Best Films of the Decade

Best Films of the Decade 

(2010-2019)

“10 years gone, holdin’ on.” – Led Zeppelin 

Way back in 2010, the filmmaking landscape looked vastly different than it does today. “Streaming” wasn’t really a thing, Netflix was mailing DVD’s, Marvel was recognized as a comic book icon not-so-much a superhero movie-making machine, and physical media was still being sold in most electronics stores. 

In 2019, Netflix and Amazon are major filmmaking studios who are creating films that are frontrunners for major awards, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a dominant force in the box office, movies are being watched and made on iPhones, and Disney basically owns everything. 

10 years gone, yet cinema is still holdin’ strong. In the last decade some beautiful, fantastic, social, historical, poignant, courageous, defiant, horrific, and timely films have been solidified into the permanent celluloid of film history. Here are ten films that I consider the best of the decade.

25. Ex Machina (2015)

24. Holy Motors (2012)

23. Get Out (2017)

22. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

21. 12 Years a Slave (2012)

20. Her (2013)

19. Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (2012)

18. What We Do In The Shadows (2014)

17. Take Shelter (2011)

16. Parasite (2019)

15. Hugo (2011)

14. Dunkirk (2017)

13. Before Midnight (2013)

12. The Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

11. Act of Killing (2013) 

10. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

There is a minimalist perspective utilized in this film that permits superb and poetic storytelling to speak volumes about youth, discovery, and innocence. Quvenzhané Wallis's performance is so powerful, the maturity and explosiveness of her character are beautifully designed and executed. The film embraces magical realism throughout its journey into the southern Delta and beyond. It’s a joyful and exhilarating example of the power of the human spirit, the courage of youth, and the limitlessness of love. 

9. The Witch (2016)

Robert Egger’s “The Witch” is a film that lives and breathes on manipulating the atmosphere that it lives in, building dread and creating an environment that saturates any glimmer of light with darkness. It’s hard to call it just frightening or menacing, it’s something more, something darker. It’s a nightmare that you can’t wake up from, one that lures you into the blackened world and then forces you to keep going when you want to turn back. 

8. Boyhood (2014)

Twelve years of commitment to an idea and Richard Linklater accomplished one remarkable feat of filmmaking. Through a series of normal, insignificant life events a young boy grows into a man amidst the backdrop of a changing world. The most compelling and brilliant aspect of this film is the subtle influence seen in Mason’s changing character, from the socioeconomic features to political climate, and the familial aspects that become unintentionally inherited by us all. It all works in engulfing the viewer into the familiarity of the past and the journey of growing up. 

7. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Director George Miller drove this pulsing, bursting, no-holds-barred vehicle into the summer blockbuster scramble of 2015 and completely destroyed all competitors. This film completely belongs to Charlize Theron who confidently controls the film with a stunning screen presence as Imperator Furiosa. George Miller executes the film with exceptional style and skill, making “Mad Max: Fury Road” feel more suited for the arthouse than the grindhouse…it’s the best action film of the decade. 

6. Amour (2012)

Director Michael Haneke meticulously, through editing, camera framing, and painstaking guidance of performance, crafts a film about the process of love and death in the latter days of an elderly Parisian couple. Unnerving and depressing in its’ realistic portrayal of death but also transcending in its’ beautiful depiction of life and love, this film still evokes a strong sense of pain, sorrow, compassion, and peace of the life and death process.

5. Melancholia (2011)

Themes of loss, despair, tragedy, and conflict abound through family, relationship, and interpersonal dynamics of a newly married couple…all this while also telling a story of Earth’s imminent apocalypse. Director Lars Von Trier weaves a story that translates into the coping mechanism and structural recovery of severe depression. It’s a complete travesty that Kirsten Dunst didn’t win an award for her performance. “Melancholia” is a deeply personal film that is crafted with calculated and methodical execution. 

4. Certified Copy (2011)

The battle of authenticity and imitation has been explored in films before, however not with the passion and depth that director Abbas Kiarostami exhibits with “Certified Copy”. The questions offered to meditate on are still completely relevant. What is real and what is manufactured? Are emotions constructed as a mechanism for self-guidance or self-destruction? It’s a puzzle of subtle intrigue, composed with brush strokes so finely precise that staring at the picture will only further reveal how beautiful it actually is. 

3. Phantom Thread (2017)

 “Phantom Thread” is a complicated love story, one that harbors themes of dominating control, deep and dangerous emotional connections, and a passion that is not easily defined. Director Paul Thomas Anderson paints an image here that still lingers long after its release, the startling and subtle emotion portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps is still captivating and magnetic, uncompromisingly romantic, and still somehow emotional tragic.  

