Post by StevePulaski on Dec 20, 2010 10:30:13 GMT -5
We did it! We got through a new year's obstacles, wars, deaths, and films once more. Most of us who went to go see the films of 2010, probably survived. But this is the time to reflect on the good, not the bad. We always start with the good films to get us happy before we rant away on the worst films. The year is now coming to a close, and I've seen my last 2010 film yesterday. Without further ado, I'm pleased to reveal, my picks for the cinematic gems of 2010.
My Favorite Films of 2010
1. The Social Network: Fincher's engaging and fascinating portrayal of Facebook on film is definitely the best of the year. With a solid, gripping screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and the dynamite performances by everyone on the cast this is a film that can't be appreciated once. This is my Inception of 2010. Whether you know the founding of the largest social networking sites in the world, whether you have an account on the site or not, whether or not you "like" everything you read, The Social Network is a must see film, the best the year has to offer, and a definite contender for this year's Oscars. What a movie.
2. Toy Story 3: I have a soft spot for animated films, most hand drawn films and nothing of the CGI field. But Pixar is an exception. I recently was talking to a buddy of mine, on the website dealt with in my favorite film of all time, about how CGI is much like 3D, an overused and dreary concept. Pixar's name came out, and we agreed how they can use CGI very well, because they look past just the glossy imagery. They build memorable characters along with a tear-jerking plot that no other animation company establishes. Toy Story 3 is my pick for Best Animated Film of the year. It is a fantastic close (hopefully) to one of my favorite franchises as a kid, and though it is partially to blame for the collapse of hand drawn animation, without it's dynamite entrance to film I wouldn't have cried five times in a theater. A new record.
3. Easy A: It's odd I put a movie like this in my analysis of best/favorites of the year. But I feel Easy A deserves a spot on the list. Not only does it prove to be humorous, and shows Emma Stone is capable of tackling lead roles, it shows that it's smarter and more clever than the average teen comedy. Nothing truly like this has been done. The topic of sexual abstinence has been done before, but as far to my knowledge, I havent seen one featuring a teenage girl reading a book based on it and experiencing it for herself. Easy A may not be Oscar material, but I'll be watching it many more times.
4. Shutter Island: I believe I'm a bit to harsh on Leo, but I feel that this film showcased how creepy he really could be. His performance in this movie lit up the dark scenery, and just erupted into so much more. It was an early favorite of the year for myself, and didn't go down below the top five favorites. So obviously I kept this film in my head throughout 2010's rough journey. SI wasn't a fantastic mystery, but I accepted it because the idea was a bit fresh. Not Scorsese's best, but I will say it's up there. Try and get that through ya head!
5. Frozen: Technically the only Horror film on this, Frozen is directed by the old school bias Adam Green who too released the sequel to his prized possession Hatchet this year, which I still need to watch. Frozen is a claustrophobic, and intense film combined with fear and hypothermia. You are stuck on this ski chair with them. You are hearing their problems and life stories. You are in the freezing cold with them. I've always loved claustrophobic films that in order to really get the jist of them you need to put yourself in the shoes of the victims in order to appreciate the film. Films like Buried, The Night Chronicles: Devil, and Open Water all utilize a similar format.
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: I've had friends ask me "what was I thinking?" when I said that Scott Pilgrim was one of the best of the year. If you don't have too much knowledge of classic video games systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and the Atari, chances are, you will not be too fond of this movie. You are watching a video game in a sense. The video game of the movie is an arcade style beat-em-up which may get a little redundant, but it's nonetheless satisfying. Scott Pilgrim's sweet and slacker persona makes him very likable, and it's definitely a favorite of the course of this year.
7. She's Out of My League: Can you tell these are a teenager's picks for the best films of 2010? Despite some negativity towards this movie, I enjoyed it a bit too much. I really hope this is how my life plays out. I had to see a positive film. One with a "look on the bright side" type moral, and I got it. Jay Baruchel's geeky way of him definitely mirrors myself, and Alice Eve's gorgeous look to her and good acting adds to the film's score as well. What can I say? I liked She's Out of My League.
8. Jackass 3D: Like I opened my review of this film, I believe I enjoyed this film a little too much. I'm watching people get hurt for my amusement. I'm definitely an American citizen. I laughed out loud to this film probably more than any film I've seen this year. The reason it's not at the top of the list is because there are other real films with plots that overshadow this Comedy. I'll accept it for what it was though - a fun movie.
9. Hot Tub Time Machine: This was the film that held "Second best" for sometime before I kept knocking it down to the point it got to ninth on my list. Better things did come out this year, and since HTTM came so early in the year, I knew that I may forget about it. Recently rewatching this, I can honestly say it's a humorous film. Some say it's better than The Hangover which I disagree with completely, but it has appeal and charm to itself, like all movies. Only this one adds one key ingredient - the 80's!
10. The Book of Eli: Post apocalyptic films are in right now since 2012 is closer than we think. Though it won't happen, people like to see movies like this to, I guess, "be prepared" for whats to come. TBoE has an on screen duo of Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis, two stars that have an interesting chemistry on screen. I appreciated this film a little more the first time I saw it, and it doesn't go on the memorable list. But while 2010 offered better, this did surpass expectations.
Those are my 2010 favorites in a nutshell. It's been a pretty good year. Out of 33 films I saw this year, I labeled 16 the best, 9 the worst, and 8 just so-so. Last year I saw a whopping 46 films in the theater. On that note, 27 I called the best of the best, 9 I called the worst, and 10 were decent. We did have an improvement in a way, but I did see a lot more last year. After typing this, now I need to fulfill my duty, and elaborate on the worst...
