Top 10 of 2010 and Top 5 Anticipated of 2011

     I know it is a little late to be doing a Top 10 of the year (since these lists are typically made around the end of the year), but since I didn't have the privilege of attending any film festivals or living in a city that gets early releases on the year's biggest awards films, I decided to wait to the end of the Oscar season before making my Top 10 of 2010. Even so, there are a group of films I would have liked to have seen before making the list ("Four Lions", "Somewhere", "Buitiful", and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" to name a few), but I felt I could not let the time tick into July before making this list. Overall, if I where to grade the year in cinema that was 2010, I would give it a B-. There were definitely some good movies, but the film had its fair share of disappointments as well. Even films I liked, such as "True Grit" and "Inception", the latter of which (spoiler alert!) made my Top 10, just did not meet my lofty expectations. As a reviewer, there was no film which I would give a perfect 10 (although the number 1 film would be extremely close), and only five films that I would give a 9. Compare that to last year, where "Inglorous Basterds" would have received the mark of perfection from me, and about 13 other films would have gotten a 9, and this year was definitely somewhat of a let down. 2009 though was well above par, and to expect every year to match it in quality is a bit of unrealistic expectations on my part. This year's ten best films are still a decent list of films as you will see, and in particular, the year's best film (which will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog), will be remembered as a classic for years to come.

     Now since I have written about some of these films ad nauseum, due to their status as Oscar competitors, I have run out of new words to say about them. For that reason, for the films that I have covered in depth with reviews and summaries of their award worthiness, I will use previously written summaries to express my love for the film. So while reading this, if you get the strong sense of deja vu, don't be alarmed, you have probably read this before. For some of this year's great films that were criminally ignored by the awards season, I will be writing new summaries to try to convince you to see them if you haven't already.

     This article isn't exclusively about looking back though, as after chronicling my favorite ten film's from last year, I will peer into the future and look at my five most anticipated films of 2011. If you read a lot of film websites or trade papers, chances are that you will have heard of these films, but if your not as savvy a film-goer then you have some interesting surprises awaiting you. At this point, 2011 looks to have some decent films from some big name auteurs, but that is usually the case every year. The question is how many of these films will really deliver on their promise. Hopefully, if enough of them can live up to the hype, and throw a few good under-the-radar surprises, and 2011 will shape up to be a fine year indeed. That's enough speculation for now though (I'll leave that up to the oil markets), it's time to countdown last year's ten best films.

Top 10 of 2010

10. "Toy Story 3"

      As a fan of Pixar's first film growing-up as a child, it was nice to see them conclude the series in a fulfilling way. While not the awesome juggernaut that some critics made it out to be, "Toy Story 3" is a fun final visit into a world that is Pixar's best. The idea of toys living in their own secret world when no one else is looking fascinated me as a kid, and while as an adult the concept has lost some of it's luster, it was nice to see the evolution of this world as a child loses his need for his toys. It was a good idea from Pixar, as it made the film relatable to the series' original audience. Despite cracking my Top Ten list, the film is not able to completely escape the common flaws of Pixar's films. It relies too heavily on running gags that are somewhat amusing at first, but begin to become tiresome by the film's conclusion. The film also shares the number one problem that I have with all of Pixar's work: an action-sequence heavy final act. I don't know if they always feel that they have no where else to go or what, but if I want action, I want to see real-life guns firing and explosions going off, not some animated toys avoiding an incinerator. The other thing that made the original "Toy Story" so great, but that both its sequels were never able to capture, is the relationship between Woody and Buzz. The relationship between the two characters, as Woody was trying to bring the delusional Buzz Lightyear to the reality that he was not a space ranger, but a toy, is what made the original so touching. In both "Toy Story 2" and "Toy Story 3", Buzz becomes an uninteresting tangential character who has no real impact on the film's events. These minor criticisms keep it back from being an absolute classic, but it is still a very effective and touching film. The film's final scene in particular, marking an end of era and a beginning of a new one not only for the film's Andy, but for a whole generation of people who grew up in the 1990's, captures the often tough transition from adolescence to adulthood. "Toy Story 3" is miles ahead of the sea of generic animated films that have invaded movie theaters over the last decade or so, and it is a very nice send-off of my all-time favorite animated film series.

