Wow…sorta hard for me to believe that I haven’t posted a top five on this space since April, and that one was by request! I guess with top fives becoming a staple of the podcast, I feel like writing them out is a tad redundant…then again, perhaps I’m depraving those who don’t listen to the podcast of top fivey goodness.

With all the champagne bottles empty, confetti swept up, and ‘woo girls’ back in their suburbs for another year, the party of sending 2010 off this mortal coil is officially over. (Note to a local Toronto news celebrity – no, the passing of midnight did not put us in a whole new decade – we’re already one year in. Try to keep up.

But before The Matinee fully moves into ’11, allow me one more moment to sum up the year that was. A year where I went to the theatre a whopping 97 times, and caught a few dozen more on dvd. A year where I made my first foray to a pair of film festivals, and returned for another round to two more.

And a year where my movie geekery introduced me to a lot of new friends. For longer discussion of these titles, please give a listen to the latest Matineecast…but for the broad strokes, I give you…

Hatter’s Top Five of 2010

#5. THE FIGHTER… I almost want to subtitle this film “Never Judge a Movie By Its Trailer”. Seriously, if you have any interest in this film and haven’t seen the trailer yet – just go see it blind. Along with the fact that it tips you off to a healthy portion of the film’s best moments, it’s assembled in the most ham-fisted manner that makes this look like just another pedestrian boxing film.

The funny thing is, that in a lot of ways, it comes across like just another pedestrian boxing film. However, there’s a strange chemistry at work here spearheaded by Christian Bale’s desperately sad acting in a physical state that harkens back to THE MACHINEST. If that’s not enough, he has Melissa Leo backing him up as a proud-yet-pathetic matriarch.

Director David O. Russell makes chicken salad out of chicken feathers, and can now hopefully get back to working on his own projects after this stellar job of playing hired gun.

#4. INCEPTION… A little indie gem, didn’t play in too many theatres, sort of underexposed. Did ya get to see it?

In some ways the fervour over Christopher Nolan’s metaphysical heist tale feels like it was a million years ago. The truth is, that it was less than six months back! Crazy the way time flies, isn’t it?

While watching the blu-ray night before last I was reminded of just how glorious this action flick is, and felt my heart skip a beat in anticipation of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. More than anything, I hope that the legacy of INCEPTION is studios more willing to give vanguard directors a chance at making big budget passion projects. After all, in a summer that rehashed 80’s action properties and pretty-lookin’ spy couples, it was this puzzle box of a movie that caught our imagination. Sorta makes you wonder what Darren Aronofsky might bring us after he finishes THE WOLVERINE. Speaking of which…

#3. BLACK SWAN… Is it a co-incedince that I managed to see the top three films on this list blind? (It got tricky to duck details of this one towards the end). This one seems to be capturing a lot of moviegoers’ attention lately, so if you try to chase down any film on this list then this might be the one to start with.

Interestingly, it’s really not “a dance movie” so much as it is a melodramatic look at an ill-adjusted girl who never grew up trying to get a grip on being an adult for the sake of her craft.

I could wax on about this film a while longer, but between the review, the TIFF reaction, and the podcast, i feel like I’ve talked it into the ground. If you haven’t seen it, just go.

#2. WINTER’S BONE…I’m not always a fan of the Sundance darlings, since I find that quite often the buzz that swirls during that festival doesn’t pan out to mainstream audiences. But perhaps that trend is changing, since this is the second grand jury prize in a row to make my top five.

This film takes a truly grimy corner of America and gives it a painterly grit. It features two killer performances in Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes, and grew an amazing pair of legs to land on so many year-end-best lists despite getting a very small release.

This film is stacked with intimidation, but very little of it raises its voice above a whisper. For a month or two it was standing tall as my best film of the year…but then came…

#1. 127 HOURS… If you’ve read this blog and certainly if you’ve listened to my podcast, this should come as absolutely no surprise.

It takes a protagonist that’s actually rather unlikeable and makes us believe in him. It takes a very confined story and gives it oxygen. And it rises above spastic trickery to become a film with true energy. Franco gives the best performance of his career, which is a marvel considering that he doesn’t even get a volleyball to play off of. He delivers his lines with a wry humour and an eerie calmness that many of us would never find within ourselves in the same predicament.

And in thinking about its place in all of the films I saw this year, I had to come back to the fact that no film drew me in emotionally as much as this one did. Despite knowing precisely what was coming, my heart raced and my knuckles whitened when Aron Ralston finally takes matters into his own hands…er, hand.

So while I might have talked it to death over these last three months, I can’t help but get excited when a film affects me like this. It’d be tough to deny such a movie the top spot of the year.

Others on my shortlist for 2010 include THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, THE AMERICAN, EASY A, EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, GET LOW, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, HARRY BROWN, KICK-ASS, THE KING’S SPEECH, LET ME IN, NEVER LET ME GO, RESTREPO, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and TRUE GRIT.

Did I miss one? Feel free to leave comments with your own choices for the top films of 2010.