2010 was not a great movie year but the greatness it contained was truly breathtaking. As I think about my favorite films from the year, these are the selections that truly went the extra mile and then some. They each tested the limits of their respective genres and at times, the nature of filmmaking itself, making for stories and storytelling that was always inventive, creative, fresh, emotional, compelling, and entertaining to the highest degree.
So, without further adieu, here are my favorites of the year and as with the other three sections of this series, full reviews of ALL of the listed films are housed on this site.
THE TOP TEN FILMS OF 2010
10. "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON"
Co-Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders
While Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” is receiving all of the love and attention, for my money, this was the best animated film of the year, so wondrous that I really believe that it could make the wizards at Pixar collectively look over their shoulders. While the story and adventures of teenaged Viking Hiccup and his trusty dragon Toothless was overly familiar, the undeniable magic arrived through the way the story was told and how it was anchored through the stunningly beautiful friendship and bond created between a boy and his dragon. Even animated, this relationship contained was some of the finest human/animal interaction I have seen since Carroll Ballard’s “The Black Stallion” (1979). Additionally, the film delivered on flying and action sequences that were more extraordinary than anything in James Cameron’s “Avatar” (2009), the terrific individualized details for all of the various dragon breeds, strong comedy and also, a tender Father/son plotline. “How To Train Your Dragon” was the first film I awarded four stars in 2010 and it was essential this film would have a place on this list.
Available on DVD
9. "EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP" Directed by Banksy
Despite my love for “Waiting For ‘Superman’,” this examination of the art world and the exploration of the inherent truth and lies behind art and the artists who create was the finest documentary I saw in 2010. This feat was extremely aided by the towering presence of two of the most compulsively watchable and fascinating characters I’ve seen in the movies all year, the unseen and celebrated street artist (as well as this film’s director) Banksy and the compulsive videographer turned street artist named Thierry Guetta. Questions have risen to the authenticity of this film even being a documentary at all, or if it is some sort of elaborate hoax masquerading as a piece of art. I don’t care about that a whit as the resulting film was exhilarating, exuberant, highly entertaining and yes, I do believe that, in and of itself, it is a work of art.
Available on DVD
8. “127 HOURS” Directed by Danny Boyle
Based upon the true story of Aron Ralston, who was famously trapped within a mountain ravine with his right arm pinned between two rocks for five days, and severed the aforementioned arm in order to survive was an excellent new entry from Boyle, who follows up his Oscar winning “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) with an equally brilliant effort. The harrowing tale of survival featured propulsive, kaleidoscopic filmmaking that pushes the medium of film defiantly forwards while always honoring the art of serving the storytelling, a quality so necessary for a story this primal. Yes, the arm decapitation sequence is appropriately grisly but I found this film to be really about the unforgiving aspect of nature and the interconnectivity between all living things as realized by a man when he is most alone. James Franco richly deserved his Oscar nomination with his natural and seemingly effortless performance, which holds you in its grip so confidently, and without any pandering histrionics.
Now Playing in Theaters
7. "EASY A" Directed by Will Gluck
This film was one of the year’s biggest surprises for me as what could have been a run of the mill teen comedy was actually a brilliantly written, perfectly executed social comedy. Emma Stone gave a star making performance as high school student Olive Penderghast, whose life unravels when her little white lie concerning a mythical episode of sexual intercourse explodes into a communal obsession with her emerging sexuality. Gluck’s crisp, clean and snappy direction completely served Bert V. Royal’s beautifully loquacious and literate screenplay. “Easy A” was a film that aimed for and completely reached the gold standard of teen films from the 1980s through its skill, class, humor, intelligence and having one of the strongest teen heroines I’ve seen in the movies for a long, long time. Furthermore and so wonderfully, “Easy A” was the very best teen film I have seen in over 20 years. I imagine that John Hughes would be so proud.
