As we draw near the end of the decade, I’ve been looking back at the past ten years of cinema and gathering my thoughts on each film released within each of them. In the leadup to my Best Films of the 2010’s list, I will also be sharing a Top 10 for every year this decade that I didn’t get a chance to before starting this blog. So here are my top 10 films of 2010!
2010|2011|2012|2013|2014|2015|2016|2017|2018|2019
Honorable Mentions: True Grit, Kick-Ass, The Town, The King’s Speech, Winter’s Bone
Now THESE are some films! I knew before I began this list that 2010 would be one of my favorite years of the decade, and one glance at the offerings just reaffirmed that hypothesis. I’m thrilled that the decade is bookended by fantastic years of quality cinema, and looking back at the year that kicked it off was a real treat.
10. 127 Hours
Danny Boyle has had one of the most prolific careers of any director, spanning a plethora of different genres, styles and stories. His follow-up to the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire was this simple survival tale of a hiker trapped beneath a boulder. How the hell did he manage to make one dude stuck in one location for five days interesting? It’s a miraculous feat of filmmaking, carried largely by James Franco’s committed performance and some clever storytelling techniques intended to make the story more interesting. And oh yeah, that arm-slicing scene is absolutely bone-chilling (no pun intended) and will haunt my dreams for all eternity. Thanks, Danny.
9. Enter the Void
I struggle to rate this film accurately because it’s such a bizarre and unique film, but I can’t leave it off my list solely because there is no other film I’ve seen like it. Gaspar Noé’s psychedelic, experimental trip of a film is colorful and ambitious, and no matter your feelings on it overall you can never take that away from it. It features gorgeous sequences of drug trips and out-of-body experiences that I haven’t seen depicted quite the same way since. It feels like a dream; the camera floats aimlessly from event to event yet still feels deliberate in what it wants to show us. And at the end of the day it still has something to say about life and love…whether you agree with the director’s morbid vision of reality, his dedication to giving the audience fresh perspectives and experiences is commendable and worth exploring deeper.
8. Incendies
Villeneuve has had a great decade, and he kicked it off with this fantastic exploration of cultural memory and pride in an unspecified Middle Eastern nation (most likely Lebanon). The film tackles uncomfortable topics for the descendants of an era of war and turmoil, with old sins brought to bear and regret for the past confronted head-on. It does not allow the mistakes of the past to lie forgotten; they are dredged up and put on display so that the children and grandchildren of those responsible will know and understand why history cannot repeat itself. All of this is expressed through a well-constructed mystery story that very nearly reached perfection (if not for a couple questionable choices towards the very end), but it is nonetheless a powerful ride and an important one for an ethnic group with such a horrific past.
7. Senna
When the documentary genre is done right, it is able to entertain the audience on a visceral level as well as an informative one, and this Formula One biopic is a wild ride from beginning to end. I don’t consider myself a fan of F1 in the slightest, but I was riveted by the way this film interweaves its storytelling with race footage designed to show off the skill and cunning of our subject, Brazilian phenom Ayrton Senna. And this was a man with a heart of gold, using his fame and fortune to give back to his community and empower his home country on the national stage. His tragic end is foreshadowed brilliantly towards the conclusion of the film, to the point that I almost felt like it was staged or scripted how well it all fit together. A good man who left us far too soon, who I never would have heard about if not for this wonderful celebration of his life.
6. Shutter Island
Yet another in a long series of successful adaptations of Dennis Lehane novels (following Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone), and a rousing good mystery yarn. I spent a good amount of time this year catching up on Martin Scorsese’s filmography, and I was not that enthralled by his earlier stuff (even his most acclaimed films). I find he is at his best when working with a focused narrative, and the mystery genre is a great place for him to focus his attention. I was drawn into this film’s web and enjoyed the ride it took me on, even if I didn’t feel like it left me with anything important to say. Obviously DiCaprio is a highlight as the tortured protagonist haunted by his past, while there is a lot of clever foreshadowing that is worth a second watch just to pick up on. Not a perfect film by any means, but it hits all the right notes to be memorable even nearly ten years gone.
