Films of the Year 2010

Initially, I could only think of a few real stand-out films of this last year, until I trawled through the UK release list for 2010 and found myself with a long list of twenty-three films, which by my reckoning means that on average, there’s been a great film in cinemas just less than once a fortnight, which seems pretty good going to me.

Here then, are my top ten followed by, in no particular order, a list of thirteen honourable mentions.

1. Bad Lieutenant
When Nicolas Cage met Werner Herzog the result was this bizarre and exciting film, which lit a firework under the arse of the crime genre and ran off giggling manically.

2. Inception
Christopher Nolan delivered yet another cinematic tour de force with this visually rich and debate-starting spectacle.

3. The Secret in Their Eyes
Winner of last year’s Oscar for best foreign feature, this slow-burning, generation-spanning whodunit was captivating and moving.

4. Four Lions
Filled with both mirth and tragedy, Four Lions proved to be the year’s most intelligent comedy and reminded us all once more of Christopher Morris’s superlative satirical talent.

5. Lymelife
A clever and melancholy teen rom-com that won me over due to the note-perfect relationship between its leads, Emma Roberts and Rory Culkin.

6. Splice
Almost certainly the creepiest film of the year, Splice delivered both Cronenbergian body-horror and Freudian psycho-sexual warfare, all wrapped up in creature-feature packaging and great visual effects.

7. A Single Man
A combination of Colin Firth’s compelling performance and Tom Ford’s stylish direction created this heartbreaking and quietening film about love and, more importantly, loss.

8. The Disappearance of Alice Creed
A twisty and twisted British thriller centred around three outstanding performances from Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan.

9. World’s Greatest Dad
A Robin Williams comedy devoid of mawkishness? World’s Greatest Dad was wickedly funny dose of pitch black humour with what has frequently been described as the mother of all plot twists.

10. Agora
A historical epic that had more on its mind than simply swords and sandals, Agora was an unashamedly intelligent drama that boasted a superb central performance from Rachel Weisz.

Honourable Mentions
Made in Dagenham, Chico and Rita, Jackboots on Whitehall, Centurion, American: The Bill Hicks Story, Tetro, Cemetery Junction, The Road, A Prophet, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Another Year, The Social Network and Toy Story 3.

Notes: 127 Hours only fails to make the number two spot as it isn’t actually out until next year. I saw Monsters the other night just in case it made my top ten (I had a feeling it might), but I thought it was pretty rubbish. Finally, there are more than a few films I missed this year which may well have made my top ten or long list, such as Buried, Black Dynamite and, of course, The Last Airbender.

Lymelife Review

Lymelife is a family affair. Not only does the film concern the happenstances of a pair of families in 1970s Long Island, but it was written and directed by a pair of brothers, also stars another pair of brothers and its cast boasts representatives of some of the foremost families in American acting.

In his first feature film – executively produced by none other than Martin Scorsese – Derick Martini directs Rory Culkin, who plays Scott Bartlett, a teen living with his mother, Brenda (Hennessy), father Mickey (Baldwin) and recently returned from boot camp brother, Jimmy (Kieran Culkin). Between being beaten up at school and putting up with his parent’s marital strife, Scott pines after girl next door Adrianna Bragg (Emma ‘niece of Julia’ Roberts), who lives with her own mother (Nixon) and father (Hutton), who is suffering from the unpleasant symptoms of Lyme disease. The two families’ lives intertwine over the course of the film in dramatic, poignant and amusing ways.

The cast are uniformly excellent; Timothy Hutton (youngest ever recipient of the Academy Award for an actor in a supporting role, fact fans!) in particular is outstanding, portraying a pathetic yet unbroken man whose life is collapsing around him. The Culkin brothers are a warm screen presence and Rory is a quietly charismatic leading man. His on screen chemistry with Emma Roberts is almost tangible and the film excels when they are together, which thankfully is frequently.

The film is something of a grower: I was initially unimpressed by the obviously semi-autobiographical, nostalgia tinged, domestic drama with its twee soundtrack and off-beat style. The strength of the characters won me over though, and found myself enjoying it relentlessly. The film was shot cheaply and it shows in the photography, but this serves to create a better sense of time, place and mood: the melancholia of the Bartletts and Braggs practically bleeds onto the frame. It’s not all pathos though. The script boasts more than its fair share of giggles while also retaining its – perhaps only slightly skewed – sense of realism. The jokes sound like things people might actually say, rather than forced one-liners.

Lymelife doesn’t feel wholly fresh; there are hints of American Beauty style suburban nightmare, chunks of Almost Famous coming-of-age tale and flavours of the evergreen story of the quest for the unattainable girl, another recent example being Youth in Revolt. Despite the somewhat over familiarity of tone and plot, the film rises above the sum of its constituent parts and the end result is a subtly marvellous picture that provides the Martini brothers with a top notch calling card – made all the more impressive by the fact that the film is Derick’s directorial debut.

Suffice to say, I cannot recommend Lymelife enough. It takes a little while to settle in and find its feet, but once it does, you’ll be swept away in the trials and tribulations of the two families, especially in Scott and Adrianna’s would-be romance, surely one of the best on-screen couples in years.

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/05/06/lymelife-review/