10 from the 10s - Give us your preferences and why (1 Viewer)

[FincherFan]

in no particular order, mine are as follows:



interstellar - i think seeing this in the Cinerama Dome on Sunset made such an impression. It’s another conversation (i’m sure somewhere on this site), but I do recall the audio being quite frustrating, but the images were so fascinating & I’m always a sucker for Miss Chastain.



arrival - i loved how quiet this film seemed to me. also, another interesting version of positive contact with aliens on our planet.



inception - Paris on film anytime works for me, but this was something different. it was a bit confusing initially for me, but i didn’t feel lost.



once upon a time in hollywood - i came in biased to this considering it was about my native city, but the recreation of a time before i was born was just fascinating. of course, Mr. Taratino loves to go overboard sometimes, but it was such an interesting what if?



girl with a dragon tattoo - this was obvious considering my online name, but i was impressed again. i did love the original Swedish versions, but i love his take on it & yes, it’s a bit more polished, but that’s what he does.



gone girl - i found Rosamund so captivating as she concocted her scheme & i thought Ben was just himself, but a funny & sad version of himself & Carrie was new to me & was so, so good.



rogue one - lifelong SW fan, but not a fanatic. i didn’t know what to expect (besides the tie-fighter shot in the trailer that never materialized). i’m okay with the other films that continued the Skywalker story, but i loved that this didn’t have them in it. i think it’s turned out to be my second favorite behind the film that was released in May of 1977.



blade runner 2049 - it’s mostly on this list because it’s SO beautiful to look at. i do think the performances are really good. Mr. Leto can be a lot & Robin is always good, but just 2+ hours of beautiful images.



prometheus - another very beautiful film & i did want more answers, but, i can’t stop rewatching this film.



into the spider-verse - haven’t been into to comic books for a very long time, but i have always loved spider-man & this take was so different that it kinda makes the others seem like less. i love most of Pixar’s version of animation, but i thought that this really changes things.



Honrable Mentions:



true grit - Jeff Bridges & the Coen brothers. No need to explain more.



girl on the train - i’ve really grown to love Ms. Blunt & i was really drawn into her sad story.



wonder woman - Lynda Carter was the one, but i think Gal was perfect.

 

[benbess]

I have lots of favorite movies that were released from 2010 to 2019. Starting in 2010, my favorite Martin Scorsese movie of all time is Shutter Island. Great performances by Leonardo Dicaprio, Ben Kingsly, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Max von Sydow, etc. Great screenplay, production design, cinematography, editing. Rather devastating and difficult to watch at times, but for me the grim conclusion works.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Starting in 2010, my favorite Martin Scorsese movie of all time is Shutter Island.

Well, that is pretty high praise. While I didn't mention it, Shutter Island is an excellent film and a solid addition to the films that comprise this thread. I particularly enjoyed the cinematography and overall visual aesthetic of the film, and the production design. Excellent cast as well. Another, in a large list of films from this thread that I should revisit.

- Walter.

 

[Jeffrey D]

in no particular order, mine are as follows:



interstellar - i think seeing this in the Cinerama Dome on Sunset made such an impression. It’s another conversation (i’m sure somewhere on this site), but I do recall the audio being quite frustrating, but the images were so fascinating & I’m always a sucker for Miss Chastain.



arrival - i loved how quiet this film seemed to me. also, another interesting version of positive contact with aliens on our planet.



inception - Paris on film anytime works for me, but this was something different. it was a bit confusing initially for me, but i didn’t feel lost.



once upon a time in hollywood - i came in biased to this considering it was about my native city, but the recreation of a time before i was born was just fascinating. of course, Mr. Taratino loves to go overboard sometimes, but it was such an interesting what if?



girl with a dragon tattoo - this was obvious considering my online name, but i was impressed again. i did love the original Swedish versions, but i love his take on it & yes, it’s a bit more polished, but that’s what he does.



