Top 10 of 2010: Films

While there's plenty I haven't seen, here are my favorites released in 2010. It'll be nice not to have to see something as lame as The Blind Side as an Oscar contender this year.

10. Inception

Writer/Director Christopher Nolan has proven, once again, his mastery of the cerebral blockbuster. Expect many more worthwhile crowd-pleasers in the years ahead.

9. The Town

Affleck set the mark high with his 2007 directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, but The Town delivered. While it boasts a fairly formulaic heist-movie storyline, its pace and style carry it further.

8. Shutter Island

Certainly not Scorsese's best work, this now nearly-forgotten release of early 2010 was met with mixed reviews. It might take a few viewings for some to appreciate it (it is now streaming on Netflix), but Scorsese and DiCaprio's fourth collaboration presents an affecting tale of psychological deterioration.

7. True Grit

Anything created by the Coens will almost always be among my favorites of the year and True Grit is certainly among the best westerns of the past few decades. While the film's characters hover somewhere between plausible and archetypal, performances like that of Jeff Bridges (and even Matt Damon)afford the film incredible entertainment value. 

6. Exit Through the Gift Shop

Everyone's favorite street artist, Banksy, reveals his ability manipulate the Los Angeles art world a la "The Emperor's New Clothes." What begins as an inside look into one man's experience with street art ends with a revamp of the age-old question: "What is art?"

5. The Fighter

The Fighter expands upon the structure of a traditional boxing movie, chronicling the entanglements of members of Micky Ward's toxic but supportive family. Even the film's most sappy and cliché moments feel real, thanks to the performance abilities of Bale, Wahlberg and Melissa Leo. The Lowell, Massachusetts milieu comes to life with Bale's strung out Dicky Eklund as its tour guide. After watching, check out HBO's 1995 doc High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, the shooting and release of which is depicted in The Fighter. 

4. The King's Speech

The great performances of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush turn this predictable, feel-good period piece into something memorable. Directed by Tom Hooper (HBO's John Adams miniseries),The King's Speech is heartfelt and even funny.

3. The Social Network

The Fincher-directed, Sorkin-scripted Facebook movie generated a lot of hype, and rightfully so. The melodrama associated with this Facebook origin myth is eclipsed by its complex characters and witty dialogue. The film avoids oversimplified hero and villain characterizations, challenging audiences to decide for themselves who is right or wrong, if anyone. Eisenberg deserves an Oscar nod for his portrayal of America's second youngest billionaire. 

2. Black Swan

Aronofsky's latest is the unsettling story of Nina(Natalie Portman), a rigid, emotionally stunted ballerina who descends into derangement in her attempt to play the Swan Queen in her cutthroat ballet company's production of Swan Lake. Aronofsky, once again (as he did with The Wrestler) , examines the mental torture artists and performers endure in their pursuit of perfection. The audience is transported into Nina's distorted reality, with help from Portman's authentic performance and the film's stunning visual elements.

1. Toy Story 3

Pixar has proven its penchant for churning out near perfect films year after year. The third installment of the Toy Story saga was as close to perfect as we came in 2010. It ties up loose ends, delivers a few last laughs and a bids a fond farewell to the inhabitants of Andy's Room. Imaginative and poignant, Toy Story 3 delivers on every level. Whether audiences are new to the story or grew up watching the first two films, they will be impressed.