The Year in Review (Updated): Images from My Favorite Movies of 2010 and Three Years of Blogging

[Updated on 2/4/11: I've updated the post to include the title's to my favorite movies of 2010. Enjoy.]

As the blogosphere closes the door on showcasing films from 2010 (I won't be, though, since I still have a handful of releases I want to see), I'm left thinking about how hard it is becoming for me to see movies the year they are released. I also often wonder if I'm just wasting my time limiting myself to the year's releases when I do these year-in-review type posts when I should be showcasing all of the great films I see during the year (I like the way Ed Howard does his year-end lists). Looking at the list of films I missed, it's a wonder why I'm even trying to attempt to construct a "best of" list because I feel like I've missed way too much to even begin to make myself believe that I've seen enough for my opinion on the year to matter. However, these lists – as arbitrary as they are – are still fun to do for list-happy people like myself, and this year I figured I would switch up the format and just show images of my favorite films….this isn't a definitive list by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a good idea of the types of movies released in 2010 that I fell in love with. I decided on 14 films this year because I felt like I had 14 great movie experiences, and I didn't want to exclude any of them just because convention says we do a list of 10 or 20 or 25…

Now, I figured to kind make interesting the unveiling of the list I would compile screengrabs that wouldn't be too obvious for you to guess which movie they come from. The purpose? Let's have a little contest: Whoever gets all 16 images (the image that sits atop this post plus an extra one at the very end in addition to the 14 films I've chosen as my favorites of the year) I've placed in this post correct first will get a prize. We'll discuss the prize via email. No foolin'…a prize! It's my way of saying thanks for continuing to check this blog out after 3 years of inconsistency (both in quality and quantity of posts). I feel like this has been the best year yet, and, with my completion of Graduate School a mere two months away, I look forward to spending more time on the blog. I've loaded up the Netflix queue with tons of foreign films. It will be the year of Fellini, Pasolini, Antonioni, Bergman, and any other giant of foreign cinema I can think of on the blog…I'll also be mixing the sacred with the profane with more reviews of exploitation and Italian horror cinema. And this year – with no Grad School to worry about – I will host another Italian Horror Blogathon. So, it's going to be a fun year...I think. I look forward to more enriching conversation with you all. Thanks for reading!

Images after the jump…




Some helpful hints: Don't think by clicking on the "2010 Reviews" tab above you'll be able to guess which films appear on the list because I've had a change of heart after second and third viewings of certain films. I also stopped writing reviews for everything I have seen over the last three months, so there are a number of films that appear below that aren't accounted for in the archives. If the film is still in theaters, I most likely got the screengrab from the trailer (there are a couple of exceptions). And finally, I think the first five should be pretty easy if you know me. Have fun.

The films do not appear in any kind order. Although, 1 -5 are definitely films I would consider "the best" of 2010…but that doesn't mean I like 6 -14 any less.

To make it a little easier on you, here's what I didn't see this year: The Fighter, 127 Hours, Sweetgrass, Casino Jack, Inside Job, Animal Kingdom, The Illusionist, Fish Tank, Toy Story 3, Last Train Home, White Material, The Human Centipede (The First Sequence), Another Year, Harry Potter 7, Carlos, The King's Speech.


Simply leave a comment with what you think each number is. Some will be easier than others. Enjoy.

1.  The Social Network (Fincher)

2. Shutter Island (Scorsese)

3.  The Ghost Writer (Polanski)

4. Black Swan (Aronofsky)

5. Dogtooth (Lanthimos)

6. Let Me In (Reeves)

7. The American (Corbijn)

8. I am Love (Guadagnino)

9. Somewhere (Coppola)

10. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (Stern, Stunberg)

11. Mother (Joon-ho)

12. Splice (Natali)

13. The Square (Edgerton)

14. Salt (Noyce)

+1 (15): Boardwalk Empire: Pilot Episode (Scorsese)

Labels: Film Lists, Lists Are Fun, Top 10 Films of 2010