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Best of the 2010s Lists • Page 6

Discussion in 'Entertainment Forum' started by OhTheWater, Jul 22, 2019.

  1. Morrissey

    Trusted

    A finale.

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    10. JAUJA
    DIRECTED BY: LISANDRO ALONSO

    Our children are going to grow and not need us anymore. That is what everyone knows going into parenthood, but it can happen so quickly that it is hard to accept and adjust. We can spend so long trying to chase them and understand what they are doing that we lose sight of appreciating who they are and who they have become. We are constantly judging people by the person they were and failing to see the person they have become until it can be too late. By then we have lost the opportunity to have a lot of the moments that could have created real memories.

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    9. ANOTHER YEAR
    DIRECTED BY: MIKE LEIGH

    The world can be a challenging place, full of its cruelty and randomness and chaos. However, contrary to all odds, some people do find contentment. You stop trying to find the perfect person and settle down with someone you can tolerate. Your children may not become doctors or astronauts but they have become happy people who you can spend time with as equals. You find work that is fulfilling enough to not drive you mad, and you retire into a life of family and hobbies. What, then, do you have to work on? Your goal becomes to try and help the people around you,full of their own struggles and failures, not to turn them into radically different people but to help them overcome the things that are weighing them down. It can seem selfish that these people constantly need support and a shoulder to cry on, but those who have achieved happiness must understand the myriad circumstances in life that could have easily gone a different way and put them in that position.

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    8. BOYHOOD
    DIRECTED BY: RICHARD LINKLATER

    We tend to think of our experiences and backgrounds as wholly unique, but part of bonding is in revealing just how much commonality there is in our experiences. Fighting with your siblings, disappointing your parents, showing off to your friends, falling in love; all of these are part of the emotional whirlwind of childhood. Everything can seem so heightened; that three-month relationship was a true love that no one else can understand, and your father selling the car you always wanted is a betrayal on par with the Ides of March. More than anything, though, this is about growth; not just the literal growth of the child actor and the figurative growth his character goes through but those around him as well. In many ways, the parents are much more important characters. Olivia struggles as a single mother, jumping from one bad relationship to the next, putting her children in bad situations, until she becomes a force in her own right. The elder Mason is aimless and refusing to grow up, but by the end he has forsaken those trappings to become the man he should have been years ago. There will be hard times, but the forward locomotion of time requires us to revel in those positive moments.

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    7. ZAMA
    DIRECTED BY: LUCRECIA MARTEL

    In the world of cell phones and jumbo jets, the idea of distance does not exist in the same way our ancestors understood it. The time it took to travel between the New and Old Worlds was months, and even still you had to have some very specific reasons for making that journey. To go to the New World was to essentially surrender your past life, even if you did not intend it. Like a college student who picks up an accent after a semester abroad, you can never really return home because that "home" is gone and has changed irrevocably. You might as well make home where you are standing.

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    6. THE TURIN HORSE
    DIRECTED BY: BELA TARR

    America is obsessed with the idea of upward mobility. Even if it is largely unrealistic, people have come from extremely modest means and become fabulously successful and rich. For most people in the world, and indeed most of human history, this was not even an idea worth entertaining. Existence is hard and painful, and it only gets worse as every little failure or shortcoming adds to the weight of every other little problem. There is no honor in it, just bleakness and a fight for survival unlike an animal. No one is out there to save you or help you, and any injury or bad harvest can spell doom. Directors like Michael Haneke and Lars von Trier try to frighten us with fantastical scenarios, but an approximation of real despair is much more troubling.

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    5. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
    DIRECTED BY: KENNETH LONERGAN

    We want to believe in redemption, the happy ending, the fairy tale. Over time, most people can get over their trauma, or at least find some sense of normalcy. What about those who are permanently broken? We discover loss pretty early in life, maybe a pet or a grandparent. We start to realize that one day our parents will be die, and we could very well see our siblings, lovers, and close friends perish before us. You are not supposed to see your children die, though. In the simplest terms, they are the next generation, so it is out of order, but more philosophically, you are supposed to be their protector. It is unavoidable if they have some sort of illness or if a freak accident occurs, but if the death is due to your own negligence you have failed in your primary role as a caregiver and a guardian of an innocent life. It is not your fault that your parents get old and die or if your wife gets cancer, but to lose your children to an accident is to become permanently marked. Even if you did try to start again, you would have to reconcile your failings with newfound responsibilities, and can you ever truly make up for your sin?

