Movie Box Review

I always like to check in on the scores over at Metacritic at the end of the year, to temper the popularity vote that IMDb Top 250 list seems to have, but also because it's one place where I still find titles I've never heard before. The formatting and design have changed over at the site so the info I pulled is every so slightly different from last year, but overall it's more rather than less info. Interesting to see that 8 titles from 2010 made it to their all time list of best reviewed films, which now feels like it includes lots and lots of re-releases. Any way I look at it, I like it though because it gives me more films to add to my own lists!

2010 Movies on the Metacritic Top 200 as of Dec 31, 2010
24. The Social Network
33. Sita Sings the Blues
134. Inside Job
135. A Film Unfinished
150. 45365
151. The King's Speech
190. The Kids Are All Right
198. Last Train Home

Metacritics 100 Best Reviewed films from 2010 as of Dec 31, 2010
1. The Social Network
2. Sita Sings the Blues
3. Carlos
4. Toy Story 3
5. Children of Tokyo
6. A Prophet
7. Winter's Bone
8. Inside Job
9. A Film Unfinished
10. 45365
11. The King's Speech
12. The Tillman Story
13. The Kids Are All Right
14. Last Train Home
15. Lebanon
16. Exit Through the Gift Shop
17. Vincere
18. Restrepo
19. Secret Sunshine
20. Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
21. Boxing Gym
22. Animal Kingdom
23. Neil Young Trunk Show
24. Mademoiselle Chambon
25. 127 Hours
26. Ajami
27. Marwencol
28. Change Nothing (Ne Change Rien)
29. White Material
30. The Secret in Their Eyes
31. The Secret of Kells
32. Fish Tank
33. The Illusionist
34. Waiting for 'Superman'
35. Blue Valentine
36. True Grit
37. From Selma to Soweto
38. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
39. Mother
40. IMAX: Hubble 3D
41. Let Me In
42. I Am Love
43. Hadewijch
44. The Fighter
45. Racing Dreams
46. Please Give
47. Waste Land
48. Black Swan
49. Teza
50. Another Year
51. Mugabe and the White African
52. Alamar (To the Sea)
53. Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983
54. In Search of Memory
55. The Ghost Writer
56. Father of My Children
57. Get Low
58. Still Bill
59. Undertow
60. The Army of Crime
61. Room and a Half
62. Vengeance
63. Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
64. Soul Kitchen
65. A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism
66. Greenberg
67. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
68. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
69. The Art of the Steal
70. Anton Chekhov's The Duel
71. The Two Escobars
72. Oceans
73. The Square
74. Pranzo di ferragosto
75. Prodigal Sons
76. Terribly Happy
77. Go Get Some Rosemary
78. Rabbit Hole
79. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
80. Inception
81. Farewell
82. Stonewall Uprising
83. The Town
84. Cyrus
85. Ahead of Time
86. How to Train Your Dragon
87. Cropsey
88. See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
89. Blue Beard
90. Tibet in Song
91. Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
92. Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess
93. Amer
94. Easier with Practice
95. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1
96. The Company Men
97. Let It Rain
98. Easy A
99. The Oath
100. The Lottery

Metacritic Top 200 films as of Dec 31, 2010
1. Balthazar (re-release)
2. Lawrence of Arabia (re-release)
3. The Godfather
4. The Leopard (re-release)
5. The Conformist (re-release)
6. Sweet Smell of Success (re-release)
7. Fanny and Alexander (re-release)
8. Superman II
9. Seven Samurai (re-release)
10. The Night of the Hunter (re-release)
11. Army of Shadows
12. Pépé le Moko (re-release)
13. Pan's Labyrinth
14. Metropolis (re-release)
15. Rififi (re-release)
16. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
17. The Adventures of Robin Hood (re-release)
18. The Producers (re-release)
19. Days of Being Wild (re-release)
20. The French Connection (re-release)
21. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
22. Ratatouille
23. Modern Times (re-release)
24. The Social Network
25. A Hard Day's Night (re-release)
26. Days of Heaven (re-release)
27. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
28. Spirited Away
29. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (re-release)
30. Pulp Fiction
31. Killer of Sheep
32. The Hurt Locker
33. Sita Sings the Blues
34. WALL-E
35. The Battle of Algiers (re-release)
36. Sideways
37. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
38. Carlos
39. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
40. Reversal of Fortune
41. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
42. Schindler's List
43. Taxi Driver (re-release)
44. La Dolce Vita (re-release)
45. Frantic
46. Amadeus
47. Yi yi: A One and a Two...
48. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
49. The Class
50. Raging Bull
51. 35 Shots of Rum
52. Umberto D (re-release)
53. Masculine Feminine (re-release)
54. There Will Be Blood
55. Beauty and the Beast (re-release)
56. Toy Story
57. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
58. Werckmeister Harmonies
59. Toy Story 3
60. Moolaadé
61. The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)
62. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
63. Le cercle rouge (re-release)
64. The Triplets of Belleville
65. The Queen
66. Repulsion (re-release)
67. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
68. 68
69. Beau travail
70. Do the Right Thing
71. Waltz with Bashir
72. Secrets & Lies
73. Patton
74. No Country for Old Men
75. Raiders of the Lost Ark
76. After Hours
77. The Crying Game
78. Ran (re-release)
79. Saving Private Ryan
80. A Prophet
81. Winter's Bone
82. L.A. Confidential
83. Bloody Sunday
84. Apocalypse Now
85. My Voyage to Italy
86. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (re-release)
87. La commune (Paris, 1871)
88. Solaris (re-release) (Tarkovsky)
89. The Sweet Hereafter
90. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (re-release)
91. Topsy-Turvy
92. Being John Malkovich
93. Before Sunset
94. The Incredibles
95. American Splendor
96. Hannah and Her Sisters
97. Almost Famous
98. Gosford Park
99. United 93
100. Capturing the Friedmans
101. The Truman Show
102. The Passenger (re-release)
103. Persepolis
104. Lost in Translation
105. The Best of Youth
106. The Lives of Others
107. 4 Little Girls
108. House of Flying Daggers
109. Funny Girl (re-release)
110. Man on Wire
111. Still Walking
112. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
113. Finding Nemo
114. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
115. No End in Sight
116. Goodbye Solo
117. Stop Making Sense
118. In Cold Blood (re-release)
119. Goodfellas
120. The Piano
121. Quai des Orfèvres
122. Piccadilly
123. High Noon (re-release)
124. Letters from Iwo Jima
125. Once
126. The Last Waltz (re-release)
127. Superman
128. Ghost World
129. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
130. Brazil
131. Capote
132. Tulpan
133. Overlord
134. Inside Job
135. A Film Unfinished
136. The Blue Angel (re-release)
137. Time Out
138. Eyes Without a Face (re-release)
139. On the Waterfront (re-release)
140. Thelma & Louise
141. Band of Outsiders
142. Away from Her
143. Mafioso
144. The Fallen Idol (re-release)
145. Chicken Run
146. Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
147. Blade Runner
148. Up
149. Y tu mamá también
150. 45365
151. The King's Speech
152. Toy Story 2
153. Nobody Knows
154. L'Enfant
155. Little Women
156. The Spirit of the Beehive
157. Shakespeare in Love
158. Gomorrah
159. I vitelloni
160. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
161. Quiz Show
162. Howards End
163. Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
164. Crumb
165. Serpico (re-release)
166. Maria Full of Grace
167. Fateless
168. Tootsie
169. Brokeback Mountain
170. Shine
171. Tarnation
172. Murderball
173. Grizzly Man
174. The English Patient
175. All About My Mother
176. Aliens
177. Marooned in Iraq
178. Sex, Lies, and Videotape
179. To Die For
180. The Wind Will Carry Us
181. The Conversation
182. The Tillman Story
183. Slumdog Millionaire
184. Million Dollar Baby
185. 42: Forty Two Up
186. Say Anything...
187. To Be and to Have
188. The Straight Story
189. Rushmore
190. The Kids Are All Right
191. Dead Ringers
192. Boys Don't Cry
193. Easy Rider
194. Chinatown
195. Ten
196. In the Bedroom
197. Je rentre à la maison
198. Last Train Home
199. The Beaches of Agnès
200. Russian Ark

