Top 10 Films of 2010

2010 has been an incredible year in film, there has been quality film after quality film, so I thought, why not say my favorites, now this list is going by UK release dates so films like True Grit, The King's Speech, Black Swan and 127 Hours cannot be included while Invictus and A Town Called Panic are, so lets go into my top 10 favorite films of 2010.

10. Iron Man 2 - This is a sequel that isn't as good as the original, albeit not by much. Where Iron Man succeeded in action, Iron Man 2 makes up for in comedy. Jon Favreau allows Robert Downey Jr to go full reign as Tony Stark with the courthouse scene showing off the great comic timing that Downey Jr has. Still the film has some great action, the coolest gadget EVER (Briefcase Iron Man suit) and some appeal to the male audience with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, if you know what I mean. However the ending is a bit anti-climatic, not to spoil it to anyone who hasn't seen the film but Mickey Rourke is defeated way too easily, holding back Iron Man 2 from being an incredible film.
9. A Town Called Panic - This film is greatly absurd and original. There are plenty of things in this film which I have never seen before, such as a giant robotic penguin. The animation in this film is really jerky and just feels organic and unique as you can see how the stop motion in the film works. That and I am glad that Hammer and Tongs chose not to translate the film into English and kept it in French and subtitled it.
8. Four Lions - Chris Morris took a dangerous and risky premise, The Three Stooges as terrorists, and turned it into one of the funniest films released in 2010, the characters are complete idiots and are really likable. That said Nigel Lindsay as Barry was the standout performance, insane and hilarious. Also look out for Sherlock actor, Benedict Cumberbatch as a police negotiator, great performance. This is also a very British film with lots of specific British pop culture jokes, eg. discussing whether the Honey Monster is a bear. Really funny and has a really powerful final scene.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - This is a great beginning of the end. David Yates does the unthinkable and lets the Harry Potter franchise catch it's breath before an action packed conclusion. This works really well as it allows the audience to grow fully attached to the struggles of Harry, Ron and Hermione. That isn't to say that there isn't some great action as well with the Seven Potters scene being a standout. There is also a great Burton-esque animation scene depicting the Tale of the Three Brothers which works really well, the film also reminds me of the films of Ingmar Bergman in terms of tone and cinematography which perfectly fits the Harry Potter tone and makes this a great beginning to the end of Harry Potter
6. How To Train Your Dragon - This was the surprise of 2010, I thought that this would be an average film, how wrong I was. This film has some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen in a film with the scenes of Toothless flying standing out, in fact I'll say it now, these flying scenes are better than those in Avatar, and I can hear my door being broken down by fanboys. The character if Toothless is also created really well through gestures and facial expression which is what I think a great character should be able to do. The action scenes in this film are really exciting, especially the final battle and the aftermath of that final action scene is surprisingly effective for a Dreamworks comedy. Note to Dreamworks, make more films like this and less like Shrek The Third (worst animated film ever made)
5. Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Aside from A Town Called Panic there hasn't been a film as absurd as Scott Pilgrim released in 2010. The action scenes are really creative and allow for some incredible hand to hand action as well as great sword fights and a hammer fight. The cast in this film is superb, with Keiran Culkin as Wallace Wells, Brandon Routh as Todd Ingram and Ellen Wong as Knives Chau being the standouts. Plus the level of geekness in this film screamed Edgar Wright all the way through and it has the lightning fast editing that makes the films of Edgar Wright so entertaining, you get to the action ASAP or you are being wasted in an action film. Plus the music by Beck in the film was incredible and his songs deserved an Oscar nomination
4. Toy Story 3 - This is the saddest animated film ever made, including Up and Bambi. The way that the sad emotions in this film are handled can turn even the toughest man into the world in the emotional equivalent of a jellyfish. Thank God Pixar remembers that joy and humour are emotions as well, the characters are really funny, especially Michael Keaton as Ken and Timothy Dalton as Mr Pricklepants and there are some really funny moments in it, the standout being Mr Tortilla Head, plus the ending is one of the most effective endings ever in a family film, I'm not spoiling it but trust me, you will cry
3. The Social Network - This film has some of the fastest and wittiest dialogue I have ever heard in a film. The dialogue in this film is incredible and the last line in the film is one of the greatest last lines I have ever heard in  a film. The way this film was shot was also brilliant, with the scene of Facemash being created being a standout. But the acting is what makes the film stand out, Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg are great. Armie Hammer stands out playing the Winklevii but the real scene stealer is Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. He is so cocky and arrogant that he makes an impression on the audience but, as I said in my top 10 scenes of 2010 list, his final scene is the best scene in the film
2. Kick-Ass - This is the most entertaining film I saw in 2010, the action scenes were swift, brutal and satisfying as hell. I have heard complaints over the torture scene and to that I say, so the villains have to be less violent to the heroes making them seem less credible, that scene was vital to show how good a villain Frank D'Amico was. The performances in the film were also great, Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse did a good job, Mark Strong and Nicolas Cage were great but the scene stealer, without a doubt was Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl, she has a great career ahead of her and absolutely made the film with her action scenes providing the best entertainment of the film and the fact that she did all of her own stunts makes those scenes even more impressive. Great film
1. Inception - This film proved Michael Bay wrong, you can make a film which is really intelligent yet a box office sensation. The intelligence of this film demanded repeat viewings just so you can understand the film, thatnk god the film is entertaining enough so that repeat viewings are brilliant. The cast, in particular Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio do a brilliant job, Michael Caine steals the film in his brief appearance
but the technology of the film is what stands out, I want there to be a prequel to Inception in order to fully let the audience see the true potential of the dream technology and understand why it was fully created. Nothing more to say that hasn't already been said in my previous blog entries, bravo Christopher Nolan.
Honorable Mentions:
Invictus
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

See you soon for different lists and more of my views on my film blog in the rest of 2011