Best Films of 2010

Backstabbing computer geniuses, arm-hacking survivalists and incinerator-avoiding plastic toys were just a few of the characters movies had in store for us in 2010.

As I initially approached this list, I considered that this was not a particularly great year for movies. But as deciding on the top 10 became a greater challenge the more I hit the theaters, I realized there were quite a few great films out this year. Here's a look at the 10 best:

1. The Social Network: Proving it's more than just "The Facebook Movie," David Fincher's fast-talking drama could very well be this generation's defining film. Powered by Aaron Sorkin's breathless and intelligent script, this is a thrilling look at the personality clashes, betrayals and possible ethics violations that led to the creation of the world's most popular website. Sorkin's dialogue launches off the page, delivered by a pitch-perfect ensemble that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield. It's a film about a revolution that changed the way we connect with our friends, business partners and families - and it may have all been thought up by a man who was too brilliant to navigate any of that correctly himself. Funny, tense and almost dangerously brilliant, this is far and away the best film of 2010.



2. 127 Hours: Much of this film's publicity centered on the "keep your eyes open" climax, when Aron Ralston - played with wonderful nuance and depth by James Franco - cuts off his own arm with a pocket knife to free himself from death in a narrow gorge. While the scene is one of the year's most visceral, the film is not the extreme experience many have hyped it up to be. Directed with boundless energy by Danny Boyle, "127 Hours" is an exciting, powerful and moving meditation on survival and the things we cling to to keep ourselves alive.




3. Four Lions: Chris Morris' debut film has not opened on Detroit screens yet and I'm not sure when, or if, it will ever get a wide release. This British film follows a group of Islamic suicide bombers as they plot a massive attack - and it's a comedy. Understandably, many aren't ready for a "terrorism comedy" yet, but Morris' film defangs the jihadists by making them a group of bumbling, in-fighting idiots who can barely keep from blowing themselves up during practice runs. Full of surprising wit and insight, while still being explosively funny (pun intended), Morris manages to take the wind out of terrorists' sails by exposing them as hypocritical oafs, but also keeps in mind the dangers that stupidity can cause.




4. The Fighter: David O. Russell's boxing drama embraces and transcends its formula trappings with this tale of Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), a Beantown fighter with a shot at the championship. On the surface, "The Fighter" is the typical underdog story we've seen hundreds of times before. But, like "Rocky," it's elevated to greatness by a cast of diverse, fleshed out characters, most notably Micky's brother Dicky, a one-time contender felled by a crack addiction. Played with manic energy by Christian Bale, Dicky is the unpredictable livewire who could help or hinder Micky's career. Bale finally delivers on the greatness he's been promising for years, and forces Wahlberg, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams to match him with their solid work.




5. The King's Speech: Director Tom Hooper makes history engaging, funny and all too human with this fantastically portrayed look at King George VI's struggle with speech. Colin Firth delivers the best performance of the year as the hot-tempered, easily-frustrated and reluctant monarch. Geoffrey Rush is hilarious and humane as the doctor who befriends and helps the king as he prepares to address the nation in the early days of World War II. By focusing on fears of public speaking, Hooper grabs our attention from the first scene, and Firth and Rush have never been better in this inspiring film. It's "Rocky" with a radio.




6. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Each year, there's a film that I love unconditionally because it's shown me something I've never seen before. Edgar Wright's adaptation of Brian O' Malley's underground comic is that film for me this year. Michael Cera brings new shades to his awkward young man persona as a self-obsessed indie rocker who must literally fight for the love of a beautiful woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Proving that his phenomenal comedies "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" were just warm-ups, Wright infuses this action-comedy with so much energy, wit, visual flair and joy that it nearly explodes off the screen. I've seen "Scott Pilgrim" three times since its release and each time I discover some new trick Wright throws into the mix. The most fun I had at a theater this year.