gone girl - i found Rosamund so captivating as she concocted her scheme & i thought Ben was just himself, but a funny & sad version of himself & Carrie was new to me & was so, so good.



rogue one - lifelong SW fan, but not a fanatic. i didn’t know what to expect (besides the tie-fighter shot in the trailer that never materialized). i’m okay with the other films that continued the Skywalker story, but i loved that this didn’t have them in it. i think it’s turned out to be my second favorite behind the film that was released in May of 1977.



blade runner 2049 - it’s mostly on this list because it’s SO beautiful to look at. i do think the performances are really good. Mr. Leto can be a lot & Robin is always good, but just 2+ hours of beautiful images.



prometheus - another very beautiful film & i did want more answers, but, i can’t stop rewatching this film.



into the spider-verse - haven’t been into to comic books for a very long time, but i have always loved spider-man & this take was so different that it kinda makes the others seem like less. i love most of Pixar’s version of animation, but i thought that this really changes things.



Honrable Mentions:



true grit - Jeff Bridges & the Coen brothers. No need to explain more.



girl on the train - i’ve really grown to love Ms. Blunt & i was really drawn into her sad story.



wonder woman - Lynda Carter was the one, but i think Gal was perfect.

I would also put Dragon Tattoo high up on my favorites of the decade. Not pleasant viewing, but still excellent.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I screwed up and didn't realize that True Grit was 2010. That's definitely in my top ten (near the top) of the 2010s.

True Grit - Absolutely brilliant script, loaded with idiosyncratic performances and a star-making turn from Hailee Steinfeld. As watchable as movies get, balancing quirky humor and genuine drama perfectly. Not my favorite Coen brothers movie, but very, very close.

 

[whyme?]

The decade from 2010 - 2020 has been widely regarded by more than a few that movies from this era do not match up to the standards of previous decades. The reasons given by these critics are numerous and include people inside the industry and fans too.

Whilst I may agree with this view somewhat, to play devil's advocate cinema is now over 100 years old so there is a strong argument that perhaps it's very difficult to create anything with any originality due to the evolution of cinema over this time-frame and the quantity of movies made over this long period.

Also, the average attention span has declined over the decades so there is a lot of factors that make it more difficult for filmmakers to get bums on seats and modern technology certainly does not seem to be helping.

Therefore, the aim of this thread is to observe if the strong arguments against this heavily criticized decade holds any weight by getting forum members to list their favourite 10 movies of this decade and why without having to go into too much detail. No essay is required but any input that can eloquently dispute these claims with words used to champion their preferred movies would be much appreciated.

Hopefully, this thread can get others to watch brilliant movies from this decade that they have either avoided due to prejudice or was just not aware of for whatever reason such as low budget and a lack of marketing limiting its exposure etc.

Having sat through a lot of dull, uninspiring and extremely tedious movies from this decade I look forward to seeing people's inclusions which with a bit of luck get me to watch a few new films from this modern era that entertain me and put a smile on my face instead of feeling I have wasted yet another 90 minutes plus that I will never get back.

Maybe everyone's contribution can help sell the idea that this decade is not as bad as some claim. Then again maybe this decade really has been poor in contributing a large enough quantity of movies that interest, entertain and impress to a scale large enough that can compare with other decades regarded as superior in every way.

Without further ado I will include my 10. Please note this list is not necessarily an opinion on the 10 best of the decade but certainly 10 films that have real human emotional creative input, intelligent script writing and aesthetic beauty with quality drama that make them cinematic works of art worthy of watching.

Apologies if these are all well known by most on here but I wouldn't be creating this thread if I thought I had seen all worth seeing from this decade of movies. I have tried to avoid some of the obvious choices but with very few potential selections some have been included here.

Well evolution of motion pictures are not over yet.3D has yet to become a stabled view 3D with out glasses have yet to be invented except for a recent laptop. Improvement is not over yet.

 

[benbess]

True Grit is also one of my top five films of 2010.

