The Top 10 of Twenty 10

Well, it's that time of year again, when Hollywood's best and brightest prepare to slap themselves on the back for award season glory. The first year of the new decade had provided us with some excellent and brilliant films, and, of course, we were also treated to many bland-to-absolutely rotten stinkers. Here's what comprised the best of the best, and the worst of the worst.

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE OF 2010

1. Jeff Bridges as "Rooster Cogburn" in True Grit
2. Colin Firth as "King George VI" in The King's Speech
3. Jesse Eisenberg as "Mark Zuckerberg" in The Social Network
4. Christian Bale as "Dicky Eklund" in The Fighter
5. James Franco as "Aron Ralston" in 127 Hours
6. Andrew Garfield as "Eduardo Saverin" in The Social Network
7. Leonardo DiCaprio as "Dom Cobb" in Inception
8. Geoffrey Rush as "Lionel Logue" in The King's Speech
9. Jeremy Renner as "Jem Coughlin" in The Town
10. John Hawkes as "Teardrop" in Winter's Bone

(Honorable Mentions: Armie Hammer as "Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss" in The Social Network; Mark Ruffalo as "Paul Hatfield" in The Kids Are All Right; Mark Wahlberg as "Micky Ward" in The Fighter)

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCES OF 2010

1. Jennifer Lawrence as "Ree Dolly" in Winter's Bone
2. Natalie Portman as "Nina Sayers" in Black Swan
3. Annette Bening as "Nic Allgood" in The Kids Are All Right
4. Melissa Leo as "Alice Ward" in The Fighter
5. Marion Cotillard as "Mal Cobb" in Inception
6. Hailee Steinfeld as "Mattie Ross" in True Grit
7. Julianne Moore as "Jules Allgood" in The Kids Are All Right
8. Chloe Grace Moretz as "Mindy MacReady/Hit-Girl" in Kick-Ass
9. Emma Stone as "Olive Penderghast" in Easy A
10. Michelle Williams as "Cindy Heller" in Blue Valentine

(Honorable Mentions: Mila Kunis as "Lily" in Black Swan; Amy Adams as "Charlene Fleming" in The Fighter; Nicole Kidman as "Becca Corbett" in Rabbit Hole)

WORST PERFORMANCES OF 2010

1. Sarah Jessica Parker as "Carrie Bradshaw" in Sex and the City 2
2. Ashton Kutcher as "Spencer Aimes" in Killers
3. Katherine Heigl as "Jen Kornfeldt" in Killers
4. Rob Schneider as "Rob Hilliard" in Grown Ups
5. Kim Cattrall as "Samantha Jones" in Sex and the City 2
6. Noah Ringer as "Aang" in The Last Airbender
7. Megan Fox as "Lilah" in Jonah Hex
8. Bruce Willis as "Jimmy Monroe" in Cop Out
9. Taylor Swift as "Felicia Miller" in Valentine's Day
10. Brendan Fraser as "Dan Sanders" in Furry Vengeance


(Honorable Mentions: Patrick Wilson as "Agent Lynch" in The A-Team; Johnny Depp as "Frank Tupelo" in The Tourist; Tracy Morgan as "Paul Hodges" in Cop Out)

FUNNIEST PERFORMANCES OF 2010

1. Michael Keaton as the voice of "Ken" in Toy Story 3
2. Zach Galifianakis as "Ethan Tremblay" in Due Date
3. Nicolas Cage as "Damon MacReady/Big Daddy" in Kick-Ass
4. Will Ferrell as "Allen Gamble" in The Other Guys
5. Johnny Knoxville as "Himself" in Jackass 3D
6. Chris Evans as "Lucas Lee" in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
7. Chloe Grace Moretz as "Mindy MacReady/Hit-Girl" in Kick-Ass
8. Emma Stone as "Oliver Penderghast" in Easy A
9. Sharlto Copley as "H.M. Murdock" in The A-Team
10. Robert Downey, Jr. as "Peter Highman" in Due Date


(Honorable Mentions: Kieran Culkin as "Wallace Wells" in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World; Sam Rockwell as "Justin Hammer" in Iron Man 2; Jason "Wee Man" Acuna as "Himself" in Jackass 3D)

BEST CAMEOS OF 2010

1. Mike Judge as the voices of "Beavis and Butthead" in Jackass 3D
2. Thomas Jane as "Vegan Police Officer" in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
3. Michael Sheen as "Castor" in Tron: Legacy
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Trench" in The Expendables
5. Mark Wahlberg as "Holbrooke Grant" in Date Night
6. Chris Cooper as "Stephen MacRay" in The Town
7. Michael Caine as "Stephen Miles" in Inception
8. Derek Jeter as "Himself" in The Other Guys
9. Rip Taylor as "Himself" in Jackass 3D
10. Danny McBride as "Lonnie" in Due Date


