Best Films of 2010: #10-9

Well here it is. The Best of the Best of 2010 Countdown. Part 1. I'll start my Best films of 2010 here with #9 & 10 as well as start my list for the 'Bests' in the other categories.  I've been putting this off for long enough so, I figure I'll just put chisel to stone and start counting them down.

#10. City Island

A sweet film about a family in the small fishing village of City Island on Manhattan. It's a great film that can take a completely overused cliche and make it both funny and new, and City Island achieves that. In every awful romantic comedy movie, one or both of the characters have some bad secret that they just can't let the other one know like; My huge book store is the reason your small quaint one is going out of business or; I told you I didn't go to that strip club with my friends but I really did or; I didn't want to admit it but that sexy doctor totally wants me and I totally know it but i think i'm a decent person so i would never admit that to you or myself. Anyway it's bad writing. It's a ploy to create plot to drive the story forward to some kind of eventual happy conclusion. The odd thing about City Island is that it does this, but not in a contrived, cliche way. It's funny and it's feels like something that an actual family could do. The dad played by Andy Garcia doesn't want to tell his wife he goes to acting classes. She assumes he's having an affair. They both 'quit' smoking so they hide it from each other. The daughter is a stripper. The son is a chubby chaser. Everyone has a secret and it all comes to a head at the end, but instead of behaving like over dramatic two dimensional characters, this family behaves like people. Terrific performances by Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer and the rest of the cast bring some very touching moments as well as some very funny ones too. This was a small surprise, but it turned out to be quite a treat.

#9: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

This under-appreciated gem dropped just in time for my birthday this year. I saw this movie four times in theaters. Four times. I've never seen a movie that many times in theaters. Ever. It helps that I got in for free I suppose but still. Wildly inventive, sharply witty, unexpectedly action packed, deeply romantic, hilariously funny, and overwhelmingly original. This movie has everything. Michael Cera makes quite the comeback in my book after a slew of poorly executed movies that had him playing George Michael Bluth over and over again. He's not George Michael here. It's a new character, a new performance and once again shows how funny and fresh this actor can be. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives a star making performance as Ramona, the girl who's just a little to captivating for her own good. It's easy to discredit Winstead here as just playing some disinterested hipster chick with a dry sense of humor but she does so much more than that. She's subtly wounded and it comes out in her performance in the most remarkable ways. The supporting cast is as colorful as one comes. Whip smart dialogue and unparalleled, inventive direction both from Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame combine to turn this into a uniquely original experience which is something that can be said for about 1% of the films made per year. This is a film that deserves an audience.

So there are my first two picks. Successors will follow. Now I'm counting down my bests in other categories. Today I give you my pick for.....

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3

Is anyone who actually saw an animated film this year surprised? How to Train Your Dragon had its moment of goodness (not quite greatness) when it wasn't being awful and all Dreamworks like. I didn't waste my time on Despicable Me but Evil Villain gets a family and learns corny lessons... there I just saved you two hours of your life. Go swimming or something. I don't even remember anything else that came out. You think that's a good sign? OH Tangled! Blah. Mish mash from other, more successful Disney princess films in the past. Nothing new or creative. Toy Story on the other hand completed a trilogy in a fashion that has never been done before. As always Pixar transcends animation to give us real human stories and emotions. This movie was never about Toys. This series never was. What this movie was about is childhood and how it feels when someone starts to leave it behind. This movie resonated with anyone who has ever been a kid with a favorite toy. That toy, though we didn't realize it at the time represented our childhood and still today when we think about that toy we get a twinge of nostalgia and longing. We wish, if for just a moment, that we could go back and play with that toy as a kid again. When anything was possible. When no adventure was too great for the two of you to take on together. It also resonates with any parent who has ever had to pack up their child and take them to college. This movie tackles all these deep, human issues while still being a kids movie and does it with humor and grace. What other movie can boast that this year? Or any year? Toy Story will go down as the one of the greatest trilogies in cinema history and it deserves it fully.

Well that's it. Check by soon for #8-7 in the countdown and my pics for the Best Adapted and Original Screenplays of 2010. Until then,

Soupy Twist.