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
It may just be a cheesy Edgar Wright action-comedy, but I couldn’t in good conscience leave it off the list because I love it so much! I did not like this movie when I first saw it in high school; I thought all the video game references and imagery were over-the-top and the whole thing was a cheesy farce. But over time I’ve come to accept that that’s the whole point. It’s both a love letter to the source material and an entertaining experience in its own right. The film is just a blast to watch; I’ve seen it upwards of a dozen times and I still feel like I can put it on any time and just get lost in it all over again. Fun characters, fun action sequences, fun visual style. Just plain fun.
4. Blue Valentine
Geez, Ryan Gosling is showing up on my list a lot, isn’t he? I’ve seen clips from this film used as examples of what a heartthrob he is, which is ironic given how pessimistic the film is about young love. Derek Cianfrance’s triumphant sophomore effort boasts such a simple concept that speaks volumes beyond its means. We follow this couple, played brilliantly by Gosling and Michelle Williams, both in their young courtship phase as their relationship blossoms and in their middle age as the relationship is falling apart. It almost plays out like a mystery in the way it conceals information and gradually unveils its secrets to the audience for maximum impact. Incredible acting, resonant themes and a clever story structure add up to a fantastic experience that I won’t soon forget.
3. Black Swan
I’m not the biggest Darren Aronofsky fan. None of his other films really captured me, and some were straight-up mediocre. But man, Black Swan is close to a masterpiece. Usually films that deal with mental breakdown are ham-fisted and overcooked, but this one really nailed it. Nina is teetering on the edge, and the entire film is spent learning exactly what all the pressures upon her are. Here is a legitimate story about CHANGE, something many modern-day characters are lacking. The casting is pitch-perfect: Natalie Portman as the nebbish Nina, Vincent Cassel as the harsh and invasive Thomas, Mila Kunis as the explosive Lily, and several others from Winona Ryder to Barbara Hershey and more. This isn’t horror in the traditional sense; this is psychological warfare, dealing not just in fright but in dread, as we worry that Nina is headed down a dark path from which she cannot return. And the metaphor of the Swan Lake production mirroring her transformation…ugh, I could go on about how brilliant this movie is for ages.
2. Inception
I’ll never forget the midnight premiere of Inception. I wasn’t that excited to see the film, but a friend dragged me to the theater and made me watch. I was blown away; the technical mastery shown by Christopher Nolan, the mind-bending story, and so much more gave me chills. I mentioned earlier with Looper that original, big-budget sci-fi films don’t get made much these days, but Nolan is the exception to the rule. He’s one of the few directors working today who can command a huge studio investment into an original idea and make it work. He stumbled a little with Interstellar, which was fine but flawed; Dunkirk earned critical acclaim and awards attention but was too narratively bare for my liking. Inception remains one of his finest accomplishments, for which he was egregiously snubbed for a Best Director nomination. Sometimes a film will come along that reminds you of what cinema is capable of, and Inception did that in spades. It hit me at the perfect time in my life, as I was transitioning into adulthood and trying to decide what to do next, making me believe in the movies again as a transporting experience and want to learn how to do that myself. That’s right: this film blog itself owes its existence in part to Inception.
1. The Social Network
The best screenplay of the decade, hands-down. What Aaron Sorkin accomplishes with a dry and largely uninteresting legal drama is just stunning. Add in David Fincher (who should have won Best Director) and his meticulous vision for the world, sprinkle in some mega-talented young stars in Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield (not to mention Armie Hammer and Justin Timberlake), and you have a modern classic. Riveting at every turn, even in moments where it seems like nothing of consequence is happening. If Inception taught me the possibilities of film as a visual medium, The Social Network taught me the possibilities of screenwriting. Trying to decipher just why this story works so well is like reading spaghetti code; Sorkin truly worked some voodoo magic to craft such a special and seamless story. And let’s not forget the phenomenal score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which gives the film its hip modern identity and drives the pace forward with its urgency. Everything comes together for a basically perfect film.
Thanks for reading! Check back soon as I fill out the rest of the decade with my Top 10 lists this month, leading up to my Top 100 Films of the Decade ranking! Check out the home page for more Top 10’s, reviews, and film musings…I’m willing to bet you’ll find something you like!
-Austin Daniel
Scriptophile 