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

[baumer]

And Baumer will hate this list in 3....2....1....

 

67. THE ARTIST

"........."

Oscar bait rarely takes a simply fun and lighthearted approach, but I feel like this is where The Artist shines. Yes, it's a movie based on a gimmick, but so are many great movies (like this year's Boyhood) to the point where it doesn't have to hold a movie back. It's an affably cheerful, yet so enjoyably nostalgic and adorable, that it's often pretty easy to fall in love with it if you're willing to be indulged by a silent film. Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo give delightful physical performances and ooze with charisma, emotion, and charm without saying a word. As for Uggie, well, that goes without saying. Quite possibly one of the best movie dogs ever. It's an affably lovely little movie, maybe not deserving of a Best Picture win, but surely deserving of recognition for trying something different. 

 

66. IN THE HOUSE

"To be continued."

One of the more underrated and voyeuristic dramas in recent memory, In The House is a French parable detailing a dedicated high school student who seeks to find inspiration for his stories for class by inserting himself into the lives of a friend's family. Even has he becomes more and more consumed in his quest for vision, something his professor is well aware of, his stories are so captivating to the point where the professor can't decide what to do with him. It's a highly entertaining piece full of games and puzzles played with the audience and you're never sure what turn it will take next or how it will play out. These characters are so interesting, and it becomes intriguing how often we undervalue the lives of others, each one with a unique story and set of predicaments, but how far would this obsession take us? An incredibly clever and smart tale.

 

65. CONTAGION

"What happened to her? WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Who would have guessed that one of the most engaging apocalyptic movies would be one of grand scale but without any substantial action? Contagion is one of the most brilliant and well crafted thrillers of the last five years, creating a sense of real paranoia and situations that are presented as highly believable, perhaps worryingly so. It explores so many possibilities and cases within the world: Panic within the United Nations, media bloggers seeking to catch big stories - perhaps with big lies, families falling apart, and more. The tension is slow building yet painfully evident as we see the toll the disease takes on the world and its inhabitants. And to think that it all started with a bat carrying over some diseased food. This is why we have hand sanitizer. This is really scary stuff.

 

You make up for the merd that is The Artist with the inclusion of Contagion on your list.  

[The Stingray]

I was impressed by how Contagion could take such an interesting topic and make it so boring.

[Blankments]

I was impressed by how Contagion could take such an interesting topic and make it so boring.

Agreed, I'm not a fan of Contagion at all

[baumer]

Love Contagion.

[baumer]

I love how the Artist could take an extinct form of film and brainwash the academy into giving it best picture.  

[Rorschach]

I don't think I ever finished watching Contagion.

[Ethan Hunt]

I could never watch Contagion. That shit is my worst nightmare.

[Ezen Baklattan]

58. BEGINNERS
"You give very good relationship advice despite being so alone."
Beginners prides itself as a movie that manages to take cutsey indie movie tropes and spin it into a meaningful tale of love, family, and stories, and boy, does it. It centers around a man exploring his father's life as a gay man, but it dives more into much broader themes of live, love, and happiness as the stories they discover unite generations. It's not a story without bittersweet moments and weakness of spirit, but it thrives with optimism and gentle heart that carries it into being something simultaneously hopeful and truthful about love. You'd be surprised how few directors want to take both sides on hope and truth, but Mike Mills tells his story with a truly genuine point of view, that it becomes next to impossible not to fall for.

57. STORIES WE TELL
"It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all, when you're telling it to yourself or someone else"
Another film exploring complicated family lenses, albeit through a meta documentary in which Sarah Polley dives into the stories of her family and seeks to explore the mysteries it has behold. As the title might lead you believe, it's not so much about Polley and her family as it is the 'stories we tell.' It plays like a mystery as the truth slowly becomes uncovered while more confusion arises, but it focuses on how stories and celebrations of the past ultimately unite us and are worth sharing with others. It's a lovely message built up to through one of the most interesting paths in film. I have to admit that this is a message that's often the result of many great journeys, more of which will appear on this list. It's a lovely documentary gem, even if it's not quite that.

 

56. FROZEN
"Love is putting someone else's needs before your own."

People are probably annoyed to death of Let It Go and Frozen Fever by now, but let's not kid ourselves, it's a really damn good movie. It celebrates what we have come to love about Walt Disney Animation, from the lively and lovable characters to the show stopping Broadway tunes, but creates a new identity for itself with the new world it came out in. It creates a powerful relationship between Anna and Elsa, who have been kept apart out of fear but ultimately made each worse off. Elsa had become so afraid of hurting others that she completely shuts herself out of the world, while Anna, desperate to find a friend after a lonely life, ends up letting herself fall for a devious prince. The two embark on strong character journeys throughout the film, each one finding happiness in each other once more. It's a beautiful, funny, heartfelt, and exciting tale that, quite honestly, deserves all the love it gets.

[Ethan Hunt]

Yay! Frozen

[Ezen Baklattan]

55. TANGLED
"I am a despicable human being!"
One princess movie deserves another. I decided to place Tangled above Frozen primarily because it was tougher to get right. That is, they had to touch up the film for a modern audience without compromising classic Disney feelings, and boy, do they. It's one of the funniest and most enjoyable films in their canon. Rapunzel and Flynn Eugene have absolutely winning chemistry together, the former particularly being one of the most lively and enjoyable princesses Disney has ever created. (Her mixed feelings montage is one of the funniest moments of the lustrum) The songs also have a unique, almost country feel to them, but they fit in well with the rest of the movie and mesh with the other show stopping tunes such as "I've Got A Dream" and "Mother Knows Best". It's a perfect mix of style and the film that put Disney Animation back on the map like never before, and what a film to do so.
 

