Editorial: Turbo-Exp's Top 10 Best Movies Of 2010

As the year comes to a close, we at Turbo-Exp have decided to take a look back at the best movies of 2010. While there may have been quite a few disappointments this year, there were also some truly memorable and compelling films brought to us by some of the finest directors, screenwriters, and actors working in the business today. I've put together my personal list of the top films 2010 brought us, but keep in mind that I haven't seen EVERY movie this year, so if one of your favorites is left feel free to share with us in the comments section.

10. Despicable Me

As soon as you think of blockbuster family animated movies, two dominant studios come to mind; Dreamworks and Pixar. But one of the biggest animated surprises of the year came from neither one of those studios, and while it may not be quite at the level Toy Story 3 was at, Despicable Me managed to give us a touching story with a lot of heart along with an original plot and lead character in Gru (Played hilariously by Steve Carrell). Despicable Me ends up accomplishing what many animated films in the last few years have failed to, and that's really giving us lovable character we care about will not following the same formulaic plot we constantly see from animated films today.

9. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

While Kick-Ass takes the title of funnest and funniest movie of the year in my opinion, Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World comes in a close second. In a world where video game movie adaptions are down right piss poor, we finally get a refreshing adaption that is able to capture all the fun spirit of the game. By far one of the most visually exciting and creative movies this year, Scott Pilgrim's unique style is both original and extremely enjoyable. Wright also puts together some great comedic moments in the film, as well also awesome action complete with video game effects and all. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World will easily become a cult classic among video game fans for years to come.

8. 127 Hours

With the critically acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire already under his belt, director Danny Boyle takes an approach to a much different and more risky story in 127 Hours. With such a dramatic true story to tell about mountain hiker Aron Ralston and his traumatic experience of being trapped in Blue John Canyon with his arm crushed by a giant bolder. Any movie starring just one actor in only one setting for two hours is definitely a risky one, but Danny Boyle is able to successfully give us a fully entertaining and emotionally invested film. Not only is the directing and pacing for the film great, but it's also James Franco's best performance in a long time, and he's really able to carry the whole film on his own.

7. The Fighter

The Fighter may come across as just another boxing or sports movie too most people, David O. Russell's adaption of the story of Mickey Ward is in fact much more of a character drama than it is about boxing, and that's what makes it so great. The performances and writing for each of the characters are phenomenal, with a real sense of development and realism to each one of the supporting players in the film. Mark Wahlberg (Invincible) continues to prove that he has a lot of potential as a dramatic actor through his portrayal of Ward, but the real scene stealer who made the film is none other than Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) as Mickey's crack addict brother Dickey. With great scenes between all the characters in the cast especially Bale and Wahlberg, and other astonishing supporting characters Melissa Leo as Ward's mother, and a surprising performance by Amy Adams as Mickey's girlfriend Charlene, The Fighter is by far one of the best sports films we've seen in a long time and easily an Oscar contender.

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 was definitely the film fans of the books have been waiting for, with probably one of the most faithful adaptions of J.K. Rowling's novels ever in the film series. Deathly Hallows Part 1 doesn't miss any of the exciting and mysterious moments of the book, and really shows that splitting the book into two films was the right choice. With terrific performances by the trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint we finally get a much more personal tale of the Boy Who Lived and an excellent lead up to what's to come in the series finale in Part 2. We've followed him through his time at Hogwarts, we've seen him grow as a wizard, and now as a person.

5. Kick-Ass 

Mark Millar's genius comic book character is brought to life, in a hilarious and violent fashion from director Matthew Vaughn. Kick-Ass is a welcome take on the superhero genre and origins and gives us one of the most relatable characters in teenage Dave Lizewski (Played brilliantly by Aaron Johnson) and throws him into a hilarious and action packed adventure alongside fellow heroes Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and the scene stealing Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz). Matthew Vaughn is really able to blend such different characters and genres of action and comedy all together perfectly into one highly enjoyable superhero film. Kick-Ass was not only able to make itself the funniest superhero film around, but also stand it's ground as an excellent dramatic film as well. We may not have seen Spider-Man/Peter Parker on the big screen in a while, but Kick-Ass is a welcome film to fill the vacancy in the mean time.

4. The Town

Ben Affleck has already proven himself to be a good director with Gone Baby Gone, but now he has solidified himself as a great one with The Town. This both surprising and exciting crime drama really never missed a step with a tremendous cast and screenplay to really keep us rapped up in the drama between friends in a dirty business. With great performances across the board by Mad Men's Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall (The Prestige), Affleck himself, and most notably Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), the film's actors do a spectacular job with the already stellar story being told. By far one of the biggest surprises of the year, and it's definitely put Ben Affleck on the map of directors for years to come.

3. Toy Story 3 

Toy Story 3 made us all laugh, cry, and maybe even angry, with the final chapter for our good friends Woody and Buzz. With a hiatus of a whole decade worth of anticipation and build up to the third and final film of the Toy Story series, screen writer Michael Arndt (Little Ms. Sunshine) and co. were able to bring back all the magic we loved from the first two movies and the perfect amount of nostalgia to close the trilogy. All of are favorite characters are just as charismatic and lovable as ever, and new characters are welcome additions who are just as memorable and filled with personality as the original cast of toys. Pixar did it again, making a pretty much perfect sequel to the classic tales we all know and love.

2. The Social Network

Whether it's actually accurate or completely exaggerated for the means of our entertainment, the story behind the creation of social networking site Facebook made for one hell of a film. The film really kept me captivated from beginning to end with amazing performances by Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg, as well as brilliant dialogue by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. The Social Network really had all the foundations of an amazing drama all in one movie; realistic and memorable screenplay, a great soundtrack, well developed and acted characters, and best of all a great story to tell.

1. Inception 

Christopher Nolan proved to us that he wasn't just the director of The Dark Knight but an all around film genius. Leonardo DiCaprio and an ensemble of fantastic actors including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, and Ken Wantanabe sure showed us how important and dangerous dreams can be in the all around perfect film Inception. While this year in movies did have a lot of disappointments, Inception not only met the hype and high levels The Dark Knight had set but even surpassed them with a completely original and rich story without any superhero source material required.

What were your favorite movies of 2010? Do you agree with our picks?