Top Ten 2010s... So Far
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:30PM 
I just spent 108 minutes catching up with Jesse and Celine. We've met them twice Before... and I spent the first 2/3rds of the movie grinning like a damn fool I was so happy to be marinating in their always passionate detour-filled conversations. It's too early to say how much I loved the movie (though I did) but it got me to thinking what an achievement this series is and got me to thinking of true movie magic and how much of it we've had lately. So while so many of my fellow critics enjoy their mad rush through Auteursville at Cannes tonight I'm remembering the time I fell in love with this movie...
...and that one
...and that one
...and that one.
Here's my ten favorite movies of the 'Teens (2010-2019) ... so far of course
the bonafide masterpieces -it'd be tough to imagine them not being on the decade best list 6 years from now
1. I Am Love (Luca Guadagnini)
2. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)
3. The Social Network (David Fincher)
indelible achievements
4. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
5. The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko)
6. Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance)
movie magic
7. Amour (Michael Haneke)
8. The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
9. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
and?
10 ... let's leave this spot open for a current passion since this list is silliness until 2019 rolls around. How will Frances Ha and Before Midnight age? They'll certainly make my top ten list this year. And if they don't this will be a startlingly fine year.
And while I still have your attention you should "like" The Film Experience
Honorable Mention: Beginners, Weekend, Magic Mike, and Moonrise Kingdom
Growing?: Blue Valentine and The Fighter and Melancholia are aging well
Fading?: I admit my initial passions for both Black Swan and The Artist have cooled a bit.
Which films this young decade have already staked a claim on your 4ever heart?
Previous Top Ten Quickies
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Reader Comments (85)
A Separation. Holy Motors. The Skin I Lived In. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. A Prophet (if I cheated and included a 2009/10 film - as in I actually saw it in 2009. Twice).
I have no idea what these movies have in common though
Honorable Mention: White Material, Weekend and Beginners (I really do view them in tandem, with their twin takes on memory, love and identity - but I also saw them the same weekend. With A Separation. Best movie weekend ever)
Growing: Inception (I know), Anton Chekhov's The Duel
Fading: The Master
I SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT BLACK SWAN, THE MOVIE HAS FADE FM MY MEMORY AND CANNOT RECALL A SINGLE PART OF WHAT MOVED ME SO MUCH WHEN I FIRST SAW IT.
MY 2010´S LIST SO FAR OF BELOVED FILMS:
INCEPTION-A MASTERPIECE OF THE WTF...LOVE DICAPRIO AND COTILLARD ON THIS!
A SEPARATION-A TAUT DRAMA THAT KEEPS MOVING ME TO TEARS, WHAT A TERRIFIC SCREENPLAY!!
BLUE VALENTINE-THE MOST VIVID DECONSTRUCTION OF A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP
TOY STORY 3-THE ENDING´S HEARTBREAKING!!!
THE HELP-A POPCORN MELODRAMA THAT STILL MOVES ME
DRIVE-A HYPNOTIC NEON-FILLED LOVE LETTER TO L.A.
An entirely respectable list, although I don't get the love The Artist and The Kids Are Alright have garnered. Don't get me wrong--they're both good films--but they're nowhere near my top ten, even in their respective years.
Here's what mine looks like:
1. A Separation (2012, Asghar Farhadi)
2. The Social Network (2010, David Fincher)
3. Mother (2010, Bong Joon-ho)
4. Biutiful (2011, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
5. Tokyo Sonata (2010, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
6. Zero Dark Thirty (2012, Kathryn Bigelow)
7. Enter the Void (2010, Gaspar Noe)
8. Hugo (2011, Martin Scorsese)
9. Killing them Softly (2012, Andrew Dominik)
10. Secret Sunshine (2010, Lee Chang-dong)
And, because #10 is a bit of a cheat (a 2007 film that didn't make it to the US for 3 years), here are a bunch of honorable mentions:
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, The Adventures of Tintin, Poetry (also Lee Chang-dong), I Am Love, Into the Abyss, That Evening Sun, Uncle Boonmee, Beasts of the Southern Wild and on and on we go.
One film that seems to be growing on me with each viewing is J.C. Chandor's Margin Call. So many great performances and such an apt document of its time. Give me a few more years and it could wind up on this list.
It's strange... I know Inception/Black Swan would probably be my 1-2, but I almost feel guilty putting anything above The Tree of Life, which I put in a different category than the others. Next: Les Mis, Beasts, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Bridesmaids, A Separation, The Social Network. Most of 11-20 would probably be 2012 films.
