AFI Top 10 Films of 2011: 'Bridesmaids,' 'Hugo,' 'J. Edgar' and More

From Boston to NY to Los Angeles, critics' groups handed out awards on Sunday -- as did the American Film Institute, which honored ten films as the best of 2011. On the list? Usual suspects like 'The Descendants,' 'War Horse' and 'Hugo,' pleasant surprises like 'Bridesmaids,' and one head-scratcher: 'J. Edgar.' Check out the alphabetized top-ten ahead. 'Bridesmaids' 'The Descendants' 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' 'The Help' 'Hugo' 'J. Edgar' 'Midnight in Paris' 'Moneyball' 'The Tree of Life' 'War Horse' Notably absent from that fairly strong list: 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' -- which apparently did screen for the AFI, according to Sasha Stone -- 'Drive,' 'The Artist' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.' Those latter two films weren't eligible for the AFI list, but did receive special honors from the organization. Last year, the AFI top-ten matched almost perfectly with the ten films nominated for Best Picture, with the exception of eventual winner 'The King's Speech'; it wasn't eligible. [via Deadline] [Photo: Universal] The Best Movies of 2011 The Best Movies of 201125. 'Captain America: The First Avenger'24. 'Beginners'23. 'Warrior'22. 'The Interrupters'21. 'Hanna'20. 'Take Shelter'19. 'Ides of March'18. 'Horrible Bosses'17. 'Win Win'16. 'Margin Call'15. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'14. 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'13. 'Tree of Life'12. 'Attack the Block'11. 'X-Men: First Class'10. 'The Help'9. 'Rango'8. 'Super 8'7. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'6. 'Midnight in Paris'5. 'Moneyball'4. '50/50'3. 'Drive'2. 'Deathly Hallows, Part II'1. 'Bridesmaids' See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook