Spaghetti's Lustral Cinematic Celebration (100 Best Films From 2010-2014) - Top 10 Time!

[Rorschach]

I would say it's 7th or 8th best but I consider 2012 a week year.

( of the others you mention I've only seen LoP, which I hate. Want to see Perks though.)

I haven't seen Perks but it has a lot of stuff to prove if it's truly better than Django (one of my favorites of 2012).

[Ezen Baklattan]

 

35. INCEPTION
"You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

If you ask me, there are two Christopher Nolan movies that truly live up to the massive hype thrown around online. This is one of them (the other being Memento). Inception presents an exciting world full of interesting ties and logic that create the scene of dream thievery. The exposition heavy first half gets a lot of flack, but it becomes really interesting simply out of how this world works, and the characters trying to infiltrate it. Dom Cobb is an excellent character, giving us a man who has made several mistakes in the past and just wants to do one last job to set things right and return home. It gives the movie a powerful emotional anchor that connects us to the real world against the craziness of the dreams rampant throughout. It's incredibly exciting, fascinating, and beautiful, everything you could ask for out of a Nolan movie.

 

34. THE LEGO MOVIE 
"We are from the Planet DUPLO and we are here to destroy you!"

Here's a film I never expected to put this high on my list. The LEGO Movie has everything: Crazy visuals, brilliant humor, loveable characters, and a plot that at first seems quite derivative, but actually uses its derivation to its advantage so as to create its more cohesive themes. Emmett Brickowski is an ordinary man, eager to fit into the fairly banal world orchestrated by President Business, an uber perfectionist with no patience for anything deviant. Both of these characters learn to embrace creativity and what makes them special, as the story itself takes down standard tropes in order to create something more humanistic. The overlaying message is not that everyone is special, but everyone has the power to be, and they have the power to, indeed, make everything awesome. It will make you laugh, cry, cheer, scream, dance, and more. It may not win an Oscar, but it's already won the hearts of millions.

 

33. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 
"Everything we know about them is wrong."
Sorry, LEGO, but few animated films come close to the visual wonder, excitement, and heart of How To Train Your Dragon. On the surface, it seems like a fairly cliched story, but the film begins to dive into the nuances of its characters and the true beauty of the world that they are in, especially as the young misfit Hiccup captures, but soon becomes friends with, one of the dragons his clan has battled with for years on end. He creates a rebellion of a unique kind: That of kindness, optimism, empathy, and understanding. It's a thematically and visually beautiful movie, filled with all of the charm and excitement that spikes the best of animation. It's as though Studio Ghibli and Dreamworks fused together for this brilliant ride across the sky. It's a wonderfully made and to date, one of the best animated movies of the 21st century.
 

32. BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
"I am happy. I'm happy with you, like this. It's my way of being happy."
One of the most poignant and powerful coming of age stories in a while, understanding the issues of impulse, identity, and the confusion of being a teenager, Blue is the Warmest Color, and one of the greatest romances of our time. Adele and Emma are well realized, truly human characters who are trying to find someone who will love them, particularly Adele as she begins to uncover her own sexuality. It lasts three hours long, but you become so invested in these characters and their relationship, filled with its joys, tragedies, fears, and hopes, that it becomes a truly special film to watch. It's a movie that explores the microcosm of emotion through two young lovers to the point where it becomes much, much greater than the sum of its parts. It's a beautiful and miraculously made movie.

 

31. GRAVITY

"Half of North America just lost their Facebook."

This technical powerhouse would not have worked as well had it not been for the incredible emotional journey that it places its protagonist, Ryan Stone, under. After a freak accident in space, she is left to find her way back to Earth after it seems like all hope is lost. It may capture a visually amazing scope of outer space, but it owes its success to the emotional journey that Stone undergoes. No one is waiting for her back at home, she is alone in the universe, but she finds it within her own potential, almost similar to a rebirth, to keep fighting for her own life. A powerful and immaculately made tale of survival, perseverance, and hope which moves briskly along its 93 minute run time, Gravity is not a movie to see so much as it is one you feel. 

[darkelf]

^^ two of these are in my top 10 of the lustrum

[Ezen Baklattan]

We're almost at the top 30. They're getting really, really good.

[Ethan Hunt]

How train Your Dragon and Gravity.... :/

[rukaio101]

How train Your Dragon and Gravity.... :/

.....are both fantastic films, yes we know.

[baumer]

Inception would make my list too.  Great film as is Gravity.  Loving your work so far.

[Plain Old Tele]

Updated the title to be more current.

[Empire]

Out of those, HTTYD is my favorite.

[Blankments]

You have two of the best animated movies ever next to one of the most sadly influential blockbusters ever

[Alpha]

This is the most epic list that has been done in a while.

Edited January 19, 2015 by Alpha

[baumer]

This is the most epic list that has been done in a while.

 

So much less annoying than my lists.  