I can't say if I'm hard to please but, I hardly see anything during its initial release year. Some of my current favorite movies are from the previous decade and the 90's. Special shout outs to Kika (1994) and Sideways (2004).
From 2010 to the present: The Master (2012), Alps (2012), Dogtooth (2010) — I need to see more movies.
My Top 16 since 2010 (Cause I couldn't quite get down to 15):
The Tree of Life, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Margaret, House of Tolerance, Black Swan, Amour, A Separation, The Social Network, Melancholia, Moonrise Kingdom, Damsels in Distress, Cloud Atlas, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Beyond the Hills, Weekend, and White Material
I just realized I missed quite a few important movies: Lincoln, The Kid with a Bike, Le Havre, Zero Dark Thirty, A Prophet, The Ghost Writer, Toy Story 3, We Need to Talk about Kevin, and Rampart. You can't fit them all.
Masterpieces:
Margaret
I Am Love
Tree of Life
Social Network
Cloud Atlas
one of those things is not like the other one of those things is not the same...
Hope the next few years are as good as 2010-2013ish were!
My top ten of the decade so far are:
1. Black Swan
2. Midnight in Paris
3. Anna Karenina
4. Stories We Tell
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. Another Year
7. The Descendants
8. Incendies
9. Shame
10. Barney's Version
Barney's Version is easily the one film that's grown on me the most since seeing it first. (And it's probably the film I've revisited the most.) Inception wins the title for film that doesn't hold up as well upon repeat viewings. (Maybe it just needs the big screen?) The last time I watched it, I actually turned it off...
1. The Social Network
2. A Separation
3. Tangled
4. Argo
5. The Help
6. Bridesmaids
7. Rabbit Hole
8. Skyfall
9. Django Unchained
10. Warrior
I don't think I can go to ten, but there are four films (so far) this decade that I think will stand the test of time. I completely agree with, well everyone, regarding The Social Network and A Separation. Even if the The Social Network ends up not being the best film of the decade, I can't imagine another one capturing the feel for this time better than it does. A Separation is something thats working on so many levels (mystery, procedural), but keeps the domestic heartbreak at its core. You know that something lesser would have been thrown off the rails, but its simple complexity (does that make sense?) makes it something truly magnificent.
I'm going to go ahead and push Beginners up there. This movie is pure magic to me and it just sweeps me up every time I watch it. Some one wrote about it being a movie that holds these wonderful little secrets that get discovered with repeat viewings, like your discovering everything with Oliver and learning things about him as well, it's just amazing. You just feel the love Mike Mills put into telling this/his story and it really is truly something special.
Then there's Lincoln. To this day, I'm shocked that this movie fascinated and moved me as much as it did. I think its just a tremendous achievement from top to bottom and one that will be well remembered with time.
Nat's list is fairly similar to my own. Okay, okay, I haven't seen I Am Love (bows head in shame). I would replace The Kids Are All Right with Melancholia. I would also make room for The Tree of Life, Black Swan, and The Master.
My list, in rough order:
- A Separation
- Melancholia
- Drive
- Amour
- The Tree of Life
- Black Swan
- The Master
- Blue Valentine
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Mother
ALT: The Social Network. I really like it and know it's a pretty great film, but somehow it doesn't push my personal love buttons. I also have a stronger affection for The Artist than the current Internet taste makers allow!
And as always, I could decide to completely reorder the list tomorrow...
Joe -- how fun and unexpected to see a shoutout to TANGLED! (that makes me want to watch it again immediately)
I always find top ten lists for recent years too hard. But, taking a full three years into account is so much more satisfying:
Black Swan
Drive
Zero Dark Thirty
Young Adult
A Separation
The Ghost Writer
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Midnight in Paris
Bridesmaids
Blue Valentine
The only film I've seen from this decade that's really stuck with me is Andrew Haigh's Weekend.
It's so early in the decade but I honestly feel like it will be difficult for any movie to top Margaret.
Whoops. Forgot about Margaret. Thanks, os. That film kills. But, I guess where it falls in by year depends on who you ask. Not sure where I would place it.
At the moment, here's where I stand on the decade:
1. The Social Network
2. Inception
3. A Separation
4. Black Swan
5. Oslo, August 31
6. Arbitrage
7. Shame
8. The Perks of B...
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. Animal Kingdom
Recent films that have stuck with me...
