Best of Best Picture 2011

By Josh Spiegel

February 23, 2011

Man, that must have been a LOT of roofies.

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1) Black Swan

The best movies immerse us in their worlds without even looking like they’re trying. I can’t relate to the world of ballet, but I don’t need to with the virtuoso directing from Darren Aronofsky, who whisks the audience into his feverish nightmare fantasy of New York. Natalie Portman is not just at her best here, but she’s believable in ways that weren’t comprehensible a few years ago. Nothing she’s done compares with Nina Sayers, the fragile young lead of Black Swan, who’s so desperate and obsessed with being the best that she never realizes what she’s doing to herself. Both times I’ve seen Black Swan, I’ve been sucked into the world of the film, into Nina’s mind, so quickly that I can’t even breathe. Just like Nina, Black Swan is perfect.

2) Inception

Movies like Inception do not get made. Sure, Christopher Nolan (who, as we can see from the Oscar nominations, produced and wrote this film, but clearly sucked at directing it, right?) got to make it because The Dark Knight was so successful. But even still, the amount of faith Warner Bros. put into the film and the man is impressive. The second half of this movie, in particular, is arguably the best any film could offer in 2010. When all of the characters begin to have their final, simultaneous kick out of the dream world, it’s so thrilling and rewarding. The pay-off here is truly incredible. The rest of the film is not as great as the second half, but it’s still an exciting ride every time I’ve seen it.




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3) Toy Story 3

Knowing how a movie will end is one thing. Knowing how the good guys will make it to that ending is something else. We all know that Woody, Buzz and the gang will survive the events of Toy Story 3, but in the climactic scene at a landfill (I’d say spoiler alert, but if you haven’t seen Toy Story 3 yet, shame on you), my mind reverts to a childlike state, freaking out that one of my favorite characters is going to die. When Rex slipped first, I actually started to cry. I’m kind of getting emotional just thinking about it. Toy Story 3 is full of many joys and wonders, but it topped everything else Pixar has done by being so blatantly emotional in the best way possible. Pixar has not disappointed in a long time; they can be content knowing they’ve made the greatest film trilogy of all time.

4) The Social Network

For clarification, these four movies are my top four films of 2010, and they’re all very close to each other. There’s really nothing wrong with The Social Network, is there? The performances, the score, the direction, the script, the cinematography: it’s all top-notch. Watching the film again on Blu-ray reminds me not only of David Fincher’s technical prowess behind the camera, but of how prickly and realistic Jesse Eisenberg is as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The film isn’t as emotional as the films above it, but listening to the performers work with Aaron Sorkin’s script is one of the great pleasures of seeing films in 2010.


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