My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2010

Here it is:  my favorite films of 2010.  This list consists only of the movies that I have seen that were officially released in 2010.  If you think anyone else would be interested in this list, tag them.

 

1.  Inception

- for me, this film embodied everything I love about going to the movies and being thoroughly mesmerized by what was happening on screen.  The story, the acting, the visuals, the music all made this a joy to watch...and a pleasure to decipher.  

 

2.  Toy Story 3

- this came in at an extremely close 2nd for me.  Pixar closed out the Toy Story series better than I could have ever hoped.  They truly have the magic touch when it comes to film making.  And I'm a big boy, so I'll admit it:  the scene at the very end with Andy and Bonnie was the only scene of any 2010 movie that brought tears to my eyes.

 

3.  The Social Network

- who knew a movie about Facebook could be so amazingly engaging.  I loved the cast of this film, and I hope Jesse Eisenberg gets an actor nomination at the Oscars.

 

4.  True Grit

- this was such a pure western.  I never saw the John Wayne version, but Jeff Bridges performance was excellent.

 

5.  How to Train Your Dragon

- oh, what a great movie!  This had such a cool concept and storyline.  So much fun to watch.  I can't wait for the sequel!

 

6.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

- I had hoped upon hope that the comic version of Scott Pilgrim would carry over well into the film version.  Thankfully, my hopes were not dashed.  The visuals of the movie were fantastic.  Truly a sight to watch.

 

7.  The Ghost Writer

- I didn't know anything about this film until I saw the trailer for it in front of one of my Netflix movies.  I'm glad I requested it.  This was a great thriller that constantly built up suspense throughout.  I love movies that keep you guessing until the very end.

 

8.  The Disappearance of Alice Creed

 - I was amazed at how this movie managed to feature only three actors and basically two set pieces and still keep me glued to the screen.  And it's not very often you see a kidnapper's plan unravel in such a way.

 

9.  Tangled

 - it was great watching a Disney movie again that felt like a Disney movie.  Chocked full of humor.

 

10.  TRON: Legacy

- I simply can not ignore the thrill of watching this movie.  The original TRON from 1982 still remains one of my absolute most favorite movies ever, and being back in the theater for the sequel was just great.

 

As I said, these are only movies that I've seen.  There are others that were released last year that I'm definitely wanting to see (The Town, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, a number of documentaries, etc.), and once I've watched them, the above list may change.

 

And in case you're interested, my top three LEAST favorite films of 2010:

 

1.  Greenberg

- I'm sure I'll get flack for this, but so be it.  This one may just be one of the worst films I have ever seen.  This was the first film since Gosford Park in 2001 that I simply could not finish watching.  And for me, that's saying something.  What a total piece of garbage!  This thing was unbelievably boring and went nowhere fast.  I can't remember a movie that drug on this slow.  I remember being pissed off the rest of that night.  I definitely want that hour of my life back.

 

2.  Skyline

- I honestly had high hopes that this would be a fun sci-fi flick, but not 10 minutes into the movie, I knew I was doomed.  Simply terrible script, terrible acting, and moronic ending.  Heck, I didn't even find much pleasure in the visuals.  It's not very often that I walk out of the theater hating what I just saw.

 

3.  The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse

- I'm not going to say that I completely hate everything about the Twilight series, because I don't.  But such as it is, these movies always leave me perplexed.  I guess you just have to be an obsessive teenage girl to appreciate it.  (I feel the slings and arrows heading my way as I type.)

A Slight Remodel

In my daily routines throughout the web, I tend to absorb and generate a lot of data.  And due to the dynamic nature of the web, this kind of data can be created, modified, moved, and deleted at the drop of a hat.  It's this kind of fluidity that I love about today's internet.

But taking a good long look at my site tonight, I realized that this kind of fluidity isn't really present in my design, especially when it comes to my own personal creation of data.  So with that in mind, I have made a slight adjustment to the sidebar.  The previous layout had a single sidebar to the right.  This new layout moves that to the left side, and adds a second sidebar devoted to this idea of dynamic personal content.  Now, my latest postings to Twitter and YouTube, as well as my most current shared items within Google Reader, are visible and will be updated automatically whenever I make changes to those services.  Some slight tweaking may take place over the next couple of days, so please excuse the dust, and let me know what you think of the new layout.

Android App Review - LauncherPro

LauncherPro
Android home screen replacement app

Developer:  Federico Carnales

Download:  AppBrain

I have a certain affinity for any piece of hardware or software that allows for customization, making something your own by streamlining it into a well-oiled machine.  A perfect example would be your computer's operating system.  You can change your wallpaper, move your icons around, or completely change the overall appearance of the interface.  The same holds true for your Android phone.

For most standard Android users, your phone usually comes with at least three, and up to five, home screens, easily flipped through by swiping your finger left or right.  These screens allow you to add, subtract, and rearrange all the apps and widgets you have installed on your device.  If customization is your bag, you've probably adorned your home screens with all your favorite apps and widgets, and have probably filled the available space to its capacity among all the screens.  This is just about the time you need LauncherPro.  The first big advantage to the app is that you can increase your screen count to seven.  With seven screens, you've suddenly got an immense amount of real estate to populate your apps and widgets.  Even some widgets that could take up an entire screen now can have their place without hindering screen space.  The app also allows for up to three separate, scrollable docks, with an increase in the icons available on each dock.  The icons that come with LauncherPro can even include notification capabilities (for instance, the Gmail icon can show the number of unread emails).

Another advantage is its very smooth scrolling between screens, docks, and within the replacement app drawer.  This is much improved over Android itself.  And if you're like me, and you have a lot of apps installed, this makes things much nicer.  Also, one of its many preference settings allows for a thumbnail view of all your screens at once.  Very handy.

Screenshots