I always like to check in on the scores over at Metacritic at the end of the year, to temper the popularity vote that IMDb Top 250 list seems to have, but also because it's one place where I still find titles I've never heard before. The formatting and design have changed over at the site so the info I pulled is every so slightly different from last year, but overall it's more rather than less info. Interesting to see that 8 titles from 2010 made it to their all time list of best reviewed films, which now feels like it includes lots and lots of re-releases. Any way I look at it, I like it though because it gives me more films to add to my own lists!

2010 Movies on the Metacritic Top 200 as of Dec 31, 2010
24. The Social Network
33. Sita Sings the Blues
134. Inside Job
135. A Film Unfinished
150. 45365
151. The King's Speech
190. The Kids Are All Right
198. Last Train Home

Metacritics 100 Best Reviewed films from 2010 as of Dec 31, 2010
1. The Social Network
2. Sita Sings the Blues
3. Carlos
4. Toy Story 3
5. Children of Tokyo
6. A Prophet
7. Winter's Bone
8. Inside Job
9. A Film Unfinished
10. 45365
11. The King's Speech
12. The Tillman Story
13. The Kids Are All Right
14. Last Train Home
15. Lebanon
16. Exit Through the Gift Shop
17. Vincere
18. Restrepo
19. Secret Sunshine
20. Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
21. Boxing Gym
22. Animal Kingdom
23. Neil Young Trunk Show
24. Mademoiselle Chambon
25. 127 Hours
26. Ajami
27. Marwencol
28. Change Nothing (Ne Change Rien)
29. White Material
30. The Secret in Their Eyes
31. The Secret of Kells
32. Fish Tank
33. The Illusionist
34. Waiting for 'Superman'
35. Blue Valentine
36. True Grit
37. From Selma to Soweto
38. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
39. Mother
40. IMAX: Hubble 3D
41. Let Me In
42. I Am Love
43. Hadewijch
44. The Fighter
45. Racing Dreams
46. Please Give
47. Waste Land
48. Black Swan
49. Teza
50. Another Year
51. Mugabe and the White African
52. Alamar (To the Sea)
53. Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983
54. In Search of Memory
55. The Ghost Writer
56. Father of My Children
57. Get Low
58. Still Bill
59. Undertow
60. The Army of Crime
61. Room and a Half
62. Vengeance
63. Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
64. Soul Kitchen
65. A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism
66. Greenberg
67. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
68. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
69. The Art of the Steal
70. Anton Chekhov's The Duel
71. The Two Escobars
72. Oceans
73. The Square
74. Pranzo di ferragosto
75. Prodigal Sons
76. Terribly Happy
77. Go Get Some Rosemary
78. Rabbit Hole
79. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
80. Inception
81. Farewell
82. Stonewall Uprising
83. The Town
84. Cyrus
85. Ahead of Time
86. How to Train Your Dragon
87. Cropsey
88. See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
89. Blue Beard
90. Tibet in Song
91. Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
92. Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess
93. Amer
94. Easier with Practice
95. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1
96. The Company Men
97. Let It Rain
98. Easy A
99. The Oath
100. The Lottery

