I have finally got some spare time to write about my favourites amongst the films that I saw for the first time in 2010. Yes, I know it’s already the end of January and that in just 11 months’ time, we’ll have another new year to celebrate, but I’ve seen some great movies last year and so please let me tell you about them!
My Favourite Asian Films of 2010
(As I start putting the list together, I come to realise that I have actually reviewed the majority of the films on this list. So please click on the titles to read my full reviews of those films. For the ones that I did not get to review, I have written a few lines about each of them.)
Honourable mentions: Merantau (Indonesia), The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (Japan), Villon’s Wife (Japan), Love in a Puff (Hong Kong)
10) Feel the Wind (Japan)
9) Mother (South Korea)
8) Dear Doctor (Japan)
7) Hanamizuki (Japan)
6) La Comedie Humaine (Hong Kong): Main actor Chapman To is (surprisingly) likeable in this quirky and very funny comedy, and the scene where he strings together a series of movie titles to tell his story is pure genius.
5) Ip Man 2 (Hong Kong): Donnie Yen plays Ip Man again, and he gets to fight Sammo Hung this time. The action scenes are amazing thanks to Sammo’s choreography. No wonder audiences are queuing up to join Wing Chun classes after seeing this film.
4) A Lone Scalpel (Japan)
3) Gallants (Hong Kong): Full of heart and good spirits, this little gem is for me the most pleasant surprise of 2010. The cast and poster (see above — the poster on the right — isn’t that the coolest ever?) both remind me of the golden era of Hong Kong martial arts films. By the way, Teddy Robin rocks.
2) Evangelion 2.0 – You Can (Not) Advance (Japan)
1) Summer Wars (Japan)
My Favourite Non-Asian Films of 2010 (in no particular order)
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
Inception
Kick Ass