As we chill the champagne and ready the fireworks for another end of year celebration, you can't help but look back on the year that was. This year was a rough year for movie goers, with a whole lot of movies that were good, but not memorable. While I make no claim this is the difinitive end-all best list of 2010, these are the ones I was able to see this year that stuck with me. I know other movie lists like Roger Ebert and the American Film Institute are hailing movies like Black Swan and The Fighter to be at the top of the list, but since I haven't seen them yet, this is what you get. Maybe there will be revisions in the future, but we'll see.
Honorable Mention go to Piranha 3-D for its creative use of 3-D, and it's rediculous, over the top shennanigans, including a scene with Ving Rhames and an outboard motor.
10) Unstoppable - This movie was one of the big surprise sleeper hits of the year. It stars Denzel Washington and Star Trek's Chris Pine in a movie about a runaway train. While it seems simple enough, it's the steady increase of tension that leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire movie, making you forget it's just about a runaway train. This was an excellent movie that I will enjoy watching again.
9) The Crazies - This year's great zombie movie, this one stars Timothy Olyphant as a sherriff in a small town that gets infected by a disease, turning everyone into killers. This movie had so much tension in so many scenes, I was exhausted in the end. I think, while some people may have forgotten about this film, they shouldn't; it's one of the better zombie movies out there.
8) Alice in Wonderland - This was Tim Burton's take on the classic tale, and where there's Burton, there's Johnny Depp. This movie was brilliant in that it was sort of a remake, and sort of a sequel, without the issues of either. It was beautifully done, and well acted by all. The only reason it isn't higher is that I'm getting a bit weary of Burton's style, which seems eerily similar in every movie.
7) Iron Man 2 - Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark, which is the best bit of casting this decade. While the movie had some incredible set pieces, some great characters, and some good acting in Downey, Don Chealde and Sam Rockwell, it suffered from too many characters to balance. It was a great movie, but didn't quite have the lightning in a bottle the first had.
6) Kick Ass - The movie was quite controversial with the character that had the highest body count being a 14 year old Chloe Moretz. Moretz was incredible as a swearing hit-girl in a movie that showed why people don't actually become a super hero. And who knew Nicolas Cage could do such a good Adam West impression?
5) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - This movie was like jumping into a video game all Tron style. The movie was structured like a video game with progressive battles leading to a boss battle, accompanied with a great soundtrack, and some really good perfomances, this is the amazing movie that will be a cult classic that no one saw in theaters.
4) Shutter Island - Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio in a movie that felt dark and cold. The movie was beautiful, with, in my opinion, an academy award winning perfomance by DiCaprio. While the twist was obvious to me from the trailer, the end still left me in awe.
3) True Grit - The Coen Brothers made a movie that had tons of true grit, with Jeff Bridges taking over the role made iconic by John Wayne, and he made me question which one I liked better. Hailee Steinfeld blew me away with a terriffic performance as Maddie. This movie was beautiful and a true western, which is way over due.
2) Toy Story 3 - A beautiful, animated movie that had more heart than most live action movies this year. It was a fitting end to a beautiful trilogy, and left us wanting more from Woddy, Buzz and the gang. You had to root for this movie, and this movie actually met those expectations it set.
1) Inception - The best movie I've seen this year. For me, this movie had it all. It was bigger than life, it was beautifully done, it had some great action, including a zero-G hallway scene that literally made my jaw drop, some good performances in Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard, and a brilliant script with an ending that left everyone wanting to discuss exactly what happened. Christopher Nolan solidified his standing as one of the top directors in Hollywood with this film.
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