Steve Sailer: iSteve: What were the best movies of 2010?

January 5, 2011

What were the best movies of 2010?

Put your recommendations in the comments.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

78 comments:

Dregs said...: The Secrets in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos). Amazing Argentinian film. I'm including it because the U.S. release date was in 2010, even though it was released in South America in 2009.

There are some corny twists in the plot towards the very end, but it is overall a very gripping detective / love film about disillusionment and disappointment. What made it a real stand-out were the performances. From the stars, Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil, down to the supporting roles, the performances made this a great film.

The fact that I don't often get to see Argentinian culture on the screen added to the interest.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/; 1/5/11, 1:34 AM
Kai Carver said...: Best romantic comedy with apocalyptic backdrop set in Mexico filmed on a shoestring: Monsters

One amusing thing about it is how it seems to have a strong immigration theme, entirely unintentionally apparently:

Michelle Castillo: Monsters reminded me a lot of the first half of District 9. There's a lot of social context behind it. Were you trying to talk about the immigration debate?
Gareth Edwards: I've never been to Mexico before we sat down and landed to start filming that movie so I had no agenda about Mexican immigration or anything like that. It was really not part of why this film was happening at all. Inevitably, it creeps into the movie because it's so teed up, the metaphor of the wall and everything, it would apply to any country we went to. There's always some internal politics in any country about two sides of something, so I think wherever we shot the film someone would have gone, “Ah you're commenting on our internal problem!”

Filmmaker Gareth Edwards Talks About His Monsters - Techland - TIME.com; 1/5/11, 2:25 AM
Anonymous said...: 4 stars:

Animal Kingdom

Winter's Bone

The King's Speech

3 stars:

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Kick-Ass

The American (except for the awfully boring priest scenes)

The Social Network

Remember Me

didn't see yet but intend to (they seem promising): Black Swan, Inception, True Grit, The Fighter, Never Let Me Go; 1/5/11, 3:09 AM
Le Sigh said...: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter's_bone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Grass; 1/5/11, 4:13 AM
coldequation said...: The Black Swan and Inception.; 1/5/11, 4:31 AM
TH said...: I didn't see many new movies last year, but Inception was certainly the most overrated.; 1/5/11, 4:41 AM
Anonymous said...: True Grit -- As a Protestant, I think it's a good Anglo-Protestant flick, which Hollywood doesn't make anymore.

The Ghost Writer
The King's Speech; 1/5/11, 4:43 AM
Truth said...: The social network: I simply liked the movie's heartening message:
1) Jewish American princesses are wonderful, heroic women (even if they changed their name to Albright).
2) Asian girls are whores! Jewish men should avoid them.
3) Light-skinned and dark-skinned Jews should work together to crush WASP competitors and new aspiring minorities (Indians); 1/5/11, 6:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Don't bothere (if you are not sincere)

That is a title of chinese movie; 1/5/11, 6:25 AM
Anonymous said...: I didn't see any grown-up movies in 2010 - I watched them vicariously through iSteve.

The only time I really, really had hoped to get out was to see Diane Lane in the Secretariat flick.

That movie looked like it had the potential to be quite stunning, plus it had the Left with their panties all in a wad on account of the overt WASPishness of it.

[And I found it simply bizarre that O'Hehir homeschools his children - one edumakashun for mine, another for thine?!?]; 1/5/11, 6:37 AM
Anonymous said...: I liked Toy Story 3.; 1/5/11, 7:11 AM
Hail said...: Best: "Inception".

Worst: "The Expendables".; 1/5/11, 7:40 AM
Eric said...: RED. Good action. Funny. Good acting. Surprisingly good love stories.; 1/5/11, 8:48 AM
Nanonymous said...: 2010 was not as good as 2009. Few truly memorable movies. 2010 releases from Aronofsky, Coens and Nolan are all underwhelming and benefited greatly from a brand name.

