/rosa/) (embedded below). It's not the dialog that distinguishes this 10-minute clip: There isn't any. And the story, which follows the birth, brief life and bloody death of a cybernetic babe in the woods, is clear but simple. Instead, it's all about the visuals. Once the doe-eyed robot gets activated, it prowls through fantastical flora and fauna that evoke *Avatar*-esque visions at a fraction of the price. The self-taught Orellanos spent a total of $100 for music licensing to make *Rosa*. Next up: Orellanos and his new Hollywood-based managers are pitching a full-length *Rosa* feature film. —*Hugh Hart* *Image courtesy Jesus Orellanos* <script src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js" type="text/javascript"></script><object class="BrightcoveExperience" id="myExperience1268877767001"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"></param><param name="width" value="660"></param><param name="height" value="423"></param><param name="playerID" value="3698508001"></param><param name="publisherID" value="1564549380"></param><param name="isVid" value="true"></param><param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true"></param><param name="@videoPlayer" value="1268877767001"></param></object><script type="text/javascript"> runMobileCompatibilityScript('myExperience1268877767001', 'anId'); </script><script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script>
Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk16hugo
Martin Scorsese's Twin Mythologies ---------------------------------- Cinema devotees can get too meta with films about the love of films. But Martin Scorsese's Hugo is not just one of those love letters to the medium. (Ask my colleague Hugh Hart, who wrote a [love letter to Hugo](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/11/hugo-review).) The movie's warm, enveloping 3-D pushed entertainment technology to think smarter; its speculative fantasy was repeatedly rewarding; and it even got to show us (again) how wonderful film is. But this year, the indefatigable Scorsese achieved the same with music. The first half of his four-hour documentary [George Harrison: Living in the Material World](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/08/george-harrison-material-world) (below) reoriented The Beatles mythology from a unique perspective, and the second half opened the mysterious but moving Harrison to the world. [The word is love](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Word_%28song%29), indeed. —*Scott Thill*  *Images courtesy Paramount, Abrams Books*
17tom-waits-bad-as-me
Tom Waits Is Still a Bad Ass ---------------------------- When everything you hear sounds like something you've already heard, it's cool to hear people you've already heard upgrading their iconic styles. That's a long way of saying that listening to [Tom Waits](http://www.tomwaits.com) and [Keith Richards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Richards) rock weird together on [Bad as Me](http://badasme.com) is much fun. For the record, they actually do reboot The Rolling Stones' anthem "Satisfaction" on the track "Satisfied." On the rest of the album, the commercially defiant Waits trips through his personas as Richards and longtime Waits ax man [Marc Ribot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Ribot) slice up their fretboards. Proving, in the process, that the old school can still school the new school when dutifully inspired. —*Scott Thill* *Image courtesy Anti Records*
18ernie-cline-ready-player-one
Ernie Cline's *Ready Player One* -------------------------------- If "by a nerd, for nerds" were a department on Amazon.com, Ernie Cline's [*Ready Player One*](http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/030788743X) would rule that category. Not only is the book rife with nerdy pop-culture references to things like *WarGames* and Dungeons & Dragons, it tells one of the best stories of geek triumph ever: A young kid, Wade Watts, finds the keys to a hidden kingdom in a *Matrix*-esque, virtual-reality world in a future dystopia and goes on a quest to save his online home from corrupt corporate forces. What's not to like? [*Fanboys*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489049/) scribe Cline described his novel to Wired.com earlier this year as "[kind of like *Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/08/ernie-cline-ready-player-one/), but if Willy Wonka was a videogame designer." We'll take that, and add that *Ready Player One* packs punchy, funny writing and the kind of page-turning suspense normally found only in graphic novels. We can't wait for [the movie](http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/warner-bros-and-de-line-pictures-win-book-auction-for-ready-player-one/). —*Angela Watercutter* *Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com*
19homeland
Borderline Nut Jobs in *Homeland* --------------------------------- What happens to a man's mind after he's been held captive by terrorists for seven years? Showtime's addictive espionage soap opera *Homeland* grapples with that question through the eyes of hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, bipolar CIA Agent Carrie Anderson. Claire Danes expends furious feral energy as obsessive Agent Anderson, whose fondness for slinging the F-bomb is exceeded only by a willingness to sleep with suspects to prove they know how to outsmart lie detector tests. Her thesis: Marine Nick Brody, regarded upon his return as an American hero, is in fact a sleeper agent poised to serve his extremist masters. Dane excels as the wildly unprofessional CIA operative but [Damien Lewis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507073/) as Sergeant Brody is even better. Armored behind a bland smile and inscrutable blue-eyed gaze, Brody might be a calculating actor delivering an Oscar-caliber impersonation of heroism. He could also be a deeply traumatized psycho on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Former *24* producers orchestrate the story twists and character implosions that humanize the eternal clash between national security and citizens' right to privacy. —*Hugh Hart* *Image courtesy Showtime*
Matthew Welch20the-walking-dead
*The Walking Dead* Stays Hungry for Brains ------------------------------------------ Season 1 of [AMC's adaptation](http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead) of Robert Kirkman's *The Walking Dead* comic book series was just a warm-up. The second season of the zombie apocalypse tale kicked the series into overdrive. The tensions for Rick Grimes and the other survivors only got worse once they were ensconced on a creepy-ass farm and, although we won't spoil it for those still catching up, it got good. Really, really good. Thank the geek gods that we only have to wait until February for the walkers to come back. —*Angela Watercutter* *Photo: Matthew Welch/Courtesy AMC*
