Decade in Film
Jan. 1st, 2020 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe decade in film, so many changes in film over the past decade due in part to technology and the increase in streaming services. Also, this is easier to do by category.
1. Superhero films -- the decade was awash in superhero flicks. Some ground-breaking, some not so much. The one's that stood out are below:
* Black Panther - the first superhero film that had an all black cast, with a token white guy, and a token white guy villain. Also kick-ass female supporting cast. It broke records and outsold all the white male superhero flicks that proceeded it, coming rather close to breaking the Avengers record.
* Wonder Woman - the first female superhero flick that kicked ass, and had a half-way decent story, not to mention made more money then the boy flicks that had proceeded it. And directed by a female director.
* The Avengers Infinity War/Avengers Endgame - a two-part ensemble piece with multiple locals, special effects and complex plot that managed to further every character's arc, hit every plot-point, and feature a diverse and inclusive cast, not to mention stay gripping throughout. Possibly the best ensemble superhero movies done to date.
* Captain America: Winter Solider - a spy movie that is a superhero flick.
* Kick-ass - an irrelevant satire on the superhero genre, featuring a bunch of foul-mouthed teens with no real powers, but a lot of attitude. The precursor for stuff like The Umbrella Academy.
* Thor: Ragnorack - part mythic battle, part superhero satire.
2. Horror Flicks
* Get Out - Jordan Peel's brain teaser of a social commentary mixed with psychological horror. It's the Stepford Wives but this round about slavery, and white liberal guilt.
* US - not quite as good as Get Out, but just as trippy. Also a psychological thriller with lots of social commentary.
* IT Follows - about an STD that travels from one person to the next as a ghost that will kill you, until you pass it to the next person.
* Cabin in the Woods - a meta-narrative on the horror film.
3. Romantic Comedies
* Bridesmaids -- the raunchy group female comedy, a nice flip on the raunchy male sex comedy.
* Train-Wreck -- basically the female take on such Judd Apatow male centric stories like Superbad, Knocked Up, etc -- where you usually have a fat comedic guy into a thin beautiful gal, think Katherine Heigel -- here you have a funny, heavy-set comedic woman into a thin guy (think Bill Hadler), and what you know, it's actually funnier than the male flicks.
* Crazy Rich Asians -- the first all Asian cast romantic comedy, focusing on the women, with the men little more than eye-candy.
* Book Club -- a bunch of 70 year olds get together to talk raunchy books and fall in love - featuring Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candace Bergen...
4. Musicals
* Greatest Showman - Hugh Jackman and Zach Graf (?), with Michelle Williams, in a tour de force of a musical based loosely on the life of the circus founder.
* La La Land - a tragic romance where no one dies between Jazzman Ryan Gossling and actress Emma Stone.
* Into the Woods/Les Mis - the misguided attempt to turn Broadway Musicals into movies...with mixed results.
5. Bio-Pics
* Lincoln - which focused on the abolition of slavery and the politics involved
* Selma - focused on the voting rights bill through the eyes of various women, and Martin Luther King who arranged the historic march.
* Hidden Figures - the women behind the space program
* Rocketman - a musical take on the bio-pic featuring Elton John, notable for how it plays with the narrative structure and a star turn by the lead.
* Vice - the faux bio-pic of Dick Cheney
6. Christian Bale films
* The Fighter - about brothers and boxers, and Bale is almost unrecognizable as the former wrecked boxer brother.
* The Big Short - the predecessor to Vice and a much better film about the 2008 housing collaspe and the scam that brought it about.
* American Hustle - a 1970s film about a bunch of hustlers who take on the mob.
7. Female Action Heroes
* The Hunger Games movies -- which basically turned indie actress Jennifer Lawrence into a movie star and marketable quantity. Didn't help her co-stars nearly as much.
Also proved that a female centric action franchise worked.
* Mad Max: Fury Road - the beginning of Charliz Theron as an action heroine, and possibly among the best Max movies to date.
* Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman
* Charlies Angels, Hustlers, Ocean's 11 - Female Reboot
* Force Awakens and The Last Jedi - with Rey front and center as the hero.
8. Animated Films
* Moana - a film with no romance featuring a female heroine coming of age in an action sequence...also a Disney film, and about Native Hawaiians
* Coco - a film again without a central focus on romance and more on family, about a boy's journey to find his grandparents and rediscover the family's love of music in the land of the dead -- centers on Mexican folklore and culture
* Frozen - focuses on the love of two sisters saving the day and recognizing their own power
* Into the Spiderverse - possibly the best superhero film of the decade, which features a diverse set of superheroes and versions of Spiderman, with diverse animation techniques.
9. Art House Flicks
* Roma - a black and white exploration of a housemaid and nanny's relationship with an upper middle class Mexican family, which is also a heavy critique of a violent male-centric society by a male film-maker.
* The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Torro - a rich fairy tale that is also a commentary on race and politics and love.
* The Favorite - a historical psychological horror tale about a Queen who manipulates her lovers.
* Black KKKlansman - Spike Lee's satire on the real life tale of a black man who infilterates and takes down the KKK in Colorado Springs.
10. Documentaries
* Won't You Be My Neighbor - about Fred Rodgers, a touching portrait of a truly kind human being who put children's needs first, even though he had none of his own.
