Favorite Film of 2010

[UncannyGarlic]

If Inception and The Matrix were released in the same year, everyone would see just how crappy Inception really is.

IMO just because you haven't had a Matrix-like movie in a while is no excuse to drool over mediocre pretentious nonsense. But that's just me.

The acting was better and the visuals were more interesting and spectacular. It probably had more plot holes than The Matrix but I'm not so sure that The Matrix would win the battle.

It was one of the best movies I saw this year but I neither go to many in theaters nor keep track of when movies were released that well.

I haven't really seen any mind-blowing movies this year. Last year's District 9 shattered my jadedness and awed me. Nothing since has come close.

District 9 felt like three different movies, two at the very least as the movie devolved into mindless action without good reason. Granted, the action was my favorite part of the movie but that's because I hate faux-documentaries, especially ones where the cameraman in instructed to move as much as possible.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

The remake of I Spit On Your Grave is probably my favorite. Not sure how many people here caught the limited release though.

I'm curious what ground the first I Spit on Your Grave didn't cover that someone felt the need to redo it.

The Road is by far the most depressing movie I have ever seen. I don't know why but when the man is cleaning the boy's wound at the very start, something clicked with me and I found it almost unwatchable. Amazing movie, but I doubt I'd ever want to watch it more than once.

Yeah, it's a pretty bleak one. I got little ones, and that scene where he's teaching his son how to commit suicide properly to avoid his fate if captured ... tore me up something fierce, even having read the book. Coca-Cola got their best inadvertent product placement ever though.

That book and that movie make you think things and look in places that no parent really ought to be forced to. I hesitate to call it good, in the same way I'd hesitate calling a funeral "good".


Inception I enjoyed, but it was kind of silly too, I found myself MST3K-style riffing on it the whole time. I do appreciate a movie that assumes the audience has half a brain, and tries to deliver a pretty complex storyline instead of the usual spoon-fed formulaic Hollywood pabulum. The setting definitely sucked me in, but anytime a unique world is created like that, it seems too easy to me when everything is nicely and neatly tied up at the end due to some obscure physical law in that world. It's too easy to explain things away for my tastes. Cool concept and good execution. DiCaprio has really grown on me over the years, used to hate him as just a pretty boy, but the kid has really stepped up his game.


I'm withholding judgment on best of 2010 until I see True Grit though.

[I hate faux-documentaries, especially ones where the cameraman in instructed to move as much as possible.

They've become the poor man's cinema verite.

 

[UniversalWolf]

I'm withholding judgment on best of 2010 until I see True Grit though.

I just saw True Grit, and it wins for me hands down over the other three movies I can remember seeing this year. Without a doubt the best western since Unforgiven. I wouldn't be surprised if it won Best Picture; it's a worthy nominee and worthy of the hype it's been getting.

Inception, which I think is by far the best Chris Nolan movie, but it would've been better with 20-25 minutes of pointless action scenes cut out.

Book of Eli, which started off good but had a poor second half and a stupid ending.

Salt, which was entertaining for the first 15 minutes and ridiculous for the rest.

 

[CloudlessDruid]

Moon was a pretty predictable, although enjoyable sci fi movie. Moon and Inception are probably my favorites this year

 

[Nalano]

If Inception and The Matrix were released in the same year, everyone would see just how crappy Inception really is.

IMO just because you haven't had a Matrix-like movie in a while is no excuse to drool over mediocre pretentious nonsense. But that's just me.

I haven't really seen any mind-blowing movies this year. Last year's District 9 shattered my jadedness and awed me. Nothing since has come close.

I was following your point right up until you said that District 9 blew your mind. I'm sorry, but that kinda undoes your previous points.

Inception has a bunch of holes in it (none, however, as large as the Matrix' "human batteries" nonsense), but I have to agree with thegaresexperience: It felt like a Philip K Dick short story. PKDick can't write full novels without falling apart sometimes, but his short stories were quite good.

DiCaprio has really grown on me over the years, used to hate him as just a pretty boy, but the kid has really stepped up his game.

I knew he had potential to break out of the Pretty Boy role when I saw him in Gangs of New York. He's still pretty much a pretty boy there, too, but he SHOWED POTENTIAL, damnit!

