Top 5 Fridays :: 2010 movies (as chosen by Brian)

I know I am a little late to this top of the (last) year lists for film. But I had a good excuse, well an excuse anyways, I wanted to make sure I could see most of if not all of the movies that are making the rounds. That way my opinion would be fair and balanced (unlike Fox news). I had a busy holiday season and saw little to no movies then so I had to make it all up in the last couple of weeks. I also am a firm believer that you have until the Academy Awards to come up with your lists. So without much further ado, here are my Top 5 movies of 2010.

5. Exit through the gift shop – This was quite possibly one of the most surprising and rewarding experiences I had at the movies all year. Not knowing much of anything before going into it helped. This is almost two movies in one. The first is sort of a history of street art/search for Banksy while the second part is exposing the ludicrousness of the supposed art world. I loved both parts equally. It was funny and daring and turned a lot of people onto the genius artwork of Banksy. I hope they never find out who he truly his, because the mystery is a huge part of the allure.

4. The Fighter – I want everyone to see this movie and then try and talk shit about Christian Bale. Whether you think he is a nice guy or not, he absolutely owns this movie as former fighter turned current crack head Dickie Ecklund. This the true story of “Irish” Micky Ward and his long rise to fame in the boxing world. But it is more then that. Its a story about family and friendships and what sacrifices one must make to achieve success. It is also Mark Wahlbergs best work in a really long time. I was beginning to think that he was no longer capable of a strong performance and here he proves me wrong. I loved almost everything about this movie, Amy Adams (adorable again) Melissa Leo, and the sisters. So many great things happening at one time that its impossible to not enjoy it.

3. Inception – I know most people have gotten over all the hype from this movie have picked it apart so much that it no longer holds any enjoyment for them. Which is too bad, because Christopher Nolan managed to make an epic movie that was so layered and complex you had no choice but to go see it twice. I recently watched it again on Bluray and let me tell you that it will be one of those movies that I will watch again and again. It was visually stunning, funny, mind boggling and captivating. I would almost like to see a series of movies based around this device and the adventures you can have in the mind. The possibilities would be endless

2. 127 Hours - Danny Boyle is the master of any style. There are few if any filmmakers working today that can seamlessly jump between genres and knock it out of the park. Here he tells the tale of Aron Rolston, the unfortunate hiker who went out into the desert alone and got his arm stuck beneath a boulder for 127 hours. He eventually cut off his own arm and escaped. What Boyle does here is he pins you to the rock along with Rolston (played by James Franco in an Oscar worthy performance) and makes you feel the pain, confusion and terror that Aron is feeling. This was the most cathartic experience I had in a movie all year. The rush of emotion that came over me at the end was so perfect. Yes the arm removal scene is intense, but not because it is overtly gory or gross, but because the whole movie has been building up to this point and you feel for Aron as he removes his hand.

1. Scott Pilgrim vs The World – I tried to rationalize this off my top 5 list. At first I was like “well Steve had it as his number one, so I can be forgiven if I skip past it” or “its not going to win any awards, so I might as well pick True Grit or Kings Speech.” But alas I can’t. This is the only movie that I went to see in the theatre on two separate occasions. It is the only movie that I have watched a third and fourth time at home on DVD. It was the most fun I had in a theatre all year and will go down in history as one of the least appreciated movies when it was released. In all fairness this movie should have made 200 million dollars. It will, eventually, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that so many people dismissed it. Not the movie fans that I know, but the gemeral public who for whatever reason were too tired of Michael Cera’s schtick and just didn’t seem to get it. It is funny, fast, clever, brilliant and awesome. Edgar Wright is a movie making genius and I will watch whatever he does from now until the Zombie Apocalypse (Lets be real, that is how the world is going to end)