Honorable Mention - Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 1
Seriously, people. We are 7 movies deep in this franchise and they are all awesome. Hell, the last couple of them have gotten better each time. This one was the most true to the book so far. That's both good and bad. Regardless, they pulled off the splitting it in half thing much better than I expected
10. IT'S A TIE!!!! The A-Team and Despicable Me
I had to have both of these movies on this list. I have always been a huge sucker for brainless summer action movies. Couple that with the fact that The A-Team was my favorite show growing up and I loved this movie. Despicable Me is by far the most watched movie by me for the year. I laugh my a$$ off like a little kid every time. May not be top 10 material but it's absolutely one of my all time favs.
9. Shutter Island
I didn't really expect too much from this movie and called the big swerve months prior just by watching the trailer. However, they still kept me just as intrigued even knowing that plot twist was coming.
8. Toy Story 3
Pixar doesn't do bad movies. I was kind of upset that they were going back to the well on Toy Story. I'm a big fan of leaving a good thing alone. However, this not only was a great follow up but featured one of the greatest send offs I've ever seen with Andy describing each of the toys to the little girl at the end. Cried like a bitch and not afraid to admit it.
7. The King's Speech
I'm usually bored out of my mind with these well made history biopics. I had no faith in liking a movie about a king getting over a stutter. That sounded about as sleep inducing as Nyquil. However, I was dead wrong and was completely in to this movie and the friendship between the two main characters. Excellent movie sure to get nominated for tons of awards.
6. The Town
I'm going to have to say that Ben Affleck is a much better writer/director than an actor. This movie was part Heat and part Good Will Hunting - two of my all time favs. Spending so much of my childhood at Fenway Park where the big finale takes place just made it all even better.
5. 127 Hours
Never thought I would be able to put James Franco in the same league as Tom Hanks or Will Smith with beaing able to carry a movie by himself. Literally just him and the audience for about 90 minutes. I think he put forth the best actor performance of the year in this film and Danny Boyle continues to ascend towards one of the greatest directors in Hollywood.
4. Black Swan
This movie was by far the biggest surprise of the year for me. I didn't see this one coming at all and didn't remotely think I could be so intrigued by a movie about ballet. The side by side development of the ballet's story and transformation of Natalie Portman's character was beyond well done. This is one of the better psychological thrillers to come along in a very long time.
3. The Social Network
David Fincher is starting to become just as automatic as Christopher Nolan. This movie was well directed, well scripted and amazingly acted by a cast of under the radar guys. I have always hated Facebook and this movie made my hate for it even more valid. Great story that is sure to win many accolades in the next coming months.
2. How To Train Your Dragon
This is my second most watched movie of the year. I could not get enough of this. The story was original and endearing. The charcters and family/culture storylines were well written. And I'll admit the fact that the main dragon looks and acts EXACTLY like my cat, whom I consider to be my son definitely helped me love this movie even more. The bonding scene between the dragon and the boy makes me tear up every time I watch it.
1. Inception
It is truly beyond me how everyone does not have this as number one on their list. This is one of those once a decade movie going experiences. This is easily the biggest mind f#ck of all time. This is what story telling is all about. Beyond in depth. So many levels. Left open to debate and interpretation. Christopher Nolan truly reached icon status with this amazing effort.
