My Top 15 Movies of 2010

This list was tough to narrow down. There may be a few surprises and some that might have made the cut if I could have seen them, but I hope you enjoy. Here are my Top 15 Movies of 2010, descending order to build the suspense! For more, you can check out what my fellow Gordon and the Whale news writers included in their Top 10 lists.

15. THE GHOST WRITER
While many films this year, like SHUTTER ISLAND, were called “Hitchcockian” this is the only one that truly lived up the term.

14. THE LOTTERY
A sharp look into the failing public school system in NYC, it’s just so heartbreaking. While I haven’t seen WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, which made more money and had more buzz than this similarly themed doc, I hear this is a more even handed look at the system.

13. JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK
As most of my generation, I only know of Joan Rivers as the plastic surgery joke and red carpet staple. This was eye opening as to why she’s a star and what she’s done for the female comedy world.

12. KICK-ASS
If you followed my blog leading up to the release, you know how excited I was for this movie. It did not disappoint! Fun, action packed, and filled with violence it was just what I hoped it would be and more. Nicolas Cage finally got to play a superhero and he did his best Adam West/Batman impression for a pitch perfect performance that didn’t sound like it would work on paper. Chloe Moretz is going to be a star, her Hit Girl stood out above the rest and not just for the profanity that came out her 11 year old mouth.

11. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
This may be my favorite DreamWorks animated film yet. The animation was beautiful, plus Toothless was so adorable! A great coming of age story about believing in yourself and going your own way, filled with laughs. I saw it in 3D, and while it was a great experience, watching it on Blu-Ray was just as fun to watch. The animation is beautiful no matter what dimension you watch it in.

10. STEP UP 3D
This is honestly the best use of 3D I’ve seen since Avatar. Shot on the same type of cameras, it made the show stopping dance routines come alive. While the story and acting aren’t exactly high caliber, this was one of the most entertaining movies I watched this year.

9. THE SECRET OF THE KELLS
It has layers and history that I am not at all familiar with, but I enjoyed it regardless. You can enjoy its simple, concise story with beautiful imagery and animation without knowing the Irish symbolism and history that this movie is steeped in. A mark of a good film is how long it stays with you, and I was researching celtic mythology and folklore long after viewing.

8. BURIED
This tightly written, claustrophobic piece rests solely on Ryan Reynolds shoulders and he does a fantastic job. My heart was racing, I was laughing, I was crying – I was completely invested in this character’s plight in his small coffin. I wish this film had been distributed wider, I feel like it went completely under the radar.

7. INCEPTION
Starkly original, it was a fantastic blend of a big idea and big budget. While some have knocked it for clunky exposition, I feel the unique idea needed that extra bit of explanation. Christopher Nolan has become a brand name director, with his previous critically acclaimed hits like MEMENTO, THE DARK KNIGHT, and INCEPTION just further solidified him as the director of the 21st century.

6. TANGLED
Disney movies will always have a special place in my heart, and this was the best non-Pixar Disney film in years. Last year’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG was a return to form, but this was them at the top of their game since the golden age of the early 90s. Lovable characters on a quest filled with heart, laugher, and good songs. It brought me right back to my childhood.

5. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
It was a strong year for documentaries, but it was easy for me to pick which one would land on this list. As a fan of Banksy’s street art, I’d been looking forward to this for a while and it did not disappoint. It gave us a look into the fascinating world of street art and then flipped in the middle to focus on a different beast entirely. Thoroughly entertaining, I recommend everyone add this to their Netflix Instant Queues now if you haven’t seen it.

4. BLACK SWAN
As the most recently seen film on my list, I’m still trying to properly put my feelings on it into words. An entirely visceral film, it had my heart racing while I was tensed in my seat. Blending high art like ballet with the more low brow genre of horror/suspense makes for an art house flick that should make some big money.

3. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
It's sharp writing, giving us an excellent look at Facebook and the internet start up age, with fascinating characters and top notch acting from Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake move this to near the top of my list. It’s currently sweeping all the critics awards leading up the Oscars, deservedly so, and I hope it can keep it up throughout the award season.

