Favorite/Best Movies of the 2010 Decade

Similarly to the new Planet of the Apes trilogy, Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy was another great surprise to me from this past decade.  Yes, the first two came out well before the 2010's, but I saw them right around the time that the capper, Before Midnight, came out in 2013.  And it's a perfect close to a wonderful trilogy.  This series has prided itself on maintaining naturalism throughout, and that's certainly the case with Before Midnight, not just in terms of the conversations depicted, but also in the evolution of Jesse and Celine's relationship. Jesse and Celine feel like real people by this point, people I happen to care about, so seeing the way their relationship develops in this installment is heartbreaking. The entire second half, especially the hotel room scene, is incredible and that scene certainly springs to mind whenever I think about this movie.  I can't recall if Ethan Hawke or Julie Delpy received any kind of awards recognition for their work, but that scene is proof enough that they should have.  Richard Linklater and co. truly deserve recognition for being able to accomplish what they did.  In times where romance onscreen has become mostly Hollywoodized, films like Before Midnight serve as a welcome, necessary and in this case painful reminder that it can't always be like Love Actually.

Pretty much like Robert Zemeckis's brilliant 1997 film, Contact, Denis Villeneuve's Arrival spends more time on the Thinking Man's side of science fiction. It's been quite some time since the appearance of aliens on Earth hasn't heralded a tidal wave of explosions, so this film is all the more refreshing in that regard.  It also helped cement the status of Denis Villenueve as one of the most interesting and exciting talents to emerge on the scene this past decade, and what a decade he's had.  Spoiler alert: Arrival isn't the only one of his films on this list.  His quiet, understated storytelling instincts remain intact here, in spite of serving a more large-scale narrative than his previous efforts, but Arrival is a story that's so inherently human at the end of the day. It's also thoughtful and subtly emotional. Screenwriter Eric Heisserer's script simultaneously manages to maintain a gripping atmosphere throughout while exploring the overall idea of communication in some very engaging ways, but never indulging in any of the expected Hollywood tropes one might expect when dealing with a story like this. Careful restraint is shown from beginning to end, and Arrival is further proof that subtlety can go a long way, and be more effective, than going for the obvious. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner give first-rate performances that help keep the story engaging. It all leads up to an ending that I personally found effective and satisfying, and didn't take away from what came before it at all. In fact, I found it only enhanced the film and made me want to see it again.  And whenever the topic of it has come up in subsequent years, it's invited the same level of internal thought and debate about its moral implications that it did when I first saw it.  I guess you could say that Arrival came to stay. *rimshot*

Once again, the question of rewatchability rears its head, cause I don't know if The Revenant is necessarily a film that lends itself much to repeat viewing, but it remains one of the most harrowing times I had with a film this decade, as well as just being a brutally beautiful masterpiece.  Innaritu's storytelling is completely on the mark from beginning to end. In terms of Leonardo DiCaprio's performance...holy shit.  He's just on a whole 'nother level here, and he delivers on every. single. front. Especially considering that for the majority of the film, he has to rely on facial expressions to convey everything.  It's a very powerful performance, and certainly worthy of the Best Actor Oscar that it finally netted him.  Also outstanding is Tom Hardy, whose Fitzgerald is one well-realized sum'bitch.  There were very few movies like The Revenant this decade, and I doubt there'll be many more in this new one. 

One of the things that Quentin Tarantino has said he plans to focus on after retiring from film is writing plays, and if The Hateful Eight is any indication of what he can do with a single-location format, then we're in for a treat.  The Hateful Eight just gets better and better every time I watch it.  As always, Quentin Tarantino brings sharp writing and rich characterization to the proceedings -- made even richer here by the nature of the story. Not only do you get such vivid portraits of who these men are, but you also feel like you're trapped in this lodge with them and the tension just gets wound tighter and tighter as the film goes on.  It's a true delight to see all these characters play off of and manipulate one another.  The way Tarantino weaves in the animosity and racial tension between these characters feels very fluid and natural, and it escalates things to a fever pitch while simultaneously putting more meat on the movie's bones so that it's not just a run-of-the-mill trapped with strangers story -- not that I ever doubted Tarantino, mind you.  I also love how unapologetic he is with some of these characterizations, particularly with Samuel L. Jackson's character, which feeds into the racial issues the film tackles and in a more thoughtful way than Django Unchained.  Honestly, I could've spent even more time with these characters before the shit hits the fan.  And yes, I have no issue with the Second Act twist.  The Hateful Eight contains all the classic hallmarks we've come to expect from Quentin Tarantino, and feels both as energized as his earlier works and mature in other areas, too, like the work of a filmmaker who's come to naturally understand his craft.

