My Top Ten Movies of 2010

For a few years, I co-ran a movie blog called YDKS Movies. During my time there, I did quite a few Best Of lists. I love making lists. I think it taps into my OCD tendencies. So, while this isn't a movie blog in the sense that YDKS was, I still view it as a forum for me to express my film opinions. After all, it's a blog all about me. And, if you've ever met me, you'd know that movies are pretty much a part of me.

So, with all that said, here are my top ten films of 2010.

Honorable Mention:

Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone is one of those rare types of movies that manages to re-invent and transcend the genre that it is apart of. From the surface, Winter's Bone acts as a neo-noir. The story follows Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) as she goes on a search for her meth-making father in order to save her family's home that he put up as a bond collateral before skipping town. In a sense, Ree acts as a private detective, going through the underbelly of her estranged family and friends in order to find her mysterious father and save her family. However, Winter's Bone doesn't even feel like a noir most of the time. It is set in the harsh reality of the Ozark woods, where most people live in poverty, fear and drug abuse. It's a hard film to watch and, overall, makes you feel cold and uncomfortable. However, it is expertly made and crafted. Jennifer Lawrence's out-of-nowhere performance as Ree should get her an Oscar nomination, if not a win.

10. The Town

It's surprising how good of a director Ben Afflect is. I really liked Gone, Baby, Gone and, in my opinion, he surpasses that impressive directorial debut with The Town. In most hands, The Town would have been a generic, by-the-numbers heist film. However, Afflect fills the film with rich characters, some decent drama, realistic atmosphere, and some truly impressive bank robbery scenes. It manages to be beyond the regular pop corn flare in this genre. Also, Afflect's affinity for the Boston area really makes every shot in the film stand out. Like Gone, Baby, Gone, The Town almost works as a love letter to both Boston and Charlestown, despite showing the criminal underbelly of this part of America.

9. Shutter Island

I'm surprised Shutter Island hasn't made more Top Ten lists this year. While not one of Scorsese's masterpieces (such as Goodfellas, Raging Bull or Taxi Driver), Shutter Island is still a stylish, fun and creepy thriller with a surprising emotional core. Much like he did with Cape Fear, Scorsese just has a ball directing this thing. A lot of the time, it feels like his giant homage to Hitchcock. And you know what? I love that. I had a great time watching that. However, the movie wouldn't have worked at all without the devastating performance that Leonardo DiCaprio gives as Teddy Daniels or the film's equally devastating ending. I really wasn't expecting things to get as dark as they did. But I loved the film for going there. And I loved Scorsese and company for just having a great time with this one.

8. The Fighter

David O. Russell has always had the skill of depicting people as annoying and troubled as they can be in life (see Flirting with Disaster). With The Fighter, he takes this skill and expounds upon it, showing the dynamics of the Ward family and how much their infighting / struggles affected the career of upcoming boxer Mickey Ward. In the hands of another director, The Fighter would be a by-the-numbers sports drama. Russell, however, makes it his own and really injects that human realism into the film. Just look at the scenes involved Mickey's trashy sisters. They feel so genuine, honest and frankly hilarious. Not many other directors could have found those people, let alone made them feel so real. However, the big stand out in this film is Christian Bale, whose performance as Dicky Euklund is simply revolutionary. Bale is almost unrecognizable and every one of his movements has meaning and weight. The Fighter really has everything you could want in it: incredible performances, unique direction and a realistic and intriguing depiction of the inter-workings of family.

7. Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass was the most fun I've had at the movies all year. Matthew Vaugh's direction, while all over the place tone wise, was inspired, slick and exciting. The performances varied from grounded (Aaron Johnson) to straight out insane (Nic Cage, who else?). However, Chloe Moretz steals the film as the sadistic 12-year old assassin known as Hit-Girl. The comedy was spot on and, surprisingly, so were the film's emotional moments. Kick-Ass manages to take the whole superhero genre, poke fun at it and, at the same time, reinvent it. It's rare that a film can do that. And oh yeah... it was just a lot of fun. In fact, it's the most fun I've had watching a "superhero" film in a long time. Kick-Ass manages to be inventive, clever, funny, ultra-violent and skillfully made. And it features a 12-year girl slicing and dicing thugs while sprouting one-liners and profanity. What else could you want?

6. Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is probably the saddest movie I've seen this year. But that doesn't mean that it isn't really, really good. Derek Cianfrance's almost documentary style direction makes the film feel real and imitate. And it makes the sad, heart-wrenching scenes even more hard hitting. Ryan Gosling and Michele Williams give very realized performances that are more realistic than most you will see in the movies today. They both had four years to sit and work on their characters and, combined with Cianfrance's shooting style, it allows them to really create fully functioning characters that you feel like you've met in real life. The film explores a lot about what makes up a relationship between two people and, although it's a subject tackled by nearly every film ever made, it does it in a way that feels completely new and honest. I've still never seen something as raw and emotional as the scene that happens between Gosling and Williams in the future-themed hotel room. Blue Valentine will drain you emotionally but, overall, it's worth the heart ache.

5. Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift is one of the best documentaries I've seen. It's entertaining, funny, fascinating and, in the end, actually has a lot to say. The film follows French filmmaker Thierry Guetta and his journey to document the phenomenon known as "street art." In this journey, he meets the mysterious and controversial street artist Banksy and becomes his friend. However, when Banksy sees Thierry's rough edit of the footage he has been shooting, he is unimpressed. He sends Thierry back to Los Angeles to become a street artist himself while he takes over the filmmaking duties. And this is where the film becomes very different and bizarre. Essentially, the film becomes about what is art, what is selling out and should everyone be able to be an artist? I found this all very interesting because it's something I've been thinking over for awhile now. But the best part is that it is all handled in such an entertaining and fun way. Oh and Banksy comes off as the coolest guy on the planet. Watch this and be amazed at what street art can be and how fast it can crumble into parody of itself.

4. Inception

With Inception, Chris Nolan does what he's been for a few years now: he creates a thrilling, summer blockbuster that actually has some unique, interesting and complicated ideas behind it. I don't know many filmmakers that can do that but Nolan has proved time and time again that he isn't most filmmakers. The man is incredibly talented and Inception proves this again and again. Every time I watch the movie, I'm just as thrilled and entertained as the first time I watched it. I'm also just as in tune with the film's more emotional moments. Nolan really created something special with Inception and I'm sure it's a film that will be enjoyed and critiqued by generations to come.

3. Black Swan

Black Swan is Darren Aronofsky at his strongest when it comes to manipulation. And I say that in a good way. Throughout the whole film experience, Aronofsky has the entire audience in the palm of his hand. Essentially, he makes you his bitch. And you know what? It's a great thing to go through. I've seen Black Swan twice now and, each time, I went through the ringer. Never have I felt more uncomfortable but also amazed at the same time. The film is expertly directed, acted and crafted. The massive amount of attention to detail is astounding. It's really a beautiful work of art. It's a film that really puts you in the shoes of its protagnist and, through its film trickery, manages to put you directly into her state of mind. And it's a experience that you differently won't soon forget. In fact, you'll probably want to experience it again and again.

2. The Kid

For me and a few others, The Kid was the big surprise at the 2010 Savannah Film Festival. I had never even heard of the film or its director when I stepped into the screening. By the time I left, all I wanted to do was tell everyone to see this film and what a genius Nick Moran was. On the page, The Kid feels cliche. It's a true rags-to-riches story, with a kid who starts off in an abusive home and makes his way to being a successful writer. However, Moran doesn't make it like every one of these stories. Instead, he injects the film with incredible style, realism and vigor. Within the first five minutes, I felt like I was in the hands of a master filmmaker. Someone with the same sensibilities of a young Martin Scorsese. And, looking around that theater, I could see that I wasn't the only one that felt this way. The Kid is a triumph in filmmaking. Lord knows when it will get a release in the States but I know I'll be there with bells and whistles when it does.

1. The Social Network

I never thought that the best movie I would see in 2010 would be a movie about Facebook. But, as you all should know, The Social Network isn't just about the creation of Facebook. No, it's a film about backstabbing, deceit and one man's uncanny ability to destroy all the meaningful relationships around him. And all of this takes place in the middle of the creation of a network that would single handedly change the face of human communication and interaction for the years to come. The Social Network is pretty much a perfect film. David Fincher's obsessive and slick direction is dead on, especially for the technology-fueled film that he is creating. By creating such a sleek, visual space, he really manages to give off an atmosphere where it feels like the characters are basically being overwhelmed by the technology they are creating. The performances are really incredible. I'm not sure how Jesse Eisenberg did what he did with his interpretation of Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg is able to emote so much with a simple stare or glance that it is astounding. It's really one of the most fully realized performances I've seen in a while. Andrew Garfield is also very impressive as Edurdo Saverin, who grabs most of the audience's sympathy throughout the film. Aaron Sorkin's script is one of the most well-written scripts to come out of Hollywood in some time. Even the experimental, industrial score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is perfect. I don't really know how I could complain about this film. But, when it comes down to it, I think the reason it succeeds so well is its basic story line: a friend betraying his best friend. It's something I feel like everyone has been through in some way and because of that, it's easy to get sucked in. Add to that pristine direction, amazing performances, polished writing, an intriguing score and the creation of Facebook, and I believe you have the best film of the year.

