Best of 2010 so far

Four Lions

The only things I've seen that are even close to keepers are Toy Story 3 and Shutter Island. Winter's Bone was pretty good, but in a better year I don't think it would stand out as much. I did like Hot Tub Time Machine and Kickass, but putting them on any best of list doesn't sit well at all.

Jack Goes Boating
Toy Story 3
Splice
Greenberg
Catfish
The American
Enter the Void
Exit Through The Gift Shop
127 Hours
The Social Network
Black Swan
Winter's Bone
Inception
I Love You Phillip Morris
The Other Guys
Scott Pilgrim
White Material

My top 7 (of 17 seen)

1. Winter's Bone
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
3. Splice
4. Toy Story 3
5. How to Train Your Dragon
6. Greenberg
7. Shutter Island

Actually, I give 14 of the 17 I've seen a B or above in terms of grade rating. The only low ratings were for Iron Man 2, MacGruber, and Kick Ass, the latter of which is frustratingly overrated here.

It's been a pretty awful year so far. Here's my semi-organized list:

1. Toy Story 3
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
3. Kick-Ass
4. Exit Through the Gift Shop
5. Winter's Bone
6. Splice
7. Iron Man 2
8. Cyrus
9. District 13: Ultimatum
10. Undisputed III: Redemption

Winter's Bone
Toy Story 3
The Ghost Writer
How To Train Your Dragon
Centurion

I started this thread, like, months ago, but I can't cut and paste the appropriate link.

That being said, I think the hand-wringing over how bad this year has been is a little unnecessary. Yes, it's a bad summer for Hollywood, but I've seen plenty of fantastic indie features and documentaries* this year as well, and we got some decent to excellent studio pictures the first half of the year, like Daybreakers, Shutter Island, and even the underrated Wolfman. I don't think there's a film I've been this year that I've outright hated (but I avoided stuff like Alice), and I've had more than a few movie experiences that knocked me on my ass, like Red Riding, A Prophet, and most recently, Winter's Bone. And there's still a bunch of stuff I need to see (disappointed as fuck I missed Greenberg, need to get to Cyrus and TS3), and that's not discounting the large chunk of time spent at revivals/retrospectives.

The great movies are out there. Y'all whiny bitches aren't looking hard enough.

*Seriously, you guys, OCTOBER COUNTRY and THE ART OF THE STEAL.

Kick Ass, Solomon Kane, A Prophet, Meserine, Centurion, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, A Single Man, Life During Wartime, Daybreakers, Wild Grass, The Killer Inside Me, Revanche, Greenberg, Lourdes, Tetro, London River and Shutter Island are already fighting for my top ten. Seriously boggled at how people can find this year lacking.

There are always smaller films released each year that will end up being gems, but in terms of big mainstream releases, this year has been shit.

My list so far:
1. Shutter Island
2. Toy Story 3
3. Human Centipede
4. Splice
5. Kick-Ass

Hot Tub Time Machine and The A-Team are probably next on the list, but if they're still there come 2011, I'd be very surprised (and disappointed).

*terrorist fist-bumps Spike*

I always find it interesting how lists change depending on what part of the world you're in; for example, there are a couple of titles on Spike's list that were late 2009 releases here, but didn't appear overseas until this year. Vice versa, we didn't get Red Riding and A Prophet released until 2010, even though both made the festival circuit in 2009.

And oh man, I saw the trailer for Meserine this weekend and was like "DEAR GOD WANT NOW."

MESRINE is just crazy entertaining. Not game-changing or any other buzzword, but just fantastic cinema.

Meserine is WAY better than the trailers, and the trailers are pretty friggin’ great.

It’s a little bad of me to include Revanche because that’s an ’08 movie in Austria, but it’s only just crawling to the English speaking world.

I’d probably try and get away with adding LOVE EXPOSURE to my list, I saw it in 2009 but it only got a wide (ish) release in ’10 and it was pretty freaking great.

Also Hot Tub Time Machine and I <3 You Philip Morris are definitely circling the lower half of the top ten, I’m not a comedy guy but I loved both those films.

Even outside of the films I listed there’s a bunch of movies like The Wolfman and Crazy Heart which I really liked, but didn’t spring immediately to mind, and a bunch of films which I really wanted to see but missed out on due to limited screenings (Rec 2, for one).

I would put Revanche as an '09 picture, but whatever the year, it should be seen by more people.

For me so far this year it's A Prophet and everything else.

I forgot Dogtooth, somehow, as well for this year.

1. Winter's Bone
2. Shutter Island
3. Kick-Ass
4. Splice
5. MacGruber
6. Toy Story 3

I've seen a lot more movies but these are the only ones that really made an impression on me. Yes MacGruber is in my top 5, and I don't feel one iota of shame for it.

