Category: 2010

  • The Social Network (2010)

    As the boy wonder who invented Facebook in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg was the world’s youngest-ever, self-made billionaire. He was also, at least according to The Social Network, a bona fide genius whose brilliance was matched by a cruelty borne of insecurity and resentment. And this deeply ambivalent portrait of Zuckerberg was in 2010, predating what…

  • Another Year (2010)

    Nothing much happens in Mike Leigh films, at least not in the strictest sense of Plot Mechanics 101. There are no car chases or explosions, not even a juicy epiphany in the final reel. The British writer-director is seeking something else. In emotionally rich films like Secrets & Lies and Topsy-Turvy, he explores the complexities…

  • 127 Hours (2010)

    Man-versus-nature tales don’t get much more harrowing than the real-life one involving Aron Ralston. You aren’t likely to recognize the name, but you might know the incident that made him famous. In May 2003, Ralston was mountain climbing in a remote section of Utah when a boulder crushed his right hand and wrist. Trapped for…

  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

    Based on a series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a movie with ADD and a lapsed Ritalin prescription. It moves with bullet-train speed, crackles with wit and packs enough hip pop-culture references to make Chuck Klosterman green with envy. There are nods to arcade games, comic books,…

  • Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

    It would have been easy for Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work to take a by-the-numbers approach to its subject. Among the true pioneers of edgy stand-up comedy (she joked about having sex and abortions long before such topics became fodder for Amy Schumer and her ilk), Joan Rivers was instrumental in paving the way…