9. "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"

     

     
     In only his third feature film, and his first without the great comic duo of Simon Pegg (also his writing partner in his two previous films) and Nick Frost, Edgar Wright proves why he is the best comedic director in the biz today, as well as one of the best action directors. Adapted from the comic book series written by Bryan Lee O'Malley, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" doesn't quite make it to the level of comedic excellence that Wright's previous two films, "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz", but it is still one damn fine comedy/action flick that put most of its competition in both genres to shame. The film tells the story of Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a 23 year-old bass player of a rock/punk band who has dreams of making it big. One day he comes across an independent care-free girl named Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and instantly falls in love. After some persuasion, and much to ire of Scott's obsessive 17-year-old girlfriend Knive Chau (Ellen Wong), Ramona agrees to date Scott. The only problem is, to become Ramona's boyfriend, Scott must defeat Ramona's "seven evil exes", each with their own diabolical super-villain powers. Edgar Wright's impeccable sense of comedic style and pacing, along with his love of pop culture, is as evident as always. For any fan of the early days of video gaming (NES and the beginnings of Nintendo as a console maker), there are references galore throughout the film that will keep you laughing and smiling to the end. The criminally underrated performance by Ellen Wong (who in a better world would have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress) is one of the great highlights of the film, and her character is really at the center of what makes this such a great film. The only problem of the film is it's second half, which due to the stories structure, becomes predictable, stale, and action-heavy. We know that Scott must battle the "seven bosses", and while this set-up works great for an interactive video game, it creates a waiting game in the film that kills some of the excitement of creative freedom. While the action sequences are a step above what most directors in the industry come up with nowadays, after awhile they too start to bore. Overall though, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is one of the funniest films you will see from 2010, so if you missed, check it out.

8. "The Kids Are All Right"

     This film might win my "best pleasant surprise of the year" award if I gave out awards. I was really not expecting to like the film, as its set-up (two kids of lesbian parents meet their sperm-donor father), seemed liked a contrived excuse for Hollywood to yet again let us know how pro-gay they are. As I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of films that use the medium of cinema simply to preach at us from a soapbox because I view it as an abuse of the characters to manipulate their humanity in order to make a reductive political point, but for the most part, the film surprisingly avoids this typical trap. These are full-dimensional actual living and breathing human beings, not simply puppets labeled lesbian mom #1, lesbian mom #2, and chauvinistic sperm-donor dad. In a year without a lot of stand-out comedies, "The Kids Are All Right" is the funniest film of the year in my book, and the scene where Mark Ruffalo's character first meets his biological children at his "local foods" restaurant is one of my favorite scenes from any movie this year. The interaction between Julianne Moore and Annette Bening with their children, as well as with each other, is also quite humorous and feels very natural and realistic. The film also has good taste in music (always a huge plus in my book), with maybe the year's best opening of a film to the frantic sounds of Vampire Weekend's "Cousins" (click here to listen), David Bowie's "Panic in Detroit", and the rolling credits to a song from one of the best bands around right now, MGMT's "The Youth". The only weak spot in the film is its third act where it veers off into the melodramatic. This is also the only part of the movie where the characters start to act somewhat inauthentic (especially Ruffalo's character), but even this misstep is not as extreme as it might have been. It's a fine-line to walk not to stereo-type characters when using them for comedic purposes, but "The Kids Are All Right" does an admirable job of creating authentic feeling human beings, but still generating well-earned laughs.

