EWB's Top 32 Movies of 2010

[GoGo Yubari]

6. Black Swan (111 pts, appeared on 15 ballots)

5. Kick-Ass (132 pts, appeared on 25 ballots)

4. The Social Network (157 pts, appeared on 22 ballots)

Next Time, on EWB's Top 32 Movies of 2010: Okay, this song goes out to the guy who keeps yelling from the balcony, and it's called "We Hate You, Please Die."

OR

We need to go deeper. BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMP

[Benjamin]

The Fighter was awesome. Besides Christian Bale's masterful performance, Amy Adams was solid, Leo was hilarious and that is my favorite acting performance by a Wahlberg not named Donny.

King's Speech was good, didn't think it deserved to sweep the Oscars, but still, a very nice, solid film. Loved Geoffrey Rush in it, thought he deserved the Supporting Actor Award if Bale didn't get it.

True Grit was fantastic. I really loved Matt Damon's performance, and thought the directing was unbelievably good.

Shutter Island was another great show. I didn't want to speculate about who and how during the whole show, so when I saw the ending, I was extremely pleased.

Black Swan is the second best show of the year, IMO. Just fucking wonderful. Sucks that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is gonna' beat it.

Didn't watch Kick Ass. Plan to, though.

Social Network was good. Andrew Garfield really was awesome, and proved again that the acting of 2010 was really, really solid.

So I'm guessing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Inception and Toy Story 3 hits the top 3. Good set, I guess, though Black Swan deserves to be there instead of Scott Pilgrim.

[Walker]

Awesome three there. Kick-Ass was great, just wall-to-wall excitement, cool and original choreographed fight scenes, and so surprisingly edgy.

Black Swan is fantastic, but at this point I'm sure Darren Aronofsky can't do any wrong; he made ballet look exciting for heaven's sake.

And then The Social Network, the best straight film of the year, no contest - everything from the acting, to the editing, to the soundtrack and to sharp dialogue just gels together into a perfect concoction.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Kick Ass - wow I was really looking forward to it but it just left me a little, I dunno, not even disappointed....Just hollow maybe.

[METALMAN]

True Grit and Fighter were both very enjoyable indeed.

I liked Black Swan at the time, but that was probably because I was drunk when I watched it. Looking back, it's a bit stupid. It's a bit like those stories from the 19th century where the silly, weak woman couldn't control her female hormones.

[Pesci]

Black Swan only 6th?

Loved Kick-Ass. Loved The Social Network. I think they were both in my Top 5... maybe. Who knows? It was ridiculously hard to rank positions 2-7 or so.

[LL!]

A little (lot?) behind here we go...

The Town is another movie that I would put in my Top 15. Solid stuff from everyone involved. I'm really becoming a fan of Ben Affleck's directing and I hope he keeps doing it. He's a good actor when he actually wants to be, but it seems he has a great future as a director. Gone Baby Gone was better, but The Town was no joke.

Tron: Legacy and Paranormal Activity 2 didn't interest me in the least, so I didn't watch them.

Hot Tub Time Machine is another Top 15 for me. The story was hysterical, and the characters were fantastic. One of the better, genuinely good comedies to come out in a while.

I didn't see Get Him To The Greek.

The Fighter was in my Top 10 and deserves to be a few spots higher. Great fucking story, and great fucking performances. Everything about the movie was really really good.

King's Speech has always looked like a snorefest to me. I wanted to see it, and I've had many chances to, but I just can't motivate myself to actually go and sit and watch it.

True Grit was fan-fucking-tastic. I can't say anything here that Sousa hasn't, though.

LOVED Shutter Island, even after reading the book twice. Mark Ruffalo deserves some sort of commendation for his performances this year.

Fuck Black Swan. I've already expressed my displeasure in the movie enough, I won't continue to hammer it in.

Kick-Ass was so so so fun. But beyond the fact that it was fun, it was such a solid piece of filmmaking. Just on replay value alone this movie deserves big-ups.

What can I say about Social Network that hasn't already been said? I had it on the lower end of my top 10, but it was still on my top 10. Great movie.

[Josh]

I know I didn't vote - as lists usually aren't my thing (probably why I'm dragging my feet on the MST3K one) and I don't think I actually saw 10 whole movies in 2010 - but I did see Black Swan. And I didn't like it.

I have a shit-ton of respect for pretty much every individual element of the film (the performances, directing, editing, score, art direction, etc.), but in the end I was left wondering "Why tell this story?" It didn't leave me questioning any of my previous assumptions, it didn't spur me on toward new dialogue with those around me, and it didn't leave me contemplating any greater themes. I could have even forgiven all that if the film had at least surprised me in terms of the plot, but it didn't. Granted, I don't think it was supposed to, but that takes me back to the previous point: just what are you asking me to examine here that I don't already? Or what other angles should I be examining it from?

tl;dr - It was masterfully crafted, yet came off completely hollow.

[GoGo Yubari]

Kick Ass - wow I was really looking forward to it but it just left me a little, I dunno, not even disappointed....Just hollow maybe.

I agree with this. Kick-Ass is 2/3rds of a really fun movie, 1/3rd it turning into the movie it was previously lampooning. And I guess you could argue that that was a stylistic "now he's a REAL superhero" thing but I still found it disappointing. I liked it, had I not gotten Winter's Bone in from Netflix it would have been my #10, but I just don't see in it what a lot of other people (many of whom have tastes in movies that I really respect) did.

[zero]

LOVED Kick-Ass, liked Social Network, haven't seen Black Swan.

