Top 10 of 2010

I watched 233 “new to me” films. 82 were released this year. Out of those 82 films here is my Top Ten for 2010.

10. Inhale
Lots of films put you in the situation along with the protagonist. A sort of “what would you do”? This is one of the first times that a film asked me that where I didn’t know the answer. I still don’t know the answer.

9. Mother
The simple story of a mother’s love and care for her simple son. However, in the hands of Joon-ho Bong, the complexities weaved into the plot and the character build by Hye-ja Kim elevate the story to new heights.

8. Exit through the Gift Shop
To have a documentary about street art would be interesting enough, but to have it also contain what may be the true story of how someone, who may be missing a few brain cells, could take what people started as pure art and bastardize it to make a buck, makes it endlessly entertaining.

7. 127 Hours
Films where one character has to carry the entire film can be pretty hard to pull off. Director Danny Boyle and actor James Franco find just the right blend of manic and peace and make it riveting.

6. The King’s Speech
Usually period pieces can be stuffy, drab and boring. This film is anything but. The friendship between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush bring a humor and a wit that was completely unexpected.

5. Parade
Five young friends live in a small two bedroom apartment in Japan. Living in such proximities you would think that they know each other well. This film asks how well do we really know anyone.

4. Lebanon
Take all the complexities of any band-of-brothers war film and tell the director that he can’t move his camera, his crew or his cast outside of a 12 foot by 7 foot box. Most directors would shrink from the challenge, but new director Samuel Maoz thrives.

3. The Social Network
After this film, I am much more forgiving of screenwriters taking liberties with true stories because, whether or not it all went down the way this films says it did, the story told here is compelling and stands alone.

2. Inception
No film this year was as original or as engaging as this one. I will watch this film, share it to the rare few who have not seen it yet and cherish it as much as I watch, share and cherish Memento.

1. How to Train Your Dragon
Some may not understand why I love this film so much or place it this high on my list. Bottom line is that, to me, this film is magic, this film is joy, this film makes me happy for no clearly discernible reason. But isn’t that why we go to the movies? To find that gem, that one piece of art that will always bring back those feelings. For all those reasons and more, I love this film.

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