Metacritic Top 200 films as of Dec 31, 2010
1. Balthazar (re-release)
2. Lawrence of Arabia (re-release)
3. The Godfather
4. The Leopard (re-release)
5. The Conformist (re-release)
6. Sweet Smell of Success (re-release)
7. Fanny and Alexander (re-release)
8. Superman II
9. Seven Samurai (re-release)
10. The Night of the Hunter (re-release)
11. Army of Shadows
12. Pépé le Moko (re-release)
13. Pan's Labyrinth
14. Metropolis (re-release)
15. Rififi (re-release)
16. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
17. The Adventures of Robin Hood (re-release)
18. The Producers (re-release)
19. Days of Being Wild (re-release)
20. The French Connection (re-release)
21. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
22. Ratatouille
23. Modern Times (re-release)
24. The Social Network
25. A Hard Day's Night (re-release)
26. Days of Heaven (re-release)
27. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
28. Spirited Away
29. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (re-release)
30. Pulp Fiction
31. Killer of Sheep
32. The Hurt Locker
33. Sita Sings the Blues
34. WALL-E
35. The Battle of Algiers (re-release)
36. Sideways
37. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
38. Carlos
39. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
40. Reversal of Fortune
41. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
42. Schindler's List
43. Taxi Driver (re-release)
44. La Dolce Vita (re-release)
45. Frantic
46. Amadeus
47. Yi yi: A One and a Two...
48. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
49. The Class
50. Raging Bull
51. 35 Shots of Rum
52. Umberto D (re-release)
53. Masculine Feminine (re-release)
54. There Will Be Blood
55. Beauty and the Beast (re-release)
56. Toy Story
57. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
58. Werckmeister Harmonies
59. Toy Story 3
60. Moolaadé
61. The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)
62. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
63. Le cercle rouge (re-release)
64. The Triplets of Belleville
65. The Queen
66. Repulsion (re-release)
67. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
68. 68
69. Beau travail
70. Do the Right Thing
71. Waltz with Bashir
72. Secrets & Lies
73. Patton
74. No Country for Old Men
75. Raiders of the Lost Ark
76. After Hours
77. The Crying Game
78. Ran (re-release)
79. Saving Private Ryan
80. A Prophet
81. Winter's Bone
82. L.A. Confidential
83. Bloody Sunday
84. Apocalypse Now
85. My Voyage to Italy
86. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (re-release)
87. La commune (Paris, 1871)
88. Solaris (re-release) (Tarkovsky)
89. The Sweet Hereafter
90. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (re-release)
91. Topsy-Turvy
92. Being John Malkovich
93. Before Sunset
94. The Incredibles
95. American Splendor
96. Hannah and Her Sisters
97. Almost Famous
98. Gosford Park
99. United 93
100. Capturing the Friedmans
101. The Truman Show
102. The Passenger (re-release)
103. Persepolis
104. Lost in Translation
105. The Best of Youth
106. The Lives of Others
107. 4 Little Girls
108. House of Flying Daggers
109. Funny Girl (re-release)
110. Man on Wire
111. Still Walking
112. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
113. Finding Nemo
114. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
115. No End in Sight
116. Goodbye Solo
117. Stop Making Sense
118. In Cold Blood (re-release)
119. Goodfellas
120. The Piano
121. Quai des Orfèvres
122. Piccadilly
123. High Noon (re-release)
124. Letters from Iwo Jima
125. Once
126. The Last Waltz (re-release)
127. Superman
128. Ghost World
129. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
130. Brazil
131. Capote
132. Tulpan
133. Overlord
134. Inside Job
135. A Film Unfinished
136. The Blue Angel (re-release)
137. Time Out
138. Eyes Without a Face (re-release)
139. On the Waterfront (re-release)
140. Thelma & Louise
141. Band of Outsiders
142. Away from Her
143. Mafioso
144. The Fallen Idol (re-release)
145. Chicken Run
146. Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
147. Blade Runner
148. Up
149. Y tu mamá también
150. 45365
151. The King's Speech
152. Toy Story 2
153. Nobody Knows
154. L'Enfant
155. Little Women
156. The Spirit of the Beehive
157. Shakespeare in Love
158. Gomorrah
159. I vitelloni
160. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
161. Quiz Show
162. Howards End
163. Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
164. Crumb
165. Serpico (re-release)
166. Maria Full of Grace
167. Fateless
168. Tootsie
169. Brokeback Mountain
170. Shine
171. Tarnation
172. Murderball
173. Grizzly Man
174. The English Patient
175. All About My Mother
176. Aliens
177. Marooned in Iraq
178. Sex, Lies, and Videotape
179. To Die For
180. The Wind Will Carry Us
181. The Conversation
182. The Tillman Story
183. Slumdog Millionaire
184. Million Dollar Baby
185. 42: Forty Two Up
186. Say Anything...
187. To Be and to Have
188. The Straight Story
189. Rushmore
190. The Kids Are All Right
191. Dead Ringers
192. Boys Don't Cry
193. Easy Rider
194. Chinatown
195. Ten
196. In the Bedroom
197. Je rentre à la maison
198. Last Train Home
199. The Beaches of Agnès
200. Russian Ark

Time to look at how 2010 sized up on the IMDb Top 250 List, and I'm a little surprized that only 7 titles managed to land on the the hit the Top 250 list, although that is one more than 2009's list which had 6 titles.

I always find these entries interesting because it always seems to be a mix of fandom picks, acclaimed directors (usually with fanboy followings) and and exceptional films. This year that combination of films holds strong yet again. Side-note, am I the only person who *hasn't* seen Toy Story 3?

Looking for a more critical eye? Check out how Metacritic weighs in at the end of 2010.

2010 additions to the IMDb Top 250:
6. Inception
26. Toy Story 3
51. Black Swan
150. The Social Network
173. How to Train Your Dragon
199. True Grit
239. Kick-Ass

