The ten best and worst films of 2010
Well, 2010 is over, which means it's time to judge it. So here's my favourite and least favourite films of the last year (keeping in mind that I obviously haven't seen every essential film -- or every crappy one).
THE BEST
1. Animal Kingdom - It seems like this film is being mostly forgotten in most of the year-end round-ups, which I think is criminal. This is an astounding debut feature; it's a weighty crime movie that is a little bit slower than you'd typically expect from the genre, but which absolutely works. It's pretty mesmerizing.
2. Inception - This is an exciting, unique film that only Christopher Nolan could have made. It doesn't fare quite as well on repeat viewings as I might have hoped, but it is awesome nonetheless.
3. Enter the Void - Sprawling, hallucinatory and in-your-face bizarre, this film about life after death (shot entirely from the point of view of someone who has just died) pretty much defines love it or hate it.
4. Black Swan - Part character study, part psychological horror, all awesome.
5. Toy Story 3 - A delightful end to the Toy Story trilogy.
6. Buried - An almost ridiculously taut thriller that's all the more impressive considering that it never, ever leaves the confines of a tiny, claustrophobic coffin.
7. Frozen - Open Water on a ski lift. Like Buried, this takes a seemingly iffy premise and turns it into something special.
8. The Social Network - David Fincher's best film in ages.
9. Hereafter - I can see why some people don't like this film; it's slow even by Clint Eastwood's standards, and it's kind of uneventful (aside from the amazingly visceral first ten minutes or so) but I found there to be something oddly compelling about it.
10. Greenberg - A typically low-key indie drama, but really well made and well acted.
THE WORST
1. Valentine's Day - Don't even ask me why I saw this. It's like every terrible romantic comedy you've ever seen crammed into one intolerable film.
2. Killers - Ashton Kutcher is bland, Katherine Heigl is shrill, and together they have zero chemistry. Robert Luketic (the director) is a hack who shouldn't be allowed within ten feet of a camera.
3. Grown Ups - Like being forced to watch some stranger's slickly-produced home videos. Grating.
4. Cop Out - Absurdly inept in almost every regard.
5. Alice in Wonderland - Sadly, there was a time, many moons ago, where I would have considered Tim Burton one of my favourite directors. He's on autopilot here, and the film is just dull.
6. The Wolfman - Far too ponderous to succeed as a fun piece of escapism, and far too bland and generic to work on a more serious level, this is pretty much a fiasco.
7. The Karate Kid - A dull film which is basically a note-for-note remake of the original, only drained of all its '80s charm.
8. Score: A Hockey Musical - If you're not Canadian, there's a very good chance you haven't even heard of this film. I wish I hadn't heard of it. Generic, and without a single memorable song.
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street - As far as Platinum Dunes remakes goes this was probably the best of the bunch, though that's basically like trying to figure out which is the best STD.
10. The Expendables - Not outright terrible, but this deserves a spot on this list just because of how disappointing it was. This wasn't at all the fun '80s throwback it should have been. The film takes itself way too seriously, and is kind of dull. Worse, the action, with its in-your-face shaky-cam and million cuts-per-second, was pretty crappy. Plus, the violence was all very obviously CGI, which -- along with the grating Greengrass-style action -- is about as far from the spirit of the '80s as you can get.
Anyway, those are my lists. Feel free to chime in with best/worst picks in the comments.
THE BEST
1. Animal Kingdom - It seems like this film is being mostly forgotten in most of the year-end round-ups, which I think is criminal. This is an astounding debut feature; it's a weighty crime movie that is a little bit slower than you'd typically expect from the genre, but which absolutely works. It's pretty mesmerizing.
2. Inception - This is an exciting, unique film that only Christopher Nolan could have made. It doesn't fare quite as well on repeat viewings as I might have hoped, but it is awesome nonetheless.
3. Enter the Void - Sprawling, hallucinatory and in-your-face bizarre, this film about life after death (shot entirely from the point of view of someone who has just died) pretty much defines love it or hate it.
4. Black Swan - Part character study, part psychological horror, all awesome.
5. Toy Story 3 - A delightful end to the Toy Story trilogy.
6. Buried - An almost ridiculously taut thriller that's all the more impressive considering that it never, ever leaves the confines of a tiny, claustrophobic coffin.
