Top 10 Films of 2010 – Ed’s Picks

January 6th, 2011 | POSTED BY Edward Davidson

1.  The Social Network

Straight up, Aaron Sorkin can write. I’ve been a fan of his for decades now. When I consider his fine script for A Few Good Men to be the least of his works, that’s pretty staggering. From Sports Night to The West Wing, The American President, Charlie Wilson’s War, and even Studio 60, this guy writes snappy dialogue like nobody else. And his script here is one of the surest bets to win an Oscar in the upcoming Academy Awards. Many people were poo-pooing the idea of a Facebook movie before it came out. But the story of Mark Zuckerberg and the dual lawsuits dealing with the formation of this web phenomenon proved to be the most fascinating story of the year.

Jessie Eisenberg is terrific as Zuckerberg. He is calculating, awkward, brilliant, and shy, often all at the same time. Andrew Garfield (man is this guy having a breakout year or what?) is sympathetic as almost a surrogate for the audience in this ivy league world. The subtle special effect that turned actor Armie Hammer into the twin brothers of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss was incredible. It elicits the best compliment you can pay an effect, that you didn’t notice it was a special effect.  t felt like watching two sepeaate actors. Even Justin Timberlake as the flashy Sean Parker is wholly interesting.

David Fincher has directed a movie here that really is of this time. Facebook, and the idea of online relationships, has really impacted modern life. This is the way people communicate now. He shows us here that Zuckerberg’s idea of creating an “exclusive” club that includes everyone is genius. It really plays into our desire to be accepted, and yet reflects how introverted and disconnected we have all become. Zuckerberg’s character in the movie is the ultimate irony in that he creates the most powerful social tool in the world, but he has almost no ability to create interpersonal relationships himself. His reclusiveness reflects how much of the internet works. As troubling as it is, some of what we see in him, we see in ourselves.

I acknowledge that there are some notable gaps in my list here. There are some movies in particular that I’m predisposed to liking that I just haven’t seen yet. Any one of these could potentially make it onto my top ten list. But I’m only one man with a day job, and limited resources, and limited time. I’m only human, boo-hoo.

But anyway, some notable films I WILL get around to watching include Restrepo (from what I understand this movie could be the most important movie of the year), Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, True Grit, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, Exit Through the Gift Shop, The Kids Are All Right, and 127 Hours.

Also, I’d like to bring up some notable categories in movies that came up this year:

Best Scores: Trent Reznor’s soundtrack for The Social Network, Daft Punk’s score for Tron: Legacy

Steals The Movie Award: Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell in Conviction, Kieran Culkin in Scott Pilgrim, Ken in Toy Story 3, Jemaine Clement in Dinner for Schmucks,  Scarlett Johansson’s backside in Iron Man 2, the collected number of face wrinkles in The Expendables.

Hopefully Doesn’t Ruin a Good Thing Award: We all love Zack Galifanakis. But he had duds this year with Due Date and Dinner for Schmucks. And no one saw It’s Kind of a Funny Story. We want his career to continue, so let’s hope it doesn’t all go to crap for him.

Best Special Effects: Again, dude, that floaty hallway scene in Inception…so cool.

Best Movie from a Troubled Source: The Ghost Writer

Saddest Use of an Actor Award: That poor sad sack in Marmaduke. I really dug the show Pushing Daisies, and this is the next thing that Lee Pace gets cast in?

“Enough Already” Award: The dioramas in Dinner For Schmucks. Yes, the mice were cute for the first 5 minutes of the movie. But they eat up A LOT of screen time.

Ideas Premiered in 2010 That Seem Bad: Yogi Bear 3-D, Cars 2, Yogi Bear 3-D, Big Mama’s House 3, Yogi Bear 3-D, Furry Vengeance, Yogi Bear 3-D, The Tooth Fairy…and did I mention a movie about a CGI animated Bear in 3-D?

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Aaron Eckhart, Aaron Sorkin, Buried, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Edgar Wright, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Inception, Iron Man 2, Jesse Eisenberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Romanek, Never Let Me Go, Nicole Kidman, Pixar Animation Studios, Rabbit Hole, Robett Downey Jr, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, The Social Network, Toy Story 3