A nice contrast would be Shutter Island. Solid Scorcese movie. There were memorable to me in 2010:

Shutter Island
All Good Things
Unthinkable
Easy A
The King's Speech
Despicable Me

Haven't seen any foreign movie other than Shanghai.; 1/5/11, 9:51 AM
dfasdfasdf said...: I haven't been to the theater since 2007 with Blade Runner Final Cut. I see everything on dvd so I'll catch up with 2010 movies in 2011. I did see UP IN THE AIR and it was HORRIBLE. Reitman is up there with Crowe as a coyboy director.; 1/5/11, 9:53 AM
Sean Juan said...: Shutter Island. I'd give it a B or B+. Solid filmmaking but that may be the problem. Solid when a psychological thriller should have a softer edge--the finer touch of a Mizoguchi than the manlier style of Kurosawa. Powerful storytelling and gutsy but spells everything out with bold strokes: too obvious. We see but don't really sense the strangeness. Key to the story is the man's wife but she doesn't register emotionally or sensually.

Though I haven't seen many 2010 movies, here are some ratings of recent movies I caught up with.

AVATAR: D

Horrible in every way, especially its much hyped special effects(or defects?)

SERIOUS MAN: B- or C+

Some people say this is critical of Jews, but I don't think so. The Jews in this film, though not necessarily pleasant, are so pitiful, pathetic, and powerless that the movie's political message, if any were intended, seems to be "there's nothing to worry about Jewish power cuz Jews are really just a bunch of harmless screwed up putzes who can't even tie their own shoes."

ELIZABETHTOWN. D

A kind of epic version of UP IN THE AIR. So cutesy and coy, something for everyone, a movie where even political incorrectness is harmless and cuddly.

THE BOX. C+

Interesting little idea blown into sci-fi absurdism. Main reason to watch it--if you're a girl--is the gorgeous hunk of an actor in the lead.

DEPARTURES: B

Job insecurity, social pride, fear of aging, weakening of family bonds, conformism vs individualism, etc... all relevant to modern Japan. But the movie itself is no more than a decent enough melodrama.

TOKYO SONATA: C+

Covers much of the same issues as DEPARTURES, albeit more ludicrously.

CLOSE TO HOME: B+

Affecting Israeli flick about the conflict between girlhood and survivalhood.

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD: C+ or B-

Finally a Romero zombie movie with anything like good acting and real characters.

VALKYRIE: C+

How to have fun playing a cool Nazi: Be an anti-Nazi Nazi.

HANA: B+

An humanist anti-samurai-film(like we had the anti-western).

IRREVERSIBLE: Anything from F to B+. Hated it but couldn't really shake it off. Watched it cuz I loved Cassel and Bellucci in The Apartment. Very different kind of movie.

RESIDENT EVIL EXTINCTION: C+

A pile of trash but honest. Loved every minute of it.

THE WRESTLER: A-

Mostly routine, albeit powerful, drama narrative but the the ending elevates it to art.

KATYN: A OR A+

One of the most thoughtful films about history and politics(and the politics of memory).; 1/5/11, 10:24 AM
beowulf said...: Inception, a high bandwidth film that was also a lot of fun to watch.; 1/5/11, 10:35 AM
Hail said...: Dregs wrote:
"The Secrets in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)"

Seconded.

__________________________________
__________________________________
"True Grit" sounds interesting and I hear a lot of praise for it.

It gets points off due to PC casting. Supposedly we're in the Wild-West, but the lead is played by "Hailey Steinfeld", whose "father is Jewish and [whose] mother is of Filipino, African-American, and Caucasian descent".

You can see all those influences in this photograph of her. (More here); 1/5/11, 10:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Monsters stank out loud. It was long, boring, preachy, and the immigration theme was in your face ugly.

Even my left of liberal brother wanted to leave in the middle.

Monsters? They killed what? nobody on screen? Stomped flat very little and were just beautiful little immigrants once you got to know them.

"America like a prison" etc, etc, ad nauseum.; 1/5/11, 11:10 AM
Anonymous said...: Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (Thanks for reviewing this and putting it on my radar. It was well worth seeing on a big screen)

Tiny Furniture

The Fighter

Animal Kingdom

The King's Speech; 1/5/11, 11:11 AM
Simon in London said...: Toy Story 3 was good.; 1/5/11, 11:13 AM
Captain Jack Aubrey said...: MacGruber. Duh.