7. Frozen - Open Water on a ski lift. Like Buried, this takes a seemingly iffy premise and turns it into something special.
8. The Social Network - David Fincher's best film in ages.
9. Hereafter - I can see why some people don't like this film; it's slow even by Clint Eastwood's standards, and it's kind of uneventful (aside from the amazingly visceral first ten minutes or so) but I found there to be something oddly compelling about it.
10. Greenberg - A typically low-key indie drama, but really well made and well acted.
THE WORST
1. Valentine's Day - Don't even ask me why I saw this. It's like every terrible romantic comedy you've ever seen crammed into one intolerable film.
2. Killers - Ashton Kutcher is bland, Katherine Heigl is shrill, and together they have zero chemistry. Robert Luketic (the director) is a hack who shouldn't be allowed within ten feet of a camera.
3. Grown Ups - Like being forced to watch some stranger's slickly-produced home videos. Grating.
4. Cop Out - Absurdly inept in almost every regard.
5. Alice in Wonderland - Sadly, there was a time, many moons ago, where I would have considered Tim Burton one of my favourite directors. He's on autopilot here, and the film is just dull.
6. The Wolfman - Far too ponderous to succeed as a fun piece of escapism, and far too bland and generic to work on a more serious level, this is pretty much a fiasco.
7. The Karate Kid - A dull film which is basically a note-for-note remake of the original, only drained of all its '80s charm.
8. Score: A Hockey Musical - If you're not Canadian, there's a very good chance you haven't even heard of this film. I wish I hadn't heard of it. Generic, and without a single memorable song.
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street - As far as Platinum Dunes remakes goes this was probably the best of the bunch, though that's basically like trying to figure out which is the best STD.
10. The Expendables - Not outright terrible, but this deserves a spot on this list just because of how disappointing it was. This wasn't at all the fun '80s throwback it should have been. The film takes itself way too seriously, and is kind of dull. Worse, the action, with its in-your-face shaky-cam and million cuts-per-second, was pretty crappy. Plus, the violence was all very obviously CGI, which -- along with the grating Greengrass-style action -- is about as far from the spirit of the '80s as you can get.
Anyway, those are my lists. Feel free to chime in with best/worst picks in the comments.
20 Comments
radxWell, I had to check IMDb to see if I had even watched 10 new movies last year. As luck would have it, I found eleven movies:
Inception, Kick-Ass, Shutter Island, The Town, The Ghost Writer, Machete, Easy A, Unthinkable, A-Team, Prince of Persia and Frozen
So I guess that makes my list of last year's eleven best movies - and worst movies. It'll be extended by True Grit at some point in the coming months, but beyond that there's not really any movie I feel drawn to.
SarzyWow, 11 films, eh? I can't even fathom seeing that few movies in a year. I decided to go back and count to see how many movies I saw theatrically last year (I keep a movie journal, so I can find out an exact number -- yep, I'm a nerd). I saw 83 films. That's not even including the movies I saw at the Toronto Film Festival -- that would boost the number to more like 110.
Which means I spent something like a thousand bucks going to the movies last year. I regret nothing! (well, except for maybe those ten worst that I posted...)
HybridInception, The Social Network and Kick-Ass were the stand out films of 2010 for me.
dotdudeI have "Get Low" and "Winter's Bone" on my list of favorites.
kulpimsfrench crime story "A Prophet" was the best movie of the year. I also liked Machete and Cop Out. Movies that were also watchable include Up in the Air, Kick-Ass, Red and Easy A. Inception was disappointing and I haven't seen Black Swan yet
direpickleInception and Kick Ass were the only ones I saw in the theater last year, I think. Kick Ass was pretty cool, but Inception('s fans) kinda annoyed me. I later saw Toy Story 3 on a plane, and I guess it was okay.
Edit: Oh, and I saw Scott Pilgrim at a NYE party. That was okay, too.
berticusI saw very few films in 2010
So very busy. Black Swan was probably my favourite.
notarobotScott Pilgram vs. the World was the most fun I've had in a theatre in recent memory. I recommend it to anyone who has ever played a video game or signed up for an email address.
dystopianfuturetodayThis was definitely a year of shit movies. Here's my list, although there are quite a few critically acclaimed movies that I've yet to see.
