Best Films of The Decade (2010-2019)[LIST] - Movies & TV

cestuneblague
Edgy to the Choir

Location: MA/FL

Applerill wrote:

Bad takes everywhere Sad

No bad takes , only bad takers Surprised

Anyway I'll give my thoughts soon, but still many sursha smooches for Hayden and everybody who boted, def great to see so many people involved even if lockdown may have been a major factor

RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

Moderator

I'd be interested to hear what specifically about The Florida Project the people who hate it didn't like about it.

"It sucks" isn't a particularly interesting take, I'd much rather hear why you don't like it (not saying you have to like it FWIW)
_________________
2023 Chart

Early Psychedelic Rock

Electronic Chart

Hayden

Location: CDMX

AgainstMeAgainstYou

Gender: Male
Age: 28
Location: Ajax, ON

RockyRaccoon wrote:

I'd be interested to hear what specifically about The Florida Project the people who hate it didn't like about it.

"It sucks" isn't a particularly interesting take, I'd much rather hear why you don't like it (not saying you have to like it FWIW)

That's a long, long post that I'm happy to delve into a little bit later, but for now I'll say this: the ending absolutely slaughtered this movie for me. I wasn't having a good time with it beforehand, but when it DIDN'T cut to black when it should've and transitioned to literal iPhone footage of Disneyworld, it went from, like, a 4/10-5/10 for me to absolute bottom marks. One of the worst endings, maybe *the* worst ending, of a movie ever, IMO.

As for my other problems with it, I just want some time to gather my thoughts. It's been over two years since I watched it. I agree that "it sucks" very rarely means anything.

EDIT: On a total side note, there's one person I follow on Letterboxd purely for the shitpost-esque collection of their ratings... absolutely blows my mind.

1.5-star for The Stranger and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1-star ratings for The Rules of the Game, Lawrence of Arabia, Moonlight, On the Waterfront... HALF A STAR for The Lighthouse, Chungking Express, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Raging Bull, Casablanca, Holy Grail AND Life of Brian, 2 stars for Little Miss Sunshine... the list goes on. I'm not trying to shame this person, fuck knows I have some acclaimed films that I think are trash - we're talking about one right now - but I honestly feel like this person just does not like movies. Either that or they're the greatest troll account on Letterboxd.

CA Dreamin

Gender: Male
Location: LA

Applerill wrote:

Bad takes everywhere Sad

This is the only bad take in this thread so far. Either say something constructive or don't say anything at all.

Hayden wrote:

I'll reply to the rest in a bit, but figured I'd shell you some 2016 recs.

American Honey (Arnold)
The Salesman (Farhadi)
Toni Erdmann (Ade)
Juste La Fin Du Monde (Dolan)
Nocturama (Bonello)
The Neon Demon (Refn) (I could see you digging this one, ignore the reviews)
Endless Poetry (Jodorowsky)
I Daniel Blake (Loach) — use subtitles
The Red Turtle (Wit)
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (Waititi)
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Kuosmanen)

I was interested in watching Toni Erdmann, American Honey, Salesman, Neon Demon, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Daniel Blake for this poll. But they either weren't available on a platform I had access to, or I couldn't get to them in time. They're on the watchlist. Will get to them someday. I haven't heard much/anything about the others. Will look into them. But won't be seeing any of these anytime soon; I'm done watching 2010s movie for a while Neutral

. I started the next viewing project...the expiring-on-Criterion-Channel-at-the-end-of-May watchlist.

RockyRaccoon wrote:

I'd be interested to hear what specifically about The Florida Project the people who hate it didn't like about it.

"It sucks" isn't a particularly interesting take, I'd much rather hear why you don't like it (not saying you have to like it FWIW)

I made this brief summation on the poll thread but I'll expand below:

CA Dreamin wrote:

The Florida Project - A bit underwhelming to be honest. I didn't find the unfit mother and her mischievous daughter endearing, except sometimes when they shared the screen. By themselves, they were mostly annoying to watch. The saving the grace of this film was Willem Dafoe, who nailed every scene he was in. For a film that supposedly examined the issue of poverty in America, it never really addressed why these characters were in the situation they were in. It was a bit shallow on that front. And what was the big deal about the very ending people love so much? It didn't seem to serve any higher narrative/poetic purpose. It just felt tacked on for its own sake.

