With the year winding down, I thought it only appropriate to count down the Top 10 Greatest Motion Pictures of 2010. And there were so many great films this year, I didn't even know where to start. Sure there were atrocities like The Last Airbender and Tooth Fairy, but 2010 has had many triumphs at the box offices and has had films that were glorified by children and critics alike. So, with that said, let's dig into this Top 10 list, and let's hope that 2011 can be filled with just as many impressive movies.
10. Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is an okay film. It took what made the classic story legendary and mixed it in with that signature Tim Burton style, and for what the film was, it was a good popcorn flick. What made the film great was the visuals if anything and if you saw it in 3-D, your eyes would have jumped out of their sockets. I loved the look of Wonderland, and all the creatures that lurked in it, particularly the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hater, but the story came off a bit overwhelming. I liked the relationship of the characters, like Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen and Crispin Glover's Stayne, and all the trouble Alice goes through that leads up to her confrontation with the Jabberwocky (voiced by legendary Christopher Lee). Compared to Disney's cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland from 1951, this film is supremely inferior, but puts the whole story in a nutshell and presents a version of the story that's new and refreshing.
9. Kick-Ass
As a big fan of super-heroes and comics, I can honestly say that Kick-Ass kicked ass! Sure this film has had it's share of controversy for it's profanity and violence, but as a film about a group of identical super-heroes fighting crime, this film has profundity. I liked the overall feel and nature of the film, and the design of the setting and the super-heroes is just as great. The characters are also interesting, especially Kick-Ass himself, played by Aaron Johnson. Kick-Ass also breaks the fourth wall, not often done in a film or comic book, for the super-heroes know of other superheroes and how they exist in the inked world. It's amazing what they were able to do with this film, via special effects, and appeal, and I really enjoyed every last second of this film, because there is certainly no other super-hero flick like it. Hopefully there can be a Kick-Ass 2 that follows in it's predecessor's dark and gritty footsteps.
8. TRON: Legacy
Yeh, I know, alot of you will disagree with me on this matter, but TRON: Legacy was excellent in my opinion. This film was a huge comeback for the TRON franchise. The first TRON movie was a good movie, but ba-bombed at the box office and to this day is a very underrated motion picture. But along comes TRON: Legacy in all it's flashy glory to recharge the franchise, and in my opinion, it was better than the first. The special effects of the film were breathtaking, and if you see it in 3-D, you are in for a wild ride. I also liked the characters of Sam Flynn, and the villain Clu, and all the treachery that goes on throughout the film. But the film's major highlight was the lightcycle chase, it was INCREDIBLE! I loved all this film had to offer, and after waiting nearly 30 years for another TRON movie, TRON: Legacy filled our mouths with more than we could chew. It's the greatest neon ride a person could go on!
7. The Expendables
With Stallone at the helm, The Expendables is perhaps the greatest action flick of a lifetime. Paying homage to the classic action flicks of the 1980s and 90s, The Expendables stars all our favorites, Stallone, Rourke, Li, Willis, and even Schwarzenegger. This film had a lot of great action sequences, particularly the scenes with Stallone and Li, and it was a lot of fun to see all these familiar faces we all know and love team up for a film with some great suspense and peril. I loved how the characters interacted with each other, showing what all the actors are made out of and I just loved all the all the stunts and flips they were able to do, and would you believe most of the cast is going on 60. The Expendables may not only be the greatest action film of the year, but the greatest action film of the decade!
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
As you can tell, I am a huge sucker for these comic-book, super-hero like movies. So Scott Pilgrim vs. The Worlds was no surprise to me, when it became one of my favorite comic flicks of the year. I loved, JUST LOVED the comic book effects and the comedy in this film, and the acting of the characters was also interesting to see. I loved how Scott Pilgrim and his female companion fight off the perils in this film, and how comedic and fun the action scenes in this film were. This film, like the first TRON movie, is very underrated, as this film did not do very well at the box-office, but looking at the film as one, it is a film with a heart and a lot of humor. It has that innocence and funny comic book atmosphere similar to the graphic novel series it was based off of, and I enjoyed it, although I found a few scenes to be a bit unbearable.
