Strat's 20 of 2010

The resurgence of quality movies from 2009 continued on for 2010.  Movies moved further along into blurring the line between fantasy and reality with docu-dramas and quasi documentaries at the same time other films questioned your entire perception of the film by its end.


20. Catfish (documentary)
The Blair Witch Project makes you afraid to go out into the woods to follow a creepy witch tale. This makes you afraid to go out into the boonies to meet an online girlfriend.  It feels sorta like David Lynch had a hand in this.


19. How to Train Your Dragon (animated comedy)
It's not often DreamWorks tells an animated tale exceptionally well without it being chalk full of pop-culture clichés and for once they did that.  It's essentially the same classic tale of the lion who befriends the man that removes the thorn from his paw. Quite enjoyable.

18. Four Lions (mockumentary)
You normally don't associate terrorism with funny. But that's exactly what great comedies like Dr. Strangelove do with serious subjects like this.

17. The King's Speech (drama)
Wonderfully told and executed historical drama. Colin Firth may not ever have a better roll in this somewhat inspirational tale of the King of England.

16. Inside Job (documentary)
A lot has been said about the causes of the collapse of the global economy in 2008.  No film leaves the evidence on who to blame so clearly on the table. 

15. Easy A (comedy)
It's been a long time since there's been a teen movie that was this memorable. Off the top of my head, Election and Clueless are the only two that come to mind.  I expect lead actres Emma Stone to have a very successful future in comedy.


14. The Disappearance of Alice Creed (drama)
A heist film shot in only three locations with three actors that is as thrilling and exciting as anything of more well known fare this year.  It certainly takes its cues from Resevoir Dogs and Dog Day Afternoon but in a very refreshing way. Quite possibly the most underrated movie of the year.

13. 127 hours (drama)
No film is likely to make you squirm as much as this one as James Franco spends most of it alone with a camera and an arm trapped under a rock.  The movie is make or break on  a terrific performance which gets you into his head to really understand what would make a man sever his own arm with a dull knife.


12. Death at a Funeral (comedy)
Of the comedies on the list, this is your most broad based humor/laugh out loud film of the bunch.  One of the best ensemble comedies in a long while.


11. The Social Network (drama)
If you've seen my other lists, you know I'm partial to David Fincher's films. This is no different. While I've heard the movie mentioned for all sorts of things, it's just a great film in the same vein as The Pirates of Silicon Valley.

10. Shutter Island (drama/thriller)
Martin Scorsese turns in a modern mind-bending Gothic/scary film that is a strange cross between The Last Temptation of Christ and Cape Fear.

9. True Grit (drama)
If you've seen the original with John Wayne, there's little in common with it. It's one of the few westerns I've seen that are not hung up on trying to be "westerns" or an homage to westerns. It just tries to adapt Portis' novel to the screen.


8. Kick Ass (action/comedy)
This is the reality/absurdity check of all comic book movies as it asks the question of what would happen if the super hero gets his butt kicked and really isn't so super in anything other than his determination to be super? 

7. Restrepo (documentary)
The best documentary in the field of battle I have ever seen. The film takes your right to the front lines of one of the most dangerous battle-zones on earth - the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan and at the same time humanizes the omnipresent fear that the soldiers feel about death.

6. Youth in Revolt (comedy)
A fabulous movie about teenage rebellion, imaginary friends and French literature.  It's quite possibly the best rendition of Michael Cera's awkward yet cute persona.


5. Exit Through the Gift Shop (documentary)
At face-value, this is a documentary about street art.  As you look beyond the movie, you discover the potential for so much more out of it.  Whether or not this film is fact or fiction or somewhere in between, you be the judge.  In any case, it's a marvelous bit of storytelling.


4. The Town (drama)
Maybe we're getting to know who was the real brains behind Good Will Hunting. Ben Affleck manages to write/direct and star in a movie that exclaims that his streak of terrible film choices is over.

3. Black Swan (drama)
Given the his body of work, I'm pretty sure Darren Arronofsky has a neurotic sadomasochistic streak.  It's a melodramatic Gothic horror film in a dramatic thriller's clothing.  And certainly one of the filmmaker's best works to date.
  
2. Toy Story 3 (animated comedy)
When Disney announced the first Toy Story sequel, many of us groaned, fearing a crap-fest of a film. We were quickly rewarded with another in a long line of good to outstanding films by Pixar. And this one is not the Godfather Part III by any means to the Toy Story trilogy.

1. Inception (drama)
There are few movies in the same class as this one.  It is one part remarkable it was made, another that people came out to see it in theaters. And even more remarkable is the amazing blend between psychological and action in the film which Christopher Nolan has become the master of like no other since the days of Alfred Hitchcock. The only other movies that fall in the same breadth as this are Fight Club, Almost Famous and The Departed.