Rodney’s Top 10 Films of 2010

As we say goodbye to 2010 I have to look back at the movies that came out and take inventory on the greats that I got to see this year. So like many sites are doing, I figured I should compile my Top 10 films of 2010

Let me first preface this list by saying there are a couple films I am hearing good things about that might very well have made my list but I can’t see EVERY movie that comes out though I do give it my best try!

10 – RED – Check out our Review

Frank, Joe, Marvin and Victoria used to be the CIA’s top agents—but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive.

I really loved this film, and it really reminded me of the charm and action of Bruce Willis in the 80s and so impressed that he keeps up with it 30 years later. Light and amusing with some great action.

9 – Kick-Ass – Check out our Review

KICK-ASS tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name—Kick-Ass—assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers whatsoever.

Another movie that I was pleasantly surprised with. The film looked good, but the parts I anticipated liking were not the parts I really got into. The Big Daddy/Hit Girl part of the movie was a lot more interesting. Cage was certainly ON in this film, and still Chloe Moretz manages to out shine him.

8 – Shutter Island – Check out our Review
The year is 1954, at the height of the Cold War, when U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are summoned to Shutter Island to investigate the implausible disappearance of a brilliant multiple murderess from a locked room within the impenetrable Ashecliffe Hospital. Surrounded by probing psychiatrists and dangerously psychopathic patients on the remote, windswept isle, they arrive into an eerie, volatile atmosphere that suggests nothing is quite what it seems.

Leonardo DiCaprio is one solid player with very few hicups in his career and this is just another testament to his ability. Shutter Island has you thinking and trying to stay a step or two ahead of the plot and you just can’t. The depth of confusion and dry moments that build the tension are all forgivable in the last 10 minutes of the movie where EVERYTHING you just saw means something else. Mind = blown.

7 – Scott Pilgrim vs The World – Check out our Review

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass—and now is back in town—to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

Very stylized and a LOT of fun. Not only was it filmed mostly in Toronto, but for once that is also the setting for the film. This is one of the few films that I actually liked Michael Cera being Cera. The editing, banter and over exaggerated personalities and super stylized scenes made this a lot of fun to watch.

6 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – Check out our Review

Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality and destruction—the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever.

After the film adaptations of this book series grew more and more unfaithful to the books, I was happy to see the dark and gritty final chapter getting off on the right foot. The mood, maturity and action of this film were everything it needed to be. I just hope Part 2 does it justice.

5 – Alice in Wonderland – Check out our Review

Johnny Depp stars as The Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting her with childhood friends: The White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, The Dormouse, The Caterpillar, The Cheshire Cat, and of course, The Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end The Red Queen’s reign of terror.

Now I know this will be contraversial to see this film ranked so highly on my list, but I was just sucked in entirely to the setting and characters of this movie for one reason. Mia Wasikowska. I was mesmorized by this actress’ portrayal of Alice and did like the film a lot more than most people might have.

4 – How to Train Your Dragon – Check out our Review

A Viking named Hiccup lives on the Island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. The teen’s rather progressive views and offbeat sense of humor don’t sit too well with his tribe or its chief…who just happens to be Hiccup’s father, Stoick the Vast. When Hiccup is included in Dragon Training with the other Viking teens he sees his chance to prove he has what it takes to be a fighter. But when he encounters (and ultimately befriends) an injured dragon, his world is flipped upside down, and what started out as Hiccup’s one shot to prove himself turns into an opportunity to set a new course for the future of the entire tribe.

The story of this film deviates so strongly from the book series but I don’t care. What looked like it might have been a decent film for the family stole my heart and had me soaring along with Hiccup and Toothless. Just blew me away. Dreamworks really stepped up their game with this one.

3 – Black Swan – Check out our Review

A ballet dancer wins the lead in “Swan Lake” and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan, but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like the evil twin sister of the White Swan, the Black Swan.

No other film on my list deserves this description more – “Powerful” Every ounce of emotion in this film is so delicately and yet forcefully communicated that I was emotionally drained leaving the theater. Speechless. Natalie Portman is beautiful as always, and if she doesn’t get an Oscar Nomination for this role I will be surprised.

2 – Toy Story 3 – Check out our Review

Woody and Buzz had accepted that their owner Andy would grow up someday, but what happens when that day arrives? In the third installment, Andy is preparing to depart for college, leaving his loyal toys troubled about their uncertain future

I had my doubts going to Toy Story 3 as it looked like Pixar milking their most popular cow, but man was I wrong. This journey of Andy’s Toys and what they mean to him is so emotionally laid out in this movie. The first two Toy Story films didn’t even come close to making me cry, but even watching it again on Bluray, I was pushed to tears. A very fitting end to a franchise so loved.

And finally my top pick for films that came out in 2010…

1 – Inception – Check out our Review
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—Inception.

Just utterly amazing movie. Second time in this list Leonardo DiCaprio is involved futher proving his talents. With visuals that outstanding, it is amazing just how real the unreal feels in this movie. The plot has you trying to figure out what’s real or not all the way through, and in its closing moments you still don’t know if you are right. This is exactly the kind of film that has studios saying “we can’t sell that” but they did and I am happy to see it. Perhaps we will get more blockbusters taking chances like this.

I have to give an honourable mention to Batman: Under the Red Hood (Check out our Review) which was by far the best direct to DVD release I have seen all year. I didn’t think it would be possible to do that story arc and give it any justice, but they did it and it was awesome.

So what makes your top of the year??