2. Under the Skin (2014)

With a near-silent and purposefully ambiguous narrative, “Under the Skin” moves with a hallucinatory yet naturalistic aesthetic through the streets of Scotland, following Scarlett Johannson’s curious and deadly alien being. The purpose of everything is never fully revealed, but the journey is so ambitiously designed that the mystery becomes nothing short of completely consuming. “Under the Skin” is one of the best science fiction films of the decade.

1. Moonlight (2016)

Director Barry Jenkins crafted the most beautiful and complex film of the decade. “Moonlight,” asks difficult questions to the viewer and doesn’t succumb to easy expectations. It tells entire stories with simple body language and subtle gestures and the stillness of a camera that never flinches from a character forces the viewer to linger deep into what the characters are doing. It’s a coming-of-age film, a film about sexual awakenings, a film exploring masculinity, a film that doesn’t surrender to easy stereotypes or simple exploitation. What “Moonlight” does is show the power that a film can possess, and how that power has the ability to transcend and destroy barriers of preconception. 

Monte's Favorite Horror Films of 2015

Monte's Favorite Horror Films of 2015

1. What We Do In The Shadows

The horror subgenre of the vampire gets a genuinely funny and creatively innovative punch from the creative team behind “Flight of the Conchords”. Nearly every aspect and angle of the vampire mythology is given proper treatment and respect is shown to the horror community because the film rarely feels like it is mocking the genre. The film also utilizes the overdone documentary perspective cleverly to its advantage. Who would have thought that following a bunch of vampire roommates around would have been this entertaining? 

2. Bone Tomahawk

If this film were a little more horror and a little less western, it would have taken the top spot this year. An absolutely impressive film from S. Craig Zahler, “Bone Tomahawk” is the western film I always wanted. It’s a mix of unusual humor with touches of thoroughly effective and satisfying horror and beautifully rendered western era compositions. Add some rather stunning performances from an impressive cast, Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, and especially Richard Jenkins, and you have one of the most unique horror, western, drama mash-ups you’ll experience.

3. Deathgasm

Director Jason Lei Howden made one of 2015’s most wild and fun horror films. If you grew up with a denim jacket that had heavy metal band patches all over it, this film is for you. If you grew up loving your horror films filled from top to bottom with blood and gore, this film is for you. “Deathgasm” tackles the teen comedy, mixes in raunchy humor, adds a little metal music culture, and delivers buckets of blood for your horror hearts delight. It’s a horror film worthy of repeat viewings.

4. It Follows

With a simplistic premise and an unsuspecting and meticulously moving monster, “It Follows” utilizes atmosphere to create an eerie, chilling, and surprisingly thought provoking film that at the center could be described as a sexually transmitted haunting. However, horror is always an interesting genre to supplement examinations on other topics and “It Follows” displays this quality by offering more substance under the surface than most other genre films. “It Follows” is consistently calculated and frightening, a film that excels by utilizing genre characteristics in unique and unexpected ways.

5. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

A lonesome vampire, wearing a traditional chador and gliding along on a skateboard, stalks through the beautiful black and white photographed streets of a fictionalized Iranian town known simply as Bad City. Director Ana Lily Amirpour, on a shoestring budget, crafts an impressive genre film with influences from numerous sources. Whether the comic book story style, or the western and noir film homages, or the American and Iranian cultural influences that shapes many of the environments, “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” is an impressive blending of inspirations that assist in shaping an exceptional film.

6. Spring

Depending on your relationship, or past relationships, the terms horror and romance may not be to far apart from describing one another. In “Spring” a normal young man meets an exceptional woman with a secret, a fairly terrifying secret. To call it a dark comedy would be appropriate, but it’s also a nice blend of science fiction and horror in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft with influences from romantic dramas that don’t hide the messy side of relationships. “Spring” is an odd though imaginative experience.

7. The Final Girls

It’s a comedy first and a horror film second. Never gory or particularly scary but consistently entertaining, “The Final Girls” takes playful aim at the slasher horror subgenre. Director Todd Strauss-Schulson brings in an excellent cast of recognizable faces and cleverly incorporates them into a meta-movie within a horror movie that unabashedly understands exactly what it is trying to do. “The Final Girls” could have gone wrong in many different ways, but instead it incorporates some great emotional aspects and never hides its fun and charming identity.

8. Julia

Matthew A. Brown’s film “Julia” takes a unique approach to the rape-revenge genre, utilizing a changing emotional tone to support the visceral scenes of vengeance taken by the films lead Ashley C. Williams. Much of her performance is done without words but instead with haunting stares into her resolute eyes and subtle expressions that change along her awakening. The character driven focus and sharply composed narrative make it an emotional journey. “Julia” is more than just comeuppance; it’s also about how terrible trauma changes a person from the inside out.

