Top Ten of 2010

It should go without saying this is my personal list, and more of a "favorites" than a "best of" selection. That said, let's go ahead and delve into my Top Ten of 2010.

10. The Fighter

I literally had The Town in this spot as I was typing this list, but something came over me at the last second to change it. That's how close those two movies were battling for a spot here, and I think the emotional core of The Fighter gave it the slight edge over Ben Affleck's solid heist film. The Fighter features fantastic performances from every member of the cast, with Christian Bale being the clear standout, well on his way to an Oscar nomination. On a personal level, it also helps that I saw the world premiere of this movie at Grauman's Chinese Theater, walked the red carpet, Wahlberg introduced the film to us, and Robert Duvall sat right behind us.

9. Buried

I remember reading someone write that Buried is more of an exercise than a film, but I respectfully disagree: this was one of the most entertaining movies of the year for me because it strips storytelling down to its rawest form. One man, buried alive in a coffin, and the camera never leaves the coffin for the entire run time. Ryan Reynolds gives the performance of his career, and director Rodrigo Cortes showed us that a concept as bold as this can be interesting if it's guided by the correct person. I wasn't so hot on the ending, but the rest of the movie made up for it.

8. Shutter Island

Martin Scorsese's most recent team-up with Leonardo DiCaprio was a return to classic filmmaking, influenced by classic film noir with a tinge of horror thrown in for good measure. A showcase of great performances across the board, Shutter Island is a movie in which the atmosphere could almost be considered a character, highlighting Scorsese's ability to know exactly what we need to see and when we need to see it.

7. How To Train Your Dragon
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year for me was How To Train Your Dragon, a Dreamworks Animation film that I now consider to be one of my favorite animated movies of all time. The flying sequences are breathtaking, the story is a lot of fun, and the final battle sequence is one of the coolest (and most competently choreographed) action scenes of the year. Really spectacular stuff, and I hope Dreamworks can recapture some of the wonder of this movie in their upcoming sequels.

6. The Social Network
In my eyes, this is David Fincher's most watchable movie. It's a story built for my generation, a Shakespearean tale involving digital connectivity and the humanity of the people who strive to reshape it. Jesse Eisenberg gives a towering performance as Mark Zuckerberg, blisteringly spitting Aaron Sorkin's sharply-written dialogue and making us really feel for his character in the process. This very well could win Best Picture, but I've got a few more that I liked better.

5. True Grit
My review may not have fully revealed the amount of love I have for this movie. In the Coen's most recent foray into the western genre, the outstanding Jeff Bridges is outshined by relative newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. She delivered a wonderful performance as the 14-year-old Mattie Ross, out to bring her father's killer to justice. The movie is way funnier than I thought it'd be, due mostly to the well-written script and comically stilted delivery of many of the actors (including a surprisingly funny Matt Damon).

4. 127 Hours
Director Danny Boyle infuses his energetic style of filmmaking into the real-life story of Aron Ralston, a man forced to amputate his own arm in order to survive. Much in the way Ryan Reynolds defined Buried, James Franco completely dominates this movie and gives the best performance of his career. Like Boyle's previous Slumdog Millionaire, this movie deals with some heavy subject matter but is ultimately an uplifting celebration of life. This is a truly great movie.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
This is the most fun I've had at the movies all year. The video game references, the fantastic casting, Edgar Wright's visual style, and the script based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic come together in a phenomenal way here, making this one of the most original movies I've ever seen. The action was great, the storyline was perfect, and I wouldn't change a single thing about it. Not a lot of people saw this movie, so please check it out if you avoided it in theaters. For more details about my amazing experience with this movie, click here.

2. Black Swan
An utterly intense experience, Black Swan is a haunting meditation on the perils of perfection. This list is populated with many actors giving what I consider to be their best performances, and Natalie Portman is no different. Her astounding work as Nina combined with Aronofsky's natural filmmaking style makes it all the more shocking as her sanity rapidly deteriorates in the movie. The last 30 minutes are completely spellbinding.

1. Inception
Anyone who knows me should have pegged this from the get-go. One of my favorite directors teaming with my favorite working actor and a staggeringly good supporting cast, all to make a completely original heist film that makes the audience think instead of just wowing us with visuals? Forget about it. DiCaprio was spectacular, Nolan's direction was spot-on, Wally Pfister's cinematography was brilliant, and the story exceeded my expectations in every way. A totally immersive experience, Inception stands apart from everything else on my personal favorites list.

Honorable Mentions: The Town, The King's Speech, Toy Story 3, Catfish, Exit Through the Gift Shop

That's it for this year. How does your list compare to mine? Anything you would have switched, added, or taken away? Let me know in the comments section.

The NJNM Podcast: Ep. 23 - Signs (Guests: Tim Turner and Jared Blanchard)

In this week's episode, Ben is joined by guests Tim Turner and Jared Blanchard to discuss M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film, Signs. They also discuss a pretty fantastic documentary called Exit Through the Gift Shop, which they would recommend to everyone (but don't look it up before you see it).

