Top 100 Best Movies of the 2010s: 20-11

(Source: New York Post)

20. Rocketman (2019) – I have been waiting for my whole life to see an Elton John biopic. Years after being in development hell, Dexter Fletcher has made one only the singer himself really deserves. Rocketman is more than just a biopic. It’s also a jukebox musical and fantasy wrapped into one. Taron Egerton gives enough charisma and energy as Elton, as he rises to fame while taking his descent into sex and drug addiction. Not to mention, he does his own singing to give the movie enough authenticity. I don’t think a gay actor would play the singer justice. To quote Fletcher in an interview with Peter Travers, “As a director, I have no right to inquire what an actor’s sexuality is…It’s just none of my business.”

(Source: The Hollywood Reporter)

19. Lady Bird (2017) – Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a love letter to her hometown of Sacramento. The result couldn’t be more electrifying. This coming-of-age story stars Saoirse Ronan as a senior at an all-girls Catholic high school as she goes through life throughout her school year; applying to New York colleges, developing romantic relationships with sweet-boy Danny (Lucas Hedges) and the too-cool-for-school bass player Kyle (Timothee Chalamet), and, more importantly, getting the respect from her mother (Laurie Metcalf). 

I have never seen a high-school movie over the past ten years so funny and brutally honest. The highlight is the relationship between Lady Bird and her mother. It’s clear that the two love each other, but Lady Bird wishes her mother would understand what she’s going through. She is not upset about politics at all. She’s a smart girl with good intentions and a good friend in Julie (Beanie Feldstein). Even when Lady Bird writes her essay about her love for Sacramento, she’s surprised, admitting, “I guess I pay attention.” With an excellent cast, an offbeat sense of humor, Sam Levy’s smooth cinematography, and Gerwig’s confident direction, Lady Bird is a powerhouse of a movie.

(Source: Variety)

18. A Star is Born (2018) – There were three different versions of A Star is Born–the 1937 original, starring Janet Gaynor, and the popular remakes in 1954, starring Judy Garland, and 1976, starring Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Years after being in production hell, Bradley Cooper directs himself and Lady Gaga in a version that would have easily been too corny. What Cooper and his brilliant cast here is something extraordinary. As Jackson Maine, Cooper gives a realistic portrayal of how a singer drifts away further from his lover by alcoholism and drug addiction. Sam Elliott’s Bobby is trying to everything he can to help his younger brother. All the songs are originals and the drama is hard-hitting without being too manipulative. If there is another version of A Star is Born in the future, this will be a tough one to beat.

(Source: Santa Fe New Mexican)

17. Brooklyn (2015) – Saoirse Ronan has come a long way since her breakthrough role in 2007’s Atonement. The Irish actress pays tribute to her parents (who moved from Ireland to the Bronx in the 1980s) in this lovely, old-fashioned love story based on Colm Tóibín’s novel of the same name. Ronan gives the performance of her career as Eilis, an immigrant who falls in love with an Italian-American plumber named Tony (Emory Cohen, also just as good). However, things get complicated when she hears the news about her family back home. As much as Brie Larson deserved her Best Actress win, it’s a shame to see Ronan get snubbed. I have never seen a movie featuring dark humor and tons of charm that tackles homesickness so realistically. As Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) tells Eilis, “Homesickness is like most sicknesses. It will make you feel wretched, and then it will move on to someone else.”

(Source: Flip Board)

16. The Irishman (2019) – Martin Scorsese’s return to his familiar roots of GoodFellas will more than likely be his last. It doesn’t necessarily mean he has lost his mojo. The Irishman is a gangster epic that you forget it’s three-and-a-half hours long. Based on the novel, I Heard You Paint Houses, the movie stars Robert De Niro (in his best performance in years) as Frank Sheeran, a truck driver working as a hitman for Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesci, great seeing him back in the spotlight).

Yes, the de-aging effects might a teeny bit distracting, at first. But–once the movie pulls you in, you forget all about it. The Irishman contains the usual brutality and dark humor of Scorsese’s predecessors. However, there is something in it that feels quite fresh. The cast could not be better–De Niro, Pesci, Al Pacino (superb, in his first Scorsese film ever, as the hot-tempered Jimmy Hoffa), Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, and Harvey Keitel among others. With great cinematography, brilliant editing by Thelma Schoonmaker, and witty dialogue, The Irishman is one not to be missed on Netflix.

