Who’s got time to go to the movies these days?
Certainly not me. I’m lucky if I can return my Netflix within a six-month period.
Still, I’ve managed to see a few good flicks this year including “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The A-Team” and the latest installment of the “Harry Potter” series.
But the year’s not over yet — and I’m trying to cram in a few more critically acclaimed films before 2011.
Salon.com’s Iain Blair recommended, among his favorites, “Black Swan,” “I Am Love,” “Greenberg,” “The Social Network” and “True Grit”
Michael Drakulich, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, put together this list of his favorites of 2010:
• “Another Year”
• “Never Let Me Go”
• “Inception”
• “The Secret in Their Eyes”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “The Social Network”
• “Winter’s Bone”
• “The American”
• “I Am Love”
• “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”
Got a favorite this year?
***
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29 Comments
Inception, Black Swan, True Grit. Still have to see The Social Network. And TRON!!!
@strobie TRON! I want to see “The Tourist,” too. My parents loved it. Johnny Depp… how can you go wrong…!
I loved The Social Network. I think it’s better to watch it at home though. I was the only one laughing at all the jokes in the theater. I guess the other people in Kapolei theaters didn’t really get it.
@mergecross @JMattHicks I wanted to see “The Social Network,” but after reading a profile in the New Yorker about the founder, I decided to skip it. I actually think the article was more revealing and interesting! 🙂
@Cat @mergecross I could definitely understand that. There’s definitely a lot more to the movie than what you see on the screen. The controversy behind many of the aspects of the movie and who it’s based on would definitely qualify as “not cool.”
I was not happy when my wife dragged me along to see Black Swan. I left there very, very surprised. Awesome movie. I saw True Grit last night, and that, too, as amazing.
I definitely think The Social Network is a shoe-in as well as Inception. Another movie I saw this year that some may not have thought was legit was “Devil.” I was super creeped out and I thought the film was well done.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. Documentary about her, the business of comedy and the emotional cost of ambition and fame. Mesmerizing. It’s available on Netflix streaming.
That flick, Inception & Hot Tub Time Machine were my favorites this year.
@PatrickWilliams I haven’t seen “Inception” yet but it’s on my Netflix list. I really need to see more movies…
My wife and I saw The King’s Speech last night. It is one of the best movies we have seen in years. Very well written…. a lot of very interesting dialogue.
Some of the better movies I saw this year: Solitary Man, Toy Story 3, Winter’s Bone, Machete, Red Hill, The Social Network. And among foreign language films: Aftershock, The Secret in Their Eyes, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Guilty pleasures include Salt, Shrek 4, and Dinner for Schmucks.
@hawaii2000 “Machete don’t text” DVD release next week!
@hawaii2000 You know, I heard good things about “Toy Story 3.” But I’m not a sequel kind of person… with the exception of Indiana Jones, the Star Wars prequel and, of course, Lethal Weapon.
@Cat It’s true. Most sequels suck hard. But there are exceptions. Notably, Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan, Superman 2, Toy Story 2 and 3, Terminator 2, Mad Max 2 (Road Warrior), The Godfather 2, to mention a few. Pretty much hated Shrek 2 and 3 but 4 wasn’t as excrutiatingly annoying, for what it’s worth.
@hawaii2000 @Cat Great list of great sequels… totally agree with you on those!
Not in the theatres, but ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary series was very enjoyable. For those that don’t know these were 30 documentaries commisioned by ESPN to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sports network. It had the best film I’ve seen this year called “The Two Escobars” which showed the lives of late Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and late national soccer team captain Andres Escobar and how their lives were intertwined. A tragic story but very compelling, especially if you around when Pablo Escobar’s name was in the news and also the 1994 World Cup where the U.S. upset Colombia who at the time were one of the favorites to win it.
@808marv I saw that! Totally compelling and tragic!
@808marv The Marcus Dupree one was great… I was there at OU during his sophomore season when he quit.
Kings Speech was a great movie. I can’t think of a bad Geoffry Rush movie. Of course Inception was fantastic! There were some phenomenal films at this Year’s HIFF like Under the Hawthorn Tree, and Tempest. Black Swan is great, well worth the hype that it gets, but for me, the best movie I saw this year was Ocean Heaven staring Jet Li in his first Non-martial arts role as a father dying of Liver Cancer trying to teach his autistic son how to live on after he dies.
WOW. It has been a weird year. I have not seen a single movie on the critics list. When no money apparently golf trumps theaters.
I liked these from your list:
• “Never Let Me Go” (sleepy film, but reminds me of “The Island’s storyline)
• “Inception” (I wish I could write stuff like that!)
• “The Social Network” (Paints Mark Zuckerberg in a whole new light–not too flattering)
• “The American” (a lot of my friends didn’t like it, but I did. I’m a male Clooney-groupie. hehe!)
• “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” (Very original piece of film making. Michael Cera is too cool!)
Some others from 2010 I liked:
• Shutter Island
• The Runaways (excellent biopic of Joan Jett and Cherie Currie)
• Letters to Juliet (I’m a sucker for any film made in the Italian countyside, LOL)
• The Killer Inside Me (my niece had a bit part in this movie)
• The Karate Kid (better than the original–YES, I said it!)
• Despicable Me (Steve Carell can do no wrong)
• The Kids are All Right
• Dinner For Schmucks (add Paul Rudd to Steve Carell and you have comedy magic!)
• Buried (OMG, don’t watch this is you are claustrophobic. Ryan Reynolds best performance!)
On my short list to see:
• Winter’s Bone
• I’m Still Here (I totally bought into Joaquin Phoenix’s “apparent” train wreck career choice)
Whoa! Forgot to list BLACK SWAN as one I saw, and liked very much! A great departure role for Natalie Portman and coming out role for Mila Kunis.
Hello Cat!
I haven’t gone to see one movie this year.
didn’t see nary a one of those top ten.movies
i’ve been too busy researching the evolution of Dolly Parton’s vocal styling between 1966 and 1969. this period, during her partnership with Porter Wagoner, marked a transformation from the traditional primitive, unadorned Celtic based southern mountain sound to a modern, jazz nuanced vocabulary which employed subte timing and tonal shifts.
this change is most noticeable on two recordings, in the indexed years, of the duet: ‘Holding On To Nothing’. the characteristics of the formative period are……………………..i’m sorry, what was the question again?
@turkfontaine OMG! What is going on with posting? Every time I type a reply, it closes up and won’t allow me to open it back up and post, or copy, etc. Aaaargh!
Turk, was trying to tell you that I used to watch the Porter Wagoner show back in the day… my mom always had that, The Grand Old Opry, The Buck Owens Show and Hee Haw on the television! I didn’t know music existed outside of those artists, along with Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride, Roy Clark, etc.
Only saw one new film in 2010, The Tourist, and it isn’t on the 10-best list. Since it was watchable, actually very good in some ways, I am going to put it at the top of my 10-best list, and just leave the rest blank. I hear there is a pretty good docu-drama in the works for 2011, something about Dolly Parton learning to warble.
The Fighter and Black Swan
@Erin The Fighter was awesome. Dude’s sisters were TOO funny!
Saw Winter’s Bone… man, that hit kinda close to home, originally being from rural/country Louisiana.
Cody likes
1. Knight and Day
2. Let Me In
3. True Grit
4. The Expendables
5. Salt