Today’s intended goal of podcast editing has had to be put on the back-burner, which is perhaps for the best. Regardless, I’d better not stop podcast work completely. This will form the bulk of the shownotes for the 2010 review podcast.
I think there’s a general consensus amongst ourselves that if we were to pick one film to rule them all and in 2010 bind them, it would by Christopher Nolan’s jaw-dropping spectacle, Inception. Even if we set aside the best-of-breed actions sequences and physical effects work, the film effectively fuses indy film sensibilities with massive studio budgets, giving a wonderful, layered, intelligent yet easy to follow narrative that works flawlessly.
There’s plenty of other fantastic films to choose from over the course of the year. In no particular order, we can highly recommend the following flicks.
The Social Network might have little in common with the true story behind Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, but it’s certainly a damnably interesting fake story. With Aaron Sorkin’s extraordinarily cutting script handled with all of David Fincher’s usual style, this film seemed to have everything squared away long before Jesse Eisenberg delivered one of the best performances of the year.
We can’t go much further without mentioning Toy Story 3, with Pixar neatly bookending the series with a fabulous outing that has so much charm and wit that it cannot be described as anything other than fabulous.
One of the less well distributed films of the year, Get Low sees Robert Duvall as a loner looking to get his affairs in order before shuffling off this mortal coil, attempting to rehabilitate himself back into society. Based around an absolute powerhouse central performance from Duvall with a number of great supporting turns from Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek, amongst others. Great work all round, particularly from a first time feature film director.
A few films that may be old news for those Stateside, but were only unleashed on U.K. cinemas this year are The Road, a compelling post-apocalyptic grim-fest, the deservedly Oscar-winning crime drama The Secret in Their Eyes, and a stellar central performance from Jeff Bridges in the character driven Crazy Heart are all very worthy of the plaudits heaped on them.
Chris Morris produces another great comedy in the shape of Four Lions, unquestionably the funniest film about suicide bombers in existence. Enjoyable, farcical satire from start to finish, this is a superb, hilarious outing.
Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll is a quirky, but effervescent look at the life of Ian Dury, hung around a brilliant, worryingly committed turn from Andy Serkis.
I don’t know how I’ve gotten this far into the list without mentioning Miyazaki’s Ponyo, another delightful tale of childhood innocence from the master of the genre.
Another lot that are well worth a look, in at least some of our estimations; Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Kick-Ass, Youth In Revolt, Up In The Air, How To Train Your Dragon, The Sky Crawlers, Restrepo, Invictus, Winter’s Bone, Wall Street 2, Obselidia, Red, Machete, Daybreakers, Green Zone, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, The Town, Snowman’s Land, and Fish Story.
It’s not all good. Amongst the dregs of this year’s output are The Book of Eli, Case 39, The Bounty Hunter, Clash of the Titans, Splice, Salt, The Human Centipede, brilliantlove, and the truly execrable Enter the Void.
I suppose I’ll do something similar this time next year. With 2011’s movies, obviously.