(Source: Den of Geek)

15. Arrival (2016) – I will never forget the first time seeing Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi extravaganza in theaters. After a round of overblown, action-heavy films in the genre, he and screenwriter Eric Heisserer craft a more thought-provoking science-fiction story that tackles serious topics such as connection and time. The lovely Amy Adams gives an understated performance as Louise, a linguistics professor studying the aliens with the help from a handsome physicist (Jeremy Renner) and an Army colonel (Forest Whitaker). The final act really hits home. Sorry, Christopher Nolan, but Arrival is what Interstellar should have been.

(Source: The Hollywood Reporter)

14. Jojo Rabbit (2019) – What surprises me about this movie is how Taika Waititi got away with directing and starring in a movie about a Nazi boy having Hitler as his imaginary friend, or how Germany was not ashamed to release it, despite its satirical subject matter (unlike Russia banning The Death of Stalin in 2017). Nevertheless, it is a bold move by the New Zealand director to poke fun at Nazi Germany and Hitler; something it has been done since film first existed, which was famously done by Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator. 

With a talented cast, Waititi’s sassy rendition of the Nazi dictator provides enough to have audiences in stitches. One thing I did not expect, however, is the enormous heart surrounding the horrors of Nazi Germany. Roman Griffin Davis’ Jojo is a shy boy obsessed with the Nazis. When he discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is harboring a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie, a young actress to look out for in the coming years) in the attic, he must come to the reality of the whole situation. Jojo Rabbit might not be for everybody, but it certainly won me over.

(Source: New York Film Academy)

13. Hugo (2011) – Martin Scorsese has decided to create his first family film after making a lot of movies for adults, so his daughter can finally see a movie of his that she can discuss with friends about. Not only that, it’s his first movie in 3D. Based on Brian Selznick’s book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this movie is a beautiful love letter to early cinema. Featuring imaginative sets, wonderful visuals, a gifted cast, Hugo is an absolute treat for the ears and eyes. 

(Source: Vulture)

12. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – Believe it or not, this is the movie that introduced me to the wonderful, zany world of director Wes Anderson. There is so much to like about his nostalgic romance between two 12-year-olds–boy scout Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) and Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward)–who decide to escape to go deep into the forest while the local police officer Ken Sharp (Bruce Willis) and Suzy’s parents (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray). Robert Yeoman’s cinematography gives the movie a dreamlike quality; every shot looks so much like a watercolor painting coming to life. The star-studded cast, including Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, and Bob Balaban, is so deadpan it’s hard to resist their presence. This is a movie that gets so much better with each repeated viewing.

(Source: The Denver Post)

11. La La Land (2016) – This is the movie I have seen the most in theaters (a total of FIVE times). Writer-director Damien Chazelle (who, at age 32, became the youngest person to win Best Director) pays tribute to musicals of the past for his follow-up to Whiplash. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are magical as Sebastian and Mia, two people who meet by chance in the city of dreams, which is Los Angeles. There has never been a movie where this city has been portrayed so beautifully. If you pause the movie at any time, you are looking at a work of art. The music numbers are catchy, the sets are immaculate, and Justin Hurtwiz’s score is some of the best I’ve heard. An instant classic, for sure!

 

100-91 |  90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

Top 15 Best Movies of 2016

With a handful of bad movies 2016 had to offer, this year had some of the best movies I’ve seen in recent memory. From the bizarre to the unique to the poignant to the surprising to the most fun I’ve had in the movie theater, those are the terms that define 2016 when it comes to film. Without wasting any time, let’s get started with my top fifteen movies of 2016. There were so many phenomenal films.

