Top 15 Films of 2010

RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE

According to Finnish legend, Santa Claus wasnʼt always the jolly fat man who drops gifts through chimneys. Rather, he was a sadistic demon who would kidnap and torture all of the naughty children each December. Itʼs that version of Santa Claus that is at the center of this great little Christmas movie.

I wasnʼt sure what to expect from Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. My gut told me that it was going to be a retread of Christmas Evil or Silent Night Deadly Night. My heart wanted it to be a spiritual cousin to Monster Squad or Fright Night. What I got instead was a perfect mix of all of that plus a little Let the Right One In.

It took a little while to really get going, but once it I couldnʼt stop smiling. Always staying in the perfect tonal-middle-ground of the Zany Scale, Rare Exports left me feeling excited about having a new holiday classic to revisit each year.

15

Saturday, January 8, 2011

14127 HOURS

James Franco and Danny Boyle. Yup.

After stealing the show in a number of other great films over the last few years, James Franco took this opportunity as his moment to fully shine. He was brilliant as the ultimate Survivorman, Aron Ralston, giving the film an energy and emotional impact it would have lacked had any other actor given it a shot.

The story of Ralstonʼs survival is absolutely incredible. Still, there was a fear that it could be, as a film, well…boring up until the end. Danny Boyle, however, doesnʼt know how to make a boring movie. The cinematography and the editing in 127 Hours reminded me why Boyle is one of the most entertaining filmmakers working today. He simply knows how to tell a great story out of anything.

Itʼs 90+ minutes of a guy stuck in a hole. Thatʼs it. But with Franco and Boyle, itʼs one of the most exhilarating films in recent memory.


13 TRUE GRIT

The Coen Brothers are just that damn good. With True Grit they changed the perceived rules for two strongly held beliefs in 2010 Hollywood: 1) Westerns can still be great and can still connect with people. 2) Not all remakes are lazy ideas.

From top to bottom, the film nails everything perfectly. The cinematography is the best of the year. Every performance is memorable. The script is impeccable. The costumes and set design are astonishing.

What the Coens were able to do with True Grit is take a beloved entry from an all but forgotten genre, and craft it into something entirely new and accessible for just about everyone. Theyʼre experts at their craft, and this film is yet another example of their undeniable genius.


12KICK-ASS

After Iron Man and The Dark Knight came out in 2008, the Superhero genre officially surpassed “niche.” I never read the KICK-ASS comic books, but if ever a film served as a perfect commentary on the real-world effects of our love for Superheroes, itʼs this one.

Matthew Vaughnʼs hyper-violent action epic doesnʼt just work as a great Superhero movie; it works as an excellent film, in general. Itʼs filled with some of the most memorable, fully realized, and complete characters in any genre of the last decade. Maybe Hit Girl caught a lot of flak from stuffy critics and over-sensitive parents, but in my opinion sheʼs one of the most accurate depictions of the youth of any particular generation Iʼve seen.

As silly as it may sound, Kick-Ass does the impossible by never getting too comic-y and over-the-top to lose its believability. You never for a second think that youʼre watching a story in Metropolis or Gotham City. Everything about it feels real and authentic, like it could actually happen. For many, Iʼm sure that they wish it could, which is actually what the movie is all about anyway, and why itʼs so great.


11 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Banksyʼs documentary about the rise and eventual commercialization of street art – and by proxy the emergence of Mr. Brainwash – is straight-up a fun movie. From the second the credits start rolling, youʼre never not entertained.

The controversy surrounding the filmʼs authenticity gives the whole thing an added element of wonder. Is it all legit? Is Mr. Brainwash just a character created by Banksy? Is HE Banksy? By the end of the film I found myself asking all of those questions, and strangely, not caring at all about the answers. I just knew I liked it. That was enough.


10

THE FIGHTER

Iʼm a sucker for underdog stories. Rocky is my favorite movie. I could watch Christian Bale dry paint. I had no doubt that I would love The Fighter.

Was it a formulaic and by-the-numbers story? Sure. But it worked, and it worked really, really well. Anchoring the whole thing were two incredible performances: Christian Bale canʼt possibly lose the Oscar this year. He was finally given a role where the main trait wasnʼt “brooding.” He put so much life and heart into Dicky Eklund that after a while you completely forget who youʼre watching. The other performance comes from Melissa Leo. She was brilliant as the overbearing mother/manager. She was able to find the perfect balance of loving mom and total bitch.

The last great performance of the film was the directorʼs. David O. Russell had a tough go of it the last few years, but with The Fighter he has silenced his doubters, delivering one of the most inspiring, funny, and touching movies of the year.


9WINTERʼS BONE

A film noir in the Ozarks. It sounds like a hard sell, but Winterʼs Bone nails it perfectly. Itʼs the story of a teenage girl, played awesomely by Jennifer Lawrence, who is taking care of her younger siblings and her more-or-less invalid mother since her meth head father has left the picture. When she finds out that his debt has to be paid, otherwise the family will be evicted, she sets off on an almost fairy tale-like quest to bring him home all the while running into an endless series of horrifying real-life villains and anti-heroes (including the magnificent Jon Hawkes, who should finally get the credit heʼs deserved his entire career).

Bleak would be the best word to describe this movie. The story, the imagery, the characters, there is basically not an ounce of hope to be found in Winterʼs Bone. But, thatʼs what makes the story of Ree Dollyʼs search so incredible. Everything bad that could happen to this poor girl does, but she keeps pushing to save her family. Inside all of its dourness, itʼs strangely inspiring, making for one of the best thrillers of 2010.


