The Best and Worst of 2010

Well 2010 didn’t start well at all, we had a few holdovers from the US awards season of late 2009 but things didn’t really kick up a notch until around about April and even then the fun only lasted a couple of weeks before one of the most average summer blockbuster seasons since 2001. Luckily things got better in the latter part of the year and I was able to scrape together a top ten. I have the feeling with this list though that the top five here would be the bottom five of any other year. Maybe I have just been spoiled in recent times though, as compared to this year it feels like 2007/08 and 09 were jam packed full of quality, although that could just be me looking at things through rose tinted glasses.

So my personal top ten films of 2010. This may change over time as in the UK we were not fortunate enough to get films such as Black Swan, 127 Hours and True Grit before January. All of the films on this list were ones that I saw between January 1^st and December 31^st of 2010. I still missed some things that could have placed on the top ten. Things like Cyrus, Machete and The Last Exorcism are all things that appeal to my sensibilities but for one reason or another I missed them in cinemas. For now though the ten best pieces of visual entertainment I saw in 2010 are:

10. Frozen

Adam Green really proved he was worth the early hype with this movie. It was one of several flicks that came out in 2010 belonging to a new genre I like to refer to as ‘sweaty tension’ movies. This genre includes Buried, Burning Bright and probably 127 Hours. To qualify as a sweaty movie you have to be set primarily in one location with a very small cast and in a desperate life threatening situation. Frozen is the simple tale of three friends that get stuck at the top of a ski lift in the nighttime when the resort has closed for the week. The three performers here did some really solid work as likeable characters who you did not want to see come to harm. Green gave each of the actors really sympathetic back stories and allowed you to get to know then before seeing them go through a series of tragic occurrences. It made all the difference to actually care about what was happening on screen as opposed to just watching teen archetypes get mowed down by a chainsaw wielding nutjob. The shocks were shocking and effective without being gratuitous. Certain horror directors could learn a thing or two from Mr.Green’s masterclass in suspense.

9. Exit Through The Gift Shop

Hands down the best documentary of the year in a strong year for documentary’s which included Restrepo and Catfish. Banksy’s debut movie works as a biting satire of modern art as well as a document of the rise of an artist from the street art movement. There has been a lot of discussion back and forth as to whether the characters and events portrayed in this film are real. I would say it doesn’t matter at this point because the point has been made, modern art is disposable. Street art is no longer valuable when taken out of the streets in which it was born. This was a thought provoking as well as hilarious debut from Banksy and I hope he makes another film before too long.

8. The Social Network

The social network seems to be the film that is getting the loudest awards buzz as we approach the early 2011 awards season. David Fincher’s latest may lack the razzle dazzle and visual fireworks of some of his earlier efforts but has a great screenplay by Aaron Sorkin that just crackles off the screen. Add to this career best performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake and you have a classic film about friendships going sour. May not be the statement of a generation that some are saying but a gripping and intelligent film about the most important communications development of modern times it most certainly is.

7. Heartless

Heartless was Philip Ridley’s first feature film since the underrated Passion of Darkly Noon in 1995 and has been seen by literally nobody. This was a horror film set in the UK that wasn’t trying to be the next Shaun of the Dead or 28 Days Later and instead told a tragic Faustian tale in a London that I could recognise. Visually stunning and frightening in equal measure, Heartless should be seen by all and in a world where British cinema is dying off again this type of film needs your support. Great lead performance by Jim Sturgess as well.

6. Kick Ass

Matthew Vaughan’s comic adaptation based on Mark Millar’s gonzo superhero tale was nearly a victim of internet hyperbole. Early test screening reviews flooded the web claiming it as ‘the best comic book movie ever’ and as a result when I first saw it, I found it a little underwhelming. Since then its really grown on me with repeat viewings. As a screenwriter I really admire the structure of the thing, it builds and builds until an all action balls out final act that will have you standing up and applauding. Along with reminding the world how good Nic Cage can be it also introduced the world to Chloe Moretz who also impressed in Let Me In. We need a sequel to this movie, the comic version of which should be out early next year, it cant come fast enough..

5. Winters Bone

Winters Bone is a minimalist, subtle triumph of independent film making. If you saw it when it played during its limited theatrical run then this will no doubt be in your top ten of 2010. This is a thriller that favors character and back story over violence to build its tension. As a result this was scary in a way that previously David Lynch has only been able to do. We hear bad stories about the people in the meth cooking community and we see stony faced hard looking people who greet the main character with a wall of silence. You are never sure when violence is about to erupt and this creates a real uneasy mood. Jennifer Lawrence is the discovery of the year for her portrayal of a young woman risking her life to ensure her families survival but John Hawkes was the genuine surprise playing a scary but somehow honorable local badass.

4. Toy Story 3

Its amazing to me that a film featuring toys meant for the under fives was as deep and profound as this film was. Pixar again goes with story over pop culture references and comes up with the best Toy Story so far, unusual for a threequel. I can’t watch this movie without getting a big lump in my throat towards the end. It truly is a magical triumphant piece of modern animation.