Honorable Mentions: The BFG, The Conjuring 2, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Everybody Wants Some!!, Finding Dory, Florence Foster Jenkins, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Jungle Book, The Lobster, Midnight Special, Remember, Sully, The Witch

(Source: IndieWire)

15. The Nice Guys – Shane Black goes back into his roots of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Lethal Weapon to write and direct a buddy-comedy that taking place in the 1970s with ‘80s-style action and irony. I cannot picture a better dynamic duo than Jackson Healy and Holland March, played to perfection by Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. They work off each other so brilliantly as two detectives investigating the murder of a famous porn star. Who needs toilet humor when you got references to The Waltons or having Gosling do a famous Abbott-and-Costello-esque silent scream when he discovers a dead body? With a good mystery, thrilling action set pieces, a witty script, and a gifted cast, it’s a shame The Nice Guys didn’t earn the money it deserved. I would love to see a sequel featuring these two detectives.

(Source: American Society of Cinematographers)

14. Swiss Army Man – When it premiered at this past year’s Sundance Film Festival, a lot of people walked out within the first ten minutes. One of the biggest challenges while seeing Swiss Army Man is get used to the toilet humor. Because there is a whole lot of it! Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheibert – otherwise known as The Daniels – go into a deeper territory with the toilet humor. The corpse’s farts are symbolic for having a connection with one another. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe star as the oddest pair of characters in years. Not only that, their performances are some of the most ambitious in recent memory. Thanks to its refreshing use of practical effects, the stunts resemble those of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. The chemistry is one of the reasons why the movie works. It’s funny. It’s heartfelt. It’s an original piece of work! I have been waiting to a movie like Swiss Army Man for years!

(Source: The Verge)

13. Don’t Breathe – Whether you call it a horror film or a straight-up thriller, you cannot lie that Don’t Breathe is a genuinely chilling piece of entertainment. Fresh from directing the 2013 remake of Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez uses a variety of film techniques to build up tension. From the long, quiet tracking shots to perhaps the best example of night-vision filmmaking, this movie pins you to your seat. Jane Levy is a revelation as one of the three protagonists who breaks into people’s house around Detroit to earn enough money for California. Known for starring in Avatar, it’s refreshing to see Stephen Lang to play a horror movie villain. His Blind Man may not see anything, but can hear that something is up to no good. The city of Detroit also serves as an important role not only in this film, but the horror genre in general. It Follows serves as another great example. Don’t Breathe is nothing compared to your typical home-invasion flick.

(Source: IndieWire)

12. Captain America: Civil War – It’s official! The Marvel Cinematic Universe has finished one of the best trilogies in history! Spider-Man might have been brought in at the last minute, but he deserved to be in this movie! With Winter Soldier, Anthony and Joe Russo bring politics into the MCU. The titular “Civil War” showcases what is funny and thrilling. Funny, exciting, and just as devastating as The Winter Soldier, I had a blast with Captain America: Civil War. Seeing characters like Spider-Man and Black Panther makes me look forward to their solo films.

(Source: IMDb)

11. Zootopia – This movie surprised the hell out of me! With a concept that might sound like your average animated film from Disney, it actually has a great message for kids and adults alike about prejudice. While they are different, Nick the Fox (Jason Bateman) and Judy the Rabbit (Ginnifer Goodwin) begin to overcome their negative feelings toward one another and work together as a team. While poking fun at pop culture, Zootopia is the entire package: funny, thoughtful, suspenseful, gorgeously-animated, and rife with emotion. Thumbs up for this movie referencing The Godfather.

(Source: NPR)

10. Loving – After directing the overlooked sci-fi gem Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols goes back to an important time in history. A movie following the 1967 court ruling of Loving v. Virginia would have ended up being your typical sap-fest. What Nichols brings to the table, however, is a subtle and heartwarming tale of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, fighting for their lives in a rough time in history. Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga have tender chemistry while keeping their dialogue short and sweet. The scene where a photographer for LIFE magazine (Michael Shannon, in his fifth film with Jeff Nichols) is hired to capture the life of the married couple is one of the best movie moments of the year.

(Source: IMDb)

9. Hacksaw Ridge – Mel Gibson returns to the director’s chair after Apocalypto to create a graphic but courageous portrayal of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield, in the performance of his career), who never picked up a gun in his life but nevertheless served in the Battle of Okinawa to save 75 people. It features the horrors of war with the old-fashioned drama featuring beautiful 1940s sets and a sweet love story between Doss and his sweetheart Dorothy (Teresa Palmer, in the performance of her career). Once Doss talks about his religion, we immediately know why he never picked up a gun. Featuring a great cast (Hugo Weaving, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington) and the most realistic war scenes since Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge is a marvelous World War II-epic.