-Black Swan
-Rabbit Hole
-Blue Valentine
-Bridesmaids
-Beginners
-Melancholia
-Shame
-Beasts of the Southern Wild
-Weekend
-The Deep Blue Sea
It's obscene how happy this little list makes me. Black Swan has yet to fade for me, and I was never a fan of The Artist. Maybe I'd switch The Social Network and Beasts for that top tier, plus my top ten would have to include Certified Copy, but that list is just about as perfect as perfect can be.
1. Margaret
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
3. The Social Network
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. Cosmopolis
6. Toy Story 3
7. The Tree of Life
8. How to Survive a Plague
9. Young Adult
10. Margin Call
Honorable mentions: Weekend, Lincoln, The Fighter, Moneyball, Wreck-It Ralph, 50/50
Pretty much a three-way (don't get excited, people) tie between "Inception", "Winter's Bone", and "Tree of Life". Ask me on a different day and "Inception" and " Winter's Bone" might swap places (they often do), but they would be the top two so far. I must admit I cannot get next to "The Social Network" - I like the entire cast and I adore the writer, but for some reason I just do not get what all the shouting is about.
This is something I never thought I'd say after I saw it, though I really loved it, but I think about the Coens' "True Grit" a lot more than I thought I would in the years since its release.
Shame
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Blue Valentine
Melancholia
The Illusionist (L'illusionniste)
Rust and Bone
Another Year
Black Swan
Weekend
The Future
Honorable Mentions: The Kids Are All Right, Beginners, The Artist, Hugo, Rabbit Hole
WIthout even stopping to think or second-guess myself:
--The Perks of Being a Wallflower
--Beginners
--How to Train Your Dragon
--The Queen of Versailles
--Toy Story 3
--The King's Speech
--Hugo
--Argo
--Moneyball
--The Help
great list.
here are my favs, which you can also find on my blog:
1. Toy Story 3
2. Les Miserables
3. The Social Network
4. Cloud Atlas
5. Argo
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. Life of Pi
8. the Help
9. We Need to Talk About Kevin
10. Intouchables
My top 10 would be very 2010-heavy:
1. The Social Network
2. A Separation
3. Zero Dark Thirty
(If including docs, Inside Job be placed here)
4. Beginners
5. Animal Kingdom
6. The Kids Are All Right
7. Moneyball
(If including docs, Last Train Home would be placed here)
8. I am Love & Moonrise Kingdom
10. The Fighter
The Social Network, Shame, Midnight in Paris are the only three I can see ageing their way into best of lists.
Here are ten (in alphabetical order) that stick out for me so far:
Beginnings
The Ghost Writer
Le Havre
Hugo
The Kid with a Bike
Life of Pi
Midnight in Paris
A Separation
Silver Linings Playbook
The Social Network
And I agree The Fighter is growing. I didn't like it the first time I saw it (when it first came out) but I just saw it again and I could see why it does what it does.
Can't wait to see Before Midnight!
And I really want to catch up with Margin Call...
So far in the teens:
Inception
Dogtooth
127 Hours
I Am Love
Never Let Me Go
Drive
The Tree of Life
Beginners
Weekend
Beasts of the southern wild
Also, I forgot Spring Breakers. In 10 or 20 years everyone will see what a trash masterpiece it is. A wet fever dream of America.
1. Midnight in Paris (2011)
2. The Artist (2011)
3. Inception (2010)
4. Life of Pi (2012)
5. The Kid With a Bike (2010)
6. Rust & Bone (2012)
7. Black Swan (2011)
8. The Master (2012)
9. A Separation (2011)
10. Fast Five & Skyfall (2011 & 2012)
Films that I see making my top ten decade-end list:
Blue Valentine (2010)
The Social Network (2010)
Certified Copy (2011)
A Separation (2011)
Amour (2012)
Growing on me: Fish Tank, The Fighter, Moneyball, Beginners, Margaret
Fading: White Material (LOVED it when I first saw it, now I vaguely remember it), Life of Pi (already?? second viewing was not good for this film), Black Swan (I was always skeptical of how much my "love" for the film was due to the overwhelming buzz around it two-three years ago: now I don't see it as more than an entertaining psychological thriller)
Oh, but curiously the movie that I have UNDOUBTEDLY watched the most this decade has been The Kids Are All Right. It's funny that back in 2010, I was hesitating on whether or not to put it in my top 10 that year, now I can't imagine going week without seeing it. Every time I notice it playing on cable I leave it there and it's like I'm watching the movie for the first time all over again: it's aged so well, and partly because I love the performances and the character dynamics they create. I can really see this one growing on me more and more and maybe even being top 5 by the end of the decade ... we'll see.
