Wait, what lies beyond mediocre? 
(Sorry; I’m pickin’ on you FDH. I agree that The Kids Are All Right isn’t much of a movie.)
No, Get Low was a 2010 release. It was released in August.
Only if you like good movies. One interesting thing about TSN is that it’s appealing to those who love Facebook, those who hate Facebook, and those who don’t give a rat’s ass either way. I have less than zero interest in wrestling, but I loved The Wrestler because it’s a good movie. I despise boxing, but liked movies such as The Fighter, Rocky, Raging Bull. Internet porn holds no interest for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed Middle Men. I have zero interest in ballet, but thought Black Swan was an amazing movie. I could go on and on and on.
Good movies will transcend the surface subject, at least for the duration of the movie. God knows I didn’t start watching wrestling, boxing or ballet after having seen those movies, but I’d watch the movies again any day. I rarely use Facebook anymore, but I’ve seen The Social Network twice and will see it again, and wouldn’t mind at all if it won Best Picture at the Oscars.
The writing, the directing, the acting, the cultural significance. The evocation of a time and a place and the birth of a cultural touchstone out of a two-minute conversation, the method and the madness getting it done, and the very entertaining personalities of the people involved, even if they exist only in the movie, since no one really knows these people.
It’s hard to think about making a comprehensive list. It was a fantastic year for movies for me, I saw more movies than I ever could have imagined. I’ll be hard-pressed to choose a top 30, let alone top 10, and there are so many good movies I missed (Restrepo, Animal Kingdom, Four Lions and Monsters, to name some mentioned in this thread already), and several official 2010 releases that haven’t opened here in Chicago yet, like Blue Valentine, Biutiful, Another Year. Luckily I saw Rabbit Hole and The Tempest today (Thursday), and tomorrow I’ll see my last film (#327) of 2010, Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere.
I can list my top 3 favorites though:
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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - officially a 2009 release, it opened in Chicago on January 7, so I’m including it. A strange and delightful movie from the mind of the man, Terry Gilliam, who made my favorite film of all time, Brazil. I saw it 3 times in the theater and wish I’d seen it 10-20 times. It was Heath Ledger’s last film and took me until the 3rd viewing to forget that I was watching Heath Ledger’s last performance, and that’s when the movie really clicked in for me.
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Winter’s Bone - This was #1 until I remembered Parnassus. I saw this multiple times in the theater too because Ree Dolly is one of my favorite characters ever, so strong and inspiring but very down-to-earth. I saw it almost by accident the first time, and was lucky enough to meet the director. Jennifer Lawrence should earn a much-deserved Academy Award nomination.
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Kick-Ass - I had so much fun at this movie, it instantly became a favorite, and held up on multiple viewings.
There’s a lot of potentially good 2010 movies I haven’t seen yet. But of those I have seen:
Chloe
Daybreakers
Defendor
Easy A
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
Kick-Ass
Machete
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Toy Story 3
The Human Centipede!* :smack::smack::smack:
Not ranked.
Peepli (Live) - The rare Bollywood film that is really about something and should be seen even by those who have no use for Bollywood films.
Kick Ass - Insanely violent, granted, but one of the most enjoyable films I’ve seen this year.
Toy Story 3 - Technically speaking, some other animated film are actually more impressive, like Tangled (that hair!) but Mr. Tortilla Head was the most brilliant piece of animation I’ve seen since the glory days of Warner Brothers.
Winter’s Bone - Not the sort of film I’d ordinarily see, but filled with brilliant performances.
Inception - A genuine mind-fuck.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World - I don’t play videogames, but I’ve absorbed enough about them via cultural osmosis to be grinning wildly through this entire film from the 8 bit opening.
The Social Network - I loathe Facebook. Hate it. Consider it the Roach Motel of the Internet, and the complete antithesis of everything I like about the Net. But it features Aaron Sorkin’s brilliant writing, and Jesse Eisenberg delivered a brilliant, and very difficult to pull off, performance. Extroverts are a lot easier to play than introverts.
Easy A - Yeah, I’m not the target audience, but I loved it anyway. One of the best supporting casts of any film in years.
Max Manus - An exciting WWII story about an aspect of the war that I had never even heard of. As much of a revelation, in it’s own way, as Das Boot.
Inside Job - If this documentary didn’t piss you off, you are a higher-up at Goldman Sacks.
True Grit - Seen it twice and it gets better every time.
Here’s the totals so far:
Inception - 10 votes
The Social Network - 9 votes
Toy Story 3 - 8 votes
Kick-Ass - 7 votes
Winter’s Bone - 6 votes
The Black Swan - 5 votes
4 votes
Easy A
The Town
True Grit
Unstoppable
3 votes
127 Hours
The Ghost Writer
Let Me In
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Shutter Island
2 votes
The Book of Eli
Hereafter
The King’s Speech
Machete
1 vote
Animal Kingdom
Best Worst Movie
Blue Valentine
Buried
Burlesque
Camp Rock 2
Chloe
Daybreakers
Defendor
Despicable Me
Devil
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Four Lions
Get Low
Greenberg
How to Train Your Dragon
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Inside Job
The Kids Are All Right
Love and Other Drugs
Max Manus
Megamind
Monsters
Never Let Me Go
Peepli (Live)
Piranha 3D
Predators
Red
Restrepo
The Runaways
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Who Is Harry Nilsson (and why is everybody talkin’ about him)
Winnebago Man
A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop
The King’s Speech
Winter’s Bone
The Ghost Writer
Many other good films, but I think the three above were the best I have seen this year.
