Let's face it, nobody ever agrees with the Oscars completely, and we here at The Daily Cardinal are no exeption. So we crafted our own list of the top 10 films of 2010––our best picture nominees, if you will. We call them the Dirty Bird Awards, and you'll probably disagree with them just as much as you disagree with the Academy. But what makes us better is that you can walk into our office and yell at us in person, which is so much cooler. And the nominees are:
1. ""The Social Network""
Coming in at number one on our list of should-be-Oscar-winners is David Fincher's ""The Social Network."" Starring best actor nominee Jesse Eisenberg flanked by Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, this story of the exceedingly socially awkward genius and his cohorts who started the largest social networking site in the world is an entertaining and thought-provoking technological drama. It explicates upon how the advances in social networking affects lives, including those of the creators, without becoming a message film. The suspense and tension of a thriller, intellectual wit and energy of a comedy and magnificent acting and script make ""The Social Network"" a triple threat.
–– Riley Beggin
2. ""True Grit""
Almost everything the Coens do is gold. Aside from a brief venture into mediocrity with ""Intolerable Cruelty"" and ""The Ladykillers,"" almost every movie the brothers Coen make ranks among the best of the year it was released, from ""Blood Simple"" to ""A Serious Man."" ""True Grit"" is no exception. The Coens had big shoes to fill, as the original version of ""True Grit"" starred John Wayne in one of his most iconic roles. Considering there arguably hasn't been a successful western since ""Dances With Wolves,"" it came as a surprise that ""True Grit"" was a box office smash. Less surprising was that the Coens turned out yet another American classic. For them, that's pretty much the standard.
–– Todd Stevens
3. ""Toy Story 3""
The third installment of our generation's childhood classic is proof that three-quels (even in 3D) don't all suck. Especially with a legacy behind them, it would have been easy for this second sequel to be a flop. However, this animated film is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking, a tribute to youthful imagination and a reminder that you can't stay a kid forever. Its cross-generational appeal is apparent through the comedy, adventure, and honest emotion evident in the film. But let's be real here, animated films of any kind aren't likely to win best picture—yet stacked against the other gems of this year's films,""Toy Story 3""comes in at a solid third place.
–– Riley Beggin
4. ""Exit Through the Gift Shop""
The parking lot conversation that occurs after seeing a movie is one of my favorite activities. The documentary (?) ""Exit Through the Gift Shop"" raises more interesting parking-lot talk than any other film I've seen this year. It explores both the nature of art and the 21st century's urge to document everything while at the same time being extremely enjoyable and accessible to the casual viewer. It features the best opening credit/montage sequence I've seen in years. It profiles the mysterious character of Banksy, who is possibly the most intriguing auteur of the year. Finally, it shows us something a film has never shows us before: the underground graffiti art scene.
–– Mike Kujak
5. ""Inception""
There's something insanely fun about Nolan's blockbuster sci-fi mind-fuck. I understand the complaints toward this movie. It certainly is exposition heavy and fairly emotionless. That said, in big budget Hollywood films you simply don't get the complexity and beauty of the falling van sequence toward the end. The third act of ""Inception"" is a small contained story that is extremely enjoyable as long as you understand the rules of the game. But more notably, the film has balls. Ambition, above all else, is what we need to encourage in today's filmmakers. Nolan could have done anything after ""The Dark Knight."" He chose to take a chance and succeeded, and that deserves respect.
–– Mike Kujak
6. ""The King's Speech""
Yeah, it's possibly the most Oscar-baity film ever made. It has British people - even royal British people. It's a period piece. The lead guy has a disability. It's basically begging on its knees to get attention from the Academy, which usually turns me off. But beneath all that, it's still impossible to deny that ""The King's Speech"" is a finely crafted piece of cinema. From Colin Firth on down, the entire ensamble is on top of its game, director Tom Hooper brings a nice charming touch and the script is sharp and crowd-pleasing. It may not be pushing any barriers, but that doesn't mean it isn't a damn good film regardless.
–– Todd Stevens
7. ""Restrepo""
War documentaries have been done before, ever since journalists started carting cameras around Vietnam. But no documentary has ever had the pure, unfiltered intimacy of ""Restrepo,"" a film centering on a platoon of soldiers stationed in the Korengal valley of Afghanistan, widely regarded as the most dangerous territory in the entire country. While plenty of documentaries have documented the horror of war and the trauma of war, ""Restrepo"" brings that reality to life by connecting with soldiers so closely that every battle, every attack, every death is felt personally. That itself makes ""Restrepo"" terrifying - but also possibly the most important film of the year.
–– Todd Stevens
8. ""The Fighter""
Led by an enthralling trio of Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy Adams,""The Fighter""distinguishes itself from others in the boxing-movie genre by focusing on an extremely dysfunctional family, coming out as an entertaining and inspirational film. The sheer ridiculous cattiness of the Ward family sisters and Christian Bale's incredible performance as a disillusioned athlete turned crack addict are spectacle enough, but the entire cast portrays a family fighting to work together. The fights going on outside of the ring turn out to be the most entertaining parts of the plot, which somewhat overshadows Micky's mission to become a champion boxer. However, the film remains an emotional powerhouse and lands itself an eighth place spot on our list.
–– Riley Beggin
9. ""Mother""
The 2010 Wisconsin Film Festival featured a retrospective of the films of Joon-ho Bong, the famed Korean director of ""The Host"" and ""Memories of Murder."" The retrospective ended with his latest film, the neo-film noir ""Mother,"" and it was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. Featuring Korean actress Hye-ja Kim in the performance of a lifetime as the titular parent, ""Mother"" tells the story of a woman seeking to clear the name of her mentally impaired son by solving the murder he is accused of. The film not only offers a new twist on the film noir genre, but offers a fascinating take on the relationship between mothers and sons. If ""Mother"" is what Korea has to offer the world of cinema right now, they better keep it coming.
–– Todd Stevens
10. ""Black Swan""
When Natalie Portman's whispers ""perfect"" in the final moments of ""Black Swan,"" it's very hard to disagree with her. Of course, there's no such thing as a ""perfect"" film yet it'd be hard to deny that Black Swan isn't almost everything it wanted to be. Is the film over the top and a mirror to the journey of Tchaikovsky's ballet to the point of unoriginality? Well, yes, but the film strives to be over the top because it wants to be operatic, and the film wants to be a strict reflection of the original story because Nina is constantly in a state of self-reflection herself. It's a little bit Polanski and a little bit Cronenberg. It's a black and white paranoid psycho-sexual bag of intensity and everyone needs to see it.
–– Mike Kujak