9. Last Shift

Left alone in a police precinct a rookie female officer becomes trapped in a supernatural situation. Director Anthony DiBlasi creates exceptional creepy atmosphere and some genuine scares. It feels very familiar at times but Mr. DiBlasi keeps the film moving at a nice pace, staying a step ahead of the trappings. The imagery utilized is effectively jarring and the technical design of the film is well accomplished. “Last Shift” is an unexpected horror surprise.  

             

            10. When Animals Dream

The Danish film “When Animals Dream”, directed by Jonas Alexander Arnby”, is a moody and atmospheric horror film that handles a familiar genre monster with complex emotion and confident femininity. Arnby builds a film that moves with a deliberate pace, constructing a quiet tension that builds towards a boiling point of panic, frustration, and anger for the young lead character played by Sonia Suhl. Arnby displays why horror shouldn’t follow the guidelines and how it often works best to break from the path and challenge genre characteristics in meaningful ways.

Honorable Mentions

• Alleluia
• Cooties
• Cub
• Let Us Prey
• The Editor
• The Hallow
• The Nightmare
• Suburban Gothic

Monte's Best Films of 2015

Monte's  Best Films of 2015

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

Director George Miller drove this pulsing, bursting, no-holds-barred vehicle into the summer blockbuster scramble and completely destroyed all competitors. Mr. Miller builds an expansive world, without much dialogue, with the assistance of Tom Hardy who plays Max Rockatansky. But don’t be fooled, this film belongs to Charlize Theron. As Imperator Furiosa, Ms. Theron confidently controls the film with stunning screen presence. Mr. Miller executes the film with exceptional style and skill, making “Mad Max: Fury Road” feel more suited for the arthouse than the grind house.

2. Spotlight

“Spotlight”, a film about the investigation by the “Boston Globe” into the scandal within the Catholic Church, is a captivating and devastating experience. Tom McCarthy directs an exceptional cast, lead by Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, and Liev Schreiber, and narrates a film about investigative journalism in a straightforward manner while also allowing the film to unfold in a thrilling and stunning fashion. It’s a film that never relies on anything more than displaying a group of hardworking people determined to reveal the truth, regardless of how intimidating the impact of the truth may be.

3. Ex Machina

Good science fiction always asks difficult questions. Science fiction cinema didn’t get much better than “Ex Machina”, a methodically structured film with an intelligent narrative directed by Alex Garland. While many of the films that deal with science fiction are cluttered with special effects, Mr. Garland utilizes these tools to build an impressive, beautiful, and emotional artificial being known as Ava, played impeccably by actor Alicia Vikander. “Ex Machina” focuses on relationships between men and women, the advancing world and how it connects with progressing technology, and the trappings and limitations of science. It is an exceptional film that asks difficult questions and allows the viewer to interpret the answers however they choose.

4. Inside/Out

Pixar films have an undeniable emotional quality unlike other animated films. “Inside Out”, a film that takes place inside the mind of a young girl, is an impressive return to form for the company. The narrative is smart and poignant while also being thought provoking, asking questions for both children and adults to contemplate and, hopefully, discuss with one another. The animated world is incredibly unique, the casting of the characters is near perfect, and the story is accomplished in displaying how emotion changes throughout the rough and beautiful parts of maturing life.

5. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

Experience is an important aspect of adolescence, it has a way of preparing one for the unexpected but also teaching one valuable lessons about people and situations. “Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” is a coming-of-age story with a firm and grounded sincerity. All the trappings of a melodramatic teenage film are here but are instead shrewdly and cleverly implemented under the keen direction of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. “Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” is an emotional experience, though it’s never devastating or heartbreaking but instead filled with heart and passion.

6. Anomalisa

Human connection told expertly through stop-motion animation; “Anomalisa” displayed the pain, loneliness, and despair of relationships and the journey of finding ones’ self better than many films this year. Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson co-direct this film, about a solitary man leading a mundane life who has an unexpected encounter with a stranger, with charm and tenderness. This is a film about imperfect individuals dealing with complicated issues, it’s never easy or simply stated. “Anomalisa” is a challenging, yet heartfelt experience.

7. Sicario

“Sicario” is a fascinating thriller about the war on drugs and the control and chaos that ensues while federal agents fight a faceless foe. It’s a film that lingers in an atmosphere of fear and builds suspense in subtle yet effective ways. Whether the enchanting cinematography by Roger Deakins, which is a visual descent into darkness, or the narrative penned by Taylor Sheridan that displays the bleak disenchantment of the whole situation. “Sicario” is consistently tense and foreboding; it’s a film that drops the viewer in the middle of a frantic and confused setting, and then continues the journey amidst building chaos.  Director Denis Villeneuve is a skillful director and “Sicario” is one of his best films.

