The 35 Best Films of 2010

The best films of 2010 include a fake documentary, a comedy about Jihad, a vampire story NOT dealing with tacky tween romance, a haunting hillbilly noir, and an elegant tale about clones. Not necessarily the usual cinematic suspects.

                                      
Film
    
        Old Kings Yelling at Clouds: Art vs. Commerce in the Battle for Box-Office Relevance
    
Christopher John Stephens

        21 Nov 2019
    
Film
    
        Ludicrous Irony in Scorsese's 'The Irishman'
    
J.R. Kinnard

        15 Nov 2019
    
Books
    
        'Art Rebels' Squeezes Miles Davis and Martin Scorsese into the Same Box
    
Christopher John Stephens

        05 Aug 2019

Recent

Film

Scorsese and Dylan: A Match Made in Fantasy

In Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story, a cinematic genius and a Nobel Prize-winning musical icon pair for a magical and purposefully deceptive look at rock 'n' roll life in the mid-'70s.

Film

The Darkness Within: 13 Films That Burrow into Our Psyches

These 13 films help us understand horror as an important mode of cultural expression, as a means to explore the dark inner recesses of ourselves and our society.

Film

All Things Seen and Unsaid in Scorsese's 'The Age of Innocence'

Scorsese's outlier drama of manners has aged well... mostly.

Books

'Becoming AFI' Might Have Benefited from a Good Scriptwriter's Input

The history of this important American cultural institution is vital and appreciated, of course. If only the text had more "life" and "color" in it, as a good film does.

Film

De Niro's Rupert Pupkin Is Far More Menacing and Relevant Today Than His Travis Bickle

What is it about Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy that made its menace too intense for audiences than other gangster dramas of the '80s?

Film

Brush Up on Your Film Studies With 'Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2'

Scorsese and the World Cinema Project are not only opening up international filmmaking to Western audiences but providing immaculate film quality and history, too.

Film

Surviving the Moral Narrative of 'Taxi Driver' 40 Years On

"You do a thing and that's what you are." So what does that make us, the voyeurs in Travis Bickle’s world?

Reviews

If He Were Still With Us, 'Life Itself' Would Be Worthy of Roger Ebert's Praise

Ebert never lived to see the finished product, but it's not a stretch at all to imagine what kind of score Siskel & Ebert would have given it had they the chance: two thumbs up.

Film

10 Oscar Winners (and the Films They Should Have Won For)

Sometimes, the Academy Awards a consolation prize of sorts for getting it wrong in a previous year. Here are 10 examples of this phenomenon.

Film

Scorsese vs. Scorsese: Tales of Two Dreamers

The Wolf of Wall Street celebrates deception, whereas Hugo upholds the search for truth. Which worldview is Scorsese's?

Film

Sex & Drugs & Stocks 'n' Blow

The Wolf of Wall Street becomes a frightening morality play wherein the morals worth celebrating or demonizing depend entirely upon the viewer.

Film

A Night at the Movies with Marty

In terms of historical importance and pure cinematic thrills, Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project will be practically impossible to surpass.

Film

The Month In Pop Entertainment: November 2013

Feast on a cornucopia of entertainment options this month.

Film

Martin Scorsese's Best Marriage of Film and Music Is Showcased in 'Goodfellas'

Martin Scorsese is a master filmmaker and often just as brilliant at incorporating music into his work. Nowhere have those skills shone brighter than in Goodfellas.

Reviews

Tie Goes to the Computer: 'Side By Side'

Christopher Kenneally's documentary does its best to level the playing field between celluloid and digital cinema, but here even fairness can be a losing battle.

Film

An Open Letter to Tom Cruise: How to Make a Movie Rock

Dear Tom Cruise: We know you are hurting from the failure of Rock of Ages. However, if you learn the lessons from the best rock-themed movies, you can still make a rock film for the ages.

Film

Go Play in Traffic: 5 Movies About Kids That Are Better Than 'Hugo' and 'True Grit'

Precocious cherubs and wise-beyond-their-years savants are a Hollywood staple, but they don't really reflect the state of actually being a kid. Here are a five good, great, or interesting films that are far more effective in portraying that being a kid is a really weird thing to be.

Film

Kenneth Lonergan's Film 'Margaret' Finally Emerges After Six Years of Delays

Though a very long time in coming, the much-anticipated Margaret very recently made brief runs in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, greeting packed houses wherever it went.

Reviews

'Hugo': A Love Letter to Cinema

Martin Scorsese makes it hard for you to forget why film is the single most important medium art has to offer, and if you’ve forgotten, he does a damn good job of reminding you.

Film

The 100 Essential Directors Part 8: Jean Renoir to Douglas Sirk

From Jean Renior through Douglas Sirk, there may be some choices that raise an eyebrow. While each of the directors we look at today might not be on every cinephile's list of great directors, they absolutely merit inclusion for their distinct visions and dedication to their craft, some despite their questionable personal lives and politics.

Reviews

When Time Twists Within Itself: 'Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies'

Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies explores the connections between the birth of the motion picture and the evolution of modern art, particularly Cubism.

Music

The Year in Music: January 2010

Let’s single out the biggest events that happened in the world of music one month at a time, starting with January 2010.

Film

Scorsese's 'Goodfellas': The Most Definitive American Movie of the Last Two Decades

Goodfellas was so great its largest "fault" was its own success; that it inspired so many lame, shameless rip-offs.

Reviews

'Stones In Exile': An Autobiographical Rock 'n' Roll Bible

By exiling themselves to small-town America's "Main Street", the Rolling Stones began serving up a rich, steamy gumbo of sounds they certainly didn't invent, but undeniably put their stamp upon.

