Since all the major social sites (read: Facebook, Twitter, Google) and my favourite magazines/editorial papers (read: TIME and The New York Times) are doing it, I thought, just for fun you see, I should compile a “top list”  of my picks for 2010.

Since I’m a film fanatic, I thought I’d compile a list of my favourite films of 2010. Mind you, it was a tough decision, but I’ve finally come down to my top six picks of this year. “Wait!” I hear you exclaim — “the year isn’t over yet! There’s still a few more days, hours, seconds…  nano-seconds… remaining. You can’t put a list together when some films (read: TRON:Legacy) haven’t released yet!” Sure I can — TRON:Legacy releases right at the end of the year, and whilst I can’t wait to watch it, the list below encompasses some of the best cinema (in opinion) that I’ve seen this year (not to say TRON may not be amazing — the trailer looks great. But by the time I get my review out when it releases, 2010 may just well have waved goodbye to us all.)

Anyway, here’s my list, in descending order of course.

6. Iron Man 2

I raved about it after watching it with friends back in May. Iron Man 2 was special-effects heavy, but it carried that “awesome” factor that die-hard action/comic book hero fans cannot resist. Plus, which kid doesn’t want to be Tony Stark, and own some of the meanest gadgets in town. Its references to the future of science, and the vast possibilities technological advances pose was also an added touch to a great entertaining piece of cinema.

5. The Social Network

I’m an avid tech fan, and having covered a fair ammount of analysis on the social revolution that’s currently going on, headed by the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google, a film about Facebook and its beginning drew me to the cinema faster than a magnet to a fridge. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s exceptional dialogue and director David Fincher’s excellent camerawork made The Social Network an enthralling, riveting watch that became more than just the story of how a geek made it in the big time. It probed the notion of what a person would push themselves to do, simply to prove their worth. It’s a story of friendship, betrayal and trust set against the backdrop of the greatest social revolution of the 21st century.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One

If you don’t know it already, I’m a die-hard Potter fan (so maybe this pick on my top five may be biased? Oh well.) I also wrote about it yesterday after finally watching it. David Yates’ direction of the grand finale to this incredible series is nothing short of spectacular. Whilst there were a few questionable sequences in the film, it more or less stayed true to the source material, and the cinematography and music was great. A good beginning to an epic ending.

3. Kick-Ass

A superhero movie on a different scale. Kick-Ass starts out funny, but gets serious very quickly, and transforms into a brilliant piece of cinema that poses the question: why hasn’t anybody ever tried to become a superhero in the real world? It makes one re-examine the human conscience and the reaction a vast majority of people have to nasty occurrences in the real world. The showcasing of how prominent social media has become in our lives is also handled quite well; protagonist Dave Lizewski (“Kick-Ass”) runs his alter-ego through a MySpace page and initial sightings of Kick-Ass in action come via shaky mobile-phone recordings of the fledgling super’s first encounter. A must see.

2. Toy Story 3

Pixar Animation Studios is my all-time favourite animation house. Their attention to detail, emphasis on story and classy animation transport audiences to richly-crafted worlds. The Toy Story franchise, one of the studio’s best and most loved films, came to a sad yet delicately handled end with the third and final chapter. I grew up with the series, and like many teenagers who went to see it, felt that the characters had become an integral part of my life. The moving scene where Andy says goodbye to his friends (toys) was emotional, yet so beautifully directed by talented filmmaker Lee Unkrich (previous director John Lasseter was Executive Producer) that it was worth every frame of the scene.

1. INCEPTION

Intelligent. Brilliant. Captivating. In fact, it’s difficult to describe how I feel about this film – almost as difficult as trying to explain the storyline to someone who hasn’t seen the film. Director Christopher Nolan (now one of my ultimate-favourite directors) has once again out done himself with Inception. Weaving an intricate storyline that spans the realm of dream manipulation, Inception is at its core a heist film – but one on a whole other level. While the story might’ve baffled a fair few cinemagoers, I was captivated from the first frame to the last. It’s a film that leaves an indelible mark on the discerning film enthusiast and prompts them to think deeper and dream bigger. This film is Academy Awards quality. Edge-of-your seat music that’s electronic-infused from composer Hans Zimmer, beautiful cinematography by Wally Pfister and one of the best stories my master storyteller Christopher Nolan. Now the real question is: are you thinking about watching Inception right now, or did I put that idea in your head?

Finally, I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part On today. After an agonizing wait that spanned my entire exam schedule, and a little after that, I eventually entered the cinema for the first part of an epic finale to one of my all-time favourite literary gems.

I was not disappointed.

I always maintain that the “intensity-factor” of a Harry Potter film can be judged by the look and feel of the Warner Brothers logo at the start of the film. And with Deathly Hallows, the opening was handled with a subtle thrill that I thought captured the very essence of what this closure to the series means. It was dark, gritty, intense.

Director David Yates’ decision to split the last chapter of the Potter saga into two parts was a genius decision in my opinion. It allowed for more character development, a more faithful approach to such dense and richly crafted source material, and the chance for us Potter fans to eek-out more of the franchise.

The abruptness of the ending left many moviegoers with an “empty” feeling; to me, it was perfect. Whilst I agree that it was quite sudden, it sets the scene for what will inevitably be an epic Part 2.

The dark cinematography, hinted at in Prisoner of Azkaban (movie 3, for you non-fanatic fans out there), and explored in great detail from Order of the Phoenix to Half-Blood Prince, serves the atmosphere of Potter 7.1 well. It wrenches these vulnerable characters from their comfort zone of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and out into the big, bad world where Death Eaters roam free, Dementors permeate the very institution meant to be protecting the wizarding community from them — the Ministry of Magic — and the forces of evil are indeed a force to be reckoned with. Mr Yates managed to capture the very core of conflict brought upon from a multitude of emotions emanating from the three leads, set against a breathtaking backdrop that is in stark contrast to the warmth of Hogwarts, to create a highly satisfying cinematic experience.

Alexandre Desplat’s sweeping, gripping score adds to this gloomy, murky, and dangerous atmosphere. The original Potter theme, first established in The Philospher’s Stone, is alluded to at the introduction, but makes way for a more edgy orchestration that aptly captures the pace of this film.

The darkness has been upped a notch. The frightening presence of He Who Must Not Be Names lurkes in every frame of the film. The characters we’ve loved and rooted for from the beginning are pushed to their limits. And that, for me, is what the finalé to what can only be described as the “movie event of a generation” should be about.