 

[mobucks]

Changed mine after seeing Black Swan

One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. The only thing I can compare it to is the anime Perfect Blue which is one of my fav. thrillers. The movie itself was excellent. The Portman/Kunis lesbo scene was also excellent. Portman reallky kicked some ass in this movie although I hope she regains the 15lbs she obviously lost for this role.

 

[ncr_insurgent]

The Road was my favorite this year. Even though I liked the book a bit more it was a very nice adaption to it.

The book was certainly better, there are several parts I would have loved to see in the movie that were not there, they really speak to the the depravity of the environment the Man and the Boy live in. Incidentally they were the two most edgy parts of the book. So I do not blame the director for leaving them out.

[spoiler:f6b190d949] The scene with the parade of the men in red with all the slaves pulling carts and "catamites in dog collars" is one that I particularly think would not go over well with American audiences. I think the scene from the book where they are in the restaurant and open the cake-bell to find the human head could have been in the movie and they would have gotten away with it, though it would have been difficult to integrate since it was a memory and not really an event in the story [/spoiler:f6b190d949]

But yes The Road was rather good. But I am going to have to say Inception was the best movie I have seen in 2010, I know it is a cop-out, and I know alot of people are saying it but it is just the one that I found the most enjoyable to watch. It is great to see in a group, I remember having some rather Kantian philosophical conversations with friends in IHOP afterwards. Toy Story was a close second. Third place would have to go to Brothers with Tobey Maguire, Jake Gylenhall and Natalie Portman. The Town, with Ben Affleck gets an Honorable mention.

 

[Bal-Sagoth]

I'm curious what ground the first I Spit on Your Grave didn't cover that someone felt the need to redo it.

It is a classic, and because the world can never have enough rape/revenge/exploitation movies and Sarah Butler is a much hotter Jennifer in regards to Camille Keaton. As far as remakes go however it was very well done and the theater I was in did not have that many walk outs. At least not as many as you would have excepted from a film of that nature.

I like the new poster for the movie a lot more as well, it is less busy and more classy.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Classy kind of defeats the purpose of doing an exploitation flick.

Moon was a pretty predictable, although enjoyable sci fi movie. Moon and Inception are probably my favorites this year

I forgot about that one, one of my favorite sci-fi movies in recent memory. To me sci-fi is best when they forgo all the lightsabers and aliens bullshit and just get down to dissecting the human(?) condition.


I got to say I watched Enter the Void last night and it really impressed me. Reminded of a mix between 2001, The Wall, and a Jodorwosky film, it was that good. Cinematography was the trippiest I've ever seen in a movie.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRxDP--e-Y[/youtube]

 

[shihonage]

I was following your point right up until you said that District 9 blew your mind. I'm sorry, but that kinda undoes your previous points.

I'm sorry you feel that way, because you're wrong.

See how that works?

Inception has a bunch of holes in it (none, however, as large as the Matrix' "human batteries" nonsense),

Hahahahahaha. Are you fucking serious?

[spoiler:f783850cc9]
1) In the Matrix, the virtual reality is maintained by computers, clearly in MMO-fashion. There must be a server farm out there somewhere, keeping everything in sync and serving it to every connected client.

In the Matrix, your brain tells the computer "I am stepping forward" and the computer tells your brain "your foot met a stair".

In Inception, there's no central hub. There are several peer brains, connected. Yet somehow they remain perfectly in sync in regards to everything that happens in the virtual world around them, WHEREVER they are, without overriding each other's perception of it, unintentionally "griefing", etc.

Not only they do that, but they maintain perfect sync in SEVERAL SLEEP LEVELS at once. All the objects, physical laws, everything. Peer-to-peer. A magical, unspoken agreement.

Does that make any fucking sense?

2) When you're sleeping and then you put yourself to sleep INSIDE that sleep - why does that happen? That sedative is no longer a sedative, it's nothing. Who tells you it's a sedative? There's no central server to push this information into your subconscious, plus all these people were aware of themselves being asleep - unlike The Matrix.

Is it the "architect" that gives the sedative its properties? The movie does not imply that.

2.5) Why did they NEED a stronger primary sedative, if they could make up any strength they needed for the SECONDARY sedative (inside sleep) ?

3) How come the movie looks like no dream I ever had? How come there are no flexible walls, morphing images, distortion? How come there's not a single woman flashing her boobs in these men's subconscious?

