Indeed it is the time of year when inevitability the lists appear and people pick their favorites of 2010. Some have already done their lists and some, like me, like to wait a bit. That said and since I don’t want to be accused of not following trends, I will also be making a list (or two) of my picks of the best of 2010. However, in the interest of clarity and brevity (or neither), I’m going to pick my top 5 (or so) things in the main categories we cover here at The Flickcast.

Although, as our own John Carle covered the best of 2010 in games so well already, I won’t make much (if any) a list of those and will just mention my two favorites. In case you’re not familiar with those main categories we cover, they are as follows: Movies, TV, Comics, Games, Tech and all things Geek.

So, to that end, here’s my list (or lists really) of my picks of the top stuff of 2010.

Movies

Inception – I love smart movies and this one is pretty damn smart. Featuring great performances, a mind-bending plot and twists galore, director Christopher Nolan delivers with one entertaining ride I was talking about for weeks (and months) afterward. And with all the ways I can get distracted by other things, to still be taking about this movie now is a testament to just how great it is.

True Grit – I love Westerns and this one will go down as truly one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and the rest of the cast are superb and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld owns the screen. She is definitely one to watch. Plus, the Coen brothers have a genuine love and reverence for the classic Western conventions, even when they twist and turn them into new and even more compelling shapes.

The Social Network – When I first heard of this movie I was skeptical, as probably most were, about how interesting a movie about Facebook really could be. I had nothing to worry about. This brilliant film, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, delivers on all levels and tells a compelling story of one of the most impressive success stories in history. Along the way it also shows us a little something about the nature of greed, friendship and the real cost of success.

Winter’s Bone - This tale of a real heroes journey to find out what happened to her father before the bank forecloses on her home resonated with me for quite some time after watching this film. Jennifer Lawrence as the young mother and John Hawkes as her meth-snorting uncle really deliver top performances. Part crime movie, part thriller and part coming-of-age-story this film’s stark realism takes you into a world you didn’t know existed and holds you there until the lights come up.

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It’s officially film awards season!  Today the National Board of Review released their list of winners for the best in film for 2010.  The Social Network was a big winner.  The movie picked up Best Picture, Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), Best  Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), and Best Director (David Fincher).

The National Board of Review typically releases their list toward the beginning of the film season.  Last year they picked Up in the Air as Best Picture.  It did not go on to win an Oscar, though it was nominated.

Here are the major awards that were announced.

Best Film The Social Network
Best Director David Finch, The Social Network
Best Actor Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Best Actress Lesley Manville, Another Year
Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Foreign Film Of Gods and Men
Best Documentary Film Waiting for Superman
Best Ensemble Cast The Town
Breakthrough Performance Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Best Original Screenplay Chris Sparling, Buried

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David Fincher’s The Social Network piqued the interest of audiences over the weekend and grossed over $23M, on just over 2,770 screens.  That is a full thousand fewer screens than big releases typically get.

The film was enthusiastically embraced by critics, receiving some of the best reviews of the year. According to Cinemascore, the film scored a solid B+ with audiences as well.  There is lots of Oscar talk swirling around this film, and it is unofficially considered a bookend to the upcoming award season. Look for this film to perform in theaters for several weeks.

There seems to be a bit of hand-wringing over the gross of the film, because many thought would make more money.  However, if you look at the per/screen average, the film did quite well, with over $8,300 per a showing.  That simply annihilates the per/screen totals of everything else in the top ten this week.

If the film had opened on more screens, it likely would have grossed more money.  Keep in mind that there are no big name stars in the film (save for Justin Timberlake, who is a co-star,) and David Fincher is still not a household name for mainstream America.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole maintained its number two spot from last weekend with  $10.8M, with a standard drop of about 32% over opening weekend. After two weeks in release, the film has made about $30M, which is still a long way from its estimated $80M budget.

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This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt are back and ready to talk about a whole bunch of new and sorta new topics. Yes, they sometimes repeat themselves. But with 70 shows in the can, it’s bound to happen sometimes.

This week sees the boys talking about some of the new TV premieres this week including HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Hawaii Five-O, season four of Chuck, The Event and more. They also discuss the merit of Disney movies, the return of other shows including The Big Bang Theory, Ryan Reynolds next projects, Jon Hamm as Superman, the awesomeness and success of Halo Reach and more.

Chris and Matt also made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of the awesome Veronica Mars and and Chris’ pick of the upcoming David Fincher film The Social Network.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

When I first heard that David Fincher was directing and Aaron Sorkin was writing The Social Network, a movie about the founding of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s adventures at Harvard University, I have to admit I wasn’t completely sold on the idea. Sure, Facebook is a giant beast that millions of people use every day to communicate with friends and family around the world but still, I wondered if it would make an interesting movie.

As more and more info, including the first teaser, came out for the film I began to see the appeal. Now, with this new full trailer, just put up over at Yahoo Movies, I’m even more convinced that this film will really be one to watch. Apologies Mr. Fincher and Mr. Sorkin, I should never have doubted you.

