2010s, the Second Cinema Renaissance
While every desktop auteur film critic has a list of various titles, there's a handful of directors who absolutely dominated this decade of cinema. Unsurprisingly, many were relatively successful before this point, but still managed to uphold a remarkable level of artistic vision and creativity. A quick search for "Top 10 Films of the Decade" will reveal just how influential directors like Chris Nolan, Zack Snyder, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese really are; though of this group, many are facing controversy over their unique approach to cinema.
I have begun a decade in review, and will follow-up this post with some insights about each film individually, as I revisit them with my new #2020Vision.
Top 10 of the Decade
1.
Man of Steel (2013)
Produced by Christopher Nolan, and directed by Zack Snyder, Man of Steel was the first true refresh of the titular character in cinema. Following the critical and box office failure of Superman Returns, a pseudo-sequel to the Chris Reeves era Superman, Snyder sought to bring a more modern and realistic version of the DC Comics character to the big screen. Bold and ambitious, the movie found a dedicated fanbase through complex and emotionally driven storytelling, while also being one of the most visually stunning pictures to this day. Thus cementing Henry Cavill as one of the greatest actors to dawn the cape.
2.
Batman v Superman (2016)
Following the success of Man of Steel, one of film's most profitable stand-alone comicbook movies, Director Zack Snyder revealed his plans for a 5 part epic based on classical works like Excalibur, and The Hero's Journey, that would pull inspiration from DC Comics story arcs like Injustice and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, narrating the rise, fall, and rebirth of Superman. The series would start from Man of Steel, followed by BvS, then a 3 part Justice League trilogy. While highly divisive, BvS has garnered a devout following as one of cinema's most groundbreaking comicbook movies ever made; highly ambitious, it was the first time DC Comic's "Trinity" shared a screen, and featured the iconic "Death of Superman". Still talked about to this day, Snyder's penchant for art and literary allusion have left an undeniable impact on the comic book film landscape.
3.
Joker (2019)
Much like other directors in this list, Director Todd Phillips was not content with regurgitating the now exhaustive formula of comic book movies, but instead set out to tell a more grounded version of the wildly popular character, and breathed new life into the industry with his fresh take. Emotionally weighty, Joker is not a "fun" movie, so much as a dynamic deconstruction of society and it's treatment of it's more vulnerable citizens. Like many films in this list, it is surrounded by negativity and detractors, but has enjoy an extremely successful rewards season thus far, being universally praised by most major outlets.
4.
Mad Max Fury Road (2015)
Mad Max Fury Road is a passion project YEARS in the making. Director George Miller reportedly has an entire world's worth of ideas for tales in his post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, but his unique style, and aggressive defense of maintaining his artistic vision, requires bold studio execs to green light his projects, which usually means extensive delays. Fury Road is told largely from the high octane seat of a twin engine rig, and features sprawling sequences of desert car chase action. The title character barely speaks, but Miller's ability to communicate a deep story through visual story telling, music, and actor chemistry makes this one of the most enthralling movies in the list.
5.
Sucker Punch (2011)
Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch is another extremely controversial film in this list; featuring bizarre fantasy sequences, scantily clad women, and complex multi-layer storytelling, Sucker Punch has proven to be a bold defense of feminine empowerment, and psychological escape, while not spoon-feeding the viewer any clues as to what is happening. It is truly a movie that needs to be seen with commentary, or followed up by group discussion.
6.
Inception (2010)
Inception is probably the least controversial film of the group, besides Christopher Nolan's other feature in the list. Nolan changed the face of cinema with his 2010 release, kickstarting the decade in a way only a creative like himself could. Visually stunning, and full of mind bending plot threads, Inception STILL draws large media attention amongst vloggers trying to dissect it's complex ideas. Ultimately, it is a film that any movie lover should see, and with it now available for streaming on Netflix, there is no excuse to sleep on this one.
7.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The decade prior was dominated by the likes of Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, so it's no surprise the bleed over trilogy closer would show up in this list. While not nearly the timeless classic that TDK was, Rises was one of the most satisfying and epic conclusions to a character's story arc ever to hit the screen. So satisfying in fact, then when offered to continue the "Nolan-verse" with a sequel film series, Christopher Nolan declined, stating he told the story he set out to tell. Drawing from such iconic DC Comics arcs as Knightfall, The Dark Knight Rises really grasped the internal conflict faced by the Dark Knight.
8.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Quentin Tarantino's spiritual successor to 2012's Django Unchained, originally started life as a sequel and novel, before eventually being pitched for film. Shot in Ultra-Wide Panavision 70 format, The Hateful Eight is a breathtaking exercise in film technique, sure to satisfy any cinemaphile. Compound the technical prowess with Tarantino's masterful dialogue, and the result is one of the most interesting features of the decade; which is only ever more strange considering 2/3 of the movie is merely dialogue between characters snowed in a haberdashery. Recently Netflix added the Extended Version on their service, at nearly 4 hours long, it is split into 4 episodic parts, and cannot be recommended enough.
9.
The Irishman (2019)
Martin Scorsese dropped some major truth bombs on film twitter, only to follow it up with an example of why he can get away with expressing such opinions. The Irishman has been described as the "Endgame" of the Scorsese era gangster films, and features a massive cast of famous actors from through out his film career. This parallel is great, as it's his opinions of Marvel that got him in trouble in the first place. Even with active attempts to derail his release, Scorsese put out a wonderful end of the decade surprise; while light on action, or excessively grande set pieces, the very human story he tells is undeniable. Even for it's robust runtime of nearly 4 hours, most people would be hard pressed to find themselves losing interest.
10.
Django Unchained
Rounding out the list, is another masterpiece by Quentin Tarantino. It is clear that his passion lies in period pieces and Westerns, and his ability to infuse modern music, or culturally relevant themes into his works, keeps his movies from feeling generic. Hailed for it's bold approach to slavery era USA, he was derided by some for his blunt portrayal of Southern "Culture". Django Unchained doesn't hold back on it's vulgarities, or it's use of racial slurs, but it's part of what makes it feel so real. However, it's not all social and political, Tarantino makes sure to bring his over the top violence into the picture, with one of the best on screen shoot outs of all time.
Honorable Mentions:
Drive
Edge of Tomorrow
Ex Machina