(Honorable Mentions: Juliette Lewis as "Heidi" in Due Date; Stan Lee as "Larry King" in Iron Man 2; Spike Jonze as "Old Woman" in Jackass 3D)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST OF 2010

The Social Network (Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Josh Pence, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara, Brenda Song, Joseph Mazzello)

BREAKOUT STARS OF 2010

1. Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In)
2. Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, Never Let Me Go)
3. Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
4. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
5. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right)
6. Tom Hardy (Inception)
7. Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy)
8. Clark Duke (Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine)
9. Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief)
10. Armie Hammer (The Social Network)

BEST DIRECTORS OF 2010

1. David Fincher (The Social Network)
2. Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
3. Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)
4. Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
5. Christopher Nolan (Inception)
6. Ben Affleck (The Town)
7. Debra Granik (Winter's Bone)
8. David O. Russell (The Fighter)
9. Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3)
10. Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right)

(Honorable Mentions: Matthew Vaughn, Kick-Ass; Danny Boyle, 127 Hours; Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)

BEST SCORES OF 2010

1. Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy
2. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
3. Hans Zimmer, Inception
4. Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech
5. Clint Mansell, Black Swan
6. Carter Burwell, True Grit
7. John Murphy, Henry Jackman, Ilan Eshkeri, Marius de Vries, Kick-Ass
8. Randy Newman, Toy Story 3
9. A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
10. Dickon Hinchliffe, Winter's Bone


BEST ACTION/FIGHT SEQUENCES OF 2010

1. The Revolving Hallway, Inception
2. Light Cycle Showdown, Tron: Legacy
3. Hit-Girl High Rise Massacre, Kick-Ass
4. "Fill your hands, you sonuvabitch!", True Grit
5. Scott vs. Gideon vs. Ramona vs. Knives, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
6. The Parachuting Tank, The A-Team
7. Hit-Girl vs. The Drug Dealers, Kick-Ass
8. Scott vs. Todd Ingram, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
9. Monaco Showdown, Iron Man 2
10. Chase to the Grid Portal, Tron: Legacy


(Honorable Mentions: Midget Bar Brawl, Jackass 3D; Tony vs. Rhodey, Iron Man 2; The Avalanche, Inception)

THE GOVERNOR'S "JUST RETIRE NOW" AWARD OF 2010

M. Night Shyamalan

(Honorable Mention: Adam Sandler)

WORST FILMS OF 2010

1. The Last Airbender
2. Killers
3. Grown Ups
4. Vampires Suck
5. Sex and the City 2
6. The Bounty Hunter
7. Jonah Hex
8. Clash of the Titans
9. Cop Out
10. A Nightmare on Elm Street


(Honorable Mentions: The Expendables; You Again; Letters to Juliet)

MOST "MEH" MOVIES OF 2010 (Not good or bad, but just... meh)

1. The A-Team
2. Predators
3. Despicable Me
4. The Human Centipede
5. The Losers
6. Alice in Wonderland
7. Get Him to The Greek
8. The Karate Kid
9. Dinner for Schmucks
10. The Wolfman

BEST FILMS OF 2010

1. The Social Network
2. True Grit
3. Inception
4. The King's Speech
5. Toy Story 3
6. Kick-Ass
7. The Crazies
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
9. Black Swan
10. Winter's Bone


(Honorable Mentions: The Town; The Kids Are All Right; Tron: Legacy)

Review: "BLACK SWAN"

It's no secret amongst my friends and family that I was NOT blessed with any athletic talent whatsoever. I wholeheartedly admit that while I make up for it with abundant charm, humor, and dashing good looks, I've never been agile, strong, speedy, or possessing even the most rudimentary forms of physical grace. It was most obvious when I played on the local community football team in 6th and 7th grade. I was more or less useless as an offensive tackle (which is basically the most useless position in the entire game), and getting to go home, wash up, and read comic books after a game was the best and most satisfying part of my day.

But what I hated most of all about football were the practices. Whether it was the opening calisthenics, the duration of the event (two hours was an eternity for yours truly), the endless drills, and the constant goings-over of plays, it wasn't long until sports and I became bitter enemies. Though I focused on more artistic endeavors later on in life, I couldn't imagine being one of those people (in athletics or otherwise) whose entire lives and careers were all about practicing their craft over and over and over again, endlessly striving to become perfect (and then some), where for some it ultimately consumes them and upends their very lives.