However, I missed Social Network when it came out, so don’t know if that would have made my list. Now it is no longer showing here - so guess I will have to wait for DVD or OnDemand.
Incidentally, for anyone who likes Jeff Bridges, he’ll be featured on American Masters on PBS on Weds. Jan. 12. Check your local listings: Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides | About the Film | American Masters | PBS
Kick Ass was this year?
In that case,
- Kick Ass
- Predator
Didn’t see anything else, although I REALLY wanted to go out and watch Machete.
- The Social Network
- True Grit
- Black Swan
- Exit Through the Gift Shop
- Inception
- Client 9
- Animal Kingdom
- The Town
- Winters Bone
- Kick-Ass
This really breaks down to a top five and a second five. It’s a little tough for me to separate the top five but there is a bit of a gap between them and the second five. Some of what goes into my list is rewatchability. A movie like Kick-Ass has it’s flaws but I found it to be incredibly rewatchable. That’s also why I picked True Grit over Black Swan. There is no question that Black Swan is a masters class in filmmaking, but I think the character work in True Grit is a good bit better than Black Swan, thus making it a little more rewatchable.
Also, Foreign films are in an unfortunate dead zone for me. I saw A LOT of them this year but the problem is, they are all 2009 movies or earlier so they don’t really qualify. Thing is, also saw them too late for last years list.
- Inception
- Toy Story 3
- How To Train Your Dragon
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)
- Batman - Under the Red Mask
- Sorcerer’s Apprentice
- Best Worst Movie
Inception was far and away my favorite movie of the year. No contest. Deserves the Academy Award(though I doubt it will get it).
Movies I didn’t think were great, but are getting votes:
Social Network - It was OK. I didn’t hate it, but it was only OK for me.
Kick-Ass - Man, was I hoping for a ton from this. It was OK, but not amazing.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - I found this boring and would prefer the alternate ending where he ends up with the Asian girl. It would have made more sense to me as a character arc.
It’s really hard to compare movies that are in wholly different categories! But here’s a rough list in order from best to least best:
Top ten:
Inception: Best all around. Killer concept, cast, effects, story. And I keep finding new things to enjoy or think about each time I see it again.
Avatar *Special-Edition: Avatar was 2009, but it was rereleased with extra footage in 2010. Still a breathtaking film upon revisit. And having since watched the extra extra footage that didn’t make it, on the DVD, I’d say that a rererelease would be even cooler. A lot of those deleted scenes really would have made for a richer story.
Howl: The famous and powerful poem is recited in parts by James Franco, accompanied by dazzling animation, and alternating with the story of it’s trial. Really, just a semi decent recitation on a blank screen would have made for a great film, but James Franco and the animation bring it to a whole other level.
Leap Year: Entirely predictable romantic comedy that still manages to delight and warm your heart.
Harry Potter ATDHp1: Even better than the (first half of) the book.
Shutter Island: The basic twist is easily guessed from the trailers, but that’s not the point, and the whole story is a surprise, and the journey is spooky, mysterious, and fascinating. Also an interesting counterpart to Inception, as both are reality-bending films starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a man haunted by the loss of his wife.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Fascinating Swedish film with a decent mystery but two even more amazing characters, especially Lisbeth - who manages to portray both super vulnerable and mega kickass simultaneously.
Splice - Creepy sci-fi gene splicing cautionary tale that never is scared to “go there”.
Mic Macs - The latest Jean-Pierre Jeunet rarely fails to make the list, and this is no exception. Darling French film with brilliant characters, intriguing concepts, and a feel-good story.
Scott Pilgrim - Wonderfully stylized, exceptionally creative idea and execution. If you don’t know what to expect though, you might not ‘get it’. But if you get it, it’s brilliant and a fun ride.
Honorable mention:
Knight and Day - Implausible, but it’s supposed to be. Very very fun.
Repo Men - Some people didn’t like the twist, but I thought this dark humor movie was fantastic and brilliant both with and without the twist.
Skyline - Got panned by a lot of people, but have to give it kudos - even if the dialogue and some of the behavior were off (which is par for the course for horror flicks anyway) - it was suspenseful, had just amazing special effects for a film with such a tiny budget, and had a killer twist ending.
Tron Legacy - The story was… meh. But the visuals were astonishing, as was the soundtrack. My pants are still vibrating!
Iron Man 2 - Not as good as the first, and the editing was a little jumpy, but still a worthy sequel.
Films that might have made the list had I gotten to see them in order of most anticipated to least most anticipated by me:
Let Me In - I loved the foreign version, and this one got equally good reviews.