7. Get Low: Just as much a pleasure as "Scott Pilgrim," but more deliberately paced, "Get Low" is a funny and touching look at guilt, forgiveness and friendship in a small Depression-era village. Robert Duvall is at his grizzled best as a recluse who comes out of hiding to throw a funeral party for himself and Bill Murray is as wonderfully sardonic as ever as the undertaker looking for ways to exploit the situation. Director Aaron Schneider's film is funny and beautiful to watch, and its final moments reveal a surprising resonance. A wonderful little gem.




8. True Grit: Joel and Ethan Coen may appear to have gone mainstream with this remake of the popular John Wayne film, but a closer look reveals all their quirks are still intact in this enormously entertaining take on the Charles Portis novel. Once again, Roger Deakins delivers breathtaking cinematography. Once again, the Coens' love for language results in dialogue that tickles the ears. Once again, they get a phenomenal performance out of Jeff Bridges and, once again, their film perfectly balances darkness, humor and heart. And so, once again, they've made one of the year's best films.




9. Toy Story 3: There are few greater pleasures each year than watching a new Pixar film. Not content to simply recycle old gags for their third go-round with Buzz, Woody and company, the animation wizards concoct what may be their funniest and most heartfelt adventure yet. Bursting with originality, this prison-break take on the tale has more laughs than the majority of the year's comedies and yet it also manages to deliver some of the year's darkest adventure scenes, mixed with a heart-tugging meditation on loss, mortality and growing older. Anyone with dry eyes in the final scenes has never truly been a child.




10. Inception: How did Christopher Nolan decide to follow up "The Dark Knight's" commercial success? By gambling on an inventive, labyrinthine and visually exhausting action movie that makes his "Memento" look like an episode of "Two and a Half Men." The gamble paid off and, fueled by a phenomenal ensemble and deliriously inventive special effects, "Inception" became the year's most complex, original and enjoyable head trip.

The 2010 Dubbies!

Alright gang. This time next week I'll be posting my thoughts on the 10 best films of 2010. But every year I decide to do an "alternative" list, where I make not of films I particularly enjoyed that were just did not make my top 10 list.

This year there were plenty of films that were hard to cross off my list in order to make room for the best. But here are some of the films I greatly enjoyed and, in fact, will likely return to more than the ones on my top 10 list for sheer entertainment value. Enjoy!

1. The "Seriously, this was Number 11" award--Winter's Bone: I went back and forth about whether I was going to include this great little thriller on my top 10 list and, sadly, I had to sacrifice it for another film that I loved just a little bit more. But don't let its absence fool you--this is a fascinating little film. Jennifer Lawrence is phenomenal as Ree Dolly, a teenage girl in the Ozarks who must navigate a labyrinthine community of pseudo-related meth cookers and addicts to locate her father's body and save her home. There's a wonderful sense of setting to this film and the town of tightly-related, closely-guarded folk is perfectly realized. John Hawkes should also be recognized for his role as a grizzled hick with a heart of gold. A fantastic little movie.



2. "The Best Non-'Inception' Mind Game of the Year"--Shutter Island: Leonardo DiCaprio fried audiences' collective brains on several occasions this year. And while Inception is the more complex, tightly-wound piece, it's Shutter Island that packs the more emotional punch. Directed with wonderfully tense and disorienting "bump in the night" flair, this dark mystery--set on an island asylum in the 1950s--is twisty and unsettling, getting more dangerous and bleak as its secrets are revealed. DiCaprio, as a US Marshal with some secrets of his own, is perfect and the film's final moments turn Dennis Lehane's original pulp twist into one a harsh, disturbing and unforgettable rumination on guilt and fear.



3. Best Horror of the Year--"Let Me In": Being an ardent fan of the original "Let the Right One In," I wasn't too thrilled when it was announced "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves was going to helm an American remake. But Reeves' take on the story keeps tale's dark heart alive, in this sad, brooding story about a lonely young boy (Cody Smit-Mcphee) who befriends a girl (Chloe Moretz) who is not what she seems. A haunting and poetic meditation on lost innocence, Reeves gets surprisingly adult performances from McPhee and Moretz and Richard Jenkis turns the young girl's caretaker into a tragic figure. Tense, horrifying and sad, this is a movie that crawls under your skin and haunts you all the way home, but it's also a surprisingly tender story of friendship and young love that equals its Swedish counterpart.



