My top 10 films of 2010:
1. "The Social Network" - The movie of the year because it captures where we are in time in captivating fashion. In depicting the origin of Facebook, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin have created an epic tale about how we tell the world the tiniest details of our lives, and they convey potentially dry, unwieldy topics - computer coding and competing lawsuits - in an intimate way. This represents the best of what they do: Fincher's mastery of fluid, visual storytelling, Sorkin's knack for crisp, biting dialogue. It's sharp, funny and tense.
2. "Inception" - All the hype is justified. Writer-director Christopher Nolan's film is a stunningly gorgeous, technically flawless symphony of images and ideas. In its sheer enormity, it's every inch a blockbuster, but in the good sense of the word: with awesomeness, ambition and scope, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio at the center of a classy, eclectic cast. But unlike so many summer movies assigned that tag, this is no mindless thrill ride.
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3. "Winter's Bone"- There's not a single false note in this intense, intimate story about a teenage girl struggling to keep her family's home. Debra Granik's backcountry drama oozes authenticity, both in its small details and its grand, haunting gestures. Jennifer Lawrence proves she's a flat-out star as a young woman who ventures deep into the Ozark Mountains to track down her drug-dealing father.
4. "I Am Love" - Words like "lush" and "gorgeous" don't even begin to scratch the surface in describing Italian director Luca Guadagnino's retro-styled melodrama. It's more like the most sumptuous design porn, lingering over every detail in the palatial home of a Milanese industrialist and his family, allowing plenty of time for us to ooh and ahh. And then there's the tour-de-force performance from Tilda Swinton as a wealthy wife who comes to question the life she's built.
5. "Black Swan" - At once gorgeous and gloriously nutso, a trippy fantasy that delights and disturbs. Darren Aronofsky takes the same fascination with the minutiae of preparation he brought to "The Wrestler" and applies it to the pursuit of a different kind of artistry: ballet. But then he mixes in a wildly hallucinatory flair as "Black Swan" enters darker psychological territory, featuring a brave performance from Natalie Portman as a dancer slipping into madness.
6. "127 Hours" - James Franco gives it his all and then some as trapped hiker Aron Ralston, and the role allows him to show off every bit of his range. Even though the movie is about a man who's essentially stagnant for five days straight, Danny Boyle makes the story vital and vibrant in his signature kinetic style. Despite the physical restrictions of this real-life tale, the way Boyle and co-writer Simon Beaufoy tell it are boundless.
7. "Never Let Me Go" - It's philosophically provocative and achingly sad, touching the mind and the heart with equal measure. Mark Romanek has made a film that's gorgeous and filled with sterling performances. But it's never stuffy, and, at times, even a little gritty in an appealing way. Some may find its tone suffocatingly heavy, but if you give into it, you'll find yourself sucked into this melancholy alternate world.
8. "Animal Kingdom" - A riveting look at a small-time Melbourne crime family unraveling under the weight of its overconfidence. Australian writer-director David Michod takes his time methodically detailing his characters' self-destruction; it's such an assured little thriller, you'd never know it was Michod's feature debut. Jacki Weaver is chilling as the family's matriarch.
9. "The King's Speech" - Tom Hooper's film is so flawlessly appointed and impeccably acted, you can't help but succumb. The friendship that develops between Colin Firth as the stammering King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unorthodox speech therapist gives the film its sweet, beating heart.
10. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" - Leave it to the elusive and subversive artist Banksy to shine such a bright and brilliant light on the very forces that made him famous.
