Milan Paurich:
1.The Kids Are All Right, Please Give, Somewhere (tie) — If 2010 was not a banner year for movies, it was a fantastic year for women directors. With these three films, it’s starting to look like Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar win for The Hurt Locker was less of a fluke than a bellwether.
2. Carlos — Edgar Ramirez gave the performance of the year in the title role of Olivier Assayas’ epic about notorious Venezuelan revolutionary/terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sánchez, aka Carlos the Jackal.
3. The Social Network — Who would have guessed that a movie about the creation of Facebook would turn out to be the best big-studio release of 2010?
4. Greenberg — Ben Stiller gives his bravest performance in this extraordinarily nuanced, emotionally acute Noah Baumbach dramedy that, tragically, almost nobody saw.
5. Vincere — I’ve run hot and cold on veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio for years, but his Mussolini-as-a-young-man biopic is the most accessible — and possibly finest — film of his career.
6. The Ghost Writer — Roman Polanski’s crackerjack thriller about a Tony Blair-like British politician and his unwitting ghost writer is as effortlessly elegant and rigorously crafted as vintage Hitchcock.
7. Inception — Turn on, tune in, drop out: the grooviest head trip since 2001: A Space Odyssey.
8. I Am Love — Luchino Visconti may be long gone, and Bernardo Bertolucci hasn’t made a proper “Bertolucci movie” in years, but Luca Guadagnino’s rapturously beautiful, intoxicatingly sensual art-house hit recalls both Italian maestros in peak form.
9. Another Year — Another year, another Mike Leigh masterpiece. Leigh’s most satisfying film since 1999’s Topsy Turvy tells the story of a year in the life of a British family and their maddeningly needy best friend, played by the brilliant Lesley Manville.
10. Tiny Furniture — The malaise of post-collegiate life has rarely been captured with this much insight, honesty, and humor. A remarkable first effort by 24-year-old Lena Dunham, who also stars.
Pamela Zoslov:
1. Inside Job — Charles Ferguson’s important, searing documentary dissects — in fine detail and with cathartic outrage — the reckless and villainous greed behind the global financial meltdown.
2. Life During Wartime — Misanthropic genius Todd Solondz follows up his 1998 masterpiece Happiness with this sublimely mournful melodrama about the same dysfunctional family, entirely recast.
3. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work — This profile of the 77-year-old comedian reveals a smart, vulnerable, and endearingly self-aware performer who lives primarily for her work.
4. Fair Game — Naomi Watts is ideally cast in Doug Liman’s penetrating drama about covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, who was outed by Bush administration officials in retaliation for husband Joe Wilson’s (Sean Penn, also perfect) exposure of the lies that pushed us into war.
5. Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer — Alex Gibney (who chronicled U.S. torture practices in Taxi to the Darkside) turns his attention to the downfall of the brilliant, disgraced ex-governor of New York, revealing the machinations of powerful enemies — alongside reckless hubris — that brought down the onetime Sheriff of Wall Street.
6. Catfish — The DIY alternative to the glossier The Social Network, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost’s documentary about a young man who seeks out the seemingly irresistible woman he met on Facebook is an absorbing, tech-styled study of the seductions and deceptions of social networking.
7. The Fighter — Christian Bale is superb in David O. Russell’s raw, heartfelt biopic about welterweight boxing champ Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg), whose career was sidetracked by his brother and trainer (Bale), a fighter who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard but later succumbed to crack addiction and crime.
8. The Last Station — Helen Mirren’s vivid portrayal of Sofya Tolstoy is a thing of beauty in Michael Hoffman’s charming film about the troubled marriage of writer Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer).
9. The Kids Are All Right — Though a bit too precious, Lisa Cholodenko’s comedy about a lesbian couple (Julianne Moore and Annette Bening) and their relationship with their teenage children’s sperm-donor father (Mark Ruffalo) is a radical act, showing a lesbian marriage in utterly conventional terms.
10. Love and Other Drugs — Ed Zwick’s movie about a pharmaceutical salesman who falls for a Parkinson’s patient (Anne Hathaway) won my affection for subversively disguising its devastating critique of Big Pharma as a sexy romantic tragicomedy.
Send feedback to film@clevescene.com.
This article appears in Dec 29, 2010 – Jan 4, 2011.
Apparently there was some mix-up in the placement of these lists.
Here’s how my top 10 really stacked up.—Milan Paurich
The 10 Best:
(1). “The Kids Are All Right” (Lisa Cholodenko); “Please Give” (Nicole Holofcener); “Somewhere” (Sofia Coppola). While 2010 was hardly a banner year for movies, it was a fantastic year for women directors (see above). It’s starting to look like Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar win last year for “The Hurt Locker” was less of a fluke than a bellwether.
“Carlos” (Olivier Assayas). Edgar Ramirez gave the performance of the year in this five-and-a-half-hour epic about notorious Venezuelan revolutionary/ terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez (aka “Carlos the Jackal”). The chameleonic Assayas (“Summer Hours,” “Les Destinees”) just might be the greatest working director in films today.
“The Social Network” (David Fincher). Who could have guessed that a movie about the creation of Facebook would turn out to be the best studio release of 2010? Time Magazine for starters. They recently named Facebook major domo Mark Zuckerberg their “Person of the Year.”
