Top 10 Movies of 2010

In honor of the closing of the decade, I'm going through and making some lists from these past ten years, and I'm starting it all off with some countdowns of my favorites of each individual year. It's been a pretty great decade for movies, but you won't necessarily be seeing the overall "best" movies on most of these lists...because I like some weird stuff. As usual, this is all opinion based, so keep that in mind. Now onto the first list, my top 10 favorite movies of 2010 this list is. Plus some extra ones.



Honorable mentions (A - Z):

2019 in review

I've not done so much critical writing over the past year, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to throw a few words at the movies I've seen from this year. 2019 was, for me at least, a great improvement over 2018, which lacked quality movies on the high end (I didn't give a single 10/10 that entire year).

Okay, now to the movies.

200 Items Or Less - Sundown: The Vampire In Retreat (1989)

A few thoughts: A really corny, over-the-top vampire western with enough humor to keep it afloat during the slow parts, and good enough of a cast to make me care about what was happening regardless of who it was happening to. Obviously the main highlights of the cast are bound to be the known actors, like David Carradine, M. Emmett Walsh, and (of course) Bruce Campbell, but this isnt the kind of movie you watch just for one performance or anything like that. There are so many moving parts, and the plot itself is actively engaging. Sure, it's goofy crap from start to finish, but the personal stories of some of these characters actually had me caring about the outcome, and seeing the reformed vampires face off against the killer vampires worked really well for a final act. If I could make a major complaint it would probably be that I wish Campbell had more to do, as his Van Helsing character had several wonderful moments and a solid backstory that might have given the movie a little more depth. But as it is, I enjoy this movie quite a bit and feel it's really underrated and overlooked.

200 Items Or Less: Highlander (1986)

A few thoughts: A bloated and odd action/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy where a Frenchman plays a Scot, and a Scot plays a Spaniard. Also, Mr. Krabs plays an immortal warrior bent on killing said French-Scot and Scot-Spaniard in order to win a cosmic competition and reign terror down on mankind. Needless to say, this movie is pretty insane, and that's without taking into account the even more ridiculous and nonsensical sequel. Overall, this movie is a bit of a mess, but it's of the fun variety that I can't help but to enjoy. In spite of some lousy casting, the acting is fun, with Clancy Brown's over-the-top villain in particular standing out. There are some truly awesome set pieces and visuals to accompany the insanity of the plot, and the filmmakers did a great job at highlighting scenery and changing things up to keep each action scene individeal and memorable. It's no surprise at all that this movie had some success and spawned sequels and spin-offs, but it isn't quite the cult classic I feel it had the potential of being.

200 Items Or Less: The Stepfather (1987)

A few thoughts: The first thing any classic horror movie needs is that one great character/performance that everyone can point to and remember. Nearly every major horror franchise has one, and this one is no different -- with the single exception being an emphasis on the quality of the performance and less on the character itself. The positives of this movie pretty much begin and end there. Terry O'Quinn gives one of my favorite film performances ever here, in a role that's so unsettling and absorbing it's hard to take your eyes off him. It's the rest of the movie that has difficulty keeping up, but avoiding the need for a twist ending and laying it all out from the beginning helps keep it from being a bore. I hate when movies feel the need to throw in obvious twists, but this one does away with that and this allows O'Quinn to give the best performance of his career as someone not held back by the clumsy direction of the plot. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I find it very engrossing.