Top 5 Films Halfway Through 2010

Our writer picks his favorite—and least favorite—movies of the year so far

By Bryan Johnson
Published: July 13th, 2010 | 5:10pm

The Best So Far ...

1. Winter’s Bone

Debra Granik’s Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance this year is one of the most muscular, lean, and gritty dramas in some time. Anchored by an unforgettable performance by 19-year-old Jennifer Lawrence as a girl who must keep her family together by navigating the underbelly of an impoverished meth community to find her deadbeat father, the film is wholly engaging and gripping.

2. Please Give

Nicole Holofcener’s latest is a pitch-perfect comedy-drama about married couple played by Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt who are waiting for the elderly woman next door to die so they can expand their apartment. The standouts are supporting performances by Ann Guilbert as the cranky old woman and Amanda Peet and Rebecca Hall as her damaged granddaughters who are both searching for happiness that seems far out of grasp.

3. Lourdes

Jessica Hausner’s stoic and sublte film about a paralyzed woman who seeks a miracle at the renowned Holy site in France is both captivating and mysterious. Presented as an examination of faith, Lourdes also touches on the many complexities of human nature such as jealousy and what it means to be good. While slow, calculated, and cold, the film is also unforgettable.

4. Exit Through the Gift Shop

Notoriously mysterious grafitti artist Banksy creates a documentary about a video-obsessed French immigrant turned ultra-hip Los Angeles artist Thierry Guetta. People have questioned whether the happenings in this satirical documentary are actually all a hoax. Banksy, whether an unreliable narrator here or not, pokes fun of the art world in a way that is at once hilarious, quirky, and entirely entertaining.

5. Restrepo

A war film with no real political motives, Restrepo tells of the journey of a platoon of men embedded in the dangerous Korengal Valley (referred to as the “Valley of Death”) in Afghanistan. Filmed by journalist Sebastian Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington, it's a well-told, simple, sincere, and harrowing story about surviving together while doing a job that you've been ordered to do.

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...And the Worst

1. Date Night: Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, and James Franco couldn't save this predictable rom-com "thriller."

2. Youth In Revolt: Miguel Arteta's adaptation of the beloved campy novel by C.D. Payne is ultimately unimaginative despite Michael Cera's funny turn in double roles as nice-guy Nick Twisp and his slimy alter-ego Francois Dillinger.

3. City Island: The comedy starring Andy Garcia and Emily Mortimer is wise to avoid family-film cliches, but ultimately becomes an unfocused mess.

4. Micmacs: Jean-Pierre Jeunet packs this circus freak show with nonstop shenanigans, and it's still boring.

5. Death at a Funeral: Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Martin Lawrence make it mildly amusing, but after this and Lakeview Terrace, it's clear Neil LaBute should get back to character-driven relationship studies.