Five Fantastic Films

In this weeks blog, I'm gonna countdown the top 5 films of the year 2010. Granted, it would've been more appropriate if I'd have written this 8 or 9 months ago, but certain aspects such as me starting this blog a few months ago, or that I didn't see these films until they were out on DVD got in the way. 2010 was a fine year for film, with these 5 titles being a must own for any cinephile. So enjoy the list I've compiled and maybe it'll inspire you to check these out for yourself.

5. Kick Ass (Dir: Mathew Vaughn)

This was probably one of the most unique films of that year, the plot alone is cause for question. A teenage boy becomes an Internet celebrity after becoming a superhero, attracting the attention of a father/daughter superhero team and the mafia. This is a clever parody of the superhero genre that mixes ultra violence, black humour and sheer madness to create one of the most entertaining films of all time. Aaron Johnson supplies a great naivity and teen meekishness to the role of Kick Ass. Nic Cage Borders on both loving and insanely creepy as Big Daddy, his second most insane role of the year (read on!). But it's then 12 year old Chloe Moretz who steals the show as Hit Girl, uttering numerous obcenities and violently killing many bad guys, she's a mixture of badass and innocently lost in her fathers shceme for revenge. The many scenes that'll blow your mind include Hit Girl offing an entire room of gangsters with an array of knives, set to upbeat indie rock music is one of the reasons why this is a must see film.

4. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (Dir: Edgar Wright)

Another film with a unique concept. This is a sureal comedy that portrays itself as a live action video game with a rom-com plot put into the fray. Slacker Scott Pilgrim has met the girl of his dreams (quite literally) but must defeat her 7 evil ex-boyfriends to be with her. The use of references to games such as Street Fighter, Tony Hawk or just about any arcade game is a delight. The fight scenes are well set up, they're portrayed with a sense of grandness that most action films are missing these days. But this is a comedy, and it's a pretty funny one at that, with great jokes, character traits and surealism to keep you laughing. But the true source of the films greatness is it's heart, you feel Scott, no matter how jerkish or lazy he is, due to the performance given by Michael Cera that adds a charm and vulnerability to the character that makes you feel the love he has for his other half. The humour appeals to the teen generation, along with the films characters and plotting, making it this generations Ferris Buller due to great jokes, likable characters that shouldn't be likable and a main character that you want to see win, no matter what a jerk he is.

3. Bad Lieutenant (Dir: Werner Herzog)

This is a completely different film from Abel Ferrera's 1992 film, and completely better. Nic Cage delivers one of his best performances as Terrence Mcdonagh, a cop in New Orleans, who after an injured back has to deal with numerous drug addictions (he takes more stuff than Amy Winehouse), a murder case with a runaway witness, gambling debts, vengeful gangsters and his alchoholic fathers dog. We see numerous problems pile up on the Lieutenant, most of which he got himself into, the audience is invested to see how he'll fix it all. Set against a decaying New Orleans backround, we see a great character in Mcdonagh, someone who's back injury has led him into drugs and the drugs leading him into other problems, a character truely trapped by his addiction, and one who'll break many rules along the way (note the scene where he searches a couple for drugs). Cage gives a performance that's a mixture of hopelessness and frantic energy. Director Herzog adds his own sense of madness to the film, with point of view shots from reptiles set to New Orleans jazz or a gun battle set to country fiddle music. In the end this Is one of the most engagingly corrupt cop movies you'll see, all down to Cage's character and performance.

2. The Social Network (Dir: David Fincher)

The true definition of modern drama, this film annalyses the rise of the worlds youngest billionare, facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. This is seemingly this generations Citizen Kane, due to it being a character study of a wealthy man, but for other reasons too. Just like Kane, Zuckerberg is portrayed as a man who as he gains more power, alienates his closest friends and at the end of the film, being truely alone. Whether this is an accurate depiction of Zuckerberg or not, it's an interesting character portrayal, the brilliant Harvard nerd who cares little about anything (reprocusions, girls, social life) but his main goal, to get his project off the ground. You'll be entertained and enthralled as Zuckerberg goes through the film and we see the process of his 2 court battles over the right to facebook, we see numerous betrayals by this character for the price of billions, it seems every double cross he does (from his ex to the twins that gave him the idea) has a purpose. For a truely great character study, watch this immediatly, you won't regret it.

1. Inception (Dir: Christopher Nolan)

Now I've covered alot about this film in a previous blog reviewing it. I'll renew some of the points I made by saying that it's the perfect mix of powerful drama, hard hitting action and a complex plot. The director/writer Nolan creates a world in which the concept of being able to go into other peoples dreams is believable and this creates the possibility of a complicated plot involving dreams within dreams, limbo and questioning your reality. It's a film that appeals to both casual action audiences and arthouse cinephiles. The performances by Decaprio and Hardy add to the film, along with incredible special effects (I.e revolving hallway fight scene). In short, it's a total package of a film that deserves to be top of the list.