(Source: The New York Daily News)

8. Eye in the Sky – Wow! Talk about being pinned to your seat from the get-go! Eye in the Sky is one of those movies that went under everybody’s radar. It brings the morality into the subject of modern warfare. Through Gavin Hood’s sharp direction and Guy Hibbert’s miraculous screenplay, what makes this movie all the more suspenseful is it primarily takes place in a surveillance room in London or Las Vegas, or in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Originally written as a male character, Dame Helen Mirren brings enough sheer confidence and energy into her role of Col. Katherine Powell. With a gifted cast including Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), this movie is also worth seeing for Alan Rickman’s final performance as Frank Benson, who has been contributed in the war for a number of years. The final moments of the movie showcase how the brilliance of one of the best actors who ever lived. Rest in peace, Alan Rickman. You will be missed.

(Source: Flickering Myth)

7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople – This quirky comedy from New Zealand is one of the funniest films of the year. Julian Dennison and Sam Neill make an odd dynamic duo as they run off together into the “bush” learning how to survive as well as encountering a wild boar or two (which makes for one of the best running gags of the year). Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Thor: Ragnarok; writer of Moana) creates an offbeat comedy about caring for those around you. Juxtaposing the humor with New Zealand’s beauty, I have never laughed so hard yet felt moved by a movie such as Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It features the best Lord of the Rings reference since The Martian.

(Source: The Irish Times)

6. Sing Street – 2016 had a lot of fantastic movies about chasing your dreams. Sing Street is another movie showcasing the talents of director John Carney. His 2007 feat Once is a masterpiece that defies the traditional musical genre. It follows a pair of musicians in Ireland who form a friendship through their passion of music. He goes across the Atlantic Ocean to film Begin Again, following the same structure of Once, but in New York City. While it was great, it doesn’t quite hold up its beauty as Carney’s predecessor.

Carney goes back to his native Ireland to create Sing Street. This movie, which takes place in 1985, following a boy’s dream of making a band to impress a girl, is guaranteed to put a smile across anyone’s face. Featuring wonderful characters you wished you hung around with every day, gorgeous cinematography, and toe-tapping music numbers, it throws every mainstream musical out of the water. I bought the soundtrack after seeing Sing Street in theaters. And it kicks ass!

(Source: The Atlantic)

5. Hell or High Water – Another movie where morality comes into play quite brilliantly. Ben Foster and Chris Pine have never been better playing two criminals who come off more as the heroes of the story rather than the villains. They plan a series of bank heists to save their family ranch in Texas. Jeff Bridges plays the Texas Ranger on the verge of retirement whose last assignment to go out after them. You can really feel the Texas heat, kudos to David Mackenzie’s direction and Giles Nuttgens’ cinematography. The tension of the bank robberies pins you to your seat. Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay is perhaps the best of the year, featuring a lot of razor-sharp wit, especially when Bridges’ Marcus pokes fun of his deputy’s Indian heritage. If you have to pause Hell or High Water at any time during its 102-minute running time (on the DVD/Blu-Ray, the running time says it’s 122 minutes long, which is entirely false), you are looking at a work of art.

(Source: Film Dispenser)

4. Arrival – Denis Villeneuve strikes back to bring back the lost art of science-fiction. A form where it makes you think and wanting to see it again and again. While Arrival can be compared to Closer Encounters of the Third Kind and Signs, this movie is more than just your typical alien-invasion flick. It asks questions such as: Who and what are these beings? Why are they here? Do they pose as a threat to humanity or not? That’s the part of this film’s brilliance; is that it transports the audience into a world of mystery and the need to communicate. I hope Amy Adams earns an Oscar nomination for her performance as Louise, a linguistics professor who won’t stop at anything to find answers from these beings. Arrival is what Interstellar should have been.