Yeah, got sidetracked this past week.  Anyway...

Happy, Neverending ?  Dracula , I know you're not.

I think, by now, I and many others have adequately covered what makes Get Out so great, so I'll keep this one brief.  But when people say that the horror genre really started to experience a new renaissance period in the second half of the 2010's, Get Out is one of the movies that's deservedly singled out.  It pretty much represents a happy medium between the more cerebral (no pun intended) and more mainstream sides of horror, as Jordan Peele explores racial class systems in very interesting and effective ways, and doing so within the trappings of an equally effective genre piece.  Peele here displays a remarkable sense of restraint and patience as he gradually builds an increasingly off-putting atmosphere with the skill of a seasoned professional, and this was only his first time in the director's chair.  And while the still-good Us may not have been as strong of a follow-up piece, Get Out announced Jordan Peele as a formidable new name in the horrorspace, and I'm eager to see more of his work.  Every time I watch this movie, I love it more and more.

The late 2010's also revealed another amazing new talent for horror, and that would be Ari Aster.  His feature debut, Hereditary, knocked me on my ass.  Cause Ari Aster knows how to scare you.  What makes Hereditary work so well is similarly what makes a classic like The Exorcist soar: it brings you into this messed-up family unit first, and then it lets the shit hit the fan, which makes things that much more horrific.  And when I say horrific, I don't use that word lightly.  Aster pulls off some truly nightmarish imagery many times throughout this movie, and it all feels very effortless on his part.  He pulls off some shots and scenes in here that I think will be forever seared in my memory.  He also gets a world-class performance out of Toni Collette that, I don't care if it was part of the genre the Academy typically ignores goddamnit, SHOULD have gotten an Oscar nomination, maybe even a win.  Hereditary's laser-focused exploration of grief also helps distinguish it from other more run-of-the-mill spookfests and helps gives the movie its wicked edge.  Ari Aster is the real deal.

I'm just now realizing that this makes three movies in a row that introduced me to an exciting new director.  Told you you'd be seeing more of Denis Villenueve on this list, and that's still true even after this ranking.  What a terrific movie. Prisoners demonstrates an expertly-crafted level of skill in telling what’s essentially a genre story, and turning it into a thoroughly engrossing movie. From the masterful direction and cinematography, to the powerhouse performances, the compelling script and even the ambiguous title (nearly everyone in this movie is a prisoner in their own way), Prisoners is a movie that just gets better and better as it goes on. Director Denis Villeneuve instills a cold sense of dread right from the get-go which permeates every scene and creates a mounting feeling of intensity while also remaining incredibly understated about it. Hugh Jackman gives perhaps the performance of his career, perfectly capturing the desperation of a father on the edge, and the focused determination in Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is reminiscent of his work in Zodiac. Upon subsequent re-watches of this film, I marvel at the various ways in which the script shows the effects this whole situation is having on the characters without directly addressing them. For instance, once Keller (Jackman) takes Alex (Paul Dano) hostage and begins torturing him for information on the whereabouts of his kidnapped daughter, Keller makes it a point to use his religious beliefs for strength in doing what he has to do. But then comes a moment late in the movie where Keller’s once again praying for the necessary strength, but halfway through, he stops as tears roll down his cheeks. To me, a simple action like that says so much more than a conversation the characters could have on the subject. And at a running time of 2 1/2 hours, there’s never a moment in Prisoners that could qualify as boring. For these 145 or so minutes, not counting the credits, it’s hard for me to tear my eyes away from the screen; the suspense certainly doesn’t lose any of its effect with repeat viewings.

Here's another tease: Her is going to pop up again in this thread.

#foreshadowing