2010: The Top 10 Films

If there’s anything that can start a fiery and passionate debate, it’s a list of the Top 10 Films of the year. My only rule for this list (in alphabetical order) is that they had to have been released in Australian cinemas during 2010 (which means 2009’s Avatar was not in contention).

Animal Kingdom
This near-perfect, landmark Australian film was an extraordinary debut from writer and director David Michôd. Featuring a career-defining turn from Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom continues to win a sleigh-load of national and international awards wherever it is in contention. Last stop – Oscar night.

Harry Brown
Daniel Barber (also in his feature film debut) delivered an angry, impatient vision of a community in extreme danger of self-annihilation. Sir Michael Caine delivered one of the performances of the year, while Gary Young’s screenplay viciously fashioned the ‘good’ from the ‘evil’ with razor sharp authority.

How to Train Your Dragon
Dreamworks’ stunning animated feature was built around the friendship between young Viking ‘Hiccup’ and his wounded Night Fury 'Toothless'. The marvellous script powered along – resulting not only in a gloriously imagined and rendered animation adventure, but a captivating film of immense heart and soul.

Inception
Just scraping in, it has to be said, is Christopher Nolan’s curious, layered, intellectually engaging, visually arresting and superbly crafted mind-bender. While it was certainly no masterpiece, it was a film that revelled in grand and adventurous epic story-telling and managed to pull it off.

Precious
Lee Daniel's gruelling drama of every possible form of previously unimaginable abuse somehow managed to isolate the essence of the human spirit – the truth of what it takes to break the cycles of violence and destruction. Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique waged an epic battle with themselves (and each other) in a film of immense emotional clout.

Sherlock Holmes
Guy Ritchie returned to form with his thrilling, white-knuckled ride, melded to the screen with absolute relish and conviction, and a blisteringly good performance from Robert Downey Jnr in the title role. Ritchie proved the first rule of filmmaking: surround yourself with people who really know what they’re doing.

Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese’s fierce, passionate and wildly-involving psychological thriller was an absolute screen-scorcher. Moody, furious and featuring great performances from an all-star cast, Shutter Island was, as I predicted at the time, the most exciting and rewarding couple of hours I spent in the cinema this year.

The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow’s incredible cinematic journey plugged itself into every one of our senses and played mercilessly with our ability to comprehend risk. Mark Boal's rock-solid screenplay fuelled an ensemble of fearless performances – resulting in a painfully intimate experience of a war that continues to define the perilous misadventures of our time.

The Lovely Bones
Could Hobbit Master Peter Jackson pull off an intimate family drama? Yes, he could. Confronting, powerful, beautiful and moving, this extraordinarily potent snapshot of how the disappearance of a young girl can tear a family apart boasted a superb cast, a challenging, fluid script, and a hugely rewarding, entirely cathartic ending.

The Social Network
One of the most perfect films of the year, David Fincher’s film of Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay was a sensational piece of cinematic story-telling featuring brilliant performances from an exceptional young ensemble. Powering along for every one of its 120 minutes, The Social Network never looked or felt like anything less than a monumental labour of love for everyone concerned. Look for it everywhere at next year’s Oscar ceremony.

This list was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.