Every year it seems, my good friend Dave asks me to name my Top 5 Films of the year and every year I struggle to name them as I try to recall what I’ve seen throughout the year.  Often times I seem to remember films from the year before rather than the year in which I should be selecting from.

This year, I’ve done my homework and I’ve selected carefully my choices for 2010 and I’ve decided for the first year running to name them here on my blog (well, it is the time of the year for top 5 lists).

I don’t want to write too much about them, and I certainly don’t want to spoil them for anyone who hasn’t seen them, so what is included here is a very quick analysis without spoilers (hopefully).

There were many great films this year that could have easily made my list, but for one reason or another never quite made it to the ‘Top 5’.  Films such as “Toy Story 3”, which I missed at the cinema, “Iron Man 2”, “Kick Ass”, “Due Date”, and a few more.  There are also a number of films that left me deeply disappointed in what I was watching up there on the silver screen; “Salt” and “Skyline” instantly coming to mind. 

But this isn’t about bad films, this is about my “Top 5”, so without further ado, here’s my list….

Number 5: The Blind Side

My expectations were completely lowered before I walked into the cinema to see this film, I’d only heard that Sandra Bullock had put in a stunning performance and was being touted for awards but I wasn’t really buying into that – after all, just how good could another ‘sports movie’, especially one based around American Football, be?

What was delivered was an emotional rollercoaster of a film.  A collection of highs and lows, funny moments and touching storyline.  Bullock played it brilliantly and an amazing movie was delivered.

Number 4: Love And Other Drugs

A late addition to my list, as I only saw it yesterday.  I knew nothing about this movie but I was assured by Mr G that it was one to watch – and I was happy to go along for the ride.

What an amazing film!  Anne Hathaway gets her kit off more times than I could count, but that’s not what this movie is about at all – there is so much more in there, with many, many messages and moral questions. 

This movie could easily have been much closer to my number 1 movie of the year but for the release date – it certainly was a late contender, but this should certainly not go against this film.

Number 3: Get Him To The Greek

“The Hangover” of 2010 – and Russell Brand’s first lead movie role.  I blogged about this film it shortly after seeing it (Link).  Brand played himself perfectly – much as we expected from such an already colourful character as Rusty Rockets, but I did wonder where his next role would come from?

That’s a different question to be answered on a different day though – “Get Him To The Greek” provided a comic relief from start to finish.  I for one enjoyed it.

Number 2: The Social Network

We all knew that the rise of the geeks was coming; and that rise has finally transferred to film.  It may not have been 100% correct throughout and as Sarah Lacy so classically pointed out, ‘not all girls in Silicon Valley lounge around in their red Sanford panties all day’ – but look beyond that and the movie as a whole told an interesting story of battle of control of what could be the Internet’s hottest property right now.

It was great to see some – albeit fictional – life breathed into the characters and people I read about daily on the TechCrunch blog and the players within the industry.  I hope to see more movies based around the rise of the geeks; I’m sure Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and others have remarkable stories to tell that would transfer just as brilliantly to film given a talented writer such as Sorkin.

Number 1: Inception

The hype around this film at the time of release was like nothing I’d ever seen before – especially on Twitter.  With hype however usually comes disappointment closely behind – that and the added rumour of complexity within the film, I entered the cinema ready to focus and to be ultimately disappointed.

Gladly, neither of these things happened; the complexity wasn’t nearly as great as was made out (perhaps because “The Matrix” had already done so much work before this film to prepare the viewer for dealing with alternative realities within realities), and the expectation of disappointment resulted in me enjoying this film far more than I probably would have otherwise.

I absolutely adored the ending and selection of such a solid, unbreakable, analogue, simple spinning top used as the ‘constant’, symbolising so much within this film. 

When I left the cinema after seeing this movie, I returned to my car and sat there for around 10 to 15 minutes thinking more about it as the world passed by my windscreen.  I don’t know what grabbed me so much in this movie, but I just had to make it my number 1 of 2010.

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Discussing my list with Mr G, there was one movie that I was hoping to include in my ‘Top 5’, but was told I wasn’t allowed to because it wasn’t actually a true 2010 film. 

Yet, this film is a childhood favourite, a cult classic and in my opinion deserving to be in ‘Top Movie’ lists everywhere; but alas not in a 2010 top 5 – that film; “Back To The Future”.

Re-released to mark the 25th Anniversary of its release, it was an absolute treat to watch it on the big screen as it was intended to be.  I knew every line, I knew every twist of the story, yet somehow up on the big screen it seemed to be still as fresh and exciting and watchable as ever. 