But second on my list for that year, after Shutter Island, is Toy Story 3, which I consider another masterpiece. Since the first Toy Story movie the series has explored existential themes of mortality, finding a purpose in life, etc. When Buzz had his first existential crisis in 1995, I started getting emotional. This is topped by the final scenes in Toy Story 3, which are pretty intense for an animated movie.

 

[benbess]

I have enjoyed watching about half a dozen times since it came out Ridley Scott's Robin Hood from 2010. It's actually my favorite version of this story. The 1938 version is charming and campy, and the 1991 version with Kevin Costner also has some good qualities, but somehow doesn't work as well for me now as when it came out. This epic and gritty version is the one I like best.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I see that Tarantino made 3 films last decade- Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Of these films, I have watched Hateful 8 the most amount of times. I’ll be the first to agree with anyone who thinks it’s too long, but it’s easy to follow, and the performances are great, especially Leigh and Goggins. Of course Jackson is always fun to watch in a Quentin film.

 

[benbess]

Figuring out my top five for 2010, I'm going to go with: Shutter Island, Toy Story 3, The King's Speech, Robin Hood, and True Grit. Colin Firth won an Oscar for his performance in The King's Speech, and Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Ruth also give strong performances.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Another film I just thought of- Winter’s Bone. Jennifer Lawrence stars as a poor country woman who goes on a search to find out what happened to her father. John Hawkes plays a small part. Film was nominated for actress, supporting actor, screenplay and picture. I watched it once, and liked it. Not lighthearted.

 

[billO']

I've been working on some bestest lists for films (by eras and genres) for the last couple of months and although I hadn't yet tackled the 2010s, I thought I'd jump ahead and give it a go for this post. Luckily for me about ten or so years ago I finally started giving films a ranking after viewing them (by the classic critical scale of one to four ****'s with half-stars, too) so that helped narrow down the list quickly. The hardest part was my initial list had almost 40 films and narrowing it down to just ten as "best" was a real bitch. But I persevered and here are my picks:

(Chronological by earliest release):

HUGO ('11) - A film that made me remember how I felt as a pre-teen when I'd go to the movies and everything about them seemed like magic. . . a magic I was hooked on knowing everything anything about. Scorsese's most under-rated film.

THE MASTER ('12) - Received a lot of criticism for being too subtle and not flashy enough, but I consider it perhaps the best film ever made about the power dynamic between those who seek to lead us and those who we will follow. Tom Cruise tried his best to convince Paul Thomas Anderson not to make this film. He failed. That says tons right there.

UNDER THE SKIN ('13) - To describe the basic plot of this film makes it sound trivial. This one has fans simply because they loved the visual style and mood of the film and that was sufficient. I've read the novel this claims as its source, and let's just say I'm glad they left out the six-foot tall talking kangaroos that are revealed to be the actual aliens' physcial appearances "under the skin." Sign me up for a ticket to see anything Jonathan Glazer directs.

FORCE MAJEURE ('14) - It's said that disasters can bring out the best and the worst in people. We see this happen when a French family vacationing at a ski resort in the Alps experience a massive avalanche. Subtle and low key, but it still reveals a lot about the myriad ways people might react after experiencing a traumatic event.

EX MACHINA ('14) - Perhaps the best science-fiction film ever examining the question of at what point does the artificial intelligence of a man-made machine become equal to human intelligence...and earn the right to possess a will to live and survive? Very deep and philosophical themes like these are contained within a modern sci-fi variation of the Frankenstein story. And an additional menage a trois story of jealousy and passion added to the story puts some ontological spice in the pot, also.

IT FOLLOWS ('14) - The best horror film of this decade, quite possibly of the entire 21st century (I'm still compiling that list). This film generates scares and foreboding and checks multiple genre boxes: supernatural horrror, demon horror, social commentary, teen flick, paranoia... I'm a little surprised it hasn't shown up on many lists (both this thread and other websites) as one of the best films of this decade. But, just like the demon in the story that takes it time stalking its prey: give it time--it will get there.

