10. 127 HOURS

It takes a gifted director to make a good film like 2000’s Cast Away look like the work of an amateur, but that’s exactly what Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours does.  Filmed with the same quick-paced coolness that he showed us in Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours turns a one-man survival story with minimal dialogue into one of the most entertaining, aspiring and painfully realistic films of the year.  Franco deserves credit, as he holds up a solo act just as well as Tom Hanks did – and that by no means is an easy task to do.

9. ANOTHER YEAR

Without crunching any numbers, I can think of three directors who have appeared on my top 10 list three times since the year 2000.  Two of them are no surprise: Christopher Nolan and Clint Eastwood.  The third one, however, might be.  That’s because Mike Leigh remains one of the most underrated directors of our era, despite a resumé that includes Secrets & Lies, Happy-Go-Lucky, Naked, Vera Drake and now Another Year.  Given his strong credentials, Another Year may not go down as one of Leigh’s best, but it certainly deserves credit as one of 2010’s best.

8. WINTER’S BONE

In a year filled with strong female leads, the Academy must find room for Jennifer Lawrence’s mesmerizing performance as a teenage girl who must find her father – or at least his body – in order to save her family and their home.  She reminds us that some teenage girls face challenges that are far beyond what a typical adult could handle.   It’s because of Lawrence that Winter’s Bone is one of the most absorbing films of the year, rather than just one of the bleakest. 

7. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

It’s fitting that the coolest, corkiest film of the year has a title like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – and not just because Scott Pilgrim (played by Michael Cera) must defeat Ramona Flower’s seven ex-lovers in order to win her over.  Rather it deserves its eccentric title to match the film’s unconventional videogame atmosphere, which feels welcomingly fresh even before the opening credits roll.  Scott Pilgrim vs the World is the year’s most inventive film, and one of the most entertaining.

6. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Like a Banksy itself, Exit Through the Gift Shop feels like a truly unique and special kind of art.  By the film’s end, I’m not sure that I saw a documentary, or just another one of Banksy’s unique masterpieces.  But one thing I was sure of, is that I had just seen one of the year’s best movies.  Few films are as original and creative as this study of one of the most unique and popular graffiti artists in the world.  And although many people struggle to pick out their favorite Banksy artwork, for me the choice is clearly Exit Through the Gift Shop.

5. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Sure, the kids are all right in Lisa Cholodenko’s smart new family dramedy, but their moms – as in two – could probably be feeling better after their children’s donor dad (Mark Rufallo) intervenes in their kids’ lives.  It’s especially tough on Nic (Annette Bening), the grounded, wine-loving parent/nurse who needs everything in order.  It certainly doesn’t help that the other mom, Jules (Julianne Moore) is having an affair with the donor dad.   Like the kids, Lisa Choloderko’s picture is definitely all right.

4. BLACK SWAN

And now for something completely different!  In Black Swan, director Darren Aronofsky mashes up the intensity of addiction that he showed us with Requiem for a Dream with the physical draining punch of The Wrestler.  And adds some ballet to boot.  Aronofsky gets a major assist from Natalie Portman, who plays Nina, an obsessed New York City ballerina who is willing to go to extreme measures in hopes of reaching perfection in her role in Swan Lake.  Portman’s performance is one of the most unforgettable portraits of the year, as is the film itself.

3. INCEPTION

In 2001, director Christopher Nolan took the five-million-dollar budget that he was provided to make Memento and created an indie-film classic.  Nine years later Nolan has perfected his storytelling tricks on a much more grandeur level, which is very evident in his new masterpiece Inception. From its opening scenes to its stunning finale, Inception takes us on a two and a half hour journey as Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his talented team of agents travel through multiple layers of dreams in hope of planting important information inside the mind of a powerful businessman.  Filmed with gorgeous cinematography by Wally Pfister and directed with masterful skill and patience, Inception is a rare blockbuster that creates its own formula, rather than following one.

2. TOY STORY 3

Pixar’s name comes with certain expectations.  Those expectations were raised to enormous heights after the release of the third installment of Toy Story.   In Part 3, Andy is headed off to college – and his toys are off to a daycare center led by an evil Lotso Bear.  What follows is a prison escape adventure that tickles our funny bones and tugs at our hearts better than any other movie released this year.  The Godfather Part II might still set the gold standard for sequels, but no final film in a trilogy has ever been as good as Toy Story 3.

1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK

With so many negative things that have resulted from Facebook, from online bullying to fake news to hate groups, finally something good has come out of it: The Social Network, David Fincher’s brilliant portrait of the early days of Mark Zuckerberg and the rise of his wildly popular Facebook.  This is what a movie looks like when everything is done right, from the snappy, sharp-witted screenplay by Aaron Sorkin (“If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you would have created Facebook.”) to the wonderful trio performances by Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake to mesmerizing cinematography of Jeff Cronenweth.  Heck, even the tagline (“You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies”) and the film’s trailer featuring a remix of Radiohead’s Creep were memorable.  And each owes direct thanks to director David Fincher.  This is his masterpiece, and the masterpiece of 2010.