Iverem's Top Ten Movies for 2010

Iverem's Top Ten Movies for 2010
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"Fair Game"
"...For me, this film is easily a contender for picture of the year. In the world we live in, filled with political spin and outright lies masquerading as news, there is nothing like a does of history and fact to set us straight. The story of Valerie Plame, in the hands of director Doug Limon, turns out to be the most important political story of our time, as it involves lies and deceit at the highest levels of the U.S. government, lies about Iraq developing or owning WMDS, lies that ultimately took the United States into a one trillion dollar war that cost the lives of more than one million Iraqis and the lives of more than 4400 American troops..."

"Inside Job"
From Charles Ferguson. the director of the amazing "No End In Sight" about the invasion of Iraq, Inside Job' provides a analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through extensive interviews, the film traces the rise of a rogue financial industry which has tentacles in government and academia.

"The Fighter"
Christian Bale and Melissa Leo are standouts in this story about Irish Micky Ward, who fought for the Welterweight Championship against Shea Neary.

"Inception"
"..."Inception" takes us from silliness to terror, from the cheesiest moments of a summer action flick to scenes of wonder, beauty and the deepest of human emotion. It is the ultimate escapist art. For two hours, we are lulled away from the realities of global warming, war and the gulf oil spill with the idea that we human beings can experience dreams shared with others, and that skilled dream architects can craft our dreams to be what they want them to be, or what we want them to be--or what complete strangers want them to be..."

"The Social Network"
"...The script, direction (David Fincher) and acting (Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg) are all at a high caliber and keep the movie from feeling cheesy. It doesn't fall into easy stereotypes about nerds, the Ivy League or the tech world. I happened to see this film very close to "Catfish," another movie about Facebook, and both narratives serve as book-ends on the Facebook phenomenon--its start and its current evolution to more than 500 million members. Both movies force us to think about ambition and deception--the kind of deception that can only occur when people hide behind their computers..."

"If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise"
"...Spike Lee's follow up to his Emmy Award-winning documentary about Hurricane Katrina, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Three Acts," is fierce and exhaustive. Marking the fifth anniversary of the 2005 disaster, Lee returns to HBO with "If God is Willing an Da Creek Don't Rise" and chronicles the tumultuous aftermath in New Orleans since the waters receded..."

"South of the Border"
"...A striking aspect of Oliver Stone's new movie "South Of The Border" is its depiction of the Orwellian state of our news media--especially when it comes to coverage of South America and South American leaders. How did Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela many times over, suddenly become a "dictator," as he is referred to by Fox News and other "news" organizations? How much longer can the United States politicians divide the world's countries into allies and enemies based on their willingness to supply us with cheap oil or a place to house our military bases? As it turns out, Stone reveals, by sticking to an outmoded perspective of the region, American news organizations have missed one of the biggest political stories of the past decade--the transformation of Latin America into a region headed by popularly elected leftists leaders who aren't afraid of the word revolution..."

"The Book of Eli"
In "The Book of Eli," Denzel Washington walks the road of a post-apocalyptic United States with crude but effective weapons, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes on his iPod and the perfect shades on his face. He is the ultimate Hollywood action hero with a serious edge and twist--a righteous man who only resorts to violence when provoked and in self-defense. Not since Morpheus kicked some serous ass in "The Matrix" have I seen a Black film star get the better of so many serious fight scenes. Not since Will Smith in "I Am Legend," have I seen a Black hero, framed by a superior intellect, slay those who dare threaten what is left of humanity..."


"Race To Nowhere"

For me, this film functions as a sort of antidote to "Waiting For Superman," the much-hyped documentary that basically places the blame for failing schools at the feet of teachers and unions. "Race to Nowhere" looks, instead, at the pressures placed on students to "achieve" and the sad consequences-- depression, suicide and cheating.

"Client 9"
"Client 9" is a documentary about the rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer, former attorney general and governor of New York, who resigned in March 2008 after being embroiled in a prostitution sex scandal. Director Alex Gibney (also this year "Casino Jack and the United States of Money.") offers compelling evidence that Spitzer's downfall was brought about by collusion between justice officials of the Bush administration and the many enemies he made as the so-called "sheriff of Wall Street." Spitzer insisted on prosecuting white collar criminals just as he would anyone else. Months before the stock market crash of September 2008 that would take the U.S. economy with it, Spitzer was digging deep into fraudulent financial dealings on a Wall Street that had become engorged with astronomical salaries and bonuses..."

This list was first published at SeeingBlack.com

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