My Top-8 of 2010

One of the few kinks I have for living in Jakarta, and yes, despite its many shortages, there were indeed only a few, was the film choices distributed for local consumptions, or the lack of it. Understandable for its obvious economic reasons, but still… Now this has often led to a hasty conclusion that by the end of the year, many notable films of the year were remains unseen by yours truly here. For this year alone, I haven’t seen “True Grit,” “127 Hours,” “The Fighter,” “Never Let Me Go,” “Winter’s Bone,” and “Black Swan.” That was off from the top of my head and it doesn’t include many documentaries. A genre that was unloved here save for festivals that each year struggled more and more to get a funding.

Anyway, no matter what, the year is up, and here’s the recap. One hundred and thirty films, 76 of which seen at the theater. Not trying to pat myself on the back, but I say it’s not too shabby for an amateur reviewer with no affiliation to any media whatsoever. At the very least, I had a solid proof on my cine-obsession. Nay, it wasn’t just a hobby. It’s a goddamned obsession, and I’m loving it.

The clear cut for my number one film of the year is definitely David Fincher’s “The Social Network” which further establishes my unabashed love toward Fincher. Even if it won’t be at the level achieved by “Zodiac,” it was better than his previous “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” A solid film with nearly solid casts (here’s looking at you, Timberlake), and even more solid screenplay by Aaron Sorkin to which I agreed that they had better start carving his name on the Oscar’s nameplate by now.

“Inception,” my best reviewed film of the year came at a second. You might wondered how come my best reviewed film, the only four stars rating I handed for the year could ended up only at number two? Well, here’s why. “Inception” is a film that on a first viewing, wowed me, swept me off of my feet and awed me from start to finish. However, the film’s replayability values were surprisingly low. This is different than the rest of the films appeared on this list (with the exception of “Toy Story 3″) that upon second viewings, or even more, always offered something new. “Inception” was a groundbreaking film but as one who is more in love with words than visual imageries, I have no hesitation to put “The Social Network” ahead of this film.

“Shutter Island” is another film with a high replayability value. I’ve seen the film for three times now and I’m not intending to stop at that number anytime soon. It wasn’t as great as Scorcese/DiCaprio’s previous “The Departed,” but this film is so full of tremendous actors that it is impossible to ignore. If “The Social Network” has Justin Timberlake and “Inception” has Marion Cotillard (for some reason, I can’t dig her on that film) and Ken Watanabe’s weird English accent, this film had no flaws on the acting department. No. Flaws.

Next on this list, is Matt Reeves’ remake of “Let the Right One In.” “Let Me In” is a moody and hauntingly chilling film but paradoxically, this film is also a beautiful film. I savored every yellow-tinted shots Reeves’ employs, every simple shots and every simple conversation between the lovable Chloë Moretz and Smit-McPhee. In its simplicity, this film offers me more than just that and earned this very spot.

I had trouble between picking “Let Me In” and “Buried” and settled for this arrangement given that “Buried” is not easy to watch while “Let Me In” is to my mind’s eye, very beautiful to watch. Yes, a matter of taste playing here. “Buried” however is an unique tale. A taut thriller, a superb performance, but it’s not easy to watch. However, if you claim to love movies as you are, you need to watch this. If anything, it would give you a sense on how a script could be weaved and told into a terrific story with such constraints presented in this film as they are.

“The Kids Are All Right” is a pure drama that if you think films that merely consists of words are boring, you shouldn’t consider this film in your queue. The conflicts were humane, subtle, and within the everyday’s boundary of ‘normalcy.’ It’s feels like, you know, almost voyeur. However, this film features some of the best performances of the year and the idea behind the story was well, a bit unsettling. At least, if I took it within the culture-context where I lived.

Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ greatest single scene that teared me up apart was probably the only thing that put this film on this spot. I was shaken by that very scene. The quality of Pixar’s domineering extravagance in the animated films industry was further established. However, as good as this film gets, I found myself skipping a lot of scenes just to arrive to that very scene and just that very scene during repeat viewings.

Technically, this last film that closed this list was a 2009 film but it was released world wide in 2010 so I felt appropriate to include it here. “The Disappearance of Alice Creed.” It was also a beautiful film in it’s own right, but also not easy to watch. A raw performance from Gemma Arterton, and her two captors left me awed with twist after twist of an otherwise simple thriller premise. However, I was a bit disappointed with how the film chooses to wrap itself up which in my mind’s eye too safe. Had it goes another way, the film would ended up higher on this list.