Here are a few of my favorite flicks from 2010. (Please take into account that as of this writing I haven’t yet caught up withThe Kids are All Right,Get Low,Toy Story 3(yes, I’m the one guy in the world who hasn’t seen it),The FighterorRabbit Hole.)
10. (tie)Piranha 3DandScott Pilgrim vs. the World– They won’t be winning any awards or be featured on most critic’s end of the year list, but they ended up far and away the best popcorn munching, do-or-try-literally-anything-to-entertain, good time movies of the year.
9.{REC} 2– The original {REC} was a terrifying POV Spanish horror film about an infection spreading through an apartment complex. Unfortunately, nobody in America saw it. {REC} 2, an amplified, action-packed sequel featuring a group of soldiers cleaning house managed to up the ante in every way and devisesome fantastically tense scenes, resulting in this year’s most terrifying film. And once again, nobody in America saw it.
8.Harry Brown– Sure it’s an England-set Death Wish, but this dark and grim tale features some truly icky, disturbing images that I’ve had a difficult time shaking many months later. Michael Caine delivers an underappreciated performance as a lonely, widowed pensioner who strikes out in frustration againsta brutal gang after his friend is murdered.
7.The Town– Though not quite as grand as The Departed, this Boston-set crime thriller thoroughly entertained, turning the screws on one member of a gang of armed robbers. Close friends, crime bosses, the FBI and a girlfriend who also happens to be an unknowing witness add multiple layers of conflict as a big heist is staged – resulting in some outstandingly tense sequences.
6.127 Hours– All of the pre-release press focused on exaggerated stories of horrified and fainting moviegoers. Contrary to all those crazy reports, this is one of the most upbeat, inspiring, life-affirming flicks of the year, bursting with energy and anchored by a great performance from James Franco. If onlythe news stories had focused on all its positive attributes, perhaps more would have seen it.
5.The Social Network– The first movie featuring characters hunched over computer screens that didn’t bore me senseless. David Fincher’s newest was a beautifully shot impression of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Its portrait of a brilliant social misfit who slowly antagonizes himself while creating the world’s most popular social networking tool was consistently fascinating.
4.The King’s Speech– A fascinating and moving piece of history well told. This could have been as exciting as watching paint dry, but instead enthralled by focusing on two great performances chronicling the development of an unusual friendship, accented with a potent and dry sense of humour.
3.Black Swan– Darren Aronofsky’s portrait of an insecure and paranoid ballet dancer’s mental breakdown was ripe with mood and atmosphere. The sudden jolts, chills from shapes lurking in the backgrounds and eerie photography sent chills down the spine. Creeped me out!
2.The Ghost Writer– Brilliantly sinister, this stylish throwback to classic 70’s conspiracy thrillers still managed to deliver a timely and relevant message. The allusions to past British Prime Minister Tony Blair are fascinating, The ferry boat sequence was absolutely riveting and one of the best suspense sequences of the year, while the tone itself maintained an appropriately biting sense of dark humor that followed right to its clever close.
1.Inception– No other film this year inspired more conversations and debates– although I tend to think it is more straight-forward in its storytelling than some theorists out there. Regardless of what any person might interpret, this is a beautifully crafted, exciting and engaging film. From the jaw-dropping hallway fight to the vision of a city folding over itself, it’s full of ideas and images that will linger in most minds for years to follow.
Hey, it’s an odd list, but I’m an odd guy. The following films also made an impact. On a different day and mood, they could have also found themselves in my top ten –Cemetery Junction,The Crazies,Frozen,Never Let Me Go,Tangled,True Grit,The Warrior’s Way(my guilty pleasure of the year) andWinter’s Bone.
Here are a few of my least favorite films of 2010. These titles did worse than disappoint me– they truly annoyed me. Once again, please note that I missed out onVampires Suckand intend to continue missing it for as long as humanly possible. Otherwise, here are the 2010 movies currently looping in my nightmares…
The Bounty Hunter– A frothy romantic comedy that features one of the most grating couples ever filmed doing little else but bickering incessantly for two full hours. Sound like fun?
Furry Vengeance– This children’s film makes a shaky plight for wildlife preservation after its woodland creatures murder a man in its opening sequence. Star Brendan Frasier is forced to endure eighty minutes of indignity, repeatedly being pooped on and peed on before being covered in human excrement from a port-o-let. Hilarious!
Jonah Hex– Edited with a chainsaw, filled with random events occurring for no discernable reason, unmotivated explosions and animated sequences to fill in exposition for a nearly nonexistent plot. Even at a brief eighty minutes, it’s painfully dull.
My Soul to Take– This incoherent mess featured a gaggle of bizarre, unidentifiable teens with little rational motivation. A highlight – one victim falling out of a closet and devoting his dying breaths not to identifying his killer or sending a final message to loved ones, but instead to filling in a plot holeas to how he arrived to his specific location!
Sex and the City 2– When your wife drags you to a chick flick and then spends most of the running time apologizing for its awfulness, you know you’re watching something truly abominable. Besides its obnoxious, unlikable characters and wince inducing treatment of other cultures, this stinker contained four pointless plotlines with no dramatic conflict.
Skyline– For its first two acts, this cheesy, logic challenged sci-fi flick merely clunked along with wooden dialogue and gaping plot holes. But its staggeringly absurd final act put it way over the top. Whatever the intention, leaving an audience with their jaws on the floor in disbelief or rolling in the aisles with laughter was probably not the desired effect.
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