According to Simon Dillon

As ever, naming my best films of the year was quite a difficult task, as there were many titles that deserved a place. Somehow, a mere "honourable mention" for the likes of How to Train Your Dragon, Ponyo, Monsters, Buried, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, Cemetery Junction, The Ghost, The American and other movies I really admired seems strangely redundant. Competition has been fierce.

I would also like to point out that one key film I really wanted to see before the end of the year has not yet arrived locally. So whilst it is almost certain that the reputedly extraordinary Of Gods and Men would have had a place on this list, it is not included as I haven't seen it yet. I shall watch it next year when it does finally turn up on a screen slightly nearer to me than London.

Back to the matter at hand: my favourite films of 2010, in no particular order of merit:

Hereafter in my comments on each, there are some spoilers (mostly minor, except on Toy Story 3).

The Road

The Road

Summary: Grim but gripping adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel starring the excellent Viggo Mortensen. Amid the unremittingly bleakness of a despairing and hopeless future, the story of a father desperately trying to look after his son is profoundly touching.

Favourite scene: A lovely moment when the father discovers what could be the last can of coke on Earth, and shares it with his son who has never tried it before.

Four Lions

Four Lions

Summary: For some people, the terms "suicide bomber" and "comedy" should never appear in the same sentence, but I personally disagree. Chris Morris treats the insanity of suicide bombing, rightly, as material for farce. This screamingly funny "Dad's Army side of jihad" is a blackly comic masterpiece.

Favourite scene: So many to choose from, from the hilariously inept bomb making sequences to the so-funny-you'll-be-in-physical-pain-from-laughing training sequence in Afghanistan where the protagonists accidentally blow up Osama Bin Laden. In the end, I have chosen the scene with the police sniper who doesn't know the difference between a bear and a Wookiee, which is simply too funny to detail here. Just watch it.

Inception

Inception

Summary: Christopher Nolan's spectacular metaphysical heist movie proves that it is possible to create a highly successful summer blockbuster that doesn't patronise its audience. Inception is complex, intelligent and thought-provoking without skimping on the huge explosions. To be fair there were a few naysayers, but they were few and far between (and more importantly wrong).

Favourite scene: The zero gravity fight sequence. There is only one word for it: WOW.