10. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole =
As with lists that I’ve made of previous years, I prefer to reserve my number 10 slot for a personal piece of quality self-indulgence. I’ve seen a decent number of great films this year, but one that I consistently return to, something that remains consistently fun to watch with every viewing is Zack Snyder’s adaptation of the “Guardians of Ga'Hoole” book series, featuring armored owl beating the hell out of each other. “Legend of the Guardians” is the tale of the hero’s journey told through the trials of Soren, a young owl that seeks out his legendary heroes upon learning of a world domination conspiracy conceived of by the bigoted Pure Ones.
Despite following its story formula to a T, “Legend of The Guardians” does what it does well, with well written dialogue, superb voice acting, and visuals that are simply stunning. Snyder has finally found a place to make all of his slow-motion editing work to stellar effect, allowing for animation showcase like no other. More importantly, I have to give credit to animation studio Animal Logic, who has shown with their previous release of “Happy Feet” that they have no intention of stepping in on the Disney, Pixar, or DreamWorks story models or make something cheap and profitable to take the easy way out. Despite an exceptional year for all 3 of the aforementioned studios, “Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” may not be the best animated film that I have seen this year but it is absolutely the most refreshing and that alone is enough to earn it a slot on this list.
9. Kick-Ass =
I love superheroes. I absolutely adore them; the duality of their nature, their individual code of ethics, their inspirational nature, etc. And although I still have fantasies of donning a costume, righting the injustices thrust upon innocent civilians, and inspiring others around me to do the right thing, I accept that the painful reality is that costumed crusaders are nothing more than objects of fiction. If you know anybody that hasn’t, a viewing of my number 9 film should set them straight immediately.
“Kick-Ass” deconstructs every aspect of superhero culture that it possibly can to show just how stupid or insane you would have to be to actually pursue such a lifestyle, making for the funniest 2 hour experience that I have had in a theater this year. Every performance is played straight, refusing to succumb to the slightly goofy nature of the subject matter, save for the slightly over the top climax, which helps the world that these characters inhabit feel that much more believable. However, as great as the acting, comedy, and action choreography are, what I love most is that the film never becomes stupid.
The movie is a character study of superhero archetypes, a satire on superhero stories, and a social commentary on public apathy to crime, but as exploitive and as ridiculous as it can get at times, it never shoehorns in content that does not need to exist. The lack of studio influence shows, because every scene in “Kick-Ass” serves a purpose to its own story. It earns its spot on this list for refusal to conform to stereotypical Hollywood tropes, making a statement regarding American icons, and for simply being damn good entertainment.
8. The Town =
After 14 years of movie acting ranging from passable to embarrassing, Ben Affleck found his calling behind the camera in 2007 with his directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone” but the “The Town” shows that his success was by no means a fluke. He may have played a hand in screwing up “Daredevil”, but this man clearly has talent for telling crime stories.
Starring as bank robbing gang head Doug MacRay, Affleck coordinates his men, who are like his brothers, through their own personal dramas and conflicts with one another to pull off a last string of jobs that are bringing them dangerously close to FBI custody, while watching over a hostage of a previous robbery that he has unexpectedly ended up in a relationship with. Oddly enough, despite his strengths clearly being in direction, Affleck actually turns in a solid performance. Whether he works better under his own direction or has actually improved his acting but he feels much more natural than he does in previous performances. It’s still not exactly Oscar caliber but his chemistry with fellow actors Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall are among some of the most emotionally touching moments I’ve seen of the year.
The heists are gripping from start to getaway as you grow to genuinely fear for these characters that are no less human than you or I, despite being criminals. The Town is one of those movies that you may go into slightly skeptical but like it by the time it’s over and love it the more you let it mull over in your head.
7. The Social Network =
Talk about conflict. Beyond this film, I was absolutely torn on what to make of it before its release. The cynic in me screamed “A movie about a website you had no use for until about 8 months ago based on a “true story”,” whereas the film fan in me said “A drama written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher”. Fortunately, I trusted the latter and received a real treat of a film.
