Well, 2010 is over, which means it's time to judge it. So here's my favourite and least favourite films of the last year (keeping in mind that I obviously haven't seen every essential film -- or every crappy one).

THE BEST

1. Animal Kingdom - It seems like this film is being mostly forgotten in most of the year-end round-ups, which I think is criminal. This is an astounding debut feature; it's a weighty crime movie that is a little bit slower than you'd typically expect from the genre, but which absolutely works. It's pretty mesmerizing.

2. Inception - This is an exciting, unique film that only Christopher Nolan could have made. It doesn't fare quite as well on repeat viewings as I might have hoped, but it is awesome nonetheless.

3. Enter the Void - Sprawling, hallucinatory and in-your-face bizarre, this film about life after death (shot entirely from the point of view of someone who has just died) pretty much defines love it or hate it.

4. Black Swan - Part character study, part psychological horror, all awesome.

5. Toy Story 3 - A delightful end to the Toy Story trilogy.

6. Buried - An almost ridiculously taut thriller that's all the more impressive considering that it never, ever leaves the confines of a tiny, claustrophobic coffin.

7. Frozen - Open Water on a ski lift. Like Buried, this takes a seemingly iffy premise and turns it into something special.

8. The Social Network - David Fincher's best film in ages.

9. Hereafter - I can see why some people don't like this film; it's slow even by Clint Eastwood's standards, and it's kind of uneventful (aside from the amazingly visceral first ten minutes or so) but I found there to be something oddly compelling about it.

10. Greenberg - A typically low-key indie drama, but really well made and well acted.


THE WORST

1. Valentine's Day - Don't even ask me why I saw this. It's like every terrible romantic comedy you've ever seen crammed into one intolerable film.

2. Killers - Ashton Kutcher is bland, Katherine Heigl is shrill, and together they have zero chemistry. Robert Luketic (the director) is a hack who shouldn't be allowed within ten feet of a camera.

3. Grown Ups - Like being forced to watch some stranger's slickly-produced home videos. Grating.

4. Cop Out - Absurdly inept in almost every regard.

5. Alice in Wonderland - Sadly, there was a time, many moons ago, where I would have considered Tim Burton one of my favourite directors. He's on autopilot here, and the film is just dull.

6. The Wolfman - Far too ponderous to succeed as a fun piece of escapism, and far too bland and generic to work on a more serious level, this is pretty much a fiasco.

7. The Karate Kid - A dull film which is basically a note-for-note remake of the original, only drained of all its '80s charm.

8. Score: A Hockey Musical - If you're not Canadian, there's a very good chance you haven't even heard of this film. I wish I hadn't heard of it. Generic, and without a single memorable song.

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street - As far as Platinum Dunes remakes goes this was probably the best of the bunch, though that's basically like trying to figure out which is the best STD.

10. The Expendables - Not outright terrible, but this deserves a spot on this list just because of how disappointing it was. This wasn't at all the fun '80s throwback it should have been. The film takes itself way too seriously, and is kind of dull. Worse, the action, with its in-your-face shaky-cam and million cuts-per-second, was pretty crappy. Plus, the violence was all very obviously CGI, which -- along with the grating Greengrass-style action -- is about as far from the spirit of the '80s as you can get.

Anyway, those are my lists. Feel free to chime in with best/worst picks in the comments.