And who suggested The Ghost Writer? Are they actually serious?; 1/5/11, 11:15 AM
Simon in London said...: I see 1 movie a year in the cinema, when an old friend visits from Ulster. This year it was 'The Expendables'. My verdict: Not great, mostly because I felt sorry for the 'baddies', but I enjoyed it more than our movie of the previous year, 'Inglourious Basterds', which would have really benefitted from a few good action scenes.; 1/5/11, 11:19 AM
Garland said...: 1) Farewell 2) MacGruber; 1/5/11, 11:45 AM
green mamba said...: "Please Give" was quite good. A perceptive, realistic, funny look at a bunch of Manahttan characters starring the reliable Catherine Keener. I also liked "The Kids Are Alright". Though I'm sure most here will hate it, that movie still has the indie virtues of "Please Give": good writing and performances, low-key lack of Hollywood overkill, pointed humor and engaging drama.

Was "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" 2010? Loved it: overcooked Herzog fun with a delightfully hammy Nicholas Cage.

Oh, and a quiet, humanistic, very effective Austrian film about revenge, longing and forgiveness called "Revanche".; 1/5/11, 12:54 PM
Anonymous said...: Best of 2010: "Eat,Pray,Love."; 1/5/11, 1:09 PM
REH said...: People say this every year, but man, what a crappy year for movies. The mental gymnastics we see critics performing on their end of year lists are even more ludicrous than usual. I see two of the biggest darlings are "The Social Network" and "Black Swan." Both are reasonably entertaining, but that's it. I dunno if I've ever seen a film ascribed more trumped up social import than "The Social Network." The logic is impeccable: Many people use Facebook constantly, therefore a film about the founding of Facebook must be saying something very profound about "how we live today." And "Black Swan" is nothing but a lurid B-movie psychological thriller. (Nothing wrong with that, of course, but so many won't accept the truth.) I guess if you toss in name actors, high culture, lesbianism and a smorgasbord of screenwriting seminar level thematic devices you suddenly get a very sophisticated film. (I note that many of the devices used in "Black Swan" are eerily reminiscent of those found in the fictional screenplay "The Three.")

My favorite film of 2010 was probably "The Square." Aussie-noir was invariably compared to "Blood Simple," and with cause. Some will have trouble accepting the convoluted narrative, but it all ties together nicely, even if it isn't too likely. "Inception" was another first rate one, though also over-analyzed by many, and the unique Korean thriller "Mother." Other than that, umm, "The Town," perhaps? "Shutter Island?" (Not a very smart film, but wonderfully made.) "Splice?" (I gotta soft spot for that one, I must admit.) Not much to chose from, though I don't get around to seeing a lot of the big stuff until early the next year, so some discoveries must be coming.; 1/5/11, 1:18 PM
steve e said...: Can we include Docs?

If so, I would nominate "The Two Escobars," which was a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. It was very well done.; 1/5/11, 1:53 PM
Anonymous said...: INSIDE JOB. Sickeningly funny to see celebrity economists blithely admit their conflicts of interest while recommending policies that affect and afflict millions of working people. The documentary triggered a minor ripple of soul-searching among economists as to whether they had an ethical duty to disclose the names of their secret paymasters.; 1/5/11, 2:36 PM
Kiwiguy said...: 'A Single Man' directed by Tom Ford ('In the Bedroom') with brilliant performances by Colin Firth & Julianne Moore.

Inception was ok. I haven't seen 'The Social Network' yet.; 1/5/11, 2:45 PM
Anonymous said...: The only movie mentioned here that I saw was "Inception". I tried looking in the IMDB. Not much help. They list "The Last Air Bender" and "Shrek Forever". They also have the most recent versions of "Toy Story", "Iron Man" and those teen vampires. There must have been a Harry Potter and Narnia film too.

Last year was very hard on the studios financially I understand. Look at their offerings and an explanation appears - bad movies - remarkably bad movies.

This is the year that all the movie theaters close. For a dozen years or more theatrical releases have only been a way to promote films for domestic consumption. Their proportion of studio revenues has dropped.

"Direct to Video" had been term of judgement for films too bad to be promoted. This year some major director and/or studio will release a very good movie directly to DVD, Blu-ray, cable Pay for View and Netflix without sending it first to theaters. Then others will also do so and soon no more movie theaters.

