The Best Six Movies from 2010

2010 was a year that disappointed a lot of people and many of the most disappointed are in the movie industry. In general, ticket sales were down. There are those who believe that's because of the economy, but still more place the blame where it's probably most deserved - on Hollywood. Whatever the exact reason, there seems to be no denying that there were a lot of disappointing movies in 2010.

Needless to say, I am not a full time movie critic. I wish that all I did was see movies and write about them. However, my landlord insists that I pay him rent and that means I have to work a full time job and do other forms of writing. There are only a certain number of hours in a day and a week and a year and that means I get to the movies when I can and do the best I can. As such, I did not get to see all of the movies that so many other critics are putting on their Top Ten list.

For example, I wanted, very much, to see the Jeff Bridges and Coen Brothers team-up known as True Grit. However, illness and the holidays combined to make it difficult for me to get to the theater and see that movie. I may catch it on DVD or OnDemand at some point, but if I wait that long I may never get this article written.

So, as such, here are the Top Six movies that I did see and I feel that you should see and that were released in the year 2010. They are an interesting mix, but I think all of them show that, despite what people were saying about the quality of the movies that came out in 2010, there were still some gems to be had.

In the number six slot is the remarkable alien/monster/adventure movie made on a shoe string by Gareth Edwards known as Monsters. The movie manages to do so much with so little. While ostensibly about a world where aliens have contaminated a wide swath of land between Mexico and the United States it is really a profoundly touching and remarkable story about humanity. Yes, it is an allegory about how the United States is trying to deal with people who are different and a comment on immigration, but it is also an excellent adventure story right in keeping with Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The ending scenes, with giant squid-like aliens, speaking and exchanging sounds, touch and light is as touching, thought-provoking and heart-breaking as any in any film this year.

The number five movie is the story of Facebook as told by David Fincher known as The Social Network. There are those who have called it a modern day Citizen Kane and I think the argument can be made. Although much of the story, as it turns out, is fiction and not historical fact, it studies how power and wealth can corrupt anything and everything around it. The story manages to make people sitting at computers and typing code to be compelling, interesting, and a fascinating comment on our times. We are more connected than every and, yet, more isolated than ever.

The number four movie is in the same vein as The Social Network and is, in many ways, a companion piece to it. Catfish is actually a documentary that looks at a man who establishes what he thinks is a true romance via Facebook. However, once things start to add up wrong between himself and the woman he thinks he loves, his brother and his friends convince him it's time to visit the woman who claims to love him. What they find there is hear-rending and sad and, strangely, probably not that uncommon. It manages to be exciting, thrilling, suspenseful and, ultimately, touching, tender and sad.

Ben Affleck's second time behind the camera as director comes in the number three slot. The Town has a very plain name but it hides one of the best heist movies you are going to see in recent memory. The scenes where the bank robbers are chased down amazingly narrow Boston streets with the police in hot pursuit are some of the best chase scenes you will see in a modern film. They are filmed with real people behind real cars and not with computer-generated images. The story of a group of people who live in a part of Boston that seems to produce only bank robbers is exciting, thrilling, dazzling, tense and, yes, also touching. Affleck shows that he has tremendous ability to tell a story and borrows from the masters of the cinema and from the many great directors he has worked with in front of the camera. He also shows us that he really is an excellent actor. Jeremy Renner, who won an Oscar for The Hurt Locker, deserves another nomination in his smaller role as Jem.

In the number two slot is the first true psychological horror/thriller films I have ever seen. Black Swan delves into the mind of a woman so obsessed with being perfect that her own sanity comes unraveled in the process. Natalie Portman is utterly fearless in the role of Nina Sayers. She fills the screen and is in ever scene. The entire movie is told from her character's perspective and it is a skewed perspective. What's real and what isn't? Some claim to be confused by the ending, but the ride you take to get there is a dazzling one. Darren Aronofsky shows he is a major filmmaker who can tackle any genre. First, he made us appreciate Mickey Rourke again with The Wrestler and now he propels Natalie Portman into the acting stratosphere with Black Swan.

Finally, only one movie really blew me away. It had me on the edge of my seat and it had my heart pounding. It was movie that challenged me to pay attention and then trusted my inelligence enough that I would be able to follow along and understand. The number one movie of the year was Inception which was directed by Christopher Nolan and starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Many people were confused, but I think they just aren't trying hard enough. It is a twisting, mind-bending adventure into the world of dreams, but if you pay attention you see that the movie establishes its rules and then follows them. No movie has managed to merge special effects that are generated in a computer with effects created the old fashioned way using spinning and rolling sets like this movie. It is a movie to make you stand up and rejoice in film making again and to be glad that there are people out there like Chris Nolan still making movies that can challenge, dazzle and excite.