Looking Back: Ethan Picks Five Pleasantly Surprising Hits from 2011

Yesterday, I counted down the biggest disappointments from this year in film, which included a set of blockbusters that just didn’t live up to the hype generated leading up to the release, and failed to deliver a quality movie. But today, we’re looking on the positive side of the year’s biggest films in the form of five films that sort of caught audiences off guard by being surprising hits both at the box office and with most critics. I haven’t included lower key favorites like Midnight in Paris, but films like Woody Allen’s comedy are smaller, personal choices, and will show up on another list later this week. See the list below! So without further adieu, here are the films that really surprised myself, audiences and critics in 2011 by really coming through as great pieces of entertainment and all around high quality movies: #5. Real Steel – With the huge presence …