Thank you, thank you.  Yes, it has been a full year since I started this site along with two law school buddies.  And despite the fact that we had a The Social Network-esque break-up, (but substitute the billion-dollar net worth with the cost of a domain name) I'm glad to say the site has been more or less consistently updated for a full year.  That was my original goal. 

Over the past year notthebees:

• reviewed 27 films (holding strong to our rule of only reviewing movies on the weekend of their release)
• reviewed 5 stand-up albums/performances
• was read all over the world, including: Malaysia, Kuwait, China, Australia, Bosnia and more
• reviewed a movie by video
• started a news section in which major film and entertainment news stories were followed
• interacted with readers
• hosted a screening of The Room
• correctly predicted 13/24 categories in the 2010 Academy Awards
• and was mentioned on the Singles Dance Party podcast

Thank you to everyone who has followed the site over the past 12 months, even if you just did so sparsely.  Unfortunately, despite an exciting and successful first year, law school and the beginnings of a legal career will probably impede on the consistency of posts in 2011.  Regardless, I've set goals for the site that hopefully will improve the quality of notthebees.com; the main goal is to use our home-base of Miami to our full advantage and see better quality movies that would be difficult to see elsewhere.

Anyway, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY to this little website, and once again, thank you all for reading, or at least clicking links I post so my hit count increases.  KEEP IT UP and go see more movies so we can talk about 'em!

Finally, I HAVE to show my unrelenting gratitude to a certain Nicolas Cage for being as outrageous as he is, which constantly makes me laugh and has improved my overall quality of life!  Thanks pal!

-Emanuel
notthebees Editor

Written By: Emanuel Caros

As a budding film buff, I take pride in seeing a larger quantity of films than most people.  In fact, what little free time I had over the past 12 months was spent at movie theaters all over South Florida.  But in preparing to list my thoughts on the best  films released this year, I was surprised to found out how few I actually saw.  Because of that I am sadly unqualified to make an assertion regarding 2010's best releases while omitting certain films that potentially warrant a spot on such a list.

In place of a top-10 list, I figured a listing of the most noteworthy movies of 2010 would work similarly:

10. 
Animal Kingdom - the foreign import was scarcely shown in the US, but highly regarded as akin to The Godfather.
9. 
Winter's Bone - the tale of a teenage girl in the mid-west bearing the obligations of her deadbeat father as she searches to keep her family afloat is unrelentingly dark and suspenseful, though borderline boring at times.
8. 
True Grit - The Coen Brothers' follow-up to last year's great A Serious Man is a re-make of an old John Wayne classic that possibly one-ups the original.
7. 
Shutter Island - criminally underrated, Scorsese 's suspenseful epic was extremely polarizing upon its release but should become a classic with time.
6. 
The King's Speech - The trailer made this Colin Firth vehicle look like the usual British Oscar bait, but in fact is a surprisingly humorous account of a war-time struggle.
5. 
Inception - Christopher Nolan hasn't made a bad film, and his summer mega-hit was no exception.  Despite a brain-wracking (don't you dare say "mind-blowing") plot involving three stories-within the main story, audiences still came in droves to see this blockbuster.
4. 
Kick-Ass/Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- the tie goes to the two comic book adaptations which elevated the genre to new heights.  Unfortunately at this point the taste of a third Spiderman (and second Fantastic Four) continues to linger in theater-goer's mouths, possibly keeping them from seeing these two films.  Either way, both were flawed, yet AWESOME, in their own right.  
3. 
Exit Through the Gift Shop - The documentary is evolving beyond straight-up talking heads re-telling a story.  The Banksy-directed (er, edited) film about street art involves a twist that outshines Catfish and I'm Still Here by miles.
2.
The Social Network - In the same exclusive group as Nolan, David Fincher has done no wrong.  With "The Facebook Movie" he deviated from his genre-driven themes and made a blockbuster; turning a rapid-firing Aaron Sorkin script into a full-blown wonder.
1. 
Black Swan - Add Darren Aronofsky to the list of the best directors if you haven't already.  2010 seemed to be the year of the director, and Aronofsky's major stepping-out was with this powerful drama set in the world of ballet.  Despite showing his cards too early, Aronofsky's film is gorgeous, and the best film of the year.

Runner's Up:
Enter the Void
Toy Story 3
Mesrine
Buried
The Crazies
Never Let Me Go
Restrepo
I Love You Phillip Morris
Catfish


Any disagreements?  Did we exclude a movie that should've been on this list?  Comment and let us know what you thought was the best of 2010.

