Nick Murphy’s Obligatory Top 10 Movie List: 2010

So here we are again. The last days of 2010 are upon us, so now the time has come to take advantage of the year end festivities by analyzing and examining the wealth of cinematic adventures I went on throughout the last 365 days. In the following blog, I will list the ten films released in 2010 that I consider to be my favorite. It’s a very solid list, perhaps the most solid I’ve ever written (though I said the same thing last year and that still stands true). Of course, I didn’t see every movie released this year, I’m a very busy man and time is precious. However, I did seek out most of the movies I wanted to see and I am convinced that I saw the best ones. Though I know some of you fine readers might disagree with me, but I can take comfort in the fact that you are wrong.

So without further ado, I give you:

NICK MURPHY’S TOP TEN FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2010




10) TRUE GRIT
One could make the argument that every great western has been made and that’s the reason they don’t get made very often. The western has been a dying genre for decades now. Every once and awhile a great one comes out, but they never mark a return to the classic formula. This is a challenge that Joel and Ethan Coen are more than happy to accept. Time will tell if this movie brings the western back into the mainstream, but I will say that ‘True Grit’ is quite an amazing attempt to bring the traditional western to modern audiences. Charles Portis’ novel ‘True Grit’ was once adapted in 1969 with John Wayne in the role of the drunken U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn. Here, Jeff Bridges takes up the spurs of that central character and plays it as a burned out, yet redeemable hired gun. As for the rest of the cast, not one member hits a false note. And that whip smart dialogue? I haven’t heard better banter in a western story since ‘The Furies’-- and that was made in 1950.




9) ENTER THE VOID
Experimental movies are always a risk and movies don’t get more experimental than ‘Enter the Void’. Clocking in at 155 minutes, this is a journey of a young man’s floating spirit as it travels through life, death and apparent reincarnation. The quest is, at times, beautiful, ugly, brutal, intense, sexy, confusing and always amazing. Writer/director Gaspar Noe denies that the film leads to an actual rebirth of the lost protagonist, but instead is about the lucid dream experienced by this drug dealer on the way to death in a Tokyo bathroom. In any case, the film is a phenomenal voyage into the unknown and a one of a kind movie motion ride. Just be careful if you drop any hallucinogens before viewing this flick, it might take you somewhere you do not want to go.




8) BLACK SWAN
Being a professional ballet dancer is not easy. There are countless techniques to learn and they must be executed with expert precision. Attempting that kind of perfection can be hell on your feet. These kind of details keep ‘Black Swan’ achingly authentic as the main character, Nina Sayers (played by Natalie Portman) goes deeper into her own fantasies and dreams of flawlessness. Darren Aronofsky’s direction and Natalie Portman’s performance are so effective in bringing this world to light that I could never imagine anyone else taking the reins of this gorgeous masterpiece. Cast as the lead in a production of ‘Swan Lake,’ the pressure mounts and mounts little by little every moment Portman is on screen causing the viewer to be immersed in her madness so that we go insane right along with her. It is an incredible balancing act and one that ‘Black Swan’ pulls off with the style, grace and excellence of Nina Sayers herself.



7) THE FIGHTER
There is nothing more formulaic or predictable than a sports movie. And ‘The Fighter’ is one such sports movie. The true story of Boston underdog Micky Ward who beat the odds and became a junior welterweight champion is nothing we haven’t seen in a movie before-- or is it? Beyond its surface as a typical sports story, is what could quite possibly be the best character drama of the year. Mark Whalberg gives his most effective performance since ‘The Departed’ as Ward and Christian Bale delivers what amounts to the most believable portrayal of a crackhead in movie history as Micky’s drug addled half brother Dickie Ecklund. Director David O. Russell might have a mean ol’ temper (which you can see in action by clicking here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Qls1rAfYs ) but he can craft one hell of a motion picture. ‘The Fighter’ is as crowd pleasing as ‘Rocky’ and as personally tragic as ‘Raging Bull’. In other words: a great movie.




6) SHUTTER ISLAND
I first read Dennis Lehane’s novel ‘Shutter Island’ back in 2004. It was one of the best mystery stories I had ever read. So when I heard back in 2007 that Martin Scorsese was making the film version of that novel, I was in anticipation heaven. Released back in February, I thought it was a great start to a new decade of movies and I still feel that way today. Scorsese’s interpretation of Lehane’s creepy mental hospital and the people inhabiting it are the things that both dreams and nightmares are made of. Many folks wrote this movie off because the final plot twist was too predictable. That may be true, but what makes the movie so great is not the twist itself, but the way it affects the characters. Scorsese is never normally interested in the machinations of the plot, but instead by the people populating it. And the characters in this film are definitely the kind of tortured souls that give Scorsese films their depth. Leonardo DiCaprio in his fourth collaboration with Marty gives a performance that is unique and genuinely heartbreaking.




