It’s that time of the year again: that brief span of time in between Christmas and New Year’s when journalists, critics, and cultural commentators scramble to define an arbitrary block of time even before that block is over with. To speculate on what 2010 will be remembered for is purely that: speculation. But the lists, summaries, and editorials reflecting on the events, accomplishments, failures, and occurrences of 2010 no doubt shape future debate over what January 1-December 31, 2010 will be remembered for personally, nostalgically, and historically. How we refer to the present frames how it is represented in the future, even when contradictions arise over what events should be valued from a given year. In an effort to begin that framing process, what I offer here is not a critical list of great films, but one that points out dominant cultural conversations, shared trends, and intersecting topics (both implicit and explicit) that have occurred either between the films themselves or between films and other notable aspects of American social life in 2010. As this column attempts to establish week in and week out, movies never exist in a vacuum, but instead operate in active conversation with one another. Thus, a movie’s cultural context should never be ignored. So, without further adieu, here is my overview of the Top 10 topics, trends, and events of the year that have nothing to do with the 3D debate.

Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves working as the owner of a Hank Moody’s neighborhood liquor store. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. This week we have Adventureland, Californication, The Informers, and more!

Welcome to This Week in Blu-ray, the never on-time FSR column that is, oddly enough, on time this week. Will this be the start of a wonderful new trend? I won’t make any promises.

This week, Landon asks why some recent movies have treated the Reagan era so damn seriously.

All signs point to Mickey Rourke staying in the spotlight for the immediate future. His latest upcoming project announced during the thick of the Oscar race will reunite him with Walter Hill, his Johnny Handsome director.

Every year the Sundance film festival delivers at least one film that I absolutely loathe. Last year it was Downloading Nancy. This year it is The Informers, a self-indulgent, lifeless glamrock drugfest from the mind of Bret Easton Ellis.

Remember that hot chick from Pineapple Express, Amber Heard? Well, not to be gossipy, but I have it on high authority that she spends most of the duration of her upcoming movie The Informers in the nude.

There are a lot of films playing at Sundance over the next two weeks. And personally I’ve watered down all of the information to a list of 37 films that I intend to see. I’ve gone even further for this article, pinpointing 13 films that I would recommend to all of you based on early word of mouth, pedigree of its cast/crew or just my own intuition.

To showcase the diversity of contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors and world premieres of highly anticipated films.