54. BLUE VALENTINE

"It's like we're inside a robot's vagina."

And now for something completely different. One of the most beautifully made, but tragic and painful, movies of the last few years. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give strong, authentic performances as two lovers in a slowly dying relationship. The film simultaneously plays two stories: The formation and the break-up of the relationship, a move that only heightens the blow that the finale brings. These characters had promise in each other, but it didn't work out for either one, perhaps for the best. A brutal deconstruction of most fake indie romances, but also an expression of beauty and artful lament, that separates it from just being a straight sobstorry. It's a movie built on contrast and sadness, but it benefits greatly from it.
 

53. PARANORMAN

"You know, you're going to love my boyfriend. He's a total chick flick nut!"

I'm probably more alone in this choice, but I believe it to be a truly fantastic film. LAIKA has a knack for telling beautiful, funny, and thoughtful stories, and nowhere is this more true than here. The story of a young boy ostracized by his local town for having the ability to talk to the dead seems somewhat cliched, not to mention its similarity to Chicken Little (a.k.a. the worst thing to ever come out of the Mouse House), but it instead creates something truly special. Visually beautiful and endlessly clever, ParaNorman seamlessly takes on themes of bullying, bigotry, and death (in a KID'S FILM, no less) to create a more unique and thoughtful parable of tolerance and understanding. It's an animated movie that people of all ages can enjoy and get something out of, and I can't wait to see what this studio will do next.

[Avatree]

I hated Frozen to its core.

What on earth is that shot though? Her hand is... in his face? 

[Ethan Hunt]

Tangled ahead of Frozen... :/

[Avatree]

Tangled ahead of Frozen... :/

Deservedly so.

[Ethan Hunt]

Deservedly so.

Nah. Tangled has weak characters where Frozen strives, Frozen has better songs and is way funnier.

[Avatree]

Nah. Tangled has weak characters where Frozen strives, Frozen has better songs and is way funnier.

Meh, I don't like either. If you say Frozen is better then sure, it's better.

Can't be bothered to argue this one, it's been a while since I saw Tangled.

[Kalo]

You make up for the merd that is The Artist with the inclusion of Contagion on your list.  

funny, I loved the Artist and hated Contagion. 

Edited January 11, 2015 by KaloVisor

[Avatree]

How about, The Artist and Contagion are both bad.

[Kalo]

55. TANGLED

"I am a despicable human being!"

One princess movie deserves another. I decided to place Tangled above Frozen primarily because it was tougher to get right. That is, they had to touch up the film for a modern audience without compromising classic Disney feelings, and boy, do they. It's one of the funniest and most enjoyable films in their canon. Rapunzel and Flynn Eugene have absolutely winning chemistry together, the former particularly being one of the most lively and enjoyable princesses Disney has ever created. (Her mixed feelings montage is one of the funniest moments of the lustrum) The songs also have a unique, almost country feel to them, but they fit in well with the rest of the movie and mesh with the other show stopping tunes such as "I've Got A Dream" and "Mother Knows Best". It's a perfect mix of style and the film that put Disney Animation back on the map like never before, and what a film to do so.

 

54. BLUE VALENTINE

"It's like we're inside a robot's vagina."

And now for something completely different. One of the most beautifully made, but tragic and painful, movies of the last few years. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give strong, authentic performances as two lovers in a slowly dying relationship. The film simultaneously plays two stories: The formation and the break-up of the relationship, a move that only heightens the blow that the finale brings. These characters had promise in each other, but it didn't work out for either one, perhaps for the best. A brutal deconstruction of most fake indie romances, but also an expression of beauty and artful lament, that separates it from just being a straight sobstorry. It's a movie built on contrast and sadness, but it benefits greatly from it.

 

53. PARANORMAN

"You know, you're going to love my boyfriend. He's a total chick flick nut!"

I'm probably more alone in this choice, but I believe it to be a truly fantastic film. LAIKA has a knack for telling beautiful, funny, and thoughtful stories, and nowhere is this more true than here. The story of a young boy ostracized by his local town for having the ability to talk to the dead seems somewhat cliched, not to mention its similarity to Chicken Little (a.k.a. the worst thing to ever come out of the Mouse House), but it instead creates something truly special. Visually beautiful and endlessly clever, ParaNorman seamlessly takes on themes of bullying, bigotry, and death (in a KID'S FILM, no less) to create a more unique and thoughtful parable of tolerance and understanding. It's an animated movie that people of all ages can enjoy and get something out of, and I can't wait to see what this studio will do next.

Tangled is by far the best Disney animation of the 21st century. take that Frozen obsessors! (I actually like Frozen btw, but it's insanely overrated) 

Edited January 11, 2015 by KaloVisor

[Avatree]

Tangled is by far the best Disney animation of the 21st century. take that Frozen obsessors! (I actually like Frozen btw, but it's insanely overrated) 

I take it you mean WDAS and not all animated films released by Disney, right? (i.e. Pixar)

[Empire]

For the best WDAS film of the 21st century is Big Hero 6, but I know I am in the minority.