25 In 25: My Favorite Films of the First Quarter Century - 2010

2010 just pisses me off. 

The top five films of the year, according to box office draw, were all IP films. 

One of the best comic book adaptations to ever grace our screens in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, came out and is nowhere to be seen on any of the “best of” lists for the year. 

Darren Aronofsky released the mind-bending Black Swan.

127 Hours haunts me to this day whenever I am in the American Southwest… Thank you, Danny Boyle.

The Town, which most people write off, is one of the best heist films ever put to celluloid with some stellar performances.  It’s usually compared to the likes of Heat which isn’t fair, but should be held alongside it as a giant of the genre. 

And a fantastic remake of True Grit starring Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld danced across screens thanks to the Coen Brothers. 

Notice anything about these “honorable mentions”?  The best picture winner is nowhere to be found.  Nor will it be found in my two favorites from this year.  Don’t get me wrong, the eventual winner was a fine film, but in no way shape or form was it better than the film that should’ve won… more on that later.   

Back then, at my age, there was nary a director who could get me going as much as Christopher Nolan.  And when Inception came out, it did nothing to belie that feeling. 

Sure, it’s confusing with its layer upon layer of dreams, but who the hell cares when you craft a story as original as this one and pull it off with such flair.  A bevy of talented actors, all at the peak of their powers, coming together to make this wacko story a reality is something special.  Every interaction Tom Hardy’s Eames has with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Eames is worth the price of admission, darling.  But Leo seems to be just getting going in his prime here as what comes next for him are some of his best performances yet! 

But the real stand out here is the world Nolan and his crew built.  What they did with the set design… with cities folding in on themselves… would be copied in the near future by Disney/Marvel and it doesn’t look nearly as good as it did in this film.  The sound design immerses the viewer while the editing zigs and zags us through the scenes.  But here, the cinematography by Wally Pfister, yet again, and the score by none other than Hans Zimmer truly set the tone for this film. 

The ending of this one will be debated for years to come, and no matter what side you come out on, it is the right side in this world of dreams. 

The 83^rd Academy Awards may be the most controversial on the modern era.  1999 and 2005 aside, this one hurts me the most personally.  The King’s Speech is a fine film.  It even made me cry.  And I love Colin Firth.  There is no world, any day after this awards show, does anyone say it’s a better film than my favorite now from 2010, and that film is David Fincher’s The Social Network, written by Aaron Sorkin.  

As much as 'Seven' is my favorite and 'Zodiac' his best, every damned time I watch this extremely rewatchable film, I take pause and ask, is this his best and my favorite Fincher film?? 

I always conclude "no" but it says something about the Fincherness of this film and the Sorkiness of its screenplay. Back in 09 when I heard that my favorite director was working with my favorite writer, I could not have been more excited. And damn did they deliver. And not only that, but the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross plays as much of a role as the film's stars. 

Three key scenes just wow me every time. So much so that I find myself rewinding to watch them again and again. What these scenes have in common is everything I love about Fincher and Sorkin combining forces:

3. The opening scene. With whip-smart and whiplash speed, Sorkin kicks the film off by saying, "Pay attention." The back-and-forth between Rooney Mara and Jesse Eisenberg is smart, fast, fun, and mean. And the way it's shot puts you in their laps and shows just how cold and calculating Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg 

2. The Rowing Race. How in the nine hells did Fincher, Ross/Reznor, cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, and editors Angus Wall/Kirk Baxter squeeze so much tension into this one-minute and forty-eight-second scene?!?! Incredible scene.

1. "Lawyer up, asshole!" Andrew Garfield is on another planet regarding acting talent. This scene, which begins in the litigator's office and then travels back in time to the Facebook offices in California, showcases the breadth of his talent. Oh, and JT and Eisenberg aren't bad either.

Fincher is the man.