Best in Film: 2010 Edition
The Best
1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
2. Black Swan
3. True Grit
4. Shutter Island
5. Greenberg
6. Despicable Me
7. Deadgirl
8. Up in the Air
9. The Road
10. Daybreakers
Noble Efforts
Antichrist
The Book of Eli
The Children
The Crazies
Date Night
Dinner for Schmucks
The Expendables
The Ghost Writer
How to Train Your Dragon
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
Inception
Iron Man 2
The Last Exorcism
Let Me In
The Social Network
Splice
Tunnel Rats
Unstoppable
Disappointments
The A-Team
The Box
Devil
Edge of Darkness
Machete
Predators
Red
The Runaways
Survival of the Dead
The Worst
1. Piranha 3D (and it would suck just as much in 2D)
2. Kick-Ass
3. Giallo
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Vampires Suck
Editorial below the cut.
Comments: I was really surprised at how much I liked Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- it took the Hughes/Cody formula for teen comedies and ramped up the visuals and rapid-fire humor without sacrificing relateable characters (the typecasting of Michael Cera has never been better suited to a project). Despite its typical third-act twist, Shutter Island was probably the most gorgeously cinematic film of 2010; Scorsese elevated the pulp elements of Dennis Lehane's source novel with a fantastic cast of well-known character actors. I would also place the Coen Brothers' adaptation of True Grit alongside SI in terms of visual majesty; a film that truly sucks viewers in with a deft understanding of widescreen imagery. I was fully prepared to establish a new category (in the vein of Entertainment Weekly's margin commentaries alongside their end-of-the-year lists) called Overrated, just to account for the absurd praise that's been lumped upon two particular films: Christopher Nolan's Inception and David Fincher's The Social Network. This changed after I gave Fincher's film a second look on video; while I still don't find it deserving of its accolades, I liked it a little better than upon my initial viewing. The idea of creating a category called The Dark City Award for Pretentious Faux-Cerebral Flotsam crossed my mind for Inception, though. The Crazies was a fun remake that wisely tossed out the overwrought political commentary of George Romero's original, instead favoring the suspenseful mechanics of an intimate, end-of-the-world-quarantine thriller. On the other side of the coin, Romero proved why he should retire his zombies (or himself) with the brainless horror-western crossover, Survival of the Dead.
For those interested in this sort of thing, here is an ascending ranking of the films on the list according to the scores I gave them on IMDb:
Black Swan -- 8/10
Daybreakers -- 8/10
Deadgirl -- 8/10
Despicable Me -- 8/10
Greenberg -- 8/10
The Road -- 8/10
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- 8/10
Shutter Island -- 8/10
True Grit -- 8/10
Up in the Air -- 8/10
Antichrist -- 7.5/10
The Book of Eli -- 7.5/10
Date Night -- 7.5/10
Tunnel Rats -- 7.5/10
Dinner for Schmucks -- 7/10
The Expendables -- 7/10
The Ghost Writer -- 7/10
How to Train Your Dragon -- 7/10
The Children -- 6.5/10
The Crazies -- 6.5/10
Let Me In -- 6.5/10
Splice -- 6.5/10
Unstoppable -- 6.5/10
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) -- 6/10
Inception -- 6/10
Iron Man 2 -- 6/10
The Last Exorcism -- 6/10
The Social Network -- 6/10
Machete -- 5.5/10
Alice in Wonderland -- 5/10
The Box -- 5/10
Predators -- 5/10
Red -- 5/10
The Runaways -- 5/10
The A-Team -- 4.5/10
Devil -- 4/10
Edge of Darkness - 4/10
Survival of the Dead -- 4/10
Vampires Suck -- 3.5/10
Giallo -- 3/10
A Nightmare on Elm Street -- 3/10
Kick-Ass -- 2/10
Piranha 3D -- 1/10
1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
2. Black Swan
3. True Grit
4. Shutter Island
5. Greenberg
6. Despicable Me
7. Deadgirl
8. Up in the Air
9. The Road
10. Daybreakers
Noble Efforts
Antichrist
The Book of Eli
The Children
The Crazies
Date Night
Dinner for Schmucks
The Expendables
The Ghost Writer
How to Train Your Dragon
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
Inception
Iron Man 2
The Last Exorcism
Let Me In
The Social Network
Splice
Tunnel Rats
Unstoppable
Disappointments
The A-Team
The Box
Devil
Edge of Darkness
Machete
Predators
Red
The Runaways
Survival of the Dead
The Worst
1. Piranha 3D (and it would suck just as much in 2D)
2. Kick-Ass
3. Giallo
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Vampires Suck
Editorial below the cut.
Comments: I was really surprised at how much I liked Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- it took the Hughes/Cody formula for teen comedies and ramped up the visuals and rapid-fire humor without sacrificing relateable characters (the typecasting of Michael Cera has never been better suited to a project). Despite its typical third-act twist, Shutter Island was probably the most gorgeously cinematic film of 2010; Scorsese elevated the pulp elements of Dennis Lehane's source novel with a fantastic cast of well-known character actors. I would also place the Coen Brothers' adaptation of True Grit alongside SI in terms of visual majesty; a film that truly sucks viewers in with a deft understanding of widescreen imagery. I was fully prepared to establish a new category (in the vein of Entertainment Weekly's margin commentaries alongside their end-of-the-year lists) called Overrated, just to account for the absurd praise that's been lumped upon two particular films: Christopher Nolan's Inception and David Fincher's The Social Network. This changed after I gave Fincher's film a second look on video; while I still don't find it deserving of its accolades, I liked it a little better than upon my initial viewing. The idea of creating a category called The Dark City Award for Pretentious Faux-Cerebral Flotsam crossed my mind for Inception, though. The Crazies was a fun remake that wisely tossed out the overwrought political commentary of George Romero's original, instead favoring the suspenseful mechanics of an intimate, end-of-the-world-quarantine thriller. On the other side of the coin, Romero proved why he should retire his zombies (or himself) with the brainless horror-western crossover, Survival of the Dead.
For those interested in this sort of thing, here is an ascending ranking of the films on the list according to the scores I gave them on IMDb:
Black Swan -- 8/10
Daybreakers -- 8/10
Deadgirl -- 8/10
Despicable Me -- 8/10
Greenberg -- 8/10
The Road -- 8/10
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- 8/10
Shutter Island -- 8/10
True Grit -- 8/10
Up in the Air -- 8/10
Antichrist -- 7.5/10
The Book of Eli -- 7.5/10
Date Night -- 7.5/10
Tunnel Rats -- 7.5/10
Dinner for Schmucks -- 7/10
The Expendables -- 7/10
The Ghost Writer -- 7/10
How to Train Your Dragon -- 7/10
The Children -- 6.5/10
The Crazies -- 6.5/10
Let Me In -- 6.5/10
Splice -- 6.5/10
Unstoppable -- 6.5/10
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) -- 6/10
Inception -- 6/10
Iron Man 2 -- 6/10
The Last Exorcism -- 6/10
The Social Network -- 6/10
Machete -- 5.5/10
Alice in Wonderland -- 5/10
The Box -- 5/10
Predators -- 5/10
Red -- 5/10
The Runaways -- 5/10
The A-Team -- 4.5/10
Devil -- 4/10
Edge of Darkness - 4/10
Survival of the Dead -- 4/10
Vampires Suck -- 3.5/10
Giallo -- 3/10
A Nightmare on Elm Street -- 3/10
Kick-Ass -- 2/10
Piranha 3D -- 1/10