IMDb Top 250 (as of December 31, 2010)
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Inception (2010)
7. Schindler's List (1993)
8. 12 Angry Men (1957)
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
10. The Dark Knight (2008)
11. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. Seven Samurai (1954)
14. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
15. Fight Club (1999)
16. Goodfellas (1990)
17. Casablanca (1942)
18. City of God (2002)
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
21. Rear Window (1954)
22. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
23. Psycho (1960)
24. The Usual Suspects (1995)
25. The Matrix (1999)
26. Toy Story 3 (2010)
27. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
28. Se7en (1995)
29. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
30. Memento (2000)
31. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
32. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
33. Forrest Gump (1994)
34. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
35. Leon: The Professional (1994)
36. Apocalypse Now (1979)
37. Citizen Kane (1941)
38. North by Northwest (1959)
39. American Beauty (1999)
40. American History X (1998)
41. Taxi Driver (1976)
42. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
43. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
44. Vertigo (1958)
45. Amélie (2001)
46. Alien (1979)
47. WALL·E (2008)
48. The Shining (1980)
49. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
50. Spirited Away (2001)
51. Black Swan (2010)
52. Paths of Glory (1957)
53. Double Indemnity (1944)
54. The Pianist (2002)
55. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
56. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
57. The Lives of Others (2006)
58. M (1931)
59. The Departed (2006)
60. City Lights (1931)
61. Aliens (1986)
62. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
63. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
64. Das Boot (1981)
65. The Third Man (1949)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. L.A. Confidential (1997)
68. Chinatown (1974)
69. Modern Times (1936)
70. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
71. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
72. Back to the Future (1985)
73. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
74. The Prestige (2006)
75. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
76. Raging Bull (1980)
77. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988)
78. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
79. Some Like It Hot (1959)
80. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
81. Rashômon (1950)
82. All About Eve (1950)
83. Amadeus (1984)
84. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
85. The Green Mile (1999)
86. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
87. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
88. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
89. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
90. Braveheart (1995)
91. The Great Dictator (1940)
92. The Apartment (1960)
93. Downfall (2004)
94. Up (2009)
95. Gran Torino (2008)
96. Gladiator (2000)
97. Metropolis (1927)
98. The Sting (1973)
99. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
100. Unforgiven (1992)
101. The Elephant Man (1980)
102. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
103. Sin City (2005)
104. Oldboy (2003)
105. On the Waterfront (1954)
106. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
107. Rebecca (1940)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
109. Die Hard (1988)
110. The Great Escape (1963)
111. Batman Begins (2005)
112. Mononoke-hime (1997)
113. The Seventh Seal (1957)
114. Jaws (1975)
115. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
116. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
117. Blade Runner (1982)
118. Fargo (1996)
119. No Country for Old Men (2007)
120. The General (1926)
121. Heat (1995)
122. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
123. Touch of Evil (1958)
124. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
125. Yôjinbô (1961)
126. Ran (1985)
127. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
128. Smultronstället (1957)
129. Snatch. (2000)
130. The Sixth Sense (1999)
131. Hotaru no haka (1988)
132. District 9 (2009)
133. Annie Hall (1977)
134. Donnie Darko (2001)
135. The Deer Hunter (1978)
136. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
137. Strangers on a Train (1951)
138. High Noon (1952)
139. The Big Lebowski (1998)
140. It Happened One Night (1934)
141. Avatar (2009)
142. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
143. The Lion King (1994)
144. Platoon (1986)
145. Into the Wild (2007)
146. There Will Be Blood (2007)
147. Notorious (1946)
148. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
149. Toy Story (1995)
150. The Social Network (2010)
151. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
152. Gone with the Wind (1939)
153. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
154. Trainspotting (1996)
155. The Gold Rush (1925)
156. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
157. The Wrestler (2008)
158. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
159. Scarface (1983)
160. Ben-Hur (1959)
161. The Big Sleep (1946)
162. Groundhog Day (1993)
163. The Graduate (1967)
164. Life of Brian (1979)
165. Amores perros (2000)
166. Finding Nemo (2003)
167. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
168. The Terminator (1984)
169. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
170. The Kid (1921)
171. Stand by Me (1986)
172. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
173. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
174. The Thing (1982)
175. Ikiru (1952)
176. Casino (1995)
177. V for Vendetta (2006)
178. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
179. The Wages of Fear (1953)
180. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
181. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
182. Ratatouille (2007)
183. Les diaboliques (1955)
184. Gandhi (1982)
185. Star Trek (2009)
186. 8½ (1963)
187. The Princess Bride (1987)
188. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
189. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
190. Tonari no Totoro (1988)
191. The Incredibles (2004)
192. The Hustler (1961)
193. The Killing (1956)
194. La strada (1954)
195. Good Will Hunting (1997)
196. Network (1976)
197. The 400 Blows (1959)
198. In Bruges (2008)
199. True Grit (2010)
200. The Wild Bunch (1969)
201. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
202. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
203. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
204. Stalag 17 (1953)
205. The Exorcist (1973)
206. Persona (1966)
207. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
208. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
209. Children of Men (2006)
210. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
211. Dial M for Murder (1954)
212. Ed Wood (1994)
213. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
214. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
215. Let the Right One In (2008)
216. Rocky (1976)
217. Big Fish (2003)
218. Magnolia (1999)
219. Manhattan (1979)
220. Mary and Max (2009)
221. Mystic River (2003)
222. Barry Lyndon (1975)
223. Festen (1998)
224. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
225. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
226. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
227. Patton (1970)
228. Duck Soup (1933)
229. Roman Holiday (1953)
230. His Girl Friday (1940)
231. The Truman Show (1998)
232. Infernal Affairs (2002)
233. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
234. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
235. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
236. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
237. In the Mood for Love (2000)
238. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
239. Kick-Ass (2010)
240. Harvey (1950)
241. Sleuth (1972)
242. A Christmas Story (1983)
243. Crash (2004/I)
244. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
245. Three Colours: Red (1994)
246. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
247. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
248. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
249. Rope (1948)
250. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Time to look at how 2010 sized up on the IMDb Top 250 List, and I'm a little surprized that only 7 titles managed to land on the the hit the Top 250 list, although that is one more than 2009's list which had 6 titles.

I always find these entries interesting because it always seems to be a mix of fandom picks, acclaimed directors (usually with fanboy followings) and and exceptional films. This year that combination of films holds strong yet again. Side-note, am I the only person who *hasn't* seen Toy Story 3?

Looking for a more critical eye? Check out how Metacritic weighs in at the end of 2010.

2010 additions to the IMDb Top 250:
6. Inception
26. Toy Story 3
51. Black Swan
150. The Social Network
173. How to Train Your Dragon
199. True Grit
239. Kick-Ass

