Top 10 Best Films of 2010

Following the pretty good Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck is proving to become a solid filmmaker in his own right. However, this time, he had casted himself in the main lead...and has learned how to act again.

Speaking of, everybody gives first rate performances in this picture (and yet only Jeremy Renner is recognized), and the romantic dynamic, considering the nature of the couple, works. Everybody talks like real human beings (though it isn't as fresh or as entertaining as when Quentin Tarantino does it), and it allows these relationships to thrive.

The premise is essentially a morality tale involving the redemption of one of the bank robbers (played by Ben Affleck) when he falls in love with one of the hostages, and the premise works because the script is heavily character-driven.

Okay, this movie is bound to cause some controversy. Personally, I found it to be brilliant. It's a unique idea about the nature of an afterlife, in which Matt Damon's character is able to communicate with the dead (but don't confuse this movie with Ghost, Ghost Whisperer or The Sixth Sense; they are all quite different). It deals with post tragic events, and trying to help those reconciling with themselves and their own pasts. Even Matt Damon learns a few things in the end.

Overall, Clint Eastwood continues to impress with his directorial string of movies (alright, alright; I wasn't a fan of Million Dollar Baby or Mystic River). And Matt Damon continues to demonstrate that he is one of the finest actors working in Hollywood today.

Okay, technically, I found The Other Guys to be funnier, but this film is far more inventive and original. From the director that brought us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz comes this video game homage of a picture, and it is a blast. An acquired taste, sure, but still a blast.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect if it tried. The First Evil Ex literally busts through a wall when we weren't even thinking about it, and that is where all the weird things happens...and most, if any, doesn't even bat an eye at any of it. Sure, there was some weird stuff happening earlier on (mainly through the highly inventive use of film editing), but by that point in time, it has officially became an alternate universe with its own rules. Through that first encounter (which was foretold via a skimmed email, btw), we learn the rules of this universe just like that, and over time, we come to accept them.

The film is a master of style as well as timing; everybody plays their parts perfectly including Michael Cera as the titular character. For once, we got a gay character in a comedy that wasn't played as a stereotype so much as an everyday character (as to what I think of The Kids are All Right, two things; painfully unfunny, and very one-sided). This film literally normalizes the strange and unusual in however way that it can. The effects are perfect video game quality and the art direction is appropriate for the film itself. This film was unfairly jipped the Visual Effects, Film Editing and Art Direction nominations to say the least.

I had a fairly difficult time trying to discern which was better between this or Scott Pilgrim because this film seems to rely more on significance while Scott Pilgrim is far more unique and original. Ultimately, I had decided to settle down on this film because every time I see this movie, my appreciation for it grows.

Now if you are not a fan of Jesse Eisenberg, then his portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg might unnerve you a bit. Otherwise, it's got solid editing, everybody turns in solid performances (besides the undeserving nominee of Jesse Eisenberg; nominate Matt Damon in Hereafter instead); and the film is brutally honest and sincere. There is absolutely no bs in this picture, so it is quite easy to take this movie with a grain of salt and still be fascinated by it.

I find director David Fincher to be quite peculiar because I can never tell when his next movie is going to be good (Se7en, Panic Room, The Zodiac) or bad (Alien 3, Fight Club, Benjamin Button). So I am glad to say that this film is really solid. Is it flawless? No. But it's definitely going to last as, perhaps, the most important movie of 2010.

And the rest of the top 4 is really, really close together. So much so that they technically serve as 4-way ties. But, if I am to dissect these movies and try to measure the individual merits of each film, then number 4 would have to be 127 Hours.

Why? Because had it not been for James Franco's performance, this film wouldn't have worked at all. I personally find Danny Boyle to be one of the most overrated directors ever to pick up a camera. I never cared for Trainspotting; 28 Days Later had an interesting premise but is ultimately destroyed with the mother of contrived climaxes; Sunshine was silly; and don't get me started with Slumdog Millionaire.

Fortunately, Danny Boyle showed some restraint and let James Franco do most of the work himself (this could perhaps explain why he wasn't nominated for directing). Because of this, the guy finally directed something I liked. No, loved. This film was hit or bust, and had James Franco not delivered the one performance to rival Colin Firth this year, the film wouldn't have worked at all.

