Films of 2011: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

ROTPOTA was the surprise success of the year and a near flawless example of how to reboot a franchise. It's just a shame that several of the minor CGI apes got more character development than Freida Pinto.

Films of 2011: Senna

There's a line in 24 Hour Party People where Tony Wilson says "If it's a choice between the truth and the legend, print the legend", Senna follows this maxim focusing on the legend that became Senna and his rivalry with villainous Alain Prost.

It might not be the entire truth, but it remains one of the great sports movies of our times.

Films of 2011: Source Code

Even though it's the same eight minutes over and over again, Source Code never gets boring. The ending is a disappointment though as the happy ending smacks of Hollywood test screenings.

Films of 2011: Thor

Okay, so you won't be able to look at it the same since that South Park parody, but Thor still remains ridiculously good fun and miles ahead of other wannabe epics like Clash of the Titans.

Albums of 2011: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Don't believe all the stuff about going back to basics and recording an album in a garage - if you've seen Back & Forth you'll know Dave Grohl's garage is nicer than most people's houses. Still what we got from Wasting Light was the most consistent Foo Fighters album for ages, and in White Limo a song that harks back to the classic sound of the first album that really was true to keeping things simple.

You can listen to my Top 10 Albums of 2011 on Spotify by clicking here

Albums of 2011: Fucked Up - David Comes To Life

If you've ever wondered what Bruce Springsteen making a hardcore punk concept album would sound like, this is probably the closest you'll get to finding out.

David Comes To Life is arguably the forgotten album of 2011 and deserved much higher praise in the usual end of year lists - which is even more baffling when compared to the universal praise dished out for the overrated Mastodon, who performed a clean sweep of Kerrang!, Rock Sound and Metal Hammer polls.

You can listen to my Top 10 Albums of 2011 on Spotify by clicking here

Albums of 2011: Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo

Like most Super Furry's albums, there's a lot of different styles throw in. But Gruff's ability to write a chorus for anything means things always seem natural.

You can listen to my Top 10 Albums of 2011 on Spotify by clicking here