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    4. CERTIFIED COPY
    DIRECTED BY: ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

    Nothing is truly original. We are the product of our parents' genes, and we exhibit behavior that was modeled to us by someone else. We strive to become something unique or to create something unique, but the best we can really do is blend things together to make something that can appear new. People were painting in caves thousands of years ago, so what chance do you really have? The chase for something real is inevitably going to leave us disappointed, so it is better to take comfort in the facade and the repetition of daily life. You will reach the end of the road sooner or later, and the attitude you take when you turn back around is what is important.

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    3. TABU
    DIRECTED BY: MIGUEL GOMES

    What matters more, history as you remember it or history as the world remembers it? We are all surrounded by people whose memories of events and situations differ greatly from what we may be taught in school or in a book. When politicians talk about the good old days, it means radically different things to different people and their different experiences. Where we can see the folly of European colonialism and its inherent mistreatment of the native populations, the people who lived through it can remain focused on the hyper-specific moments that happened in their lives. Film is full of dull dramas that are inserted into major historical events, but they fail to appreciate how living through certain times and experiences will affect you, even decades after they are over. The world does not want to hear about it anymore, and you are left with your memories and silent recognition when moments and objects remind you of that time.

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    2. THE MASTER
    DIRECTED BY: PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON

    Events in our life change the way we perceive society and how we choose to live within it. America is particularly consistent with the desire to sweep certain things under the rug, but the most egregious is the mental scars of war. From the homeless population to drug addiction, we choose not to talk about it while going along with the next conflict. Religion is in the decline in the developed world, but in the United States it has always been able to thrive in the hole created by the soullessness of craven American ambition. We laugh at Scientology and the celebrities that follow it; Xenu and volcanoes are absurd. Is it really that different from Catholicism or Islam or Buddhism, though? While the majority of religious adherents liberally follow their commands, for others it becomes a substitute for leading your own life. Con men find a lot of power in being priests or rabbis, and just like in THERE WILL BE BLOOD, we see there is not much difference between religion and business.

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    1. THE TREE OF LIFE
    DIRECTED BY: TERRENCE MALICK

    There never has been, and probably never will be, another film of this scope that is as deeply felt.
     
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  2. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    It’s wild that people on this site who have even an inkling of interest about film have Tetra blocked
     
  3. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    Manchester and Boyhood in your top 10 is a surprise!
     
    riotspray and Fronnyfron like this.
  4. Morrissey

    Trusted

    I wasn't aware anyone had me blocked. I don't think I did anything to anyone.
     
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  5. Morrissey

    Trusted

    I raved about them when they came out.

    Most of my list was full of stuff I praised when it came out, but the film that probably rose the most throughout the decade was The Master. I was really underwhelmed when I first saw it, falling asleep at a midnight release. Seeing it again, thinking about it, reading about it, seeing it again, and it became a film I appreciated more and more.

    The Tree of Life was always going to be number one, though. I hesitate to call a film life-changing, but it fits the description.
     
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  6. stayillogical

    Kayak, deed, rotator, noon, racecar, Woo Young-woo Prestigious

    Did Parasite not make the top 100? I never saw it.
     
  7. Tim

    grateful all the fucking time Supporter

    I'll have to skim that list, now that it's done, & make a list of things I haven't seen that I think I'd enjoy. Some stuff on there I've been meaning to get to for a while. Also, some things that probably aren't my taste (I already know that I really didn't enjoy The Turin Horse, at all, lol), but hey, I'm alright w/ that.

    Goodbye to Language especially is something I've never seen & am bummed I'll probably never experience in a theater in 3D.
     
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  8. Morrissey

    Trusted

    Goodbye to Language would feel really incomplete without 3D. I remember driving two and a half hours each way to see that one back when it came out.
     
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  9. williek311

    @wearthicksocks Prestigious

    I really need to see The Tree of Life again.i still remember someone boo’ing it in the theater lol.
     
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  10. the rural juror

    carried in the arms of cheerleaders

    I’ve enjoyed these write ups. Lots of good selections mixed with others I’m now interested in watching.
     
