Yes, another 2010 compilation blog post! I thought we’d run down some of the favourite movies from 2010 as suggested by the Media Match team. We’d love to hear your thoughts, and links to any of the films you worked on in 2010. Please share in the comments below.

Inception
Sterling performances, Grammy-nominated soundtrack, and a genuinely thrilling movie.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page

Black Swan
Beautifully twisted. Huge at the film festivals last year.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Mark Heyman (screenplay), Andres Heinz (screenplay), and 2 more credits »
Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel

True Grit
Jeff Bridges rounds off a pretty amazing… well, decade, with another great portrayal of a unique character. Just hitting Europe and causing quite a stir.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Writers: Joel Coen (screenplay), Ethan Coen (screenplay), and Charles Portis (novel)
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld

The Social Network
Another great soundtrack and a great movie interpretation of a novel interpretation of a story most people thought they already knew. Or kinda did. Or may do one day. Maybe the truth is out there…
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (book)
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake

TRON: Legacy
Forgetting the fact that this is a remake of the 1982 story, the visual aspects and incredible, and are supported by a strong soundtrack courtesy of Daft Punk. A movie in this aspect is a whole different artform.
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writers: Edward Kitsis (screenplay), Adam Horowitz (screenplay), and Edward Kitsis (story), Adam Horowitz (story), Brian Klugman (story) & Lee Sternthal (story) and Steven Lisberger (characters) & Bonnie MacBird (characters)
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde

127 Hours
A trapped mountain climber makes for a deep and soul-searching movie. Danny Boyle described the picture as “an action movie in which the hero doesn’t move”, but manages to keep the viewer interested and enough suspense and ‘action’ within the confines of an individual’s own mind.
Director: Danny Boyle
Writers: Danny Boyle (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) and Aron Ralston (book “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”)
Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara

The Fighter
My personal loathing of Walberg is neutralised by my respect for Bale, and so I’m able to look at the film relatively objectively. A strong all-round casting job and an amazing transformation by Bale.
Director: David O. Russell
Writers: Scott Silver (screenplay), Paul Tamasy (screenplay) & Eric Johnson (screenplay) and Paul Tamasy (story), Eric Johnson (story) & Keith Dorrington (story)
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams

Despicable Me
A dark yet slapstick animated comedy. And yes, it works! Universal Pictures chalks up a hit against arch-rival Pixar and without the obvious overhang of a series of sequels.
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Writers: Ken Daurio (screenplay), Sergio Pablos (story), and Cinco Paul (screenplay)
Stars: Steve Carell, Jason Segel and Russell Brand

It’s Kind of A Funny Story
Clearly, clinically depressed teenagers are now funny. A great indie film showing imagination and a strong cast all round.
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Writers: Anna Boden (screenplay), Ryan Fleck (screenplay), and Ned Vizzini (novel)
Stars: Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts

by Lee Jarvis.

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Call it a renaissance if you want.  A rebirth of a specific aspect of American cinema: the franchise.  Whatever label you wish to give it, we are witnessing a revival of film series that were once thought dead – moribund franchises, that were had long ago outlived their usefulness.  “Batman”; “Superman”; “Rocky”; “James Bond”; even “Die Hard”.  It doesn’t take a film expert to see that these movies had descended into self-parodying shells of their former selves (admittedly, the first three more so than the latter two, but still, they were on their way).  Banking on brand awareness, producers were down to giving us stories that were basically dressed up recycling, always reliving the same plots but never pushing new bounds.  Brand awareness can only do so much, before you find yourself stuck with the conventional missteps of filmmakers eager to use a franchise for what it can offer, rather than what they can do for it.  “Batman & Robin” was a prime example, as was “Rocky V”.  (Of course, there are those who feel both films are good, fun storytelling, and wouldn’t change a thing.. this is not meant for them).

It now appears that it can sometimes take a decade of futility, and an utter lack of interest from the audience, before you can get a new lease on franchise life.  It takes time before you can get a Christopher Nolan to the table, or a Martin Campbell – men who re-create a series based on quality, not merely the recognition of the name.  All these years we’ve waited, and we finally have filmmakers who can take all the memorable images and ideas from our iconic heroes and make them real again – and can also make them relevant in a more modern world.  Whether it be Batman’s beginning, or James Bond’s first kill, we’re treated to an analysis of what makes these men great – faults and all.  In fact, it’s a testament to these filmmakers that they’re able to recognize the greatness in our most flawed characters – and it marks the beginning of an era in which our creations truly reflect the best and worst of us all.  That is what these writers and directors have done in re-imagining classic franchises, and as fans of cinema we should be grateful.

As a final note, one can’t mention “Rocky V” without also discussing the fabulous work that Sylvester Stallone did in “Rocky Balboa”, the 6^th Rocky film – and perhaps the best since the very first.  More so than any of the other films mentioned above (even more than Bond’s “Casino Royale”) this newest Rocky film is remarkable because it not only reinvigorated a franchise that had become a joke (“What’s the latest movie up to, “Rocky 12”?), but it did so using the some of the same actors, in very much the same setting.  What Stallone did was, at its core, very simple: he wrote an incredibly truthful, self-assessing cinematic gem, that never tried to be more than it was.  And the result was dialogue so honest, that even as we’re watching Rocky say the lines, we’re also seeing Stallone say them himself.  Stallone should be credited with having the depth and technique to pull this off, and the self-awareness to make this one of Rocky’s best moments.

I for one am off to watch the new “Rambo”.  After that, I will eagerly await the next Batman and James Bond films, knowing they’re in good hands… for now.

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