My Favorite Films of 2010

Honorable Mention: (In no particular order)
* The King's Speech
* The Ghost Writer
* Toy Story 3
* Macgruber
* The Green Zone
* Hot Tub Time Machine
* The Other Guys
* Machete
* The Black Swan


2010 was a good year for silly comedies for me. In retrospect, the movie year creeped up on me with some of the year's great films being released BEFORE awards season. I'm not sure how this year ranks in terms of past years. But I think there were some definite real gems out there this year. So without further ado... here are MY personal favorite films of 2010.

10. Shutter Island


Haunting, frightening and ultimately disturbing film from Martin Scorsese. The film is anchored by a fantastic underrated performance by Leonardo DiCaprio. Echoes of Stanley Kubrick in this greatly executed and unique film.


9. The Town


Great crime thriller with some unexpected humor and adult romance. Surprising understated performance and no-nonsense direction from Ben Affleck.


8. Kick Ass


The film made headlines for the controversial use of a gun wielding minor as a protagonist... yet the film is undeniably entertaining, with some great action and engaging visuals.


7. The American


I'm a big fan of minimalism in a film, obviously... since David Mamet is my favorite writer. But this bare to the bones drama and thriller is engrossing and hypnotic. Great and haunting performance by George Clooney.

6. The Fighter

As a fan of boxing it was a real no-brainer that I'd love this film. But what really stands out in this film is Christian Bale's amazing performance. Easily the best performance by an actor this year. Amy Addams is also fantastic in the film, as well as an affable and solid Mark Wahlberg.

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

I'm probably supposed to be too old to enjoy a film like this, but Edgar Wright's direction as well as the exciting visual concept and fantastic production design, combined with an affable cast make this truly one of the best, most original movies of 2010.


4. Inception


Complex and non-traditional story telling aside, this film provided the best action and most enjoyable pure movie experience of 2010. The only thing holding it back from being my favorite film was the fact, that after repeat viewings, the film suffers from a bit too much pretension and no matter how one tries to justify it... the ending is just unsatisfying.

3. Winter's Bone


The biggest surprise of 2010 for me was this award winning independent film. I was engrossed from the very first frame. This movie takes us into a world not many movie going audiences have ever seen. What struck me the most was the authenticity and sincerity of the film's simple story and its rooted realistic characters. Excellent performances from Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes.

2. True Grit

Well... EVERYONE knows I LOVE a western and this was a Coen Brothers spun western no less. The film was destined to land on my top ten list. What I really enjoyed was the non-traditional take the Coen brothers took with the action pieces. Most of the movie's showdowns are viewed from a cliff side view from a distance. Unusual and unique considering western's notoriously use close-ups. But the Coen Brothers turned the convention on its head... which left a haunting, disturbing and uniquely helpless perspective of realistic violence. Fantastic performances by Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld.


And my Favorite Film of 2010 is...









1. The Social Network

A movie about Facebook? Well... obviously there's a lot more going on here than just that. Fantastic quotable dialogue, steady confident direction, sincere, affable as well as...not so affable characters and a fascinating (mostly) true story about a group of friends achieving the Modern American Dream... and the highs & lows of what that entails. This all makes this not only a great film for 2010, but truly one of the great social commentary films in modern film history.

Top 10 Lists:
Roger Ebert , Quentin Tarantino, Harry Knowles, Capone , Peter Travers , Metacritic, Drew McWeeny

My Favorite Films of the Decade

After posting my Favorite films of 2009 I realized that I didn't really have a definitive list of my favorite films for this past decade. I'm stopping short of stating that these are the best films of this time period. But I do know what I like. Thus this list represents the films which really made a memorable and profound impact on me.


Honorable Mentions: (In no particular order)


Munich (2005)
Kill Bill 1 & 2 (2003)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Me and You And Everyone we Know (2005)
Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Match Point (2005)
Public Enemies (2009)
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Borat (2006)
Casino Royale (2006)
Rescue Dawn (2007)
Zodiac (2007)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Wall-E (2008)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Avatar (2009)
Heist (2001)



My 25 Favorite films of the decade



25. Battle Royale (2000)


Captures the most unattractive side of humanity in such a fascinating and timely way.


24.Che (2008)


Ambitious, epic film and features an amazing performance by Benicio Del Toro.



23. Nothing But the Truth (2008)


Rod Lurie is one of my favorite artists working in film. Nothing But the Truth is a thought provoking, rollercoaster ride of drama.



22. Star Trek (2009)


BIG Star Trek fan. I think that pretty much sums it up.



21. V for Vendetta (2005)


Heartbreaking, profound, provocative and surprisingly inspiring.



20. The Bourne Identity (2002)


This film was so bad-ass it actually inspired me to lose weight and workout...for years.



19. No Country for Old Men (2007)


Coen Brothers masterpiece. Terrifying, chilling and thrilling.



18. I'm not Scared (2003)


An amazing, brutal, touching film that stays with the viewer...forever.


17. There Will Be Blood (2007)


Perhaps the finest performance of the decade by an actor. Kudos to Daniel Day Lewis.


16. Gangs of New York (2002)



Martin Scorsese plus Daniel Day Lewis in a period gangster film equals unequivocal awesomeness.



15. Batman Begins (2005)


Finally artists took the character of Batman seriously. Great action. But even better drama.



14. In The Mood For Love (2000)


The most romantic film of the decade.



13. Punch Drunk Love (2002)


The best romantic comedy of the decade.



12. Open Range (2003)


Old fashioned western with great action and affable protagonists.



11. OldBoy (2003)


Unspeakably disturbing and shocking. Brilliant in so many ways.



10. Children of Men (2006)


Unbelievably great story. Incredible visuals, with stunning, breathtaking production design.



