Alexander Crisp’s Top Ten Films of the Decade (2009-2019)

Alexander Crisp’s Top Ten Films of the Last Decade

A little disclaimer. This is very far from a comprehensive list – if the film isn’t here it’s highly likely I haven’t seen it (drop me recommendations people). But that’s no disservice to these 10 films, 10 worthy works well worth one’s watching. Some bewilder, some bewitch, one literally gets inside your head. Adieu to a decade of great cinema, hello to the as-yet unknown. See you in the roaring 20s (no better way to end an epoch than with a cliché). Here are 10 of the 10’s best.

10. Logan

Considering the ever-increasing scale of superhero saturation this decade has seen, for one film to so sharply stand-out from the mass is no mean feat. I recall being in the theatre for The Last Jedi when the Johnny Cash cover of Hurt snapped me out of whatever distraction was occupying me, because you don’t just use that song for anything. I had no idea what the trailer was for – gradually realising it was X-Men related, but this was clearly not just another X-Men movie.

More than its R-rating, though that gave it a full dramatic license, or its prioritisation of character over action, though it kicks-ass plenty. This is a human drama about ageing, a reconstitution of the superhero genre’s absurdities into something real and profoundly moving. Not even The Dark Knight trilogy took its proponents to such a vulnerable locale. The tone, which confuses so many Marvel films, and the acting, are both utterly spot on. I’m not even going to mention the underdeveloped antagonists. In the same manner the film disposes of them, it knows they aren’t very important. They know who we’re here for. Jackman, Stewart, Mangold, Cash too. The pleasure is ours.

9. Sicario

The first of three Denis Villeneuve-directed gems in this list. His ability to arrest with his visuals and his storytelling, the seamless way they both feed into each other, Villeneuve possesses a poet’s touch. He’s also pretty handy at the flashier stuff too – this contains a stunning action set-piece that lived long in my memory. There is a mid-act dip, but at the close its three key stories dovetail majestically – reinforcing their strengths and imparting the full weight of its power – innocence in extremis.

8. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson’s literal Viennese sweet shop is simultaneously impenetrable and accessible, flippant and sincere, manic but disciplined – above all else tight, crafted. I couldn’t give you any dramatic interpretation with the greatest confidence, a celebration of culture juxtaposed with the callousness of war in Europe? Perhaps. But even if coaxing cogent criticism out of this picture proves elusive, one will never cease to relish Anderson’s delightful grasp on the surreal.

7. Arrival

This sci-fi pic’s brilliance lies in a sublime narrative flip – inverting its doom-laden disaster-movie premise into a deeply affecting drama that succeeds on a remarkable number of levels. Worth a rewatch, I think.

6. Inside Out

Pixar doing what Pixar does, telling stories only animators can tell. One of their best.

Apropos of the next film on the list, this I have rewatched recently. It’s an excellent film – review’s not bad either.