2010 in Films

‘Tis the season. As another year has come and gone, I thought it would make sense to give you all a run down of this past year in films. There have been some highs, some incredible highs and then there have been lows to the extent that I would rather have a hangover for days then watch the offending movies again. As we get older, years pass by so quickly so lets do this!

There has been many big blockbusters this year. In my opinion, it is a toss up between Inception, Toy Story 3 and The Social Network for the best film of the year. Inception proved to anyone that Nolan is by far the best director this generation has to offer whilst The Social Network perfectly personified this generation’s zeitgeist.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 was an amazing surprise this year as it did not destroy memories of old: it enhanced them. Toy Story 3 provided one of the most suspenseful, dark, nail biting films that grabbed every emotion you could possibly think of.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)

The first installment of the final chapter of Harry Potter was unexpectedly enjoyable, adding the right amount of suspense for the viewer to want to see part two. For fans of the Potter books, this can be considered the best adaptation so far. The acting has improved dramatically and unlike the previous Harry Potter film there was no unnecessary additions to it. It was suspenseful and dark, which made it a very enjoyable viewing.

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland was a little underwhelming in the cinema. After seeing Avatar, the expectations for 3D were much greater then they appeared. But Alice in Wonderland failed to deliver. The plot was fine, it had a stellar cast but the 3D seemed unnecessary and distracting. Watching Alice in Wonderland in 2D at home lets you really appreciate it for what it is – a nice Tim Burton twist to the classic children’s story.

From Comic to the Big Screen

Once again it has been a big year for comic book films and comic book fans. Iron Man 2 was a huge success as it built upon the first instalment as well as preparing us for The Avengers film. Many felt disappointed by the story but I did not find that to be the case. Scott Pilgrim was a very enjoyable affair that managed to make a film like the video game version of Street Fighter. This was very enjoyable, but the true comic book success goes to Kick Ass. An unknown with less than 10 issues when released, Mark Millar’s creator owned series has been a triumph with a sequel in the works. Personally, I did not like the changes that were made from the comic book but I can understand why they were made, making it more mainstream applicable which was my main worry.

This Years Comedy

Comedy has been a strong area this year with the likes of Due Date, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Other Guys, Burke and Hare, but in particular, Get Him To The Greek (in my opinion the funniest film of the year by far). Four Lions was another highlight. Made by the Peep Show creators it could have been very inflammatory dealing with terrorist bombers in the way that it did but instead it was a laugh a minute with one of the best chase scenes of the year.

There have of course been a few that have failed to grab my attention such as Grown Ups,  which was a huge let down and Vampire Sucks, which did not live up to what it could have been but was also not as bad.

For the Kids?

Kids films this year have again been mostly animated with quality efforts such as Despicable Me, Megamind and Shrek 4. Of these, Despicable Me and Megamind both ran with the concept of the baddie being the lead with Megamind having more of a comic book feel to it and lots of references to comics. Shrek Forever After was better than expected with some hilarious lines but lacked that originality and spark that made the first Shrek the classic that it is.

There have been others. The Tooth Fairy was a great watch whereas Diary of a Wimpy Kid had a very innovative idea but lacked a likeable lead.

Thriller…

2010 saw the release of many great thrillers. Firstly The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy has been released with accurate adaptations of the books. Whether the American versions will be so loyal is still something we wait to find out. We have had gritty ‘The Wire’ inspired Americana from the likes of The Killer Inside Me, The Town and Brooklyn’s Finest. Other book adaptations such as Robert Harris’ The Ghost have been brilliantly made for the big screen. We have bitten our nails down to their core with more stereotypical outings such as Unstoppable yet just as enjoyable. Shutter Island was another film which surprised with a very enjoyable twist and some incredible acting.

The Tear Jerkers

2010 has provided us with some poignant looks on life. The Boys Are Back showed how a father dealt with the loss of his wife and the difficulties of being a single parent. If you missed it check it out because it was a great movie. Brothers was another classic that you may have missed starring Tobey Maguire as a war veteran whose family thought had been murdered. It was intriguing to see how the family coped with his return and the way in which war could change a man. The Kids Are Alright broke barriers in America with many people complaining about the content. It looked at a lesbian family and how they deal with the re-introduction of the sperm father into their children’s lives. Charlie St Cloud saw Zac Efron trying to stretch his acting ability. He himself illustrated he was more than just a high school act and could be a serious player in the future. Unfortunately the script let him down.

More Rom Coms…

As per usual Rom Coms have been and gone this year. Some have been great whilst others have been formulaic. The Rebound was a fresh, entertaining outing. Valentines Day was America’s Love Actually. It did not have the brilliance that Love Actually had yet still had glimmers of promise especially from Topher Grace’s story. It is a poor imitation but it was still an enjoyable film especially for the season. Life As We Know It relied heavily on the formula of the rom com that was actually it’s downfall to what could have been a good outing for the genre. Leap Year was a terrible film that felt like the Irish version of Made of Honour, another truly awful film.

Apart from the Twilight series, teens have had the pleasure of having two top quality films released. Whip It (the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore) was very enjoyable. Easy A was a smarter, older Mean Girls, which ticked all the right boxes with an excellent cast, funny yet poignant story and a memorable soundtrack.

Bring Back the Classics

We have also seen many films returning for a new generation to see them on the big screen or for the original viewers to see them one more time. Back to the Future was re released for its 25th anniversary as well as seeing the return of an apt sequel Wall Street. Further Fritz Lang’s seminal work Metropolis was released, and reedited. It’s out on blu ray now and you should get it.

The Best (and Worst) of the Rest

Jonah Hex was a film that was critically panned. Yet it was no where near the drivel that many suggested. It is far from perfect yet it is an enjoyable couple of hours. Their have been some more unique pictures released in 2010 such as The Jonses and Rare Exports that are both intriguing to watch, which the latter being in cinema now for Christmas.

Despite all the positives, no year in film escapes without its lows. Firstly, their was a lack of originality. The Expendables, The Losers and The A Team were all basically the same film with differing quality. Personally I think The Losers was the best but I would say that The A Team was a close second. The Expendables felt like the writer had already written the same script twice and decided to give up with the promise of putting together as many action heroes as possible to hide this. Killers and Knight and Day again were very similar. Spy meets normal girl. Normal girl gets drawn into spy’s world, craziness happens. They are both enjoyable however that can not be said of The Expendables. Red and Salt also have many of these traits. Despicable Me and Megamind are basically the same film and came out within three months of each other.

There have also been a fair share of dire films out this year. The Wolfman was simply awful, it didn’t know what it was doing. It would feel like a comedy if it wasn’t so bad, yet it seemed stunning compared to Black Death (you should avoid it just like the plague) and It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (you would rather be dead then watch this especially for a second time).

Looking Ahead

So the year is coming to an end but there are still big releases to come with the likes of Tron, Little Fockers, The Tourist, Narnia, Burlesque and Gulliver’s Travels in the cinema. It leaves me to wish you a merry Christmas and happy new year. I already cannot wait for next year. What 2011 can learn from 2010 is that there is a wealth of talent out there, but it would be nice though if sometimes there was more originality.