The Florida Project only partially worked for me. My two biggest problems with the film were the lack depth in the unfit mother character, and the shallowness in which it examined the issue of poverty. There wasn't enough backstory provided for the unfit mother. We're told very little about how or why she ended up in her situation, which could have a provided a basis for empathy. Where was the father of her child? Was he dead? Was he in jail? Was he even more unfit than she was? Did he run away and change his name? Was she knocked up and never even knew who the father was? And what about the mother's parents? Why couldn't they take them in? Were they dead? Were they also poor, and couldn't take them in? Daddy issues? I'm not saying the script needed to answer all these questions, but some further backstory would have helped us understand and sympathize with her. But instead, all we know is that she was a stripper unfairly fired from her job. Ok, that's one piece of character information that makes us feel bad for her. But that didn't explain why she and her daughter lived in a motel and had no money. You what explains that? Maybe that she wasted her money partying on her nights off, while leaving her daughter unsupervised? I mean, there was a scene early on of her going out clubbing with a friend despite being broke, unemployed, and having a child to take care of. Her losing her job also didn't justify why she was so rude to nearly everyone, including Willem Dafoe who was trying to help her. Thus, it seemed that she brought the situation onto herself due to poor life decisions and unlikable character traits, rather than someone who fell into the situation because she was wronged by those around her or had a very unlucky streak. This brings me back to my other issue about how the film examined poverty. Her character wasn't exactly the best character through which to say something about the issue, because, with the information we're given, it was as much (if not more) her own fault as it was a flaw in the system. That's why I felt The Florida Project was shallow on that front. People applauded this film for its depiction of poverty, but it really didn't say much about it. Maybe if the story was centered around one of the other families in the motel, or Willem Dafoe, it could have. If I missed something, please tell me.

Anyway, the mother's rudeness and irresponsibility clearly rubbed off on her daughter, who spent the movie running around unsupervised vandalizing property, stealing, and even committing arson. Not that this weakened the film. But I didn't care for how it was played off as cute and innocent. Between the mother being a jerk to everyone, and the daughter who was out-of-control, at times I felt like I was watching Florida Man: The TV Show. But I'll admit I found it entertaining and disturbingly humorous at times.

I will give The Florida Project credit for two other things. Some scenes where the mother and daughter were together were endearing (ex. the restaurant scene and the selling beauty products scene). There was something genuine there, that beneath all their external and internal problems, the mother did care about her child, and it was a little sad at the end when they were separated. And Willem Dafoe. He was great in every scene he was in.

And as AgainstMe and I mentioned, the very ending (Disney World sequence) was stupid and pointless.

If you want a good 2010s film about poverty that has likable characters, try Shoplifters.
_________________
on such a winter's day

Hayden

Location: CDMX

CA Dreamin wrote:

I was interested in watching Toni Erdmann, American Honey, Salesman, Neon Demon, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Daniel Blake for this poll. But they either weren't available on a platform I had access to, or I couldn't get to them in time. They're on the watchlist. Will get to them someday. I haven't heard much/anything about the others. Will look into them. But won't be seeing any of these anytime soon; I'm done watching 2010s movie for a while Neutral

. I started the next viewing project...the expiring-on-Criterion-Channel-at-the-end-of-May watchlist.

Fair enough Smile

Hoping you like them when you get around to them. I think you'd particularly dig The Neon Demon and The Salesman.

Anyway, here's the list the film community on Reddit whipped up for the decade: https://letterboxd.com/les_vampires/lis...the-2010s/

We have 71 films in common with them, and out of the 29 film difference, our list is much better Mr. Green

(not just saying that either)

Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.

Location: Kansas

CA Dreamin wrote:

Where was the father of her child? Was he dead? Was he in jail? Was he even more unfit than she was? Did he run away and change his name? Was she knocked up and never even knew who the father was? And what about the mother's parents? Why couldn't they take them in? Were they dead? Were they also poor, and couldn't take them in? Daddy issues? I'm not saying the script needed to answer all these questions, but some further backstory would have helped us understand and sympathize with her. But instead, all we know is that she was a stripper unfairly fired from her job.

