My Top Ten Films of 2010

Here is my top ten movie list for 2010. I have seen a much higher percentage of films this year then ever before I think, however this list is likely to change over the next four weeks as I see some of the movies I missed. The major movies I have yet to see that have gotten good buzz are 127 HOURS, TOY STORY 3, ANIMAL KINGDOM, EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, CARLOS, OUTSIDE THE LAW, IN A BETTER WORLD, ANOTHER YEAR, INCENDIES, BIUTIFUL so look for some of these to pop up and replace some on this list over the next month. I plan to see all of the Oscar nominated movies before the awards are given out. Whew. Sure is a fun way to be busy.

Here we go.

1) I AM LOVE

The most beautiful film I saw in 2010, I AM LOVE, has gorgeous cinematography that is a throwback to 70's Italian cinema. It stars the fascinating Tilda Swinton as an emotionally repressed Russian-born women now married into a rich Italian family. Her desires are awakened, you could say, by the food of a young chef who befriends her oldest son.  The score is composed by John Adams and it takes the film to an even higher level. I really can't say enough good things about this movie. The movie left me breathless. 

2)THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

For me this movie had a lot going for it before I even saw it. THE KIDS is the story of a lesbian couple raising children, and it is written and directed by a women. Plus, it features Julianne Moore who rocks, and my number one celebrity crush, Mark Ruffalo, who, it turns out, is at his hottest. It lived up to my hopes and has remained one of my favorite films since I saw it in June. I liked that THE KIDS is a comedy where no one is the bad guy, the characters are complex and flawed, and relatable. The pain they cause one another comes from real places giving me compassion for them all. 

3) DOGTOOTH

A surprising Oscar nomination for best foreign film, this Greek drama is disturbing and very odd. It is the story of parents who choose to raise their three children in complete isolation from the rest of the world. They teach their children different definitions for common words, like "salt" is "telephone", and a pussy is a small yellow flower. The only outsider brought to the house (always blindfolded for the drive to and from) is a prostitute  for the son. The two daughters are fascinated by this woman, and she uses their curiosity to fill her own needs. Needless to say the methods the parents use on their children lead to increasingly disturbing behavior and a rather disturbing climax. The complexity of the mythology the parents have invented is part of what makes the movie so rich. DOGTOOTH left me wanting to watch it again, to find answers that will help me understand how and why this creepy world exists.

4) SOCIAL NETWORK

I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. I had heard a lot of criticism of its depictions of women, and because I find the depictions of women insulting in over 50% of movies I was sure this one was going to offend me. It did not. SOCIAL NETWORK is about white male Harvard elitists, and it does nothing to make them likable. The acting is top-notch and the directing is sharp. There are more female roles (with names even!) then many popular movies, and it made me excited to see Rooney Mara take on the role of Lisbeth Sanders in director Fincher's upcoming version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. 

5) WINTER'S BONE  

Rarely do movies get made about the class of people that are portrayed in WINTER'S BONE. Jennifer Lawrence plays 17 year old Ree, living in a back woods town devastated by meth. Ree is raising her younger siblings and caring for her crazy mother; her father is a missing meth dealer. Everything about this movie feels raw and real. The actors look rough; they play people I have never seen before on a big screen. The location and music add to the movie authenticity. The performances are great and the strength of Ree is astonishing to see.

6) BLUE VALENTINE

Another raw movie, BLUE VALENTINE, is the story of a young married couple on the brink of breaking up. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, both consistently great actors, are at their best and some of their scenes are painful to watch, especially the bad sex they have in a motel. I have seen countless movies about relationships but BLUE VALENTINE captures two people who are so unhappy together that every little thing the other does drives the other crazy, and neither can help but consistently say that one thing that will push the other over the edge. Great writing. (There is one part of the movie that took me out of it;I won't go into that here, but I will later write about it.) Still, an almost perfect movie.

7) CATFISH

The less you know about this documentary the better-I suggest seeing it, not reading about it. I will say it is a fun companion piece to SOCIAL NETORK because it is about the friendships we make on sites like Facebook and Myspace. CATFISH is creepy and sad and very entertaining. 

8) SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD 
This was the biggest surprise of the year for me. I only saw it recently and was blown away by how much I liked it.  The story is of Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), who spends his time playing guitar in a band, sleeping in a bed with his gay best friend, and being bummed out over his last girl friend who dumped him when she became famous.  Scott’s world is shaken when he meets the girl of his dreams, (he literally dreams about her before meeting her).  In order to date her he must fight her seven evil exes.  In the world of Scott,people fight as if they were in video games:  you can score bonus lives and turn into gold coins when you lose.  This movie captures the angst of early twenties so well.  The people in it hurt each other all the time, but are so lost in their own pain they don’t see what they do to others. Also great is the music, written by Beck and Metric and Broken Social Scene among others, performed by the actors who play fictional bands in the movie. 

9) BLACK SWAN

A huge fan of director Darren Aronofsky, I was excited to see BLACK SWAN as soon as I first heard about it.  While not my favorite of Aronofsky’s films--that title belongs to REQUIEM FOR A DREAM--I do think SWAN is visually fascinating and the movie strikes a wonderful balance of art film, horror movie.  The story is of Nina (Natalie Portman), an obsessive ballerina who has no life outside of dance.  Just as she is given the lead role in Swan Lake her sanity begins to collapse and everything falls into chaos.  I loved that SWAN never over-explains Nina’s history.  The story implies she is anorexic and into some form of self-mutilation.  We understand the mother/daughter relationship without the movie defining it.  Because delusions begin to overtake Nina so early in the film the audience never knows her without them.  Her disease is the desire for perfection. 

10) SHUTTER ISLAND
 I considered putting this movie higher, because of how underrated I think it is. I personally thought it was great. DiCaprio and Scorsese are a good team and SHUTTER also stars my favorite crush, Mark Ruffalo, and the amazing Michelle Williams. I think the biggest challenge viewers have with SHUTTER is whether you can accept the way-out-there twist at the end. I read the novel by Dennis Lehane years ago and loved it, great page turner, so I already knew the ending going in and was fine with it, but I understand it could be too crazy for some.  INCEPTION  is not on this list, and one of the main reasons is that the central love story did not work for me in INCEPTION. In SHUTTER ISLAND it did. The similarities of both movies are kind of weird so its easy for me to compare. DiCaprio's character is suffering in both films and haunted by memories of his wife and children. In SHUTTER the visions of his wife and daughter are creepy and effecting. The storm that is destroying the island he is on represents the damage of his guilt. In INCEPTION I never felt the children were real, and the images of them in his memories were cliched. The moments DiCaprio shares with Williams are always creepy and mysterious and beautiful.  I think SHUTTER ISLAND  is a top notch thriller.