2010 End Of Year Review - Top 10 Films

Tomorrow is the big day where BobbySix.com announces it's Top 10 Albums of the Year, so in order to tidy up the housekeeping, here are the best movies of the year and everything else of note:

TOP 10 MOVIES

1. TOY STORY 3
"Seeing the likes of Woody and Buzz on screen again offers the warmth and familiarity of delving into your own childhood toy box, and there are also new characters to enjoy, not least a vacuous Ken doll voiced, brilliantly, by Michael Keaton. The story whizzes along at pace, with moments of humour punctuating exciting and inventive set pieces. There is laugh-out-loud hilarity (and not the tiresome in-gags that have littered other animated movies, but, rather, well-crafted and perfectly-delivered jokes) and, importantly, there are tear-inducing moments too.

Toy Story 3 has clearly been created with genuine loving care, rather than having its dots joined by accountants and marketing executives. It is a work of art, and as perfect an example of storytelling with a heart as you are likely to find." (full review...)

2. INCEPTION
"Finally, a blockbuster with a brain in its head that pays the audience the respect of assuming they have one too. If you want your movies to offer food for thought rather than chewing gum for the eyes, then give Nolan's cracker your true support and show the money men that audiences are cleverer than they give us credit for. Maybe then we'll get a few more Inceptions and a few less Tranformers." (full review...)

3. KICK ASS
Really funny and charming, with its mix of superhero movies like Spiderman and Batman and teen-flicks-with-a-heart like Juno and Ghost World, all held together with a small sprinkling of Superbad-style comedy and some mega violence/swearing. Oh and with and a bit of Leon thrown in.

4. MADE IN DAGENHAM

The remarkable true story of a group of women workers as they battle for equal rights. As many tears as there are laughs, Made in Dagenham might end up being this year's Slumdog when the award season comes around. And some of it is set in Eastbourne - the birthplace of Bobby Six!

5. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
"It’s as simple as this: The Social Network is much, much better than a film about obnoxious, affluent young men either sitting in rooms bickering over litigation or sitting in rooms writing computer code has any right to be." (full review...)

6. FOUR LIONS
A comedy about suicide bombers? Surely such a thing is not possible. Well, when it pours out of the brain of Chris Morris then, of course it is. What's more, it is perfectly-measured. Close to the bone yet neither judgemental nor especially sympathetic, it is a funny and strangely touching account of four men's rather misjudged and half-baked plan.

7. EASY A
"A loving homage to the John Hughes teen movies of the 1980's, Easy A is well-observed, nicely paced and, crucially, very funny. The dialogue, similarly to Juno, is snappy and sharp as hell, and just like you did with Ellen Page, you'll find yourself totally engaged and charmed by Stone. In fact, the redheaded young actress is by far and away the best thing about Easy A. For someone that we have only really seen in the supporting roles in Zombieland and Superbad, she absolutely owns the screen from start to finish. Funny, sassy and intelligent while all the time purveying the kind of vulnerability that most teenagers feel, Stone's performance suggests we'll be hearing a lot more from her in the future.

Easy A might be a love-letter to the likes of Sixteen Candles, Say Anything and Ferris Bueller's Day Off rather than being an equal to them, but it may well stand the test of time and isn't too far away from those era-defining, female-led teen flicks like Mean Girls and Clueless." (full review...)

8.WINTER'S BONE
Jennifer Lawrence delivers an astonishing performance in this bleak drama about a teenager who has to hunt down her absent father in order to prevent her family from having their home repossessed.

9. THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
An intelligent comedy that boasts fine turns from Julianne Moore (although when has she ever put in anything less?) and Mark Ruffalo. It is far less annoying and smug than it could have been and has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

10 (joint place). SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD and STEP UP 3D (yes, really)
These two films deserve mentions for different reasons. Scott Pilgrim was clever, fairly witty and offered heaps of winks and nudges towards the computer game generation. The problem is that it was just too ambitious. There was too much plot to squeeze into one film and too many big budget set-pieces. It seemed not to know what it wanted to be -  a blockbuster or an indie flick. In the end it landed awkwardly and messily between the two. And so it is with disappointment that it only just squeezes into the top ten. It was good, but it should have been great.

