“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains. Think about that for a while” – Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, Bull Durham (1988)
If I had to use one word to describe the year 2010 at the movies, it would be “batshit.” Whether it was Christopher Nolan concocting a byzantine Freudian phantasm in “Inception,” Natalie Portman not-so-subtly losing her marbles at the hands of incendiary puppet master Darren Aronofsky or the zombies responsible for “Sex and the City 2” actually thinking that audiences can relate to such vacuous materialism, the term appears appropriate regardless of the film in question.
Then again, I could probably use that indecorous designation to describe the year in general given that Brett Favre decided that texting his junk was trendy and partisan vitriol has supposedly reached its worst level since John Wilkes Booth was in the planning stages but, for now, I’ll simply stay focused on the task at hand.
I opened with a quote from “Nuke” LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) because, not only does it rain on occasion, but sometimes one’s laptop decides to take a vacation just as the creative juices are beginning to flow and the only thing to do is wait patiently while the technological forces of nature play themselves out. The past four weeks mark the longest hiatus from writing I’ve ever taken, but I suppose an end-of-the-year break was just what I needed to get amped up for another semester of late-night Westlaw research. I was able to catch up on films I missed earlier in the year, so I consider this year’s list to be one of the most diverse and fully fleshed out I’ve ever constructed. I’ll let you be the judge.
Before getting into the cream of the crop, here are the films that I liked a lot yet, in the end, deemed worthy of an honorable mention:
“127 Hours” – Who needs Four Loko when you have Danny Boyle’s kinetic camerawork around to push your heart to the edge of combustion?
“The Town” – This blue-collar heist flick marked the first time since 2003 that I actually paid to see anything involving Ben Affleck and I’m glad to say that he didn’t let me down. The script was sharp, the action was turbulent and Jeremy Renner follows up “The Hurt Locker” with another gem of a performance.
“Greenberg” - Yes, it’s about a 40-year-old Jewish misanthrope who spends his days writing complaint letters to corporations that don’t live up to his standards, but Ben Stiller’s subtle nuances play off Greta Gerwig’s train-wreck vulnerability beautifully. My guess is most people will hate this film without giving it a fair shake, but everything about it works and works to indie-film perfection.
“Rabbit Hole” – Nicole Kidman gives her best performance since 2003’s “Dogville” and Aaron Eckhart matches her intensity every step of the way.
“Inception” – I have a feeling that if I see it a second time, I may put it on the list, but not just yet. When I walked out of the theatre in July, I felt as if something were missing to put it over the top for me.
“The Kids Are All Right” – If you look closely at the closing credits of John Singleton’s 1991 masterwork “Boyz N the Hood,” you’ll find director Lisa Cholodenko listed as a post-production assistant but, with this whip-smart family dramedy, she’s announced herself as a formidable filmmaker in her own right. However, the self-congratulatory air of the film along with its one-sided berating of Mark Ruffalo’s character kept it from entering the top 10.
“Kick-Ass” – Chloe Grace Moretz’s brazenly profane embodiment of Hit-Girl is really all you need to see to know how hysterical this film is. An acquired taste for sure.
And now, without further adieu, I give you my top 10 films of 2010:
1. “Black Swan” – Natalie Portman flies off the rails as a prima ballerina struggling to stay relevant in a flavor-of-the-week world and, if justice exists, she’ll be bringing home the gold on Feb. 27. In many ways, this film is a companion piece to Darren Aronofsky’s previous feature “The Wrestler,” because both films center on protagonists whose self-worth is so symbiotically tied up in their profession that they’ll go to precarious lengths to avoid fading into obscurity. I’m still trying to shake off the film’s sinister climax.
2. “Dogtooth” – Director Yorgos Lanthimos dares his audience to watch as a seemingly innocent family delves deeper into totalitarian madness and any child who complains that his parents are strict should watch this film for an attitude adjustment.
3. “A Prophet” – Jacques Audiard navigates the seedy inner workings of prison life with unabashed cruelty as he chronicles the life of an Arab delinquent who rises from the ashes to become a mafia linchpin and makes a star of French actor Tahar Rahim in the process. Simply stunning.
4. “Exit Through the Gift Shop” – Is it real? Is it a hoax? For me, this charming and insightful look into the enigmatic phenomenon of street art through the eyes of notorious artist Banksy works beautifully either way. It’s an example of how subcultural incorporation can cause those within the subculture to question the validity of their work even while its popularity is skyrocketing at an epic pace, which makes for some classic confrontations.
5. “Fish Tank” – Newcomer Katie Jarvis gives an unflinching performance as a girl from the English slums aspiring to be a hip-hop dancer and, in my opinion, outdoes Jennifer Lawrence’s work in the much-praised “Winter’s Bone.” There’s something refreshing about a film that uses rap music in such a socially pertinent manner and the unfiltered spirit of Jarvis’s character is revealed during a scene in which she joins her bar-hag mother in a dance to Nas’s “Life’s a Bitch.” I can’t praise this film enough.
6. “The Social Network” – I thought I captured the essence of David Fincher’s greatness when I reviewed the film back in October, so I won’t add too much more here. However, I do believe that the hype surrounding its timely release led to some inflated praise regarding its ability to define an entire generation. I love it for exactly what it is and that is a magnificently written, acted and directed picture of how one man’s ambition and desire for inclusion put him in the driver’s seat of what is perhaps the most significant social sensation since the creation of Internet itself.
7. “The Fighter” – What was marketed as a gritty, lived-in boxing film turned out to be more than just another sports film in which the hero comes out of nowhere to achieve glory. In David O. Russell’s hands, this film takes the streetwise bravado of “Rocky” and the ferocious family ties of “The Godfather” to produce a redemption story that never feels forced or melodramatic. Mark Wahlberg might have gotten top billing, but Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams end up stealing the thunder right out from under him.
8. “Catfish” – Watching this one right after “The Social Network” is a good idea, because then you get to see the unimaginable personalities that result from living life on the Internet. I was on the edge of my seat every minute the mystery was unfolding and, if you have an open mind, you will be too.
9. “Toy Story 3” – Is it smart, funny, sad or moving? How about all four? Because many of the children who grew up with the first film are now in college, the fact that Andy is also going off to school may bring some added drama to a tearful yet ultimately ebullient celebration of growing up.
10. “Somewhere” – Sofia Coppola’s latest focuses on the ennui and alienation experienced by an A-List actor played by Stephen Dorff and there’s much beauty in its silence. Dorff’s character is changing while the celebrity-obsessed culture around him is staying the same so, when his estranged daughter shows up, he’s given a chance to reclaim the lust for life he once had and remind himself that clinical depression doesn’t have to define him as a human being.
The Worst - "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Case 39," "Brooklyn's Finest," "The Lovely Bones," "Robin Hood"
