Review of the Year - 2010

New films watched – 62

At the cinema – 32

At home – 30

 

Average score – 7.25

 

Best Films of the Year

At the cinema:

1^st Inception

2^nd The Hurt Locker

3^rd The Social Network

 

At home:

1^st The Lives of Others

2^nd In the Loop

3^rd Gran Torino

 

Films that let the side down:

At the cinema:

1^st Salt

2^nd Eat Pray Love

3^rd She’s Out of My League

 

At home:

1^st Lesbian Vampire Killers

2^nd Horsemen

3^rd Public Enemies

 

(I have just realised that I watched all three of those cinematic let downs with the same friend. 
Oh dear.

To be fair though, I did also see two of the top three with that same person.)

 

Looking at the list of disappointing films on that list there are a couple of things I should note: 1 – I don’t like traditionally ‘girly’ films.  2 – At least with Eat Pray Love I knew that the reviews had been bad and would never have watched it had the film we wanted to see been available.  Sometimes I go to the cinema knowing that a film is bound to be terrible but there is a part of me that wants to see just how bad it can get.

 

So just how bad can it get?  Well, I watched one film this year that truly lowered the bar, the standard and, indeed, the tone.  Step forward Lesbian Vampire Killers.  A film I reviewed as “an insult to lesbians, vampires and killers everywhere”.  It got a whopping 2/10 from me. 

Meanwhile Salt was by far the worst thing that I saw at the cinema.  It was laughably bad, insultingly stupid and the point where (MINOR SPOILER) Angelina Jolie disguised herself as a man (END MINOR SPOILER) was just ridiculous.  There came a point about halfway through the film where someone reading their iPhone (something that generally irritates me to the point of rage) became more entertaining.

 

As foreign films went it was a good year for Scandinavian films with A Somewhat Gentle Man, Let the Right One in, Super Brother and Rare Exports all scoring well.  A Somewhat Gentle Man was my favourite film at the London Film Festival and I thought Let the Right One in was a touching adaptation of a book I had really enjoyed (and, I will admit, been terrified by).

 

There are still a number of 2010 films that I need to catch up with:

Another Year

Monsters

Catfish

Of Gods and Men

Then we’re into 2011 releases and the best thing about January?  Oscar-bait season!   Bring on The King’s Speech, Black Swan, 127 Hours, Never Let Me Go, True Grit…..

 

I can’t wait!