What Were The Best Movies of 2010?

This is the fourth year in a row I've tried to come up with a list of my ten favorite movies, and it seems like each year it takes me longer to figure it out.

Looking at the final list, the common thread seems to be that all these movies surprised me in some kind of way. From 10 on down, these films impressed or prodded me in ways I didn't expect. And I guess if a movie doesn't excite or stimulate, then what's the point...?

So without further rationalization, here are the best/most surprising movies of 2010!

Honorable Mentions: Get Low (d. Aaron Schneider) / TRON: Legacy (d. Joseph Kosinski) / Another Year (d. Mike Leigh) / Never Let Me Go (d. Mark Romanek) / Mother (d. Bong Joon-Ho)

10) The Other Guys (d. Adam McKay / w. Adam McKay, Chris Henchy)

The best of the recent rash of action-comedies, The Other Guys has a political bent to go with its hilarity. It goes on too long, but there are enough surprising moments to raise it above the usual studio comedy fare - including one of the best death sequences ever in a cop movie. trailer / buy

9) The Eclipse (d. Conor McPherson / w. Conor McPherson, Billy Roche)

I'm a sucker for movies that don't stick to any one genre or set of cinematic rules or expectations. The Eclipse does horror, romance, and family drama simultaneously and each crisscrossing thread only strengthens the previous stitch. And with all this going on, it still manages to be a bit frightening. clip / buy

8) The Wild Hunt (d. Alexandre Franchi / w. Mark Antony Krupa, Franchi)

Walk into a movie theater with nothing to hope for and sometimes you're rewarded with wit, action, terror and pathos. Nope, not often, but sometimes. This was very much the case with this LARP takeoff, which revels in pulling the rug up from under the audience more than once. trailer / buy

7) Kick-Ass (d. Matthew Vaughn / w. Jane Goldman, Vaughn)

A comic book movie that remixes and plays with comic conventions – something that's turning into a genre of all its own. 20 years from now, I'd love to see Kick-Ass sandwiched on a triple bill with Spider-Man and A History Of Violence.

trailer / buy

6) The Ghost Writer (d. Roman Polanski / w. Robert Harris, Polanski)

This was a staggering surprise for me since I'm not much of a fan of Polanski or the film's actors. But boy, did I love me some of this old-fashioned thrilla. A heavy atmosphere and dripping in tension; a proper "movie" that Hitchcock and the Cahiers-ists could be proud of. trailer / buy

5) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (d. Edgar Wright / w. Michael Bacall, Wright)

This comic strip flick is chocked-full of tricks and quirks, but somehow nothing seems like a gimmick. It's as about as refreshing a movie as a comic book nerd from Toronto could ask for. trailer / buy

4) The Fighter (d. David O. Russell / w. Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson)

A drama that is unafraid to be hilarious and over-the-top, but at the same time subdued and mechanically precise. Usually these "inspirational" bio flicks are a bore, but The Fighter is nearly everything except boring. alternate trailer / buy

3) The Social Network (d. David Fincher / w. Aaron Sorkin)

Oozing with style, Fincher and Sorkin prove that a film can be more than its subject. Sure, Zuckerberg's story is fascinating, but who would've thought Facebook's cacophony of conformity would lead to a movie this resonant. clip / buy

2) Inception (d./w. Christopher Nolan)

A mind-bending blockbuster-auteur film, of which we get so few of. Chris Nolan's universe completes itself in this unendingly cool and spectacular dream diorama. trailer / buy

1) Marwencol (d. Jeff Malmberg)

After watching this movie, I had the rare urge to jump up for a standing ovation. It's an intimate and unforgettable documentary that makes all the right decisions in telling a story that could've easily been trampled all over. trailer / buy

Thanks for reading, and if you think this list is bullshit, check out my past lists for more injustices and omissions: 2009 / 2008 / 2007

Best Albums of 2010

2010? Whuh? Yes, I'm a bit late on the whole end-of-year-list frenzy. But I require distance. I need to acquire some perspective. Okay, okay... I'm a procrastinator.

In any case, here's my favourite albums of last year - for posterity's sake.

