The Film Babble Blog Top 10 Movies Of 2010

Although there is still a slew of 2010 films I have yet to catch up on (films such as CARLOS, BLUE VALENTINE, SOMEWHERE, etc. have yet to come to my area) I decided to go ahead and make my list of the best of the year. Though in many ways a lackluster year, there were still a smattering of excellent films by film makers and actors at the top of their game. Here are my favorites:



1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Dir. David Fincher)

 Time Magazine's 2010 Man of the Year: Mark Zuckerberg - computer nerd visionary or just an arrogant asshole who ripped off his best friends? Whether Zuckerberg (played here by Jesse Eisenberg) is really Man of the Year or not, this scrupulous Aaron Sorkin scripted comic drama is my movie of the year because of its snappy narrative take of the phenomenon of Facebook. Read my review here.

 

2. TOY STORY 3 (Dir. Lee Unkrich) Pixar holds the #2 spot on my top 10 for the third year in a row and that's fine by me. This funny, exciting, and genuinely touching trilogy topper is a supremely satisfying sequel and another entry in the annual Pixar blows every other animated movie away sweepstakes. Take that HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, DESPICABLE ME, MEGAMIND, and TANGLED! Though some of those films had their moments. Read my review here.



3. TRUE GRIT (Dirs. Joel & Ethan Coen)

 Enlisting "the Dude" to take on the role made famous by "the Duke", the Coen Brothers make a Western epic that does grand justice to the genre. Jeff Bridges along with an ace supporting cast including Hallie Steinfeld, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin handle the humor and powerful pathos of this material mightily. Read my review here.



4. INCEPTION (Christopher Nolan)



I called this film "an incredible mind bender of a movie" in my rave review last summer and still stand by that. I also wrote "what wins out is that this film threatens to burst out of the screen into real life - just like the most lucid dreams." Read the rest of my review here.



For my reviews of the rest of the movies on the list please click on the highlighted titles:



5. 127 HOURS (Dir. Danny Boyle)



6. BLACK SWAN (Dir. Darren Aronofsky)



7. THE KING'S SPEECH (Dir. Tom Hooper)



8. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (Dir. Banksy)



9. THE AMERICAN (Dir. Anton Corbijn)



10. THE GHOST WRITER (Dir. Roman Polanski)



I may make a revised list later if I get to a film from 2010 that warrants inclusion.



More later...

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES: The Film Babble Blog Review

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (Dir. Juan José Campanella, 2009)







Many were surprised when this Argentine film won Best Foreign Language Film of the Year at this year's Academy Awards, but now that it's making its way through American theaters that response appears to have been from ignorance.



Now that audiences can bathe in the absorbing aura of its well crafted narrative, pointed performances, and emotional resonance, that Oscar should make complete sense. Although outfitted with suspense thriller elements, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES is more of a dark drama with a bit of a love story delicately placed within.



Opening with a hazy haunting recollection of a train station farewell, we are plunged into the quiet life of Benjamin Espósito (Ricardo Darín), a retired federal justice agent in Buenos Aires in 1999. Espósito is attempting to write a true crime novel about a case that has been a personal obsession for over 20 years.



The majority of the film flashbacks to 1974-75 where we find Espósito investigating the brutal rape and murder of a young woman. Working alongside Guillermo Francella as his boozing assistant, Espósito is smitten with the new department chief (Soledad Villamil) who is aware of his feelings, but is engaged.



In his search for clues the victum's distraught husband (Pablo Rago) shows Espósito scrapbooks of old photos. Believing it was a prior acquaintance because there was no forced entry, a suspicious face stands out in one of the photographs. Espósito tracks the suspect to the town of Chivilcoy, but he had just abandoned his flat.



Against the orders of his superiors Espósito and his assistant stake out the house of their suspect's mother and end up breaking in and stealing a stack of the suspect's letters. Bit by bit they get closer and when deciphering from the letters that their man is a Racing Club (Football) fan they identify him at a match. This leads to a chase on foot that's a bit FRENCH CONNECTION with a dash of RAISING ARIZONA in its heart pounding pace.



The film winds through threads of police corruption, cover-ups, and class warfare and never loses its footing. As the restrained obsessive Espósito, Darin delivers a layered characterization in both the young and old incarnations of the man. Likewise Villamil as a young driven career woman who convincingly ages into the wiser slightly jaded lady in the more recent scenes that bookend the film. 



THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES is a thoroughly solid novelistic work which may lack in visual style, but makes up for that with its storytelling gusto. Its engulfing mood lingers long after leaving the theater for its conclusion is one of the most chilling yet incredibly satisfying endings since THE GHOST WRITER.



Looks like the makers of dark American dramas and thrillers could learn a lot from their Foreign competitors. With this, THE GHOST WRITER, and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO it sure looks to me that they're being schooled.



More later...