3. Inception

I’ve been back and forth a lot in my mind with Inception. First time I saw it I was amazed and left with the feeling that I needed to see it again very soon. Second time I watched it I felt bored and kind of regretted that they didn’t get more wacky and surreal with the dream imagery. Then I watched it a third time and I found I was blown away again. Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors working today and here he definitively proves this. Nolan is somehow able to present an incredibly complex plot with a lot of strings and a lot of dialogue and still make it thrilling and visually stunning. Amongst all the fireworks, Nolan remembers to cast great actors and gets great performances from all of them. Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon Levitt are probably the breakouts here but the heart of the film is Leonardo Di Caprio. The characters back story and relationship with his dead wife is fascinating and moving and Di Caprio does some real solid work. Like the layered dreams it presents, Inception is a film that works on a lot of levels and part of its appeal is the discussion it generates about what it all means. Its also a film that could conceivably be the first part of a franchise. Like Winters Bone, there seems to be plenty of back story and history to explore. For instance those people all dreaming in the back room of the chemist in Morocco, what is that all about? As much as I would be curious to see where it went I’m kind of also hopeful they leave it alone. Maybe let it continue in another form first, graphic novel or video game and see what they can come up with. Inception will go down as one of the great films of 2010 and proves that brainy blockbusters can make money.

2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

So many column inches in the blogosphere have already been devoted to Edgar Wright’s movie adaptation of the comic Scott Pilgrim that I don’t know what else I could possibly add that hasn’t been said elsewhere and most likely better. Scott Pilgrim feels like the first twenty something years of my life distilled on screen with all the video game/comic and movie references that my 16 year old caffeine addled mind could fit in. The film was a bit of a flop on release but has since started having the requisite midnight screenings to build a cult following. Those in the know are already in love with it, the poor fools who missed it at the cinema are going to get an ass kicking when they catch up with it on DVD/Blu-ray. This is without doubt Wright’s best movie to date and considering what has come before that is really saying something. Love the fact that this film introduced me to the band Metric as well.

1. Monsters

Gareth Edwards debut movie is astonishing for two reasons. One: its unlike anything you have seen before and Two: Its further proof that you don’t need a huge amount of money to make a great film. The story behind the making of this movie is really inspiring. Its one of the things this year that has inspired me to finally pick up a camera next year and go make a film. Shot guerilla style on the run from the back of a van with two unknown actors who then proceed to fall in love in real life and get married. The film is primarily a love story and this may put off some, but the backdrop to the film is a world in which huge tentacled beasties dominate South America and the structure is like a road movie with a couple overcoming death defying odds to get home. Monsters also looks like it had a high budget when in reality it was apparently well below 500,000 dollars. The visuals are fantastic and for a film with such low production costs it has some impressive effects work supposedly all done at home on a laptop. Since seeing this film its gotten into my head and stayed there and I cannot wait to see it again to marvel at the richness of the world presented and again be moved by the love story at its core. Cannot wait to see what Gareth Edwards gives us next.

Also worthy of mention:

Catfish, Salt, Dogtooth, How to Train Your Dragon, Four Lions, Mother, Rare Exports, The Collector, Let Me In, The Town, Fanboys, Buried, The Other Guys, Vengeance, Pirahna 3D, Whip It, Cemetery Junction, The Expendables, Crazy Heart, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Solomon Kane, Green Zone, Shutter Island, The Killer Inside Me, Splice, Edge of Darkness, Daybreakers, Bad Lieutenant, Brooklyns Finest, Hot Tub Time Machine, Restrepo and Rec 2

And so the worst…

The Last Airbender: This is the worst kind of bad movie, a movie that could have been great but somewhere down the line ended up having the worst dialogue and performances in a mainstream movie since Battlefield Earth. Every chance at epic coolness has been completely squandered by M.Night Shyamalan and its hard to see how he can ever recover. Its like the genius who directed Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense has been replaced by an alien or something.

Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time: Mike Newell made my favorite Harry Potter movie with Goblet of Fire so the guy can make solid fantasy fare but this was just dreck. For a big budget Disney film the special effects were terribly ropey and Jake Gyllenhaal had zero chemistry with Gemma Arterton. The fact that I preferred the Clash of The Titans remake over this should tell you all you need to know. For a similar thing done better see Japanese movie Goemon.

The Human Centipede: This film has nothing to offer beyond the intrigue of its disgusting premise. Its gross, badly acted and worst of all boring.

No Impact Man: This film made me so angry. Basically a vanity project by two pretentious New Yorkers who decide to live organically for a year. Hmmm this involves filming everything and inviting friends round for turning off the lights parties. If they really wanted to impress me they should have gone and lived in a tee pee in Central Park. This should have been about the process and not the couples marriage and withdrawal symptoms from the 24-7 Starbucks lifestyle that the annoying wife went through. Ugh despicable.

So that’s 2010 in a nutshell, what were your favorite films of the year? Anything you feel should have been in the lists above? In a couple of days I’ll have a preview of 2011 up on these pages. The good news is in the first three months of 2011 it looks more interesting than the whole of 2010 put together!

by Chris Holt

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