Rob Kinney’s Third Annual Best Movies of the Year List
With 2010 wrapping up and the Oscar nominations recently announced, the time has again arrived for my annual review. So lets get right into it.
#5 - True Grit
I know what some of you may be saying: “Rob, you didn’t even see True Grit. How can it be your 5th favorite movie of 2010?” And I would answer by saying “you obviously did not read my review of the best movies of 2009.” Let me break it down for you again: I love the Dude. And when the Dude stars in a movie, “the little dude” (that’s me) abides, and puts it in his top five. Don’t test me on this, if you do, I will go to your town with the aim to kill you in about one minute.
#4 - Un Prophete
I know what some of you may be saying: “Rob, you put a foreign movie in your top 5?!” Well, not only do I have a history of liking foreign flicks (I ranked The Lives of Others as the best movie of 2007), I also like having a feeling of superiority when discussing movies with “average” movie watching people.
But that is not the only reason I’m ranking Un Prophete as my fourth favorite movie of 2010. This movie did a great job with what I believe is simultaneously the most difficult and entertaining subject a movie can tackle: power. Where does power come from? How do people obtain it? Do people search for it or does it find them?
Don’t get me wrong, this movie is more than just some gangster rising through the ranks of the crime world.
I mean there is a scene where our main character is taught to pretend to suck some dude’s dick, and then pop up from his knees, take the razor blade hidden in his mouth and murder the guy. When he actually tries to do this, the whole plan goes to shit and he has to improvise. The scene comes off as one of the most intense I have ever seen.
And it remained so until this great movie produced an even more intense scene a little later when our main character has to murder some dudes in Paris. The whole plan goes to shit and then he just has to improvise. Basically, this guy is just free-flowing through his plans, which makes this movie almost palpable.
I mean, this shit is real. And this movie just takes you along for the ride as a young’n matures and understands (and ultimately thrives in) the world he is thrust into. The final scene is understated yet one of the most powerful I can remember. This film left me sitting in my seat long after the credits had rolled, which is why it is the 4th best movie of 2010. (BTW - this movie was not released in the US until 2010 so don’t bring any noise about it being a 2009 film).
#3 - The Social Network
This review is mostly self-reflective (obnoxious?), but only because I was shell-shocked after seeing this movie. It was unique. The soundtrack was fun and retro with heavy beats. It actually made me laugh quite a bit. But I left feeling sad and I could not understand why initially. Was it because it made my life seem… Ordinary? Unfulfilled? Boring? All of these? As someone who signed up for a Hotmail account when it first came out, was one of the first users of Napster and remembers using search sites other than Google, I feel that I grew up with the internet. But I did not expand with it. Someone like Mark Zuckerburg saw the power of the internet and how it expanded exponentially and thought to himself, “Why can’t my life expand the same way?” Me, I thought, “Why can’t my music collection expand exponentially?” Watching this movie makes me fill like someone who didn’t understand the power of the internet, which is an understatement.
In that way, my reaction to this movie is similar to the reactions of the “business partners” who felt slighted after Facebook blew up. Their feelings came from a place of regret, not anger. Regret that they didn’t see the potential of Facebook the way Zuckerburg did. When watching this movie I couldn’t help but think that I would be the business partner in the beginning yelling “someone is going to pay us $1 million for Facebook? SELL, SELL, SELL!” But now my perspective has changed (and not only because I would have been wrong). Before I watched this movie I thought that facebook should just sell out. They are worth $50 billion dollars and who needs more than that? But now - fuck it. You know what’s cooler than a billion dollars? A trillion.
I also want to mention one scene in this movie that agitated me. It was the scene where Eisenberg meets JT at the restuarant. And for drinks they order… Appletinis?!?! Who drinks that? More importantly, who asks a girl what she wants to drink and then orders the same drink for the whole table?! What if she had said she wanted a “cosmo” or a “blowjob” or for that matter, an “appletini”? Ridiculous.
#2 - Inception
One of the most divisive movies of the year. It got rave reviews from many (actually most) national publications and was totally panned by film critics in NYC (including heavyweights A.O. Scott and Keith Telfeyan). I say: fuck those New York elitists (no offense A.O., because I think many of your reviews are spot on). Let me tell you why. Inception felt like a MOVIE. People were excited to see it. The theater was buzzing with anticipation. The movie was big and beautiful and exciting. And after seeing it, people talked about it. There are not many movies these days that get me to the theater, but this was one of them. Here are just some of the things that made this movie fun:
- Big Hollywood stars - check
- Needing to gather a group of elite specialists to accomplish a task (although I was not sure what they specialized in) - check
- Adventure scenes in snow gear (like James Bond) - check
- Ambitious storyline - check
- Great ending - check
Yeah, I know that Inception won’t be remembered as a great movie. It has a lot of shortcomings. The story was confusing and too linear at the same time. And why were all four dream levels filled with gun fights? That was a lot of gun fights. Couldn’t there be some other danger besides guns? Leo should have carried a gun as his “object” instead of a spinning top. But you know what, I don’t care. I had FUN watching this movie. That is what these critics who panned Inception are missing. Just like Avatar last year, there was an excitement that made the theater experience fun. And you can either pick apart its shortcomings or just sit back and enjoy the visual masterpiece that this movie is. I was on the edge of my seat at the end and the 150 minutes flew by. If that isn’t a good movie than I don’t know what is.
#1 - Youth in Revolt
Hands down the funniest movie of the year. It is hard to even convey how funny this movie is and how many times I laughed during it. In fact, I’ll let the characters do the talking:
Nick Twisp: I also have a sweetheart for the moment, so…
Sheeni Sanders: Really? What’s her name?
Nick Twisp: Her name is Martha Singwal, she’s 16 and she’s got toasted almond hair, so… she’s only recently returned from Nice where she’s been conducting sociological research on the assimilation problems of Italian immigrants… workers… down there. She’s also a professional model, specializes in lingerie. She likes me quite a bit, she tells me that she likes my hair…
And this one-liner from Nick Twisp as his alter-ego Francois Dillinger: I’m gonna wrap your legs around my head and wear you like the crown that you are.
This movie is pitch perfect. And that is why it is my favorite movie of 2010.
I hope you enjoyed the list and see you all again next year!
(editor’s note: This might be from the wrong Michael Cera movie of 2010)
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