Good
-True Grit
-Social Network
-Kick Ass
-Get Low
-Inception
-Toy Story
-Yeardly
Bad
-Harry Potter 7.0
-Grown Ups
-Tron 2
-Nightmare on Elm Street
-Scott Pilgrim
Ugly
-Last Airbender
-Alice in Wonderland
-Burlesque
FusionautBlack Swan was the winner for me this year.
blankfist@dystopianfuturetoday, awww, you liked Yeardley. Shucks.
That's a great list, Sarzy, You actually have me super excited about seeing Buried and Frozen. I love those kind of movies. I was hoping Phonebooth would've been better when it came out.
BEST
1. Tooth Fairy
2. Universal Soldiers 3
3. Percy Jackson & the Olympians the Lightning Thief
4. Clash of the Titans
5. Furry Vengence
6. Sex and the City 2
7. Marmaduke
8. Jonah Hex
9. Step Up 3D
10. Citizen Kane
kulpimsblankfist, when r u gonna upload ur shitty movie on piratebay so we can make fun of it?
bareboards2I have a lifetime pass to the local arthouse movie theater that I paid $1500 for twelve years ago. They just offered the deal again, sweetened with popcorn for life -- for a mere $5,000.
Best return on an investment EVER. Beats my IRA all to heck.
My faves:
1 - The Fighter
2 - Tangled (a lyric that rhymed boozes with a sore that oozes... gotta love it!)
3 - Social Network
4 - Can't wait to see The King's Speech. Great trailer, hopefully the movie will measure up
5 - Exit Through the Gift Shop -- Banksy doing what Banksy does, in a new medium
6 - Toy Story 3. I cried three times, at least. And it is Quentin Tarentino's number one pick. Who would have thought it.
7 - Date Night
I'm having trouble coming up with three more that I loved. I can't think that clearly.
The worst? The first scene in Burlesque. The absolute worst acting and worst writing. Luckily, it was less bad for the rest of the movie.
berticushmm just saw enter the void. psychedelic but just not as engaging as i thought it would be. irreversible floored me more.
black swan still my fave!
kymbosI'm surprised you liked Animal Kingdom so much. There's an Aussie film called The Boys from a few years ago that was far superior, in my opinion. (and had a brilliant soundtrack) Don't get me wrong - I liked the AK, but it suffered from a few unrealistic moments. There's also a TV series called Underbelly (Series 1) that was an accurate reflection of the Melbourne Gangland wars, that shows what it was (and still is) really like. Truth is stranger than fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_%281998_film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underbelly_%28TV_series%29
BoneRemakeI want to mount inception and fuck it with all my might. I liked it that much.
ShepppardI would make a terrible movie critic, I actually liked a lot of "Bad" movies this year, The last airbender included.
Maybe it's because I know nothing about the lore behind the Manga, but I found it mind-numbingly enjoyable.
However, I think the most fun I had was going into the movie knowing it was Shamalamalamalan and knowing his style. I actually couldn't contain myself and even said (in the robot chicken voice) "What a twist!" at the end.
Good laughs were had by all.
I guess I really didn't see any "bad" movies this year.
Good:
Harry Potter
Toy Story 3
and as before mentioned: Scott Pilgrim vs the world. I never -NEVER- would have expected my favourite movie slot to be taken by a Michael Cera movie, but it quite honestly is a movie for nerds.
rottenseedI saw inception last night for the first time. Best movie I've seen of 2011.
DeanoDidn't see that many last year but best by a country mile was Kick-Ass (watching it again it's a tad too long but that's being picky).
Easily the worst and most dissapointing was Inception which I think I ragged on previously on the sift. Flashy, but dull and empty.
Best film I saw on tv which I wished I had seen sooner was Taken starring Liam Nesson. Amazingly bad at the beginning, then the action never lets up and Neeson is utterly mesmerising and badass. He also has some consistently funny lines. It's basically a fantasy for divorced dads.
bamdrewGood lists.
2010 was a good year for movies.
I saw The King's Speech last week... twas excellent.
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