7. "Inception"

     My level of expectation for Christopher Nolan's "Inception" was through the roof. Coming off of his absolute masterpiece that was "The Dark Knight" (numbering 25 on my all-time list), with a film that promised to look at the thin line between reality and dream (one of my favorite subjects), and starring one of the best leading actors of movies today in Leonardo DiCaprio, from the beginning this film had no chance of avoiding being somewhat of a disappointment. It speaks though to the level of talent of auteur Christopher Nolan that even though the film is one of his lesser works, not matching the intensity of "The Dark Knight" and exploring the nature of reality in a much more shallow and superficial manner than he did in 2000's "Memento", "Inception" is still one of the year's best films. First and foremost, from a visual stand-point the film is an absolute feast for the eyes. It would easily get my vote for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction, and I would probably also vote for Wally Pfister in the Best Cinematography category. Between the beautiful scenes of a city crumbling by the sea, to smooth suaveness of the hotel and skyscraper environment, to the snowy mountain trek, from an aesthetic point of view, "Inception" is every bit the dream world you would want it to be. Unfortunately where the film is weak is its story and screenplay. There is way too much exposition, as parts of the film come off more as a lecture than a film, and this continues all the way through the movie. Nolan is too focused on the concept of the film, instead of the ideas behind the concept, which lead to an overall weaker film experience. Unlike most, I was also not a fan of the film's ending, which seemed like a lazy cliffhanger that added no real depth to the character's plight. Nolan is a born auteur though, because even with these problems that would almost certainly kill any other production, Nolan manages to squeeze out an entertaining sci-fi/action flick that always captures your attention even while it is not fulfilling its full promise.

6. "The American"

     Throughout the years, filmgoers have had their fair share of super-agent spy flicks. From the plethora of James Bond films, to the Bourne series, to things like "The Falcon and the Snowman", Hollywood's taste for covert operations knows no bounds. In all these years though, the world of espionage from Tinseltown has been an action-packed one, full of gun shots, car chases, and thrown punches. In reality though, the life a spy would be filled with many lonely, boring mundane moments. A spy can not afford to be everyone's friend and must keep some distance from those around them. This never before explored, but realistic, aspect of the life of an undercover agent is chronicled in Anton Corbijn's "The American". Starring George Clooney, the slow-burn of a film takes many of the stylistic tropes of the genre, and views them from a new light of isolation and estrangement. The beautiful Italian villa setting, the sexy women love-interest, and even the religious priest confidant all make it into the film, but instead of viewing the super-spy as some great uber-hero, we see him as the victim of his job. A man cheated from a life of real feelings and emotions, with no way out. For many, watching a man slowly die on the inside from isolation is not exactly their idea of a good time (especially when the ads made the film look like a heavy action/suspense thriller), and usually I would agree, but their was something strangely intriguing, almost hypnotic, about the man's ultimately pointless journey. Maybe it was the film's beautiful cinematography from Martin Ruhe, or the film's interesting opening that results in an unexpected death, or maybe I was just unusually aware at the time, but for whatever reason, I was perfectly fine with the film's slow pace. One of the reasons I suspected it worked for me, was that Corbijn never backs down from embracing the cumbersome pacing. The film always exudes confidence, which is something I can't help but appreciate. The film's ending is a bit on the melodramatic side, but for a movie that is purposefully accentuating its genre's stereo-types, I am willing to mostly forgive it of this trespass. It may not be everyone's forte, but "The American" was definitely one of the more memorable experiences I had at the cinema this year. 

