The Top 10 Movies of 2010 - So Far...

Now that we’re just over six months into the year, I thought I would take a look at the best movies of the year up to this point. How many will survive all the way to the end of the year? Check back in about six months and find out! Please?

10. “Shutter Island”

Some complained that it was too predictable, and while I agree that pretty much everyone and their mother could figure out the twists long before they happened, it was refreshing to see a movie just go with what they built up to rather than throwing out something that doesn’t make sense just for the sake of a surprise. “Shutter Island” is just a sturdy thriller, really well directed (Martin Scorsese, of course), and acted (Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and all the rest).

9. “Splice”

This one was a little polarizing amongst the group I watched it with, but I thought it was an engaging sci-fi thriller. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley add weight to characters that could have become hammy in the hands of lesser actors. This one isn’t for everyone but I thought it was really cool.

8. “How to Train Your Dragon”

Aside from “Avatar” this is some of the most impressive 3D I’ve ever seen. The story is pretty standard but the voice actors do a great job of bringing the characters to life and the action sequences are really well done. It’s also beautifully animated, and a movie that deserves a sequel (and is getting one).

7. “The Karate Kid”

Anyone who expected this movie to either be this good or make this much money is probably a liar. Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith make a terrific duo and are able to generate unexpected emotion throughout the film. This remake is almost beat-for-beat the same movie as the 1984 original (though not quite as good obviously), and director Harald Zwart is still able to make it thoroughly engaging and entertaining. A sequel is on the way for this one too, and once again I say bring it on.

6. “City Island”

If there was any justice in the world, Andy Garcia would get an Oscar push for his brilliant performance here as prison guard and wannabe actor Vince Rizzo. This is one of those “wacky family” movies that seemingly has been done to death, but Garcia, as well as Dominik Garcia-Lorido (his real daughter), Alan Arkin, Juliana Margulies, Ezra Miller, and Emily Mortimer make the characters likable and believable.

5. “The Secret in Their Eyes”

This movie came in from out of nowhere to win Best Foreign Film at last year’s Oscars, over the more well known “The White Ribbon” or “A Prophet.” While I preferred both of those movies, “Secret” is a profoundly absorbing story with extremely well drawn characters that are perfectly acted. This is quite the gem from Argentina.

4. “The Ghost Writer”

In separating Roman Polanski the man from Roman Polanski the director, the fact is that “The Ghost Writer” is the work of a master. Ewan McGregor is terrific as the title character, but Pierce Brosnan gives a career best performance as a former British Prime Minister seemingly not so loosely based on Tony Blair. Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, James Belushi, Timothy Hutton, and Tom Wilkinson also do great work.

3. “The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo”

If anyone tries to tell you that nothing good ever came from Sweden, you can offer this film as a retort. Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist) play an unconventional duo trying to solve a decades old mystery. Director Niels Aarden Oplev keeps the 152 minute movie moving at a terrific pace, and his use of still photography is the most intriguing since “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” There are two more films in this series yet to come, and an American remake (directed by David Fincher) is on the way in 2012.

2. “Toy Story 3”

Pixar rarely steers us wrong, and this is yet another stunning achievement in their unparalleled run of greatness. Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang prove that they’re more than just toys; they’re amongst the most memorable characters in cinema history. Combined with “Toy Story” (1995) and “Toy Story 2” (1999), this is one of the greatest trilogies of all-time.

1. “A Prophet”

This film left my heart racing and my jaw hanging open for hours afterward. It’s one of the most viscerally entertaining and mind-blowingly perfect movies I’ve ever seen. It follows the prison life of a young inmate named Malik El Djebena, played with amazing depth and breadth by newcomer Tahar Rahim. This is a film that takes its time at 150 minutes but uses every single second to maximum effect. This is an unbelievably great film and I encourage everyone to see it.

I also really liked –

- “The Art of the Steal”
- “Exit Through The Gift Shop”
- “Get Him To The Greek”
- “The Joneses”
- “The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers”
- “The Runaways”
- “The Secret of Kells”

And by far the worst movie I’ve seen this year is “Clash of the Titans.” Granted I haven’t seen many bad movies this year (by design) so I’m sure there are worse, but that’s just the worst one I’ve happened to see.

A PROPHET (UN PROPHÈTE) / ****

Distributor: Sony Classics
Release Date: February 26, 2010
Genre: Foreign
Running Time: 150 minutes
MPAA Rating: R

Is it too early in the year to say I’ve seen its best film?

I know that Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet (Un prophète) may seem like last year’s news, since it was already nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. But it didn’t receive a release stateside until February, making it an official 2010 release. It may indeed be too early to call it the best film of the year, but I’d be shocked if it didn’t make my final top five.

The title character is Malik El Djebena, played with astonishing truth by newcomer Tahar Rahim. The fact that this is essentially his first role is nothing short of remarkable. He owns every scene of the movie. Malik is the eyes and ears through which we view the events that unfold.

“A Prophet” takes place over a six-year period, and it all revolves around Malik’s prison sentence. The reason Malik is in prison is never exactly revealed, but it doesn’t matter. The movie isn’t about why he’s in prison but about what happens to him while he’s there.

Malik enters prison as a shy 19-year-old kid protesting his innocence. He keeps to himself, and it’s his loner status that makes him useful. In the prison, a group of about 20 Corsican inmates pretty much control the operations – most of the guards are on the take. The leader of the group is César Luciani, played by Niels Arestrup as a more sadistic Don Corleone. Arestrup never strikes a false note and never lets the César character descend into caricature.

The plot kicks into high gear when César needs one of the inmates killed, and since he can’t risk losing of his men, he gives Malik an ultimatum – kill Reyeb (Hichem Yacoubi), or be killed. A lesser film would have jumped straight to the murder scene, but this one takes the time to show the build up and the preparation. The actual scene itself is shocking but not in the least bit gratuitous.

Audiard also doesn’t let Malik explain himself in a revelatory monologue or a cheesy voice over. His expressions and his mannerisms do the talking, but the real beauty of the film is that the audience doesn’t always, if ever, know what he is actually saying. We watch as Malik grows up a product of his society. The murder puts him in the relative good graces of César. He has earned the protection of the top gang in the prison and starts doing odd jobs for them. Definitely not accepted as one of them, he is constantly referred to as “the Arab.”

For being a good prisoner, Malik is granted sporadic leave, which César uses to his advantage and makes no bones about it. “Your leave belongs to me,” he callously remarks. Malik puts up with the abuse, but always seems to have something simmering beneath the surface. While initially illiterate, Malik teaches himself to read and write, and absorbs everything around him, even learning to speak Corsican just by being around it for a length of time.

In a film splattered with shocking violence, it’s difficult not to notice how beautifully the violence is shot. A scene confined to an SUV is one of the most impressive I’ve seen. But look at some of the small moments as well: when César asks Malik for a favor, César leans in close, and the camera focuses just on Malik’s face while César whispers in his ear; observe as Malik gets patted down at an airport and instinctively opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue; note how a single punch to the gut packs more power than any other single act in the film.

The film follows Malik’s six-year journey, but I wouldn’t dare reveal all the twists and turns here. Even at 150 minutes, “A Prophet” never wastes a second, and nothing feels out of place. This is an astonishingly brilliant film that never relents. “A Prophet (Un prophète)” is one of the best films I’ve ever seen.

Theater: Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater
Time: 715 pm
Date: April 9, 2010