Art houses in college towns will persist for a time. Some of the 3D and Imax theaters will continue to show cartoons but real dramas will skip theatrical runs. Malls all over America will be looking for other uses for their multiplexes.

This change happens this year - 2011.

Albertosaurus; 1/5/11, 2:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Kick Ass; 1/5/11, 3:15 PM
Anonymous said...: "The social network: I simply liked the movie's heartening message:
1) Jewish American princesses are wonderful, heroic women (even if they changed their name to Albright).
2) Asian girls are whores! Jewish men should avoid them.
3) Light-skinned and dark-skinned Jews should work together to crush WASP competitors and new aspiring minorities (Indians)"

Did Svigor take over your brain today, Truth? I mean, wow. I expected so much better from you.; 1/5/11, 3:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Precious.; 1/5/11, 3:46 PM
agnostic said...: I only saw two, and they both stunk: The Expendables and the new Tron one in 3D.

A better way to frame "best of the year ___" lists is to say "best of all time, and that happened to be made during the year ___."

The first way, people are only comparing things from the very recent past to one another and exaggerate its greatness because a given year is unlikely to have had lots of outstanding examples that would overshadow the rest. (Except movies from 1984, 1985, and 1986 -- good luck getting remembered if you were released during that time.)

The second way, people take a deeper look at the recent past and ask if there's anything that looks promising to endure, that stacks up to the best, etc.; 1/5/11, 4:35 PM
ricpic said...: This is the year that all the movie theaters close.

But what will the kids do on date night?; 1/5/11, 5:54 PM
Anonymous said...: Did Svigor take over your brain today, Truth? I mean, wow. I expected so much better from you.

I don't think that was the actual 'Truth#.' He always posts with a link to his blog in his name.; 1/5/11, 6:14 PM
Matra said...: The documentary Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno. Even if you don't care about French film history you will be intrigued after watching the clip (with the music on):

Inferno; 1/5/11, 6:27 PM
Whiskey said...: Toy Story 3D.

All the rest were trash.; 1/5/11, 6:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Inception. Although they should've cast someone who could speak English as the Japanese bigshot.

That movie was really entertaining and actually had an interesting script.; 1/5/11, 6:56 PM
Harry Baldwin said...: "The Town" was one of the best movies I aw last year, and that was something of a surprise. Good performance from Affleck, good heists, engaging love story.

"Toy Story 3" was great. I loved the first one, didn't much care for the second one, but the last one nailed it.

"True Grit" was thoroughly enjoyable. I feel bad for the commenters that can't get past the fact that the actress is half-Jewish. I guess they're certain that numerous Protestants were passed by despite giving better auditions.

I finally saw the documentary "Tyson." Fascinating! I recommend it wholeheartedly.

I also finally saw "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," which my liberal in-laws loved. Of course, it's "Death Wish" for lefties, getting vengeance on all the right sort of people. Nevertheless, it kept my attention and there is all that Sweden to look at.; 1/5/11, 7:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Did Svigor take over your brain today, Truth? I mean, wow. I expected so much better from you.

How Mark Zuckerberg Hacked Into Rival ConnectU In 2004
Mar. 5, 2010
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-mark-zuckerberg-hacked-connectu-2010-3

...At one point, Mark appears to have exploited a flaw in ConnectU's account verification process to create a fake Cameron Winklevoss account with a fake Harvard.edu email address.

In this new, fake profile, he listed Cameron's height as 7'4", his hair color as "Ayran Blond," and his eye color as "Sky Blue." He listed Cameron's "language" as "WASP-y."

Next, Mark appears to have logged into the accounts of some ConnectU users and changed their privacy settings to invisible. The idea here was apparently to make it harder for people to find friends on ConnectU, thus reducing its utility. Eventually, Mark appears to have gone a step further, deactivating about 20 ConnectU accounts entirely...

For those of you who don't know, Zuckerberg lifted all of Facebook's intellectual property from the Winklevoss's Harvard ideas; the Winklevosses tried to pursue the matter with the Harvard Honor Court, but the HHC ruled that they didn't have jurisdiction. They then won a case in civil court, but the settlement was so pitiful that it barely amounted to a slap on the wrist.

