Top Ten of 2010: the 10 films

10. The Kids Are All Right. If this were just a tract showing that family values includes families headed by lesbians too, tis wouldn't be notable. But all five of the primary ensemble nail the performaces, and the dialogue is so point perfect (watch the kids squirm when their moms tell how they met) and surprisingly funny so that a political statment becomes more of a human statement,

9, Exit Through the Gift Shop. Easily the most entertaining documentary of the last several years, this look at street art (a subject I have no general interest in) is given life and an energy I never imagined. Then it turns at the halfway point and becomes something else entirely, becoming, I think, an indictment of those who want to make corporate and mainstream an art form that is subversive in its nature. But remaining entertaining throughout.

8. Flipped. The film that slipped through the cracks this year. Director Rob Reiner brought us a fond look at a childhood crush through the alternating point of view of the crusher and the crushee. Madeline Carroll's performance as the girl who has the crush embodies an eighth grader as few have before her.

7. The Fighter. Christian Bale and Michelle Leo are getting the most publicity for their performances in the movie. And they are great, as is Amy Adams. Bt the heart of this movie is Mark Wahlberg. His emotion at not quite being able to get to the level that deep down he believes he belongs gives life to everything else in the movie, as does shooting the film in the Massachusetts neighborhood where it actually happened.

6. Buried. Or Claustrophobia: The Movie. I had more of a physical reaction to this film than any this year. Set simply in a coffin, there's no way this can work at feature length. But it can. With Ryan Reynolds' career-best performance, and more adept camerwork than I thought possible, I felt like the walls of the theater were closing in on me. And for days afterword.

5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth Salander is one of the most interesting characters I've found in a long time, brought to life by a fierce performance by Noomi Rapace. The central mystery is an interesting, but I was even more fascinated by the developing relationship between the two investigators.

4. Black Swan. The tru mess with your mind film of the Christmas season, assembled as only a master as Darren Aronfsky could do it. And Natalie Portman gives the performance of the year.

3. Inside Job. Charles Ferguson shows he may be the best documentarian alive, as he explains how the financial crisis of 2008 was not only inevitable, but will happen again if things are not changed. If this didn't make your blood boil, you must be one of the bankers profiled.

2. The Social Network. Aaron Sorkin has been the best writer on television for the past decade, but this film not only captured the magic of his dialogue, but came with a visual and technical flourish you expect from David Fincher.

1. Inception. Nothing captured my imagination, nothing showed me things I've never seen before like Inception. Great visual wit, ingenous plotting, I'm still stunned six months later. Simply put, nothing captured me quite like a dream within a dream within a dream.