[Liam]

Kick Ass - wow I was really looking forward to it but it just left me a little, I dunno, not even disappointed....Just hollow maybe.

That is about as spot on as you could get about that film. It was ok.....just it really offered very little outside of that. I was kinda just....let down I guess.

[Guest mr. potato head]

I know I didn't vote - as lists usually aren't my thing (probably why I'm dragging my feet on the MST3K one) and I don't think I actually saw 10 whole movies in 2010 - but I did see Black Swan. And I didn't like it.

I have a shit-ton of respect for pretty much every individual element of the film (the performances, directing, editing, score, art direction, etc.), but in the end I was left wondering "Why tell this story?" It didn't leave me questioning any of my previous assumptions, it didn't spur me on toward new dialogue with those around me, and it didn't leave me contemplating any greater themes. I could have even forgiven all that if the film had at least surprised me in terms of the plot, but it didn't. Granted, I don't think it was supposed to, but that takes me back to the previous point: just what are you asking me to examine here that I don't already? Or what other angles should I be examining it from?

tl;dr - It was masterfully crafted, yet came off completely hollow.

Toy Story 3 didn't do any of that stuff and it was still awesome.

[Pesci]

Really when I think about how good a film was it comes down to "did I enjoy it?" and "how much?". I don't tend to ask myself any questions about the purpose of making it or what wider themes I should be contemplating. If I was writing a critique of it I might ask those questions, but I'm not, I'm deciding whether or not I liked it :/

[Josh]

I know I didn't vote - as lists usually aren't my thing (probably why I'm dragging my feet on the MST3K one) and I don't think I actually saw 10 whole movies in 2010 - but I did see Black Swan. And I didn't like it.

I have a shit-ton of respect for pretty much every individual element of the film (the performances, directing, editing, score, art direction, etc.), but in the end I was left wondering "Why tell this story?" It didn't leave me questioning any of my previous assumptions, it didn't spur me on toward new dialogue with those around me, and it didn't leave me contemplating any greater themes. I could have even forgiven all that if the film had at least surprised me in terms of the plot, but it didn't. Granted, I don't think it was supposed to, but that takes me back to the previous point: just what are you asking me to examine here that I don't already? Or what other angles should I be examining it from?

tl;dr - It was masterfully crafted, yet came off completely hollow.

Toy Story 3 didn't do any of that stuff and it was still awesome.

I disagree. From where I sat, it heavily addressed questions about separation, letting go, and growing up (with other minor themes.) Not only that, it did so with what I felt was a fresh perspective. Alternatively, it brought an older perspective to a new genre, thereby reaching an audience that might not otherwise consider these themes.

But I'll certainly agree it was awesome.

Really when I think about how good a film was it comes down to "did I enjoy it?" and "how much?". I don't tend to ask myself any questions about the purpose of making it or what wider themes I should be contemplating. If I was writing a critique of it I might ask those questions, but I'm not, I'm deciding whether or not I liked it :/

Even if I were only judging based upon the bolded portion, I would still say I did not enjoy it. I have great respect for the many individual pieces, but I did not enjoy the whole.

[Cornwhall]

I loved both Kick-Ass & Social Network. Though I haven't seen Black Swan, nor do I ever plan to, to be honest. Not my cup of tea.

[GoGo Yubari]

Okay, spent a couple days not doing this but it's time! And in spite of all the delays for people to go see movies in the UK, the hard drive failures, etc., I'm happy to say I still finished this sooner than Josh did the MST3K thing! I'm a winner, baby!

3. Toy Story 3 (161 pts, appeared on 24 ballots)

2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (211 pts, appeared on 26 ballots)

1. Inception (217 pts, appeared on 28 ballots)

Delighted at how close it was; if only I had some convenient reason to have banned JohnnyPerfect so his votes didn't count and Scott Pilgrim could have gotten the win But Inception is good enough that clearly it didn't have to come to that. Thanks for voting, everyone, and see you whenever it is I feel like running some list next.

[LL!]

Okay, I lied, Toy Story 3 was my number 11. Forgot that I didn't include it. Exit gets 12th. That movie was just fantastic and I have no reason to hate it being in the top 3.

Scott Pilgrim was fucking awesome. Just a fun fucking ride. It's also probably the first movie in a very very long time that had some of the best noticeable editing I've ever seen. Such a shame that got looked over for awards consideration. Got in 6th for me, but 2 is just dandy.

Finally, Inception got 2nd place for me, so winning was really not too different. Just stellar.

Good end to the list.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Thank fuck Scott Pilgrim didn't managed to get that one extra vote or so. It was an awesome movie and I'm sure I put it on my list, but Inception was simply on another level of outstanding. Still haven't got round to seeing Toy Story 3, so hopefully I can catch that over the next few weeks.

Great list overall, good job on it

[TKz]

Toy Story 3 was great, Scott Pilgrim was amazingly fun, Inception was overhyped and really not as great as people made it out to be.

[Pesci]

All three films were awesome. Looking at the Top 6 I'm actually pretty sure they were my Top 6, just in a different order, so I can't complain much. I think I'll just check, actually...

1. Black Swan

2. Toy Story 3

3. The Social Network

4. Inception

5. Kick-Ass

6. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Looking back on it, I'd probably rate them a touch differently now. Push Scott Pilgrim up to fourth and drag Kick-Ass down to sixth. Like I've said all along, though, it was insanely hard for me to rank positions 2-7 (#7 being The Fighter) in any sort of order.