Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
David Yates keeps doing great things with filler novels (Half-Blood Prince basically revolved around a cupboard). Ignore the Potter moaners, this is brilliant – darker and even more absorbing.
Toy Story 3
I hate most cutesy kids’ films – Finding Nemo makes me want to chew my own arm off. But the Toy Story films are great and this is the best yet. Superb plot, hilarious script, brilliant effects.
Whip It
So cool it hurts, from the tattooed roller derby chicks to the fact Drew Barrymore’s directing. Has it got the substance to match the style points? Hell yes. This is what real girl power looks like.
Inception
Christopher Nolan’s mind-bender is utterly confusing but completely absorbing, and the beauty of it is that you’re left to make up your own mind about exactly what you’ve just seen.
Kick-Ass
The best superhero movie I’ve seen in a long time (and I’m not just saying that because I was the first person ever to read the first draft of the comic). This is just great fun.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Ultimate geekfest with Michael Cera playing Michael Cera, in that way he does. A total indulgent paean to everything Edgar Wright holds dear, and loads of fun.
Please Give
I love the way Nicole Holofcener’s movies don’t so much conclude as just stop, and the way she doesn’t try to find answers for everything.
Tamara Drewe
Brilliant fun, and does a great job of capturing the bitter jealousy of writers towards those who are more successful. Tamsin Greig’s performance as a put-upon, cheated-on wife is outstanding, also.
Shutter Island
Even if you see the twist coming, which I did, this is still great – it was the first time in ages I’d seen a properly engrossing thriller.
Up In The Air
Concludes a hat trick of brilliance for Jason Reitman after Thank You For Smoking and Juno. I’m telling you, the man can’t put a foot wrong.
Honourable mentions: Crazy Heart, A Single Man, The Killer Inside Me, Alice in Wonderland, The Road, Greenberg, A Prophet, Heartbreaker, Another Year, Micmacs