Over the next few weeks as 2010 comes to a close we will be looking at the best & worst of 2010 and then taking a look at what we believe to be the movies to look out for in 2011. So this week we continue by running down what we had the pleasure of viewing to bring you the latest reviews. We give you...
Screen One's Best Movies of 2010
Would have been the best CGi animatred movie of the year if it hadn't been for those pesky toys!! (But more on them later..). How to Train Your Dragon was up against some strong competition this year (Despicable Me, Megamind), but managed with some truly outstanding 3D to soar above the rest of the competition. The tale of Hiccup a small Viking boy who isn't living up to expectations, who discovers a injured Dragon and befriends it. The film manages to pull no punches even in it's ending (Hiccup loses his leg) and was sheer entertainment.
Dumb, Stupid movie that actually isn't great. But it knows it and is brilliant fun, despite it's crassness. Featuring Elisabeth Shue as the best female horror figure since Ellen Ripley as she battles students at Spring Break and hundreds of Prehistoric Piranha's as they chomp and devour their way through Lake Victoria. Some inspired deaths and the prescence of Kelly Brook as a porn star add up to one enormous explotation flick that delivers better than any of Rodriguez's Grindhouse movies of late. Just set your brain to cruise mode and enjoy.
28 years after the cult bockbuster that changed the way computers were used in filmamking hit the big screen, finally the sequel arrives with the hero of the first (Jeff Bridges) Flynn, traped inside the Grid and his son Sam comes looking for him. Now with the much advanced technology, 3D is introduced in a similar way to the use of colour in The Wizard of Oz. The effects are nothing short of stunning to look at. The story flags a little in the middle when theres maybe a little too much exposition, but this IS the sequel those of us who remember 1982 have waited for. Well worth the wait Tron returns with a promise of more!
Unlike Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Kick Ass managed to live up to the comic book fandom hype. A brilliantly written and directed movie of a guy called Dave (Aaron Johnson) who decides to become a Superhero called Kick Ass. Unfortunately, his name doesn't refer to the beatings he delivers to the bad guys, more the one's he recieves. Featring a strong cast (Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong & Chloe Grace Moretz) and a sharp considered script by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn (Who also directs). This delivered a boost to the much flagging action & Superhero genres and forced any filmmakers to reconsider how they delivered what we see on the big screen. Shocking, hilarious but puire class, Kick Ass is a film you should actively seek out.
2 Hours of watching a man in a coffin, just talking into a mobile phone and waving a flashlight around sounds like it equates to watching paint dry right? Wrong. Not when the guy stuck in the coffin is Ryan Reynolds. It what is a tense couple of hours of the tension is slowly racked up and his plight gets more and more desperate the film delivers on so many levels. With a brilliant sting in the tail, this is a brilliant tale of one mans fight for survival. Reynolds should be considered for an Oscar nomination for this performance, but that is probably unlikely, this is a film that demands to be watched. Probably more so after the Green Lantern clutters up our screens in 2011.
In 2010 you couldn't go too far without seeing a movie without Gemma Arteton it seemed. Consistantly great throughout the year, this was by far her standout performance (Not including her theatre performances). Alice Creed was a taught British kidnap thriller directed by J Blakeson and featuring on 3 actors (Arteton, Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan) This is another film that doesn't need to rely on big effects and CGi, just a real sense of foreboding terror. Arteton as Creed is put through the mill somewhat, stripped, blindfolded and chained to a bed, she manages to use her sense of survival to make her eventual escape, but even by the time the end is in sight you are not sure of her outcome. Sublime movie making.
Despite being released in 2009 in the US, here in the UK we finally got to see Black Dynamite and well worth the wait it was too. 2010 was not a great year for comedies on the whole, but Black Dynamite brought his Super Bad self to the screen to save the year for the genre. Micheal Jai White here gives us what can best be described as his love letter to the Blaxplotation flicks of the 70's. Featuring enough crowd pleasing moments as well as film that critics would enjoy, this delivered on all levels. After a slow first 10 minutes, the film finds it's feet with aplomb and delivers some of the funniest & most quotable lines in cinema this year.
Many people wondered what Chris Nolan would deliver after the Tour De Force thatw as The Dark Knight. While all the rumours were rife on who the next Batman villan would be, Nolan went about his business crafting a supremely superior sci fi thriller. Leonardo DiCaprio delivers again as Domonic Cobb a new breed of master criminal, who steal things directly from your mind. he along with his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are presented with the job to end all jobs and despite the dangers it produces and the fact it's never been done before take the job. The film much like the jobs 'Inception' is multi layered and complex, but Chris Nolan who is fast becoming the director of his generation presents a totally believable world with multi faceted characters with inter weaving stories that climax in a finale that would look amazing in a Bond movie. The films cliffhanger alone is worth the price of admission. Awesome.
The choice between the top two films of the year was so razor thin, it was almost a joint first. However David Fincher's incredible Social Network was just about pipped at the post. The film itself though was nothing short of unmissable. Despite being pretty much a biopic of the Facebook creator and antagonist Mark Zuckerberg, the film delivers as a intricate personal drama as the story of how the Facebook monster was created. Featuring stand out performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake (Yes, the pop star), Andrew Garfiled and Armie Hammer (Who plays both of the Winklevoss twins) and assured direction from Fincher, this was utterly compelling viewing despite on paper looking rather bland.
And the top film (in our humble opinion) for 2010 is....
The Toys were indeed back in town. After another lengthy abscence, Pixar decided to dust off Woody, Buzz and the gang for the 3D generation. What a comeback it was too. The story was touching, exciting and always humourous, it quite simply had it all. The added 3D was not a gimmick for reaping in more money at the box office either as the Pixar team pioneered the use of this tool to add another dimension (Literally) to the story telling process. Featuring one of the most genuinely edge of seat finales as the toys plunge towards their doom in a furnace, it was exceptional on every level. Pixar amanged to outdo themselves with the final moments of the film as well. Many had a tear in their eye during 'that'montage in Up, but Toy Story reduced grown men to tears as they relived the final moments they had with their toys as they come to that point in their lives where they have to grow up. Well almost... This is the film that you absolutely cannot miss. If you haven't yet seen it, the question has to be why?
Once again it's time to add some honourable mentions that we were at pains to leave out, but they just missed our top 10 for 2010:
Up In The Air - George Clooney on fine form here as a Corporate Downsizer, who himslef gets downsized. Brilliantly funny and touching.
Precious - This was the hardest one to leave out simply on the (Oscar winning) Performance from comedienne Mo'Nique. Brutal, but uplifting this was Dangerous Minds on Heroin.
The Other Guys - The other standout comedy of the year featuring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in a cop buddy comedy.
The American - George again, but this time in a euro spy thriller, that said little and delivered much.
The Girl Who Trilogy - First part stunning, second and third great but not brilliant. It was hard to class these apart as they all pull into one film, excellent performances from the cast and we will be seeing them in American movies verys shortly.
Finally we come to the movies that while not being top 10 movies, we really enjoyed even though we shouldn't have. This year there was two!
Guilty Pleasure of 2010 - Furry Vengance & Burlesque Both of these films delivered nothing short of enjoyment despite being films we should have hated. Furry Vengance brought Brendan Fraser back to his days of George of the Jungle and Airheads. Some fine and funny slapstick, although the kids probably will enjoy it more. Burlesque was two parts Cabaret and one part Coyote Ugly, but great fun. The cast isn't fantastic but the song and dance numbers and the entire look of the production just made it great fun.
The final part of our 2010 trilogy will look at what we are most looking forward to in 2011.
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