IMDb Top 250 (as of December 31, 2010)
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Inception (2010)
7. Schindler's List (1993)
8. 12 Angry Men (1957)
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
10. The Dark Knight (2008)
11. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. Seven Samurai (1954)
14. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
15. Fight Club (1999)
16. Goodfellas (1990)
17. Casablanca (1942)
18. City of God (2002)
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
21. Rear Window (1954)
22. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
23. Psycho (1960)
24. The Usual Suspects (1995)
25. The Matrix (1999)
26. Toy Story 3 (2010)
27. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
28. Se7en (1995)
29. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
30. Memento (2000)
31. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
32. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
33. Forrest Gump (1994)
34. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
35. Leon: The Professional (1994)
36. Apocalypse Now (1979)
37. Citizen Kane (1941)
38. North by Northwest (1959)
39. American Beauty (1999)
40. American History X (1998)
41. Taxi Driver (1976)
42. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
43. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
44. Vertigo (1958)
45. Amélie (2001)
46. Alien (1979)
47. WALL·E (2008)
48. The Shining (1980)
49. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
50. Spirited Away (2001)
51. Black Swan (2010)
52. Paths of Glory (1957)
53. Double Indemnity (1944)
54. The Pianist (2002)
55. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
56. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
57. The Lives of Others (2006)
58. M (1931)
59. The Departed (2006)
60. City Lights (1931)
61. Aliens (1986)
62. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
63. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
64. Das Boot (1981)
65. The Third Man (1949)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. L.A. Confidential (1997)
68. Chinatown (1974)
69. Modern Times (1936)
70. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
71. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
72. Back to the Future (1985)
73. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
74. The Prestige (2006)
75. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
76. Raging Bull (1980)
77. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988)
78. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
79. Some Like It Hot (1959)
80. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
81. Rashômon (1950)
82. All About Eve (1950)
83. Amadeus (1984)
84. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
85. The Green Mile (1999)
86. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
87. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
88. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
89. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
90. Braveheart (1995)
91. The Great Dictator (1940)
92. The Apartment (1960)
93. Downfall (2004)
94. Up (2009)
95. Gran Torino (2008)
96. Gladiator (2000)
97. Metropolis (1927)
98. The Sting (1973)
99. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
100. Unforgiven (1992)
101. The Elephant Man (1980)
102. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
103. Sin City (2005)
104. Oldboy (2003)
105. On the Waterfront (1954)
106. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
107. Rebecca (1940)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
109. Die Hard (1988)
110. The Great Escape (1963)
111. Batman Begins (2005)
112. Mononoke-hime (1997)
113. The Seventh Seal (1957)
114. Jaws (1975)
115. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
116. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
117. Blade Runner (1982)
118. Fargo (1996)
119. No Country for Old Men (2007)
120. The General (1926)
121. Heat (1995)
122. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
123. Touch of Evil (1958)
124. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
125. Yôjinbô (1961)
126. Ran (1985)
127. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
128. Smultronstället (1957)
129. Snatch. (2000)
130. The Sixth Sense (1999)
131. Hotaru no haka (1988)
132. District 9 (2009)
133. Annie Hall (1977)
134. Donnie Darko (2001)
135. The Deer Hunter (1978)
136. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
137. Strangers on a Train (1951)
138. High Noon (1952)
139. The Big Lebowski (1998)
140. It Happened One Night (1934)
141. Avatar (2009)
142. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
143. The Lion King (1994)
144. Platoon (1986)
145. Into the Wild (2007)
146. There Will Be Blood (2007)
147. Notorious (1946)
148. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
149. Toy Story (1995)
150. The Social Network (2010)
151. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
152. Gone with the Wind (1939)
153. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
154. Trainspotting (1996)
155. The Gold Rush (1925)
156. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
157. The Wrestler (2008)
158. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
159. Scarface (1983)
160. Ben-Hur (1959)
161. The Big Sleep (1946)
162. Groundhog Day (1993)
163. The Graduate (1967)
164. Life of Brian (1979)
165. Amores perros (2000)
166. Finding Nemo (2003)
167. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
168. The Terminator (1984)
169. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
170. The Kid (1921)
171. Stand by Me (1986)
172. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
173. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
174. The Thing (1982)
175. Ikiru (1952)
176. Casino (1995)
177. V for Vendetta (2006)
178. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
179. The Wages of Fear (1953)
180. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
181. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
182. Ratatouille (2007)
183. Les diaboliques (1955)
184. Gandhi (1982)
185. Star Trek (2009)
186. 8½ (1963)
187. The Princess Bride (1987)
188. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
189. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
190. Tonari no Totoro (1988)
191. The Incredibles (2004)
192. The Hustler (1961)
193. The Killing (1956)
194. La strada (1954)
195. Good Will Hunting (1997)
196. Network (1976)
197. The 400 Blows (1959)
198. In Bruges (2008)
199. True Grit (2010)
200. The Wild Bunch (1969)
201. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
202. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
203. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
204. Stalag 17 (1953)
205. The Exorcist (1973)
206. Persona (1966)
207. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
208. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
209. Children of Men (2006)
210. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
211. Dial M for Murder (1954)
212. Ed Wood (1994)
213. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
214. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
215. Let the Right One In (2008)
216. Rocky (1976)
217. Big Fish (2003)
218. Magnolia (1999)
219. Manhattan (1979)
220. Mary and Max (2009)
221. Mystic River (2003)
222. Barry Lyndon (1975)
223. Festen (1998)
224. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
225. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
226. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
227. Patton (1970)
228. Duck Soup (1933)
229. Roman Holiday (1953)
230. His Girl Friday (1940)
231. The Truman Show (1998)
232. Infernal Affairs (2002)
233. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
234. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
235. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
236. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
237. In the Mood for Love (2000)
238. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
239. Kick-Ass (2010)
240. Harvey (1950)
241. Sleuth (1972)
242. A Christmas Story (1983)
243. Crash (2004/I)
244. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
245. Three Colours: Red (1994)
246. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
247. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
248. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
249. Rope (1948)
250. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 31, 2010! It is just about time to hand those yearly reins from 2010 to 2011 but before we do I always like to look back over the year in film and reflect. I'm been planning and plotting at this for a while, but luckily I've shifted to actually writing these lists and now you can enjoy them too! I check in on the results of my 2010 Most Anticipated Films of 2010, muse over my favourite Movie Memories of 2010, Fresh New Faces & Ones to Watch, a 2010 Reading Wrap Up on my Book-to-Film Reading Challenge and a newly style "Best of" list that this year I'm deeming as The Perfect List. That's lots to keep you busy reading, which is a good thing as it's a light week for releases!

This week we have a really quiet week of releases, with two films out on Thursday Dec 30, 2010 at Lightbox: Gasper Noé's Enter the Void which I've heard fantastical things about for ageas and am thrilled to see that it's sneaking out right at the end of the year. Our second releases is Jean-Luc Godard's Film Socialisme, which I'll admit I've only heard horrible things about ranging from self-indulgent to incoherent. Tough sell on that one!

No wide wide releases this week, and in fact no Friday releases at all. I guess that's what happens when it's a Friday New Years Eve, one of the few times of the year though even being a holiday, people don't usually head to theatres. I'm going to tuck into a SciFi triple bill to ring in the new year with 2001: A Space Odyssey (scary!), 2010 (Helen Mirren with Russian accent!) and Blade Runner (fingers crossed it's no-voice over version!), because it doesn't feel like New Year's without seeing at least a little be of Blade Runner. See you in 2011!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Thursday December 30, 2010 Releases

Enter the Void
Dir: Gaspar Noé (Irreversible)
Cast: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy, Olly Alexander
France/Germany/Italy
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Film Socialisme
Writer/Dir: Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless, Alphaville, Pierrot le fou)
Cast: Catherine Tanvier, Christian Sinniger, Jean-Marc Stehlé
France/Switzerland
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of December 31, 2010**

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 31, 2010! It is just about time to hand those yearly reins from 2010 to 2011 but before we do I always like to look back over the year in film and reflect. I'm been planning and plotting at this for a while, but luckily I've shifted to actually writing these lists and now you can enjoy them too! I check in on the results of my 2010 Most Anticipated Films of 2010, muse over my favourite Movie Memories of 2010, Fresh New Faces & Ones to Watch, a 2010 Reading Wrap Up on my Book-to-Film Reading Challenge and a newly style "Best of" list that this year I'm deeming as The Perfect List. That's lots to keep you busy reading, which is a good thing as it's a light week for releases!

This week we have a really quiet week of releases, with two films out on Thursday Dec 30, 2010 at Lightbox: Gasper Noé's Enter the Void which I've heard fantastical things about for ageas and am thrilled to see that it's sneaking out right at the end of the year. Our second releases is Jean-Luc Godard's Film Socialisme, which I'll admit I've only heard horrible things about ranging from self-indulgent to incoherent. Tough sell on that one!

