2010 Movies Ranked

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Once again, I’m not saying these are necessarily the best, just my favorites.

31. Hot Tub Time Machine

D: Steve Pink

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Everyone else seemed to like this, but I don’t care.  This movie was more mean-spirited than genuinely humorous.  The only part I remember laughing at was when Craig Robinson’s character drunkenly called his future wife when she was a small girl to tell her off for cheating on him, and that was already in the trailer.  I thought John Cusack’s character was unlikable and shallow (he rejects a girl just for liking Poison?), and not in a funny way.  I’m glad Rob Corddry’s character’s no longer suicidal, but his “happy” ending involved staying in the past so he get rich by stealing every idea that would be had in the then-future.  I also don’t like how the movie treats the 80’s with little respect, 'cause it's not like that decade gave us a truly classic time-travel comedy.  

Oh, and I liked Red Dawn.  Sue me.

30. Robin Hood

D: Ridley Scott

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A movie that sucked all the fun out of the character.  Russell Crowe was poorly cast as Robin Hood, and there were only moments of the swashbuckling tone of the tale.  They actually had a great idea for a film, but the studio apparently didn’t like it so Scott just hacked out every other movie he’s made.  At least the closing credits were cool.

29. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

D: Michael Apted

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They should have stuck with Andrew Adamson, who did a surprisingly good job on the previous two movies.  This sequel had terrible CGI and the unnecessary plot complications.  Also, Simon Pegg isn’t nearly as good a Reepicheep as Eddie Izzard was.

28. Alice in Wonderland

D: Tim Burton

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Had some great scenery and design, but it missed the point of the source material and was a disappointment from Tim Burton.  There were also some awkward 3D shots, too.

27. Salt

D: Phillip Noyce

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An absurd and contrived movie that would have probably been fun if they had let the writer direct it.

26. Despicable Me

D: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

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Most people liked this movie, but I didn’t get it.  It just seemed like a generic modern animated movie and it had an annoying antagonist.  The premises of this and Megamind were also oddly similar.

25. Kick-Ass

D: Matthew Vaughn

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The trailer looked promising, and I was looking forward to the idea of superheroes being attempted in the real world.  There’s a humorous appeal to see people in bright costumes wielding guns and being subject to reality.  Unfortunately, the unrealistic action scenes, though very well-executed, ruined this idea.  They even had to ruin one of the better fights by playing “Bad Reputation.”  Why do filmmakers like that terrible song so much?  The movie romanticized Hit Girl’s situation far too much.  There is nothing cool about training a young child to murder and kill.  It did have some good humor and a good remix of the 28 Days Later theme, though 

24. The Last Airbender

D: M. Night Shyamalan

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The visual translation of the show into live action was neat, but I think Appa and Momo had more character development in the show than any of the humans do in this movie. While it was bland and lifeless, at least it was relatively faithful to the source material.  The one truly egregious change was turning Katara into an ineffectual character. 

23. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

D: Chris Columbus

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A forgettable and cheesy Young Adult fiction movie.  I just wish there would be at least one good movie that takes place in my hometown of Nashville.  And if they’re going to shoot The Parthenon, they should just use good cinematography to bring out its beauty, don’t just have someone sell it vocally. 

22. Predators

D: Nimrod Antal

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A mostly forgettable sequel that has too much action in pitch darkness.  The twist with Topher Grace’s character’s being a serial killer was pretty good, though.

21. Black Swan

D: Darren Aronofsky

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The movie’s nightmarish atmosphere worked better in Requiem for a Dream, which was about the ravages of drug addiction  This movie is just about getting into a role for ballet.  The film was also a bit too smutty for my tastes.

20. Monsters
D: Gareth Edwards
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Not great, but definitely shows the director's impressive ability to work with a limited budget.

19. The Expendables

D: Sylvester Stallone

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While it was an okay action movie, what disappointed me was that it sold itself as an 80’s throwback, but it was actually a generic 00’s action movie with some 80’s style.  Call me when they put Gary Busey in one of these.  However, I did find it funny that Stallone’s 1911 somehow fires at a rate of a bout 300rpm.

