Fandomania’s Favorite Movies of 2010

With 2010 coming to a close, it’s time for us to revisit our annual tradition of looking back at our favorite releases of the past year. We polled the Fandomania staff and asked for everyone’s favorite movies of 2010. This list is a compilation of the results.

Inception

“This movie’s unique subject matter made it intriguing and suspenseful — it’s one of those that makes you think ‘what if?’ It had good action and pacing and the discussion-worthy ending was icing on the cake.” – Ann Wells

“An amazing cast of actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in a thriller that really messed with my mind in the best way possible. Stealing secrets that are within the subconscious is the name of the game. I’ve watched this a couple times now, and I find something new each time.” – Amanda Bauer

“Inception is an ingenious twist on corporate espionage that creates a fantastic world of crime with attention to detail and rules that make it both engaging and believable. It’s hard to find that intelligent combination in modern science fiction movies.” – Jason Dorough

“I just loved everything about this movie; it hit a major chord with me. Plus, Tom Hardy is smoking hot in it.” – Summer Suzuki

Iron Man 2

“The return of Tony Stark! I have missed him so much. And we got much more insight into the background of his father and how Tony’s destiny had been laid out so long ago. It’s also wonderful how one movie can jazz you up in anticipation of another, as this clearly did with its hints towards the upcoming Avengers movie. The expansion of the universe is always a good thing in my book.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman

“I usually dislike most superhero sequels, but Iron Man 2 is one of the small exceptions. The public is now aware of Tony Stark’s double life, which leads to him fighting more knowledgeable opponents. The all star cast with a powerful storyline makes for the best superhero movie I’ve seen since The Dark Knight.” – Amanda Bauer

“I’m sure it’s already on the list, so I’ll just throw in my support of it.” – Chad Walker

Kick-Ass

“A lot of movies and comics have tried to make the world of superheroics gritty and ‘real,’ but Kick-Ass is the only one that has managed the feat while keeping the wonder and spectacle of comic book adventure.” – Jason Dorough

“Hit Girl. ‘Nuff said.” – Summer Suzuki

Shutter Island

“I had heard a lot about this movie before finally giving in to watch it. Being told that it was twisty and would blow me away definitely placed the bar high. And, yes, the plot of the movie was indeed filled with twists and turns that, once the reveal is made, prompts you to go back and watch it again just to pick up on some of the subtleties you may have missed the first time around.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman

“I’ve never been a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but he’s managed to turn out two of my five favorite movies of the year. Shutter Island is a great mystery story with plenty of clues and twists that will make you want to rewatch the movie immediately to catch everything you missed the first time.” – Jason Dorough

Toy Story 3

“Woody, Buzz, and the whole gang came back to the big screen in a new adventure. Andy is going off to college and the fate of the toys hang in the balance. I seriously adored watching this, partly because I grew up with the Toy Story and Toy Story 2 movies, and seeing that glimpse of the future and the fate of Andy’s toys had me enthralled throughout.” – Amanda Bauer

The Social Network

“Regardless of its real world veracity, The Social Network is a very important and excellently executed movie about modern society, success, and excess. The Facebook drama is just the vehicle for Aaron Sorkin’s engaging script about a brilliant person out of his depth and out of touch with most of humanity.” – Jason Dorough

The Expendables

“I’m convinced this is a love letter from Stallone to me.” – Summer Suzuki

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

“As a fan of the graphic novel series, I had my concerns about the film version. But Edgar Wright did a fantastic job of merging the six novels into one satisfying feature film.” – M.C. Shumaker

Splice

“Well, Vincenzo Natali certainly created a controversy with this picture. I’ve honestly not heard anyone say it was simply ‘okay’ as most reactions are either ‘loved it’ or ‘hated it.’ As a long-time Natali fan, I was accustomed to the storytelling and twists that he normally throws into his movies, but even I will admit that I struggled a bit sitting in the theater because there are some definitely heavy moral implications to the story he’s telling. Love it or hate it, it will definitely leave you thinking.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman

The Losers

“It’s yet another graphic novel-based movie starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, which is a win-win situation. The team dynamic in this is superb and Jensen was definitely my favorite, but don’t force me to choose! The bad guys in this are straight out of the pages of a comic book and sometimes you need that dash of dastardly evil to put it straight over the top.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman

Tangled

“Princess Rapunzel has spent the entire eighteen years of her life in a tower, until her curiosity of the outside world propels her to leave all that she knows in search of her dreams. Rapunzel ends up going on the most amazing journey of her life with a bandit that she struck a deal with to be her guide to help see the lanterns that are lit and released every year on her birthday. This movie, both in animation and storytelling, was enjoyable. I’m bummed that this will be the last fairytale-centric movie made by Disney for a while.” – Amanda Bauer

The Town

“I have always been a fan of crime and heist movies, and The Town exemplifies the genre at its highest form.” – Jason Dorough

RED

“This had a great combination of humor, action, and casting.” – Summer Suzuki

Daybreakers

“I’ll admit, my standards for what makes a decent vampire flick have dropped over the past few years. (Do the vampires in the film not sparkle? Already a B+ in my book.) Daybreakers goes above and beyond and is truly a fantastic piece of vampire cinema. A tale of a vampire world facing a blood shortage? Stellar performances from William Dafoe and Sam Neill. Yes please. If you missed this sleeper hit when it came out in January, rent it now.” – M.C. Shumaker

Get Him to the Greek

“I don’t remember a movie ever making me laugh as hard as this movie did, and Lars Ulrich taking the piss out of himself was just too awesome.” – Summer Suzuki

Despicable Me

“A criminal mastermind with a small army of minions devised the biggest heist in the world — stealing the moon. One day he encountered three orphaned girls who look at him not as a villain, but as a dad. I’m not a particular fan of Dreamworks animation in general but this movie had playful wit and intelligence throughout.” – Amanda Bauer

Gunless

“Hey, it’s the movie you’ve probably never heard of! You reunite Paul Gross and Callum Keith Rennie in a project, throw in a plot that’s a Canadian Western comedy, and you have the movie that is so underground you have to be a committed fan to even know it exists. I make it a point to watch everything Paul Gross ever puts out because the man has become a legend in his own mind and he’s always good for a laugh, in my opinion, even when he isn’t making a comedy. This was definitely one of the more appealing projects of the past few years from Paul Gross and company.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman

Ondine

“Nice little Irish love story that was very endearing.” – Summer Suzuki