BTW, if Zuckerberg had broken into the ConnectU servers under current criminal law, then he would be sitting in a jail cell for a long, long time.; 1/5/11, 7:44 PM
Anonymous said...: I vote for The King's Speech and True Grit as best of the year. I must object to Hail who writes that True Grit "gets points off due to PC casting. Supposedly we're in the Wild-West, but the lead is played by 'Hailey Steinfeld', whose 'father is Jewish and [whose] mother is of Filipino, African-American, and Caucasian descent'."

Hailee Steinfeld is brilliant and convincing as a precocious 14 year old girl (she was in fact 13 when the film was made!). She is playing a girl named Ross from Arkansas (Scotch-Irish, presumably) and quotes the Bible and common law as convincingly as if she was born in Lincoln's log cabin. I guessed she was Jewish from her name, would not have guessed from the fim about her more exotic maternal heritage, but frankly who cares, she is the most amazing child actor I have seen in years.; 1/5/11, 8:11 PM
Anonymous said...: The best movie I saw last year was "The Friends of Eddie Coyle".

However, it was made in 1973.; 1/5/11, 8:31 PM
Anonymous said...: http://www.thepoliticalcesspool.org/jamesedwards/2010/12/31/winston-smith-top-10-most-hateful-quotes-of-2010/

Good review of crazy PC in 2010.; 1/5/11, 8:57 PM
Anonymous said...: "Elite Squad 2" -- the awesome Brazilian flick. The Elite Squad movies should be de riguer "guy movies" -- right up there next to Goodfellas, Godfather 1 and 2.; 1/5/11, 9:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Macgruber funniest movie in 10 years and the first 39 minutes if the other guys was fn hilarious

Dan in dc; 1/5/11, 11:23 PM
Udolpho.com said...: anyone who said Toy Story 3, kill yourself...it's an uninspired Pixar flick about a teenager about to go off to college who is conflicted about parting with this toys (and then the toys have an adventure!)...if this is actually your idea of the best movie of the year you are really sad

IF YOU LIKE THIS MOVIE YOU ARE A MANCHILD; 1/5/11, 11:50 PM
jody said...: inception was the only great movie in 2010. but here's one thing that has been cracking me up about movie criticism. over the last year, nothing has been more de rigueur than bashing the avatar script as derivative. really?

so the script for the departed wasn't derivative? it's a remake of a movie that had just come out only 4 years earlier.

the script for true grit isn't derivative? not only is it a literal direct copy of a book, this movie has already been made.

it's pretty obvious what the biases are here. if avatar is derivative of dances with wolves, that's a fine movie to be derivative of. dances with wolves won best picture in 1990. nothing wrong with emulating the winning moves of a proven success. oh wait. unless you're cameron. then it's derivative. it's not derivative when scorcese does a remake of a movie that just came out, or when the coens do a remake of a movie that was already made, in a page by page adaptation style. there's an art to doing a good adaptation and the coens are masters of it. it's also highly, highly derivative.

those movies were very good, but if you wanna go down the "derivative" route, they were both more derivative than avatar. the only problem avatar had was that the original script had to be cut down so it would fit into 2:45. cameron had to introduce his new world while telling a story. character development and subplots had to be cut, making some of the characters seem thinner than they were meant to be. and what was "unobtanium" and why was it so important? they had to edit all that out. avatar was not meant to be a dialog driven drama, an impossible standard set for an action movie by movie critics. but it works fine as entertainment and the script is not weak at all.

inception was pretty derivative of dreamscape. and james bond. nolan even said it was a copy of james bond. of course, we as critics save that kind of bashing for cameron, since he's so infuriatingly capable at making great entertainment, he can take it.; 1/5/11, 11:53 PM
Simon in London said...: Udolpho.com:
"IF YOU LIKE THIS MOVIE YOU ARE A MANCHILD"

Or maybe we have small children? I saw it on DVD (Toy Story box set), we did much mock the 18-year-old who still has his childhood toys: "Shouldn't he have got rid of them at 11?"