THE BIG SHORT ('15) - I have eclectic interests, but one subject that's always bored me to tears is economics; too much math and too much greed for my taste. Somehow this film about the sub-prime crash of the economy in 2008 can make that subject not only easy to grasp, but also funny and enlightening, too. My favorite black comedy of the decade.

A MAN CALLED OVE ('15) - After having seen this film first, I have no desire to see the Tom Hanks re-do version recently released. This Swedish film earns its emotions without resorting to movie-comedy and blatant sentimentality. It's low-key with a character who's kind of bastard most of the film, but by the end you'll miss him when he's gone. See Ove and you can skip Otto.

THE MARTIAN ('15) - I searched my "seen" list for a big-budget effects-laden film to include as a best, however, most of them I thought were either not very good or just kind-of-OK. Except for The Martian. Yeah, it has a few moments of pure incredulous Hollywood action nonsense (the rescue), but for 95% of the time it's a survival story of an abandoned astronaut on Mars with amazing and believable SFX. Matt Damon (the second most empathy-generating actor after Tom Hanks) has to carry the film for nearly every scene, and he does. It takes a lot anymore for a film to make me unabashedly root for a character. This one did.

PARASITE ('19) - A film about class warfare disguised as a semi-comedic, semi-horror story about three families who judge each other based on what they "see", but are unaware or blind to things under the surface (or behind the walls) that they don't see. I'm looking forward to watching this one again just so I can "see" all the things I missed the first time. For once, the AMPAS stuffed-shirt voters got it right giving this the Best Picture statue.

____________________________________________________________


>>> Half of my picks above were easy choices; the other half I wrestled with what to leave out. Ask me to make this list in a month or a year from now and it might be totally different. Just for my own notes, and for anyone interested, below are the films that made my first list and I include here as Honorable Mentions:

Kill List ('11) / Winter's Bone ('10) / Toys Story 3 ('10) / Martha Marcy May Marlene ('11) / Mud ('12) / Gone Girl ('14) / Nightcrawler ('14) / Whiplash ('14) / Cold In July ('14) / The Invitation ('15) / Maggie ('15) / Spotlight ('15) / The Witch ('15)/ The Arrival ('16) / Super Dark Times ('17) / Sweet Virginia ('17) / You Were Never Really Here ('17) / 1917 ('19) / Midsommar ('19) / The Assistant ('19)


>>> And--Full Disclosure--there are some films from this decade I still haven't gotten around to seeing yet and that's why they aren't mentiond. These are on my To Watch list:

The Social Network / Inside Llewyn Davis / Life Of Pi / Phantom Thread / The Revenant / Destroyer / Upstream Color / Her / Foxcatcher / Lady Macbeth / Silver Linings Playbook / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer

 

[Carl David]

What did people think of "Only The Brave" from 2017?

Must admit this movie had an emotional effect on me and really pulled my strings which most movies never do old or new.

Only watched once and think need to watch this again in the future to see if my perception changes of it.

Thought it was a well crafted film and undecided if this was a masterwork or just very skillfully made to manipulate the human emotions.

On reflection it has convinced me it is a very profound tribute to those extremely brave and unique people who are firemen.

A tragedy that really strikes a chord. Not seen many like this especially in how skillfully directed I think it is.

 

[benbess]

Here I think are my top movie released in 2011....

Ever wish you could have another movie from David Lean? Well, try Spielberg channeling Lean in the powerful and beautiful War Horse, which is my top movie from this year.



It's a totally different kind of movie, but I also really enjoy the guilty-pleasure Twilight Zone-like Source Code, which I've watched several times.



I've also enjoyed the animated Western Rango.



And Tree of Life is a haunting movie, although I haven't watched it again since it came out in theaters in 2011.



Scorsese's Hugo is a fun homage to a cinema pioneer Georges Melies.



Captain America: First Avenger is my favorite of all of the Marvel movies. Love the retro/sci fi/steampunk production design in this one.