The Film Fanatic Review of 2010
Part 1- January-March

Time to round off another year by looking at the stats and totalling up the films that have made a splash in the UK box office between January and December 2010. We've seen wizards, wolves, vampires, dragons and mind bending mysteries as well as some dodgy CGI of Johnny Depp's legs! Let's look back at the last year in film:

JANUARY

Did You Hear About The Morgans? (Dir: Marc Lawrence) (IMDB rating 4.4/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,155,060) - another predicatable Hugh Grant rom-com affair that fizzled away just as soon as it arrived.

Daybreakers (Dirs: Michael and Peter Spierig) (IMDB rating 6.5/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,344,588) - violent, futurisitic vampire tale starring Sam Neill and Ethan Hawke.

It's Complicated (Dir: Nancy Meyers) (IMDB rating 6.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,098,659) - Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin proving that divorce is ok.

The Road (Dir: John Hillcoat) (IMDB rating 7.4/10; opening weekend gross UK: £627,147) - Viggo Mortensen stars in emotional adaptation of Cormac McCarthy novel.

Sex and Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll (Dir: Mat Whitecross) (IMDB rating 6.5/10; opening weekend gross UK: £173,831) - Andy Serkis plays the legendary Blockheads front man Ian Dury in a breezy biopic.

Up In The Air (Dir: Jason Reitman) (IMDB rating 7.8/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,298,023) - The first pleasant surprise of the film year. George Clooney is the set in his ways protagonist who needs to change his life around before he winds up alone. Sharp dialogue and a great supporting cast make this is an understated winner.

The Book of Eli (Dirs: Albert and Allen Hughes) IMDB rating 6.9/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,232,001) - Denzel Washington in biblical actioner.

Toy Story 2 (3D re-release) (Dir: John Lasseter) IMDB rating 8.0/10; opening weekend gross UK: £909,093 - note: this gross only takes into account the amount taken on re-release) - With Toy Story getting the 3D re-release treatment in the fall of 2009, Toy Story 2 made it back into UK cinemas in January 2010 7 months ahead of this year's new Toy Story 3. In the second outing for the toys there is more peril and more excitement than the first. An animated wonder.

Brothers (Dir: Jim Sheridan) IMDB rating 7.3/10; opening weekend gross UK: £366,290) - Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire are war torn brothers in taut drama.

Un Prophete (A Prophet) (Dir: Jacques Audiard) IMDB rating 8.0/10; opening weekend gross: £312,237 - a young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.

Edge of Darkness (Dir: Martin Campbell) IMDB rating 6.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,172,927) - Mel Gibson is Thomas Craven, a homicide detective investigating the death of his daughter in Martin Campbell's directorial follow up to Casino Royale.

Precious (Dir: Lee Daniels) IMDB rating 7.5/10; opening weekend gross UK: £260,921) - double Oscar winning Harlem based drama.


FEBRUARY

The Princess and the Frog (Dirs: Ron Clements and John Musker) IMDB rating 7.3/10; opening weekend gross UK: £2,239,759)

Astro Boy (Dir: David Bowers) IMDB rating 6.4/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,091,872)

Invictus (Dir: Clint Eastwood) IMDB rating 7.4/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,068,388)

Youth in Revolt (Dir: Miguel Arteta) IMDB rating 6.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £743,932) - more of the same fare with Michael Cera - but often very funny.


Valentine's Day (Dir: Garry Marshall) IMDB rating 5.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £3,732,393)

The Wolfman (Dir: Joe Johnston) IMDB rating 6.0/10; opening weekend gross UK: £2,367,849)

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Dir: Chris Columbus) IMDB rating 5.8/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,502,633)- a solid adaptation of the first of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson stories.


My Name is Khan (Dir: Karan Johar) IMDB rating 7.2/10; opening weekend gross UK: £936,454)

A Single Man (Dir: Tom Ford) IMDB rating 7.6/10; opening weekend gross UK: £502,009)


The Lovely Bones (Dir: Peter Jackson) IMDB rating 6.6/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,637,579) - Peter Jackson's misguided adaptation of a stirring, provocative novel.


Solomon Kane (Michael J. Bassett) IMDB rating 6.2/10; opening weekend gross UK: £611,886)

The Crazies (Dir: Breck Eisner) IMDB rating 6.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,194,207)

Leap Year (Dir: Anand Tucker) IMDB rating 6.1/10; opening weekend gross UK: £728,251)

From Paris With Love (Dir: Pierre Morel) IMDB rating 6.4/10; opening weekend gross UK: £678,950)

MARCH

Alice in Wonderland (Dir: Tim Burton) IMDB rating 6.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £10,555,220) - Lewis Carroll's kaleidoscopic world in the hands of Tim Burton should have been genius - unfortunately it was all a bit timid with some shoddy CGI and 3D for the sake of it. That said, it's one of the biggest box office hits of the year. Whether that's down to Burton's pedigree as a filmmaker or to the longevity of Carroll's children's story is up to you to decide.


Shutter Island (Dir: Martin Scorsese) IMDB rating 8.0/10; opening weekend gross UK: £2,250,178) - One of the year's best, Scorsese delivers a faithful adaptation of Dennis Lehane's underrated thriller novel. The first of two great performances this year from DiCaprio.


Green Zone (Dir: Paul Greengrass) IMDB rating 7.1/10; opening weekend gross UK: £2,087, 368) Zeitgeist action film as Matt Damon goes rogue looking for WMDs. The Iraq Ultimatum perhaps.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (Dir: Lasse Hallstrom) IMDB rating 8.1/10; opening weekend gross UK: £442,753)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Dir: Niels Arden Oplev) IMDB rating 7.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £378,434) - Not the American version which will hit UK cinemas this time in 2011, this is the original Danish version starring Noomi Rapace.


The Bounty Hunter (Dir: Andy Tennant) IMDB rating 5.2/10; opening weekend gross UK: £2,055,021) - Can someone tell Jen Aniston that she can make other types of films from time to time.

I Love You Phillip Morris (Dirs: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa) IMDB rating 6.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,066,092)

The Spy Next Door (Dir: Brian Levant) IMDB rating 5.2/10; opening weekend gross UK: £698,155)

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Dir: Susanna White) IMDB rating 6.1/10; opening weekend gross UK: £2,586,760) - A charming little companion to the hit 2005 family film.

The Blind Side (Dir: John Lee Hancock) IMDB rating 7.7/10; opening weekend gross UK: £1,313,317


Part 2 will look at 2010s films between April and June.