Conversely, a film with seemingly little to offer turned out to be the most accidentally funny movie of the year and, consequently, massively entertaining. Take a bow, Step Up 3D. The plot? Well, plot schmot. Essentially the exposition - clunky, cheesy and hackneyed as it was - merely served to join the dots between fantastic dance routines and featured some brilliantly hopeless dialogue. Characters would say something like: 'The biggest decisions in life are never easy,' before looking into the mid-distance with a thoughtful/troubled expression, like Plato in pumps. Another example came when, as the romantic leads were considering leaving New York, the girl with the abs said to the guy with the pecs, 'We could go anywhere,' before slightly undermining the world of possibilities by adding, 'Even California.' (full review...)
 
BEST TELEVISION MOMENT
“So, the winner, and Australia’s Next Top Model for 2010 is…. It’s you Kelsey. Wait… what? Oh."

TOP 3 PODCASTS
Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Review Podcast, BBC Five Live
Guardian Football Weekly Podcast
The Collings and Herrin Podcast

BEST SPORTING HIGHLIGHT
Well, this. Obviously.

Step Up 3D

I've yet to be at all convinced by 3D. It seems to be there simply to make people 'ooh' and 'ahh' as things point at them, without enhancing a story or adding depth. Take Inception for instance. 3D would surely have actually detracted from the beautifully constructed visuals rather than improving them.

However, maybe with the release of the latest in the Step Up series, 3D has found its home. The dance sequences in this third installment were simply magnificent and the 3D effects - while still littered with gimmicks - really made you feel like you were right there on the stage with the cast. During these lengthy set pieces, it was perfectly okay to be wowed when it looked like someone was popping through the screen because it was taking nothing away from the story. It was a visual treat that understood the purpose and the limitations of 3D. Although, even in two dimensions, the dance routines would still have been fantastic.

As for the plot. Well, plot schmot. Essentially the exposition - clunky, cheesy and hackneyed as it was - merely served to join the dots between routines and featured some brilliantly hopeless dialogue. Characters would say something like: "The biggest decisions in life are never easy," before looking into the mid-distance with a thoughtful/troubled expression, like Plato in pumps. Another example came when, as the romantic leads were considering leaving New York, the girl with the abs said to the guy with the pecs, "We could go anywhere," before slightly undermining the world of possibilities by adding, "Even California."

But, while none of the audience were there for the plot, the film's overall tone was great, in that it managed to portray the kind of supercool urban world that every teenager would want to be a part of, without there being even a hint of booze, sex, drugs or violence. And for that, Step Up 3D deserves applause.

Inception

I saw Inception this week. While I think Toy Story 3 still pips it to being my favourite film so far this year, Inception offered me my best viewing experience in eons. The cinema was fairly full; there were teens I assumed would be texting, crunching and slurping alongside old folk I thought would noisily explain the plot to each other. However, there was nothing but silence throughout. Not a peep. Why? Because Christopher Nolan crafted a story so complex and intelligent that it was impossible to lose concentration for a second. Nor would one have the inclination to. Finally, a blockbuster with a brain in its head that pays the audience the respect of assuming they have one too.

The story, which - without wishing to give too much away - takes place largely within the subconscious of the characters, revolves around the idea of extracting and implanting ideas via dreams. In the wrong hands, the plot could have felt ludicrous and contrived, but Nolan has managed to make it utterly believable. The action sequences are really gripping too.

So, if you want your blockbusters to offer food for thought rather than chewing gum for the eyes, then give this film your true support and show the money men that audiences are cleverer than they give us credit for. Maybe then we'll get a few more Inceptions and a few less Tranformers.