(Source: The Verge)

3. Moonlight – I have never seen anything so devastatingly powerful all year. Moonlight is writer/director Barry Jenkins’ second film which talks about neglect and self-discovery. Separated into three acts, we follow Chiron as a kid, as a teenager, and as an adult trying to find his purpose in life in Miami during the “War on Drugs” era. Every character is portrayed naturally to the point where the audience connects with them. Seeing this movie twice, the rough portrayal of Miami moved me to tears more on the second viewing. I cannot think of a better ending than in Moonlight.

(Source: IndieWire)

2. Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan has created an affectionate, raw, and funny film centering on one man’s grief. Premiering at countless film festivals, Manchester by the Sea earned unanimous praise. Casey Affleck’s Lee Chandler is a stubborn and selfish person who goes through a lot after the death of his brother (Kyle Chandler, in flashbacks) and tries to make it up for it by connecting with his nephew like he did years ago. While it is a depressing film, it also has a deadpan sense of humor. I’ve seen it twice in theaters, and I loved it more the second time. Manchester by the Sea feels as authentic as the culture. It makes me so proud to be from a part of New England.

(Source: The Playlist)

1. La La Land – This was extremely difficult for me to determine which film as the best of 2016. Both this film and Manchester by the Sea are fantastic on their own right, but La La Land reminds us why movies like this don’t exist anymore. Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, writer of 10 Cloverfield Lane) has created another masterpiece! Seeing this film yesterday at a packed movie theater is the best cinematic experience of my entire life.

From the opening musical number taken place during a traffic jam in Los Angeles, I was immediately hooked. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are electrifying as the star-crossed lovers who are trying to make ends meet by achieving something really special. They provide enough wit, charisma, and rhythm in this miraculous world of vibrancy, expectations, love, and disappointment. Every single shot is truly a work of art, especially the spectacular dancing sequence at the Griffith Observatory makes you feel like you are watching a dream coming to life. From the originality, its toe-tapping, beautifully-choreographed music numbers, and use of tracking shots, La La Land pays tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood and features the best portrayal of Los Angeles I’ve ever seen. I absolutely loved it!

I hope you enjoyed my picks for the best films of 2016. I’m beyond curious to see what your favorite films of the year are. Here’s to a good 2017!

Movie Review: Arrival

Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) sees something in the distance in Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival. (Source: Seattle Times)

After making two of the best films of the decade—Prisoners and Sicario, director Denis Villeneuve transitions to the realm of science fiction. It’s the kind of science fiction that doesn’t rely on action sequences, but rather on words and ideas.

Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguistics professor whose lecture is interrupted by news coverage of twelve alien pods hovering in different locations around the world. She is accepted by Colonel GT Weber (Forest Whitaker) to go to a site in Montana where one of the pods is located. As the leader of a group of including theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Louise tries everything to communicate with the aliens. The closer she gets to solve the mystery, the closer the other nations are to a war.

Like with his two previous films, Villeneuve gives the power of what filmmaking is all about. Something that shakes us to the very core. Something that is realistic. Something that can be discussed about for years. While it can be compared to other sci-fi movies such as Signs or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Arrival is more than just your usual alien invasion flick. It asks questions such as: Who and what are these beings? Why are they here? Do they pose as a threat to humanity, or otherwise?

What’s part of the film’s brilliance is it’s entirely grounded in the realm of the need to communicate. Thanks to a miraculous screenplay by Eric Heisserer, it makes the audience try to solve the puzzle for themselves, while, thanks to the Villeneuve’s smooth direction, absorbing them into the mystery and the majestic beauty of Bradford Young’s cinematography provided by Johann Johannsson’s angelic score. While it doesn’t move at a fast pace, it takes its time to develop questions and makes us wonder the outcome.

Amy Adams’ Louise is so compassionate and persevered that she can do anything to connect with the aliens rather than start a fight with them (I’ll be glad if she gets some Oscar recognition for this movie). Providing enough wit and charisma from Renner and Whitaker, they are also the heart and soul of this devastatingly powerful film.

Arrival is what Interstellar should have been. A rich, thought-provoking, mind-bending experience that has absolutely no time for any B.S. One of the year’s best!

4/4