Finally, we come to day three, my favorite films of 2010. This comes with the caveat that I have not yet seen Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, a film that seems evenly split between ridiculously enthusiastic reactions and equally dismissive pans. Does that mean I should put the list on hold for Black Swan? Well, no, and here's why: I have a list of movies - a fine list, might I add - of films released in 2009 that I didn't see until 2010. They always, without fail, end up in what I call the "Lost in the Shuffle" list*. They have individual reviews, but I do not revise year end recaps to insert them into the conversation. With one exception, this list is comprised of films I saw in 2010 and reflects the year 2010.
These are, for me, the best films I saw in 2010. That may not make them the "best films" of the year, and I can assure you many of them won't be mentioned come "Awards Season," but they entertained, challenged, and confounded me long after the first viewing. As usual, links to the reviews will be provided, along with an asterisk (*) for films that had festival showings prior to 2010 but were not widely available until last year.
I hesitated putting these in an "order," but what the hell. You should see all of them, but since there are fifteen films, I'll put them from "favorite" to "very favorite" just to spark discussion. From the best to the best of the best:
15. Double Take* - The more I think about Double Take, the more I'm willing to overlook the artificiality of Grimonprez's "recreation" of the Hitchcock double meeting, not only because he announces the artifice by introducing the audience to the physical and vocal "doubles" early in the film, but because it's beside the point. This film, experimental in its storytelling, its premise, and its juxtaposition, does stick with viewers after the initial confusion wears off. A film that can do that belongs with the best of the year.14. I’m Still Here - A film that would be higher on the list, were it not for an even more ballsy attempt at blending reality and fiction that doesn't show its hand. All the same, whether you view Joaquin Phoenix's downfall into misery and drug addiction as a "document" of true events or a film that rides the fine line between real and fantasy, it succeeds in making viewers uncomfortable, yet unable to turn away.
13. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* - We may never be able to see what Terry Gilliam originally planned for audiences in 2009, but the end result - finished after the death of Heath Ledger - is nevertheless a valiant and visually fertile attempt to pick up the pieces and tell the same story. There's so much to recommend in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - the battle of wits between Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits, the execution of the inside of the Imaginarium, the ability of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to stand in as Tony - that I'm willing to overlook the scattershot manner the film tells its story. Gilliam, even when compromised, is always worth a look, and this is a step above The Brothers Grimm and Tideland by a long shot.
12. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy - This documentary sets the bar for covering a series of films, and I sincerely doubt anyone will ever top it. As somebody who watched His Name was Jason, Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, and any other so-called "comprehensive" doc covering horror films, Never Sleep Again blew me away. At four hours, anything you could possibly want to know about the Nightmare on Elm Street series is covered, and that's not including the extra disc of content that covers EVEN MORE stories never before told. Even without Johnny Depp, Patricia Arquette, and Frank Darabont, Never Sleep Again is so comprehensive, so addictive, and so frank about the making of this series that even casual Freddy fans will be able to keep it on for the duration. I guarantee this is the one film on this list least seen, and with as many horror addicts as there are that visit the Blogorium, I want to change that.11. Piranha 3-D - A shameless explosion of gore, gratudity, mayhem, and B-movie acting, from the director of High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes. You won't come out of this film feeling smarter, or even with a greater critical acumen, but as 3-D exploitation goes, you're going to have to search long and hard to to better than Piranha 3-D.
10. Get Him to the Greek - In almost every way superior to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, of which this film is a spin-off. Get Him to the Greek never forgets that it has to be a rock and roll comedy, and as the wild rocker lifestyle of Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) spins out of control, so too does the film... but never to the point that it loses its heart, the bewildered but surprisingly balanced Aaron Green (Jonah Hill). More to the point, writer / director Nicholas Stoller never forgets that a comedy is supposed to be funny, and Get Him to the Greek is in abundance.9. Shutter Island - The hate for Shutter Island astounds me, but it's there. People bag on Scorsese for making The Departed, and now are deriding his decision to embrace a technicolor laden exercise in pulp film-making. The twist is apparently the final straw, but I'm going to be honest with you: despite having guessed the twist before watching the movie, I was nevertheless riveted as the story unfolded. I don't understand why people hate the film, either as an exercise in homage or as a spiritual sequel to Cape Fear that nobody knew they needed. Give it a shot - either it will work for you or it won't.