20. Quest for Fire - Lights From Paradise







19. Harlem - Hippies







18. Curren$y - Pilot Talk







17. Roky Erickson - True Love Cast Out All Evil







16. Anagram - Majewski







15. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today







14. Beach House - Teen Dream







13. Yeasayer - Odd Blood







12. Menomena - Mines







11. Vampire Weekend - Contra







10. Micah P. Hinson - And the Pioneer Saboteurs







9. Steve Mason - Boys Outside







8. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy







7. The Goodnight Loving - The Goodnight Loving Supper Club







6. Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill







5. MGMT - Congratulations







4. The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs







3. The War on Drugs - Future Weather







2. The Radio Dept - Clinging to a Scheme







1. Foals - Total Life Forever







Honorable Mentions:
Doug Paisley - Constant Companion / Frog Eyes - Paul's Tomb: A Triumph / Das Racist - Sit Down, Man & Shut Up, Dude

Best Songs of 2010 (that missed my top 20 albums)

Much sweet tuneage was made this past year.

The following are hot tracks from albums that just missed my top 20 album list - which is upcoming.

Enjoy! Farewell MMX.

20. Carl Barât - "Run with the Boys" from Carl Barât


19. Tokyo Police Club - "End of a Spark" from Champ


18. Bedouin Soundclash feat. Coeur de Pirate - "Brutal Hearts" from Light the Horizon


17. The Futureheads - "Hearbeat Song" from The Chaos


16. Plants & Animals - "Jeans, Jeans, Jeans" from La La Land


15. Black Mountain - "Roller Coaster" from Wilderness Heart


14. The Walkmen - "Victory" from Lisbon


13. The Soft Pack - "Answer to Yourself" from The Soft Pack


12. Drake - "Over" from Thank Me Later


11. Suckers - "It Gets Your Body Movin'" from Wild Smile


10. Janelle Monae - "Cold War" from The ArchAndroid


9. Avey Tare - "Laughing Hieroglyphic" from Down There


8. Sade - "Soldier of Love" from Soldier of Love


7. Land of Talk - "Colour Me Badd" from Cloak & Cipher


6. Shad - "Yaa I Get It" from TSOL


5. Adam Green - "Buddy Bradley" from Minor Love


4. Caribou - "Odessa" from Swim


3. M.I.A. - "It Takes A Muscle" from Maya


2. Avi Buffalo - "One Last" from Avi Buffalo


1. Los Campesinos! - "The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future" from Romance is Boring

Best Canadian TV Shows of Ever

On Tuesday November 2nd, I attended one of the Industry Galas that made up the 25th Annual Gemini Awards. If you don't already know, the Geminis are the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy's, honouring achievement in television broadcasting from best visual effects to best documentary series.

And besides giving me a chance to creep around minor Canadian celebrities (are there any other kind!?), it got me thinking about what Canadian TV stands out for me. And I realized quickly, that the shows I think of as my favourites have a few things in common: (1) they're off the air (2) they're mostly comedic (3) they're mostly "for kids".

But without further rationalizing the subjectivity of this subjective list, here are the best Canadian television shows ever...

10) Reboot
This is more of a representative pick because there's just so many great cartoons to pick from. And of course, I couldn't bear giving a shout-out to The Raccoons or The Smoggies. Plus, being the first completely computer animated TV series has to got to count for something.




9) Kenny Vs Spenny
Brilliant both in its simplicity and stupidity, KVP is almost always entertaining. No genre? No problem.




8) The Newsroom
Consistently funny and smart (without being smug) the Newsroom is probably the most pleasantly surprising comedy CBC ever aired.




7) You Can't Do That On Television
This kids sketch comedy show not only gave little Alanis Morissette her first big break, but it was so irreverent and fun that it later bolstered the ratings of the then fledgling Nickelodeon network in the US.




6) The New Music
Canadian TV's answer to Rolling Stone Magazine, the show was ground breaking when it started in 1979 and managed to stay relevant until its cancellation in 2008.


5) The Kids in the Hall
Canadians have this comedy shit on lock. The Brits have punk rock, we have sketch shows.





4) Mr. Dressup
Next to the Simpsons and Seinfeld, I've probably watched more hours of Mr. Dressup than anything else. Please don't confuse it with the creepier, American Mr. Rogers.





3) Degrassi Jr. High
I think being a teenager was a lot easier for me since I got to see it all go down when I was still just a little kid. Teen melodrama never looked this ugly (that's a good thing).