5. "Black Swan"

          A companion piece of sorts to Darren Aronofsky's 2008 film "The Wrestler", "Black Swan" also studies the necessary physical and emotional sacrifices that must be made to achieve greatness in a medium of art, though this time in the world of ballet instead of wrestling (and yes, that type of wrestling is at least as much of an art form as it is a sport). "Black Swan" chronicles Nina Sayers' decent into madness in order to achieve artistic sincerity, basically her version of swallowing the red pill in "The Matrix". Alternating between moments of dramatic decisions and gothic horror, Aronofsky does a remarkable job of permeating the film with an ever increasing sense of tension. Aronofsky also seems to have a penchant for mirroring his characters emotions and the world they inhabit in a very literal and visual way. Whether it is use circular camera motions during dancing sequences, Nina talking to "herself" in the mirror to represent her split personality, or images coming in and out of light and dark during the night club sequence (as is her personality), Aronofsky has fun giving the audience these clear "tip of the hat" moments to emphasize the emotional tones of his protagonist. Most of the time it works to the film's advantage, but in the case of the film's finale, borrowing from the ballet's use of simplistic, over-dramatic, grandiose fairy tale themes produces an ending that it too "on the nose" for my taste, leading to an anti-climatic finish of an otherwise excellent supernatural thriller. Despite the fact that the film fails to stick the landing, watching it endlessly pirouette was one of the more interesting experiences I had at the movie theater this year. Combining Aronofsky's artistic stylings with some great performances from the cast, such as Natalie Portman's Oscar-winning performance of the schizophrenic Nina Sayers, Mila Kunis's playfully sadistic antagonist Lily, and Vincent Cassel's wonderful turn as the egocentric and abusive artistic director, and you know why I consider "Black Swan" to be one of the year's best films. 

4. "Shutter Island"

     "Shutter Island" may be the most divisive film of the year. To partake in the over use of a cliche, it's "a film you either hate or love". As you have induced (not deduced, no matter what Sherlock Holmes says) from my inclusion of the film in my Top Ten list, I am most certainly in the latter camp. Unfortunately, I feel the fourth film of the very fruitful Scorsese/DiCaprio collaboration is misunderstood by some, though it is understandable given the tightrope walking the film attempts. Much of the film feels like an over-the-top gothic horror flick, but at the same time it doesn't totally embrace this idea, keeping around just enough semblance of a more realistic narrative below the surface. It is an uneasy alliance, and the first time I saw the film, I have to admit to being skeptical of the direction the film was going. As the film goes on though, and after its conclusion that I will not reveal for people who still haven't checked out the movie, it all comes to focus and puts and tragically beautiful lens on the previous events. Some saw the film's final twist as a cheap turn, and with the initial shock the first time around, this reaction is understandable, but the second time around the film's careful and clever design, like pieces of a puzzle, really fit together and give you a larger appreciation for Scorsese's accomplishment. The film also adds an interesting final line that did not appear in the Dennis Lehane novel. It shines a whole new light on the story and poses an interesting open-ended question to the audience. "Shutter Island" stands at the edge of a great precipice the whole way through, simultaneously risking the danger of being too campy, and taking itself to seriously at the same time. While some may say it propelled itself over the cliff like lemmings being pushed by a Disney "True-Life Adventures" crew filming "White Wilderness", for me, it perfectly managed the balancing act. Yet another great film to add to Scorsese's filmography. 

3. "Another Year"

     Given my anti-realist sentiments, and an overall skepticism of "meaningful" independent films about "regular" people's relationships, I am quite surprised to find myself putting Mike Leigh's "Another Year" at the number 3 spot of my favorite film's of the year. With maybe the exception of the film atop this list though, there was not a more insightful film this year. "Another Year" focuses on one year (split into four acts: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) in the life of an elderly middle-age couple, Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen), an their family and friends. In particularly, the film focuses on one lonely friend and work associate of Gerri, Mary (Lesley Manville), who is portrayed with stunning realism by Lesley Manville in what is probably the year's top performance. There is this certain type of personality of a human being who constantly trips over their own overt desperation and fear of loneliness , which in turn only insures a life of solitude in a nasty catch-22, and the ease with which Lesley Manville inhabits this character is breathtaking. The direction and writing for the film under Mike Leigh is superb. He somehow intuitively captures the often awkward tango that is social interaction between people and friends (without patronizing them as he did in "Happy-Go-Lucky"). This is especially brilliant in the relationship between two friends (Mary and Gerri) who do not view each other as equals in a partnership, but dependent and supporter (emotionally). Secretly, each one knows the role they are playing, and they know the other persons know they know the role they are playing (ad infinitum, like some weird game theory model), but the pain and uncomfortableness it would bring to shine a light on the situation keeps each player securely locked into their role until one finally blinks. It's a sad tragic tale, but one that is 100% human. As well regarded as Mike Leigh's name is in certain circles, I have to admit that I not very familiar with his work (I have only seen "Happy-Go-Lucky" and "Another Year"), but if most of his other films are anything like "Another Year", then his is a reputation that was well earned.