8CATFISH

Is it real? Thatʼs the major question surrounding Catfish, yet another incredible documentary whose legitimacy was questioned last year, and just like with Exit through the Gift Shop, I donʼt care if it is or not.

From the moment the filmmakers decide they want to explore the main charactersʼ relationship further, they had me. I could not look away from this film. The controversy surrounding it may turn off some potential viewers, but I canʼt recommend this movie enough.

Catfish was the OTHER Facebook movie that came out in 2010. Itʼs about a boy who meets a girl online. More importantly, though, I think itʼs one of the most important films about the power technology, and social media in particular, has given us.


7ANIMAL KINGDOM

This story of an Australian family of thieves evolves and unravels its seemingly endless layers over the course of its running time into a legitimate crime classic.

It centers around J Cody, whose mother has died from an overdose. The only family he has to turn to is his grandmother and four uncles, who unfortunately are some of the most notorious criminals down under. J has to choose between what he knows is right, and the only family heʼs got left. It starts off as a slow burn, but eventually picks up more and more momentum until it finally all snowballs into the brilliant conclusion.

Jacki Weaver, playing the matriarch of the Cody clan, gives one of the most frightening performances I can remember. She deserves all of the best supporting actress attention this awards season.


6MOTHER

This was my most pleasant surprise of 2010. Director Joon-ho Bong first caught most peopleʼs attention with his monster masterpiece, The Host, in 2006. With Mother he shows that heʼs just as capable of creating a subdued, nuanced, thriller.

The story is pretty basic, a young man has been convicted of a crime and his mother is trying to prove his innocence. But the film is so, so much more than that apparently generic plotline. The relationship between the mother and son is sadly gorgeous. Theyʼre poor, uneducated, and aside from one friend apiece, alone. Still, her love and determination to set her son free is iron, even when things turn for the worse.

What could have been a by-the-numbers Lifetime Original is instead a darkly hilarious, heartstopping, and heartbreaking new classic that I canʼt wait to watch again.


5TOY STORY 3

This is a bitter sweet entry for me. On the one hand, Pixar did it again. They created an animated film that surpassed almost every other movie in 2010 in terms of character, humor, heart, action, drama, and any other distinctive trait a film can have, adding to their legendary list of near-perfect cinema. On the other hand Iʼm sad because I know this film marks the end of that incredible streak. The next Pixar movie is Cars 2, and nothing good can come of that.

But thatʼs beside the point. Toy Story 3 is a masterpiece. Of all the films I saw in 2010, it was this one, about the toys, that had me crying like a schoolgirl. It was this one, about the toys, that had me literally gritting my teeth, hoping that our heroes would find a way to survive. It was this one, about the toys, that put almost everything else in 2010 to shame.


4THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Some people have called this the Citizen Kane or the Wall Street of the 21st Century. Iʼm not a big fan of either of those other two flicks so Iʼll just call this one brilliant and let it stand on its own. David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin did a remarkable job with this film.

The founding of Facebook is a really interesting story, but they were able to elevate into something so much more than what it already is. The language that Sorkin used to tell the tale, and the way that Fincher chose to display it on screen was nothing short of perfect. It not only stands as a thoroughly entertaining (although unfortunately one-sided) account of history, but also as a glimpse into the kind of environment that the internet has created – one where a single idea can pop up and be created in a split second, changing the entire world in the process.

Plus, Jesse Eisenberg was ridiculous. He deserves the Oscar this year.


3INCEPTION

God bless Christopher Nolan for bringing some brains back to blockbusters. I donʼt know where he gets his ideas (possibly Scrooge McDuck) but the guy has a seriously wonderful imagination, and he knows how to make a damn good movie.

Inception combined every perfect piece of genre filmmaking and made it accessible to everyone. Not only that, it was able to please all audiences, while at the same time delivering one of the most intricate, and literally layered, plots in recent history.

The set pieces were breathtaking. The city folding in on itself, the gravity-defying fight in the hotel, the snow fortress, each one was better than the last. You almost canʼt even dream something that good. BAAAAHHHMMMM


2BLACK SWAN

Darren Aronofsky, at this point, can do no wrong. He has proven once and for all that he is the best director of his generation. I could and will watch him do anything. Even if he wants to go back and do shot-for-shot remakes of his own movies with puppies and kittens, theyʼd be better than 90% of everything else.

Black Swan is amazing. It took me a little while to warm up to it. It definitely starts off a bit slow. But once it turns that corner and picks up some momentum, it never stops. Falling deeper and deeper into frightening, startling territory, it ultimately lands in a spot of complete chaotic beauty.

Natalie Portman deserves every shred of praise that is thrown her way for her performance as Nina, the tortured ballerina at the center of the film. She is worlds beyond any other actor this year.


1SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

For a 25 year-old guy, still struggling to let go of his childhood and accept the responsibilities that come with being an adult, Scott Pilgrim vs The World was nothing short of a cathartic, transformative, totally immersive experience. Based on the series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee OʼMalley, Edgar Wrightʼs film pushes the boundaries of editing, sound, visual style, and character all the way to the brink. (…And in a perfect world, Ellen Wong be nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Knives Chau.)

The story of Scott Pilgrim, battling the seven evil exes of Ramona Flowers, is exactly what movies should be. It was a classic, heartwrenching romance. It was a hilarious comedy. It was hyper-stylized action. It was a musical with fists. It completely encompassed everything that is the “I donʼt know what Iʼm doing with my life but Iʼll have fun aimlessly wandering anyway” mindset. In short, in my opinion, it wholly captured both cinema as a medium, and my generation as a whole. All of that makes it, without a doubt, the best film of 2010.


Top 15 Films of 2010

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