My Favorite Movies of 2010

Happy New Year! It is now 2011, and I have already made a list of movies that I am looking forward to see this year, so I will now look back and list my top ten movies of 2010. Some of the movies that I was really looking forward to see (Alice in Wonderland, The Wolfman, and the remake of The Nightmare on Elm Street) weren't as good as I hoped they would be, but there were also movies that I saw on a whim that I actually really liked (like the romcom Going the Distance). So...heres my top ten....

10. Going the Distance

I'm not really much of a romantic comedy fan (if you've seen one Katherine Heigl movie, you've seen them all), but I ended up really liking this movie that starred Drew Barrymore and Justin Long as two people trying to make a long distance relationship work. It was really cute, suprisingly funny, and I loved Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as Justin Long's two best friends. I love Drew Barrymore, and this is definitely one of my favorite movies of hers...

9. Inception

There is a lot going on in this movie, so it is definitely a movie that you'd really have to pay attention to. While I think that the overall story is a little rediculous (they have to go in a dream within a dream within a dream just to convince a guy to break-up his father's company), it was definitely one of the most visually striking films of the year. I mean the whole fight scene in the hallway with Joseph Gordon-Levitt was really cool looking. I also liked Tom Hardy, who I had never seen in a movie before this, and is apparently cast in The Dark Knight Rises, but Mr. Nolan didn't say as who yet...

8. The Runaways

This is a movie that didn't get very good reviews or do that well at the box office, but I really liked it. I could be biased because I love Joan Jett, but I thought that this movie was really cool, and that Dakota Fanning was great as Cherie Currie. And even though I was pissed when I read that she was cast to play Joan Jett, I actually think that Kristen Stewart did a half-way decent job. Normally I can't stand her because she doesn't seem to have any personality, but she definitely could have done a lot worse, and her portrayel of Joan Jett was definitely a lot different than the monotone type performances she usually does. The scene when they perform Cherry Bomb in Japan is probably my favorite. Not just because I love that song, but because the whole scene was just Rock N Roll! There is so much energy in that scene, it's just really fun to watch.

7. Kick-Ass

I thought that this movie was really interesting because it combined comedy with ultra-violence. There's tons of blood shed in this movie, most of which is shed by a 9 or 10 year old called Hit Girl, played by Chloe Moretz, who was in two movies I really liked this year. I thought that this movie was really entertaining, and I loved the scene at the end when Hit Girl goes to the bad guy's office and starts killing everybody. Plus, I have to give props to Nicolas Cage for not being absolutely terrible. This is one movie that I can't make fun of him for...

6. The Social Network

Whouda thunk that a movie about Facebook would be so good? Jesse Eisenberg (who BTW is not Michael Cera) is great as Mark Zuckerberg, the creater of Facebook. He's great because you can't really decide if he is a good guy or a bad guy. He does a bunch of completely asshole movies, but you can see how they are justifiable. I also thought that Andrew Garfield (future Spiderman!) was great as Eduardo, the co-founder who Mark ends up screwing over. This movie is getting a lot of Oscar buzz, and I totally understand why...

5. Toy Story 3

The original Toy Story came out when I was 5 years old, and was one of my favorite movies, so I was of course really excited when they made a sequel, and was equally excited when I read that a 3rd movie was coming out, even though I am now 20 years old. I admit it...I love Disney movies! I have two 9 year old sisters, so I still get to watch them all of the time. Toy Story 3 isn't just a great kids movie, its a great movie in general. It was really funny and cute, and was enjoyed by my parents, my little sisters and myself. Towards the end of the movie there was a part that almost made me cry, and I know that if the living room wasn't filled with other people, I totally would have bawled my eyes out....

4. True Grit

 I just saw this movie yesterday, and I thought that it was a great remake that did the original John Wayne movie justice. It has perfect casting with Jeff Bridges as the drunkin Marshall Rooster Cogburn. If they cast anyone else, this movie probably wouldn't have been nearly as good, even with the already great cast of Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. From the very first time you see him in the courthouse you know that the whole movie is going to be great, and it sure was...

3. Let Me In

I was pissed off when I found out that they were making an American remake of Let The Right One In. I thought that it was stupid and pointless, and that there was no way they could make it better than the original, which was one of my favorite movies to come out in 2009. While I was right about it not being better than the original, it was still a good movie all by itself. Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee were great as the main characters of Abby and Owen, and I liked that they didn't change too much of the story. The one big difference is that they added more horror elements. In the original, when the vampire girl attacked someone, you saw it from far away and only really heard her sucking blood. In the remake though, she tears them apart!

2. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was a rare case where a movie that I hyped up a lot in my mind and was really excited about did not disappoint me. There is just one word I have to describe this movie: AWESOME!!! It has elements of video games, comic books, and is also sort of a musical. I mean, when he defeats the first evil ex and theres the big KO, I was just like, "TIIIIGHT!!!" I know a lot of people who thought that this movie was really weird, but I really loved it. I have never read a single Scott Pilgrim graphic novel (I'd see them all the time but, to be honest, because of the drawing style I thought that they were for kids), but because of this movie I really want to read them now.

1. Black Swan

My favorite movie of the year 2010 was the psychological thriller Black Swan. I loved it because it was creepy and suspenseful, but there was also something quite beautiful about it. This is a movie that I would actually pay to go see again, because I don't want to wait for the DVD to be able to see it again. Natalie Portman was perfect as ballerina Nina Sayres, and if she doesn't win an Oscar for this movie I will be very disappointed. It is just fantastic because its a mix of drama, psychological thriller, is a bit campy, but also has some horror in it too. This is a movie that I recommend that everyone should see, and is not only my favorite movie of 2010, but is one of my favorite movies in general....