While we haven't gotten into music as much as we'd like, the art of melody is certainly a huge interest of ours and as prevalent in our daily lives as movies are.  With that we start our end-of-the-year top-10 series with the best music albums of 2010:
10. The Plot in You- Wife Beater 
Some of the heaviest music to come out in a while stands out from other stale metal acts by resisting the antiquated reprise breakdown by switching up the melody numerous times mid-song.  This effect sounds strange at first listen but makes a record that doesn't sound at all like the same song over and over again, as is common within the genre.
9. Isles and Glaciers  - The Hearts of Lonely People 
The long-awaited debut EP from the post-hardcore supergroup is an impressive mix of voices headlined by the serenades of  Jonny Craig (Emarosa, Ex-Dance Gavin Dance).  While the majority of the 7 track EP is average, 2 songs in particular, "Empty Sighs and Wine" and "Viola Lion" are incredible enough to  make this a top-10 album.
8. Childish Gambino - Culdesac 
The rapping alter-ego of comedian Donald Glover is no joke; and he cemented that assertion with his mid-summer soundtrack.  One-upping other "hipster-hop" artists with his extensive influence from indie rock, Childish evenly distributes Weezy-tinged rhymes about Hollywood and his journey there.  All this and he hasn't even signed with a label yet.
7. Glassjaw - All Good Junkies Go to Heaven 
While technically a single and not an album, this vinyl release was the first of a few singles to be put out by the band in 2010; their first official new music since 2005.  The singles were everything one would expect from one of the most groundbreaking and influential bands of the last couple decades.
6. Oceana - Clean Head 
After breaking up and reforming with a line-up hardly reminiscent of its original incarnation, Oceana released this EP in May shocking a fanbase used to the guttural screams of singer Brennan Taulbee.  The new sound was scream-less and much slower and softer than the bands prior two albums, yet somehow no less epic.  
5. Crystal Castles - II 
Rare are the times that this album would be only the fifth best release of the year, but 2010 was strong for music and that's why the second record from the Canadian electro duo places here.  II is better than its predecessor, and full of dark yet danceable songs that are infinitely better than the rest of the artists Crystal Castles are grouped with.  This solid sequel peaks with the amazing "Birds," but is certainly great through and through.
4. Tyler, The Creator - Bastard 
This album actually came out in late 2009, but it really surfaced earlier this summer and amputated the last leg of mainstream rap.  There hasn't been a rap song better than "French" since The Neptunes were at the top of their game in the first few years of the decade.  The record consists of nothing but sick beats and grimy rhymes from the leader of Odd Future, a crew that hopefully can exist beyond the massive hype longer than The Cool Kids did. (Honorable Mention: Earl Sweatshirt - Earl)
3. Sleigh Bells - Treats 
What happens when a girl-group member joins together in Williamsburg with the former guitarist for Miami post-hardcore legends Poison the Well?  Nobody knew until this album released and the blogosphere went NUTS.  And rightfully so, as the band turned out fun song after fun song that didn't require an ironic mustache to appreciate and enjoy.
2. Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager 
The Kanye West protege followed up his debut album with another spacey mix of tunes that epitomize the shift from flashy radio rap to the more artistic stylings of the young guns of hip-hop.  Spare from the lead single "Erase Me," The Legend of Mr. Rager has arguably the best beats of any album in recent memory.  Cudi's smooth bravado intertwines with the chill droning loops on songs like "Maniac," giving his mentor legitimate competition for the best record of the year.
1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Every time Kanye reaches a certain level of hateability he drops an album that reminds everyone how amazing he is.  His talent beams through with every song, as this album shows who the real king of hip-hop is.  Where recent champs Jay-Z and Lil' Wayne got lazy and faltered, Kanye West only works harder to back up his boastful rants.  He is not arrogant, he is supremely talented and everything he says about himself is accurate.  His flow is better than anyone else's, as are his lyrics, and including the fact that he makes his own beats, Kanye's latest record is easily the best album of 2010. 

My Corporate Law professor explained to us that to teach his son about investing, he bought stock in Marvel Comics because he was an avid comic book reader.  Before the semester was over he brought the Marvel Shareholder's Report into class and it is outrageous.  The balance sheet is penciled in, and discussion of the company's past successes and future endeavors is displayed in speech bubbles.  I love the fact that some stuffy business man has to read through a comic book to get the investing information he wants.  

Check out the report below:

It's no secret I have an affinity for the absurdity that is Nicolas Cage; hell, this site is named in honor of one of his most infamous performances.  So when a video like this comes along, i'm nearly brought to tears of pure joy.  The emotion is indescribable.  For those of you stumped by what's going on in the video, The A/V Club wrote a really good article a while back about how Cage's acting style is a throwback to those of the silent era. 

The first person who can correctly name all the movies that each clip is from wins a lobotomy, because your brain is officially useless, and rendered void.

via Splitsider

As though he wasn't already the coolest, Kid Cudi went on Fuse and ranted about some of his past jobs.  Specifically, one in which he abruptly quit because it was so bad.  He goes on to state how good it feels to know he's surpassed his former manager, and as a former retail scrub myself who has been screwed over by similar employment, I can confidently say that I CANNOT wait to feel what Cudi is describing in the video below.