Apart from that, it was a well constructed, well-paced movie, which is more than can be said for most movies these days.; 1/6/11, 1:28 AM
Captain Jack Aubrey said...: I think at least a few of us are just quietly, desperately waiting for The Hobbit, as well as the next Batman sequel.

Peter Jackson and Chris Nolan, don't let us down.; 1/6/11, 2:23 AM
Anonymous said...: It illustrates the steepness of the decline that anyone is actually suggesting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. B-grade, action at best, weighed down by a communist multicultist's wet dream of a plot.; 1/6/11, 2:30 AM
Anonymous said...: So no one at iSteve went to see Secretariat?!?; 1/6/11, 4:31 AM
lesley said...: Concerning the Miss Steinfeld. Actors don't bother to Anglify their names or conceal mixed ancestry anymore--they used to. Weren't quite a few of the old Hollywood personnel of "exotic" lineages? Merle Oberon for example. There were others. Also, many purely European-descended actors played non-Europeans, even non-whites, the most awkward and stupid example being the lead characters in the Good Earth. Some Euros can play Arabs and mestizos with some look of reality, but they don't work as Chinese. And I don't think a white man would work playing Papa Doc. The PC crowd is becoming blind, deaf and dumber. The next time some pc lunatic wants to star an obviously black actor in a Jane Austin flick, let's suggest Tom Cruise play Malcolm X and Morgan Fairchild play Hitler. That should shut them up forever.
Actors "work" in a part as long as they are good and can be made to look the part. Steinfeld works in the role. I've seen northern Euros with bluntish features and no "mixture" to explain them. Just how the genes fell. That is what acting is. It is among the last professions where authenticity matters as long as artifice suffices. Just the ACTORS, not the actual story where authenticity and honesty really does matter.; 1/6/11, 6:45 AM
Harry Baldwin said...: It illustrates the steepness of the decline that anyone is actually suggesting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series.

To clarify (and I was unclear), I didn't mean to mention "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" in the context of the year's ten best. I mentioned it only because it struck me as the most extreme left-wing revenge fantasy I can recall, which explains why was praised by my liberal relatives and acquaintances. And, admittedly, it held my interest because I always want to see how revenge fantasies play out.

Udolpho.com said...anyone who said Toy Story 3, kill yourself ...
The fact that I enjoyed "Toy Story 3" and you did not does not cause me enough mental distress to contemplate suicide, but thanks anyway.; 1/6/11, 7:29 AM
travis said...: "Did you know there are more people with genius IQs living in China than there are people of any kind living in the United States?" This question, the first line of The Social Network, is asked before the Columbia logo even disappears from the screen. The question then becomes how to distinguish yourself in population of people who all scored 1600 on their SATs. Zuckerberg's answer is to light out for their territory with a buddy, à la Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Zuckerberg's girlfriend calls this the "idea of the cowboy." It's amazing how that idea still inspires. It's the inspiration behind what is easily the best movie of 2010.

The director, David Fincher, currently working on making space on his mantle for an Academy Award, got his start working for George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic. I contend that The Social Network draws as much inspiration from the relationship between George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola as it does the actual relationship between Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker. Listening to this interview with George Lucas, it's easy to imagine the young, nerdish Lucas setting out on "an adventure" with the more worldly and successful, at the time, Coppola in much the same fashion as Zuckerberg does with Parker in The Social Network. (The first movie Lucas made for Coppola's Zoetrope Studios, THX 1138, could be entitled "The Social Network")

By the way, the main reason I'm a regular reader of iSteve is because I see the "idea of the cowboy" in Steve. He's a Westerner, an outlaw from polite society, and a man who, as his last name suggests, is not afraid to venture into dangerous and uncharted territory. At least I think that's why I read. I know I'm not all that interested in the subject of IQ. If I were, I guess I would be reading a Chinese blogger.; 1/6/11, 9:40 AM
Ron Guhname said...: "Oh, and a quiet, humanistic, very effective Austrian film about revenge, longing and forgiveness called 'Revanche.'"