Roger Ebert wrote:

a movie is exactly what it shows us, and nothing more

I'm not saying that Roger Ebert is the be all end all of film criticism, but this is how I look at films and other narratives in general. Unless we are told otherwise, then what is presented to us is what is presented to us. It doesn't serve the film to speculate and ponder all of the "hows" and "what could've beens". I used to think that Cinema Sins was fun to watch, but then I realized how bad of mindset that is to be in when you're reviewing art. Not to say that all the things you say aren't valid questions, but I would say that it doesn't matter, because the film shows us enough to have us understand what's needed. Overexplaining is something that I don't care for in movies, so the less that is said is the better. But, of course this comes down to a matter of preference as always. I had this in my top 10, and I loved it at first sight. I haven't watched it since, but I don't feel like I need to, because the last time I went to Florida, I found myself thinking about the movie when I went past some derelict highwayside motel block, which means that it worked it's way into my psyche somehow.

CA Dreamin

Gender: Male
Location: LA

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

I'm not saying that Roger Ebert is the be all end all of film criticism, but this is how I look at films and other narratives in general. Unless we are told otherwise, then what is presented to us is what is presented to us. It doesn't serve the film to speculate and ponder all of the "hows" and "what could've beens". I used to think that Cinema Sins was fun to watch, but then I realized how bad of mindset that is to be in when you're reviewing art. Not to say that all the things you say aren't valid questions, but I would say that it doesn't matter, because the film shows us enough to have us understand what's needed. Overexplaining is something that I don't care for in movies, so the less that is said is the better. But, of course this comes down to a matter of preference as always. I had this in my top 10, and I loved it at first sight. I haven't watched it since, but I don't feel like I need to, because the last time I went to Florida, I found myself thinking about the movie when I went past some derelict highwayside motel block, which means that it worked it's way into my psyche somehow.

I agree with this for the most part. Over-explanation can be annoying and/or condescending. But to me, The Florida Project was one the few films guilty of under-explanation, for it didn't serve the characters nor the issues portrayed in the film. A little backstory would have helped build sympathy for the mother and daughter. I used the absence of the father figure as an example, a way that could have been handled. It could been have been handled as quickly and easily as one line of dialogue about him. But sure, it could have been handled another way. Anyway, this lack of depth infers the mother was equally responsible for her situation as her unfair surroundings or any kind of flaw in system the film supposedly examined. And I'm willing to concede that maybe that's not what was the film was aiming for. Maybe it wasn't trying to examine systemic poverty on the macro level. Maybe it was only meant to be a simple story about one fictional family who was in poverty due to poor decision-making and bad character traits. In which case, fine. If viewers still feel sorry for them and find a touching story there despite all their character flaws, go for it. It just didn't entirely work for me. And I'm not agreeing with the plethora of reviewers who praise the film for being deeper than it actually was.
_________________
on such a winter's day

cestuneblague
Edgy to the Choir

Location: MA/FL

- Yeah it's impossible to tell how films are going to hold up over time as attitudes and history evolve, feeling it could be a mixed bag for these particular selections. I remember when Boyhood came out and so many praised it as leagues better than anything in the 21st century, but enthusiasm has really seemed to wane for that picture. Even if it still did pretty well on this poll and others, back in 2014 it seemed like it was going to be at the top of nearly every list by decade's end. Whether that's simply becoming too easy a target or the movie's backstory might have made the actual work seem a tad overrated in retrospect, could be both but time hasn't been kind (if not outright harsh) to it with all things considered. Since I started following film beyond childhood favorites in the latter half of the 90s, it's been interesting to see how once massively acclaimed films from the previous decades have fallen by the wayside and other seemingly forgotten ones have seen a resurgance (often thanks to streaming). So, I donno about how Parasite is going to hold up over time, I feel like it's main themes are certainlly going to be universal throughout the 21st century, but it's possible it still has trapped most of it's heat and eventually might get the hype backlash or some less univerally adoring analysis in the future. Again, I loved a lot of it, I thought the ending was a bit dissapointing by kind of being coy with how it viewed the main "Parasites" at the center of the film, I don't think it's unquestionably the greatest of the decade and/or century but I can see how so many are excited by it. Will that be the same in 2030? Only then will we know so not worth dwelling over.