Comics

Azrael #1-3

Scorsese-inspired and Petraeus-infused, Fabian Nicieza and Ramon Bachs' new Azrael is an incendiary powder keg, commenting one everything from the War on Terror to its title character's relevance to the very purpose of faith.

Film

Waltzing with Wilco

As any experienced concert-goer knows, a lively audience can mean the difference between a lackluster event and a memorable night. Sometimes, it’s more important than the band's actual performance.

Reviews

Shine a Light

Rarely do movies change my mind about anything, rarer still about rock 'n' roll, but Shine A Light did just that.

Reviews

Shine a Light

While the coming together of the Rolling Stones and Martin Scorsese has been heralded as an event, Shine a Light is only fitfully absorbing.

Reviews

New York, New York

Scorsese films Liza Minelli like a '40s musical screen goddess, and she repays him with one of her most relaxed, assured acting performances.

Reviews

Taxi Driver: Collectors Edition

The extras driving this Collector's Edition of Taxi Driver.

Bruce Dancis

Reviews

Brando

Brando is most original and inspiring when it looks at Brando's other work. As Bobby Seale remembers, "If I said, 'Constitutional democratic civil human rights,' I mean, it lit him up."

Film

Shallow Graves

Martin Scorsese's hotly tipped Oscar fave, The Departed, plumbs the depths of the psychological and sociological motives of violence, loyalty, and duty.

Michael Patrick Brady

Reviews

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The best films of 2010 include a fake documentary, a comedy about Jihad, a vampire story NOT dealing with tacky tween romance, a haunting hillbilly noir, and an elegant tale about clones. Not necessarily the usual cinematic suspects.

In Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story, a cinematic genius and a Nobel Prize-winning musical icon pair for a magical and purposefully deceptive look at rock 'n' roll life in the mid-'70s.

These 13 films help us understand horror as an important mode of cultural expression, as a means to explore the dark inner recesses of ourselves and our society.

Scorsese's outlier drama of manners has aged well... mostly.

The history of this important American cultural institution is vital and appreciated, of course. If only the text had more "life" and "color" in it, as a good film does.

What is it about Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy that made its menace too intense for audiences than other gangster dramas of the '80s?

Scorsese and the World Cinema Project are not only opening up international filmmaking to Western audiences but providing immaculate film quality and history, too.

"You do a thing and that's what you are." So what does that make us, the voyeurs in Travis Bickle’s world?

Ebert never lived to see the finished product, but it's not a stretch at all to imagine what kind of score Siskel & Ebert would have given it had they the chance: two thumbs up.

Sometimes, the Academy Awards a consolation prize of sorts for getting it wrong in a previous year. Here are 10 examples of this phenomenon.

The Wolf of Wall Street celebrates deception, whereas Hugo upholds the search for truth. Which worldview is Scorsese's?

The Wolf of Wall Street becomes a frightening morality play wherein the morals worth celebrating or demonizing depend entirely upon the viewer.

In terms of historical importance and pure cinematic thrills, Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project will be practically impossible to surpass.

Feast on a cornucopia of entertainment options this month.

Martin Scorsese is a master filmmaker and often just as brilliant at incorporating music into his work. Nowhere have those skills shone brighter than in Goodfellas.

Christopher Kenneally's documentary does its best to level the playing field between celluloid and digital cinema, but here even fairness can be a losing battle.

Dear Tom Cruise: We know you are hurting from the failure of Rock of Ages. However, if you learn the lessons from the best rock-themed movies, you can still make a rock film for the ages.

Precocious cherubs and wise-beyond-their-years savants are a Hollywood staple, but they don't really reflect the state of actually being a kid. Here are a five good, great, or interesting films that are far more effective in portraying that being a kid is a really weird thing to be.

As much as people want to categorize him, Martin Scorsese has never let himself be boxed in.

Though a very long time in coming, the much-anticipated Margaret very recently made brief runs in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, greeting packed houses wherever it went.

Martin Scorsese makes it hard for you to forget why film is the single most important medium art has to offer, and if you’ve forgotten, he does a damn good job of reminding you.

Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies explores the connections between the birth of the motion picture and the evolution of modern art, particularly Cubism.

Let’s single out the biggest events that happened in the world of music one month at a time, starting with January 2010.

Goodfellas was so great its largest "fault" was its own success; that it inspired so many lame, shameless rip-offs.

By exiling themselves to small-town America's "Main Street", the Rolling Stones began serving up a rich, steamy gumbo of sounds they certainly didn't invent, but undeniably put their stamp upon.

Scorsese-inspired and Petraeus-infused, Fabian Nicieza and Ramon Bachs' new Azrael is an incendiary powder keg, commenting one everything from the War on Terror to its title character's relevance to the very purpose of faith.

As any experienced concert-goer knows, a lively audience can mean the difference between a lackluster event and a memorable night. Sometimes, it’s more important than the band's actual performance.

Rarely do movies change my mind about anything, rarer still about rock 'n' roll, but Shine A Light did just that.

While the coming together of the Rolling Stones and Martin Scorsese has been heralded as an event, Shine a Light is only fitfully absorbing.

Scorsese films Liza Minelli like a '40s musical screen goddess, and she repays him with one of her most relaxed, assured acting performances.

The extras driving this Collector's Edition of Taxi Driver.

Brando is most original and inspiring when it looks at Brando's other work. As Bobby Seale remembers, "If I said, 'Constitutional democratic civil human rights,' I mean, it lit him up."

Martin Scorsese's hotly tipped Oscar fave, The Departed, plumbs the depths of the psychological and sociological motives of violence, loyalty, and duty.