I still need to see almost all of the really acclaimed pictures like A Prophet, Human Centipede, Cyrus, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc.

I take back the thing I said about not seeing a movie that I disliked that came out this year; I saw Stolen, Edge of Darkness, and From Paris With Love and didn't like any of those.

1 (tie). Winter's Bone/Red Riding
3. Farewell
4. A Prophet
5. Shutter Island
6. The Art of the Stead
7. The Killer Inside Me
8. Cropsey
9. October Country
10. Harlan: In The Shadow of Jew Suss

Rep:

1. Red Shoes (Film Forum)/Hausu (IFC Center)
3. The Prowler (Film Forum)
4. Winchester '73 (Film Forum)
5. Seven Samurai (Film Forum)
6. Breathless (Film Forum)
7. Shoot the Piano Player (IFC Center)
8. Five Easy Pieces (Film Forum)
9. Gone With The Wind (Film Forum)
10. Point Break (IFC Center)
Honorable Mention: Total Recall (IFC Center), Raw Deal (Film Forum)

Weird seeing Red Riding being treated like a theatrical release across the pond. Not that I'm complaining.

Haven't seen Red Riding yet, but feeling very conflicted about it. The word's been great, but I was left pretty cold by the first book. It had a few decent ideas, but they never quite congeal.

1. I AM LOVE
2. THE GHOST WRITER
3. TOY STORY 3
4. SHUTTER ISLAND

I still have to catch up on FAUST, THE GRAND MASTER, INCEPTION, THE RED RIDING TRILOGY, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE TEMPEST, THE TREE OF LIFE, and TRUE GRIT.

So far, my list is...
1) The A-Team
2)
3) Iron Man 2
4) Kick-Ass
5) Alien Vs Ninja
6) From Paris With Love
7) Jonah Hex

My 2nd fave film should be...The Expendables.

How can you catch up on those is they haven't been released yet?

My pseudo-figured out list thus far:

Unranked, cause brother don't need no numbers: BLACK DYNAMITE!

1. Toy Story 3
2. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
3. Shutter Island
4. Splice
5. The Good, the Bad, the Weird
6. Book of Eli
7. The A-Team
8. Green Zone
9. Daybreakers
10. Harry Brown

6-10 wouldn't even be my top 15 by this point any other year (except 2005, maybe). And though I left out Iron Man 2, which I enjoyed, these are the only 10 new releases this year that I saw and liked.

1) A Prophet
2) Girl with a Dragon Tattoo
3) The Good The Bad The Weird
4) Ajami
5) Ghost Writer

Honorable mentions list
6) Greenzone
7) Mesrine Public Enemy No. 1
7) Book of Eli

Worst Movie of the Year
1) From Paris with Love

Wow, I didn't realize all my favorite movies of the year were foreign films. Ajami is an Israeli crime film I recently saw, its pretty awesome. Its written by an Israeli and a Palestinian, the movie seems concerned with an awesome story not with pushing a certain agenda, the characters in the movie are all heroes and all villains. Still not as good as A Prophet which is one of my all time favorite films. Its just too incredible. And I've seen Good, Bad, Weird twice in the theaters, just love it.

I thought about adding Mesrine, but at the end of the day its a completely forgetable film. Its a very enjoyable film, the second one in specific is editted slickly and has a great score. But its so conventional, maybe its unfair to call it predictable but it was. Especially in light of A Prophet, its just that much tougher to be impressed with Mesrine, which pales in comparison in every regard to A Prophet.

I'm not sure if Greenzone or Book of Eli would qualify, which is why they are on my honorbale mentions list. I'd probably need to watch it once more, but I did enjoy them immensley. Overall its been a dismal summer for Hollywood Blockbusters.

1. Hubble 3D
2. Toy Story 3
3. Earthling
4. Splice
5. Mars
6. Dogtooth
7. Daybreakers

I'm curious, but the trailer looks a tad amateurish. Does it rise above its meager origins?

Yeah, I quite liked it. A couple of dodgy effects here or there but the effects aren't central enough that that sinks it. It was a character piece first and foremost, and it worked on that level (something often sorely lacking in science fiction films, even independent ones). Perhaps I rate it a little higher than I would've because of its super low budget origins; Splice was I suppose a more interesting movie. But it's definitely worth a look, a solid entry to the recent wave of indy scifi.