Available on DVD
6. “THE KING’S SPEECH” Directed by Tom Hooper
I am a filmgoer who tends to have a strong aversion to historical British dramas about royalty. The politics and pageantry are so typically pitched to such a ponderous degree that films of this nature tend to feel so stuffy, holding me at arm’s length as a result. But, this film did no such thing as Hooper stripped away all of the pomp and circumstance, making “The King’s Speech” instantaneously and recognizably human and relatable. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are masterful equals as the vocally afflicted King George VI and his unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue. The tentative and at times contentious relationship between these two men anchored and drove a film that served a political story while also keeping the human traits of failure, self-confidence, resolve, dignity, leadership, language and communication at the forefront. With a level of excellence displayed from the very first frame, “The King’s Speech” was one of the year’s most beautiful films.
Now Playing in Theaters
5. “SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD” Co-Written and Directed by Edgar Wright
Every once in a while a film comes along and arrives into our movie theaters in the most unassuming fashion. Yet, from the first frame, the film explodes into an experience unlike anything else playing anywhere. Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim VS. The World” was one of those films, an entry into a rare class of films (like Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 feast “Moulin Rouge!”) that possesses so much confidence within itself that you will either go for the experience or you won’t. There is absolutely no middle ground whatsoever.
Based upon the graphic novel series created by Bryan Lee O’Malley, the film tells the story of the titular Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a 22 year old video game obsessed and romantically wounded native of Toronto who falls in love with his dream girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), only to discover that in order to win her heart, he must defeat her seven evil exes who are all out to kill him. The film is a veritable audio/visual sonic boom as it is ENDLESSLY inventive from the sight of the studio logo all the way through to the final ending credit. It is a cinematic crime to me that this film was not nominated in the Oscar category for Best Visual Effects as “Scott Pilgrim VS. The World” boasted some of the very best and most creative CGI and special effects I have seen in years.
And still, the film is not sacrificing its soul in the pursuit of style over substance. Wright ingeniously illustrates how Pilgrim and his twentysomething community of friends and enemies are all in the state of romantic woe, and utilize their media drenched minds and ironic poses as deeply heartfelt shields against the growing pains of adult responsibilities in adult relationships. This film is a wild ride with a huge heart and I am anxious to plunk in another quarter.
Available on DVD
4. “THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” Co-Written and Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
The year’s very best social/family comedy arrived in the summer months of 2010 and throughout the year, it has remained so high in my thoughts as I recall the excellence of the writing, the acting, the tone, the presentation, the empathy and the heart and compassion. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore luminously star as Nic and Jules, a longtime upper middle class married couple and parents to two teenaged children (Mia Wasiowska and Josh Hutcherson), whose lives are thrown into an upheaval with the arrival of the swaggering shaggy dog sperm donor Paul (Mark Ruffalo).
Bening completely earned her Oscar nomination with a deeply layered performance as the prickly and passionate Nic. She is a workaholic doctor who is resentful of Jules’ wayward life and Paul’s entrance as a potential parental influence while she also fiercely loves and protects her family, is sadly preparing herself for her daughter’s departure for college and also nurses a nasty addiction to alcohol. Bening handles all of these qualities and levels with a naturalistic ease that never makes the character a histrionic cliché but as real as any woman I know and see every day. Ruffalo also gave, quite possibly, the best performance of his career as Paul, a man who has run more than his fair share of emotional red lights and who is finally confronted with the consequences of his breezy decisions. It was another of this year’s cinematic crimes that Moore was not nominated for her performance as it was equally complex and completely complimentary to Bening’s performance, making the couple of Nic and Jules feel so undeniably lived it and real. You could easily sense the shared romantic history between these two women and within that aspect, “The Kids Are All Right” functioned as one of the year’s two best love stories.
And even beyond that, by NOT announcing itself as a soapbox movie, it made a grand political statement in favor of families where the parents just happen to be of the same gender. Often hilarious, knowingly perceptive, sexually frisky and profoundly humane, “The Kids Are All Right” was more than just all right, it was cinematic excellence.
