2010 Top 10

It's that time of year again. The time when we look back over the year and think about which movies we liked best...so we can disagree with The Academy in a month or so when they don't pick what we liked. Some people have been ragging on 2010 by saying it hasn't been a great year for movies. Looking back on this list, I have to disagree. There are plenty movies on here that I really liked. I think people might not be seeing the RIGHT movies. Anyway, here's the list. As Hannibal from the A-Team might say, I love it when a plan comes together.

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
These films have gotten progressively better over the last decade. The kids have really grown into their roles and developed some great acting abilities. The supporting cast is perfect as well, most of them being exactly how I imagined them when I read the book. I'm not sure if I'm ready to see it go, since the last Harry Potter film ever opens this summer.

9. The Last Exorcism
I was surprised by how much I liked this. It's a horror movie that shows restraint, and understands that scary doesn't mean shoving gore down your throat for 90 min. Instead, it uses tension to build the suspense, and it works well. This film feels like a time bomb that's going to go off, but you don't know when. Also, I really related to the main character's struggle with faith.

8. True Grit
A fine addition to the already awesome library of Coen Brothers movies. Great performances, great dialogue. It's a satisfying revenge tale. Not my favorite of their films, but good none the less. Jeff Bridges will probably be up for another Oscar for this.

7. The Town
Who knew Ben Affleck could direct? Not only that, but he stars in this too...and actually pulls it off. This is easily the best performance of his career. It looks like he's matured quite a bit and now may grow into a decent film maker. There's a lot that works here.

6. Toy Story 3
I never though I'd get emotional over a cartoon about toys who come to life...but here we are. The message of this film is that we all grow up, and when we do, we have to put away childish things. Excuse me, there's something in my eye.

5. Shutter Island
Shutter Island is a great mystery. And I love a mystery. Throughout this film, I knew something was wrong...way wrong...but I couldn't put my finger on it. A lot of people have bashed this, saying they figured it out...but I remember people saying that about the Sixth Sense. Which I also enjoyed, so...eh. I loved the hell out of this. I read the book too, which is also awesome.

4. Kick Ass
There's a little girl in this who kills a bunch of adults by herself. That alone makes this list worthy. It's funny that people protested this because it has a lot of violence towards children. It's funny though, because parents are always afraid kids will emulate the movies. Here's one that realistically (sort of) shows what happens if you were to try something like that, and they hate it. Hippocrates. This film is a rush, and a lot of fun to watch.

3. Black Swan
Natalie Portman gives the performance of her career here. I really hope she gets an Oscar for it. I love movies like this. Movies that are the kind of thrillers that make you question your reality. This film really rattled me...which is saying something because I rarely get rattled by movies anymore. I hate to be one of those nerds that raves about a film few have seen, but this is one that really earns it.

2. The Social Network
The cultural relevance of this film is what made it work for me. The fact that people are watching a movie about Facebook while many are on Facebook in the theater...if that's not art, I don't know what is. The movie itself is really amazing too. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it's damn entertaining.

1. Inception
I was blown away by this. I thought about it for days afterward. I love that it's open ended, and leaves it up for interpretation. I have my theories as to what the end means, and I'm sure everyone else does, too. I think this movie is similar to The Matrix and Dark City (both of which I like) but I think it works better. I really hope it gets a best picture nod, but because it came out in the summer...I doubt it. Anyway, I loved this movie, and it gets my vote as best of the year.

The worst movie of 2010 is Robin Hood. The one with Russell Crowe. It was just that it was a remake no one asked for, didn't offer us anything we hadn't seen in a Robin Hood movie before. And they called it a prequel, for some reason. I remember hearing that originally this was called Nottingham and was going to be told from the Sheriff's point of view. The studio apparently freaked out at the originality of that idea and decided to make it like every Robin Hood we've ever seen. So, it gets the stamp of worst movie of the year. I mean, I'm sure there were worse movies. I didn't see that one with Katherine Heigl where she gets baby poop on her face. I'm sure that's worse. I can't really watch movies I know ahead of time are going to be horrible, but I thought they might make something fun out of Robin Hood. They didn't.

So, there's my list. I hope 2011 throws some good movies our way, but we'll have to see. Until then, I'll see you at the movies.