I’m not a fan of biographical films, mostly because they use the true story catch as a gimmick to sit you through a dull as dirt flick or a tale that manipulates and distorts the facts so disgustingly that they might as well have created an original story from scratch. That said, I can’t praise “The Social Network” enough. Telling the story of the lawsuits surrounding Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, the movie is fast, witty, nonlinear, and generally determined to keep you on your toes. Even after thoroughly researching the events of which this film is based, I found nearly every moment of the movie virtually unpredictable. Performances were excellent as well, providing what I think may be a breakout role for Andrew Garfield (the new Spider-Man in 2012), but Jesse Eisenberg steals the show as Zuckerberg with a performance that would be criminal for the Academy Awards to ignore when creating the list of nominees.
“The Social Network” enthralled me for nearly 2 hours, being part of a genre that I largely ignore. Coupled with the excellent musical score and superb sound editing, it is more than worthy of my number 7 slot.
6. Let Me In =
A vampire movie released after 2008 that is an American remake of a brilliant foreign art film sounds like a disaster that should have been number 6 on a worst of list. As a fan of the Swedish film, “Let The Right One In”, I dreaded the release of “Let Me In” for almost a year and a half, violently condemning the numerous preproduction alteration to the original film that were being negotiated to be made. Although the proposed alterations that could have sunken the film had been long dropped, Even the announcement of Matt Reeves, director of the criminally underrated “Cloverfield”, as director of the film couldn’t salvage my faith for the project. Only after I saw it, did I immediately serve myself up a nice big helping of crow because “Let Me In” just may arguably be better than its foreign counterpart.
The story of a child daily victimized by bullies until he develops a relationship with a manipulative vampire girl was compelling in 2008 and remains equally so after localization, even taking on a few benefits along the way. I appreciate being able to enjoy such a beautiful story without the distraction of subtitles but I love even more that the acting is actually superb. Unlike the admirable yet stoic performances of the Swedish film, the cast of “Let Me In” is not afraid to appropriately demonstrate every emotion necessary to create atmosphere. It helps that the film better highlights moments that become key to the story, such as the protagonist’s slightly sociopathic tendencies and the demonic nature of vampire Abby (Eli in the original).
With the original story intact however, where “Let Me In” excels even further is the production value. The gorgeous cinematography and camera work enhance the story, as well as creating some of the tensest sequences that I have ever seen in film. In addition to the score and soundtrack composed primarily of 80s music, “Let Me In” works effectively as not only a horror film but a period piece, an origin of a sociopath and a gripping drama. It’s an excellent example of filmmaking that manages not to be stuck in the shadow of its counterpart but the American equivalent and I highly recommend it.
5. The Fighter =
I am not fond of sports in reality. Therefore, by guilt of association, I am not fond of sports as a theme in movies. I do however enjoy character studies, great acting and characters fighting passionately for what they desire. Telling the story of the rise of boxing champion Mickey Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg), “The Fighter” is undoubtedly one of the best sports based films that I have ever seen.
The story lacks the usual level of Hollywood gloss coated over these types of stories, making every moment of the film feel very down to earth. Every moment of the film is genuine, from the heartfelt to tough love. However, despite, how great the writing, direction and cast performances however, I cannot deny that the sole factor that planted this movie so high on the list is Christian Bale’s performance.
Make no mistake, this is a great film and absolutely worthy enough to be on this list by its own merits but Bale’s performance as crack addicted has-been boxing champion Dicky Eklund steals the show. His charisma, unnatural energy and alertness, and need to be the center of attention provided for what is hands down, the best performance of his career and one of the best acting jobs I’ve seen this year. If I had to pick the most inspiring film that I have seen this year, this would have to be the one, bar none.
4. Black Swan =
If “The Fighter” was an inspirational tale of hard work, dedication, and perseverance to achieve one’s goals, “Black Swan” is tonally on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. As ballerina Nina Sayers (played by Natalie Portman) struggles to keep her role as both the Black and White Swans in her company’s performance of Swan Lake, her obsession with perfecting the performance of the Black Swan slowly begins to drive her insane as she begins to dangerously lose her grip on reality.
I hold firm in my belief that the human mind is more powerful than most give it credit for. It can drive us to kill, make the mundane scary and vice versa and change what we accept as normal in life. “Black Swan” demonstrates all of the above exceptionally well, constantly making the audience question what is actually happening, what is allegory, and what is simply a hallucination, none of which is ever made quite entirely clear until the ending. I’ve never been a ballet aficionado but this trip into the psyche of a perfectionist has made for one of the most gripping thrillers that I have seen in year.
What of the rest of the list? Check back Wednesday to find out what the top 3 are and my impression of 2010 as a whole.
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