Ada's Top 10 Films of 2010

What qualifies to be on Ada's list:

- any film from a film festival that I attended in 2010 (which was only TIFF this time)
- any film with a Canadian theatrical release dated in 2010
- is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2010


1. Inception (USA)
2. Black Swan (USA)
3. 127 Hours (UK/USA)
4. Aftershock (China)
5. Dirty Girl (USA)
6. Kaboom (USA)
7. The Town (USA)
8. Super (USA)
9. Social Network (USA)
10. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Finland)

Honourable mentions: You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (USA), The Fighter (USA),
Tamara Drewe (UK), and Colin Firth's performance in The King's Speech.

Didn't get around to seeing Barney's Version, only film left that I wonder if it would've made my top 10 list.

(clicking on titles will bring you to trailer/imdb page)

Inception was the obvious favourite for me in 2010, having watched it 3.5 times. Wasn't completely sold on the idea of having Leo DiCaprio as the lead, and I'm not blind to the fact that some aspects of the plot are a little thin. The overall premise was gripping and performances solid, visually stunning and ignites passionate discussions after viewing. All wins in my book.

Following close on Inception's heels for finely crafted film is Aronofsky's Black Swan. A little bit more manipulative when it comes to driving audience emotions in the climax -- but when does Aronofsky not to that? It's one of the reasons that makes him a good director. More solid performances -- Natalie Portman's standard is never less than stellar, same with Vincent Cassel.

All the films from 3-8 are major standouts, I don't necessarily like one more than the other. Saw 127 Hours twice and Danny Boyle is one of my favourite directors, but it still amazed me that James Franco, under his direction, could carry a film by himself with such ferocious pacing and energy. It's an achievement in filmmaking in my eyes.

You want to talk manipulative (some might call it contrived), turn to China's 2nd highest grossing film of all time (only very recently surpassed) Aftershock. I wasn't even sure I wanted to see it, and wound up crying my eyes out over the events of the Tangshan and how it affected a family instead. What does that say?

And surprisingly emotional? Dirty Girl staring the very underrated Juno Temple. Billed as an throwback 80's road trip buddy comedy about the high school slut and her gay best friend on a trip across the country to find her father. I really hope this gets some decent distribution in 2011, so few films have commercial appeal AND heart.

In a whole other category (as Gregg Araki usually is) there's Kaboom. What a storyteller Gregg Araki is! Once again it includes the talented Juno Temple. This irreverent tale of love, friendship, sci-fi, and closeted surfers is one of the most memorable films I've seen.

The Town was love it or leave it, I chose to love it. Affleck crafted this project so intricately, you could really see his love for his home, his town, and its inhabitants. There is something to the philosophy "write about what you know".

Super is another unique tale, falling outside of formulaic superhero tale but not meant as a spoof either. It's the story of Rainn Wilson as an average joe who transforms himself into a superhero in hopes of freeing his wife from the influence of a drug dealer. Extra great is Ellen Page getting ridiculous as his self-appointed sidekick Boltie. Super pushes the boundaries and gets huge laughs for it. As I said in my post-TIFF review... This is not for the faint of heart, those high in moral fiber, or the politically correct; everyone else must see it.

Who thought we'd ever see Jesse Eisenberg's name on the list of nominations for best actor in the "drama" category? Well that's what The Social Network did for him. Percentage of fact vs. fiction aside, it's relevant, has impact (on the audience I mean, who knows what FB will be in 10 years), and a great treatment given to the film by Fincher.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale was the single most original film I have seen at TIFF in 11 years. On top of that it was good! So dark I was hysterical from laughter at how wrong it all was. This story survived the translation to blow us all away. Soon as it was done we all wanted copies of the movie so we could watch it every year during the holidays.

I felt I had to say something about Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, I sometimes like his highly criticized films more than the ones praised by reviewers. This is a story about how life goes, good or bad, fair or unfair. It's so accurate and meaningful/meaningless, take it however you want. That's the beauty of his work.

The Fighter has some fantastic performances, great pacing, and well-told (if sometimes a little textbook) story. By no means should it be over-looked by anyone (don't let the boxing bit deter you even if you're not into it). Same with The King's Speech, Colin Firth's performance is worth seeing if you want to experience good cinema. I will upset if he doesn't win the Oscar for Best Actor this year.

Tamara Drewe will be more unfamiliar for most of you, unless you're a Stephen Frears fan or have read the book. Again it's one of those tales of life as it comes, sometimes morally objectionable, can be a little bit dark, not a heroine you're going to love... but it's a portrayal of events, and it's told well. Multiple storylines, ensemble cast, it has touches of Altman, not that Frears isn't very skilled himself.

It didn't escape my notice that it was mostly US films on my list this year, which is kinda rare. At the same time reassuring to see that hollywood can still spice it up and remembers the meaning of variety.