Feel free to e-mail us at notjustnewmovies@gmail.com or call and leave us a voicemail at (904) 469-6566.

The NJNM Podcast: Ep. 22 - Supercop and Rumble in the Bronx (Guest: Joe Leininger from The Playing Field)

Merry Christmas to all! In this week's episode, Tyler and Ben are joined by Joe Leininger (from The Playing Field) to discuss two Jackie Chan martial arts films directed by Stanley Tong, Supercop and Rumble in the Bronx.


Don't forget to shoot us an e-mail with your questions, comments, and criticisms at notjustnewmovies@gmail.com or call and leave us a voicemail at (904) 469-6566. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.

The A-Team

Joe Carnahan is a hit-or-miss director for me. His debut film, 1998's Blood, Guts, Bullets, and Octane, was enjoyable and his movie The Ticker from the BMW series "The Hire" (starring Clive Owen, Don Cheadle, Ray Liotta, and Dennis Haysbert) was one of the better efforts in that excellent collection of short films. Smokin' Aces was a bit of a wash for me, and I never saw Narc, but when I heard The A-Team was being adapted into a feature, I knew Carnahan's action-heavy style would be a good fit for the material. The final movie very much knows what it wants to be and has a damn good time being it. The A-Team is easily one of the most fun movies of the year.

The A-Team
Co-writer/Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley

Many may debate this point, but I think Carnahan is one of the most competent directors working today. He knows his audience, knows his strengths, and plays perfectly to both of them in this movie. The formation of the team in the early minutes of the film brilliantly captures the tone: light-hearted, brash, sarcastic, and funny. Part of this comes from his handle on the material - he co-wrote the script - and part of it is from his very obvious passion for the characters. More than any other "team-based" movie this year (with the exception of Inception), The A-Team gives each character his due and provides a real sense of history and camaraderie between the leads. Most movies with characters that "specialize in the ridiculous" are at least going to register on my interest level, and this one resonates especially well because of the combination of how well the characters are treated and how well the action works in the context of the movie.

The story is a typical "framed for a crime they didn't commit" deal, complete with the easy-to-hate Black Forest task force and smarmy CIA specialist played by Patrick Wilson. There's also the "hot on their trail" agent, embodied here by Jessica Biel (in one of her most tolerable performances of the last five years). Liam Neeson commands attention as Hannibal Smith, the leader of our foursome of heroes. Bradley Cooper oozes charisma as "Faceman" Peck, Rampage Jackson is a perfect update of Mr. T's iconic B.A. Baracus, and District 9 alum Sharlto Copley does some fine work as the crazy man-child Murdock. The script is kind of goofy, with action sequences that absolutely defy physics and common sense (especially the bullet-ridden final 20 minutes), but the bond between these characters and their relationships are so honestly portrayed by all of these actors that it's easy to excuse most of the film's issues because we're having so much fun watching this all unfold.

Within the main four, there are some interesting dynamics taking place. B.A. and Murdock's constant trickery (and Murdock's breakfast bribes) give some much-needed humanity to these guys. Face and Hannibal have a Mark Wahlberg/Donald Sutherland vibe from The Italian Job, the student-teacher-partner thing that works well with two especially likeable actors like Neeson and Cooper in the roles.

Aside from the ludicrous parachuting tank stunt, a much less buzzed about stunt occurs during a break out from a moving vehicle about halfway through the movie. I won't give away what happens, but the reason I like it so much is because the movie operates on a level where insanely complex stunts like this are regular shenanigans to the A-Team; the level of difficulty of this stunt is never commented on by any member of the team - they're just THAT good.

The Blu-ray is solid, including a great behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the film which really gives some insight into the approach of Carnahan and company. And while a gorgeous picture quality is something that should be assumed from Blu-rays these days - it's almost 2011, studios, get your act together - unfortunately it's not a given quite yet. This disc, however, definitely meets the visual standard, and allows us to see Carnahan's action through a crisp filter. There's also an extended edition of the movie (along with the theatrical version, of course), a montage mash-up set to the A-Team theme song, character chronicles, and more standard fare like a gag reel and deleted scenes. But perhaps the most interesting bonus feature is an interactive commentary called "The Devil's in the Details," which sees Carnahan commenting on the movie as it's happening (telling stories like the time when Rampage accidentally knocked out a stunt man) and occasionally offering graphics with various information about the movie: weapons used, what stage of "the plan" the characters are currently experiencing, and more.

Like I said, this is one of the most enjoyable action movies of the year. It's not the smartest thing you'll see, but it's a blast, and we definitely need these types of movies in our summer movie schedules. I hope this movie does well enough on DVD to earn a sequel, because the continuing adventures of this crew is definitely something I want to see more of. If the main cast returns - including Jessica Biel and the actor who appeared in a small cameo at the very end of the film - and Joe Carnahan is directing, a sequel to The A-Team would be pretty damn awesome. Until next time...