No wide wide releases this week, and in fact no Friday releases at all. I guess that's what happens when it's a Friday New Years Eve, one of the few times of the year though even being a holiday, people don't usually head to theatres. I'm going to tuck into a SciFi triple bill to ring in the new year with 2001: A Space Odyssey (scary!), 2010 (Helen Mirren with Russian accent!) and Blade Runner (fingers crossed it's no-voice over version!), because it doesn't feel like New Year's without seeing at least a little be of Blade Runner. See you in 2011!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Thursday December 30, 2010 Releases

Enter the Void
Dir: Gaspar Noé (Irreversible)
Cast: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy, Olly Alexander
France/Germany/Italy
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Film Socialisme
Writer/Dir: Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless, Alphaville, Pierrot le fou)
Cast: Catherine Tanvier, Christian Sinniger, Jean-Marc Stehlé
France/Switzerland
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of December 31, 2010**

Okay, it's time for the end-all, be-all list for 2010 films. The Best Of 2010 list. I've done this list a few different ways since my first list in 2006, and I'm sticking to the parameters of it any regular Toronto theatrical release qualifies to be one the list (I've seen 146 of the 353 releases), but beyond that I'm doing something a bit different this year. So, this is not a list of 10 because we had more than 10 great films. This is not a ranked list because something weird happens when I try to do that for than 10 films (although I caved and I'll give you my top 5). So, what the heck is this list, if it isn't all these other things I mentioned.

It's the PERFECT list. It's the list of the films I saw this year that felt were perfect. The films where I never felt anything was off, unfinished, unclear, too clear, underdone or overdone. Everything about the film was perfect. It was not too long nor too short for the experience it needed to be. The acting was spot on, the story was compelling and complete. Beauty, vision, message, ideas and action were all exactly as they should have been.

How or why did I come up with this lists? Well, I don't rate, grade or score films when I review films because I like to align audiences to films through clear, direct recommendations ("If you like thrillers... you'll like..."). But, this year I did actual rate all the 2010 release I saw out of 10. Then while giving them a number out of 10, I realized I wanted to define in words what that number meant so it would be more definitive and less subjective number. For 10/10 I wrote "10 is perfection". That's pretty freaking definitive! It has one qualifier: perfection. So, not only are these films that enjoyed (because if I didn't enjoy it, it wasn't perfect), but I also thought they were well done, but it also meant there was was nothing 'off' and nothing I would change or want to see changed. They are also all films that not only met but often exceeded expectations, even when those expectations were high. The list is long clocking in at 37 titles, but by that clear a definition it just isn't right to omit any film that meets such high a standard.

Due to the fact that so many titles can be rather overwhelming I will give you my top 5 films, then list all 37 titles alphabetically.



Shannon the Movie Moxie's Top 5 Films of 2010
1. I Am Love
2. Frozen
3. Last Station, The
4. Wild Hunt, The
5. Grown Up Movie Star


The 37 PERFECT films from 2010

• Animal Kingdom: Pitch perfect, beautifully understated Australian crime/coming of age film.
• Best Worst Movie Hilarious documentary with a 'where are they now' vibe to the people involved with the 'worst movie ever' Troll 2 and the surrounding fandom. Troll 2 knowledge completely not required to enjoy this film.
• Burlesque This film is exactly what you would expect it to be from the trailer: firey, fun-spirited and fantastic.
• City Island Rarely has a comedy taken me in so completely. This is a real actor-centric/appreciative film that will have you laughing and crying and the amazing juxtaposition of belief and disbelief.
• Despicable Me Absolutely delightful family flick centred on evil guru and 3 of the cutest little girls, ever.
• Disappearance of Alice Creed, The Perfect thriller. Literally perfect. Perfect script, perfect acting from 3 of my faves: Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston & Gemma Arterton. Definitely has harsh content, but it's very much worth the journey. Don't find out anything about more about it, just see it.
• Donation, La / The Legacy A lovely completion of Bernard Émond's humanist trilogy exploring Faith (La neuvaine), Hope (Contre toute espérance) and now Charity with La Donation. Quietly beautiful and profound with a stellar performance from Élise Guilbault.
• Down Terrace UK family crime drama that reads equally as brilliant as a dark comedy as it does as a family crime film.
• Eclipse, The Understated Irish supernatural drama starring Ciarán Hinds that has a lovely everyday people feel to it.
• Fish Tank Amazing coming-of-age film set amongst gritty UK apartment complexes featuring fantastic performances by both Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender. It's a hands-down must-see.
• Frozen The total definition of a small horror film that could, and it not only coulds but it does. Simple premise, brilliant execution. Fantastic performances, real human drama & relationships amongst the horrors of the elements. Loved it.
• Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The / Män som hatar kvinnor Gains entry for if nothing else but by making me see that mystery films can be fantastic, and also for having a great double protagonist team. Slightly bittersweet entry considering the disappointment of Part 2 (Girl Who Played with Fire, The / Flickan som lekte med elden) and Part 3 (Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, The / Luftslottet som sprängdes) of the trilogy, but still makes the list as Dragon Tattoo can been seen as a stand-alone film experience.
• Good, the Bad, the Weird, The I finally got to see this South Korean western after 2 years of waiting, and it was just as good as everyone said.
• Grown Up Movie Star Lovely East Coast Canadian coming of age film. I have to say it's so exciting to see so many great coming of age films this year telling girls stories from women directors, where the stories ring so true.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 I almost didn't even consider that this film could exceed my expectations considering it was my most anticipated film of the year, but I loved it, especially how they honoured the friendship of Harry, Hermione & Ron and are not rushing the story. I can't wait until Part II.
• How to Train Your Dragon Charming, positive, open-hearted and ... dragons.
• I Am Love This Italian drama starring Tilda Swinton is my#1 of the year for being an absolutely, truly beautiful film about love. Gets me verklempt just thinking about it.
• J'ai tué ma mère / I Killed My Mother Xavier Dolan's coming of age directorial debut is just as impressive as everyone said.
• Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work What an amazing documentary. Joan Rivers is an inspiration. Fearless, workaholic and hilarious woman.
• King's Speech, The Primed for being a big awards film this year, and thankfully completely deserving!
• Last Exorcism, The Plays like a faux doc yet wins you over with human drama. Brilliant.
• Last Station, The This Tolstoy biopic blindsided me on being actual about the beauty & power of love. Great performances from Helen Mirren, James McAvoy and Christopher Plummer.
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Still fresh on my mind from seeing it this week, I loved the emphasis on the power of story, belief and the animation is gorgeous to boot.
• Losers, The Easily my most re-watched film of the year with a fun-spirit, great ensemble cast and the fact that these losers are really heroes.
• Love at the Twilight Motel Powerful documentary exploring centred on the lives of people who frequent by the hour motels in Miami.
• Mao's Last Dancer Sensitive and emotional biopic on ballet dancer Li Cunxin, following his live from a very early age training in China through to travelling in the States in the early 80's.
• Misfortunates, The / De helaasheid der dingen Flemish mullets, inappropriate language and extreme drinking and just the tip of the iceberg of this Belgian beauty centred on finding the heart in the harshness of family drama.
• Mr. Nobody I call Mr. Nobody my Inception from 2010, a smart science fiction film that asks a lot of questions, and has a lot of heart.
• My Dear Enemy / Meotjin haruLovely unconventional South Korean road movie following two exes and collecting an old debt.
• Never Let Me Go I only believed in my wildest dreams that the adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel could actually work. But it does. This one I highly recommend reading the book first - a book which I'd widely and highly recommend, as I do with the film.
• Nowhere Boy This early days John Lennon biopic starring Aaron Johnson knocked it out of the park.
• Prophet, A Fascinating yet harsh crime drama following that aptly portrays power dynamics, resilience, organized crime and drive.
• Square, The This thriller is yet another entry in the awesome Australian films of the year.
• Trigger Great dual protagonist film as two women of rock catch up after many years of a strained but true friendship with the back drop of Toronto and a unique shared history.
• Trotsky, The Quintessentially Canadian film with Jay Baruchel portraying a Montreal high school student who is convinced he is the re-incarnation of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky.
• Unstoppable One of the happy surprizes of the year was the fun, high octane runaway train ride with Chris Pine and Denzel Washington.
• Wild Hunt, The When role playing and the real world collide we see the beauty in vulnerability, the brutality of restrain and above all else extremely powerful storytelling.

