Nowhere boy (2010)
Directed by: Sam Taylor-Wood
Written by: Matt Greenhalgh & Julia Baird
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas & Anne-Marie Duff

Summary:
A chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.

My View:
A great film about the childhood of a legend. If you're a Beatles fane this is a must see, but even if you aren't the film stands alone a very touching period drama. Obviously the fans will have more fun with this film and Johnson's take on Lennon is a very break through performance.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong & Kieran Culkin

Summary:
Scott Pilgrim plays in a band which aspires to success. He dates Knives Chau, a high-school girl five years younger, and he hasn't recovered from being dumped by his former girlfriend, now a success with her own band. When Scott falls for Ramona Flowers, he has trouble breaking up with Knives and tries to romance Ramona. As if juggling two women wasn't enough, Ramona comes with baggage: seven ex-lovers, with each of whom Scott must do battle to the death in order to win Ramona.

My View:
One of the most fun films you'll see from 2010. Scott Pilgrim was a melting pot of geek culture done through a film style we haven't quite seen before. The special effects are second to none, and the fight scenes are amoung the best of the year. It wasn't a box office success but this film will remain as more people catch on and elevate it to cult status.

The Town (2010)
Directed by: Ben Affleck
Written by: Peter Craig & Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm & Jeremy Renner

Summary:
In Boston's bleak Charlestown, criminals depend on a code of silence; those caught serve their time. Doug MacRay masterminds bank robberies with three friends: the hotheaded Jem, Des, an electrician, and Al, their driver. After a dicey bank job, Doug must make sure the female bank manager, Claire, who lives in Charlestown, doesn't know who they are. He contrives to meet her and then finds her appealing. As the FBI zeroes in on the gang, Doug wants out, Claire doesn't know who he really is, and Jem and their money launderer, an aging florist, insist that Doug do one more job. Are prison and death the only ways out of Charlestown?

My View:
Affleck hits another one out of the park this year. I thought it might be hard to top Gone Baby Gone, but he again silences the haters and makes one of the years grittiest crime dramas. Not only has he proven himself as a director but his performance in The Town is probably his best to date. There is also another great performance by Jeremy Renner as well.

The King's Speech (2010)
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Written by: David Seidler
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter

Summary:
Biopic about England's King George VI (father of present day Queen Elizabeth II) and his lifelong struggle to overcome his speech impediment. Suffering from a stammer from the age of 4 or 5, the young Prince Albert dreaded any public speaking engagement and history records that his speech at the closing of the 1925 Commonwealth exhibition in London was difficult for both him and everyone listening that day. He tried many different therapies over many years but it was only when he met Lionel Logue, a speech therapist, that he truly began to make progress. Logue did not have a medical degree but had worked as an elocution coach in the theater and had worked with shell-shocked soldiers after World War I. Through a variety of techniques - and much hard work - he learns to speak in such a way so as to make his impediment a minor problem and delivers a faultless speech heard around the world by radio when England declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939. The King and Logue remained lifelong friends.

My View:
Colin Firth really does deserve all of the awards he's receiving this year. His performance truely is brilliant. Even on a mechanical level of trying to beleivably imitate a stutterer is incredibly difficult. Geoffrey Rush also turns in his most brilliant performance since Shine.

True Grit (2010)
Directed by: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Written by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen & Charles Portis
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld & Josh Brolin

Summary:
Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.

My View:
Having just seen the original for teh fisrt time the other day I have to say i don't understand why people were worried about a remake. Especially one made by the Coen brothers. Jeff Bridges is brilliant as always and Hailee Steinfield is one of the most talented young actresses in hollywood. It's a shame she didn't get the nomination for best lead actress, but she probably would have lost to Natalie Portman anyway.