“Greenberg” (Noah Baumbach). Ben Stiller gave his bravest performance to date in this extraordinarily nuanced, emotionally acute dramedy that, tragically, almost nobody saw.
“Vincere” (Marco Bellocchio). I’ve run hot and cold on veteran Italian director Bellocchio for more decades than I care to remember, but his Mussolini-as-a-young-man biopic was the most accessible–and possibly finest–film of his career.
“The Ghost Writer” (Roman Polanski). This crackerjack thriller about a Tony Blair-like British politician and his unwitting ghost writer was as effortlessly elegant and rigorously crafted as vintage Hitchcock.
“Inception” (Christopher Nolan). Turn on, tune in, drop out: the grooviest head trip since ”2001: A Space Odyssey.”
“I Am Love” (Luca Guadagnino). Luchino Visconti may be long gone–and Bernardo Bertolucci hasn’t made a movie in years–but Guadagnino’s rapturously beautiful, intoxicatingly sensual arthouse smash recalled both Italian maestros in peak form.
“Another Year” (Mike Leigh). Another year; another Leigh masterpiece. The British director’s most satisfying film since 1999’s “Topsy Turvy” told the story of a year in the life of a family and their maddeningly needy best friend (the brilliant Lesley Manville).
“Tiny Furniture” (Lena Dunham). The malaise of post-collegiate life has rarely been captured with as much insight, honesty and humor as it was in this remarkable first effort by 24-year-old Dunham (who also stars).
And in case anyone’s interested, here’s the flip side of 2010 movies: my 10 Worst list.—Milan P.
“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.” In a year rife with unwanted and profoundly unnecessary 3-D sequels (including “Saw 3-D,” “Resident Evil: Afterlife” and “Step Up 3-D”), “C&D” really took the cake. Or is that the “Kitty” litter?
“The Expendables.” This sickeningly, nihilistically violent offal was also the worst action flick of the year. I’m just grateful it wasn’t in 3-D.
“The Last Airbender.” A bad idea (a live-action version of an obscure cartoon series) atrociously executed, M. Night Shyamalan’s howlingly inept debacle also proved the grand folly of retro-fitting flat movies into 3-D just to make a few extra bucks.
“Grown-Ups.” Adam Sandler’s worst film since “The Water Boy” was also his biggest commercial hit in more than a decade. I guess P.T. Barnum was right.
“For Colored Girls.” For Movie Critics Who Have Considered Suicide/After Seeing Enuf Tyler Perry movies.
“Killers.” Katherine Heigl reunited with her “Ugly Truth” director Robert Luketic for another 10-worst-list-worthy rom-com. Some people never learn.
“Cop Out.” Where have you gone, Kevin Smith? A (Sundance) Nation turns its lonely eyes to you, woo-woo-woo.
“The A-Team.” We’ve seen lots of terrible movies based on old TV shows in recent years, but few were as eminently disposable–and instantly forgettable–as this deserving summer flop. And to think that “A” director Joe (“Narc,” “Smokin’ Aces”) Carnahan once evinced so much promise.
“Mao’s Last Dancer.” Aussie New Wave veteran Bruce Beresford has directed as many clunkers (the 1985 Richard Gere Biblical howler “King David” among them) as he has classics (“Tender Mercies,” “Driving Miss Daisy”). This indigestible slice of politically correct Velveeta just might be the worst Beresford of the bunch.
“Little Fockers.” The profligate waste of A-list talent (Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Owen Wilson) on moldy Viagra and projectile vomiting jokes helped make this third “Fockers” go-round the most depressing (and desperate) studio comedy of the year.
Please add “Money Never Sleeps ” as the “WORST ” film of 2010.
Oliver Stone’s missive of supposed greed masked as a vehicle for Michael Douglas. Too bad he was alone and had no film to star in. Bad dialogue, choppy script, lacking in any sense of reality. Has Oliver Stone ever been to Wall Street ? This movie goes nowhere. Many scenes of computer screens and traders dressed from 1980. Even a cameo from Charlie Sheen looks contrived and awkward. Shia Labeouf is miscast and cannot carry this film’s lead. What is he 17 ?. I’m not giving this kid $100mm. and he is not swaying the equity market. His girlfriend played by Carey Mulligan was given a script that read “cry” , look “pouty ” and nothing else. She pulls it off brilliantly !. Josh Brolin is the only saving grace.
Save your money. Money never sleeps is a waste of celluloid and a waste of my time.
Hey JWest, your review screams of grumpy old man. Your probably from the same generation that hates films like Inception and Avatar, and want films made like they were “in the good old days”. “Money Never Sleeps” had its downsides, but the benefits- a great performance by Michael Douglas, superb soundtrack/great scenes of New York City. Oliver Stone tried to touch on everything that happened during the rise and fall of the financial collapse of 2008, so definitely stretched the plot too thin, but take the movie for what it was. Also, Shia LaBeof is developing into a very good actor, give the guy some credit. Much like the 1st Wall Street, the scenarios are a bit ridiculous, but what you take away from a movie like this: some great lines, a timepiece of what was happening, and Oliver Stone’s landscape of NYC.