4) Why is the second half of the film E3 2009 gameplay footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? Did they splice the wrong reel? I almost fell asleep during that one.

5) What's with that contrived secret box and the father that cared, or whatever... oh god it's nauseating to even recall that idiocy.

6) How come the only geometrical distortion they could come up with was the stupid stair illusion, and it only happened once or twice? There's a hundred of mind-blowing tricks that could be exploited, especially with today's CGI.

7) If DiCaprio's baseline reality was a dream, then when the real wife killed herself, the VERY first thing she would do is WAKE him to a higher dream level (or reality). Since this didn't happen, it means that she killed herself for real, and there's no ambiguity in the ending, despite pretenses to the contrary. This movie is so stupid, Nolan didn't even realize this.

[/spoiler:f783850cc9]

This movie is imagination-bankrupt, it's an abstract fantasy film with pretenses, and it doesn't even have the effects to compensate for it. The only scene in that movie worth watching was the city-bending one. That's it.

The Matrix created a whole subculture of imagery and quotes, but there's absolutely nothing memorable about Inception. Unlike Memento, it will be forgotten quickly and painlessly. Like a meaningless dream.

 

[Sander]

Hahahahahaha. Are you fucking serious?

[spoiler:970086eda9]
1) In the Matrix, the virtual reality is maintained by computers, clearly in MMO-fashion. There must be a server farm out there somewhere, keeping everything in sync and serving it to every connected client.

In the Matrix, your brain tells the computer "I am stepping forward" and the computer tells your brain "your foot met a stair".

In Inception, there's no central hub. There are several peer brains, connected. Yet somehow they remain perfectly in sync in regards to everything that happens in the virtual world around them, WHEREVER they are, without overriding each other's perception of it, unintentionally "griefing", etc.

Not only they do that, but they maintain perfect sync in SEVERAL SLEEP LEVELS at once. All the objects, physical laws, everything. Peer-to-peer. A magical, unspoken agreement.

Does that make any fucking sense?

2) When you're sleeping and then you put yourself to sleep INSIDE that sleep - why does that happen? That sedative is no longer a sedative, it's nothing. Who tells you it's a sedative? There's no central server to push this information into your subconscious, plus all these people were aware of themselves being asleep - unlike The Matrix.

Is it the "architect" that gives the sedative its properties? The movie does not imply that.

2.5) Why did they NEED a stronger primary sedative, if they could make up any strength they needed for the SECONDARY sedative (inside sleep) ?

3) How come the movie looks like no dream I ever had? How come there are no flexible walls, morphing images, distortion? How come there's not a single woman flashing her boobs in these men's subconscious?

4) Why is the second half of the film E3 2009 gameplay footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? Did they splice the wrong reel? I almost fell asleep during that one.

5) What's with that contrived secret box and the father that cared, or whatever... oh god it's nauseating to even recall that idiocy.

6) How come the only geometrical distortion they could come up with was the stupid stair illusion, and it only happened once or twice? There's a hundred of mind-blowing tricks that could be exploited, especially with today's CGI.

7) If DiCaprio's baseline reality was a dream, then when the real wife killed herself, the VERY first thing she would do is WAKE him to a higher dream level (or reality). Since this didn't happen, it means that she killed herself for real, and there's no ambiguity in the ending, despite pretenses to the contrary. This movie is so stupid, Nolan didn't even realize this.

[/spoiler:970086eda9]

Yes yes, you can list a series of these objections about The Matrix too.

Neither of these films is about a realistic scenario. Both of them are clearly science-fiction and rely on engrossing the audience, not presenting a plausible world. To attack them for their plot holes means you're missing the point.

This movie is imagination-bankrupt, it's an abstract fantasy film with pretenses, and it doesn't even have the effects to compensate for it. The only scene in that movie worth watching was the city-bending one. That's it.

The Matrix created a whole subculture of imagery and quotes, but there's absolutely nothing memorable about Inception. Unlike Memento, it will be forgotten quickly and painlessly. Like a meaningless dream.

I didn't love Inception, but to say it's "imagination-bankrupt" or that it there's nothing memorable about the movie is just silly. You clearly hate it, but it's pretty delusional to claim that this movie hasn't shown to be memorable so far.