The Fighter (2010)
Directed by: David O. Russell
Written by: Scott Silver & Paul Tamasy
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams & Melissa Leo

Summary:
Known as the "Pride of Lowell (Massachusetts)", Dicky Eklund Jr.'s primary claim to fame is his 1978 boxing match with Sugar Ray Leonard, where Eklund knocked down Leonard, who eventually won the match. In 1996, Eklund, now a crack addict, is in front of the cameras as an HBO film crew is making a documentary about him, the focus he believes (falsely) to be his boxing comeback at close to age 40. For the past ten years, he has also acted as one of the two trainers for his decade younger half brother, Micky Ward, who is known primarily as a brawler used by other boxers as a stepping stone to better boxers. Both their careers are managed by their domineering mother Alice Ward who believes it better to keep it all in the family. Because of his crack addiction, Dicky is unreliable. A move by Dicky and Alice at one of Micky's fights makes Micky come to the realization that his boxing career is being stalled and perhaps even under-minded by the two, who are only looking out for themselves. This stance is fostered by Micky's new girlfriend, college drop-out and now local bartender Charlene Fleming. As Micky tries boxing life without Dicky and Alice - much to their anger - he has to figure out where they fit into his life, especially as they do not get along with Charlene, if at all. These decisions become all the more important as Micky moves up the ranks and is given a shot at the world welterweight championship.

My View:
A great performance driven film with an outstanding cast. If Bale doesn't win the oscar here it will be a mistake.

The Social Network (2010)
Directed by: David Fincher
Written by: Aaron Sorkin & Ben Mezrich
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake

Summary:
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.

My View:
Many people had the doubts about how good or entertaining a movie about facebook could be but I think we were all silenced by the first trailer, which was one the best of the year. Fincher didn't disappoint giving us one the best character studies in recent years. Eisenberg really didn't stretch too hard to pull off a convincing Zuckerberg, it was perfect casting. The surprise to most people was Timberlake showing the world yet another of his many talents.

Kick-Ass (2010)
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Written by: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage & Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Summary:
In New York, teenager Dave Lizewski is a loser at high-school, a fan of comic books and ignored at school. He spends most of his time with his friends Marty and Todd who are also comic book fans. Dave has a crush on Katie Deauxma but she in turn does not even notice him. One day, Dave decides to make a difference to his life by becoming a masked superhero named Kick-Ass. In his first superhero role he attempts to prevent a car theft by two punks, but he is inadvertently stabbed by one of them and hit by a car later. Dave is taken to hospital where his bones are fixed with metal. When he recovers, Katie begins to notices him. That night, Dave helps a man being hunted down by three guys in front of a cafeteria, the teenagers record the fight with their cell phone cameras. Then they put the footage in Internet and Kick-Ass immediately becomes famous. Meanwhile the powerful gangster Frank D'Amico believes that Kick-Ass is responsible for actions against his gang and plots a scheme to destroy him.

My View:
Here is something I'll rarely say, "the movie was better than the book." I think most people would agree that statement is usually never the case. I didn't read the book until after I saw Kick-Ass and while I loved it, it is very different from the movie. It lacks the organization and character developement of the film. Vaughn did a great job pulling what people loved from the book and chaning and adding new things. Normally this goes horribly wrong but here he did a great job. I knew while watching it that I was witnessing the birth of a cult classic. DVD sales have given it enough of a boost that a sequel has been green lit. Hopefully Vaughn will have the reigns on that one too.

Black Swan (2010)
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Written by: Mark Heyman & Andres Heinz
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel & Barbara Hershey

Summary:
Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

My View:
I knew from the moment I saw Pi that Aronofsky was the real deal and some day he would catch the attention of the mainstream. I can't wait to see what he does with Wolverine. After being so poorly handled, I'm hoping Aronofsky and Jackman can put together the Wolverine film us fans are looking for. Anyway the story here is Natalie Portman's performance. This is the reason they give oscar's.

Inception (2010)
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page & Tom Hardy

Summary:
Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

My View:
The most original and entertaining film of the year. I don't think there is any doubt anymore that Nolan is a freakin genius. Inception doesn't let up from start to finish. I never found it that hard to follow and it only warrants more and satisfying repeat veiwings.