Top 10 of 2010

TOP 10 OF

I know I'm running a little late, but I wanted to give a breakdown of my top 10 favorite movies of this last year. There were a lot of great ones.... and some not so great. I considered many factors when choosing my favorite movies of the years. I weighted both technical merits such as acting, direction, or writing and the overall entertainment value I got from watching the movie.


10 | The Crazies

This movie was actually really surprising, and a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I was going through the list of all the movies I saw last year, starting at the beginning, and this was the first one that popped out at me. It wasn’t bad at all. This is one of those movies where the entertainment value outweighed the technical aspects of the movie. That’s not to say that the technical merits don’t stand well on their own. This is one of those movies that keeps you at the edge of your seat, and definitely one of the better horror movies in recent years (even if it is a remake, and you know how I feel about those!)

9 | Tangled

Give me anything Disney, and I'll love it. That's because the studio has a tendency for creating pretty solid movies. Tangled is more of a return to what the studio had to offer during its renaissance era of the 90's; more so than The Princess and the Frog from two years ago. Alan Menken returns to write and compose the music for this twisted adaption of the Rapunzel fairy tale. I caught this in theaters a couple of times, and loved every minute of it.

8 | How To Train Your Dragon

I have to say… I’m not a huge fan of DreamWorks Animation. None of their movies have really captured me as much as any of Pixar’s movies. I was shocked when I watched this movie and it was of the quality of a Pixar movie. The movie was so magical and heartfelt, and they don’t actually rely on physical humor like the studio’s other offerings (ie, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, etc). Check out my complete review here.

7 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

I’m a Harry Potter fanatic. It’s not healthy how obsessed with this franchise I am. That said, this film is definitely the best of the entire series, up to this point. Granted, it’s based off of, in my opinion, the best book of the series, so I don’t think that is saying much. The scope of the movie is fantastic, and the main trio has never acted better. I was skeptical at first when David Yates stayed on as director for the two-part finale. I wasn’t a huge fan of his two other Potter directorial efforts (Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince). Let’s just say I am impressed and looking forward to the epic finale.

6 | The Social Network

This should probably be higher on the list, but honestly, it’s only this low on the list because of how much more impressed and entertained I am by some last year’s later releases. When this movie wins awards, and it will, it will deserve them. It’s definitely a dramatization of how Facebook was started, but it’s intense, well written, and well acted by all involved.

5 | Black Swan

For starters, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis make out in this movie. Seriously though, Aronofsky delivers with this suspenseful, psychological thriller. It was definitely an experience witnessing the beautiful, yet horrific transformation that the main character goes through. I’m kind of iffy about the ending, but it was expected with how dark the movie was. This isn’t one of those casual movie going experiences, so be ready for it.

4 | Toy Story 3

Even though these toys are not my own, I literally grew up with them. It was a beautiful, touching goodbye to my childhood. It’s just as good as it’s predecessors. I don’t necessarily agree with the Best Picture nomination it’s campaigning for because it does have some pretty fierce competition in the Best Animated Movie category and that should be their main focus. Regardless, this is one of my favorite movies of the year and another solid release from arguably the best animation studio.

3 | Inception

BMMMFFHFHHHH. BMMMFFHFHHHH. BMMMFFHFHHHH. This movie blew my mind. Everything about it is literally epic. The acting, writing, direction, production, special effects, score, EVERYTHING. Christopher Nolan is a genius. There is not a minute of drag in this movie in its near two and a half hour runtime, and I’m saying that after watching it a few times. And if you want to know my opinion, it’s not all a dream.

2 | True Grit

This was almost my top movie of the year, and it would have been if I didn’t end up seeing my top pick. This movie is brilliant. Check out my full review here.

1 | The Fighter

I almost didn’t see this movie, and if I was only counting movies that I actually saw during 2010, this movie wouldn’t have made the list, but because it was released last year, I’m counting it. I have been hearing a lot of buzz around this film lately, and I really wanted to see it, but I’m not a big fan of boxing movies and hard dramas (which I thought it was). It was surprisingly light-hearted and deep at the same time. It especially hit home. I love dramas that know how to handle darker material and stay entertaining at the same time. The movie also ends on a high note, and I love a good happy ending.