 

[Dr. Combat Shotgun]

My B-movie oscar goes to Human centipede: first sequence. Kind of reminds me of old reanimators and Dagon-film. It takes balls to do perverted crap just for the sake of it. Something Beth should learn.

 

[shihonage]

Yes yes, you can list a series of these objections about The Matrix too.

Well, these same exact criticisms do not apply to The Matrix to a significant degree, so I have to assume that your argument is - because criticisms can be voiced against Inception, and a comparable number of criticisms can be voiced against The Matrix, one of them can measure up to another?

Okay then!

Let me make an analogy that you can hopefully understand.

I have 8 dimes in my pocket.

You have 8 quarters.

By your logic, they're the same, so let's trade.

I didn't love Inception, but to say it's "imagination-bankrupt" or that it there's nothing memorable about the movie is just silly. You clearly hate it, but it's pretty delusional to claim that this movie hasn't shown to be memorable so far.

Let's see... yeah, you're right the whole "dreaming reality/avatar" theme with CGI is pretty scarce. After all, we've only had, what...

* The 13th Floor
* Dark City
* What Dreams May Come
* The Matrix
* Vanilla Sky
* Avatar
* Surrogates
* eXistenZ
* Harsh Realm (tv)
* Tron

... off the top of my head.

Oh, but okay, Inception was special. After all, it had that "hell-type reality level" where the protagonist had to go to pursue his wife. It was a scary level, and so imaginative!

Oh wait, that's the plot of "What Dreams May Come".

Whoops.

When I say Inception is unremarkable, it's because it sits on shoulders of giants. It rips everything off everyone else, and does it with lazy disdain. It doesn't inspire, awe, or try to broaden the imagination. It's just a copy-paste job, and a highly overrated one.

 

[Sander]

Well, these same exact criticisms do not apply to The Matrix to a significant degree,

The same exact criticisms? No. But qualitatively and quantitatively similar criticisms? Absolutely.

Also, please drop the pedantic tone. Not only are your assumptions about my argument incorrect, your disrespectful tone is completely uncalled for.

When I say Inception is unremarkable, it's because it sits on shoulders of giants. It rips everything off everyone else, and does it with lazy disdain. It doesn't inspire, awe, or try to broaden the imagination. It's just a copy-paste job, and a highly overrated one.

Again: the fact that you dislike it does not mean you get to casually dismiss the obvious effect it has had on the movie-viewing public as a whole. The accusation that it sits on the 'shoulders of giants' bears no relevance for Inceptions popularity, quality or its memorableness.

You should also note that originality is not the be-all-end-all of quality art, nor even an important aspect. Almost all art is unoriginal and a rip-off of something else, including The Matrix.

I'm not claiming that Inception is some sort of revolutionary movie. Merely that it is a good movie that is clearly memorable, even if you just look at the critical reception it has received. Your wholesale dismissal of the film is based on nothing but your own personal preference, and is clearly in contradiction with the actual popular view of the film.

 

[shihonage]

My wholesale dismissal of Fallout 3 is also based on my personal preference and capability to think critically, despite it getting great critical acclaim and being positively received by the majority of gaming community.

Does this mean that Fallout 3 is a quality game?

Inception got 9.0 on IMDB, and Fallout 3 got 9.5. Is it a mind-bending masterpiece? Superbly written, well-tuned? Memorable?

So, you ignore my numerous arguments (or, you skew them - I never said originality is an end-all, in fact I said Inception wasn't just a copy-paste job, it was a lazily done one, which is what can separate real memorable films like The Matrix from their siblings), and then, essentially, use the movie's average review score to defend it. It's not really an argument for its actual quality, as you can see.

Now, I don't do well in arguments where disrespectful tone only goes one way, so I am bowing out of this exchange.

Good day sir.

P.S. everyone else: sorry for going overboard with the haterade in a "favorites" thread. Carry on.

 

[Sander]

My wholesale dismissal of Fallout 3 is also based on my personal preference and capability to think critically, despite it getting great critical acclaim and being positively received by the majority of gaming community.

Does this mean that Fallout 3 is a quality game?

Inception got 9.0 on IMDB, and Fallout 3 got 9.5. Is it a mind-bending masterpiece? Superbly written, well-tuned? Memorable?