Available on DVD
3. "THE SOCIAL NETWORK" Directed by David Fincher
Now, we’re getting into the nitty gritty as we are now at one of 2010’s highest achievements and one of David Fincher’s very best films. The story of the creation of Facebook and the rise of its creator, Harvard school student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) utilized the eternal themes of friendship, belonging, success, failure, betrayal, power and corruption and fused them into an remarkably brilliant film that speaks to the nature of our lives and humanity at this point in the 21st century. Aaron Sorkin’s exemplary screenplay allowed Fincher’s wonderful actors (including Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Roomey Mara and Justin Timberlake) the chance to dive into verbal gymnastics with dialogue pitched at such a velocity that it matched the speed of our accelerated times. Eisenberg is particularly terrific as he created a searing, seething performance as the nearly emotionally impenetrable Zuckerberg, whose true motivations and needs are continuously revealed, questioned, seen and unseen through a series of inter-connected flashbacks and two court depositions. He always keeps you guessing as to the validity of his motivations, and he remains compellingly enigmatic even when he is at his most repellent. Special mention must be given to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross whose brooding electronic film score unexpectedly yet perfectly provides the film with a clear underpinning of existential dread as Zuckerberg’s diminishing humanity mirrors Fincher’s warning of the audience’s increasing isolation as we all grow more reliant upon the virtual world.
Available on DVD
2. "INCEPTION" Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan
Out of all of the major filmmakers who released movies in 2010, I was thrilled to see that Christopher Nolan not only didn't stumble creatively, he hit a grand slam with his masterful, extraordinary, astoundingly inventive dream world epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a tormented corporate dream thief involved in the most profound caper of his life. Nolan reportedly worked on his original screenplay over a ten year period and it shows as it is air-tight while also utilizing a structure that plays with time and various descending levels of dream states designed to further disorient the characters and viewers. And somehow, someway, Nolan keeps all of it firmly in his directorial grasp as all of his actors (including Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Tom Hardy) while also leaving you with an interpretive conclusion that is appropriately elusive.
“Inception” is a film that not only fits snugly with his oeuvre but it also works as an allegory to the dream weaving that exists in the movie making process itself. Our dreams are all created from the iconography of our individual lives where familiar elements, events, places and people are shaped and re-shaped into our unique inner-visions. With “Inception,” Nolan is utilizing the familiar iconography of his life in film, from his own work to the films he has loved himself, to represent and create his uniquely personal inner vision, which he has so brilliantly shared with us. For me, everything was so right about this movie--from the cinematography to the special effects to Hans Zimmer's innovative film score which featured the great guitarist Johnny Marr--and ever since I saw it opening weekend this past July, it remained as my favorite film of 2010. That is, until I saw…
Available on DVD
1. "BLACK SWAN" Directed by Darren Aronofsky
There was no other film I saw in 2010 that reached as far as this one, especially as it plunged so deeply into the fractured mind of an aging ballet dancer who is feverishly in pursuit of absolute perfection. Natalie Portman gave the performance of her life as Nina Sayers, the aforementioned ballet dancer who is struggling to attain the title dual role in her company’s production of “Swan Lake.” In addition to weathering the jealous wrath of her fellow dancers, the demands of her brutal choreographer (Vincent Cassell), fierce competition from a more confidant rival (a great Mila Kunis), and the overly smothering presence of her Mother (Barbara Hershey), Nina has to face down her relentless demons and fracturing psyche in order to tap into her dark side to fully embody the role of the Black Swan.
Like some of the other films on this list, Aronofsky created a work that stood so tall with such supreme confidence, that every audience member’s reaction to it was equally extreme. Again, there was no middle ground with this film. It’s labyrinthine structure utilizes motifs of mirrors, the colors of black and white and juxtaposes elements we know about the real actors plus the characters they are playing plus the characters within the story of “Swan Lake” as they all bounce back and forth from each other, weaving an endless rabbit hole from which poor Nina is unable to crawl out from. We see her world just as she sees it, unexpected hallucinations and all, and the effect is exhilarating and terrifying.
”Black Swan” is no quaint ballet picture or “Fatal Attraction”/”Single White Female” styled motion picture. It is the definition of an experience as it proudly stands up as a boldly artistic, operatic nightmare. Years from now as I make my “Time Capsule” series for the decade of 2010-2019, Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” will definitely be represented as one of the very best films of this period!!!
Now Playing in Theaters
And there you have it!! I really hope that you have enjoyed this four part series and I am looking so forward to seeing and reviewing the new movies of 2011 for you, dear readers.
Wow, you have some great picks here, although I admit I am still not going to watch 127 hours. Outdoor survival movies do not do it for me. I'm really interested in the Gift Shop one now, which I'd heard the name of but didn't stop to find out more.
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