A perfect 10 is a beauty to behold when it comes to gorgeous models and complicated figure-skating routines. But can we say the same about the best movies of the year?

I used to balk at French cinema, and then one day I saw the film "Amelie." From that point on, I have seen hundreds of French and other foreign films. I recently went to see “Heartbreaker" ("L'arnacoeur") at a special foreign film event. “Heartbreaker” is Pascal Chaumeil's feature film directorial debut after cutting his teeth doing a large amount of television work and over a hundred commercials. It is a flashback to a time in film history when RomComs (Romantic Comedies) were amusing, glamorous, as well as romantic. Remember those days, before the majority of RomComs did not scrape the bottom of the romance barrel?

Now, everybody knows that late night viewing on Cinemax usually consists of movies that are short on plot and long on simulated sex (pun possibly intended). Various soft core adventures abound, featuring alien/human encounters, co-ed encounters, encounters in the fashion world, and hot lunch lady erotica.

I find the evolution of science and technology both captivating and haunting. Mankind has benefited greatly from scientific discoveries and technological developments; yet, the aftermath of our advancements have sometimes been eerie and often times, unknown.

I have returned from my holiday sabbatical (I know, big deal), ready and refreshed to attack a new year full of filmmaking—independent and otherwise. I hope that everybody made it through New Year’s intact, and the thought of an endless parade of awards shows won’t crush all of that fresh optimism that you’ve garnered for 2011.

The curtain is about to drop on 2010, and awards season is just around the corner. Film Slate Magazine (along with every other publication, website, broadcast outlet, and the guy who sits in the cubicle across from you who doesn’t get the concept of mouthwash) has rounded up the best movies of the year.

Halloween is done, and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Between a recent visit to the prison in Stone, and a creepy camping trip in Eden Lake, I began to feel drained and somewhat dead on my feet. While having coffee and recharging at home I came across a documentary about a young filmmaker, Emily Hagins, and the two crazy years she spent writing and directing the feature length movie, “Pathogen.”

For the second year in a row, the American Film Institute offered a very unique twist to their world class film festival, AFI Fest in. All the tickets were completely free of charge. Whether it was an upcoming Oscar contender, world cinema favorite, or an indie from a promising new filmmaker, admission was free.

Before I list my Top 10 holiday films – separated into both Live Action Feature Films and Animated Films/Specials, I need to address one omission that I’m sure will be noticed by many. I have not included the film, “A Christmas Story” on my list. While this is a ‘cult’ film, it simply does not do it for me. “Pla9 From Outer Space” is also ‘cult’ and one of the worst movies ever made. Maybe it’s just the Peter Billingsley thing for me. Moving on…

“MacHEADS” is a 2009 fanboy documentary which explores the loyalty of Apple fanatics and their obsession with the Mac. The film takes a skewed examination of just what makes the Mac, the iPod and the iPhone seem like cultural phenomena rather than just consumer electronics. Besides being a very interesting and somewhat scary film, it is also a slang term for any person who regularly uses and is obsessed with Apple computers.

DVD commentaries usually fall into a few categories: really thin, where you learn nothing new about the film; interviews with cast and crew that provide some insight into the filmmaking process; or, extensive and deep examination of the entire filmmaking experience that gives the viewer a behind-the-scenes look and takes the experience of enjoying the film to a higher level.

Good guys chase bad guys. Bad guys chase good guys. Chase scenes are staples of any action film. Here are 10 of the most memorable:

In addition to creating arguably the finest movie trilogy of all-time, director Peter Jackson and his team put together some of the most interactive DVD commentaries and extras that you will ever find with their release of “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.”

Before I start, admittedly, I am cheating a little bit. Three of the scores run across multiple movies, but because I feel that the progression of the scores is natural and incomplete by only selecting one of the movies, I rolled each of them into “super-scores.”

Summer is in its last dying gasp and fall is right around the corner. And that means it's time for football.

With the growing debate surrounding this summer’s Inception over the nature of the story, I decided to look back on great movie reveals and how their osmosis into pop culture deadened the effect of the drama intended as surprise. Can any viewer watch these films for the first time without knowing the ending? If you don’t know the twists in these eight films, you have been forewarned (and either aren’t old enough or have been living in a sensory deprivation chamber). Speaking of warnings, the author is a big Matt Groening fan.

You may want to skip some of these entries if you have not viewed them. Once again, I welcome any suggestions for additions to this list.

In choosing from the hundreds of horror and thriller films I have viewed in my lifetime I challenged myself to compose a list outlining the Top 15.  I encourage comments and additional entries!

Jason Kliot (Staten Island, 2009) suggests: 3 Backyards, written and directed by Eric Mendelsohn. Starring Embeth Davidtz and Edie Falco. 

Founded in 1991, The Florida Film Festival is a competitive showcase of over 100 independent, foreign, and classic feature films, documentaries and short subjects. Over 20,000 people regularly attend the festival events each year, seeing movies, attending parties and, as of 2007 onward, taking part in dinners, wine tastings and the like as the festival has mutated into a "Food and Film" festival. The festival opened on April 9th and closed on the 18^th.