Youth in Revolt - I loved the book, so I was anticipating the adaptation.
Jackass 3D - It’s Jackass. In 3D. Come on.
The Other “The Girl Who” films… - Loved Dragon Tattoo so I expect to like the others, if only for Lisbeth.
Kick-Ass - High school nerd becomes costumed hero and gets his ass kicked. What’s not to love?
Daybreakers - Intriguing “the vampires won” concept.
Easy A - Like the cast. And high school comedies based on classic works typically fare well.
Letters to Juliet - Cute concept for a romantic film, in a picturesque setting.
Never Let Me Go - Can’t go wrong with serious high school sci-fi stories.
Tempest - Classic Shakespeare with a gender bending Tilda Swinton and modern effects.
CoN: The Dawn Treader - I liked the previous two! And I’m too lazy to read the rest of the books.
Social Network - Facebook! The movie!
How to Train Your Dragon - Craig Ferguson! As a dragon!
Tangled - The trailer was fun.
Toy Story 3 - I thought TS2 was enough, but the reviews for this say it manages to do even better.
Predators - This time their on another planet, and they aren’t all body builders.
Salt - Angelina Jolie.
No, as a Viking, actually.
My top ten for 2010, from best to not-quite-as-good IMHO, although I enjoyed them all:
The King’s Speech
The Town
Kick-Ass
Inception
Toy Story 3
The Social Network
How to Train Your Dragon
Knight and Day
The Tourist
Tron: Legacy
I really wanna see True Grit but haven’t yet.
Interesting list at Moviefone: 50 Best Movies of 2010
OK, having seen several of the late-release Oscar wannabees, I have a revised list:
- The Town - Holding onto the top position. Still the best of the year for my money. I love this movie. Yes, I know I am alone in thinking it’s the best movie of the year, but I am convinced this is the one that will be watched again and again in years to come as some of the others fade from memory.
- The Social Network - Strong movie, wouldn’t be surprised if it got the Oscar.
- The King’s Speech - Some very strong acting performances. Expect acting Oscars.
- Winter’s Bone - Ditto.
- True Grit - Despite my complaints about Bridges’ portrayal, still one of the best pictures of the year, and one that will bear multiple viewings (unlike some of the others).
- The Fighter - Gritty story of boxing, drugs and family ties, with some surprising comic elements.
- Blue Valentine - Don’t go in expecting a sweet romance. The “Blue” in the title should be a hint: lots of bitter with the sweet. A beautifully rendered study of how a relationship forms, and falls apart.
- Let Me In - I wasn’t expecting much, but this is a surprisingly faithful remake of Let the Right One In. Equally creepy or very nearly so.
- Machete - Cheesy fun. Both parody of and homage to 70s exploitation films.
- Get Low - Robert Duvall turns in an amazing performance, as always. Bill Murray in a nice supporting turn, too.
Black Swan doesn’t make my list because:
I thought the whole split personality thing was pretty hackneyed, to tell the truth. And it was in no way a “surprise” as there were broad hints throughout the film.
I don’t think it deserves acting awards either, despite all the hype.
ETA: Still haven’t seen 127 Hours. That may well shake up my rankings. Hope to see it this weekend.
- The Social Network - far and away my favorite film of the year, and I really hope it wins Best Picture.
- The Kids Are All Right
- Toy Story 3
- Black Swan
I’ve only seen 3 movies that were released in 2010, but all of them deserve a place in the list.
All of them were in 3-D. From now on I will stop referring to movies that I see in the theatre as 3-D since I would be hard pressed to see a non-3-D movie in the theatre (why not wait til DVD)
- Tron: Legacy
- Tangled
- Narnia: Dawn Treader
Of the three, Narnia was the worst, but was still enjoyable due to the immersion factor of the new medium. I give the top vote to Tron because of its stunning visual style, perhaps the most original stylistically in the new millennium. But Tangled had stunning visuals as well (of several different types of “scenery”, to refer to a point made by another poster :)) The only thing keeping me from seeing it more than once was all the darn singing (although the bar song was an instant classic)
- Inception
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1
- Shutter Island
- Kick-Ass
- True Grit
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Tron: Legacy
- Edge of Darkness
- The Book of Eli
Having just seen True Grit, I would probably place it as the new #3 on this list.
Overall, I thought it was actually a very strong year for movies. And I tend not to watch the real “Oscar-bait” (no negative connotation intended) movies until a few months after their releases, so I haven’t gotten around seeing to a number of films I’m pretty sure I’ll love, like Black Swan and True Grit.
Of the ones I’ve seen, Inception tops my list. One of my favorite movies of the last ten years, much less 2010 alone, and one that grows more rewarding with each additional viewing. Just a tour-de-force all around, with brilliant writing, direction, acting, and the best musical score of the year.
The rest, in no particular order…
The Social Network
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Kick-Ass
Toy Story 3
With a “guilty pleasure” vote for Tron: Legacy, which I enjoyed the hell out of for its stunning visuals and ass-kicking soundtrack. Also Jeff Bridges.