Top 11 of 2010

These are the films that brought me the most joy all year. Granted, they may not be the best films, they may not be classic films, heck, some may not even be very good films. But I love them and I believe in them. Some made me smile, some made me cry, some even made my desire to have random fist fights increase dramatically, and for that, surely, they are worthy of praise.

Disclaimer:

I have not seen all the films this year had to offer!!! Some notable omissions would be The Social Network (for which I missed a vomit-inducing grand total of 3 preview screenings!) and Toy Story, which I have no doubt would be well up there.

Also, all titles must be on general release before the end of 2010, hence not including films like Black Swan and The King's Speech - both of which are highly likely to make next year's list.

Agree or disagree? Let me know!

11 - Predators
Look, it doesn't deserve to be in the top ten but certainly deserves honourable mention for not being a hideous train-wreck of a movie. Also, a deserved 11th place for going a long way to clear our minds of the abominations that were Alien vs Predator and Alien vs Predator Requiem. It may also play a large part in Ridley Scott's decision to return to the Alien films, which will be a very welcome homecoming indeed!

10 - Expendables

Granted the majority of it is disappointing, charisma-lacking dross, but Sly's dream project can make it into the top ten for three reasons. 1 - The cast is "freak-me-right-out awesome"! 2 - The last 30mins are the most outrageously entertaining from this or any other year. 3 - The cast is "freak-me-right-out awesome"!

9 - The Town

Ben Affleck (yep, the guy who wore red spandex for that film that no-one liked) should easily win the Oscar for "most surprisingly brilliant director of all time ever" (new category for 2011). A layered, gripping portrayal of life below the breadline in Charlestown, Boston, and a showcase of the current hot-list in Hollywood (Jeremy Renner is pitch-perfect and WILL be great!) The Town is a mature and exciting crime-caper.

8 - Shutter Island
Whether you will like this or not really depends if you like having your head metaphorically placed in a blender. Tricks and turns and unresolved questions will leave you ultimately gazumped, but the journey is definitely worth the fare. Leo is as good as he has ever been, and while it's not classic Scorsese, it's certainly a whole heap better than The Aviator!

7 - Robin Hood
Probably the one on the list most likely to cause much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and exclamations of "WHY?!?!". However, such uneducated Philistines are no doubt those who believe this should have been a Gladiator in the woods, and so were miserably disappointed when it actually turned out to be quite good fun.





6 - Buried
Ryan Reynolds in a box for a couple of hours would keep most people happy (male and female, for entirely different reasons). However, the genius of Rodrigo Cortes' debut English feature is that he couragesouly sticks to his initial premise. Never leaving the box - not for introduction, flashback, or shots of loved ones/embassy members furiously working to "Get him outta there" - Buried is nail-chomping, surprisingly dynamic and very, very claustrophobic. Plus, best promo poster of the year (see left)!


5 - Catfish
Don't let anyone tell you what it is.
Not much more I can say, other than make sure you see it so you know what it is, because to know what it is is to know why it is, and to know why it is is to thoroughly confuse oneself to the point at which it is simpler to tell you what I initially told you, which is WATCH THIS! Got that?!




4 - Monsters
Much has been made of the fact - by myself - that this entire film was made on the same budget as the costume budget alone for Tron: Legacy, and is roughly 500,000 times better (stats may vary). Ignore the title, as a Hammer-esque alien schlok-fest, this is not. What it is, is a splendidly beguiling romantic road trip, punctuated by the occasional attack of alien creatures. It's aces.




3 - Up In The Air
Clooney has rarely found a role like this that suits him like...well...a good suit. Ouch-sharp dialogue (what else from the director of Juno?), brilliant supporting performances, and the universal theme of "Why life?", set this apart as far more than just a Clooney vehicle, which it also is. Easily one of the most moving and damn-hard-to-shake films of the year.




2 - Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Eye-melting, ear drum-pelting, crazy-as-a-spanish kukubura, and the best fun you can have without pogo-sticking along to the Chicken Song in a Spiderman outift - though combine the two and it is ON!







1 - Inception
Nolan is my favourite director of all time - there, I said it. No-one makes films that are more consistenly entertaining, utterly unique, with perfect casting and mind-boggling set pieces. Inception is UNDOUBTEDLY the cream of Nolan's incredibly healthy crop (I must stress, to date!) and stands head and shoulders above anything else this year - except possibly The Social Network, which I think I mentioned I haven't seen yet.



There you go - argue, scream, curse, laugh in pity, or comment.

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Tron Legacy

Take what is real as reference, then manipulate, extend and fantasise until it becomes something wholly new and yet strangely familiar. This was James Cameron's philosophy while creating Pandora, and is the inspiration for Tron: Legacy, the belated sequel to digital fantasy Tron. While Avatar took the natural world as it's inspiration, Tron: Legacy instead builds a corporate landscape, now far more advanced than the 1983 version, and imbues it with a digital, luminescent quality that is both beautiful and devastating. Light-cycles race around clear multi-level race tracks, skyscrapers highlighted in neon reach impossibly high, and a simple game of dodgeball becomes something far more dangerous.

It is in this alternate dimension that Kevin Flynn (Bridges), the protagonist of the original outing and creator of the digital world of Tron, has been missing for 20 years. His son Sam - a strong enough performance from Heglund - finds his way into the system, only to be greeted by Clu, the digital counterpart of his father, who has his own agenda.

The first half hour sizzles with energy, and creativity, culminating in the film's centrepiece, a breathtaking spectacle of light and sound, as light-cycles weave in and out of each other at impossible speeds.

Unfortunately, that is the first half hour. After such a promising start, even the reintroduction of Bridges fails to bring extra inspiration to proceedings. Too much dialogue, confusing plot contrivances and the lack of any further creative flair, mire the production in a paint-by-numbers, save-the-world, get-the-girl retread of recent sci-fi efforts (perhaps the best comparison being with the Matrix sequels, including the irrelevant participation of a "Merovingian"-type character who serves no purpose other than to be annoying).

While the original is certainly dated, at least it centred on a unique and imaginative central premise. There is very little of that flair apparent here, with key characters reduced to footnotes (including an inexplicably brief and inconsequential appearance of the title character Tron) and attempts to expand the myth coming out contrived. There is enough eye candy to pull it out of average but could have been so much more.

6/10