Movies of 2010

Onward we go with the cultural review of 2010. Movie-goers in Western New York got a big boost this past year with the grand reopening of the beloved and newly-renovated Dunkirk “Stickyplex,” which under new management has introduced a “midnight movie” series, a cappuccino bar and even (gasp) a 3-D theater. The Fredonia Opera House continued its policy of booking edgy independent films and documentaries. All in all, not a bad year for lovers of film, and I’ve still got plenty of interesting ones that I've missed so far, including “Made in Dagenham,” “Somewhere” and “Micmacs.” Here are my favorites (so far) from 2010:

1. The Kids are Alright – Lisa Cholodenko gave us a “comedy” about the modern family – with two teenagers raised by a lesbian couple tracking down their sperm donor father. Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo should get Oscar attention this spring.

2. Winter’s Bone - A neo-noir set in the Ozarks about a crystal meth deal gone wrong, with a spectacular performance from Jennifer Lawrence as a young girl searching for her father.

3. The Millennium Trilogy – Like the Stieg Larsson books, the three Swedish films based on based on them and featuring the incredible Nooma Rapace as Lisbeth Salander provided some of the most satisfying experiences in theaters for me this year.

4. The White Ribbon – Michael Haneke’s black and white drama set in the period before World War I about a small, rural German town reeling from a series of bizarre accidents.

5. Exit to the Gift Shop – A piercingly critical look at the contemporary art world by the one and only Banksy.

6. The Secret in Their Eyes – A Buenos Aires detective ruminates on a past case in this beautifully drawn Argentinian mystery.

7. Please Give – Nicole Holefcener’s latest ensemble drama featuring Catherine Keener continued her examination of relationships between relatively successful and unsuccessful friends.

8. Another Year – Mike Leigh’s movies are like putting on a comfortable old sweater. His latest featured Jim Broadbent at his best.

9. A Prophet – A young Arabic speaking street kid gets mixed up with a Corsican gang in this gripping French prison drama.

10. The Ghost Writer – Roman Polanski displays his love of Hitchcock in this political thriller with Pierce Brosnan as Tony Blair-like former PM spilling his guts about Iraq.

Notable Others:

* Greenberg – a decent effort by Noah Baumbach to bring “mumblecore” to the multiplexes.

* The Town – Ben Affleck got a lot right in this Boston-based bank robbery caper movie.

* The Mormon Proposition – Mark Cowan’s take on the forces behind Proposition 8.

Disappointments:

* Worthy directors wasting their talents on unworthy projects (e.g., The Coens with “True Grit,” Christopher Nolan with “Inception.”)

* Shutter Island – It’s been about ten years since Martin Scorcese has made a decent film; I solved the “mystery” of his latest Leo DiCaprio vehicle in about ten minutes.

As always, I’d love to see what you’ve been watching this year.