18. The Tempest

D: Julie Taymor

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I was looking forward to this, but I found it a little bit disappointing.  While Taymor’s quirky, intentionally anachronistic style worked in Titus, it seems out of place in the more serious Tempest.  The awkward CGI meant it also didn’t look as good as that movie.  I always liked the idea of Ariel being a reluctant henchman who hated Prospero, but Ben Winshaw plays him with too much glee.  I would have liked it better if his performances in this and Skyfall were switched.  Helen Mirren is great as Prospera, but the adaptational sex change doesn’t seem compatible with Prospero’s patriarchal motivations.  Russell Brand’s presence is also a hit against the movie.

17. The Fighter

D: David O. Russell 

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Hmm, is it just me, or does crackhead Christian Bale look a lot like Will Arnett?

16. Megamind

D: Tom McGrath

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The protagonist is likable and the movie has some moments of panache.  It deserved popularity far more than Despicable Me.

15. The Wolfman

D: Joe Johnston

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It has great visual style, and I liked Hugo Weaving’s character, but the movie was a bit dull.  The protagonist was a bit bland and his angst from the beginning of the movie lessened the tragedy of his situation.  I wish they had improved upon the classic wolfman design rather than make a straight recreation of it.

14. The King’s Speech

D: Tom Hooper

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13. Winter’s Bone

D: Debra Granik

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This movie about a strong-willed young woman who has to track down her meth-cooking father in order to save her family is a unique, gritty story taking place in a secretive setting that Hollywood usually doesn’t show us.

12. Iron Man 2

D: Jon Favreau

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It doesn't have a very good plot, but the action and banter are extremely fun.  Genndy Tartakovsky worked on the storyboarding of this movie, so that may have been why it had such great action.  I just wish they used him for Avengers.

11. Alpha and Omega

D: Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck

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Probably not the best movie, but I do like it.

10. The Town

D: Ben Affleck

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Once again, Affleck proves he’s a much better director than an actor with this thrilling crime drama.  You can't argue with a movie in which people rob banks with machine guns while dressed up like nuns or the Grim Reaper.

  

9. True Grit

D: The Coen Bros.

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Very well-executed remake that outdoes the original in almost every respect.

8. How to Train Your Dragon

D: Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois

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A refreshingly sincere movie from Dreamworks.  No dirty jokes or potty humor, which is impressive since that’s most of what the books were.  However, I do think the book’s premise had potential (The dragons talk, and the Vikings train them, rather than hunt them).

7. Tron Legacy

D: Joseph Kosinski

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Distinctive visuals, great action, and then there’s that score.  The Daft Punk score was not only great and distinctive, it was one of the few truly iconic scores to come out in recent years.  By iconic, I mean that the soundtrack defined the movie in such a way that it cannot represent anything else.  Like the themes for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, and Batman; you can’t mistake those for anything other than the movie it was written for.  In fact I actually expect to hear it when I watch the original Tron.  When the Academy Awards failed to even nominate it for best score, they only proved once again how much of a joke they are.  Also, I love Michael Sheen in it.

6. Batman: Under the Red Hood
D: Brandon Vietti
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One of the best Direct-to -Video adaptations.  I love John DiMaggio's Joker.  I'd include it on the list (between Iron Man 2 and Toy Story 3), but for some reason, blogger makes it a living hell to try to modify this post.  I already had to revise it once from scratch, and I don't feel like doing it again.

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

D: Edgar Wright

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Pure fun in movie form.  Great, colorful visuals, witty dialogue and fun action.  The classic video game motifs give the movie a unique feel.  I don't understand people that refuse to watch this movie because they buy into the "Michael Cera is a bad actor" meme.  I'd say they're cheating themselves.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

D: David Yates

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Yates really improved upon himself by making the best movie of the franchise.  It was impressed by how suspenseful and atmospheric this movie was.

3. Toy Story 3

D: Lee Unkrich

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The most poignant of the series.  It completes the full circle of this trilogy perfectly.

2. Inception

D: Christopher Nolan

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One of the best visual directors, Nolan made a truly engaging, cerebral thrill ride that reminded me of why I love movies in the first place.

1. Beyond the Black Rainbow
D: Panos Cosmatos
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80's throwback aesthetic done right in a suspenseful thriller.

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