2. TOY STORY 3
I've loved these characters for 10 years and to see them in a new adventure - with suspense, laughs, and heart - was amazing. Further proving that animation isn’t only for children, Pixar may just have crafted their masterpiece with this one. Could this be the year an animated feature takes home Best Picture at the Oscars?

1. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
I loved this movie the first time I saw it, and my love has only grown with every repeat viewing. Edgar Wright seamlessly blends film and video game tropes to create a thoroughly modern romantic comedy. Michael Cera has experienced some backlash recently, but this seems like the role he was born to play. I have no doubt that this will just become more popular on Blu-Ray/DVD, because there’s no where to go but up from its disappointing box office performance.

This list isn’t quite complete since I didn’t get a chance to see THE KING’S SPEECH, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, I LOVE YOU, PHILIP MORRIS and BLUE VALENTINE.

The LXD: Chapter Nine

No time to comment. Just watch it! It's awesome! And, check out Step Up 3D sometime too. Great dancing and the best use of 3D since Avatar. Seriously.

LXD: Premiere Episode

Watch the first episode of @TheLXD, The League of Extraordinary Dancers. Let me know what you think in the comments!

LXD: First Trailer

The League of Extraordinary Dancers promises to bring drama and the highest caliber dance together like never before. I'm excited to see how the fuse the storyline with all dance, if it'll make sense within the storytelling of it'll be thrown in like a musical uses songs.

Will you tune in?

Advance Review: Step Up 3D

For dancing movies, no one really cares about the plot. It's all about the dancing and routines! Now, a dance movie that has a good storyline is just icing on the cake. Unfortunately, this is just cake. The plot had a lot of holes and I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending. One of the relationships felt forced and unnecessary. But again, the plot doesn't matter. I was so enthralled with the dancing and battle storyline that I didn't even notice these holes while watching; it was only during the focus group after the film, when I was forced to look back and reflect on the weaknesses, that I noticed these short comings.

The dance battles were memorable and highlighted by the fact that they were in 3D. And this is 3D as it was meant to be made - shot in 3D instead of converting it after the fact. The 3D made the dancing even more jaw dropping. They had the battles set so they could fully use 3D to its maximum potential. The first battle took place in a warehouse with chalk all over the floor. The chalk highlighted certain moves and made the 3D really pop. This style was used again in another dance battle which was set in a small pool of water. Great dancing and footwork, while also using the water to make moves more dramatic and exciting.

This is the third film in a series, but you really don't need to know anything about the first two movies to enjoy it. I saw the first one (Channing Tatum's big break) and loved it, but had no desire to see the second installment. What drew me to Step Up 3D was it's connection to So You Think You Can Dance, with Adam Shankman as director and many of the stars from Season 4-6 in minor roles, and the 3D element. The basic story is that the "Moose" character from the second film moves to NYC to go to NYU but gets wrangled into the dancing world despite trying to focus on his engineering degree. There's a cute romance and a heated rivalry that spice things up along the way to the World Jam - the final battle that crowns a dance crew champion and awards a prize that will supposedly solve all their problems. Again, this story isn't important. With at least 5 riveting dance routines that feature some of the best dancers around - Twitch, Legacy, Mad Chad, etc, you're in for a great time.

My recommendation: See this film in theaters (in 3D!) if you have ever liked a dance movie, ever.

Watch the trailer below, in case you missed it the first time I posted it:

Step Up 3D: Trailer

Step Up 3D is out this summer! I'm excited to see all the So You Think You Can Dance alums try their hand at acting. It looks like Twitch will be heavily featured, which is awesome since he was one of my favorites on the show. Does the plot even matter for this? I have no idea what the story is about, all I know is there will be some sweet dance routines with lasers and dust clouds all in 3D glory!

George Lucas' "Singing in the Rain"

An American film classic, like you've never seen it before!

Stomp the Yard 2

Looks like Twitch (from SYTYCD Season 4) has found another gig! He just wrapped Step Up: 3D with Adam Shankman, Josh, and Katee a couple months ago, and soon he'll be starting on Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming. Boss is supposed to star as the antagonist, Taz.

I saw the first Stomp the Yard, and honestly wasn't too impressed. The dancing was great, but I was so uninterested in the plot surrounding it that I never even caught the protagonist's name. But, I'm for sure going to be checking out this sequel, just probably not until DVD.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]