Trends I've noticed from the list are really embracing the love of great storytelling and the power of story, films about love, coming of age films and biopics. Thrilled at the high proportion of Canadian film, we really had a great run this year and also happy to see we are getting more and more great Australian film.


While the list is mostly limited releases over wide, I'm sure the wide release on my list are very different that other lists kicking around. I did see Black Swan, Inception and The Social Network, but none of them met the perfect criteria, although Inception was the closest. There are a few I've not yet seen (The Tempest, The Fighter, Rabbit Hole & 127 Hours), but it's a lot fewer that I've missed than previous years. I feel like I had a very different year in terms of film experiences from many of my friends & colleague, but I loved 2010 and think that any way you slice it, it's been a great year for film.



And a Few, Not-So-Perfect
I also had a few not so perfect film moments this year. Three films I went to theatrically had major problems with them. The White Ribbon stopped twice, The Man From Nowhere has subtitles that were unreadable if there were 2 lines of text and Resident Evil: Afterlife stopped 15 minutes shy of the ending. I also missed the end of The Other Guys as I watched it on the plane home from San Francisco but ran out of time. Because of all those oddities, none of those films I felt like I could review, which is too bad as I did quite enjoy each of them in very different ways.

Favourite Films Seen in 2010 that Weren't Quite 2010 Films:
Finally got to see The Fall and adored it, the campy goodness of Canadian vampire film Suck, the awesomeness of Michael Jai White in Blood & Bone, the sweet spirited Bandslam and Australian drama Somersault. Also enjoyed 101 viewings of Boondock Saints, Rebecca (1940) and Godzilla. DVD releases that wowed me include action flick Hunt to Kill, espionage drama Espion(s) / Spy(ies) and dark comedy Perrier’s Bounty. Festival films that are yet to be release that blew me away include Ip Man 2, Heartless, Strella: A Woman's Way and documentaries Freetime Machos, This Way of Life, Steam of Life / Miesten vuoro, Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls and Regretters.

Those were my perfect films of the year. What made your list?

Okay, it's time for the end-all, be-all list for 2010 films. The Best Of 2010 list. I've done this list a few different ways since my first list in 2006, and I'm sticking to the parameters of it any regular Toronto theatrical release qualifies to be one the list (I've seen 146 of the 353 releases), but beyond that I'm doing something a bit different this year. So, this is not a list of 10 because we had more than 10 great films. This is not a ranked list because something weird happens when I try to do that for than 10 films (although I caved and I'll give you my top 5). So, what the heck is this list, if it isn't all these other things I mentioned.

It's the PERFECT list. It's the list of the films I saw this year that felt were perfect. The films where I never felt anything was off, unfinished, unclear, too clear, underdone or overdone. Everything about the film was perfect. It was not too long nor too short for the experience it needed to be. The acting was spot on, the story was compelling and complete. Beauty, vision, message, ideas and action were all exactly as they should have been.

How or why did I come up with this lists? Well, I don't rate, grade or score films when I review films because I like to align audiences to films through clear, direct recommendations ("If you like thrillers... you'll like..."). But, this year I did actual rate all the 2010 release I saw out of 10. Then while giving them a number out of 10, I realized I wanted to define in words what that number meant so it would be more definitive and less subjective number. For 10/10 I wrote "10 is perfection". That's pretty freaking definitive! It has one qualifier: perfection. So, not only are these films that enjoyed (because if I didn't enjoy it, it wasn't perfect), but I also thought they were well done, but it also meant there was was nothing 'off' and nothing I would change or want to see changed. They are also all films that not only met but often exceeded expectations, even when those expectations were high. The list is long clocking in at 37 titles, but by that clear a definition it just isn't right to omit any film that meets such high a standard.

Due to the fact that so many titles can be rather overwhelming I will give you my top 5 films, then list all 37 titles alphabetically.



Shannon the Movie Moxie's Top 5 Films of 2010
1. I Am Love
2. Frozen
3. Last Station, The
4. Wild Hunt, The
5. Grown Up Movie Star