[Ezen Baklattan]

I've been jumping back and forth for my #1. It's between two movies. Here's a hint: Both have distinct stories and mindsets, not to mention visual aesthetics, but both deal with a fairly similar topic.

Edited January 19, 2015 by Spaghetti

[Avatree]

The Lego Movie is fabulous. Inception is very good but it gets lost in its poor third act.

 

Gravity was awful. The film is mind-numbingly stupid, George Clooney is super annoying (thanks to an awful script), Sandra Bullock can't act to save her life, and the visuals didn't engage me at all (Interstellar captures space in a vastly superior way, even if there's less time spent there). I just found it boring.

 

I still need to see Blue is the Warmest Colour, I've heard so many good things about it.

 

I don't have an opinion on How to Train Your Dragon. We watched it in geography class but I spent most of the time flirting with the cute guy sitting next to me rather than actually paying any attention to the film.

[Ezen Baklattan]

30. LIFE OF PI

"Above all: don't lose hope."

Much like Gravity before, Life Of Pi is a visually spectacular tale of hope and perseverance, but it also offers so much more. The titular Pi Patel finds solace and magic in stories of faith and religion, but his faith is put to the test when he must survive being stranded on a boat accompanied by a bloodthirsty tiger. It doesn't seem super interesting on paper, but Ang Lee masterfully ties everything together through its inherent connection of the stories we tell and the basis of religion, as we see it through stories. What's real to our minds may not be real to our hearts, and vice versa. Life of Pi attacks that idea head on and creates a truly special tale. Upon leaving the theater, you feel as though you had stepped through someone else's consciousness, almost like walking through a dream. What a marvelous movie.

 

29. THE WORLD'S END
"Hey it is our basic human right to be fuck ups. This civilization was founded on fuck ups and you know what? That makes me proud!"
It's hard to write a comedy as bonkers and hilarious as this, but what's even harder is grounding it all in the form of an allegory of tragedy and melancholy. That's exactly what Edgar Wright does with the conclusion of the Cornetto trilogy. We see Simon Pegg give one of the finest performances of the lustrum as Gary King, an immature layabout seeking to reclaim his glory days and fulfill his own pride and friendships, as he uncovers an alien plot to indoctrinate the Earth into a gigantic cosmic hive mind. The tragedy lies in Gary's own choice to celebrate his own flaws and be independent and proud, but without the realization that he may be hurting others in the process. But don't let all that get you down. It's ultimately a really funny movie full of great laughs, really heartfelt moments, and builds on the trilogy's themes of integrity, authenticity, and friendship. What a brilliant film.

 

28. ALL IS LOST 
"I have always hoped for more for you all. I will miss you. I'm sorry."
Another excellent survival thriller, but this time, everything hinges on Robert Redford's unnamed sailor. He is alone at sea in this virtually dialog-free movie, where Redford tries to make do with his situation as hope slowly begins to fade. Redford is the brilliance of the movie, as we see the story of his own life and his own emotions come together in subtle yet extremely powerful ways. Each word he speaks is given all the more power, and each gesture carries the movie to strides. It's a beautifully made film by J.C. Chandor, who creates amazing cinematography to heighten the emotions and scope of the film, but knows when and what to focus on when it comes to Redford. An amazing symphony of minimalist cinema.

 

27. AMOUR
"Things will go on, and then one day it will all be over."
Another movie about old people in peril, huh. But seriously, Amour will make you sad and lonely, but it will also amaze you to incredible ends. The film focuses on an elderly French couple as they come to terms with their sickness and almost inevitable deaths. It plays somewhat like a Bergman film, boasting powerfully subtle yet effective performances as the world around these two characters slowly closes in on them, and they become increasingly isolated, even from one another. Michael Haneke is a master of emotions and atmosphere, and he creates a sense of melancholy and discomfort that pervades the film, as it should with such a prickly subject matter. Amour will make you stare at a wall for 2 hours after watching, but by god, it's a marvelously beautiful film.

 

26. 127 HOURS
"Oops."
In a weird way, 127 Hours acts as a synthesis to the last four films. Aron Rolston is eager to escape the material world and have a real experience in the desert and canyons of Utah, but gets caught, quite literally, between a rock and a hard place. He is trapped for, you guessed it, 127 hours, during which he begins to deal with questions of his own life and his relationships to others, almost trying to correct for his arrogance. It's a journey that leaves Aron permanently scarred, but ironically heals him like nothing else. James Franco gives his career best performance here, while Danny Boyle's direction also gives us a look through his own world and his predicament. Most people will remember it for its infamous scene of liberation, but it's truly a special movie beyond that.

[baumer]

Awesome bunch.  I still think Riva was just as deserving as JLAW for best actress.  She was stunning in that film.

[Blankments]

The World's End and Life of Pi

[Ezen Baklattan]

After the next 5, I'll go back to two per post.

[Fancyarcher]

Thumbs up to The World's End, All is Lost, Amour and Life of Pi being on this list. All of those are movies are pretty darn great.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[Alpha]

I should make it a point to see a lot of these movies.