2. "127 Hours"

     "127 Hours" would definitely win the Frank Capra award for "Most Heart-Warming Film of the Year". Telling the true harrowing story of Aaron Rolston, the young man in 2003 who had to amputate his own right arm with a pocket knife after it had become stuck in between a boulder and cliff wall after a hiking mishap in the red cliffs of Utah, there was not a film this year that made a bigger emotional impact on me than "127 Hours". Exploring the bewildering thoughts that might go through your mind if you became stuck in one spot, waiting for your inevitable death, at the heart of the film is a message of our shared interconnectedness (which back to the opening sentence of this paragraph, is a message Frank Capra would have appreciated). Rolston realizes that his attitude towards life and the people in his life all contributed to the predicament he currently faces, or as he puts it, "This rock has been waiting for me my entire life". It may sound a little corny, and going into it I was skeptical of an "inspirational" film with this sort of message, but the key is in the execution and Boyle is able to deliver the message in a sincere fashion that never comes off as sappy (which is more than I can say for his last Oscar winning effort, "Slumdog Millionaire"). The thing that really makes the movie stand out as one of the best of the year though is that way in which the tale is told. Instead of going the uber-realist route by focusing on the nitty-gritty details of what it's like to be stuck in a single spot, Danny Boyle, along with his screen writing cohort Simon Beaufoy, opted to go for a truly cinematic presentation, focusing on recreating the emotional impact of the events instead of the minutiae of the events. The way Boyle is able to control the pacing (which is aided by excellent use of licensed and original music), somehow bringing moments of joy, laughter, sadness, as well panic to a film whose protagonist is stuck in a single spot for the majority of the film, is probably its greatest accomplishment. It's too bad that so many were apparently put off of the film because of its subject matter (amputating an arm), but the film is really not too gory (especially compared to modern horror films or say Taratino's "Kill Bill" series), so if you haven't seen it, I implore you to muster up some courage and rent it ASAP. 

1. "The Social Network"

     Thus far, this blog has been as much as a "The Social Network" blog as anything else. My review for the film (which you can read by clicking here), was my very first post, I wrote a special article debating the nature of the Mark Zuckerberg of the film (click here to read), and I also included the film in my "Top 100 Films" (#86, click here to see), so by now this should come as no surprise that the film ranks at the top of my list for best film from 2010. "The Social Network" is everything a film should be. It has a interesting story, a strong sense of time and place, an incredible ensemble, a snappy fast-paced script with amazing dialogue, confident direction that perfectly captures the tone of the events, and what is always very important for me, a wonderful score that magnifies the emotions of every moment. Everyone was at the top of their game when making this film and should be extremely proud of their work. You can call it over-hyped hyperbole all you want (and many have), but this is a movie of the here and now. The word "zeitgeist" has hardly ever been more appropriate than in the description of "The Social Network". Some see the movie as a classic tale of power and betrayal, and to some extent this is definitely apart of the film, but it goes much beyond this. Anybody who thinks that this is a story that could take place at any time or place in history is flat-out wrong. The film's Mark Zuckerberg is absolutely a product of his times, which is why I love the movie so much. This sort of character, with this personality and motivation to show that he is better than everyone else around is an all too common theme among many youth. They want to stick it to everyone who ever "wronged" them on their way to the top, because as Sean Parker put it, "This is our time!". With a great script from Aaron Sorkin and the watchful eye of David Fincher behind the helm (currently one of our greatest auteurs), they really hit it out of the ball park in a film that will be treated very kindly by history. 

