My Top 10 Movies of 2010

I know people usually do these in December or January, but I needed time to see the potential candidates. I probably saw less than 20 films from 2010 so this wasn't that hard, but here were my favourites...

UPDATE Nov. 28 2011: Machete has been bumped in favour of a much more deserving film (see #6).






10. The Town
After Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck brings us an even more high tensioned and action packed crime drama. There are way too many heist movies and "one last job" movies out there, but rather than being a crappy blockbuster made purely for the cash, The Town plays more like a Scorsese film.







9. Toy Story 3
Pixar builds on what they established in the first two movies to bring us a slightly darker, more mature, and sweeter ending to the story of the toys we grew up loving. Is there anyone who can keep their eyes dry during the hand-holding scene?








8. 127 Hours
A guy stuck in a canyon for a whole movie can be really boring if done wrong, and even though you know going in that he's going to cut his arm off and escape, 127 Hours is still a gripping look at raw survival. Well played by James Franco with some interesting but highly effective directing choices from Danny Boyle.







7. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
A movie for nerds who love video games and/or comics, it's this hyperreal and wildly entertaining ride with all kinds of cool special effects and references thrown in. If Sin City was the closest a movie can get to a comic book, Scott Pilgrim is the closest a movie can get to a comic book video game.






6. Blue Valentine
Charming but tragic, and most of all, honest, this is the kind of romance movie they should be making more often. It's not idealized or polished, it's just real, and Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling played it perfectly with just the right amount of chemistry.







5. Kick-Ass
It might have been this movie that started that wave of "superhero with no super powers" stories (and there are more coming), but none of them were as good as Kick-Ass. Funny, a good story, and some great action sequences, it's just very cool all around.






4. Hot Tub Time Machine
Time travel movies are always fun, and what makes this one a blast is all the hommages to other time travel movies and 80's movies. Not all of it necessarily makes sense, but who cares? It's one of the funniest and most entertaining movies of 2010.

3. True Grit
A good lesson in how remakes should be done: in the same general style as the original, even if there are still a lot of differences. The story is simple, but a very talented cast and a bit of Coen Brothers humour makes it a tour de force.





2. Black Swan
Probably the coolest "art film" I've ever seen. Darren Aronofsky uses a canvas of accessible metaphors, black vs. white imagery, and creepiness to make us feel Nina's insane, over the edge obsession with a ballet role, and Natalie Portman was as equally as intense and frightening as everything else about this trippy flick.





1. Inception
Easily the most epic movie of the year. I've always been fascinated with dreams and surrealism, so with a competent director and cast this was right up my alley. And I don't care what anyone says, it is NOT confusing!