Darkmatters Top 10 Films of 2010

Darkmatters - Matt Adcock's Top 10 Films of 2010

It’s been a good year for film – here are the ones that really counted!!

10. The American (15)
Adapted from a novel by Martin Booth, The American in question is George Clooney acting his manly eyebrows off in a dark role of a good hearted hit-man who wants to escape his violent life.

9. Let Me In (15)
Easily the best horror film of the year. Let Me In (a remake of the excellent ‘Let The Right One In’) does for vampires something that a million Twilights, True Bloods or Vampire Diaries can only hope to – it grips the very soul of the viewer and never lets go. Darkmatters Review

8. The Book of Eli (15)
Through a near future Mad Max style wasteland where law has collapsed comes a traveller by the name of Eli (Denzel Washington), carrying with him the very last copy of the Good Book. Cue quality violent heroics and possible salvation – all set against a fantastic bleached out cinematic vista. Darkmatters Review

7. Four Lions (15)
Four Lions is the darkest, bravest comedy of the year which will leave you dazed and confused, challenged and inspired. It’s a brilliant film that deserves to be seen – prepare to laugh, cry and wince, probably all at the same time!! Darkmatters Review

6. Toy Story 3 (PG)
2010 saw us go to infinity and beyond – one more time… And the animation genius’s at Disney / Pixar saved the best trip till last with this all age feel good artistic masterpiece. Darkmatters Review

5. Somewhere (15)
A hard-living Hollywood actor has to re-examine his life after his 11-year-old daughter surprises him with an extended visit. This is a gorgeous life changing film that really needs to be seen.

4. The Town (15)
Take a trip to The Town with Ben Affleck for a full on, nerve shredding cops and robbers romp, packing some seriously cool shoot-outs which even rival those of the crime epic Heat. Darkmatters Review

3. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (12)
Brit Director Edgar Wright does for romance, video games and super heroes what he did for zombie films with Shaun of the Dead and police action buddy films with Hot Fuzz. Prepare for a dazzling pop culture overload which rocks a cinematic endorphin buzz of pure fun. Darkmatters Review

2. KICK-ASS (15)
Speaking of kick ass action – Kick-Ass is a fantastic new breed of superhero movie, a twisted, action packed megaton of wanton comic book violence quite unlike anything you’ve seen. Darkmatters Review

1. Inception (12)
Inception was without doubt the most exciting, brain frying, pleasure-inducing film of 2010. You don’t need to enter anyone’s dreams to realise that director Christopher Nolan delivered a very cool mind twisting plot, awesome special effects and kick-ass action. Darkmatters Review

Previous lists:

Matt's Top 10 Films 2009

Matt's Top 10 Films 2008

Matt's Top 10 Films 2007

Matt's Top 10 Films 2006

Matt's Top 10 Films 2005

Matt's Top 10 Films 2004

Darkmatters Review: The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli (15)

Dir. The Hughes Brothers

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

It’s the near future yet again and we’ve managed to wreck the world thanks to massive war which pretty much wiped out civilisation and left us in a Mad Max style wild wasteland. The law has collapsed, bandits rule the roads ruthlessly preying on travellers – and cannibalism is widespread in a world where food and water are now scarce.

Through this apocalyptic future comes a traveller by the name of Eli (a noble turn from Denzel Washington). Eli is a man on a mission to reach the West Coast of America, a trek that he has been on for 30 years, he carries with him a treasured possession – the very last copy of the bible. As a fellow bible carrier (on my iPhone at least) and fully signed up believer, The Book of Eli’s reverence for the Good Book is an interesting plot device.

It’s extremely rare to find a big budget Hollywood action film that takes religion quite as seriously as this and yet directors the Hughes Brothers have created a violent epic centred around a devout man of faith. Eli’s odyssey sees him having to fight, kill and kick copious amounts of ass, especially when he comes up against the evil Carnegie (a snarling Gary Oldman) who is the self appointed leader of a small west wild style town. Carnegie is a seeker of books – not just any books either – as demonstrated when one of his bandit biker gangs brings him a collection including ‘The Da Vinci Code’ which he immediately has burnt. He knows that the bible alone has the words which can sway people’s hearts and he wants to use it to bring order and control to his populace.

Caught up in the ensuing power struggle are Carnegie's daughter Solara (a spirited Mila Kunis) and her mother Claudia (Jennifer Beals) who both suffer at her deranged father's ways.
The gritty plot unfolds at a pleasing pace, building up to and beyond the climatic showdown between Eli and Carnegie. Action fans are well catered for with frequent burst of sensational ultra-violence, yet the film as a whole has a moral core message that will challenge all who see it.

The cinematography and look of the film are absolutely superb, the apocalypse has simply never looked so good, all shot in a super desaturated bleached palette that really sets this apart from inferior ‘near future’ efforts. Pick of the scenes for me was a five on one fight in shot in the silhouette of a highway underpass.

The Book of Eli is the first ‘must see’ action film of 2010, The Hughes Brothers have, as the Good Book might say, ‘fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith’ and have answered the prayers of action film fans.

For gamers, this is the nearest thing yet to a movie adaptation of Fallout 3 or Borderlands...Highly recommended viewing.

UNSEEN DELETED SCENE:

In a twist that didn't make the final cut... The Book of Eli turns out not to be the bible but the novel 'Darkmatters' - and it saves the world!?


Darkmatters rating: ööööööööö (9 righteous road warriors out of 10)

Darkmatters quick reference guide: Action 9 / Style 9 / Babes 7 / Comedy 6 / Horror 6 / Spiritual Enlightenment 10

"The righteous shall kick the ass of the unrighteous"