2010′s Top 5 Lists From the Yahoo! Movies Team

2010 was a year that featured scores of sequels, endless '80s retreads, and probably one too many movies in 3D. But it also saw the

release of pretty groovy movies about sentient toys, bizarro dreamscapes,

freaked-out ballerinas and Facebook. The editorial team of Yahoo! Movies has

put together their individual top 5 lists for the year. Scroll down and check

it out.

Sean Phillips:

1) The Social Network: This movie had my favorite trailer of the year and the best tag line of the year. I expected a lot, but the quality performances and the snappy Aaron Sorkin

dialogue totally delivered. Invariably, not every word or turn of phrase in

this film is the truth, but it is an extremely well told story about one of the

more interesting and important events of our time. And I don't even use the

Facebook!

2) The King's Speech: The performances, go for the performances.

In a movie-making age where technology and special effects are the new stars,

here's one where the actors make this an impressive movie-going

experience. Already boasting a Golden

Globe nomination for his role as the stuttering, stammering Bertie (aka King

George VI), look for Colin Firth to get a Best Actor Oscar nom — his second in

a row - come January. Only the Harry

Potter franchise benefits from so many classically trained British thespians.

3) Toy Story 3: I guess I tend to save a spot on this

list for Pixar's offering every year.

Following stories about a rodent who could cook, a love struck robot who

doesn't speak and a curmudgeonly old balloon salesman, the brilliant bunch at

Pixar brought us a third tale with Woody, Buzz and their friends. Hey, for my money, the Pixar guys deliver the

most consistent and carefully crafted stories of anyone in Hollywood these days. Expect this one to be among the 10 Best Picture Nominees.

4) Inception: I enjoyed a couple cocktails and a double

espresso before I walked into the theater, which seemed to give me the right

balance of lucidity and alertness to help me keep up with this heady sci-fi

film. Not only was this one of the more original stories of the year, the

technical aspects were super-cool and it featured a tremendous cast (including

A-lister Leo DiCaprio and one of Y! Movies' "Newcomers of the Year,"

Tom Hardy). But I'd also be remiss not to mention Hans Zimmer's haunting,

intense musical score, one of the most memorable of his illustrious career.

5) Somewhere: Some films don't have much to say so they

don't really give you room to think.In

this hypnotically simple film - a project director Sophia Coppola calls a

"tone poem" - you enjoy both the time and space to carefully digest

every scene. We were fed an intense diet of relatively unsatisfying high-impact

action flicks this year, so I found this one refreshing, kind of like the

sorbet at the end of a rich, multi-course meal. Not everyone appreciates this course, but

sometimes you just need to cleanse the pallet.

Jonathan Crow:

1) Social Network: Every once in a while the stars align

to create a movie that not only combined masterful direction, excellent acting

and a dazzling sharp script, but also completely nails the mood and ethos of a

time. This is one of those movies.

2) Inside Job: This might be a documentary but it's exponentially more frightening than

anything that the makers of "Saw" or "Paranormal Activity"

managed to dish out. Director Charles Ferguson details the misdeeds of Wall

Street and Washington

with the cold fury of a prosecutor and the result is as riveting as it is

infuriating.

3) Mother: Psychological thrillers are devilishly hard to

get right. This movie does. Director Bong Joon-ho expertly mines the complex

psychology of its characters, especially the titular mother played by Kim

Hye-ja, to create a fascinating, unnerving portrait of a parent's love.

4) Black Swan: The Red Shoes meets Repulsion meets good ol' fashioned Cronenberg-style body

horror. What more can one ask for in a movie? Hopefully studio execs will take

note of the box office success of this film along with "Inception"

and actually start green-lighting more original movies.

5) Never Let Me Go: There were a lot of good movies this

year (see below) but I chose this one to round out the list because it was, I

thought, unfairly ignored. At first blush, you might mistake "Never Let Me

Go" for one of those Merchant/Ivory movies. But when the horror of the

characters sinks in, it comes like a punch to the gut. Carey Mulligan's

expression of sad resignation at the end of the movie might just break your

heart.

Honorable Mention: I Am Love, Four Lions, True Grit, Enter the Void,

Animal Kingdom, Carlos, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Exit Through

the Gift Shop

Philip Yu:

1) Toy Story 3: Wait, did a talking cowboy rag doll just

make me cry like a baby? Pixar proves, once again, why they're the kung fu

masters of storytelling.

2) Inception: In a summer littered with sequels, remakes

and adaptations, Christopher Nolan delivered a rare cinematic gem: a wholly

original sci-fi action blockbuster.

3) The Social Network: While a movie about the start of

Facebook, of all things, sounds pretty dull, I was hanging on every word of

Aaron Sorkin's rapid-fire, whip-smart script.

4) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Suck it, Iron Man 2.

Edgar Wright's pitch-perfect, irresistibly entertaining graphic novel

adaptation was the best comic book movie of the year.

5) Step Up 3D: The story and acting stunk it up, but if

3D is indeed here to stay, this visually stunning dance fest was one of the

most innovative and joyous uses of the technology I've ever seen on the big

screen.

Matt Whitfield:

1) Rabbit Hole: Some people enjoy rom-coms, some like big

budget action flicks. I, on the other hand, prefer DSFTs (dysfunctional

suburban family tragedies). The genre, which has produced some of the best

films of the past 20 years (including "The Ice Storm" and

"Little Children"), is a favorite of mine because actors in these

films are encouraged to act, to remove their makeup, to cry (sometimes

uncontrollably), and to deliver gut-wrenching performances. "Rabbit

Hole's" Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Dianne Weist over-delivered and

impressed me more than any other ensemble this year.

2) Waiting for Superman: A heartbreaking work of

staggering genius. Davis Guggenheim's ("An Inconvenient Truth,"

"It Might Get Loud") documentary -- which analyzes the failures of

our public education system by chronicling the lives of actual students —

rocked me to the core. It doesn't deserve to be lumped in with all the other

non-fiction films of the year; it should be recognized alongside the very best

films, regardless of genre.

3) Please Give: Hilarious, painfully realistic, and

surprisingly touching, writer-director Nicole Holofcener's latest indie flick

features an incredibly strong script and an all-star cast, headlined by the

hardest-working woman in Hollywood, Catherine Keener, who perfectly portrays

Kate, a guilt-riddled Manhattanite on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Side

note: I'll never forgive the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the Golden

Globe peeps) for nominating "The Tourist," "Red,"

"Alice in Wonderland," and "Burlesque" over "Please

Give" in the Best Picture — Musical or Comedy category. You should be

ashamed of yourselves!

4) The Town: I live for Boston-based crime dramas, so

it's not surprising to find "The Town" among my Top 5 films of the

year. The only real surprise is how taken aback I was by Ben Affleck's script,

direction, and acting. I've never considered myself a fan of his, but thanks to

this film, I'm truly excited to see what he has in store for us … which better

be more films featuring captivating car chases and nuns with guns!

5. Black Swan: It's campy; it's crazy; it's just what I

wanted ... and then some! I could ramble on and on about all of the film's

achievements, including the gorgeous lighting, the exquisite sound design, Darren

Aronofsky's detailed direction, and the custom-made Rodarte costumes, but I'll

try to keep this short and sweet... "Black Swan" is a smashing success

because of Natalie Portman, who matured before our eyes and gave the

performance of her career...and perhaps the performance of the year.

See Natalie Portman talk about making 'Black Swan':