As this week's influx of critics group awards and Golden Globe nominations can confirm, there are really only a handful of films that will be up for Academy Awards in February. (See: The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right and Black Swan.) Every year, though, the Academy not only overlooks great performances, but also a number of great films as well; some are too small, some are too broad, and in the case of documentaries, some just didn't make the first shortlist. With that in mind, let's step outside the fog of Oscar buzz for a second and take a look at 10 deserving films of 2010.
10. Videocracy
This exploration of mass media in Italy was one of he most damning and relevant documentaries that nobody saw this year. Sure, it's mostly an exposè of Italy's media -- where the government owns something like 90% of all news and entertainment outlets -- but let's go through a checklist of problems with U.S. media. Objectification and exploitation of sex for profit? Italy's got that. Vicious paparazzi? Italy's got that. A huge celebrity-obsessed culture? Italy's got that, too! Media outlets that serve either corporate or government interests over the people? You'd better believe Italy's got that. Also, the documentary is very well-made and often hilarious. It works as well as entertainment as it does as a cautionary tale.
9. The American
Not many explosions or huge shoot-outs here, but enough understated brooding, erotic sex and moral ambiguity to make you remember the '70s, if only for a second. Also, the photography in Anton Corbijn's arthouse thriller is beautiful and George Clooney's restrained performance is his most impressive in some time.
8. Hot Tub Time Machine
News Flash: The Academy isn't a big fan of comedies. Not unless they also make you cry. So let's take a moment to honor the one R-rated, go-for-broke comedy of the year that actually worked. OK: There are plenty of easy '80s nostalgia jokes. But there are also fine performances from the entire cast (especially Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson), and genuine chemistry between the characters that ensures a higher joke to laugh ratio. Plus, Mötley Lüe.
7. Shutter Island
How the critic and Academy-approved The Departed was any less of a B-movie than Scorsese's newest is beyond me, but the director's latest was one of the most aggressive, immersive and visceral films of the year. Some loved the ending, and many hated it; either opinion is fine! It's about the journey. Note: Leonardo DiCaprio's is much better playing a tortured, remorseful protagonist here than he was in Inception.
6. Enter the Void
Wait, did I say that Scorsese made one of the most aggressive and visceral films of the year? Sorry, Gaspar Noe still reigns supreme. His overlong meditation on drugs, death and family is sometimes amazing and sometimes really dumb, but a knockout nonetheless. For all the scenes that drag on and all of the questionable acting, Enter the Void was by far the most memorable theatrical experience I had this year. Anyone who cares about pushing the boundaries of cinema owes it to themselves to see this one.
5. White Material
Anytime celebrated French filmmaker Claire Denis makes a movie, you should pay attention. And if it stars the lovely, talented (though not at texting), Isabelle Huppert, you should pay double. Denis' tale of a woman's fight to save her plantation after the collapse of colonialism in Africa is both subtle and powerful, and easily stands up to her best work.
4. The Ghost Writer
Roman Polanski's latest was a great surprise -- a suspenseful, sophisticated and hilarious thriller that felt more mainstream than any of Polanski's work in years, and yet more personal, too. Maybe the ending felt predictable, but I maintain that no living director would have staged it with the same stylish, deadpan flair as Polanski. The same can be said about the rest of the film, which is what elevates it above its source's airport-novel trappings.
3. Daddy Longlegs
There were a few raised eyebrows when Ronald Bronstein beat out Winter's Bone favorite Jennifer Lawrence at the Gotham Awards. But while Lawrence was superb, Bronstein deserves any recognition he gets for his heartwarming and simultaneously cringe-inducing portrayal of a dad who only gets to see his children for two weeks out of each year. With Daddy Longlegs, Josh and Benny Safdie crafted the most heartfelt and affecting love letter of the year to the ne'er-do-wells, screw-ups, and all-around desperate folks trying to make their way.
2. Lourdes
Thousands of people come to Lourdes every year, believing that the water from its sanctuary will heal them. Jessica Hausner's film follows a young wheelchair-bound woman who makes the journey, maybe to get healed, or maybe just to find companionship. The results in this wise meditation on miracles, loneliness and hope are not what you'd expect. Highly recommended.
1. Dogtooth
Not quite a horror movie, but not quite anything else, Giorgos Lanthimos' film about a family who raises their children to believe that they'll die if they leave the house never quite picked up steam in the U.S. It's a shame, because it's a harrowing and hilarious film with a lot to say about control and fear of the unknown. It also boasts possibly one of the best ensemble performances of the year, which elevates it from needlessly bleak satire to something far more affecting.