The Decade in Review: 2011-2020

April 18, 2021 at 5:03 pm | Posted in Decade in Review | Leave a comment
Tags: Best of the Decade, Movie Review

Now, we come at last to my very last post on this blog. And I thought there was no more fitting way to wrap up 10 years of movies than to list my top 10 films from the last 10 years. I didn’t want to be restricted to picking one film per year. So, I went through all my five lozenge films and prioritized them. I find it worth noting that there is no film on the list from 2020, and most come from the first few years of the decade. Perhaps, I need time to fully realize how much a film stays with me. Take that for what it’s worth. And, just for fun, I have also ranked and included all of the worst films I saw during the decade (the seven 0 lozenge films). Click on the names if you want to read my original reviews and (in some cases) see a trailer. Discuss, debate, disagree, and enjoy!

1. Boyhood (2014) – I am definitely drawn to films that defy expectations and that take me on journeys that I can’t predict. Though I have sadly lost the full list, my favorite film from 2001-2010 was the 2006 film “Shortbus.” I was stunned by the audacity of taking the most cynical film genre (porn) and making a completely open-hearted, sincere and moving film. Likewise, “Boyhood” does something I have never seen before. It was filmed over 12 years, a few weeks at a time, as a young boy grows up on screen. By the final moments of the film, I felt that I knew that character more deeply than any other character in any other film. Nothing much happened in this move, except one boy living one, normal life. What is more moving than that?
2. The Act of Killing (2013) – This is the most powerful, disturbing, bizarre documentary I think I have ever seen. I am not sure what to say about it other than it must be seen to be believed. When I saw it at a film festival, it started with a disclaimer from the filmmaker that this film is absolutely real, and these people are not actors. It is astonishing what he manages to get people to do, say, admit about their involvement in terrible things. Why did they share? Well, that would be a good movie night discussion.
3. Jojo Rabbit (2019) – A holocaust movie wherein Hitler is the imaginary friend of the Nazi boy who is the film’s protagonist. What’s not to like? Somehow Taika Waititi manages to tell one of the most told stories in film from a fresh perspective. The film was funny, weird, daring and deeply moving. That scene with the butterfly and the shoes is one of the best scenes I have ever seen in any film.
4. Anomalisa (2015) – I love Charlie Kaufman films. I love almost all of them: “Being John Malkovich” is definitely one of the very best films of the 90s. And I think Anomalisa is one of my favorites of his (below only “Malkovich” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”). The stop motion animation is so beautiful and the story is so hauntingly real. It’s hard not to be moved by something so vulnerable.
5. Inside Out (2015) – It may be strange to put an animated film on a list like this one. But, Pixar has proven itself to be the greatest animation studio of all time, and “Inside/Out” is their masterwork. This is essentially a children’s movie that teaches children how to grieve. Sadness is not a bad emotion to be repressed. Feel it because in feeling it you can move through it. What an amazing message to give to a child, and I just don’t see any other studio being daring enough to make a kids’ film like that.
6. Moonlight (2016) – Masterpiece is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this film. It tells the story of being Black, masculine, and gay in such a heart-wrenching way. Without big theatrics and melodrama it gets into the pride and the pain of Chiron’s existence. And that final scene in the diner is, from start to finish, a perfect scene. Even separated from the rest of the film, nothing needs to be explained or even said for the audience to understand exactly what is happening. Stunning.
7. Chi-raq (2015) – The most underappreciated of Spike Lee’s movies. That this film did not even get nominated for an Oscar is an indictment of the Academy. It is Lee’s edgiest film since “Bamboozled.” Based off of the classical Greek play, “Lysistrata,” it imagines a Chicago community where the women without sex in order to get two rival gangs to stop killing each other. It’s funny and thought provoking.
8. Swiss Army Man (2016) – This may be the strangest film on the list, which is saying something. Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse. He has washed up on a beach just as a man (Paul Dano) is about to kill himself. Instead, he drags the decomposing, farting corpse into the jungle where it begins to give him life advice. It truly is an odd film, but it’s message is one of deep humanity and acceptance for ourselves.
9. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – Wes Anderson is another filmmaker whose work I love. Admittedly, it is hard to beat the likes of “The Royal Tenenbaums” or “Fantastic Mr Fox,” but this film is absolutely one of his best. It has everything to expect from a Wes Anderson film: plenty of heart and quirk in spades.
10. Take Shelter (2011) – I was mesmerized by this film. It was the first time I had seen Michael Shannon on screen (or at least noticed him) and he was such a force in this film. I never knew where the film was going and, when it was over, I wasn’t ever sure exactly what had happened. The whole film crackles with energy punctuated by sudden moments of beauty, like the pulsing flow of a murmuration of starlings.

Honorable Mention: Black Panther (2018) – It feels strange to even consider putting a “superhero movie” on this list. But it has been years since I have seen so electrified an audience. In fact, the last time was when I saw “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” with a theater full of gay people in 1994. There is something about seeing yourself reflected on screen in a powerful way. This film did that at a time when it desperately needed to be done. That’s something worth celebrating.

Best First Scene of the Decade: Pieces of a Woman (2020) – Be warned: this first scene is a full half hour long, shot in one fluid, kinetic take. It’s a stunning piece of cinematography and the result is harrowing.

Best Last Scene of the Decade-ish: A Serious Man (2009) – I know I’m cheating here. But I thought about it and thought about it, and nothing really compares with this ending. I think the right word is epic; it’s nothing less than the entire force of the world bearing down. It brings the film, and its themes, to a perfect conclusion.

And now, for the worst of the decade, in order from just really terrible to soul-sucking misery. I just didn’t have the energy to write more about these awful films. If you want to know how I really feel, click on the links.

7. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

6. Sausage Party (2016)

5. Artemis Fowl (2020)

4. Ted (2012)

3. The Rim of the World (2019)

2. World War Z (2013)

1. Elle (2016)

And there you have it. My opinion of the best (and worst) of the 671 films I reviewed for this blog over the past decade. It has been fun, and it has changed the way I see films. Thanks to everyone, all 14,253 of you, from 111 countries all around the world, who has come to this blog. I hope you all got something out of my reviews, and maybe saw a film or two that you wouldn’t have otherwise. I plan on keeping this site up for the foreseeable future, so feel free to keep coming here as often as you’d like. Thanks everyone and be well!