FILMS IN REVIEW TOP TEN LISTS OF 2010

•

In Our Opinion

By Roy Frumkes • Feb 8th, 2011 • Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Ben Peeples’ Best of 2010

1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Yeah, I’m going to join the approximately 9,472 other critics out there who picked this as the best of the year. David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin have crafted an engaging, exciting movie that takes place during court deliberations, while Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Justin Timberlake provide pitch-perfect performances, as the music, courtesy of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, ratchets the drama up to dizzying heights.

2. TOY STORY 3

There’s rarely anything better than a movie that goes above and beyond your expectations. Pixar avoided the dreaded ‘Godfather syndrome’; delivering a second sequel to a long-dormant franchise that stands up on it’s own as a brilliant, unexpectedly moving piece of filmmaking.

3. A PROPHET

On paper, the plot sounds mind-numbingly routine. On screen, it’s anything but. Niels Arestrup as Caesar is undoubtedly one of the best villains to grace the screen in years, and you’ll be pondering the haunting visuals for days.

4. BLUE VALENTINE

This ‘snuff film for a marriage’ is as painfully personal and honest as movies get, effortlessly gut-wrenching thanks to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams’ performances, which should be used as examples in a dictionary entry for the word ‘brave.’

5. SHUTTER ISLAND

You’ll see the twist coming from miles away, especially if you saw the trailer (which seemingly played before every movie in 2009). Without spoiling the entire movie, it isn’t about the twist, and for only the second time, the whole DiCaprio/Scorcese pairing doesn’t feel like forced gimmickry.

6. RED RIDING

Three filmmakers each have a go at an installment of this expansive crime trilogy, originally made for British television. Even with a somewhat choppy third installment, it’s still a creepy, persuasively well-made epic.

7. INCEPTION

A summer blockbuster that not only had shit blowing up, but was also cryptic, made audiences think, and had uniquely-designed action sequences? Thank you, Mr. Nolan!

8. THE ILLUSIONIST

I know I will incur the wrath of film buffs everywhere when I say that I think Jacques Tati is an overrated filmmaker, but Sylvan Chomet’s adaptation of an unproduced Tati script has undeniable power to it. A near-silent and deeply personal story of regret and neglect, working also as a commentary on the financial downfall of hand-drawn animation.

9. NEVER LET ME GO

A movie that you need to see without knowing anything about it. Be warned, this will put even the most hardened moviegoer into WINTER’S LIGHT/THE SORROW AND THE PITY-level catatonia.

10. THE FIGHTER

Everyone I talked to said this was ‘the TRAINING DAY of sports movies’. That Christian Bale was great, and everything else was instantly forgettable. Going in with those expectations, I was pleasantly surprised to see that David O. Russell and co. were able to take the usual genre conventions and make them fresh and exciting again, with credit to the great supporting cast of Bale, Mellisa Leo, and Amy Adams.

Honorable Mentions: THE SECRET OF KELLS, THE KING’S SPEECH, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD.

The Worst: ROBIN HOOD and CYRUS.

Glenn Andreiev next…

Continue to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Comments are closed.

Browse Categories

Feeds