The Results Are In. And The Film of the Year Is...

Colin Firth gave a great performance in The King's Speech. Christopher Nolan broke new ground in his unorthodox thriller, Inception. Darren Aronofsky's direction of Black Swan was one of the best we've seen in the 2000s. But the film that will be remembered from 2010, the year's defining work, is The Social Network. Winning Golden Globes for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Drama Motion Picture, The Social Network also managed to score quite well in the Critic's Choice Awards, winning Best Picture there as well. Although the Academy Awards will ultimately decide which film is the best film of the year, it's hard to think that The Social Network will fail to continue its winning streak.

The Five Things I'm most excited to see in the film world in 2011

With 2011 already upon us, many rumors and early information about projects for the year are circulating. Here's the five things I'll be most anxious to see.

1. The Wolverine
Following up on a stunning directorial feat in 2010's Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky is signed to direct this film about the X-Men's Wolverine visiting Japan.

2. The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick, director of Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line, has signed prolific actors Sean Penn and Brad Pitt to work on his latest film, a drama about relationships between members of a 1950s American family.

3. Criterion Collection Releases
The Criterion Collection is one of the finest DVD releasing companies with films like Seven Samurai, The Rules of the Game, and Breathless in their collection. 2011 looks to be a great year for them, with possible releases like Broadcast News, Kiss Me Deadly, Carlos, and Everything you wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask.

4. The Hangover 2
This follow up to the funniest film of 2009 should prove to be equally hilarious.

5. Jack and Jill
Adam Sandler is sharing the screen with legend Al Pacino in this new comedy. The dynamic between the two should be interesting to say the least.

Ten Films that made me love Film

Maybe you are just beginning to have an interest in film as you stumble upon this blog. My interest in film was sparked chiefly by watching them. Here are ten films that made me love films.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction is a film that I think anyone can appreciate. The film is crammed with great dialogue and memorable characters. While there is enough action to satisfy any audience, this film also has a deeper layer, holding a powerful story of redemption. After seeing Pulp Fiction, my mind was made up. I loved the movies.

2. Platoon (1986)
Platoon delivers an intense emotional shock through its gritty portrayal of relationships between soldiers in the Vietnam War. This was the film that showed me how powerful a story can be when it is shown on the screen. This film sparked my desire to see more films, in hope that others would measure up to this mark.

3. The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather is amongst the greatest films of all time. It served to reinforce how powerful a medium film is. The tale of Michael Corleone's descent from war hero to mafia boss is staggeringly told in this classic portrait of the seedy under belly of America.

4. Ed Wood (1994)
This film recounts the exploits of the so called worst director of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr. Rather than spend time taking cheap shots at Ed Wood, director Tim Burton shows the eccentric Ed Wood as a man who truly loved all that cinema had to offer. Seeing a man who loved film so much that he did anything he could do to put on another production inspired me to refuse to abandon hope as I marched forward in pursuit of a filmmaking career.

5. Up in the Air (2009)
In 2009, America was weary of the recession and reaching out in hopes of making a connection. Up in the Air was such a tremendous film for me because it captured all of the fears, doubts, and hopes of that time.

6. The Deer Hunter (1978)
This film's stingingly tragic end struck me in a way only a great film can ever manage to accomplish. The cripplingly real story of friends torn apart by war seized me and once again reminded me of the strength of a film.

7. Memento (2000)
Memento is undoubtedly one of the most innovative films of all time. The method in which the story is told is stunningly unique and makes for one great film. Memento opened me up to the endless possibilities of storytelling through film.

8. Ran (1985)
A late life masterpiece from director Akira Kurosawa, Ran is lush with color and epic in scope. Kurosawa's camera angles and directorial style showed me the storytelling advantages that can only be taken advantage of by a filmmaker.

9. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
This film stunned me in its creation. I was baffled by how a director could make a space ship look so realistic when mankind had yet to set foot on the moon. 2001: A Space Odyssey opened me up to the fact that there are no limits in filmmaking.

10. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
The final showdown in this epic spaghetti western is among the best shot sequences in all of film. Only through a masterful use of the camera was such an epic cinematic feat possible.

The Top Ten Film Adaptations of Shakespeare Plays

Many of Shakespeare's plays have been adapted into films. Here's my picks for the ten best adaptations.

1. Ran (1985)- based on King Lear
2. Hamlet (1996)- based on Hamlet
3.Hamlet (1948)- based on Hamlet
4. Scotland P.A. (2001)- based on Macbeth
5. Throne of Blood (1957)- based on Macbeth
6. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)- based on Much Ado About Nothing
7. My Own Private Idaho (1992)- based on Henry IV
8. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)- based on Romeo and Juliet
9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999)- based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream
10. The Forbidden Planet (1956)- based on The Tempest

Film Years: The Good, The Bad, and 1975

Earlier in this year, many critics dubbed it, "The Worst Film Year Ever." While they have been largely quieted by the successes of The King's Speech, The Social Network, and Black Swan, among others, it is still a good opportunity to discuss some notoriously good and notoriously bad film years.

1953
This was a horrendous year, it's only decent offering being Julius Caesar. While avoiding good films, 1953 managed to rack up such garbage as the undeniably cheesy western, Shane, How to Marry a Millionaire, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, both lackluster cookie cutter Marilyn Monroe vehicles, and Hondo, an easily forgettable and mind numbingly predictable John Wayne film.

1969
With classic films like Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Wild Bunch, and Easy Rider, 1969 was a defining year of the American New Wave of Filmmaking and a year that will go down in the history books.

