Welcome to a special episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!
Before I present you all with my groundbreaking 100th review (which I know you are all dying to read) I decided to once again give you my Top 10 films of 2010.
Here is the breakdown of my year at the movies.
Total number of films seen - 49 Just 1 film short of my goal. You can't imagine how much that hurts.
Average film score - 3 stars
This was a very very tough list to make. 2010 was a pretty good year when it came to entertaining pictures. So to ease my frustration I cheated. I decided to give you an honorable mention list before I dig into my final Top 10.
Here they are in no particular order.
Brooklyn's Finest
Green Zone
Dreamworks: How To Train Your Dragon
Iron Man II
The A-Team
Despicable Me
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
The American
Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Waiting For Superman
Hereafter
Now let's take a look at the films that made my cut for the Best of 2010.
10) The Town. Directed by Ben Affleck. Written by Peter Craig, Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard. Based on the book "Prince of Thieves" written by Chuck Hogan.
5 star score - 4 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny."
This film is another winner for Ben Affleck "The Director" if you please. He takes you on a gritty tour of one of the toughest areas of Massachusetts. The Town showcases the city and neighborhood as a living, breathing character to compliment the amazing actually living cast. The performances from everyone here are so good that you can't choose one better than the other. I defy you to try. The action is first rate from the bank heists to the major Heat style shoot out at the end. Oh yeah there was a pretty damn good story here to.
9) The Kids Are All Right. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg.
5 star score - 4 stars. Recommendation - "Go See It"
This one snuck up on me. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see such a great piece of storytelling. This movie has heart, realism and a thought provoking mojo. The cast is superb here. Every character has their place and the harmony between everyone is just fun to watch. The unfortunate thing about this movie is how poorly it was marketed. In attempt to get butts in the seats it was spun as a comedy. It's nothing of the sort. There are some light and funny moments but by no means is this movie a comedy. Regardless, if you did see it then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen it then shame on you and put this on on your Netflix ASAP.
8) The Fighter. Directed by David O. Russell. Written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamsay & Eric Johnson. Screen Story by Paul Tamsay, Eric Johnson & Keith Dorrington.
5 star score - 4.5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
Christian Bale. Nuff said.
7) The Social Network. Directed by David Fincher. Written by Aaron Sorkin. Based on the book "The Accidental Millionaires." Written by Ben Mezrich.
5 star score - 5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
It's a very rare feat when a screenplay is the real star of a movie. That is the case here. Aaron Sorkin's wizardry of wordplay infuses an energy and life into an already talented cast. You combine that with David Fincher's direction and uncanny ability to pace and time a scene to it's very pitch point. You've got a no doubt Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations.
6) Toy Story 3. Directed by Lee Unkrich. Written by Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich.
5 star score - 5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
How do you top one of cinema's greatest animated films? You make a sequel that's better than the first one. How you top two of cinema's greatest animated films? You make a third one that's better than both it's predecessor's combined. That may sound crazy but I don't see any other way to place how GREAT this film was. Pixar is known for cranking out amazing adventures time and time again. It's twice as amazing when they take you back to an adventure you experienced 2 times before and have that experience exceed any and every expectation.
After reading that, you must be wondering what in the world made the top 5. Here we go.
5) True Grit. Written and Directed by Ethan & Joel Coen. Based on the novel True Grit. Written by Charles Portis
5 star score - 5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
Three Oscar worthy performances
+
An Oscar worthy screenplay
+
2 Oscar worthy master film makers = One hell of a movie.
Need I say more? I think not.
4) 127 Hours. Directed by Danny Boyle. Written by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy. Based on the book "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" Written by Aron Ralston.
5 star score - 5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
You could almost apply the exact same formula I used for True Grit here. The equation is practically identical. You have an Oscar winning director guiding a Golden Globe winning and soon to be Oscar nominated actor. Performing off an Oscar worthy screenplay. The major difference here is this movie is as real as real life gets. To be glued to a screen for 2 hours watching a man trapped in a canyon without falling into the depths of boredom is a remarkable piece of film making.
3) Black Swan. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Written by Mark Heyman & Andres Heinz & John J. McLaughlin. Screen Story by Andres Heinz.
5 star score - 4 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
I know what you must thinking. Why is this #3 when it only got 4 stars? A valid question. I juggled with this one for a while. And after looking back I realized that there's so much more to this film that goes way beyond the score. There is so much emotion and realism in a story that plays with your head at every possible turn. As you watch it you begin to question your own sanity rather than Nina's. You can't make up your mind about what's going on with her. This happens despite the fact that you are shown in black and white what's going on yet you still have that little shred of doubt. Marvelous film making and storytelling.
2) The King's Speech. Directed by Tom Hooper. Written by David Seidler.
5 star score - 5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
It's hard to come up with things to say about this film that I didn't already say in my review. The common thread with all of these films on my list is that they possess a stellar cast that bring exquisite performances to the table. The King's Speech might just have the 2 best performances of the year. Geoffrey Rush brings his status quo talent to the forefront. While Colin Firth continues to bring a skill set that is very underrated. This man can flat out act and it's time for him to be recognized for the talent that he is and has.
And now without further adieu. I give you my #1 film of 2010.
1) Inception. Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan.
5 star score - 5 stars. Recommendation - "Worth Every Penny"
You're not dreaming, pun intended.
This is my no holds barred choice for Best Film of 2010. It's very common in tinseltown for a director to follow a major blockbuster film with a smaller endeavor. It gives he or she a chance to unwind from the pressure of the public and studio to deliver. Christopher Nolan doesn't do that. He follows his ambitious take on the Batman saga with a film that comes with a concept that defines the word ambition to the very letter. Inception in my opinion was a greater achievement than Avatar by leaps and bounds and here's why.
Inception is grounded in reality in terms of it's film making. As bold as Nolan was with the technology he used for the movie. He used it as a tool to serve the story, rather than replace the story as Avatar so cleverly and blatantly pulled off. Nolan was able to blend his uncanny imagination and make it practical instead of digital. He doesn't subscribe to the S.O.S method (you should know what that means by now) and I applaud that to no end. Let's not forget that the man can write with the best of them. He's got this game locked down to a science and right now there isn't anyone better.
In terms of the actual film, Inception changed the game when it comes to storytelling, special effects and ensemble casts. There's so much talent present here that it borders close to overload. From Leo to Ellen Page to Ken Watanabe to Cillian Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and of course Michael Caine. The list goes on and on. Then you pack that talent with one of cinema's most confusingly simple storyline and there you have it.
Inception was by far the most debated movie of the year. Stemming mostly from that final shot of the spinning top (Leo made it back to the real world people. Accept it). This was the water cooler talk for several months during it's release. That to me was a tell tale sign that this movie was more than just 2 hours of entertainment. It was an experience. An experience that I will enjoy many many times over in the comfort of my couch on glorious high definition.
Thank you Blu-Ray. Better yet, thank you Christopher Nolan.
There you have it folks. That's my Top 10 of 2010. Let the debate begin.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is my Top 10 Worst of 2010. To be followed by the eagerly awaited 100th review.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
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