Top Ten of 2010: Honorable Mentions

Now is the time for all things movies. We'll start off with my top ten films of 2010. Follow that up with how I filled out my ballot for the 2010 Spirit Awards then wrap up with my Oscar predictions.

2010 only had 21 films receive a grade of A- or better from me. 13 got the A- exactly. 6 received an A and only 3 an A+. A few other films I saw at the NYFF also received an A level grade, but as they won't be released into theatres sometime this year, they'll probably show up on my list this time next year. So let's get to it.

Crap of the Year

I've gotten much better in terms of weeding out watching what looks to be utter shite. Ten years ago, I would pretty much go watch everything that came out in a theatre. Nowadays, if it looks awful, I don't go. This leads to a much lower amount of films given a D or F grade from me. However, a few always slip through the cracks.

Tatitude

This was a short film I saw in front of a screening of the American version of Jacques Tati's My Uncle. Tatitude is supposed to be an homage to Tati's first film: M. Hulot's Holiday. What it is, is six minutes of my life that was sucked from me. The short is a random collection of images from Tati's film with other random stuff superimposed on it. That's all. There's no rhyme or reason to it. When you check your watch a couple of times during a six minute movie, you know it's bad.

Samson and Delilah

This Australian film has won or was nominated for a rather large number of awards. I don't know if I'll ever understand how. I found Samson and Delilah to be a slow-moving, turgid and utterly ridiculous experience. The characters were not remotely believable and each new plot twist absurd. Everyone has a couple of films that they hate while it's loved by almost everyone else. This is mine for 2010.

Honorable Mentions

Inception

Inception continues Christopher Nolan's streak of directing films I love. It was original, filled with great visuals and, in my opinion, was not hard to follow. The only reason it didn't make the top ten was the final action sequence. I found the scene set at the snow base to be a little long for my tastes and the action there rather pedestrian. At least it gave Tom Hardy a showcase. Go see him in Bronson.

When You're Strange

I can probably name a couple of songs by The Doors, but I've never been a super fan of the group. That is why I responded so well to Tom DeCillo's documentary about them, and primarily Jim Morrison. Everything in the documentary was new to me and gave me an entirely new appreciation for the group. Concert footage and behind the scenes footage (including some pristine images from movies that Jim Morrison) kept me riveted to the screen. I'm sure (as many reviews pointed out), that for the fan, there is little here that isn't already known, but if you're unfamiliar with the history of the group, this movie will get you ready to run out and by all their CD's.

Dogtooth

In this Greek film, a set of parents keep their children completely secluded from the outside world. Everyday objects are referred to by different names and a co-worker of the father is brought in to help relieve sexual tension. Why? A good question that the film never answers as we are allowed to revel in the weirdness of the situation as it plays out to it's logical and extreme end. I'm not sure the conceit is held up entirely through the running time, but there's enough offbeat humor in the film to keep that concern in the background.