Anyway, I think 2010 has been a bit of a cracker for movies. I watched a lot of these fillums when they came out, but, as the deluge of 'Best Films of 2010' lists started popping up a few weeks ago, I started trying to watch all the films on those lists, and happened across some real stunners. The full list is below; if you agree or disagree, or have suggestions for ones I may have missed, let me know! Pah, who am I kidding, no-one's reading this.
1 = Inception
In a year where crappy sequels hoovered up the money while fresh, original movies went largely ignored, it was superb to see a movie like Inception buck the trend. Christopher Nolan continues to craft exceptional, intelligent blockbusters, and Leonardo DiCaprio continues to prove he's one of the finest actors around.
2 = Toy Story 3
Oh, Pixar... will you ever make a bad movie? Who else could make a third movie in a series, and have it feel as remarkable as Toy Story 3? An absolute delight from start to finish, veering from comedy gold to 'I'm not crying, I have something in my eye'. And that Monkey was bloody terrifying.3 = Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Edgar Wright's third movie is somewhat of a departure from his first two, a relentless blast that tears around like a playground full of sugar-fuelled toddlers. It's a geek's wet dream come true, endless video game and comic book references, utterly ridiculous fight scenes, and Kieran Culkin stealing the entire movie. 4 = Four Lions
This blacker-than-black comedy about suicide bombers is classic Chris Morris, in that you start laughing while your brain says 'wait... should I be laughing at that?'. Comedy and satire can be used as powerful tools, and taking the piss out of so-called 'terrorists' is a noble and brave one. As is posing the important question... is a Wookie a bear?5 = The Secret In Their Eyes
When this Argentinian thriller won the Best Foreign Language Oscar earlier in the year, beating heavyweight favourites, many were shocked... until they got round to watching it. A masterclass in film-making, with superb performances from all involved. An old-school, proper classic film.6 = Kick Ass
Comic book movies have got a lot darker in recent years, with the likes of The Dark Knight and Watchmen moving us along from kiddy-crap like Fantastic Four... but even Zak Snyder may have balked at a 13-year-old assassin muttering the now-immortal line 'alright, you cunts... let's see what you can do'. From Mark Millar's awesome graphic novel, Jane Goldman's amazing adaptation and Matthew Vaughan's pitch-perfect direction, Kick Ass is a cracker. 7 = The Social Network
Sean likes this. I can't stress how sceptical I was about this film... how could a movie about Facebook be interesting? But Fincher does it, making a movie where nothing really happens apart from geeks arguing scintillating viewing. Don't believe me? Watch it and see.8 = Monsters
Alongside Inception, this was another fine rebuff for the multi-million dollar film industry, filmed for under half-a-million dollars, with a filming crew of seven people, and all put together on a laptop using off-the-shelf software... and it puts other films to shame. Picking up years after most other monster movies leave off, Monsters sees real-life couple Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy having to make their way through the 'infected zone' to get home. A mini-masterpiece, pieced together from guerilla footage and improvised dialogue to make one of the smartest and most original films of the year. 9 = Splice
A modern-day Frankenstein, this sci-fi body horror features some fantastic performances, not least from Delphine Chanéac as the 'frankenstein' of the piece, Dren. It unfortunately descends from smart thriller into a bit of monster movie at the end, or there's a good chance it would be higher up the list.10 = The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
It's impossible to write about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo without enthusing about the incredible performance of Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander, the socially malajusted genius at the heart of the film. She steals every scene of this movie, a cracking, taut thriller, that frankly, the following two movies in the trilogy struggle to match. I'd also be willing to bet that it will not be bettered by the inevitable and unnecessary American remake, even if David Fincher is doing it.11 = Catfish
The controversy still rages online as to whether this documentary is real or not; but, to be honest, I don't think it really matters. It does not affect the point of the movie at all; this movie is still a superb look at the ethics and morals of our modern-day social networking society. Quite unsettling, it's one of the real must-see films this year.12 = Winter's Bone
A slow-burning thriller that shows the America we rarely see in the movies, the poverty-stricken bleakness of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri, without descending into redneck stereotypes. The real high points of this movie are the star peformances from Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes – the latter particularly astounding as the meth-addled Teardrop, who flicks from helpful uncle to murderous psycopath at the blink of an eye.13 = Enter The Void
Gaspar Noe's latest is an absolute acid-trip headfuck of a film, a swirling, disorienting blur that relentlessly assaults the senses. We follow – in first person - Oscar, a drug-dealing American in Tokyo who, at the start of the movie, is shot and killed. We continue to see the world through his eyes, as his 'spirit' floats through Tokyo keeping an eye on his distraught sister, and flashbacks and memories float into view. It's unlike anything else you'll see this year.14 = The Town
Ben Affleck continues to shock the world by revealing that he's actually talented, following up the fantastic Gone Baby Gone with this. Unfortunately, his brother hasn't fared the same fate, following on his superb performance in the aforementioned movie with the absolute shit sandwich that was The Killer Inside Me. Anyway, The Town occupies the same universe as Gone Baby Gone, a world of working class criminals on the poorer side of town. It's a great thriller propelled by some stunning performances from Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall.15 = Let Me In
I was one of the most vocal opponents of Let The Right One In being remade; it was my favourite movie of 2009, and I deemed a remake completely unnecessary. I was forced to eat my words in November, when this arrived, and was amazing. At no point does it feel like one of the rubbish horror remakes that foul up cinema listings on a weekly basis; it has visual themes and ideas running through it that they couldn't even comprehend. The movie is carried by two amazing performances from Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz.16 = How To Train Your Dragon
Dreamworks finally step up to the plate, leaving the pop-culture references and smug-faced animals behind, and concentrating on decent characters and emotionally engaging stories, meaning they're no longer aeons behind Pixar. Although it could just be the fact that the film is full of Vikings that makes me like it.17 = The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
A tense, low-budget Brit thriller that features only three actors: Eddie Marsan, Gemma Arterton and Martin Compston. The first two in particular are superb in this kidnap movie where nothing is as it seems.18 = A Serbian Film
I've spent a while considering whether or not this film belongs on this list. But in truth, the fact that I've had to think about it gives me the answer. It's a horrible, horrible film, but it has the power to worm its way inside your head and not leave, ever, and, being a desensitised old fuck, I have to admire any film that manages to have an emotional effect on me. In an age where torture porn like Saw has become mass market entertainment, here's a movie that is the complete opposite of entertainment. Please don't watch it.19 = The Road
A film that had some big shoes to fill, following on from Cormac McCarthy's incredible novel. It never quite manages to fill them, unfortunately, but it's still a bleak, harsh, unforgiving picture, made all the better by the mental image of all those idiots that went to see it expecting some shit like The Book Of Eli after the terribly misleading trailer.20 = Whip It!
Drew Barrymore's directorial debut was kind of missed in the UK / Ireland, due to some horrendous marketing – those big pink posters, making it look like a big sweet chick flick. Sure, there's girly moments and a bit of a love story... but it's a movie filled with hot girls in fishnets beating the shit out of each other on roller skates. Believe me guys, there's plenty of reasons to watch this film.
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