Top 20 movies of 2010

10. Monsters

Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able

The modern day B-movie is a difficult beast to define. On one hand we have green-screen abominations such as the Mega-Something Vs Giant-Whatever series - happy to entertain passing masturbators for a few fleeting seconds as they channel-hop into the cable TV gutter. But on the other hand, we find interesting little gems like Monsters - lovingly and carefully crafted with the knowledge that in order to play to your strengths, you must first mask your weaknesses.

Filmed literally from the ground up, writer/director Gareth Edwards and his shaky-cam get the viewer up close and very personal with damsel-in-distress Sam (Whitney Able) and would-be-rescuer Andrew (Scoot McNairy), on their ill-chosen passage through an area of Mexico that just so happens to be overrun by an alien infestation. Keeping the titular monsters at a safe distance (for the most part - creature-feature fans definitely have nothing to fear), we're encouraged instead to absorb the colourful environment and focus on the main characters as their peril brings them closer together.
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On first glance it would be easy to dismiss Monsters as a Cloverfield rip-off, but there's a thread that goes much deeper than will-they/won't-they live/die/rut.' In fact, the questions that arise become almost philosophical in nature, setting the stage for a surprisingly poignant and beautiful ending. By journeys end you're left with a longing to know more about the before and after, and by dropping us into the middle of a fully evolved reality, it's a perfect introduction to a much more delicate situation than may first seem apparent. Luke

Defining moment: Perhaps the only shag in a garage forecourt that could ever be described as 'effervescent'.

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9. Kick-Ass

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage

If there is ever a film to so directly tap into that part of me that still thinks I can don a cape and eye-mask and rid Croydon of its hooded ruffians, this is it. An antidote to the steady influx of superhero flicks that are often awesome, sometimes average and once Daredevil, Mark Millar's graphic novel mines the simple premise of a real-world caped crusader to its fullest comic potential while director Matthew Vaughn's adaptation provides some of the slickest and most brutal action sequences of any superhero movie.

The real brilliance of the film, however, lies in the shrewd - and surprising, on first viewing - transition from Dave's average humdrum life into a full-on ridiculous comic-book arena. At the start of the movie, Dave is mundanely describing his bedroom masturbation routine, but as he becomes more committed to his crime-fighting alter-ego, he meets costumed accomplices (the foul-mouthed-but-deadly Hit Girl and Nicolas Cage as Adam West's Batman), gets the girl of his dreams, tackles a gangster kingpin, gains a new arch-nemesis and, best of all, ends the film wearing a fucking jetpack.

It's all just perfectly pitched to make me believe that, when I do eventually get the courage to climb into a pair of tights, I will literally become awesome - and not just a half-hearted transvestite. Matt

Defining moment: Hit Girl introduces herself to a room full of drug dealers ("Okay you cunts - let's see what you can do now!") before stylishly laying waste to the lot of 'em.

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8. Toy Story 3

Director: Lee Unkrich
Voices of: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger

It's almost a given that Pixar will deliver a five-star movie experience these days (although next summer's Cars 2 may test that theory), but it was still shocking to realise how much we've come to cherish the antics of Andy's toys over the years when the time finally came to say goodbye. Can you honestly remember the last time a studio poured this much love and affection into a threequel?

As usual, the animation is top-drawer (it's one of the only movies this year to make noticeable use of 3D) and the action sequences are exquisite and charming in equal measures, but it's the sheer abundance of character on offer that makes Toy Story 3 such a delight. Even the addition of a toy-chest full of new faces didn't diminish the heartfelt connection between Woody, Buzz and the gang; Michael Keaton's fashion-conscious model Ken almost minced off with the whole show. Ali

Defining moment: The furnace scene: perhaps the closest Pixar have ever come to introducing children to the concept of death. It scared the shit out of me and I own a fucking house.

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The Social Network Catherine Bray - Editor, Film4.com You know what's cool? A film about Facebook starring Kenny Green off of 'Get Real' and Justin Timberlake. Unbelievably, not only was said film not shit, it's a firm film of the year and looks set to be recognised as such come Oscar nomination season. Director/King Of Cinema David Fincher marshalled the dream combination of a razor-sharp script from Aaron Sorkin, possibly the year's finest score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and career-best performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield to create a sharp, stinging exploration of ego, youth and power. Catherine Catherine is the editor of Film4.com and used to write for Hotdog magazine, the greatest film magazine ever that ever lived. Sob.

7. Shutter Island

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams

Part spooky mystery, part psychological horror, part film noir - Scorsese went all out with this adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel, with Leonardo DiCaprio starring as US Marshal Teddy Daniels investigating the disappearance of a patient from a lunatic asylum while suffering from his own harrowing memories.

Those who complained upon release that this film is slow and predictable were missing the point - forget the idea that this is a simple twisty-turny thriller, it's actually a disturbing study of lunacy that unravels with expertly measured confusion and paranoia. DiCaprio then enhances this with a superbly-nuanced performance even by his standards, reaching a possible career-best when it comes to a revelatory tragic flashback scene towards the film's conclusion.

And just to completely disprove those disparaging critics, Shutter Island actually improves with each repeat viewing as rough edges and awkward effects become part of a polished atmosphere of artificiality embedded in the backdrop of each scene. Therein lies Scorsese's recognisable touch of genius - as the primary 'missing person' plot dissolves into beautiful stormy scenery, the real pleasure to be had isn't in Teddy finding out the answer, but in what it takes for him to get it. Matt

Defining moment: In a chilling dreamlike sequence, Teddy holds his dead wife in a burning room, only for her to crumple into ashes in his arms.

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6. Four Lions

Director: Chris Morris
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay

How do you make a comedy about suicide bombers funny? Satirical genius Chris Morris knew the answer: make them just like the rest of us. While the titular four lions may believe in martyring themselves in the name of higher causes, they're essentially as inept as any four men acting without supervision trying to get a difficult job done. Replace 'jihad' and 'holy war' with 'piss up' and 'brewery' and you're on the right track.

Four Lions is very careful not to trivialise a serious subject matter, instead drawing on real stories of in-fighting, culture-clashes and general alpha male tomfoolery to mine humour from the most deep, dark comedy cave. Yes, it had quotable dialogue ("Fuck Mini Babybel!") and priceless sight gags (the crow bomb), but come the movie's explosive, emotional end, Morris succeeds in doing what so few politicians and campaigners have tried to do: humanising the enemy. The fact that it's done while the lead bomber is wearing a chicken suit? Now that's funny. Ali

Defining moment: The best rendition of Toploader's 'Dancing In The Moonlight' ever.

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