This is a revised, expanded version of a commentary that was originally published as a two-part series at Image<\/em>\u2018s blog Good Letters. You can read the original series here<\/a> and here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n \u2022<\/p>\n 2010 was a year full of unforgettable movies.<\/p>\n And I still have many on my must-see list. For example, Carlos<\/em> (by Olivier Assayas, who directed my favorite 2009 film), The Kids Are All Right, Animal Kingdom, Get Low, 127 Hours, Another Year, Mother, White Material, Somewhere,<\/em> and Vincere<\/em>, to name a few.<\/p>\n In the meantime, here are my most memorable moviegoing experiences of 2010.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/p>\n First I\u2019ll list six impressive movies that I wanted to love, but couldn\u2019t. Feel free to try and change my mind.<\/p>\n Then, some \u201crunners-up\u201d\u2014films I thoroughly enjoyed and happily recommend.<\/p>\n And finally, I\u2019ll applaud my ten favorites that I\u2019d love to explore, share, and enjoy again and again.<\/p>\n A few of these played in 2008 or 2009 elsewhere in the world, but became available in my neighborhood in theaters or on DVD only this year.<\/p>\n Six Disappointments (alphabetical)<\/strong><\/p>\n Black Swan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n What a trip! Darren Aronofsky\u2019s much-lauded mix of classical ballet, psychological turmoil, and grisly horror features wild, emotional performances by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.<\/p>\n But I grew increasingly frustrated with the movie, and eventually started checking my watch. Why?<\/p>\n The relentless, overbearing energy. Heavy-handed storytelling. Flamboyant cinematography. Continuous horror-movie jolts. Abrasive behavior from self-absorbed characters. Simplistic, soap-opera dialogue. Gratuitous girl-on-girl action. A bounty of horror-movie clich\u00e9s.<\/p>\n Aronofsky is always intense, but here he feels like a show-off, following his film\u2019s climactic image with title cards that shout \u201cDIRECTED BY DARREN ARONOFSKY\u201d and \u201cA FILM BY DARREN ARONOFSKY.\u201d I\u2019ve retitled it<\/p>\n Blecch Swan.<\/em><\/p>\n Read my full review here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Blue Valentine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This is a persuasive, lifelike depiction of a couple\u2019s relationship from first infatuation through marriage to disintegration.<\/p>\n The implosion is brought to vivid life in exceptional, whole-hearted performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. In scene after scene, Derek Cianfrance\u2019s film feels true-to-life, even in its rather graphic scenes of a failing sexual relationship.<\/p>\n But ultimately, I wanted to ask, \u201cSo what?\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an actors\u2019 showcase that runs high on emotion without giving us much to discuss after the credits roll.<\/p>\n I Am Love<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n My compliments to director Luca Guadagnino for the sumptuous cinematography, the gorgeous cast, the elaborate style, and the breathtaking architecture of this ambitious, operatic Italian drama.<\/p>\n But despite the film\u2019s visual extravagance, I\u2019m frustrated by its narrative. As the patriarch of the Recchi family\u2014an Italian textile-mill dynasty\u2014hands control of the family business over to the next generation, we can see the world changing. As globalism and individualism spread, so do cracks in the foundation of this aristocracy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise when some begin to rebel against its unspoken laws, following secret passions and risking the family\u2019s wrath. The new patriarch\u2019s daughter is openly gay. And the new matriarch\u2014Emma (Tilda Swinton), a Russian who seems dissatisfied among Milan\u2019s wealthy elite\u2014has fallen into an all-consuming extramarital affair with a cook.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s easy to pity Emma for her imprisonment in this hard-hearted family, I reject the film\u2019s suggestion that true freedom comes by a surrender to sensual impulses.<\/p>\n Inception<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n See my previous two-part Good Letters post. <\/a><\/p>\n A Prophet<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Jacques Audiard\u2019s film is an immersive epic about a prisoner who descends into hell, dragged unwillingly into the sordid dealings of a criminal network behind bars. He\u2019ll either become a devil to survive, or die for resisting.<\/p>\n As the emperor of this underworld, Niels Arestrup gives one of the year\u2019s most incredible performances.<\/p>\n But this story is so soul-crushingly bleak and nihilistic that I felt suffocated. Audiard paints a world without any glimpse of God, grace, or hope.<\/p>\n I really wish I hadn\u2019t invited my pastor to join me for this one; I felt compelled to apologize afterward.<\/p>\n The White Ribbon<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Michael Haneke\u2019s study of how German society became susceptible to Hitler\u2019s violent agenda is one of the year\u2019s most harrowing films, but also one of the most beautiful. He captures the slow devolution of a community as mysterious acts of violence kindle fear and suspicion in the residents\u2019 hearts.<\/p>\n How should a family, a neighborhood, or a nation respond to grievous violence? These are important questions, and timely.<\/p>\n Perhaps I\u2019ll come to a greater appreciation of how this film grapples with them. But on a first viewing, I was exhausted by this onslaught of stories about heartlessness.