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
And Nowhere is Safe clearly fits the overall feel and tone of this film. This is by far the darkest, most terrifying installment in the Harry Potter film series, and no doubt the second half will be even darker. But Part 1 of the Potter finale was gritty and featured a lot of things never featured before in a Harry Potter film. There was a lot of blood in this film, as well as the death of many beloved characters, as well as a stellar animated sequence during Hermione's narration of the Deathly Hallows story. This film had some balls, and followed the three key protagonists in the extremely dangerous search for Lord Voldemort's horcruxes, which contain parts of his mutilated soul. This was not the best in the Harry Potter films by any means, but was by far the "horror movie" of the series, and a great prelude to the epic final film that is coming in July.
4. The Social Network
Now this film has some major balls. This film is in it's own way a tearjerker and a drama classic with an idea never done before in film. I loved the way this film was paced and how the characters start somewhere and end somewhere. The main character of the film, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is a mastermind and the one directly responsible for the founding of the website, Facebook. It is interesting to see how the website came to be, and how much trouble it caused when it was first released, but in the end, it all worked out fine. I just love how the characters in the film relate to the people in real life, and how their troubles would lead them to create the universally acclaimed website. And like many of us, I don't have a Facebook, but this film is interesting and complex, unlike anything before.
3. Iron Man 2
I am actually one of the very few people that thinks Iron Man 2 was better or on par with the first film. Why? Well, as a huge fan of the super-hero, it delivered in all the categories I was looking after. I loved how Tony Stark has to look within himself to heal himself from the illness that plagues him, and how to overcome his vindictive enemy, Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko. And I just fell prey to the film's comic book like atmosphere and grasp, and I just loved the action scenes, especially with Iron Man and War Machine, a character I have been looking forward to seeing on film. I also liked Scarlett Johanson as Black Widow, though she did not have the russian accent, and Samuel L. Jackson was awesome as Nick Fury. The ending battle with the Crimson Dynamo and the war drones had me on the edge of my seat, and though the ending was a little underwhelming, Iron Man 2 was a blast, and a perfect sequel to the masterpiece which is the first Iron Man. And I personally can't wait for the Thor and Captain America movies, set to hit theaters summer 2011.
2. Inception
Like The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan has hit another film out of the ballpark with Inception. Though a film with a complex story and an off the chart appeal, Inception delivers us with a sci-fi story and an action-packed action thriller that will make your eyes bleed. The effects of this film were SUPREMELY EXCELLENT, and something you would expect from a movie about minds and dreams, but the acting was consummate as well. Leo DaCaprio was an interesting character to follow, as well as Ellen Page and Ken Watanabe, and the suspense of this film is enough to fill an ocean. I really enjoyed the tone and modeling of this film, and as Nolan did with his Batman film series, he had an awesomely epic score to accompany the awesomely epic debacles and perils faced in the film. All I can say is that Inception 2 will have some giant shoes to fill, and let's hope they are not filled with poop!
And the Number 1 Best Movie of 2010 is....
1. Toy Story 3
Talk about a major tearjerker! This film is not only the best film in the Toy Story film series, but perhaps one of the greatest animated films of the century! And it isn't often when a sequel can topple the first, for it's hard to match the nature and overall embodiment of the first, or in this case, the first two. But Toy Story 3 pulls this off perfectly, in a way never done before, to the point where it makes Toy Story one of the greatest films series of all time. What makes the film great is not only the great story, but the characters still have that same feeling and heart they had when the film series started. The world would not be the same without characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and many more. But the thing that makes this film shine the most is that it ends on such an unbearably high note, you know there's not gonna be a sequel. Toy Story 3 is a masterpiece beyond masterpieces before it, and a film with just as much suspense and horror as an action movie, and that is something that isn't often pulled off by today's average movie sequels. Now these wonderful characters are in our hearts and there was no better way to end such a series than Toy Story 3.
So, with that said, have a wonderful rest of the holiday season and a Happy New Year, and look forward to many more wonderful posts in 2011! Live long and prosper!
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