I’m hoping for more cinematic delights in 2011 and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

Last year I wrote my top 5 in tech on this very blog, for those who have forgotten the contents, here they are again:

1. HP Pavillion Tablet
2. Twitter
3. Palm Pre
4. Panasonic Lumix G1
5. Microsoft Windows 7

I still stand very much behind that list, especially Windows 7, which if you’ve been reading any of my more recent entries just seems to get better and better the more I discover new, slightly hidden features that I long should have known about. Only my HP Pavillion hasn’t made it onto my list this year, unfortunately as predicted the device failed and I replaced it with a fine Sony Vaio laptop which has taken its place rather well – it did mean that my dip into the world of tablets was short lived and I’ve not seeked out a replacement device despite the flood of tablet computers in the latter half of this year.

Anyway, enough of the past of 2009, this blog is all about the past of 2010 – this year in reverse chronological order, onwards…

NUMBER 5: XBox 360

I’m very late to this party, the XBox 360 has been out for quite some time, but despite being tempted a few times, I never quite made the decision to purchase one. However, when I needed a Microsoft Media Centre Extender device and the added lure of “Halo: Reach” (a game title I fell in love with when the original XBox came out), the timing was just right.

Its a delightful device and something that does everything which is expected of it for a very reasonable price tag (especially when compared to the costs of said Media Centre Extender device, which obviously doesn’t include a games console). The games are as with every console hit or miss depending on your tastes – but the work Microsoft have put into the device itself is outstanding.

The XBox Live Membership system is an absolute stroke of genius, which brings a vast array of content directly onto the device as well as allowing games to network – it reminds me so much of “The Future Is Now” speech within the oft under rated “Cable Guy” movie:

The Kinect has obviously breathed further life into the XBox 360 this Christmas and whilst I don’t intend to purchase one (at least not just yet), Bill Gates desire to move technology from controller and touchy feely to one that reacts to the users very movements and desires has been realised and is a technology that will only grow from here on in – and I have no doubt that Microsoft have all of the patients safely locked up to ensures its future.

NUMBER 4: Streaming Content

On the horizon for 2011 one thing is set to dominate and vie for customers attentions in the living rooms across the land – and its not 3D TV; it is instead Internet Powered Television.

Apple TV has been around for years, but they’ve recently relaunched the product. Not to be outdone, Google have also been developing Google TV. Both products are designed to replace your cable/Sky/Freeview box as your source of television content and mix in a healthy dollop of Internet services (i.e. read “social networking”).

However, looking beyond the devices that sit on your television stands below your flat screen TV and its clear that the Internet is already changing to ready themselves for this burst of Internet content like never before. YouTube has been at it for years of course, but the rise of Netflix in the US for streaming movies, has bankrupt old movie renting media company “Blockbuster”.

I’ve recently discovered and been playing with the streaming abilities of Microsoft Media Centre to watch my content from my Media Centre PC from my laptop when I’m not home.

Even further beyond that, you need to look at the role of the ‘television companies’. Microsoft added an on-demand section to Media Player using its Silverlight technology. The BBC completely re-launched their iPlayer on-demand services and other smaller companies dipped their toe into the water. Arise “TechCrunch TV” – a sister site to the popular TechCrunch blog.

Admittedly its specialist content that is shown on TechCrunch TV (anything related to Web companies and technologies, IPOs and raising money from angel investors, etc), but that’s entirely the point of on-demand Internet TV; the ability to stream the content you as the customer/user wants to watch, when you want to watch it.

I’ve enjoyed many times this year, two of my favourite writers (Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy), present their shows on TechCrunch TV and I’ve admired and been amazed by the quality of this streamed content. There is more of it to come in 2011 and beyond, especially with the push from Apple and Google to bring this tech front and centre into the living room, but I’ve no doubt that others will be creating their own TV streaming companies soon.

NUMBER 3: Angry Birds

Undeniably the craze of 2010 in the world of Tech and beyond (in toy stores and movie production companies back offices), “Angry Birds” has really taken the world by storm this year and that is why it is absolutely impossible not to include it within my Top 5 – that and I’m completely addicted to it.

Keeping it absolutely as simple as possible has been the success of Angry Birds, very much like “Lemmings” (which I often compare it to) or “Worms” before it . Simply fling your birds at those cheeky, annoying well protected green pigs and hope for the best.

What fascinates me more than anything else though is the origins of this annoyingly simple game – the smartphone. The last mobile phone game that this many people played can only have been “Snake”, another annoying simple game bundled into just about every Nokia device that everyone carried in those early mobile phone years.

Can Rovio continue to thrill and excite an already frustrated audience with further iterations of the game in 2011? I think by the latter half of next year the star maybe starting to fade, but that won’t mean you won’t see the game on other platforms and devices or in other guises. Like “Lemmings”, this game is set to be a cult classic for a few more years yet.

NUMBER 2: Squeezebox Radio

What can I say? If I was impressed with the XBox 360’s integration features, the Squeezebox Radio continues that trend and does it just as well, especially as it already plays so nicely with my existing Squeezebox Duet device which I've adored for such a long time now and continues to by my primary music playing device.