10. True Grit
It takes balls to remake a John Wayne classic. But then again, the Coen brothers are the guys who perfectly adapted Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men and have proven themselves to be two of America's greatest filmmakers. For four decades, the Coens have consistently shown America through different locales and times, interpreting its inhabitants with care and interest. True Grit is no exception. The Coens tackle the western in a way that many modern filmmakers have attempted, but always fallen short. With a cast that coasts John Brolin, Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges and incredible newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, the Coens pay respect to the Charles Portis novel, while still making a film that is distinctly Coen. True Grit will hopefully mark the return of the classic western. And the amazing thing is, it's not even one of the Coens five best films.
9. Catfish
It's incredible how with the internet, we can not only know an insane amount of information about other people, but also what others can know about us. Catfish delves into this in this documentary (or is it?) about Nev, who starts a relationship with someone he's never met, which may not be what it seems. To give any more away about Catfish would take away part of what makes it so great. But in a world of Facebook, Google Maps and YouTube, the idea of a long distance relationship can be a horribly shocking thing and the consequences can be unbelievable in this fascinating film.
8. The King's Speech
The King's Speech had a big problem that it had to overcome for me when I first saw it. How do you make a film that is marketed as an uplifting true story, with the ending essentially in the name of the film, and still make it entertaining and fresh? Director Tom Hooper breathes new life into the biopic by making interesting choices and great casting. The miraculous trio of Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth makes for a group that is always exciting to watch their dynamic. Hooper's camerawork is subtle, yet beautiful in the way it frames Firth. Like Firth's character, Hooper frames him by always attempting to keep him out of the middle. Firth fights against being center of the screen, yet slowly moves towards the middle as his confidence grows. The King's Speech knows what it is, yet tries to make some unique changes in order to compel the viewer who has seen this scenario one too many times.
7. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is essentially a love letter to entertainment. There is hardly a frame in Edgar Wright's film that doesn't reference some form of movie, band, video game or internet culture. What Wright does is epic, he attempts to literally make the graphic novel come to life, without compromising any of the spastic insanity from the books. Scott Pilgrim basically praises and questions the nerd lifestyle where entertainment and self-centeredness is seen as both a gift and a curse. Wright melds everything from "Legend of Zelda" to Beck in a cohesive, hilarious and inventive love story that bends cinema in completely original ways.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary the way that only Banksy could make it. The film is a mind-boggling mixture of possible reality and fiction, while asking questions about what exactly is art and giving a basic primer to the under-appreciated, yet gorgeous graffiti art culture. Banksy tells his story through "filmmaker" Theirry Guetta, who wants to learn more about this subculture. As he gets deeper in, Banksy wants Guetta to get some hands of experience, thus leading to interesting questions about art and fame and creates one of the most thought-provoking documentaries in years.
5. Dogtooth
The first time I heard about Dogtooth, it was from critics hailing it as the best film of the year. Without knowing anything about it, I delved into one of the darkest, weirdest funniest films I've seen in years. I don;t want to give anything away, because I want as many people to have the same experience I did with Dogtooth, but if you think a movie that is somewhere in between combination of The Village and a Lars von Trier sounds like an awesome idea, you should definitely check out Dogtooth. At the very least, it will make you ask tons of questions and constantly thinking about it for days to come.
While Pixar is one of the greatest filmmaking companies possibly of all time, Toy Story 3 had a lot to live up to. Audiences had worried when Toy Story 2 was announced that Pixar was going to start going down the sequel-happy road that Disney did. However TS2 proved Pixar could do sequels right. But before TS3, they had never embarked on a trilogy, and not only that, but a fitting end to Pixar's most beloved characters. And on the heels of two of their most emotionally powered films, WALL-E and Up. But once again, Pixar delivered in droves. Buzz and Woody, along with their friends were given a finale worthy of allowing the Toy Story trilogy as one of the great film trios and proved that there may not be anything that Pixar cannot do.
I love Christopher Nolan. I guess that goes without saying. He has become the most beloved director of fanboys since Tarantino. But what Nolan does so great, and has done since his first film Following, is makes films that are exciting, revolutionary in the way they tell story and are smart. After watching Following and Memento, it seemed ridiculous that Nolan could become one of the most famous directors of the past decade, but by changing how people viewed Batman, Nolan did the impossible. Now with his seventh film, a film that a decade ago I guarantee would never had been made by a major studio, Nolan is bringing intelligent story to the multiplexes in a groundbreaking way that is exciting for the future of movies.
Whenever a movie is made about the mafia, it becomes impossible to not compare it, or at least discuss it in comparison to The Godfather. And while most movies try to be as great, A Prophet is one of the few who actually comes close. A Prophet tells the story of a young Arab man, Malik, who is sent to a French prison. While there, he is essentially given the option to either kill or be killed. This begins his six year stint in prison and deep into the mafia that has been a part of the prison system. The film is cringe-worthy at moments, heart shattering at others and always fascinating. A Prophet is quite possibly one of the greatest mafia films of all time.
For every other film on this list, I can think of some flaw. Scott Pilgrim forces too much book into one film. Toy Story 3 does tread some of the same ground as the previous two and A Prophet has a weird supernatural twist to it. But with The Social Network, I cannot for the life of me think of one negative aspect. Not one. The acting is top notch. Jesse Eisenberg breaks out of stereotype of the serious Michael Cera, Justin Timberlake gives his best acting performance and Andrew Garfield makes me excited to see his take on Spider-Man. David Fincher does a beautiful job directing a film with an actual emotional core, which is missing from many of his earlier films. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' simplistic yet haunting score works perfectly with the subject matter. And that script. Oh that script. Aaron Sorkin outdoes himself and kept my jaw on the floor with every new line of his crackling dialogue. The Social Network is about a great a film you can have to define the current generation and show the creation of the most famous unifier of people in decades.
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