Once again, it is an acquired taste though. Because of these reasons, it ranks the bottom of my top 4.

And my number 3 in my tie-breaker, believe it or not, is How to Train Your Dragon. After a long, long line of lackluster movies to tackle man vs. nature (such as Ferngully, Pocahontas, Atlants: The Lost Empire, Wall-E, District 9, and Avatar to name a few), we finally got one that I could consider great, as in, genuinely great.

The reason why this film is number 3 in trying to rank the top 4 based on merits is because, let's face it; it's derivitive on a story type that I usually despise because it usually paints man, white man, Americans, or "capitalist pigs" as blanketly evil due to shallow writing at best (okay, okay; I did like Dances with Wolves and The Last Samurai). Fortunately, this film finally did it right; unlike many of the stories in which Dragon is derivitive from, this one actually gave the characters legitamite motives as to why this war between man and dragons were going on, and we can sympathize with both sides because of it. The humans are fighting for their own survival, as are, little do we know, the dragons. The chemistry between the characters is very, very good, the lighting and cinematography were fantastic, and it gave us some of the best 3D I've ever seen.

If I were to give this film any faults since I've seen this film so many times, and I'm not saying it's a downside but it's an area that could be improved on should a sequel be made (thankfully, it's in the making), it's that all the dragons seem to share all of the same quirks. No, they're not identical in terms of species, looks and features because the film does showcase that each dragon has their speciality. It's that they all seem to be afraid of eels and are all sensitive to all the same things. A little bit of variety in what dragons like or don't like wouldn't hurt; they are, after all, intelligent animals with clearly discernable personalities.

Overall, I haven't the foggiest idea why Dreamworks decided to adapt such childishly shallow books like the HTTYD novels, but I am at least glad that they made something out of it based solely on some of the ideas and character names. It's truly a breathtaking movie and I'm glad that I saw it on the big screen, and in 3D.

Oh, and speaking of, the 3D is some of the best ever integrated into any movie.

And here, we get to the top 2, and it was even harder now to discern which was the better movie; like between Scott Pilgrim vs. The Social Network (gotta make a crossover movie now), I had to discern between the significant movie and the more inventive one. I'll go more into detail why I chose the more significant movie as my number 1 later, but man is this film chillingly creative! Wouldn't expect anything less from the great Darren Aronofsky.

This film constantly keeps you on your toes from beginning to end. We know she's hallucinating, but the film goes so far that we have no idea what is real and what is reality. All we know is that her entire world may very well represent simple fragments of her character. The mother sheltering her light; the instructor bringing out her darkness; heck, maybe Millas Kunis may be the embodiment of darkness itself trying to overtake her. All these things and more could very well lead to the fact that, perhaps she is turning into a black swan--darkness fully realized.

This film is deep, philosophical, and can be read on multiple levels; even a literalist mind can get something out of it. The performances are all stunning, and Natalie Portman deservedly won Oscar gold that year.

Is it an acquired taste? Yeah, but only to the extent that you are not terribly sensitive to the material. It was directed by Aronofsky after all; he's not known for making pleasant movies.

And finally, my number 1. I did say this was a significant movie, and while it isn't to the extent as The Social Network, it is, shall we say, historically relevant, funny, and sympathetic. Everything works to this film's advantage; the acting, the cinematography, the editing, the writing, the sets, the costumes, EVERYTHING!

But this film had a lot more to work off of than the previous movies. Much of the film is fictionalized because the filmmakers weren't able to acquire all the details, so they worked with what they had, and tried to recreate what may have had happened in a realistic and sympathetic way based on the limited details they possessed.

Speaking of realistic and sympathetic, it took a ton of work just to make a character with a horrible stammer sympathetic and not a punchline. Sure, King George V was a real person, and yeah, there was some humor inserted into the film, but it was all tasteful, the character sympathetic, as was his wife and doctor played by Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush respectively.

I could go on and on, but when I get down to it, this film was the closest thing to a flawless picture I've stumbled upon during the year, and is appropriately enough, the Best Picture of 2010.