Top 5 Films Released in 2010

Leading up to new year I'll be doing a series of posts reviewing this year and this particular post is about the best new films. However whilst researching the films released this year I was surprised the lack of incredible and defining films as previous years have produced for example with Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 or Wes Anderson's brilliant stop frame animation with Fantastic Mr. Fox. Instead this year we've had huge record breaking releases of sagas such as the truly terrible Twilight Saga and the magical Harry Potter series. This year belongs to corporations whereas indie film has suffered and gone unmade. There have been some sparks of light in the dark though and that is what I'll be celebrating in this post. 

1-Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
 My personal favourite film of the year and to put it simply it is incredible. From Edgar Wright the director of Hot Fuzz,  Shaun of the Dead and Spaced and within this film he again portrays his unique brand of comedy but with a much bigger budget and Hollywood's finest young actors. Scott Pilgrim is essentially about a musician in Canada who falls for the mesmerising Ramona Flowers but in order to be with her has to fight 'The League of Evil Exes'. It was originally a comic book and Wright has kept that feel with his snappy editing and comic book like special effects and of course the incredible fight scenes. Wright described the fight scenes as if you were to learn to fight by playing video games so they are stylised and totally unrealistic and end with the opponent turning into a pile of coins.
This film has an amazing cast with huge names like Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman and then some up and coming actors like Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Anna Kendrick. It also has brilliant music with songs written by Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich, Metric and Beck which I feel really make this film as songs can easily be written for films but to get real bands to pen them it makes the bands in the film much more believable.
Ultimately this film is, as I previously stated incredible and I recommend anyone who is a fan or quirky and well written comedy to watch this as it has everything; comedy, strong performances, a fantastic soundtrack, believability yet also surreal, amazing effects and likeable characters.
Below is the trailer but also one of the songs written by Metric.





2-Alice In Wonderland
At number 2 is Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. I'm sure that you've heard of this film as it was very successful and with good reason. It's Burton's take on a classic so is obviously darker and with a predictable yet captivating cast with the usual faces like Helena Bonham Carter as the unhinged and dangerous Red Queen and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter who has been "touched by madness". However in this film Burton has also recruited some surprising actors such as Anne Hathaway as the wronged and good White Queen and introduces the talented Mia Wasikowska as the older and rebellious Alice.
This film is split between computer animation and live action and the two culminate to create a magical new world called 'Underland' which is a veritable feast for your eyes. This film is predictable and not at all ground breaking but it is good and will keep you entertained and is full of mesmerising performances, especially from Johnny Depp. The most refreshing thing about this film is Burtons way of creating well rounded eccentric characters that you can understand and are not your stereotypical good and bad characters.
All in all a good film that I would recommend on any lazy rainy afternoon.



3-Kickass
Kickass is a true teenage film. It's brutal, shocking and full of the gritty realism of what would happen if people started to pretend to be superheroes yet is still wickedly funny and tender in places which must be hard mix to create. It's unashamedly nerdy and unforgiving which makes for an unforgettable film.
Like Scott Pilgrim this was also a comic book before being a film and also kept the essence of that at the heart of the film however unlike Scott Pilgrim Kickass is gory and full of different weapons and memorable grizzily deaths or injuries.
It has a great cast with the relatively unknown Aaron Johnson leading and Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nicolas Cage to name a few. A highlight of this is Cage's performance where he does a cameo of Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman by talking with the same guttural voice.
It's a great film and should defiantly be seen.



4-Four Lions
This film is humorous take on terrorism from Chris Morris which could have easily backfired, although if you're easily offended or a reader of the daily mail maybe it's not the film for you. It follows the story of four radicalised Muslim men from Sheffield and their attempts to become suicide bombers and is surprisingly but extremely funny from start to finish yet is sad as well. It is also a very brave film to make and is a testament to the British film industry that they could make it at all.
This film is refreshing as people tend to alleviate stress and fear with jokes and that's exactly what this film does it gives the weighty topic of extremists some needed comic relief without being disrespectful or stereotypical.
A brilliant début from Chris Morris and I look forward to more of his films.
Oh do not watch if you love crows (it'll make sense if you watch it)



5-Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
So there really was no keeping this film out of this list. It's record breaking and begins the end of a series of films that most of us have grown up with. Whilst being good it's not great and drags a little about a third of the way through but it is iconic and when you watch it you know you are watching film history in the making. A good film with the usual great performances especially from Rupert Grint and I eagerly await the final film.