It's this kind of obsessive quest for perfection that permeates the psychosexual drama Black Swan, a highly disturbing yet breathtaking new film from cinematic mastermind Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler), who returns to his familiar territory of psychologically-intense filmmaking with terrific success.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a gifted and committed ballerina in a New York City ballet company headed by French director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). Upon retiring prima ballerina Beth (Winona Ryder), Thomas undertakes a search for his new lead to play the dual role of the Swan Queen for the season's upcoming debut of "Swan Lake".

Nina, who stills lives with her controlling and overbearing stage mother Erica (Barbara Hershey), is told by Thomas that though her frigid and innocent technique is perfect for the part of the virginal White Swan, she lacks the raw sensuality and passion of the uninhibited Black Swan. Complicating matters is the arrival of new dancer Lily (Mila Kunis), whose carefree and libidinous demeanor seem to be a perfect fit for the Black Swan.

As Nina pushes herself to win the role, her obsession begins to make her occasionally lose touch with reality, experiencing strange and grotesque hallucinations. Compounded by her mother's grip on her life and the possible threat of Lily moving in on supplanting Nina's place as the ballet's star attraction, it's only a matter of time until Nina's breaks from reality veers her into insanity.

I've never actually watched ballet in my life, nor have I known anyone associated with it in a professional capacity, but from what I've heard, being a ballerina is no walk in the park. The sheer discipline and dedication needed to merely pass muster is mindboggling to comprehend, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were many a dancer whose fierce passion eventually got the best of their very sanity. And depicting such insanity was probably no problem for director Aronofsky, who pretty much built his career on movies about mental and physical downward spirals.

After doing more intimate and emotionally-focused works like The Fountain and the extraordinary The Wrestler (which ranks as one of this reviewer's favorite movies ever), Aronofsky went back into his old stomping grounds of frenetic, disturbing, and visually-nauseating-yet-spellbinding moviemaking mastery. He makes sure that every single shot crackles with dark energy, with focus on kinetics so enthralling and powerful that we almost think that we're watching Black Swan in 3D.

But in order to become engrossed in such drama, we need an actress competent enough to give Nina an ample amount of tragedy and insecurity. Natalie Portman does that in droves, delivering a performance of a lifetime. Used to playing "good girl" roles in her extensive career, Portman nonetheless isn't typecast as the innocent and reserved Nina. Underneath her innocuous image is a woman consumed with being absolutely perfect, thanks in part to her controlling, former-ballerina mother whose rigid rules dictates Nina's very life.

But when the pressure builds up, Nina eventually breaks, and Portman's metamorphosis from meek to raging is absolutely jarring. It's a stellar performance that deserves every accolade it achieves.

As the lecherous yet passionate director of "Swan Lake", French actor Vincent Cassel does a fine job serving as one of the catalysts of Nina's descent into perfectionist madness, as does Mila Kunis, whose seductive wild child is a far cry from her much lighter work on TV shows like "Family Guy" or "That '70s Show" (especially considering a steamy yet unsettling "is-it-fake-or-real" sexual rendezvous with Portman's character).

Complementing the fine work onscreen are the brilliant technical achievements, from the fantastic choreography and costume design to the melodramatic score by Aronofsky regular Clint Mansell, who distorts the amazing works of Tchaikovsky into something far more sinister yet still retaining its raw power.

But perhaps the biggest star is the disorienting camerawork of cinematographer Matthew Libatique. Those with weak stomachs best stay away, because the camera NEVER stays in one place, opting to rather latch onto not only the character's grandiose body movements, but also manages to get us inside Nina's head with an assortment of swivels, close-ups, and trick shots. When we see Nina dance, we don't just watch her: we're ATTACHED to her.

Though some cynics may point out that many films with main characters who delve into madness are easy Oscar bait (and to be fair, that's sometimes a true assessment), Black Swan nonetheless manages to stay ahead of the curve thanks to intense direction, a powerhouse performance by Portman, terrific visual and auditory panache, and a starkly unsettling aura that's pure Darren Aronofsky. Embracing its melodrama and reminding me why I should stick to reviewing movies and NOT be a wannabe athletic virtuoso, Black Swan doesn't strive to be perfect. It does it effortlessly.

Letter Grade: "A"

Review: "THE KING'S SPEECH"

Though it can be debatable about what yours truly is really talented at, I've always prided myself on my public speaking skills. Having always been a bit of a spotlight-stealer and shameless attention-seeker (not to mention having grown up performing musically or theatrically in one way or another), I've always been complimented on my ability to talk in front of a large group with little to no issue, in addition to adding actual personality, flair, and confidence to even the most mundane speeches.

While I was lucky with such proficiency, there are some people who decidedly aren't. There are many reasons why some lack those skills, be it shyness, a lack of confidence, or minimal charisma. And then there are those afflicted with speech disorders, such as lisps, apraxia, and perhaps one of the most common of the bunch, stuttering. While possessing such a handicap definitely wouldn't make any public speech easy, I couldn't imagine having to deal with it every minute of every day, especially if those afflicted are in a position where speaking to the masses was a part of their very job and even legacy.