Indeed. One of the best films I've seen in some time.; 1/6/11, 9:52 AM
adfadadfasf said...: Anyone see PUBLIC ENEMIES? B- or C+ from me. Has some very good things but just doesn't come together. And Depp seems all wrong as Dillinger. He plays it too cool and smart, more like a fashion model and doctoral candidate than a thug. Starts in 1933--same yr as Hitler's rise--and is, at times, like a fascist pageantry of gangsterism.
There is one super scene: nighttime gunfight in the forest.

Recently saw a French film from 2001, a real hoot. Called CRIMSON RIVERS, laugh-riot ridiculous but fun. You'd think with all the problems with immigrants, the last thing France should worry about is some mountain college(remember all those mountain movies made by Rifenstahl)creating a breed of Nazi ubermensch. ROTFL. A scream!! But then it was made a Jewish director, Kassovitz, the same guy who made La Haine and supported the 'muslim riots' in Paris.

The movie is soooooo anti-fascist and anti-eugenics. But I find it odd. After all, don't liberals promote RACE MIXING as a kind of eugenics? They tell us that a person of mixed race is more intelligent, more wise, more beautiful, etc. What is Obama but a kind of prototype for the mulatto ubermensch messiah(according to liberals anyway)? Don't liberals say that mixing races will combine the best traits of each race and create a better race? Whether one favors a racist ubermensch or an interracist ubermensch, the concept of eugenics is behind both.; 1/6/11, 11:39 AM
adfasdfasdf said...: "I think at least a few of us are just quietly, desperately waiting for The Hobbit, as well as the next Batman sequel.
Peter Jackson and Chris Nolan, don't let us down."

So, you wanna see more movies about keebler cookie elves and comic book heroes?; 1/6/11, 11:40 AM
adsfadsfasdf said...: "inception was the only great movie in 2010. but here's one thing that has been cracking me up about movie criticism. over the last year, nothing has been more de rigueur than bashing the avatar script as derivative. really?"

You can derive something and make it fresh. SEVEN SAMURAI owes something to American westerns, but it FEELS fresh and different. Leone's westerns owe a great deal to American westerns, but Leone created a whole new style and approach. AVATAR is just lame and stale. If it weren't so pompous, it wouldn't matter, but it pretends to be soooo original and profound.; 1/6/11, 11:43 AM
adsfadfasdf said...: "I only saw two, and they both stunk: The Expendables and the new Tron one in 3D."

If you're gonna see only two per year, shouldn't you be a bit more picky?; 1/6/11, 11:45 AM
Mannerheim said...: Best of 2010, in no particular order:

Shutter Island
Inception
Black Swan
True Grit
The Town
The Fighter
Winter's Bone
The Social Network

I hear good things about Exit Through the Gift Shop and The King's Speech as well.

The Kids Are All Right seems to be on a lot of critics' top 10 lists despite being transparent SWPL propaganda.

As for Toy Story 3, most people are behind the curve and don't realize it was only cool to like Pixar back in, like, 2004. Now it's gone too mainstream and the bleeding-edge contrarians have swung back to the plucky underdog Dreamworks (I'm speaking here of only those people who find it necessary to have strong attachments to children's animation studios). You heard it here first.; 1/6/11, 12:21 PM
Maciano said...: I liked many movies this year; The Social Contract, Inception, Kick-Ass, Loft, Toy Story 3, Edge of Darkness were among the better ones, I'd say. Still like to say the Wood-man's latest. Not too bad popcorn flicks: Green zone, Unstoppable.

Horrified to have seen: Sex & The City II, I love you Philip Morris.

Worst movie of 2010: Knight & Day -- I actually hoped the movie would end very fast after 20 minutes, because I couldn't take its moronicness, unfunny situation, stupid action scenes and still had to fight to not fall asleep.

I also enjoyed True Blood and the World Cup.; 1/6/11, 1:39 PM
Anonymous said...: "And who suggested The Ghost Writer? Are they actually serious?"

Yes. Steve liked it. Argue with him.