2010 release:

1.- 5. *Open*
6. Inception
7. Splice
8. The Kids are All Right
9. Kick-Ass
10. TS3
11. The Human Centipede
12. How to Train Your Dragon
13. Daddy Longlegs
14. Daybreakers
15. Fish Tank

Rep:

1. The Wizard of Oz (Film Forum)
2. Bad Day at Black Rock (Film Forum)
3. Shock Corridor (Film Forum)
4. Corpse Bride (MoMA)

I am not a huge fan of David Peace; I think he's talented and he's doing a lot of great things with the form, but he's not the New Ellroy everyone wants him to be. That being said, Red Riding is probably the best police corruption drama since Prince of the City, and being able to see all three parts at once enhances the experience 110 percent. I'm curious to see them on DVD with a day or so between, but the afternoon in the theater I spent watching the trilogy is one of my favorite theater experiences ever. It's a staggering achievement, and while it's not without flaws, I loved it.

I like Kirby's idea of adding a rep list, 'cause I'm pretentious like that. Post edited to reflect accordingly!

My faves so far:

1. GREEN ZONE
2. SHUTTER ISLAND
3. THE WOLFMAN (Director's Cut)
4. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
5. KICK-ASS
6. MACGRUBER
7. TOY STORY 3
8. SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
9. KNIGHT & DAY
10. GET HIM TO THE GREEK

Still much catching up to do in terms of limited releases.

Also, this thread proves that I liked IRON MAN 2 way less than I thought I did. That film didn't even cross my mind when I was collating my list, and I'm one of its defenders.

I liked IRON MAN 2 much more than the original, but after I left the theater, the whole experience felt pretty perfunctory.

Thus far:

1. Heartless
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. Shutter Island
4. Splice
5. The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
6. Kick-Ass
7. Life During Wartime
8. Plastic Bag
9. Dead Hooker in a Trunk
10. Survival of the Dead

1.Inception
2. A Prophet
3. Winter's Bone
4. Kick-ASS
5. Macgruber
6. A-Team

Worst

1. Greenberg
2. Killer Inside Me

Jesus, Kick-Ass is weirdly overrated here. I mean, I can't imagine the kind of mindset that would rank it over Winter's Bone. Well, I guess I can, but I guess I expect better of people here.

I think they're both overrated. But I don't like movies anymore, it would seem. Everything I've watched this year got clowned by Breaking Bad.

It's more an indictment of the movie year so far.

Granted, I've missed a few that should probably be on my list. Like Winter's Bone.

Toy Story 3 has made a lot of lists. Haven't seen it. Haven't seen the second one either. First one annoyed me. I realize I'm in the minority on that and I don't take an "everyone who loves the Toy Story movies is an idiot" stance. I understand the appeal. Toy Story is just one of those few movies, like Heat and A Christmas Story, that everyone seems to love except me.

Admiral Shark, That is because...Winter's Bone, doesn't...KICK-ASS enough!

I may never be able to enjoy anything ever again once Breaking Bad is off the air.

Does Kick-Ass feature a scene where a girl removes a hand from the corpse of her dead father with a chainsaw? I THINK NOT.

Well, technically, neither does Winter's Bone.

For half a year I'm going with five titles, including the above:

Kick-Ass
Toy Story 3
Terribly Happy
Splice

Toy Story 3
Kick Ass
How To Train Your Dragon
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Shutter Island

As far as I'm concerned, the first Red Riding movie is easily the worst movie I've seen all year. If anything tops it I'll be impressed. The whole series is a boring, useless piece of shit. Going in, I was extremely excited. The concept and subject matter sounded very interesting, but it was executed by a group of morons.

The first one is an utter atrocity of bullshit. It's not only incredibly boring, but the direction and shot composition is awful. I'm sorry, but shooting 3 inches of Sean Bean's shoulder and 4 feet of a car window from the back seat during a fucking conversation is useless and artsy nothingness. There should be a drinking game for how many times the director chooses to compose a shot by beginning out of focus, focusing, and going back out of focus.

The second one is slightly better, but still bad. By the third movie, I just wanted it all to be over.

Yeah, but you're kind of a meathead, mike_tyson. Let me guess: Your opinion is colored by the fact you didn't get to review it for your blog. Or maybe because you didn't get to create a thread about it to pimp said blog.

I could go into the many, many reasons why you're wrong, but your basic complaints are so misguided that I wouldn't know where to start.

Sorry I liked Cop Out and didn't like Red Riding and admit it. Guess my tastes will never be hip enough to live in Brooklyn.

Eww, I should say not. There are standards to be maintained. That shit might cut it in Long Island, but one of the best things about Brooklyn is the art snobbery.

Hahaha. Also, I live in Bay Ridge, which is about as far from art snobbery as you can get.

In no order and off the top of my head...

A Prophet, Animal Kingdom, The A-Team, Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine.