Part 1: The Good2010 was an interesting year in movies to say the least. We got a little bit of just about everything: some fantastically realistic special effects in the likes of “Inception,” a profile of the loneliest man in the world with the most friends in “The Social Network,” and some considerable flops in “The Last Airbender” and “Cop Out.” This year showed us how entertaining animation could be with “Toy Story 3,” “Tangled,” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” Some of the box office smashes (“Alice in Wonderland”) weren’t all that great, but this year was all about the smaller, lesser known films that weren’t readily available in wide release, like “127 Hours” or “Black Swan” (at first). As 2010 comes to a close, here’s to toasting the very best and the very worst of what 2010 had to offer.
Early on in the year, we received some pretty solid work from Martin Scorsese in “Shutter Island” with Leo DiCaprio starring as Teddy Daniels (“a duly appointed federal maaah-shall”) who investigates a prisoner gone missing at an insane asylum. Scorsese got the biggest box office returns with this film, even over 2006’s “The Departed.” Though mediocre in my opinion, 2010 got the second largest box office winner of the year in March’s “Alice in Wonderland” ( and I still can’t understand why Anne Hathaway’s arms are up in the air all the time). Despite not-so-stellar reviews, four hundred million dollars at the box office is nothing to dismiss.
The month of June was all about the absolutely delightful, charming “Toy Story 3,” which used its loveable characters as a vehicle for a beautiful story about growing up. Pixar provided one of its best films yet, which is fitting because “Toy Story” was the first feature-length film that launched their company.
No one could forget the mind-bending, intellectual caper “Inception” directed by Chris Nolan and starring Leo DiCaprio, Mar
ion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, released in July. A rare combination of huge box office returns and critical adoration, “Inception” was pure magic. Also in July was the fantastic “The Kids Are All Right” with great performances from Annette Benning, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. A thoroughly modern story about two married women, we finally see a film that treats a gay marriage as one that experiences the turbulences of any other marriage. August was nothing too special this year, except for the buddy-cop comedy done right with “The Other Guys” with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. With absolutely hilarious cameos from Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, “The Other Guys” was one of the funniest comedies of the year. Kevin Smith, director of the universally panned “Cop Out” could have taken a leaf out of Adam McKay’s book with this film.
In September, Emma Stone was absolutely delightful in “Easy A,” a high school comedy about a girl named Olive who makes up a lie about losing her virginity to gain popularity. Stanley Tucci provides some extra laughs as Olive’s oblivious father, and Thomas Haden Church’s dry humor also helped elevate this wonderful comedy. Also in September was the second directorial debut of Ben Affleck for “The Town.” Affleck can seemingly direct himself better in movies than other directors can because he was great as Doug Macray, a Boston bank robber who starts to wish he could leave behind his criminal lifestyle, but finds himself roped into it anyways. Jeremy Renner was great as the hot headed Jem, Macray’s best friend, and Blake Lively was brilliant as the trash-tastic druggie Krista.
As September melted into October, some of the best films of the year were released. The only film that really mattered in October was one of the year’s best: “The Social Network.” Buoyed by a sizzling script by Alan Sorkin, David Fincher takes this film to the next level, putting a magnifying glass on the man who created Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Jesse Eisenberg is a revelation as the creator of Facebook, and Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake put in some good work as well. In November, we got a kinetic, vivid story of a human’s will to live in Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours.” James Franco starred as Aron Ralston, a hiker who gets pinned by the arm in a remote canyon. Touched with some beautiful humor, Franco puts in one of the best male performances of the year.
December was a fantastic month for film. Starting off with a bang provided by “Black Swan,” Darren Aronofsky takes the ambitious world of ballet and turns it into a fantastic, psycho-sexual, melodramatic horror film that reaches lofty heights because of Natalie Portman’s reckless abandon in her approach to her role as Nina. Mirroring the story of “Swan Lake” with that of the sexual and psychological awakening of Portman’s character, the film is Aronofsky’s best since “Requiem for a Dream.” Also in December were Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, and Christian Bale in “The Fighter” about the Boston boxer Micky Ward. Christian Bale plays his trainer and broth
er in a blistering performance. He should just start preparing his Oscar speech now, as he slips into his role as Dicky like it’s another skin. The Coen brothers offered up another fantastic film this year in “True Grit,” starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. A remake of the John Wayne film of the same name, Bridges plays the crusty Rooster Cogburn, who helps Steinfeld’s Mattie track down the man who killed her father. Based off of Charles Portis' novel of the same name, the Coen brothers adaptation of this book is an inspired one, offering some of the same humor that was so loved in the novel.
Early on in the year, we received some pretty solid work from Martin Scorsese in “Shutter Island” with Leo DiCaprio starring as Teddy Daniels (“a duly appointed federal maaah-shall”) who investigates a prisoner gone missing at an insane asylum. Scorsese got the biggest box office returns with this film, even over 2006’s “The Departed.” Though mediocre in my opinion, 2010 got the second largest box office winner of the year in March’s “Alice in Wonderland” ( and I still can’t understand why Anne Hathaway’s arms are up in the air all the time). Despite not-so-stellar reviews, four hundred million dollars at the box office is nothing to dismiss.
The month of June was all about the absolutely delightful, charming “Toy Story 3,” which used its loveable characters as a vehicle for a beautiful story about growing up. Pixar provided one of its best films yet, which is fitting because “Toy Story” was the first feature-length film that launched their company.
No one could forget the mind-bending, intellectual caper “Inception” directed by Chris Nolan and starring Leo DiCaprio, Mar
ion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, released in July. A rare combination of huge box office returns and critical adoration, “Inception” was pure magic. Also in July was the fantastic “The Kids Are All Right” with great performances from Annette Benning, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. A thoroughly modern story about two married women, we finally see a film that treats a gay marriage as one that experiences the turbulences of any other marriage. August was nothing too special this year, except for the buddy-cop comedy done right with “The Other Guys” with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. With absolutely hilarious cameos from Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, “The Other Guys” was one of the funniest comedies of the year. Kevin Smith, director of the universally panned “Cop Out” could have taken a leaf out of Adam McKay’s book with this film.In September, Emma Stone was absolutely delightful in “Easy A,” a high school comedy about a girl named Olive who makes up a lie about losing her virginity to gain popularity. Stanley Tucci provides some extra laughs as Olive’s oblivious father, and Thomas Haden Church’s dry humor also helped elevate this wonderful comedy. Also in September was the second directorial debut of Ben Affleck for “The Town.” Affleck can seemingly direct himself better in movies than other directors can because he was great as Doug Macray, a Boston bank robber who starts to wish he could leave behind his criminal lifestyle, but finds himself roped into it anyways. Jeremy Renner was great as the hot headed Jem, Macray’s best friend, and Blake Lively was brilliant as the trash-tastic druggie Krista.
As September melted into October, some of the best films of the year were released. The only film that really mattered in October was one of the year’s best: “The Social Network.” Buoyed by a sizzling script by Alan Sorkin, David Fincher takes this film to the next level, putting a magnifying glass on the man who created Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Jesse Eisenberg is a revelation as the creator of Facebook, and Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake put in some good work as well. In November, we got a kinetic, vivid story of a human’s will to live in Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours.” James Franco starred as Aron Ralston, a hiker who gets pinned by the arm in a remote canyon. Touched with some beautiful humor, Franco puts in one of the best male performances of the year.
December was a fantastic month for film. Starting off with a bang provided by “Black Swan,” Darren Aronofsky takes the ambitious world of ballet and turns it into a fantastic, psycho-sexual, melodramatic horror film that reaches lofty heights because of Natalie Portman’s reckless abandon in her approach to her role as Nina. Mirroring the story of “Swan Lake” with that of the sexual and psychological awakening of Portman’s character, the film is Aronofsky’s best since “Requiem for a Dream.” Also in December were Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, and Christian Bale in “The Fighter” about the Boston boxer Micky Ward. Christian Bale plays his trainer and broth
er in a blistering performance. He should just start preparing his Oscar speech now, as he slips into his role as Dicky like it’s another skin. The Coen brothers offered up another fantastic film this year in “True Grit,” starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. A remake of the John Wayne film of the same name, Bridges plays the crusty Rooster Cogburn, who helps Steinfeld’s Mattie track down the man who killed her father. Based off of Charles Portis' novel of the same name, the Coen brothers adaptation of this book is an inspired one, offering some of the same humor that was so loved in the novel.
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