My Favorite Films of 2010
1. The Social Network: Fincher's engaging and fascinating portrayal of Facebook on film is definitely the best of the year. With a solid, gripping screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and the dynamite performances by everyone on the cast this is a film that can't be appreciated once. This is my Inception of 2010. Whether you know the founding of the largest social networking sites in the world, whether you have an account on the site or not, whether or not you "like" everything you read, The Social Network is a must see film, the best the year has to offer, and a definite contender for this year's Oscars. What a movie.
2. Toy Story 3: I have a soft spot for animated films, most hand drawn films and nothing of the CGI field. But Pixar is an exception. I recently was talking to a buddy of mine, on the website dealt with in my favorite film of all time, about how CGI is much like 3D, an overused and dreary concept. Pixar's name came out, and we agreed how they can use CGI very well, because they look past just the glossy imagery. They build memorable characters along with a tear-jerking plot that no other animation company establishes. Toy Story 3 is my pick for Best Animated Film of the year. It is a fantastic close (hopefully) to one of my favorite franchises as a kid, and though it is partially to blame for the collapse of hand drawn animation, without it's dynamite entrance to film I wouldn't have cried five times in a theater. A new record.
3. Easy A: It's odd I put a movie like this in my analysis of best/favorites of the year. But I feel Easy A deserves a spot on the list. Not only does it prove to be humorous, and shows Emma Stone is capable of tackling lead roles, it shows that it's smarter and more clever than the average teen comedy. Nothing truly like this has been done. The topic of sexual abstinence has been done before, but as far to my knowledge, I havent seen one featuring a teenage girl reading a book based on it and experiencing it for herself. Easy A may not be Oscar material, but I'll be watching it many more times.
4. Shutter Island: I believe I'm a bit to harsh on Leo, but I feel that this film showcased how creepy he really could be. His performance in this movie lit up the dark scenery, and just erupted into so much more. It was an early favorite of the year for myself, and didn't go down below the top five favorites. So obviously I kept this film in my head throughout 2010's rough journey. SI wasn't a fantastic mystery, but I accepted it because the idea was a bit fresh. Not Scorsese's best, but I will say it's up there. Try and get that through ya head!
5. Frozen: Technically the only Horror film on this, Frozen is directed by the old school bias Adam Green who too released the sequel to his prized possession Hatchet this year, which I still need to watch. Frozen is a claustrophobic, and intense film combined with fear and hypothermia. You are stuck on this ski chair with them. You are hearing their problems and life stories. You are in the freezing cold with them. I've always loved claustrophobic films that in order to really get the jist of them you need to put yourself in the shoes of the victims in order to appreciate the film. Films like Buried, The Night Chronicles: Devil, and Open Water all utilize a similar format.
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: I've had friends ask me "what was I thinking?" when I said that Scott Pilgrim was one of the best of the year. If you don't have too much knowledge of classic video games systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and the Atari, chances are, you will not be too fond of this movie. You are watching a video game in a sense. The video game of the movie is an arcade style beat-em-up which may get a little redundant, but it's nonetheless satisfying. Scott Pilgrim's sweet and slacker persona makes him very likable, and it's definitely a favorite of the course of this year.
7. She's Out of My League: Can you tell these are a teenager's picks for the best films of 2010? Despite some negativity towards this movie, I enjoyed it a bit too much. I really hope this is how my life plays out. I had to see a positive film. One with a "look on the bright side" type moral, and I got it. Jay Baruchel's geeky way of him definitely mirrors myself, and Alice Eve's gorgeous look to her and good acting adds to the film's score as well. What can I say? I liked She's Out of My League.
8. Jackass 3D: Like I opened my review of this film, I believe I enjoyed this film a little too much. I'm watching people get hurt for my amusement. I'm definitely an American citizen. I laughed out loud to this film probably more than any film I've seen this year. The reason it's not at the top of the list is because there are other real films with plots that overshadow this Comedy. I'll accept it for what it was though - a fun movie.
9. Hot Tub Time Machine: This was the film that held "Second best" for sometime before I kept knocking it down to the point it got to ninth on my list. Better things did come out this year, and since HTTM came so early in the year, I knew that I may forget about it. Recently rewatching this, I can honestly say it's a humorous film. Some say it's better than The Hangover which I disagree with completely, but it has appeal and charm to itself, like all movies. Only this one adds one key ingredient - the 80's!
10. The Book of Eli: Post apocalyptic films are in right now since 2012 is closer than we think. Though it won't happen, people like to see movies like this to, I guess, "be prepared" for whats to come. TBoE has an on screen duo of Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis, two stars that have an interesting chemistry on screen. I appreciated this film a little more the first time I saw it, and it doesn't go on the memorable list. But while 2010 offered better, this did surpass expectations.
Those are my 2010 favorites in a nutshell. It's been a pretty good year. Out of 33 films I saw this year, I labeled 16 the best, 9 the worst, and 8 just so-so. Last year I saw a whopping 46 films in the theater. On that note, 27 I called the best of the best, 9 I called the worst, and 10 were decent. We did have an improvement in a way, but I did see a lot more last year. After typing this, now I need to fulfill my duty, and elaborate on the worst...
I just posted my top 10 list. Not to point fingers, but No Personality started talking about Troll 2 (which was slightly related) and you and him started talking about Italian horror movies. But thanks for blaming me anyway 
.