Top 5 Anticipated of 2011

5. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

     Speaking of David Fincher (serving as the perfect transition from my Top 10 0f 2010 to my Top 5 Anticipated of 2011), you may have heard that he is adapting the first of a trilogy of books written by the Swedish author Stieg Larsson. The whole trilogy has already be turned into a relatively successful Swedish film series (of which I have yet to see any of, I'm sorry to say), but like every successful foreign film these days, it needs an American remake. Most of the time the original foreign versions outpace their American counterparts, but this isn't always the case (I enjoyed "The Departed" much more than "Infernal Affairs"), and with David Fincher conducting hopefully we will get something good. The American version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is written by Steve Zaillian whose previous works include the likes of "Searching for Bobby Fisher", "Schindler's List", "Gangs of New York", and "American Gangster". The film will star Rooney Mara in the title role (who just did a terrific job as Erica, Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend in Fincher's "The Social Network"), as well as featuring Daniel Craig and Christopher Plummer in key roles. It's a promising cast, with an interesting premise, and a good director at the helm. The only thing that worries me somewhat is Fincher's alternating "good movie-mediocre movie" pattern ("Fight Club"=good, "Panic Room"=mediocre; "Zodiac"=good, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"=mediocre, "The Social Network"=good, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"=?). Given how good "The Social Network" was, this is bad news for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", but for now I am going to put all superstition aside and hope for the best when the movie comes out on December 21.

4. "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn"

     After a three year hiatus following the dismal and unnecessary Indiana Jones sequel, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", the great Steven Spielberg is back in 2011 with two movies currently scheduled to come out on the same day (December 28). Both of the films, "War Horse" and the animated film "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn", sound like they have a lot of promise, but in the end "War Horse", about a boy who gets attached to a horse and follows him to the trenches of WWI, just missed my cut to make the list. The reason that I chose "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" over "War Horse" is because of the people involved in the former, in particular a certain trio of Edgar Wright-Simon Pegg-Nick Frost. The trio's two previous collaborations, "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" , are two of the greatest comedies of the last decade or two and if you have been reading this whole article, then you know that Edgar Wright's last film, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", made #9 on my Top 10 list for 2010. Now it is true that Edgar Wright won't be behind the camera, as he just helped write the film's script, but Spielberg is no slouch of a substitute. Other than Pegg and Frost, the film also stars Daniel Craig (the second film for him on this list), Jamie Bell in the title role, and Andy Serkis (aka Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" series). I don't really have a concrete hold on what the film is exactly about (something about finding a treasure in a sunken ship), but it is based on a Belgian comic book series that was turned into animated Belgian television series. Right now, the only thing that matters though is the dream team of Spielberg-Wright-Pegg-Frost, and on that alone I am including it in my Top 5 Anticipated of 2011 list.

3. "Super 8"

     J.J. Abrams, who came to fame through the creation of television shows such as "Alias" and "Lost", has proven to be a capable director in his very short auteur career. His first film, "Mission Impossible 3", was much better than it had any business being, and his version of "Star Trek" was one of my favorite film's of 2009 and was ripped off of a Best Picture nomination (it was much better than "District 9"). For this reason, along with it's awesome trailer that you might have seen during the Super Bowl (and if you missed it, click here to see it), is why I am including the Abrams written and directed "Super 8" on this list. The film is also being produced by Steven Spielberg, which is funny given the fact that from the trailer the film looks to be a cross between "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and "Jaws". The cast doesn't sport too many big names (Elle Fanning, Dakota's sister may be the biggest name), but neither did "Star Trek", and that did not hurt it in the least. The exact details of the plot have been kept secret, but we do know that it is roughly about some escaped alien creature that was being transported away from Area 51. Frankly, the less I know going in the better for me, as I would liked to be as surprised as possible. In a year where there will reportedly be more sequels, spin-offs and remakes than in any previous year, an original idea such as "Super 8" is like an oasis in the desert. Abrams may not have the longest filmography to go on, but I'm going to say "to hell" with statistical sample sizes and go with my gut on this one. I think Abrams will be one of the premier action directors in business in the coming years, and here's to hoping "Super 8" will be his coming out party this June 10.