9. Broken Flowers (2005)


Jim Jarmusch and Bill Murray at their hilarious, offbeat best.



8. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)


Perhaps the wittiest movie of the decade. Great mystery and action. Great dialogue and chemistry between Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr.



7. Once (2006)


Moving and sincere characters. Fantastic music and beautiful, simple story. Run out and get the soundtrack...now!



6. The New World (2005)


Awe-inspirig and poetic. Simply a masterpiece by Terrence Malick.



5. The Dark Knight (2008)


The best action film of the decade. Timely and thought-provoking script, which takes the action genre to unimaginable heights.



4. Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007)


Beautiful and chilling. An amazing work of art with fantastic performances by the entire cast especially Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt.



3. Spartan (2004)


Has everything I could ever want in a David Mamet film. Great dialogue, twisting suspense. Memorable characters and fantastic action.



2. City of God (2002)


Amazing in EVERY way. Words can't describe how good it is. Must be seen to be believed.



And my favorite movie of the decade is.....











1. The Contender (2000)

Anyone who even vaguely knows me is aware of how much I LOVE this film. Moving and profound in so many ways. Brilliant performances by the ENTIRE cast especially Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Gary Oldman and Sam Elliott. Fantastic drama, memorable dialogue. The film is brutal and tense, yet also inspiring and touching. There are literally not enough adjectives for me to describe my appreciation for Rod Lurie's amazing film. Easily, easily my favorite film of the decade. In my top 5 favorite films of all time.

My Favorite Films of 2009

More than any other year, I'm embarrassed to reveal my list of favorite films from this past movie season. I swear I'm not an immature fan boy. Despite what one might think by looking at this list. I kept waiting to find those great dramas to push some of these films off, but they simply never came. As a result, I kept postponing my selections. But I thought that since the Academy is revealing their nominations for Best Picture tomorrow, I thought it was finally time for me to reveal my favorite films of 2009.




Honorable mentions:
Drag Me to Hell
Observe and Report
Up
The Lovely Bones
Tyson



10. Up in the Air



To be honest, I went back and forth with this film. On one hand it's an entertaining character study of a man who happily lives a life of simple goals. On the other hand it is a naive look at the troubles of our economy and the devastation that it has left in its wake. I think what finally convinced me to place it on my list, is that I feel that the movie MAY perhaps serve as a representative of this turbulent time period in years to come. Much like Wall Street did in the 80's. I also felt the film hit close to home, since in 2009, I like many others, was laid off from my full-time job.



9. Fantastic Mr. Fox



I enjoy Wes Anderson films. But he's not necessarily one of my favorite directors. I feel that his films suffer from being over stylized and too witty for their own good. But his latest film Fantastic Mr. Fox seems to capitalize on his unique style and brand of humor, more than any of his other films. The animation, timing and humor all just seems to come together in a perfect storm of entertainment.



8. Watchmen



So much for being un-film-able. The Watchmen is an excellent AND accurate adaption of the award winning graphic novel. Excellent performances and action. I'm aware that there are significant changes and omissions. But I feel the film really captures the themes and feel of the original novel. Which in itself is an amazing feat, nevermind that it actually is also a really good film.



7. Zombieland



I'm not a fan of horror films in general. I just find that the suspense and humor are typically over-the-top and very poor in most of the horror genre. That's why I'm pleasantly surprised when I run across a good genre film. Granted Zombieland is more of a comedy than horror. But it's still, technically, a Zombie film and a fun one at that, which stands up to repeat viewing.



6. Whatever Works



It's well documented that I'm an avid fan of Woody Allen films. I find satisfying humor and drama in even his less accomplished movies. Whatever Works however, is one of his better, dare I say great films. It is a hilarious and ultimately poignant look at the ups and downs of this journey we call life. Excellent and surprising heartfelt performances from Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood.



5. The Hurt Locker



At one point during my viewing, I felt that this film may actually be the best movie of the year. But somewhere in the third act, I could feel myself start to disconnect. After watching the bomb squad go on mission after mission, the film sorely starts to feel like it needs more character development and less action. Nevertheless, a fascinating, suspenseful movie and well deserving as one of the best of the year.



4. Avatar



There's not much more than can be said about this ground breaking film. Amazing special effects and breathtaking 3D. My only complaint is that the plot and dialogue don't measure up to the visuals. Not even close. But one can argue that audiences don't go to movies like this for plot and dialogue. They go for the exciting ride, which this film genuinely is.




3. Inglourious Basterds



I wasn't expecting THIS film. I was actually expecting a men-on-a-mission movie in the vein of The Dirty Dozen or even Saving Private Ryan. Inglourious Basterds isn't even really about the so-called Basterds. What it is, is a fascinating homage and testament to the power of film and entertainment. The movie demonstrates that the medium is so powerful...that it can even re-write history, and brutally and gloriously assassinate the most evil man in the history of the world. Not only will audiences not complain about the historical inaccuracies, they'll love every minute of it.




2. Public Enemies



Easily the best drama of the year. Unfortunately, in all the Avatar hoopla, it has been overlooked during this awards season. Yes, this story has been told before and yes, the cops and robbers dynamic has been well explored by Michael Mann in the past. But it still doesn't take away from the breathtaking action, heartbreaking resolution and excellent performances by the entire cast, especially Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Stephen Lang.




1. Star Trek



I grew up a huge Star Trek fan. HUGE. For years, I literally fell asleep every night to a vhs cassette tape of my favorite old school and next generation episodes. I collected reference books, videos, and memorized names of episodes. But I never attended a convention. It just seemed too excessive. That's why this reboot version resonates with me. It respects the original series, but moves away from the fan boy fanaticism. Excellent action, drama, suspense, and special effects. So a combination of nostalgia and new blood excitement makes this easily, my favorite film of 2009.