So, you ignore my numerous arguments (or, you skew them - I never said originality is an end-all, in fact I said Inception wasn't just a copy-paste job, it was a lazily done one, which is what can separate real memorable films like The Matrix from their siblings), and then, essentially, use the movie's average review score to defend it. It's not really an argument for its actual quality, as you can see.

Your inability to distinguish between what's memorable for you and what's memorable in general is the problem here.

Whatever you think of Fallout 3, it's pretty hard to claim it isn't a memorable game for a lot of people.

 

[SkuLL]

it's an abstract fantasy film with pretenses, and it doesn't even have the effects to compensate for it. The only scene in that movie worth watching was the city-bending one. That's it.

I'd add the super-slow-motion explosion of the cafe, and the somewhat interesting zero-gravity scenes. Otherwise you're completely right.

The Matrix created a whole subculture of imagery and quotes, but there's absolutely nothing memorable about Inception.

That. Well, not entirely 'nothing memorable' - here and there, you'll remember the occasional scene, but that's it. Not like The Matrix. This has nothing to do with who ripped off whom - The Matrix too lacks any truly original ideas, yet it's art direction (and other aspects) are memorable as fuck.

Not to mention that The Matrix at least tried to create a semi-believable world with its own rules and history. Inception bets all money on a very dreamy "we don't have to explain this" way of storytelling. It's not bad, it's certainly easier, but I felt cheated.

* The 13th Floor
* Dark City
[...]

The 13th Floor was awesome and as far as visual style goes, it makes watching Inception pretty redundant.

Dark City is probably my favourite of this whole group. Classic!

When I say Inception is unremarkable, it's because it sits on shoulders of giants. It rips everything off everyone else, and does it with lazy disdain. It doesn't inspire, awe, or try to broaden the imagination. It's just a copy-paste job, and a highly overrated one.

I don't think it's unremarkable because of the great movies before it. After all, The Matrix wasn't the first movie of its kind by far. I do agree that Inception does very little to inspire and broaden the imagination. I wasn't leaving the cinema thinking of all the "wow" possibilities of such a world. More like, meh.

I must say that they've picked the worst possible story elements they could - (1) relationship with the father and (2) relationship with the wife were both extremely boring. The trailer showed shoot-outs, dream sequences and folding cities, what the fuck is this shit?

Your inability to distinguish between what's memorable for you and what's memorable in general is the problem here.

Whatever you think of Fallout 3, it's pretty hard to claim it isn't a memorable game for a lot of people.

Since when has 'memorable' meant anything? It means that there was a series of themes/images that were likely to stick inside your memory. The fact that it's 'memorable' has no telling on whether it was any good or not or whether it brought anything original to the table or not.

 

[Thomas de Aynesworth]

The correct answer is Tron, the rest is merely posturing.

 

[SuAside]

I got to say I watched Enter the Void last night and it really impressed me. Reminded of a mix between 2001, The Wall, and a Jodorwosky film, it was that good. Cinematography was the trippiest I've ever seen in a movie.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRxDP--e-Y[/youtube]

I have very mixed feeling about Enter the Void... I can't even begin to explain them tbfh.


Also, yes, Dark City rules and it's a shame it never got the attention it deserved...

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

I have very mixed feeling about Enter the Void... I can't even begin to explain them tbfh.

No doubt, it's a very complex and challenging film. It just fascinates me to see an artist with such a well fleshed out vision of something that's almost impossible to manifest on film, do what he did, and so aesthetically...on. I'm also surprised when such experimental movies can get funding and distribution, it restores some of my faith in the industry.
I'm mixed on it too (narrative is all over the place, subjects are irredeemably irresponsible losers). Don't know whether I should watch it again or take a long, hot shower. Either way, it's still incubating in my brain, and not likely to leave anytime soon, I'm still trying to digest it. I don't really buy into the trip, but the trip itself is still one worth experiencing IMO.

Also, yes, Dark City rules and it's a shame it never got the attention it deserved...

No thanks to the Matrix itself. Dark City is definitely a movie that's undeservedly obscure.

Almost all art is unoriginal and a rip-off of something else, including The Matrix.

The Matrix does travel down the path that William Gibson and other cyberpunkers blazed long before.