2. "Hugo Cabret"

          With "The Aviator", "The Departed", and "Shutter Island" (not to mention the entertaining Rolling Stones' concert film "Shine a Light"), the great auteur Martin Scorsese has been on a tear lately, so there is no reason not to be incredibly psyched for his next film, "Hugo Cabret". The script was written by Josh Logan (who has previously worked with Scorsese with his screenplay for "The Aviator") and it is based on a book by Brian Selznick entitled "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". The book tells the story of a 12-year-old orphan boy who lives in the walls of a Parisian train station in 1930 (the setting alone is enough to get me interested). The boy soon begins to unravel a mystery involving his late father and a robot. The book is geared towards children and the film is being talked about as a "family friendly" movie, which will be a first for Scorsese. The film also has a great cast with the likes of Jude Law, Chloe Mortez (the young girl from "Kick-Ass" and "Let Me In"), Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Sascha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, and Michael Stuhlbarg (otherwise known as the star of the Coen Brother's "A Serious Man"). The only downside of the film is that it is in 3-D, and while Scorsese has gone on and on about how great the technology is and all the new opportunities it has provided him as a director, I still more than skeptical about the craze. Despite that though, I am eager to see Scorsese's take on magic and whimsy, as the story sounds like something more typically suited to Spielberg's sensibilities than the man who made "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", and "Goodfellas", but in Scorsese we trust. Which is why I plan to be one of the first people to check out "Hugo Cabret" on November 23.

1. "Moneyball" 

     Can a movie about a thrifty MLB (that's Major League Baseball for the sports-impaired) managerial system that emphasizes a heavy use of computer generated analysis really work? I don't know, but I'm as anxious as hell to see it tried. "Moneyball" may not have as big of names behind the camera as some of the previous films listed, but the idea of making a film about something as specific and mundane as Billy Beane's managerial style for the Oakland A's, one that would repeatedly get them into the playoffs despite their relatively small budget (although I don't believe they ever made it into the World Series), is endlessly intriguing to me. The people attached to the film are hardly minor league rookies either though, especially it's impressive cast. The film's main draw is Brad Pitt who stars as Billy Beane, but it also includes a wonderful ensemble of Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, and Chris Pratt, who is the best part of the Thursday night NBC show "Parks and Recreation". The film has an army of writers (which could be a bad sign), including Steven Zailian who wrote the number 5 film on this countdown ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" in case you have already forgotten), and the name that most excites (and the one who wrote the last draft I believe), Aaron Sorkin, coming off his Oscar winning screenplay for "The Social Network". The film is being directed by Bennett Miller (obviously not as impressive a name as Spielberg, Scorsese, or Fincher), whose only previous feature film was the intriguing Truman Capote bio-pic "Capote" (which was nominated for best picture and won an Oscar for Philip Seymour Hoffman). The movie probably has a wider possible range of where it will land on the value scale, but a movie about something this atypical, this inconspicuous definitely has my interest peaked. This is why I put "Moneyball" (scheduled for a September 23 release) at the top spot for film's I am looking forward to in 2011.

     Let me know what you think of my Top 10 of 2010, as well as which upcoming films you are looking forward to the most. Also, don't forget to vote for which of the five films I listed coming out in 2011 that you are most looking forward to.