By the way, Before Midnight was just breathtakingly surprising.
Can't wait for your review! I'm DYING to see it. We get it released in June here.
As for my favorite movies of the teens...I don't know, it's a hard list to make. But more than likely the list would include Lost in Translation, Children of Men, Amelie, Eternal Sunshine, Dogville, I Heart Huckabees...and I gotta stop there because I have 50 more movies I want to mention.
I think my top 3 is:
Certified Copy
Poetry
Mother
From that I have to go with
The Tree of Life
A Separation
The Day He Arrives
The last tier:
The Strange Case of Angelica
The Skin I Live In
Holy Motors
My Joy
1. Margaret
2. White Material
3. Snowtown
4. Sister
5. Winter's Bone
6. Berberian Sound Studio
7. The Social Network
8. Zero Dark Thirty
9. Another Earth
10. The Illusionist
I'm confident that Margaret will top my decade list.
I like Margaret a lot but I'm surprised so many people think it a masterpiece when you can feel the stitchwork so much. But yes a provocative good picture for sure.
I think the stitchwork of Margaret is one of its key appeals for me. It just felt so exhilarating, raw and confused in a way I can't imagine any other movie topping this decade. My Top 10:
1) Margaret
2) Weekend
3) The Tree of Life
4) The Social Network
5) A Prophet
6) The Kids Are All Right
7) Take Shelter
9) A Separation
10) Young Adult
Nice seeing you last night. I wholeheartedly believe (even though he wasn't super keen on the film) that seeing Before Midnight with my partner enriched our relationship. It's that good and wise about longterm partnerships. In the fight scene, as soon as Celine starts making the tea, from then on he is Celine and I am Jessie. It's startling. It was my second time seeing it, and as soon as he started "reading" the napkin note, I teared up all over again. Top 10 material, for sure.
As for the rest of the decade, I remember I felt closest to you in 2010, because we both had such a hard time choosing I Am Love or Social Network as our Number 1. Both clear masterpieces, and it was incredibly tough. Ultimately, you went with the former and I went with the latter. (You were braver, I think, but I'm comfortable with my choice.)
My other 'Teens' bests include Melancholia, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cosmopolis, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, A Separation, Drive, This Is Not a Film, and Margaret, which I find masterful for the very reason you cited--the seams are still there, and it's messy, yet perfect and astonishingly good for that reason.
Off the top of my head...
1. The Tree of Life
2. The Social Network
3. Weekend
4. Melancholia
5. Toy Story 3
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
7. The Master
8. Drive
9. Blue Valentine
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (okay, probably A Separation...but really Scott Pilgrim)
Whatever list that does not have The Tree of Life it is not worthy a consideration; this movie should enter any Top 100 of all time very soon
You all have way better memories than I do. Elena, Mother, and Farewell My Queen would be on my list ... if I kept one ... must get on that.
As you've been doing these decade lists, I've realized how incapable I am of putting together a list of ten favorites to cover ten years, so I never even tried. But since this is only three years, I thought I could handle this one - but cutting films is still so painful.
Top tier:
Margaret
The Fighter
Drive
Melancholia
Then:
Rust & Bone
Bridesmaids
The Illusionist
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Shame
Three-way-tie-for-tenth:
Mother, The Artist, Beginners
And nearly all of these are from 2011, which was just an insanely good year for movies.
I am totally done with The Artist at this point.
The Social Network
I Am Love
Drive
Moonrise Kingdom
Beginners
Looper
Incendies
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Rust and Bone
A Separation
LSS -- ooh absolutism. I hate it basically ;) I wish I loved The Tree of Life like so many others do but it felt so random to me, like the scenes could have come in any order and been fine... and it was marred for me by the Sean Penn sections. But yeah, a really good film. Just nowhere near the best Malick (for me.... i personally think The New World and The Thin Red Line are way better)
also to everyone -- aren't any of you bothered that Lonergan is a terrible actor in his self-directed scene in Margaret? his bits took me out of the picture a little bit
My top two are A Separation and Oslo, 31.august.
The other eight are in random order:
Amour, Drive, Black Swan, Poetry, Midnight in Paris, Shame, Winter's Bone and my most recent film experience; Anna Karenina.
Honourable mentions:
The Social Network - impressive, but didn't capture my heart
I Am L(ove)ady Chatterley - elegant, but with flaws (The soup? The soup! THE SOUP!! = way too gimmicky... ;))