8. The American - Since my initial review, I've seen a series of write-ups that insist Anton Corbijn is commenting on American foreign policy with this film. You could make the argument that yes, the concept of "I make the weapons but I don't use them and I get very defensive when you use them on me" is a direct criticism of the United States military complex. Fair enough, I suppose. Either way, The American can be appreciated as a excellently told story with fine performances, or as a critique masked as cinema.
7. Waking Sleeping Beauty - I don't really want to add too much more to the review. Waking Sleeping Beauty is exactly the documentary the Walt Disney company needed right no; its honesty is refreshing, its story is too amazing to be real, and its execution is refreshing in a world of "talking head" true stories.
6. MacGruber - I haven't laughed at a film this hard all year. Period. If you're still avoiding the MacGruber because it "looks stupid," or because somebody told you it probably sucked, rent it and find out for yourself. Then, after you buy it, show it to everybody you know that didn't see it.
5. Inception - I'm terrified to watch Inception again. So much of the film relies on allowing Inception to unfold in front of you, knowing nothing of what's to come, that any familiarity with the twists and turns could tumble the whole house of cards. That said, Christopher Nolan made a wildly ambitious film with ideas that stick around after the film is over, not to mention some set-pieces I've never seen before. It's technically impressive, well-acted, with an understandable "heist" narrative that kept audiences from feeling lost, but never holds your hand after setting up the rules. I'm not going to pretend its wholly original - nor will I play into the many "Inception stole from" arguments - and I really hope that this film is more The Prestige than Memento, where multiple viewings hold up.
4. Exit Through the Gift Shop - Did Banksy create Thierry Guetta? Does Mr. Brainwash really exist? How much of Exit Through the Gift Shop is designed and how much is document? I have no idea, and I don't care. The discussions that this film generates will be fascinating once more of you see it, but regardless of that, it doesn't matter unless Exit Through the Gift Shop can't hold up on its own, and it does.3. True Grit - There have been reasoned, well argued points about my reaction to the potential racism in True Grit in the comments of my review, but I'm still not convinced that the individual instances don't point to a larger comment. That being said, I'm not saying Joel and Ethan Coen are engaging in racism so much as their ironic detachment in comedy is raising a point about systemic racism (at least in post-Civil War Arkansas). What I can't deny is that True Grit is an extremely well made film, a very entertaining movie that pushes violence beyond the PG-13 rating, and a film that, despite its history as a novel and very well known prior adaptation, manages to stand on its own in the Coen brothers body of work.
2. Best Worst Movie* - Best Worst Movie has been traveling from festival to festival since 2009, but had I seen it then, it would have been on my top films of 2009 list. As it was, I caught a screening of Best Worst Movie in New Mexico shortly before its DVD debut (the way almost everyone else saw the film) in 2010, so here it is. It's not necessary to have seen Troll 2 before you watch Best Worst Movie; if you see it on its own, chances are you'll seek out Troll 2 afterward. This is a fantastic "personal essay" film (my working moniker for documentaries where the filmmaker is central to the narrative) covers the cultural phenomenon of the "best worst movie" through the eyes of Troll 2's cast, crew, and fans, but particularly dentist George Hardy, who was in the film and moved on with life. Hilarious, disturbing, touching, and embarrassing, Best Worst Movie is easily my favorite documentary in a year of excellent non-fiction films.
1. The Social Network - Broadly speaking, the only thing I fear about seeing The Social Network again is a faint concern that Aaron Sorkin's dialogue might be "too" perfect: the scathing comebacks, the one-liners, the returning phrases throughout the film - I fear an off-chance it feels too clever for its own good. But even so, I can't wait to pick up The Social Network next week. I have no misgivings in recommending this film to anyone, and especially to people who think it's just "the Facebook movie." Trust me, it's not. The Social Network wasn't a movie made because it was temporally appropriate; it's a fully realized character study that covers events we lived through and weren't necessarily paying attention to. David Fincher's assured hand as a director marries with Sorkin's dialogue, and the cast - from Jesse Eisenberg to Andrew Garfield to Armie Hammer to Rooney Mara to Justin Timberlake - are pitch perfect. Does it have small faults? Yes, it does. Do they keep me from considering The Social Network from being my favorite film of 2010? Not even a little.* For the 2009-10 list, that would include The Road, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Big Fan, A Serious Man, Black Dynamite, The House of the Devil, The Informant!, and the unfortunate An Education and I Sell the Dead.
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