The 37 PERFECT films from 2010

• Animal Kingdom: Pitch perfect, beautifully understated Australian crime/coming of age film.
• Best Worst Movie Hilarious documentary with a 'where are they now' vibe to the people involved with the 'worst movie ever' Troll 2 and the surrounding fandom. Troll 2 knowledge completely not required to enjoy this film.
• Burlesque This film is exactly what you would expect it to be from the trailer: firey, fun-spirited and fantastic.
• City Island Rarely has a comedy taken me in so completely. This is a real actor-centric/appreciative film that will have you laughing and crying and the amazing juxtaposition of belief and disbelief.
• Despicable Me Absolutely delightful family flick centred on evil guru and 3 of the cutest little girls, ever.
• Disappearance of Alice Creed, The Perfect thriller. Literally perfect. Perfect script, perfect acting from 3 of my faves: Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston & Gemma Arterton. Definitely has harsh content, but it's very much worth the journey. Don't find out anything about more about it, just see it.
• Donation, La / The Legacy A lovely completion of Bernard Émond's humanist trilogy exploring Faith (La neuvaine), Hope (Contre toute espérance) and now Charity with La Donation. Quietly beautiful and profound with a stellar performance from Élise Guilbault.
• Down Terrace UK family crime drama that reads equally as brilliant as a dark comedy as it does as a family crime film.
• Eclipse, The Understated Irish supernatural drama starring Ciarán Hinds that has a lovely everyday people feel to it.
• Fish Tank Amazing coming-of-age film set amongst gritty UK apartment complexes featuring fantastic performances by both Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender. It's a hands-down must-see.
• Frozen The total definition of a small horror film that could, and it not only coulds but it does. Simple premise, brilliant execution. Fantastic performances, real human drama & relationships amongst the horrors of the elements. Loved it.
• Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The / Män som hatar kvinnor Gains entry for if nothing else but by making me see that mystery films can be fantastic, and also for having a great double protagonist team. Slightly bittersweet entry considering the disappointment of Part 2 (Girl Who Played with Fire, The / Flickan som lekte med elden) and Part 3 (Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, The / Luftslottet som sprängdes) of the trilogy, but still makes the list as Dragon Tattoo can been seen as a stand-alone film experience.
• Good, the Bad, the Weird, The I finally got to see this South Korean western after 2 years of waiting, and it was just as good as everyone said.
• Grown Up Movie Star Lovely East Coast Canadian coming of age film. I have to say it's so exciting to see so many great coming of age films this year telling girls stories from women directors, where the stories ring so true.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 I almost didn't even consider that this film could exceed my expectations considering it was my most anticipated film of the year, but I loved it, especially how they honoured the friendship of Harry, Hermione & Ron and are not rushing the story. I can't wait until Part II.
• How to Train Your Dragon Charming, positive, open-hearted and ... dragons.
• I Am Love This Italian drama starring Tilda Swinton is my#1 of the year for being an absolutely, truly beautiful film about love. Gets me verklempt just thinking about it.
• J'ai tué ma mère / I Killed My Mother Xavier Dolan's coming of age directorial debut is just as impressive as everyone said.
• Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work What an amazing documentary. Joan Rivers is an inspiration. Fearless, workaholic and hilarious woman.
• King's Speech, The Primed for being a big awards film this year, and thankfully completely deserving!
• Last Exorcism, The Plays like a faux doc yet wins you over with human drama. Brilliant.
• Last Station, The This Tolstoy biopic blindsided me on being actual about the beauty & power of love. Great performances from Helen Mirren, James McAvoy and Christopher Plummer.
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Still fresh on my mind from seeing it this week, I loved the emphasis on the power of story, belief and the animation is gorgeous to boot.
• Losers, The Easily my most re-watched film of the year with a fun-spirit, great ensemble cast and the fact that these losers are really heroes.
• Love at the Twilight Motel Powerful documentary exploring centred on the lives of people who frequent by the hour motels in Miami.
• Mao's Last Dancer Sensitive and emotional biopic on ballet dancer Li Cunxin, following his live from a very early age training in China through to travelling in the States in the early 80's.
• Misfortunates, The / De helaasheid der dingen Flemish mullets, inappropriate language and extreme drinking and just the tip of the iceberg of this Belgian beauty centred on finding the heart in the harshness of family drama.
• Mr. Nobody I call Mr. Nobody my Inception from 2010, a smart science fiction film that asks a lot of questions, and has a lot of heart.
• My Dear Enemy / Meotjin haruLovely unconventional South Korean road movie following two exes and collecting an old debt.
• Never Let Me Go I only believed in my wildest dreams that the adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel could actually work. But it does. This one I highly recommend reading the book first - a book which I'd widely and highly recommend, as I do with the film.
• Nowhere Boy This early days John Lennon biopic starring Aaron Johnson knocked it out of the park.
• Prophet, A Fascinating yet harsh crime drama following that aptly portrays power dynamics, resilience, organized crime and drive.
• Square, The This thriller is yet another entry in the awesome Australian films of the year.
• Trigger Great dual protagonist film as two women of rock catch up after many years of a strained but true friendship with the back drop of Toronto and a unique shared history.
• Trotsky, The Quintessentially Canadian film with Jay Baruchel portraying a Montreal high school student who is convinced he is the re-incarnation of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky.
• Unstoppable One of the happy surprizes of the year was the fun, high octane runaway train ride with Chris Pine and Denzel Washington.
• Wild Hunt, The When role playing and the real world collide we see the beauty in vulnerability, the brutality of restrain and above all else extremely powerful storytelling.

Trends I've noticed from the list are really embracing the love of great storytelling and the power of story, films about love, coming of age films and biopics. Thrilled at the high proportion of Canadian film, we really had a great run this year and also happy to see we are getting more and more great Australian film.


While the list is mostly limited releases over wide, I'm sure the wide release on my list are very different that other lists kicking around. I did see Black Swan, Inception and The Social Network, but none of them met the perfect criteria, although Inception was the closest. There are a few I've not yet seen (The Tempest, The Fighter, Rabbit Hole & 127 Hours), but it's a lot fewer that I've missed than previous years. I feel like I had a very different year in terms of film experiences from many of my friends & colleague, but I loved 2010 and think that any way you slice it, it's been a great year for film.



And a Few, Not-So-Perfect
I also had a few not so perfect film moments this year. Three films I went to theatrically had major problems with them. The White Ribbon stopped twice, The Man From Nowhere has subtitles that were unreadable if there were 2 lines of text and Resident Evil: Afterlife stopped 15 minutes shy of the ending. I also missed the end of The Other Guys as I watched it on the plane home from San Francisco but ran out of time. Because of all those oddities, none of those films I felt like I could review, which is too bad as I did quite enjoy each of them in very different ways.

Favourite Films Seen in 2010 that Weren't Quite 2010 Films:
Finally got to see The Fall and adored it, the campy goodness of Canadian vampire film Suck, the awesomeness of Michael Jai White in Blood & Bone, the sweet spirited Bandslam and Australian drama Somersault. Also enjoyed 101 viewings of Boondock Saints, Rebecca (1940) and Godzilla. DVD releases that wowed me include action flick Hunt to Kill, espionage drama Espion(s) / Spy(ies) and dark comedy Perrier’s Bounty. Festival films that are yet to be release that blew me away include Ip Man 2, Heartless, Strella: A Woman's Way and documentaries Freetime Machos, This Way of Life, Steam of Life / Miesten vuoro, Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls and Regretters.

Those were my perfect films of the year. What made your list?

courtesy of singtao.com

courtesy of singtao.com

courtesy of mingpao.com