theprestige
Prominent Member
Ok, so I know that this will be a bit controversial considering the year has yet to end, but as @Drax1 pointed out, we can always update this list.
The 10s has truly been a conflicting decade for me as i'm sure it has for many other people. It's easily the worst decade in film, but as always, there are some gems here and there (mostly world cinema, arthouse) while the studio system is in the worst shape it has ever been in. I know @lucasisking is a fan of this decade and maybe as times goes on, there will be a better outlook on it, but as of today, it's not the most interesting decade for me, though i'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of you guys responding to it.
To note, the 60s/50s and 40s threads were meant to occur way before the 10s, and that's still in the pipeline, I have just wanted to watch as many of films from the decade as I possible could to ensure that I can contribute to the threads as strongly as possible.
Anyway, without further ado, lets get straight down to business.
2010
Animal Kingdom (David Michod)
This low key Aussie crime drama had been on my radar for quite awhile and it wasn't until about 5-6 years ago that I finally caught it. Went in for Guy Pearce, who i've always been a big fan of, and came out of it admiring a lot of other talents like Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn. This was my first exposure to those two and looking back on this now, it's clear that Michod had put together a heavyweight cast of brilliant actors.
Adopting a more subtle, low key approach compared to many who delve into the crime genre, Animal Kingdom benefits from a familiar and relatable world in which your heroes are neither likeable or unlikeable, but just incredibly flawed human beings trying to survive in a world that's socially hostile. Our youthful, bewildered protagonist, Jay (sympathetically performed by James Frecheville) is not your most courageous, resourceful or even intelligent hero, but a young man who's aware of his environment and the fact that he is simply not well suited to it.
The film's laid back pacing shifts a bit once Ben Mendelsohn's Pope comes into it. He's the 'Pesci' of the film in the simplest of terms, but Mendelsohn imbues him with more complexity than that with subtle gestures here and there and difficult to figure out intent. Jacki Weaver's Janine is potentially the most complex of the lot. The matriarch but not a sadistic one, just one willing to go to whatever measures in order to protect her family. She's, in many ways, the most pure out of the family, and like Mendelsohn, Weaver gives her Janine an ambiguous edge.
Great film and my favourite of 2010.
Runner Up:
Inception (Christopher Nolan)
I have a lot of problems with Inception, but there really isn't a film of it's scale like it. The literal multiple dimensional storytelling is a hell of a feat, regardless of flaws, and it's for that reason alone that it's a runner up. Not Nolan's best by a long shot, but it's his most audacious.
The 10s has truly been a conflicting decade for me as i'm sure it has for many other people. It's easily the worst decade in film, but as always, there are some gems here and there (mostly world cinema, arthouse) while the studio system is in the worst shape it has ever been in. I know @lucasisking is a fan of this decade and maybe as times goes on, there will be a better outlook on it, but as of today, it's not the most interesting decade for me, though i'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of you guys responding to it.
To note, the 60s/50s and 40s threads were meant to occur way before the 10s, and that's still in the pipeline, I have just wanted to watch as many of films from the decade as I possible could to ensure that I can contribute to the threads as strongly as possible.
Anyway, without further ado, lets get straight down to business.
2010
Animal Kingdom (David Michod)
This low key Aussie crime drama had been on my radar for quite awhile and it wasn't until about 5-6 years ago that I finally caught it. Went in for Guy Pearce, who i've always been a big fan of, and came out of it admiring a lot of other talents like Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn. This was my first exposure to those two and looking back on this now, it's clear that Michod had put together a heavyweight cast of brilliant actors.
Adopting a more subtle, low key approach compared to many who delve into the crime genre, Animal Kingdom benefits from a familiar and relatable world in which your heroes are neither likeable or unlikeable, but just incredibly flawed human beings trying to survive in a world that's socially hostile. Our youthful, bewildered protagonist, Jay (sympathetically performed by James Frecheville) is not your most courageous, resourceful or even intelligent hero, but a young man who's aware of his environment and the fact that he is simply not well suited to it.
The film's laid back pacing shifts a bit once Ben Mendelsohn's Pope comes into it. He's the 'Pesci' of the film in the simplest of terms, but Mendelsohn imbues him with more complexity than that with subtle gestures here and there and difficult to figure out intent. Jacki Weaver's Janine is potentially the most complex of the lot. The matriarch but not a sadistic one, just one willing to go to whatever measures in order to protect her family. She's, in many ways, the most pure out of the family, and like Mendelsohn, Weaver gives her Janine an ambiguous edge.
Great film and my favourite of 2010.
Runner Up:
Inception (Christopher Nolan)
I have a lot of problems with Inception, but there really isn't a film of it's scale like it. The literal multiple dimensional storytelling is a hell of a feat, regardless of flaws, and it's for that reason alone that it's a runner up. Not Nolan's best by a long shot, but it's his most audacious.