1975
A year marked by such immortal films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barry Lyndon, Nashville, and Dog Day Afternoon, 1975 continued to display the great works that defined the American New Wave, and planted the seeds of the Hollywood Blockbuster in its most famous film, Jaws.

1976
One of the finest years in film history, 1976 saw the release of Rocky, All The President's Men, Network, and Taxi Driver. While some of the films of 1976 have fallen into a pit of cultural insignificance, they remain important documents of America as the nation finished its second century.

1983
While Terms of Endearment and Return of the Jedi managed to keep this year from being a disaster, few other films released in 1983 held any lasting interest.

1995
Braveheart and Toy Story were undoubtedly classics, but 1995 was brought down by weak films like Batman Forever, Casper, Die Hard With a Vengeance, and the infamous flop, Waterworld.

1999
American Beauty, Magnolia, The Sixth Sense, The Green Mile, The Matrix, Fight Club, and cult favorite Being John Malovich were all released in this stunningly good year.

2009
In 2009 the Academy changed the number of best picture nominees from 5 to 10 films to fit all the great films released that year. Up in the Air, Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, An Education, Up, Precious, and A Serious Man were all products of 2009.

While some years are good and some are bad, even the worst years have a few redeeming films. And even the best years have to suffer a few Waterworlds.

Golden Globe Picks

They recently announced the nominees for the 2010 Golden Globes. Since this is a film blog, I neglected to post my opinions on the television awards. Nonetheless, here are my picks for the film awards in the Golden Globes.

Best Picture- Drama: Black Swan

Best Picture- Comedy or Musical: The Kids Are All Right

Best Actor- Drama: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Best Actor- Comedy or Musical: Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version)

Best Actress- Drama: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Actress- Comedy or Musical: Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)

Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)

Best Supporting Actress: Mila Kunis (Black Swan)

Best Director: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

Best Screenplay: The Kids Are All Right

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3

Best Original Song: “Coming Home” (Country Strong)

Best Original Score: 127 Hours

Best Foreign Language Film: Biutiful

The Ten Best Films you've never seen

1. Straw Dogs (1971)
Director Sam Peckinpah, better known for his 1969 film, The Wild Bunch, is on the top of his game in this 1971 thriller. Dustin Hoffman plays a timid American who finds himself harassed by local thugs upon moving to Britain with his wife. The film culminates in a bloody siege of Hoffman's house, in which Hoffman finally decides to settle things by violence. Controversial for a perceived pro-violence message, this gritty classic is worth the difficulty you may have in finding it.

2. The Conversation (1974)
This film, from director Francis Ford Coppola, is often overshadowed by Coppola's The Godfather Pt II, released in the same year. Although this film is far less popular, it is definitely worth checking out. Coppola's original screenplay examines the dangers in monitoring others. Gene Hackman gives one of the best performances of his career as the complex and paranoid snoop, Harry Caul.

3. Alphaville (1965)
In this unorthodox film noir, Jean Luc Godard, director of Breathless, creates a nightmarish future city and a hardboiled wise guy trying to tear it all down. The film is almost like blending Roman Polanski's Chinatown with Orwell's novel, 1984. Utilizing the jump cuts that made Godard famous, this film is an interesting take on a classic genre.

4. El Mariachi (1992)
Everyone has heard of director Robert Rodriguez and his films like Spy Kids, or his most recent film, Machete. Few though, have heard of Rodriguez's first film El Mariachi. Made for a microscopic budget Rodriguez earned from a stay in a research hospital, the film twists the classic tale of mistaken identity from goofy comedy to brutal action.

5.Happiness (1998)
Despised by many for it's comedic treatment of controversial subjects, Happiness was avoided by many mainstream filmgoers. Raunchy and candid in its subject matter, Happiness manages to deal with very tough topics without having a cruel tone. The story concerns a group of people whose sex lives are not quite normal. If you have a strong stomach and aren't easily offended, Happiness might be a great film for you.

6. My Dinner With Andre (1981)
This film might seem incredibly boring. The plot is nonexistent, with the whole film consisting entirely of a dinner conversation. That aside, this is a stunningly original work with unorthodox insights on the human condition and its relation to the theater.

7. Onibaba (1964)
This stunningly shot Japanese horror film is among the best films to ever be produced in the land of the rising sun. When a young woman who lives with her mother in law learns that her husband has been killed in a war, the young woman begins to have a relationship with her late husband's best friend, only to be haunted by a demon. The cinematography is amazingly well done, particularly in the horrific chase through a field of tall grass during a hellish thunderstorm.

8. Two Lane Blacktop (1971)
Part road race film, part reflection on speed and human nature, Two Lane Blacktop is a staggeringly well written work. With characters simply known as the driver, the mechanic, the girl, and GTO, director Monte Hellman crafts a wonderful tale of youth, speed, and the dangers of both of them.

9. Army of Shadows (1969)
Master director Jean Pierre Melville reintroduces us to the French Resistance during the Second World War with this dramatic thriller. Melville's men and women of the resistance find great turmoil not only struggling with the Third Reich but with their own moral choices and the consequences of their choice to take a stand.

10. Secret Honor (1984)
Phillip Baker Hall steals the show in Robert Altman's one actor film about the life of Richard Milhous Nixon. Hall's Nixon sits secluded in his study dictating a secret autobiography that covers his whole presidency, and all the people who tried to bring him down. Hall gives one of the best screen performances of all time, often breaking his lamenting soliloquy with a fit of rage.