8. Brooklyn

Colm Tóibín’s novel, about a strong-willed Irish immigrant living in 1950’s Brooklyn, found its film adaptation from director John Crowley. The story follows Eilis Lacey, a great lead performance from Saoirse Ronan, as she comes to America in search of all it promises. Themes of homesickness, love, maturity, and the identity found in the place one calls “home” are all deftly handled throughout the film. Mr. Crowley paces the film with measured assurance while avoiding the clichés and melodramatic trappings that hamper many dramatic stories like this. “Brooklyn” is uplifting and sincere.

9. The Hateful Eight

In the eighth film from Quentin Tarantino the director takes a group of unredeemable characters and locks them in a shack during a blizzard in post-Civil War Wyoming. The three-hour long epic, released in a special 70mm presentation, displays Mr. Tarantino meticulously building a mystery while also incorporating an interesting amount of social commentary that transcends beyond the time period depicted in the film; it’s compelling to see everything slowly unravel. The film finds further success with stunning cinematography and a beautiful score, composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone. “The Hateful Eight” is Quentin Tarantino self-indulgently doing what he does best.

10. Carol

Director Todd Haynes builds a magnetizing connection of love between two women in the film “Carol”. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara give phenomenal performances as two women drawn to each other in the 1950’s. Their romance is witnessed from the initial blossom, starting as a chance encounter at a shopping counter, to powerful gazes across and next to one another, to the moment of intimacy; everything in their relationship is portrayed with subtle details, emphasizing mannerisms and movements and expressions. It feels in parts like a dream, accomplished through beautiful photography, in the sense that as the feelings grow stronger for these two women so does their release from the constraints of their 1950’s reality.

11. Timbuktu

Director Abderrahmane Sissako constructs a quiet, at times gentle, film that displays the realities of life under Islamic extremist rule with an insightful and skillful hand; “Timbuktu” is striking and uncompromisingly truthful.

12. The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his best performances in “The Revenant”, a film that takes painstaking measures to portray nature and humanity in its most raw and pure form. “The Revenant” is a gorgeously composed film with some of the best technical scenes of the year. The silence of nature provides a powerful backdrop for this visceral revenge tale.  

13. Straight Outta Compton

“Straight Outta Compton” is the story of the hip-hop collective N.W.A., a group of talented, enraged young men who utilized the power of their words to reflect the emotions and experiences of their world. F. Gary Gray directs this accomplished biopic with a steady hand; the attitude of the actors, the placement of the music, and the design of the environments are all spot-on.

14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The movie event of the year arrived in theaters, with long lines of people waiting, still waiting, to watch this film. Director J.J. Abrams did not disappoint with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. It’s a film that gives older audiences joyous nostalgic feelings and offers a new generation of fans that memorable movie magic experience.

15. White God

In Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó’s film “White God”, the enduring trust and love between a young girl and her dog presents a heartwarming tale, until the dog is ripped away and left to survive in the corrupt and hate-filled world. “White God” comes to stunning life with the assistance of near two hundred trained dogs, offering a film that starts as a touching drama and moves into the realms of horror.

16. Creed

Michael B. Jordan is a worthy contender to the “Rocky” legacy. “Creed” boasts a narrative that is crowd-pleasing and in moments exhilarating, but the welcome surprise is Sylvester Stallone’s excellent performance as Rocky. Director Ryan Coogler is a talent to watch.

17. The Big Short

Upsetting and at times infuriating, “The Big Short” is intelligent and clever while also being completely entertaining. The film makes it easy to laugh at the appalling errors of the past but it never lets this comedic aspect distract from the point of revealing the tragedies of greed.

18. The Look of Silence

“The Look of Silence” is a frightening, shocking, and heartbreaking documentary from director Joshua Oppenheimer, a film that places survivors in the presence of the people who murdered their families. It’s a powerful film that is difficult to watch about a history that shouldn’t be forgotten.

19. Wild Tales

Humans can behave in terrible ways; however the people in Damián Szifron’s anthology film “Wild Tales” take it to the most extreme, depraved level. It’s a shockingly funny and darkly entertaining piece of film comedy.

20. Bone Tomahawk

It’s a horror film, but it’s mostly a western. “Bone Tomahawk” is a strange, unconventional western film in the best possible way; a mix of unusual humor with touches of thoroughly effective and satisfying horror. The western era atmosphere is beautifully rendered and the performances from the cast are excellent.

Honorable Mentions

• Beasts of No Nation
• Chi-Raq
• Dope
• Duke of Burgundy
• Labyrinth of Lies
• Love & Mercy
• Mustang
• Tangerine
• Room
• The Assassin
• The Martian
• Turbo Kid
• What We Do In The Shadows
• Youth