* Bright Lights - Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds Documentary -- an insightful portrait of the lives of Carrie and her mother, and the pitfalls of celebrity.
1. Superhero films -- the decade was awash in superhero flicks. Some ground-breaking, some not so much. The one's that stood out are below:
* Black Panther - the first superhero film that had an all black cast, with a token white guy, and a token white guy villain. Also kick-ass female supporting cast. It broke records and outsold all the white male superhero flicks that proceeded it, coming rather close to breaking the Avengers record.
* Wonder Woman - the first female superhero flick that kicked ass, and had a half-way decent story, not to mention made more money then the boy flicks that had proceeded it. And directed by a female director.
* The Avengers Infinity War/Avengers Endgame - a two-part ensemble piece with multiple locals, special effects and complex plot that managed to further every character's arc, hit every plot-point, and feature a diverse and inclusive cast, not to mention stay gripping throughout. Possibly the best ensemble superhero movies done to date.
* Captain America: Winter Solider - a spy movie that is a superhero flick.
* Kick-ass - an irrelevant satire on the superhero genre, featuring a bunch of foul-mouthed teens with no real powers, but a lot of attitude. The precursor for stuff like The Umbrella Academy.
* Thor: Ragnorack - part mythic battle, part superhero satire.
2. Horror Flicks
* Get Out - Jordan Peel's brain teaser of a social commentary mixed with psychological horror. It's the Stepford Wives but this round about slavery, and white liberal guilt.
* US - not quite as good as Get Out, but just as trippy. Also a psychological thriller with lots of social commentary.
* IT Follows - about an STD that travels from one person to the next as a ghost that will kill you, until you pass it to the next person.
* Cabin in the Woods - a meta-narrative on the horror film.
3. Romantic Comedies
* Bridesmaids -- the raunchy group female comedy, a nice flip on the raunchy male sex comedy.
* Train-Wreck -- basically the female take on such Judd Apatow male centric stories like Superbad, Knocked Up, etc -- where you usually have a fat comedic guy into a thin beautiful gal, think Katherine Heigel -- here you have a funny, heavy-set comedic woman into a thin guy (think Bill Hadler), and what you know, it's actually funnier than the male flicks.
* Crazy Rich Asians -- the first all Asian cast romantic comedy, focusing on the women, with the men little more than eye-candy.
* Book Club -- a bunch of 70 year olds get together to talk raunchy books and fall in love - featuring Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candace Bergen...
4. Musicals
* Greatest Showman - Hugh Jackman and Zach Graf (?), with Michelle Williams, in a tour de force of a musical based loosely on the life of the circus founder.
* La La Land - a tragic romance where no one dies between Jazzman Ryan Gossling and actress Emma Stone.
* Into the Woods/Les Mis - the misguided attempt to turn Broadway Musicals into movies...with mixed results.
5. Bio-Pics
* Lincoln - which focused on the abolition of slavery and the politics involved
* Selma - focused on the voting rights bill through the eyes of various women, and Martin Luther King who arranged the historic march.
* Hidden Figures - the women behind the space program
* Rocketman - a musical take on the bio-pic featuring Elton John, notable for how it plays with the narrative structure and a star turn by the lead.
* Vice - the faux bio-pic of Dick Cheney
6. Christian Bale films
* The Fighter - about brothers and boxers, and Bale is almost unrecognizable as the former wrecked boxer brother.
* The Big Short - the predecessor to Vice and a much better film about the 2008 housing collaspe and the scam that brought it about.
* American Hustle - a 1970s film about a bunch of hustlers who take on the mob.
7. Female Action Heroes
* The Hunger Games movies -- which basically turned indie actress Jennifer Lawrence into a movie star and marketable quantity. Didn't help her co-stars nearly as much.
Also proved that a female centric action franchise worked.
* Mad Max: Fury Road - the beginning of Charliz Theron as an action heroine, and possibly among the best Max movies to date.
* Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman
* Charlies Angels, Hustlers, Ocean's 11 - Female Reboot
* Force Awakens and The Last Jedi - with Rey front and center as the hero.
8. Animated Films
* Moana - a film with no romance featuring a female heroine coming of age in an action sequence...also a Disney film, and about Native Hawaiians
* Coco - a film again without a central focus on romance and more on family, about a boy's journey to find his grandparents and rediscover the family's love of music in the land of the dead -- centers on Mexican folklore and culture
* Frozen - focuses on the love of two sisters saving the day and recognizing their own power
* Into the Spiderverse - possibly the best superhero film of the decade, which features a diverse set of superheroes and versions of Spiderman, with diverse animation techniques.
9. Art House Flicks
* Roma - a black and white exploration of a housemaid and nanny's relationship with an upper middle class Mexican family, which is also a heavy critique of a violent male-centric society by a male film-maker.
* The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Torro - a rich fairy tale that is also a commentary on race and politics and love.
* The Favorite - a historical psychological horror tale about a Queen who manipulates her lovers.
* Black KKKlansman - Spike Lee's satire on the real life tale of a black man who infilterates and takes down the KKK in Colorado Springs.
10. Documentaries
* Won't You Be My Neighbor - about Fred Rodgers, a touching portrait of a truly kind human being who put children's needs first, even though he had none of his own.
* Bright Lights - Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds Documentary -- an insightful portrait of the lives of Carrie and her mother, and the pitfalls of celebrity.