Well that's my Top Ten of 2010. I hope you enjoy the list and agree with my choices (at least for the most part). Above all, I hope it opens your eyes to some great movies you may have missed this year.

Behind the Scenes on Crowning Achievements Episode 001

Last week I traveled back to Savannah with my friend Zach to help out a few of my SCAD friends on a film project. The project was called Crowning Achievements with H.J. Wellington Astor. It was a short film that would parody literary classic readings with an eccentric, sheltered billionaire reading from bizarre, poorly written novels. It is structured to act as the first in a series of videos. This particular episode focuses on the pre-teen "classic" The Goats by Brock Cole.

Zach and I met with Adam Tuckey, Justin Andrews and Katy Lowe for lunch on Monday and then went straight to Adam's to build our set. We worked on the mise-en-scene of the frame for a few hours, took a break for dinner and then began filming into the night.

The shoot was stress free and, although we hit some obstacles, we worked off of each other to come up with some pretty creative solutions. It was a very satisfying experience to go through, especially after some of the more stressful shoots that happened during the first quarter.

Our crew positions were not set in stone and we all took turns in doing various things. But if I had to nail down positions for this post, I'd say that I was camera operator, Justin was director / 1st AD, Zach was 1st AC, Katy was 2nd AC / 2nd AD, Adam was the actor / director of photography and Jane Mansel came in to record sound.

We worked hard on filling the frame with books, plants, china and other things to sell Adam's house as H.J. Wellington Astor's mansion. It's all in the frame of the film but the details are hard to see. I took pictures of the set for reference for future episodes if we decide to do them. You can see all the stuff that made up the background of the film below.

Me and Zach took a lot behind the scenes pictures while we were setting up and while we were filming. You can see them below.

Zach and Katy making cue cards for Adam. They became vital.

The camera rig we used for the slider that Adam and Justin built.

My ghetto lighting kit.

Testing our first lighting set up. The back light proved too bright.

Our lighting set up refined.

Keeping warm. It got cold in there.

The Jane Mansel working sound.

Practicing.

Testing the surreal lighting set up for the "reading" portion of the film. This ended up being tricky to pull off but we got it to work finally.

Ended up adding some shots so we added a pentagram to the slate to mark this. This shot was "1 B Prince of Darkness Cuatro."

Adam edited all the footage together and put the video up today. I really like the way it turned out. It's very retro, quirky and feels like something that would come on Adult Swim or the BBC. I feel like it is a good template for future episodes where I feel things can get a lot more on the insane side.

Thanks to Adam, Justin, Katy, Jane and Zach for their hard work on this. It was a fun project.

Watch Crowning Achievements with H.J. Wellington Astor Episode 001: The Goats below.

Behind the Scenes on the Macbeth Shoot

I got to help my sister Avery out on her first movie two weeks ago.

When I was in high school, I didn't really start making movies until Mrs. Downey's AP English class in the 11th grade. Mrs. Downey would assign a project where we had to adapt a scene from the Shakespeare play we were reading at the time (either Macbeth, A Midnight Summer's Dream, Hamlet, or Henry IV) into a short film.

Up until this time, I had been dying to make a movie of some sort but hadn't had the resources or the help. Now, I did. So these classroom movies were kind of a kicking off point to my filmmaking career.

Now, my little sister Avery is in Mrs. Downey's class and has the same assignments. I tried to give her some guidance on the project, such as the importance of planning, what not to do on set and how to put things together in post. I was around when she was filming to make sure things went smoothly and I helped edit the film. I also let her use all of my film equipment.

Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the shoot.

First shot of the movie.

Avery working sound.

Matthew in his ghost make-up.

The back of the slate. We had all the numbers and letters ready to go for the multiple shots that were filmed.

And here is the short film that resulted from all this. The kids in it are all high school kids so the acting is pretty bad. And there are some technical issues here and there. Still, it's not bad at all for a first film.

Watch Avery's Macbeth adaptation below.