In the new trailer we get our best look yet at Zuckerberg’s life at Harvard as well as some insight into his motivations for starting Facebook. In short, he was a nerd that wanted to fit in so he decided to start a website detailing college life so he could get noticed by his peers and perhaps, one day, be accepted by them. Plus, the trailer is accompanieed by a great choral rendition of  “Creep.” A very nice touch.

I wonder how those people that ignored him back in college feel now that Zuckerberg is not only a rich man but is having a movie made about him by none other than David Fincher? Based on how he seems in the movie from this trailer, they probably still don’t like him.

Take a look at the full trailer and believe after the jump. The Social Network hits theaters on October 1, 2010.

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Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are so popular they are starting to consume more and more time. People flock to them to update their status, communicate with friends and generally let the world know the ins and outs of their daily lives. It’s hard to believe Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg knew what he was starting back in the day but whatever he thought, I would bet the success of Facebook has surpassed even his wildest estimations.

If success means you end up having a movie made about your life and the social networking site you founded with a few friends, then check Zuckerberg off the list, he’s made it. David Fincher’s The Social Network tells the story of the founding of Facebook and the trails and tribulations associated with something that got very big very fast.

In it Zombieland‘s Jesse Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg and soon-to-be-Spider-Man Andrew Garfield plays co-founder Eduardo Severin. Plus, the film also features Rashida Jones, Josheph Mazello and Justin Timberlake. To help get you ready for the film, we’ve got a new teaser to share with you today, so click through to check it out.

The Social Network hits theaters on October 1st. What do you guys think? Are you interested in a movie about the founding of Facebook?

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Spend a lot of time on social networks like Facebook? Well then, this movie is for you. The Social Network, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, tells the story of the founding of the most popular social network around, Facebook, and we’ve got the first teaser for the film to share with you today.

Like many teasers this one doesn’t give much away except that the film will take a look at the darker side of Facebook’s creation and follow its founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and president Sen Parker (Justin Timberlake) as they create the site just six short years ago and see it grow into the juggernaut it is today.

The trailer, courtesy of Mashable, gives us at least something to work with, though it’s really only lines of dialogue. However, the tagline (also seen in the poster) of “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies” should also be telling in that this film probably won’t gloss over the troubles, both internal and external, that inevitably plague an undertaking as huge as Facebook.

Check out the teaser after the jump. The Social Network hits theaters on October 1st.

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Get ready for some cool undersea adventure as Disney is about to go 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with director David Fincher. Previously, the studio had been talking with Charlie’s Angels helmer McG about taking on the pic, but that didn’t end up happening.

Now, Disney has decided that the film might need a fresher approach and is going after Fight Club‘s Fincher to direct and Bourne Ultimatum scribe Scott Z. Burns to write the script. The project reportedly came together after Fincher approached Disney and said he wanted to tackle a big “tentpole” project for the studio and something different from his usual dark, R-rated films.

In case you’re not familiar with the story, it is based on a novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1869, and tells the story of a group of men who encounter a vengeful scientist names Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus. Plus, if you remember the first Disney version of the film, which is a classic by most standards, there’s also a giant squid the men, including a young Kirk Douglas, must fight in order to survive.

Last year, Disney was fast-tracking a $150 Million Leagues that would have served as an origin story for Nemo. But that film was canceled after a regime-change at the studio. Now, Disney wants to get back in the Nemo business and this new film, even though plotlines are still a secret, will reportedly be more like Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

Not sure exactly what that means, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Maybe it means Nemo has a son and they have family issues? Could be.

Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic, and not-so-classic, movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.

Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Gone with the Wind, Thirst, Rome: The Complete Series and the Blu-ray debut of David Fincher’s awesome Fight Club (shown above with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton). We are Jack’s excitement at this release finally coming out.

Check them out:

Movies

Bruno ~ Sacha Baron Cohen, Paula Abdul (DVD and Blu-ray)

Clerks ~ Brian O’Halloran, Kevin Smith (Blu-ray)

Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection) ~ Robert Redford, Gene Hackman (DVD)

Fight Club ~ Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter (Blu-ray)

Galaxy Quest ~ Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman (Blu-ray)

Gone with the Wind (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) ~ Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh (Blu-ray)

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David Fincher, director of such diverse and entertaining films as Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac and the recent The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is apparently about to add yet another film to his diverse roster of credits. According to Variety, Fincher is in what the showbiz folks refer to as “advanced talks” to take on the directing chores of Arron Sorkin’s latest writing project The Social Network.

The film, which will focus on the evolution of Facebook from its 2004 creation on the Harvard campus by sophomore Mark Zuckerberg to a juggernaut with more than 200 million members, is being produced by Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca and Trigger Street. Columbia Pictures is the studio. According to the article, the studio hopes to start production later this year.

If this turns out to be Fincher’s next film, I gotta say I’m now way more interested in the story of Facebook than I was before. Sure, its very interesting how the site went from obscurity to become what it is today. But I’m not sure I would want to see a movie about it.

Now, if Fincher ends up being in charge, I do. The next question is, who will play Zuckerberg? My vote? Topher Grace.