Such were the trials of Albert Frederick Arthur George, also known as Prince Albert, Duke of York, who would eventually rise to the top throne of the Commonwealth as King George VI. Despite not being in direct line to the throne, Albert's position obligated him to represent his kingdom with public speaking, which was made unbearable due to his lifelong stammer. In director Tom Hooper's brilliant The King's Speech, we're treated to a feel-good, impeccably crafted true-story tale of how even those born into opulence and royalty possess vulnerabilities that must be overcome.

Prince Albert, the Duke of York (Colin Firth), has never been known for being a highly public figure in 1920s Britain, and for good reason: he suffers from a nearly-incapacitating stammer, which causes him to botch a live radio broadcast in 1925. Despite having a strong support system in his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), Albert seems to give up years later when several attempts to remedy the condition fail miserably.

It doesn't help that his father, King George V (Michael Gambon), considers this a major flaw and weakness, especially since the advent of radio broadcasting makes public speaking mandatory for any royal figure. And despite Albert not being next in line for the throne, his older brother --and true heir to the kingdom-- Edward (Guy Pearce) doesn't seem to thrilled about his inevitable duties, in part due to his frowned-upon relationship with twice-divorced American woman Wallis Simpson (Eve Best).

Nonetheless, Elizabeth encourages Albert to best his stammer by visiting Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an unorthodox yet quite successful Australian speech therapist. Despite a rocky start, Lionel's unusual treatments begin to help Albert's problem, and as Albert begins to take control of his voice, the relationship between doctor and patient evolve into a deep friendship. But when the King dies and Edward soon abdicates the throne to the Duke, Albert must contend with not only becoming King George VI, but also facing a looming war with Germany, as well as conquering his disorder in preparation for a wartime radio speech that could make or break his reputation with the anxious peoples of the Commonwealth.

Now, when one looks at this synopsis, it probably wouldn't take too long to say "Oscar Bait". After all, it has all the common signs: a story about a man battling a crippling disorder; a complex family dynamic where two siblings must come face-to-face with their destinies; and, of course, a bunch of British people in fancy period outfits.

And while some moviegoers brush off talky historical dramas (especially those set in Europe), they would be fools to stereotypically include The King's Speech as such a film. Marvelously cast, terrifically directed by Hooper from a great script by David Seidler, Speech is one of those rare dramas that can not only move and intellectually stimulate viewers, but also thoroughly entertain them as well.

And the nucleus of such an engaging and emotionally gratifying picture is one Colin Firth, who simply becomes the future King George VI. Insecure and extremely timid when it comes to having to speak outside his own home, George is depicted as a man so aggravated and maddened by his speech impediment that he essentially gives up all hope for himself, and is clearly relieved by not having to pick up where his father left off in the kingdom. Firth effortlessly infuses in Albert an almost childlike vulnerability, where saying even a simple sentence is pure torture. And it's the talents of the actor that clinch the realism, as he makes his Albert seem virtually nauseated trying to let the words out. It's a highly effective performance, and even the audience feels sick and helpless along with him.

Playing his foil and eventual vocal savior is the delightful Geoffrey Rush. What could've been an English period film version of Stand and Deliver (or any inspirational/quasi-inspirational "teacher-gets-lost cause-to-become-a-success" film, for that matter), Rush takes the mentor stock character and turns it on its head. Unusual in his therapeutic approaches, Lionel takes the Duke head on with seemingly brash tactics (especially when he's direct in telling a Royal Duke of the Realm that he refuses to call him "Your Highness", but rather by a first-name basis), and his extreme patience and genuine care for Albert eventually pay off. The rapport between Firth and Rush is absolutely terrific, whether the two are butting heads or delving into Albert's past, or when Lionel makes Albert spout off a stream of obscenities to help let off some steam (a very funny sequence that unjustly earned the film its "R" rating).

As is the case for almost any film of its type, The King's Speech boasts superb technical achievements, from its elegant costume design and art direction, to Alexandre Desplat's powerful musical score. The film never drags on, nor does it seem like an utter bore. And despite being obvious awards material, The King's Speech is never sappy, treacly, manipulative, or depressing, which is clearly the case with most modern Oscar-baiting motion pictures.

Moving, thematically rich, funny, and utter magnificent in every which way, The King's Speech is a landmark in filmmaking and one of those rare cases when a "feel-good" movie doesn't end up being hollow, lazy, and one-dimensional, but actually and truly makes one feel good when watching it.

Letter Grade: "A+"