The 2010 RyMickey Awards - Best Picture

And we have reached the end.  The final RyMickey Award category for 2010.  Overall, it was a solid year for movies that had me liking but not loving a lot of what I saw.  With very few exceptions, there weren't many films that grabbed me.  I longed for a little more of an emotional connection, or, at the very least, a very strong feeling.  Still, 2010 was a solid year for cinema.

Best Pictures of 2010

Honorable Mentions

The Kids Are All Right -- B+

The Greatest -- B+

Kick-Ass -- B+

How to Train Your Dragon -- B+

(Dreamworks shows they can finally step up their game.)

Enter the Void -- B+

(Likely the most divisive film on this list, I can't even imagine many people being able to sit through this, let along liking it.)

Red -- B+

(Pure fun.)

Inception -- B+

(Didn't hold up as well upon a second viewing, but still appreciated for its uniqueness.)

Buried -- B+

(Killer ending.)

Runners-up

20. Shutter Island -- B+

An old school, big budget 1940s pulp film made in 2010. Some great performances, a clever story, and, surprisingly, the film works better than the book from which it was adapted.

The remaining 19 flicks can be found after the jump.

(Click "Read More" below to advance.)

19. Catfish -- B+

A modern day love story of sorts detailing the "perils" of online dating.  The trailers setting this film up as some kind of quasi-horror story probably hurt this movie more than it helped it, but it's a nice documentary featuring a likable main subject whom we follow on his journey in and out of love.

18. I'm Still Here -- B+

A clever mockumentary, I'm Still Here is a fun watch.  I remember when Joaquin Phoenix was going on talk shows with drugged-up rapper persona, I was really angry that he was "putting on a show," but when watching him in the context of this film, I was shocked by how well the concept worked.

17. The Town -- B+

An adult's action flick capably directed by Ben Affleck with a nice cast.  Affleck proves that he's one to watch behind the camera.

16. True Grit -- B+

I hate westerns.  And there's a part of me that was bored out of my mind with this film, too, but there are too many good things about it -- particularly Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges -- to think badly of this Coen Brothers movie.  This may be the one western I'll watch again on my own volition.

15. The Fighter -- B+

It's a wonder what a great cast can do to elevate what on the surface appears to be a simple sports movie where a down-on-his-luck past-his-prime athlete prevails against adversity.  (The film is more than "just a sports flick," but anyone who has seen it knows that already.

14. Toy Story 3 -- B+

If only Toy Story 3 didn't overstay its welcome by about ten minutes taking a little too long to get to its third act, this film would've been near perfect.  Still, it's a (hopefully) fitting end to one of the better film trilogies out there.

13. Nowhere Boy -- B+

Biopics are not my thing, but this look at the pre-Beatles years of John Lennon won me over thanks to some great performances.

12. Cairo Time -- B+

A simple, lovely, and understated film.  Some may think it slow, but it's a movie that takes its time to get where it's going (and I'm sure some people will think that it never gets anywhere). A nice love story, reminiscent of "the olden days" when films were "romantic" instead of "raunchy."

11. The Social Network -- B+

A movie that grew on me upon second viewing and kept finding itself popping up in many RyMickey Award categories much to my surprise.  I still feel like it's a movie that doesn't quite manage to allow the audience to emotionally connect (in a good or bad way) with most of its characters, but it's technically and visually another David Fincher-directed treat.

And the Top Ten Films of 2010...

10. The Square -- A-

This one's currently streaming on Netflix and I can't recommend it enough.  A modern film noir that, like all good noirs, shows the lengths that a man will go to for the love of a woman.

9. The Art of the Steal -- A-

A documentary that details events that occurred right in my backyard regarding the city of Philadelphia's attempts to buy the extensive art collection of Albert C. Barnes.  Although perhaps a tiny bit one-sided, the filmmakers do present all sides of the argument which is always pleasant to see.

8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- A-

It should be noted that I'm not a video game or comic book guy and I typically despise Michael Cera, so no one was more surprised than me that I really enjoyed Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.  Director-screenwriter Edgar Wright has packed this film with heaps of visual pizzazz, but still manages to have fleshed-out characters who are surprisingly intriguing.

7. Animal Kingdom -- A-

The second Australian film on this list (after #10's The Square), the Land Down Under is the new home for stellar thrillers apparently.  Animal Kingdom follows an aspiring crime family dynasty, but it veers in several directions that I never saw coming which is always an advantageous thing.

6.  The King's Speech -- A-

I saw this one late in the game and I went into it thinking that there's no way the lauds and praises it was receiving were worthy.  I was wrong.  I simply couldn't fathom that a period biopic could be remotely entertaining, but RyMickey Award-winning director Tom Hooper does the impossible by crafting a beautiful looking film punctuated with great moments of humor amidst the drama.  I must say that this film was certainly a worthy winner of the Best Picture Oscar.

5. Waking Sleeping Beauty -- A-

On a purely personal level, it felt like Waking Sleeping Beauty was made specifically for me.  Growing up in the 1980s amidst the start of the new Disney animation renaissance, this documentary details the backstory of the Walt Disney Company's animation division during a trying time for the department.  Surprisingly, even though the film was made by Disney, it doesn't paint a rosy picture of everything.  I eagerly look forward to watching this one again.

4.  Let Me In -- A-

When I like a horror movie, it usually means the masses don't.  And that's certainly the case with Let Me In, a film that gets its thrills more from its brooding atmosphere than from blood and guts.  That said, this is the film I'm most worried to watch again for fear that it won't be nearly as good as I remember it.  As it stands now, though, this remake is one of the rare few that is better than the original.

3.  127 Hours -- A-

When I almost cry during a movie, how can it not rank high on the list?  When Aron Ralston escapes from his 127 hour entrapment, it got to me, and that's a credit to both James Franco and director Danny Boyle.

2. Tangled -- A-

I would like nothing more than for Tangled to signify the return to classic Disney animation.  Yes, it updated things a bit (computer-animated vs. hand-drawn), but in nearly every aspect, it was a return to what animation fans love about Disney (a classic story, lovely songs that the characters actually sing, funny animal friends).  I can only hope that in the future, Disney looks at this "formula," sees that it works, and continues on this path.

1.  Blue Valentine -- A

Blue Valentine is a movie that makes you long for love and be fearful of it at the same time.  Since the movie jumps around in time, the viewers are well aware as they watch the giddy blossoming of love via flashbacks that our two main characters are heading down a more painful path in the present.  In the end, it's a film that's emotionally heartbreaking, and the fact that the journey to the depressing conclusion is peppered with such beautiful moments makes it even more gut-wrenching to watch.