Top 10 Films of 2010

And so I finally get around to my end-of-year wrap-up. All in all I'd say that 2010 has been a fairly average year for films - there have been a few superb efforts but the majority have been fairly uninspiring, which is a shame. On the other hand, this year's crop of Oscar films appear to be unusually strong, so with any luck the next couple of months should be a more enjoyable time at the cinema for me.

As with last year, it's probably worth pointing out that my definition of "best" is vague to say the least. Generally I tend more towards "entertainment" rather than "artistic merit" but there are always exceptions (see this year's No. 6). Additionally, I have once again based this on UK release dates, hence the presence of Up in the Air (which incidentally would have placed in my top 10 for "official" 2009 releases as well).

And so to the list:

1. Inception
2. The Social Network
3. Kick-Ass
4. Scott Pilgrim vs the World
5. Up in the Air
6. The Road
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
8. How to Train Your Dragon
9. Love and Other Drugs
10. The American

Honourable Mention: Tron: Legacy, which despite its silliness was a hugely fun cinema experience (especially on IMAX).

No surprises what my No. 1 turned out to be. It was also evidently a good year for graphic novel adaptations. I did unfortunately miss quite a few important films and certainly didn't see enough foreign or arthouse cinema - I hope to change that this year.

And while I'm at it, my 5 Worst Films of 2010:

1. Prince of Persia
2. Skyline
3. Alice in Wonderland
4. Splice
5. The Expendables

To be fair, I tend not to go to films that I expect to be bad so calling these the worst films of the year is probably a bit harsh. Only Prince of Persia is genuinely terrible, the others were either just a bit rubbish, boring or disappointing.

Now let's see how 2011 turns out...