It’s that time of year again! That lull between Christmas and New Years when we take time out to reflect this past year.

Below are what I think are the top five movies of 2010!

#5 The Town

The Town is film about a bank robber begins to have feelings for a bank manager who he had once robbed. Set in the Charlestown neighbourhood of Boston, Ben Affleck plays the lead character but also assumes the director’s seat. A lot of this film is about Affleck’s character struggling with the possibility of his identity being revealed as a thief. This particular area of Boston is highlighted as a safe haven for criminals. There is a code of silence is understood; if you’re caught, right or wrong, you will serve your time. Affleck’s character tries to leave his Charlestown life, but are the only ways out death or prison? Ultimately this is a great film if you enjoy both a physical and emotional struggle. Grab some popcorn and enjoy this thriller.                  

#4 Kick-Ass

Let me first say that I’m in no way a comic lover. I saw this film in the summer when I was living in Calgary and I was pleasantly surprised and, more importantly, entertained. The plot is about a teenager who wants to become more popular. He sees violence taking place in New York and decides to take matters into his own hands. He creates a costume and superhero persona named “Kick-Ass” in hopes to fight crime and scare away the criminals in the process. For the main character, Dave, one particular reason to become a superhero is to impress his high-school crush. Bear in mind this is not your typical boring comic book-turned-film. This is a tough, realistic and intense superhero flick.                                                                             

#3 The Ghost Writer

This picture starts off with a scene where the a ghostwriter is killed and it is made to appear as a suicide on a boat of the eastern seaboard near the island town of Old Haven. After “the incident,” Pierce Brosnan’s character is hired as a replacement ghostwriter to complete the unfinished job of his predecessor: write the memoirs of a former British prime minister. While performing research for his assignment, Brosnan’s character uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy, specifically the fact that the former British prime minister’s political career may have been built by the CIA to protect and act for American interests overseas. While this film can be slow at times, its suspenseful nature ensures the audience won’t be able to turn away.               

#2 Inception

Simply put, this film blows my mind. I saw it just recently and had to watch it twice only to understand the final scene. It’s a real thinker that challenges what reality is. I’m no philosophy student, but this is something that they would have a field-day over. Until an explanation of what was real and what was dream, it was hard determine whether we were in someone’s dream or in the character’s “real” world. In Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is hired to place a though in an oil tycoon heir’s mind. The thought is to break up his father’s empire, and it was placed in his mind by a competitor who wants to control the oil and gas market. If you enjoy a puzzle, this is your ultimate challenge.                                                                                                                                               

#1The Social Network

This is the story of how Facebook was created. Sure, it’s not how Mark Zuckerberg says it happened, but who cares? This film is full of action and takes aim at the freakish need for college students to be accepted by their peers. Zuckerberg originally creates Facebook to get back at an ex girlfriend and to gain acceptance by a secret society at Harvard. A smart, yet ruthless businessman himself, Zuckerberg works with the secret society to create a school-wide face book but steals the idea for himself and makes millions. Whether this is an accurate portrayal of how the company was started or not, in my opinion The Social Network lives up to its expectations by providing an exciting story that keeps folks young and old entertained. Worth my $12!

Contenders include Restrepo, Inside Job, True Grit, Black Swan, and Robin Hood, all of which I have yet to seen. So this is my list right now. It might change as I watch these contenders above!