  11. Morrissey

    Trusted

    I primarily keep up with film, but I watch some television and play some video games. A few years ago I stopped watching shows that were still ongoing, so except for a few that were grandfathered in I do not keep up with stuff still ongoing, and I primarily buy video games when they are cheap so I have not played a lot of the most recent games. I have also been catching up on a lot of video game history, so a lot of the must-play games are still sitting on hard drives.

    TELEVISION:

    10. Rectify
    9. Treme
    8. Breaking Bad
    7. Eastbound and Down
    6. Justified
    5. The Americans
    4. Nathan for You
    3. Mad Men
    2. Bojack Horseman
    1. Twin Peaks: The Return

    If I had made a rough draft of this list three years ago, Louie would have been near the top and Horace and Pete would have been in contention to make the list. While I do not normally apply moral behavior to ranking artistic work, both shows really rely on the audience dialing into Louis C.K.'s particular brand of morality, and when that mirage was shattered, it becomes a very different thing to think about.

    VIDEO GAMES:

    10. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    9. The Walking Dead
    8. Xenoblade Chronicles X
    7. Journey
    6. God of War
    5. Fallout: New Vegas
    4. Super Mario Odyssey
    3. Mass Effect 2
    2. The Last of Us
    1. Red Dead Redemption 2
     
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  12. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    Wow Justified in your top 10!
     
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  13. Morrissey

    Trusted

    Justified and Friday Night Lights are tied for shows that I wanted to hate but they just wore down my defenses. Justified knows exactly what it is and never breaks the mold to spoil it.
     
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  14. Full Effect Ed

    ...In F*cking Full Effect Prestigious

  15. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

  16. Morrissey

    Trusted

    I didn't like Hannibal. I should probably try it again some day.

    Are Fleabag and Atlanta good?
     
  17. SpyKi

    You must fix your heart Supporter

    two of the best of the decade.
     
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  18. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    Atlanta is excellent. Fleabag season one was ok. Were early in 2 still
     
  19. Fronnyfron

    Woke Up Right Handed Prestigious

    Missing both Veep and Rectify in a list of 50 is certainly interesting
     
  20. the rural juror

    carried in the arms of cheerleaders

    Can’t recommend Atlanta highly enough
     
  21. Ya Atlanta and Fleabag are both great. I keep meaning to pick up Broad City again. Only watched the first couple seasons.

    Pleasantly surprised to see Hannibal at #1. One of my top 3 shows for sure.
     
  22. Nathan Jan 8, 2020
    (Last edited: Jan 8, 2020)
    Nathan

    Always do the right thing. Supporter

    Tried putting together a TV list, I watched less and less as the decade went on though

    1. Mad Men
    2. Bojack Horseman
    3. Friday Night Lights
    4. The Knick
    5. Community
    6. The Birthday Boys
    7. Atlanta
    8. Bob's Burgers
    9. The Good Place
    10. Rick and Morty
    11. 30 Rock (it’s best seasons were in the prior decade but I still loved it)
    12. Girls
    13. Parks & Recreation
    14. Comedy Bang Bang
    15. Breaking Bad

    And video games, which I like a lot but also haven't spent as much time on lately as I do other things. I didn't include sports games that release every year like FIFA, though I spent a lot of time on them. I did include Skate 3 and Rocket League because they feel different. I just started the Witcher 3. It's solid so far. I grouped entries in series together because it doesn't feel quite right to separate them.

    1. Mass Effect 2/3
    2. Persona 4: Golden
    3. Stardew Valley
    4. Breath of the Wild
    5. The Last of Us
    6. Skate 3
    7. Firewatch
    8. Red Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption 2
    9. Life is Strange/Life is Strange: Before the Storm
    10. Final Fantasy XV
    11. Journey
    12. Fallout: New Vegas
    13. The Walking Dead (Telltale)
    14. Persona 5
    15. Pokemon Sword/Shield
    16. Grand Theft Auto V
    17. Spider-Man
    18. Skyrim
    19. Rocket League
    20. Kingdom Hearts 3
     
  23. Jake Gyllenhaal

    Wookie of the Year Supporter

  24. Anthony_

    A (Cancelled) Dork Prestigious

    75CA45FC-D0C6-4A08-AD6E-CDEFB5881D55.jpeg

    Gee whiz I wonder why that could be

    trash
     
  25. oldjersey

    Pro Podcaster Supporter