" ... competent political thriller for grown-ups, one of the better movies of 2010 ..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-sailer/polanskis-emghost-writere_b_547444.html; 1/6/11, 5:52 PM
adfadsfsdf said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFp5a4zrJu4

2009 movie but Troell's EVERLASTING MOMENTS is terrific stuff.; 1/6/11, 7:42 PM
Anonyia said...: Black Swan, Shutter Island, and The Social Network were all entertaining.
I don't understand everyone's love affair with True Grit though. I had trouble keeping my eyes open through that one.; 1/6/11, 7:56 PM
Captain Jack Aubrey said...: "So, you wanna see more movies about keebler cookie elves and comic book heroes?"

Yes. Actually, the last movies about the Keebler cookie elves and the comic book hero, "Return of the King" and "The Dark Knight," were easily and undeniably two of the best movies of 2003 and 2008, so I make no apologies. Their sequels are both due in 2012.; 1/6/11, 9:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Steve in the Huffington Post?! (although I noticed the comments for his article were closed).; 1/6/11, 11:21 PM
Ray Sawhill said...: I liked "Enter the Void." But as far as I can remember I only saw three new films in 2010.; 1/7/11, 1:13 AM
Truth said...: "Did Svigor take over your brain today, Truth? I mean, wow. I expected so much better from you."

"I don't think that was the actual 'Truth#.' He always posts with a link to his blog in his name."

Jew Gadi, Maine! (Puerto rican for 'you are correct sir')

'Truth' in Blue = Me
'Truth' in Black = wannabe fanboy

By the way, thanks for refering to my pathetic effort as a 'blog.' I'll try to put a few new entries in.; 1/7/11, 10:15 AM
Kylie said...: "If you're gonna see only two per year, shouldn't you be a bit more picky?"

On the other hand, if you're only going to see two per year, why not do a little slumming?; 1/7/11, 11:55 AM
Svigor said...: Jew Gadi, Maine! (Puerto rican for 'you are correct sir')

Your transliteration of Hisbonics seems a bit off; I think it's spelled "mang," not maine.; 1/7/11, 2:01 PM
fbj said...: Did Svigor take over your brain today, Truth? I mean, wow. I expected so much better from you.

Apparently, the "Shiksa" dimension of "The Social network" was noted by some who think Hollywood is not friendly towards Jewish women! I wonder what Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman say about that?

http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/item/who_does_aaron_sorkin_really_hate_20101021/; 1/7/11, 2:30 PM
Anonymous said...: "anyone who said Toy Story 3, kill yourself...it's an uninspired Pixar flick about a teenager about to go off to college who is conflicted about parting with this toys (and then the toys have an adventure!)...if this is actually your idea of the best movie of the year you are really sad

IF YOU LIKE THIS MOVIE YOU ARE A MANCHILD"

Jesus Christ. It's a movie, not a work of art. Some of us actually have children. It was a cute movie to watch with the kids, nothing more. Most of us aren't analyzing the plot. You run an immature forum that is full of teenage humor, you really are in no position to be calling anyone a manchild, "Pleasureman".; 1/7/11, 3:03 PM
Anonymous said...: >But what will the kids do on date night?<

Use their imaginations?

>Concerning the Miss Steinfeld. Actors don't bother to Anglify their names or conceal mixed ancestry anymore--they used to. Weren't quite a few of the old Hollywood personnel of "exotic" lineages?<

The Cartwright clan from TV's "Bonanza" consisted entirely of Jewish actors.

In TV's "Star Trek" (original series), they even had a Jew playing an extraterrestrial.

Darn those sly moguls. At least we still have Andy Griffith.; 1/7/11, 3:21 PM
Anonymous said...: http://features.metacritic.com/features/2011/best-and-worst-movies-of-2010/; 1/8/11, 11:09 AM
Anonymous said...: http://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/film-critic-top-ten-lists/; 1/8/11, 11:11 AM
Anonymous said...: http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/81010/david-thomson-white-material-claire-denis

WHITE MATERIAL is getting lots of praise. Steve will have to review it.; 1/9/11, 12:57 PM

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January 5, 2011

What were the best movies of 2010?

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Steve Sailer: iSteve

January 5, 2011

What were the best movies of 2010?

78 comments:

Panhandling

Subscribe To iSteve

Links

Search This Blog

Recent Comments

Classic Steve Sailer articles

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Rough Cut

Subscribe To iSteve

"What Is Winter Good For?"

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