2) Fraggle Rock
Who doesn't love the Fraggles? The music, the characters, the concept - they're all "rock" solid. Add in the fact that the left-field Canadian poet bpNichol wrote on several episodes, and you get an idea of the homespun brilliance that was FR.




1) SCTV
Second City Television was unendingly hilarious and innovative. Crap, what else can I say? Pound for pound, funnier than Saturday Night Live.





Honorable Mentions:
Today's Special, Dear Aunt Agnes, The Rick Mercer Report, My Secret Identity, Mantracker, Nanalan, Fashion Television, Kidstreet, The Wedge, Wok with Yan!, King of Kensington, Catwalk

And if I was looking to make a list of dramatic series, I'd probably include stuff like:
Intelligence, Slings & Arrows, Street Legal, Traders, DaVinci's Inquest

What I miss?

Akira Kurosawa: Best Director Ever?

Who you got - Fellini? Welles? Hitchcock? Cassavetes? Godard? Cameron? Shyamalan?

Either way, Happy 100th Birthday to Kurosawa... so let's dance!



Guardian Blog has got a good retrospective of 10 of his essential films: link.

Even Google gives props.

Best in Film: 2009

Sorry to make you wait, but the Poppies arrive later than most best-of lists because I like to wait until the Academy Awards winners are announced. It's a nice reminder of how little stock to put in the Oscars since they're so stiff and Biz-centric.

More to the point, I like to wait so I can catch up on things I missed that pop up on other year-end lists. Although the more you try to catch up with, the more it seems like you haven't seen. So of course, there's no such thing as a complete list, but here's my best guesstimation of what moved, shook, and took me in 2009.

To refresh your memory, last year The Dark Knight was the big winner (and in 2007 it was There Will Be Blood).

10 Best Films of 2009

10) Watchmen (d. Zack Snyder)
Alan Moore's iconic comic book is given life on the big screen. A slavish adaptation yes, but the claustrophobic style is suitably grotesque and Snyder's ending is much neater than Moore's. Maybe not so slavish afterall. The opening credit sequence's ridiculous revisionism is worth the price of admission alone.



9) Carcasses (d. Denis Côté)
This documentary/fantasy suspense film is best seen with zero expectations or knowledge of the plot. So all I'll say is that it was the best film I saw at the Toronto film festival in '09. See it if you can.





8) Goodbye Solo (d. Ramin Bahrani)
Charming and restrained as its two leads, this film is from the director of Man Push Cart and Chop Shop. It tells the story of a young Senegalese cab driver and his old, grumpy fare. And here, Bahrani makes another new American classic - touching and cliche-free.



7) Where the Wild Things Are (d. Spike Jonze)
The fact that this got made the way it did is worth kudos enough. Old school puppetry and animatronics give this film a timeless feel to match its source material. I was never a big fan of the book, but I am a big fan of the movie.



6) Inglourious Basterds (d.

Quentin Tarantino)
What a bounce back from the mediocrity of Death Proof! Nice work Quentin. Forget about that Kill Bill prequel and keep making these historical epic genre remixes.

5) The Hurt Locker (d. Kathryn Bigelow)
Bigelow finally gets props from the mainstream for being the epic filmmaker she's always been. Although not as pulpy as Near Dark or Point Break, this movie is crammed with excitement to go along with its detailed character sketches. Anthony Mackie is awesome in his supporting role.




4) Pontypool (d. Bruce McDonald)
I love you Pontypool. You had me from the opening credits until the very end. For my money, one of the best horror/zombie movies of the last ten years.





3) Anvil! The Story of Anvil (d. Sacha Gervasi)
Realizing half-way through the film that one of the main characters lives in my old neighbourhood, only added to the relateability factor for me. One of the most poignant films on aging and relentlessness that I've seen.





2) Avatar (d. James Cameron)
I have to admit this is a bit of contrarian move to put this so high on this list, because this movie certainly has many flaws (as many have already pointed out). But I can't deny the pure action-adventure excitement I got from it when I first saw it. Michelle Rodriguez as the new Ripley - I love it!




1) Sugar (d. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck)
As they showed with Half Nelson, Boden and Fleck have such a knack for creating stories we've all seen/heard before, but then re-framing them in subtle and profound ways. At the end of the movie, I walked out of the theater more satisfied and engaged than any other time in 2009.