<\/p>\n Runners-Up (listed alphabetically)<\/strong><\/p>\n How to Train Your Dragon<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This animated epic from Dreamworks surprised me with impressive characterizations, an unexpectedly thoughtful plot, and 3D flight sequences that were more exciting than Avatar\u2019s much-hyped aerial adventure. We watch a young Viking named Hiccup learn to consider his enemies with thoughtfulness instead of knee-jerk violence. And Hiccup\u2019s father Stoick, a gargantuan Viking warrior, makes a slow journey to appreciating his not-so-warlike son. I\u2019d recommend this film just for the sight of Stoick\u2019s magnificent red thicket of a beard.<\/p>\n Never Let Me Go<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Mark Romanek adapts Yasujiro Ishiguro\u2019s beautiful science fiction novel, drawing delicate performances from Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield, and gives Kiera Knightley her most complicated character. Read more about this film in my Good Letters post about \u201cThe Actor in Question.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Ondine<\/p>\n What a delight: Without a flicker of self-importance, Ondine<\/em> brings back to the screen something that has been missing lately: good old-fashioned storytelling. It\u2019s a modest romance, a charming fairy tale, a showcase for the talents of its wonderful cast, and a film that is beautiful to look at without ever being show-offy. Colin Farrell gives one of his finest performances as Syracuse, a fisherman who catches a beautiful woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. Is she a selkie \u2013 a mythological creature who is part seal, part seductress? Or was she really drowning when he caught her? Syracuse\u2019s daughter Annie (Alison Barry) is certain that she\u2019s a magical creature. And as they are both enchanted by her beauty and tenderness, a dark shadow from her past looms, threatening to drag her back to where she came from.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve seen The Secret of Roan Innish<\/em>, then you have some sense of just how special Ondine<\/em> really is.<\/p>\n Rabbit Hole<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As this husband (Aaron Eckhart) and wife (Nicole Kidman) struggle to go on after an accident claims their young boy\u2019s life, we get just the sort of shouting matches and crying jags that critics call \u201cOscar bait.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, it\u2019s a refreshingly honest film that makes no false promises. This is a story about learning to live with loss, not how to recover from it.<\/p>\n Kidman\u2019s turn as Becca is her finest in many years, but it\u2019s the supporting characters who stay with me. Dianne Wiest is wonderful as Nat, Becca\u2019s mother, whose Christian faith helps her live with her own heavy losses. And newcomer Miles Teller almost steals the show as the broken-hearted young man responsible for Becca\u2019s loss. His delicate conversations with Kidman suggest that healing is possible through confession, forgiveness, and grace.<\/p>\n Becca may reject Christian faith in the film, but she\u2019s stepping onto \u201cthe Way\u201d that Christ represents.<\/p>\n Scott Pilgrim vs. The World<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Shaun of the Dead<\/em> director Edgar Wright packs this adaptation of the popular Scott Pilgrim comics with playful inspiration and big laughs. Forget Tron: Legacy<\/em>\u2014this was 2010\u2019s best big-screen video game.<\/p>\n Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is an uninspiring romantic lead, and he\u2019s surrounded by young women who are more interesting than his goth-girl crush Ramona Flowers. So it\u2019s hard to care much about his duels with Ramona\u2019s seven evil exes\u2026 unless you ever did foolish things in the fever of a crush.<\/p>\n Alas, I\u2019ve been that idiot. And I have a warm spot in my heart for Mr. Pilgrim.<\/p>\n The Secret in Their Eyes<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Read my review of last year\u2019s Oscar-winning foreign language film here.<\/a><\/p>\n Shutter Island<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/em>2010 introduced two films in which Leonardo DiCaprio was caught between reality and delusion. I prefer Shutter Island<\/em> over Inception<\/em>.<\/p>\n Martin Scorsese cooks up a spooky stew full of spicy allusions to other psychological thrillers like The Shining<\/em> and Vertigo<\/em>. And it cleverly includes actors who have played other psychos, like Ted Levine, Jackie Earle Haley, and John Carrol Lynch.<\/p>\n Its breathtaking design suggests Dante\u2019s Inferno<\/em> imagined by M.C. Escher. Watch carefully\u2014if you blink, you might miss important details. While Inception<\/em>\u2019s Christopher Nolan shouts, \u201cLook! I\u2019m bending a city in half!\u201d, Scorsese makes watchful moviegoers gasp with something as simple as a vanishing water glass.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Shutter Island<\/em> asks why our cultural imagination is so obsessed with stories about investigators and criminals. Do we turn to thrillers so we can face our fears? Or are we fooling ourselves, trying to numb the pain of our losses, or absolve ourselves from any responsibility?<\/p>\n Waste Land<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/em>Read my review of this inspiring documentary in a previous Good Letters post\u2014\u201cTrash Transformed.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n And now, here are my ten favorites in order of preference:<\/p>\n