05. KICK-ASS
2010 became the year of the small guy/slacker/average joe rising up from the masses for what he believes in.... which usually involves girls somewhere down the line!
Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman brought the graphic novel of a kid who believes he can be a superhero (with no powers, just an outfit and a belief!) crashing onto the screen with a violence and a dark humour that have been lacking from cinema of late.
Embracing its comic roots - Nic Cage is so Batman it's a lawsuit waiting - it makes the most of its independent roots pulling no punches or compromising to help shift fast food kids meals by going all out on language and blood! This is NOT Disney! And it definitely does what it says on the tin - it Kicks Ass.
04. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
I know! A film about facebook? Directed by the guy from Fight Club and Se7en? Who'd athought it would be one of the most riveting movies of the year with a wonderful insight into relationships and how the darker desires of people can break the strongest bonds of friendship?
From it's cringe-inducing opening sequence of THE worst break up committed to film, it never slows down its pace, its dialogue nor its mirror-holding towards uncomfortable truths asking you would you have acted the same way.
It never judges the characters - instead it leaves that up to you to decide on who you would side with and that is it's secret strength, ultimately keeping you glued to your seat till the credits roll.
Insert your own "name likes this!" comment here...
03. SCOTT PILGRIM vs. THE WORLD
Going one step further than KICK-ASS, Edgar Wright's adaptation of the graphic novel literally looked like a comic blended with a video game upon the screen, to the point where you feared a sensory overload. From the insanely quick edits through to the in-jokes that even if you didn't get it didn't matter, everything came together to blow your mind as the annoyingly lovable geek Michael Cera fought off the weirdest foes in movie memory.
This final "average joe" flick stood up and dared you not to like it - and even if you didn't, it would beat you into submission anyway.
The support cast never feel that - Culkin as the gay best friend, Evans as the movie star ex-boyfriend and Routh as the reason why no one should ever trust vegans - they all delivered laughs aplenty! One of the best eye-popping flicks ever.
02. TOY STORY 3
Still able to walk that tightrope between jokes for adults and for kids, the final story of Andy's toys brings it full circle an
d doesn't scrimp on the spectacle or the string-pulling of the heart.Tough call between the 2nd and top spot this! With this, the team at Pixar have achieved the rarest thing - a trilogy that has no weak link. At all! Ever!
From the runaway train opening sequence to the ultimate prison break with the creepiest monkey trying to defeat our heroes, it delivers what you demand from it and then crowbars even more into it.
You get the usual characters you've grown to love (and they still get their screentime) but then you also get the likes of Ken (wonderfully played by Keaton) to push your tears and laughter to the forefront. Fantastic!
01. INCEPTION
What else could it be? The "small film" that Christopher Nolan wanted to do became THE film to see and have an opinion on. Was it a dream? Was it real? It didn't matter, because it was the watching of the impossible journey unfold that counted.
For once, the actual movie lived up to the promise of the trailer - the visuals, the premise, the execution - all were present and correct, and even more so in the IMAX format.
Nolan and his crew crafted a multi-layered plot that demanded its audience bring brains along with their popcorn (unusual for a block buster) and rewarded them with a mind bending, building moving experience unlike no other.
With humour peppered across its running time to match the seriousness of the 3 layered dreams, "Inception" showed that original ideas do exist in the movie world... or do they? Yes! They do! And the top never stops spinning!
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