Top Ten Movies of 2010

Hi boys and girls,

I finally watched all the movies I needed to finish my top ten list. Here goes nothing.

10. She’s Out of My League

Directed by Jim Field Smith

Written by Sean Anders, John Morris

Starring Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, and TJ Miller

Pretty standard rom-com. The leads play their parts well, and keep the movie moving along. But the supporting cast is hilarious. TJ Miller, Mike Vogel, and Nate Torrence as Kirk’s best friends are the best group of movie friends since The 40 Year Old Virgin. Kirk’s family also puts this movie a notch above the rest. Not really a top ten movie, but nothing else really jumped out at me, and I’ve only watched a handful of movies more than this one, this year.

9. Inception

Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine

Christopher Nolan is the best big budget director working today. He hasn’t really made a bad movie yet, and has hit two out of the park with The Dark Knight and Inception. He’s to the point now where his name alone will make $100 million. I remember the first trailer showing the city folding in on itself and I was sold. Fantastic action sequences, great director, and a big name cast made for a lot of hype, and it lived up to it.

8. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Written and Directed by Edgar Wright

Written by Michael Bacall

Starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Edgar Wright’s first movie without Simon Pegg and Nick Frost was a step back for him, but did show he wasn’t relying only on his stars to make a great movie. There are a ridiculous amount of references to video games, comics, and sci-fi movies that becomes a little overwhelming at times. I can see why people didn’t like it. It was made for a very small niche of comic book fans, and was relying on Michael Cera’s name for an audience. He’s a one trick pony, and his career is definitely on the downward track, but thought he was a good fit for the character. Ellen Wong as Pilgrim’s teenage girlfriend, and Kieran Culkin as his gay roommate are great. Brandon Routh and Chris Pine are the best of the evil exes.

7. How to Train Your Dragon

Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Written by William Davies

Starring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera

I’ve never enjoyed the Toy Story movies that much. They’re good, but Pixar’s other properties are much better in my opinion. I know everyone is picking Toy Story 3 as the best animated movie of the year, but the other nominee is my pick. How to Train Your Dragon is a fun, fantasy movie. Sci-fi fantasy fare oftentimes takes itself far too seriously, and when a more lighthearted story comes it is refreshing. I didn’t see this in the theater, because of the horrible commercials and ads during the Olympics, but I’m glad I gave it a second chance on video.

6. 127 Hours

Written and Directed by Danny Boyle

Written by Simon Beaufoy

Starring James Franco

I’m a sucker for anything by Danny Boyle. I even liked The Beach and Sunshine. After the giant cast and production of Slumdog Millionaire, he makes a movie with pretty much one character. He’s always switching it up, and doing things in different genres that makes him fun to watch. Check him out on IMDB. He’s done comedy, horror, science fiction, drama, family, and suspense. He gets a great performance out of James Franco, and makes a unique look for the movie.

5. Exit Through The Gift Shop

Directed by Banksy

I admit that I don’t watch too many documentaries, but I’ve seen my fair share. One of the most entertaining documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to explain what it’s about without ruining it, so just watch it. It’s on Netflix streaming.

4. The Social Network

Directed by David Fincher

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake

This could have been one of the biggest bombs of the year. David Fincher managed to make an entertaining movie about an unlikable protagonist designing a website. I remember watching this the first time and starting to hate it right from the start. The dialogue sounded like something out of Juno, and I wasn’t interested in hearing a bunch of rich kids whine. But then Rooney Mara has one of the best lines in any movie from this year. From that point on I loved it. Jesse Eisenberg gives a great performance, and Trent Reznor’s score is amazing.

3. Black Swan

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin

Starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder

Wow! Natalie Portmananime by Satoshi Kon.

2. True Grit

Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon

The best western since Unforgiven, and one of the Coen’s best films. Jeff Bridges is excellent, as usual, Matt Damon is hilarious as the Texas Marshall, Leboeuf, and Hailee Steinfeld carries the movie. She is nominated for best supporting actress, but she is in nearly every scene. I love how every character, no matter how minor, has a story behind them. The kind of depth with supporting and secondary characters hasn’t been accomplished since Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.

1. The Other Guys

Written and Directed by Adam McKay

Written by Chris Henchy

Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg

The best comedic team in Hollywood is Adam McKay and Will Ferrell. You expect them to start getting a little old, but they keep cranking out gems. McKay seems to know how to get Ferrell to walk that line of absurd and over the top without crossing it. Even Mark Wahlberg is funny. Dramas always get all the love from the awards givers, but the movies I enjoy and rewatch the most are comedies, and nobody does it better than these guys.

Some honorable mentions:

The Ghost Writer – An excellent mystery film starring Ewan McGregor. A lot like The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo.

Kick-Ass – A fun over the top comic book movie. Hit Girl kicks ass.

Never Let Me Go – Life is short, and it sucks.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I – Expecto Patronum

The King’s Speech – Really good. Very British.

That’s it. Now I’m off to bed.

May the Force be with you,

CHUD