"The combination of Fincher and Sorkin proved, perhaps surprisingly, to be neither fussy nor flashy and was all the better for it. A tale of our times becomes a timeless tale, coloured by some career-best performances (particularly Andrew Garfield) and a pleasing hint of Gatsby in an era of gossip."
2. The Town
3. Toy Story 3
4. Kick-Ass
5. The Kids Are All Right
6. Shutter Island
7. Youth In Revolt
8. Four Lions
9. The Killer Inside Me
10. Inception
Jane Crowther Associate Editor (Features)
1. Somewhere
"A movie that achieves something rare - transporting you to another place and someone else’s life. So evocative and specific that you can practically smell the musty furniture in the Chateau’s lounge and feel the g-force curves on Coldwater Canyon."
2. The Kids Are Alright
3. Toy Story 3
4. Four Lions
5. The Killer Inside Me
6. Buried
7. A Single Man
8. Greenberg
9. Piranha 3D
10. The Runaways
Matt Leyland Reviews Editor
1. Toy Story 3
"Never in all my born days did I expect my bottom lip to go all wobbly over a movie starring Mr Potato Head. Or Mrs Potato Head, for that matter. If I ever go into acting and need to do a crying scene, little Jessie's face in the incinerator scene will be my motivation."
2. The Social Network
3. Monsters
4. The Town
5. Ponyo
6. Another Year
7. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
8. Enter The Void
9. Somewhere
10. Revanche
Rosie Fletcher News Editor
1. Toy Story 3
"A grown up film about toys that'll please adults and children equally and a fitting end to a marvelous trilogy. It's warm and funny, the script is brilliant, it's really quite frightening with an awesome pink baddie, it's packed with pathos and nostalgia but also carries a positive message - many positive messages in fact. Lovely stuff."
2. The Social Network
3. The Secret In Their Eyes
4. Kick-Ass
5. Whip It
6. The Killer Inside Me
7. Crazy Heart
8. The Last Exorcism
9. Shutter Island
10. Inception
Kathryn Twyford Production Editor
1. Buried
"This was sold to me as an hour-and-a-half of Ryan Reynolds in a box, and the beginning is so claustrophobic I actually started to wonder why I was watching it, but it suddenly becomes so gripping I was on the edge of my seat for most of the last half. A total surprise and a great ending. Ace."
2. A Single Man
3. The Social Network
4. Exit Through The Gift Shop
5. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
6. Inception
7. Four Lions
8. Up In The Air
9. Whip It
10. Shutter Island
Sarah Tully Picture Editor
1. The Road
"Viggo Mortensen was perfect as the man, and director John Hillcoat stayed brutally close to Cormac McCarthy's novel."
2. Crazy Heart
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
4. Ponyo
5. Cemetery Junction
6. Cyrus
7. Precious
8. Whip It
9. It's Complicated
10. Tamara Drewe
Louise Brock Designer
1. Toy Story 3
"Two words: Spanish Buzz!"
2. Kick-Ass
3. Inception
4. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. Machete
7. Let Me In
8. The Social Network
9. Iron Man 2
10. The Secret of Kells
Sam Ashurst Deputy Digital Editor
1. Shutter Island
"Stunning central performance from Leo, who somehow makes a difficult third-act twist as gut-wrenching in the flesh as it was on the page."
2. Toy Story 3
3. Bad Lieutenant
4. The Social Network
5. I'm Still Here
6. Monsters
7. Somewhere
8. Four Lions
9. Youth In Revolt
10. The House Of The Devil
Dan Goodswen Digital Production Editor
1. A Single Ma n
"Sumptuous, passionate and utterly heartbreaking, Firth was robbed of a deserved Oscar by Jeff Bridges' back catalogue of greatness rather than a better performance. Ford directs with the drive and ambition that took him to the top of the fashion world, and the same attention to style, detail and sex. A gorgeous film, that never rushes or leads, never judges or condemns, but immerses you in love, loss, despair and ultimately, hope."
2. Exit Through The Gift Shop
3. Monsters
4. Toy Story 3
5. I'm Still Here
6. Four Lions
7. The House Of The Devil
8. The Town
9. The Social Network
10. Bad Lieutenant
Josh Winning Digital Contributor
1. A Prophet
"Crime dramas are a dime a dozen in movieland, but director Jacques Audiard’s fierce spin on the genre delivers one heck of a gut-punch. Grubby and real, it builds a prison-set world that terrifies as much as it utterly convinces and, without getting too hyperbolic about him, Tahar Rahim is simply a revelation. Brutal and brilliant, it was robbed of that Oscar."
2. Kick-Ass
3. A Single Man
4. I Am Love
5. Precious
6. Toy Story 3
7. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
8. Bad Lieutenant
9. Shutter Island
10. Whip It
Simon Kinnear Digital Contributor
1. The Social Network
"Imagine a Mark Zuckerberg biopic made, say, fifty years down the line. Possibly, the early days of Facebook will amount to half an hour of screen time. Instead, by doing it now, Fincher and Sorkin can concentrate on the brief, critical period between conception and uptake with forensic detail. It’s fresh enough to be relevant, old enough to offer a compelling dramatic arc of betrayal and seduction, and broad enough to provide a telltale snapshot of the world we live in."
2. Shutter Island
3. White Material
4. Inception
5. Toy Story 3
6. Carlos
7. Four Lions
8. Mother
9. Get Him To The Greek
10. The Time That Remains
Matt Maytum Digital Contributor
1. Inception
"The blockbuster that has it all, with an enthralling plot that's as exciting as the show-stopping visuals and inventive action. And I totally disagree with the haters who say it hasn't got 'heart'."
2. Toy Story 3
3. The Social Network
4. Shutter Island
5. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
6. A Prophet
7. Four Lions
8. Kick-Ass
9. Whip It
10. Youth In Revolt
George Wales - Digital Contributor
1. Buried
"It really shouldn’t have worked, but Rodrigo Cortes’ supremely ambitious thriller was not only a successful exercise in technical jiggery-pokery, it was also a thoroughly engrossing yarn. And whilst some of the voice-acting sometimes missed the mark, Ryan Reynolds turned in the performance of a career as the luckless Paul Conroy. Not the most comfortable watch of the year, but one of the most enthralling."
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
