My Favorite Movies Of 2010 Part 2

The Fighter-I saw The Fighter in theatres in February. Right from the opening scene, I knew it was going to be great. The Fighter is about the early career of boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his relationship with his older brother and trainer, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), a former boxer who had become addicted to drugs. This movie has a very interesting true story and great acting by Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, and especially by Melissa Leo, who played Micky and Dicky's mother and manager, and by Christian Bale, who was completely unrecognizable as Dicky. Melissa Leo and Christian Bale really deserved their Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress this year.



Kick-Ass-I wasn't sure if I would like Kick-Ass, but it turned out to be one of my favorite superhero movies, as well as one of my favorite movies of the year. Kick-Ass is about an unpopular teenager named Dave (Aaron Johnson) who reads a lot of comic books and dreams about being a superhero. One day, he buys a costume and actually tries to fight crime. Not surprisingly, he almost gets killed. Later, Dave meets a father and daughter superhero team calling themselves Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), who are very skilled, and are trying to fight the Mob in the city. One of the best things about the movie is how Big Daddy and Hit Girl are not clearly written as heroes. There are a lot of grey areas in the story that make it feel closer to the real world, even though the action in the movie can be over the top. This movie has a unique story and great acting by Nicolas Cage and especially by Chloe Moretz, who steals a lot of scenes as Hit Girl. I think her performance could have been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.





Animal Kingdom-Animal Kingdom is a great crime movie. It is about an Australian teenager named Josh (James Frecheville) who goes to live with his grandmother and uncles after his mother dies. Josh's grandmother, nicknamed Smurf (Jacki Weaver), and his uncles Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford) are all criminals. After another of Josh's uncles, nicknamed Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), returns home after hiding from police, Josh finds himself being pulled into his family's business. This movie has a very interesting and suspenseful story, as well as wonderful acting by Jacki Weaver (who was deservedly nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance) and by Ben Mendelsohn. Animal Kingdom is one of the best crime movies I've seen.



Never Let Me Go-Never Let Me Go is an amazing movie. It is about three friends named Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightly), and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) who have all grown up together at a British boarding school. Kathy has always been in love with Tommy, who is dating Ruth. The movie follows their changing relationship through several years. I don't want to give anything else away about the story. The movie has a very interesting and affecting story, and great acting, especially by Carey Mulligan and by Andrew Garfield, who I think should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for either his performance in this movie or in The Social Network.



Winter's Bone-Winter's Bone is about a teenage girl named Ree (Jennifer Lawrence) who is living in the Ozarks in Missouri, and raising her younger brother and sister on her own. Ree's father is a drug manufactuer who has been hiding from police. When Ree discovers that unless her father shows up for his court appearance, she will lose her family's house, Ree tries to find him. Unfortunately, her neighbors, including her criminal uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes), seem to have information but aren't willing to help. This movie has fantastic performances by Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes, who were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor this year.



127 Hours-127 Hours is one of the best movies I've seen from last year. It tells the true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco), a mountain climber who became trapped in a canyon by a boulder in Utah in 2003. The movie is about what happened to Aron while he was trapped and his struggle to survive. James Franco gave a phenomenal performance, and I liked how the story always kept my interest. When the movie ended, it made me think about and appreciate my life a bit more.

Part 3 coming soon.

My Favorite Movies Of 2010 Part 1

Fish Tank-This was the first great movie I saw from last year. Technically, it's from 2009, but it wasn't released where I live until last year. Fish Tank is about a British teenage girl named Mia (Katie Jarvis) who wants to be a hip-hop dancer. She doesn't get a lot of support from her family. When Mia's mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing) starts dating a man named Colin (Michael Fassbender), Mia eventually starts to bond with him. One of the things I love about this movie is the acting. Katie Jarvis had never acted before this movie. She gave one of my favorite performances of the year, and I thought that she should've been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Michael Fassbender and Kierston Wareing were also great in their roles. The story was well-written and I liked the music in it.



The Social Network-I saw this movie in theatres last year. I would call it my #1 favorite movie of 2010. I've re-watched it more than any other movie of last year, and I still enjoy it. I remember watching the opening scene in the theatre and being blown away. It opens with a fast-paced conversation that's about six minutes long. I love that scene because it's entertaining, smart, and tells you so much about the main character's personality. The Social Network is (very loosely) based on the story of Mark Zuckerberg, who created the website Facebook as a student at Harvard, and the two lawsuits he faced by former classmates, who claimed he stole the idea for the website. This movie has impressive performances by Rooney Mara, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Justin Timberlake, but especially by Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Mark Zuckerberg. I had seen him in movies before, but I thought his performance in The Social Network was amazing. He completely deserved his nomination for the Best Actor Oscar this year. The movie also has a brilliant screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.





Inception-Inception is probably the most original movie I saw last year. It is about a thief named Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team who are able to enter people's minds while they dream, and steal information. One day, Dom's team is hired to plant an idea in someone's head, which is known as "inception" and is almost impossible for them to do. This movie has a very interesting and complex story. I've seen it twice, which helped me understand some of the details and twists in the story better. It has incredible special effects and great action scenes.



The Kids Are All Right-I was looking forward to seeing this movie for a while, and I loved it. The Kids Are All Right is about lesbian couple named Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), and their two teenage children, who are curious about meeting their biological father, Paul (Mark Ruffalo). As Paul meets and gets to know the family, it causes unexpected changes and problems for everyone. I was very impressed by Annette Bening's performance, which I thought was one of her best. Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo were also great. The movie has a good story with well-written characters.





Toy Story 3-I was a bit nervous at first about a third Toy Story movie. There aren't many great sequels and even less in third parts of a franchise. That's why I was really happy to see how well done this movie was. In Toy Story 3, the toys are trying to deal with Andy leaving for college when they are accidently sent to a day-care center. This movie is a perfect ending (I hope what I've been reading about a fourth movie is just a rumour) to the franchise. It's funny, smart, and very moving. I thought it deserved its nomination for Best Picture and win for Best Animated Picture.

Part 2 of My Favorite Movies Of 2010 coming soon.