- I guess in trying to decipher patterns in this list it's a bit harder, it seems like the slice-of-life mini-epics made their mark in the 2010s under-hollywood scene, as well as some hyper-stylized, blunt-satire genre films that also became more popular in the Big Studio releases beyond the franchises/cinematic universe output that otherwise dominated the multiplex scene. And of course a lot of revenge films, character-driven films about difficult people and pixar's up-down output this decade.

- Not many surprise inclusions (I guess maybe The Turin Horse at the bottom, and the Big Short and knives out in the late 60s. Really?) but def some surprise placements. I never saw Nightcrawler as having a massive cult fanbase, I liked it and certainly had one of the most interesting lead performances of the decade, but as the fourth best film of the decade? Never saw that coming. I find the top 20 a mixed bag, though I can see how nearly all of them would end up there. Nothing I outright hated, except maybe Midsommar (though again can easily see how many loved it and not a surprise entry at all). The surprise exclusions have mostly already been noted, (no zvygnatisev though, ehh Evil or Very Mad

) though again would've liked to see some more film francaise et russe and documentaries.

- If we're looking back at individual years and by premiere dates, 2016 actually strikes me as the most daring year for film of the decade, a lot of really ambitious, provocative projects that were quite successful- though not necessarily the deepest year overall. 2011 and 2014 had most of my personal entries, and I didn't even care for a lot of the 2014 films that were at the top here but just a really deep selection regardless. 2010, 2012 and 2018 strike me as top-heavy years that were otherwise thin in movies you'd actually take to heart, but the best made up for it and I still need to dig deeper in the decade regardless.

- Overall I think the 2010s were a bit bigger and more grandiose than that of the 2000s, especially in the art-house, donno if it was necessarily better but more films def caught your eye. Things really are getting more scattershot these days, films being released in multiple platforms and the quantity higher than ever (like music), so making a decision about just what to watch is even becoming more arduous. Persronally I find this decade less personally "formative" than that of the late 90s and 2000s (O.K elder millenial) and I was doing a lot of late catch-up, so this overall assessment about the quality of 2010s in movies is a naive work-in-progress.

- Maybe do a revisit of the 2000s sometime soon, to get a look at further cultural retrospect? Probably not just a lot more Bong but more east-asian output in general, which really made it's mark by the turn of the millenium (as did Romania, Germany and North Africa later in the decade).

-

Hayden

Location: CDMX

CryingGameDahlin wrote:

- Not many surprise inclusions (I guess maybe The Turin Horse at the bottom, and the Big Short and knives out in the late 60s. Really?) but def some surprise placements. I never saw Nightcrawler as having a massive cult fanbase, I liked it and certainly had one of the most interesting lead performances of the decade, but as the fourth best film of the decade? Never saw that coming. I find the top 20 a mixed bag, though I can see how nearly all of them would end up there. Nothing I outright hated, except maybe Midsommar (though again can easily see how many loved it and not a surprise entry at all). The surprise exclusions have mostly already been noted, (no zvygnatisev though, ehh Evil or Very Mad

) though again would've liked to see some more film francaise et russe and documentaries.

- Maybe do a revisit of the 2000s sometime soon, to get a look at further cultural retrospect? Probably not just a lot more Bong but more east-asian output in general, which really made it's mark by the turn of the millenium (as did Romania, Germany and North Africa later in the decade).
-

Leviathan was... kinda close... ish... if it had... well, some more votes. It was certainly 'up there', but I don't think it would've made the cut. I think more people just need to see it. My personal preference is Loveless, but that was nowhere close at all. Gotta say though, if I had to back a Russian film to make the list, it would've been Hard To Be A God.

The Turin Horse was never actually off the list. It always stuck around somewhere or another, but it was at its lowest at the time of the deadline. I think it was even around 55-60 at one point. I'm just glad it's on there at all.

Looking back, Asian cinema was stellar in the early 2000s. That '00-04 range is stacked (mind you '99-01 is stacked no matter what part of the world). I think all of it holds up too. Interested in your Northern Africa picks from the late 00s... I'm not sure I've even seen one Think