5) THE SOCIAL NETWORK
What could have ended up as a throwaway made for TV movie about the founding of Facebook has ended up as one of the defining films of our generation. This is in no small part the effect of David Fincher’s impeccable direction, Aaron Sorkin’s flat out brilliant screenplay and the haunting electric music score by NIN’s Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Now I have no idea what the actual Mark Zuckerberg is like in real life, but his character as portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg is one of the most unique protagonists ever captured on film. He is a social outcast who leaves his friends behind to explore a world of his own creation that went on to revolutionize our way of life. And if you have any doubts as to how revolutionary Facebook is, then I ask: On what site were you on before you started reading this blog?...




4) TOY STORY 3
Now don’t get me wrong here, both ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 2’ are entertaining, joyful and funny, but I can’t quite classify them as great movies. They are very strong films and they made Pixar the number 1 leader in quality animation. However, there is some phantom element that is missing from these films and it is an element that ‘Toy Story 3’ has loads of. If you spied on me back in June as I sat in the movie theater watching this, you would find a blubbering fool crying his eyes out behind his Dolby Digital 3D glasses. It has been years since a movie made me an emotional mess and no movie has ever done it like ‘Toy Story 3’ does. Emotional manipulation is something that movies are supposed to excel at and this Pixar masterwork takes it to the next level of artistry. So say goodbye to all your favorite toys and don’t forget to bring a hanky.




3) 127 HOURS
Danny Boyle is the most visceral director this side of Tony Scott, but you need that kind of kinetic energy to make a film like this work. The bulk of the film is one man stuck in a canyon with a boulder pinned against his arm. So in order to pull off an effective cinematic experience, one must have many clever ways to document this crucial event of the story with an actor who is worth watching the whole time. All this and more is accomplished in this amazing true life survival story. ‘127 Hours’ is a film that offers hope in a hopeless situation. Aaron Ralston is a skilled outdoorsman who employed the courage and the strength to do what very few of us would do in the same position and James Franco nails the role with the right balance of optimism and desperation. Boyle’s follow up to the Oscar winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a filmmaking coup de grace with intense sequences that are undercut with very well timed humor. Sometimes a movie’s greatness can blindside you, this is a feat that ‘127 Hours’ performs all too well.




2) SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
I’ll be honest, I thought this movie was going to suck. It had everything going against it: the trailer looked ridiculous; it stars Michael Cera who’s a funny guy, but he plays the same character in every movie he’s in; and it’s the first feature that ‘Shaun of the Dead’/’Hot Fuzz’ director Edgar Wright has done without the comedy duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Yeah, things didn’t look good… But then I saw the movie and the only word I could use to describe it was, “Wow.” Edgar Wright took Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim graphic novels and crafted a cinematic love letter to all things geek. No stone is left unturned; everything from video games, cartoons, indie rock and Seinfeld is given its due. This is the kind of movie that makes me feel like a kid again. The entire collection of over the top elements is weaved into a storyline that is written, directed and acted with intelligence and respect. There has never been a movie like this and there will never be a movie that matches it. So enjoy, film fans.




1) INCEPTION
Christopher Nolan takes the creative freedom he earned after the success of ‘The Dark Knight’ and emerges with one of the most exhilarating blockbusters ever made with ‘Inception‘. With a budget of around 170 million dollars, this could quite possibly be the most expensive art film of all time. Although in all fairness, the movie is pretty high concept, so maybe ‘Inception’ is more experimental than arty. Whatever the case, the impact on our culture this film has made is undeniable. There was no other movie released this year that sparked the kind of fierce philosophical debate that so rarely ignites after a flick like this. So many questions come about after viewing this film about its ambiguous spinning top ending. Of course other people ask: Is this movie really THAT good? Or is it just a technological thriller that’s too clever for its own well being? Allow me to answer these questions right here and now:
- I believe the top keeps spinning.
- This movie is THAT good. In fact, it’s a masterpiece.
- Not only is it a masterpiece, it’s the best film of 2010.
So with that being said, any cause for debate is null and void. When you get right down to it, ‘Inception’ is not only a story about the kind of adventures you can have within your own mind, it also states the promise of a future where movies aren’t confined within formulas or predictability, but instead thrive on originality and imagination. This is a truism of all of Christopher Nolan’s films thus far. We can only have faith that he’ll keep delivering the goods with each of his subsequent films.


There you have it, gang. Overall, not the best year for movies, but certainly not the worst. I'm sure 2011 won't be nearly as good. Of course, if I'm wrong, I'll eat my words this time next year.