The American Film Institute has issued its top 10 films of the year, and as always, ineligibilities (only US productions can make the cut) made it an easy field for dubious contenders to slide in.

I’m still embargoed on “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” despite the fact that it’s been reviewed and has popped up in a few year-end superlative lists, but it’s on there. It shouldn’t be, but it is. So is “Bridesmaids,” which is just odd.

I don’t know, what can you say about this list at this point? Year after year it leads the charge of dubious studio product and token indies, and rarely manages to cite the best from either field. How do you not stand up for “Beginners” or something? Anyway, it’s just another notch in the 2011 awards season belt, so check out the full list of films below and feel free to move on to the next thing.

“Bridesmaids”

“The Descendants”

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

“The Help”

“Hugo”

“J. Edgar”

“Midnight in Paris”

“Moneyball”

“The Tree of Life”

“War Horse”

“The Artist” and the “Harry Potter” franchise were given special awards. Neither was eligible for the list.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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