4. Best Mainstream Comedy--"The Other Guys": There's another comedy--one that hasn't gotten wide release yet--that was actually the funniest movie I saw all year. But behind that was this fourth collaboration between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Their riff on the buddy cop comedy may have more plot than their previous films, but it's just as bizarre, quotable and hilarious as an "Anchorman" or "Step Brothers." Ferrell creates another great character as a buttoned-down desk jockey and Mark Wahlberg ratchets up his intensity as his action-loving partner. But it might be Michael Keaton, as a cop with a fondness for R&B group TLC, who steals the show. Just remember: pimps don't cry.



5. Best Popcorn Movie--"The A-Team": I'm still not entirely sure why this film did so poorly at the box office. I was well prepared for Joe Carnahan's update of the 1980s TV show to be dark and gritty, getting rid of everything that made the silly, over-the-top program so beloved. Instead, Carnahan pulled together Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and Quintin Jackson to create a movie that's just as absurd as the show ever was, with stunts that make over-the-top sound conservative and nods to the franchise that made fans smile. Bonus points for Patrick Wilson, whose villain was so wonderfully daffy that I'd like a spinoff just of him.



6. Best Art House Drama--"Never Let Me Go": What a sad, beautiful little film. This haunting science fiction drama--about boarding house kids with a tragic future planned for them--never goes the conventional route. A rumination on mortality, it starts with a fantastical premise--what if we grew clones to supply us with organs--and then keeps its foot squarely in the side of drama, letting the implications of that reality play out. Carey Mulligan continues to prove she's the real deal as a sad, sympathetic young lady dealing with a destiny to die young. Kiera Knightley shows an anger, passion and range I didn't know she had and Andrew Garfield continues his strong year as the conflicted and angry young man who knows the world regards him as worthless. A beautiful, tragic drama that left me shaken as I left the theater.



7. Best "Non-Inception and Non-Shutter Island" Brain Bender--"Black Swan": What a weird, beautiful, terrifying and disturbing little movie. Natalie Portman may never be better than she is here as a ballerina whose grip on reality begins to shatter as she prepares for the lead roles in "Swan Lake." Mila Kunis is revelatory as a fellow dancer who may be our heroine's competitor/friend/lover. Darren Aronofsky's direction is dizzying and the final 20 minutes are pure delirium. Had the film cared a bit more for its narrative and not been so content to depart from reality in its final act, this would have been on my top 10 list.



8. Best Horror, Part 2--"Frozen": Adam Greene's survivalist/horror story is a chilling addition to the "don't go outdoors, because you will die" genre. Three friends get on a final run at a ski resort and, through a set of surprisingly plausible circumstances, are left stranded above the snow when the resort closes for the week. What unfolds is a taut and grim battle with fear, frostbite and the howling wolves circling below. I'm not a skier; this movie will not change that.



9. Best indie comedy--"Greenberg": As Ben Stiller milks money out of a dead franchise this week with "Little Fockers," it's nice to be reminded he can still do solid work with this little gem by Noah Baumbach. Stiller plays a cynical young man recovering from a mental breakdown at his brother's house who develops a crush on his brother's assistant. Hateful without being hated by us, Stiller captures all of character's sadness and anger. As the girl who begins to heal him, Greta Gerwig steals the show--and there were times I wish the film had been simply about her confused and aimless twentysomething.



10. Best documentary--"Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work": If, like me, you don't care much for Rivers' acerbic humor, this movie won't much change it. You will, however, garner a great respect for this woman's career, as the movie unflinchingly follows her for a year and lets her tell about her struggle with Carson, her husband's suicide and her fears of being left without work. A fascinating look at showbiz.