Films of the 2010s: THE FINAL RESULTS

[Petri]

In this group of five we have first #1 of its year and another #1 by a voter.


25. Under the Skin (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://www.justaplatform.com/wp-content ... poster.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Jonathan Glazer[/br]
Main producing country: UK[/br]
Points: 807,45[/br]
Year rank: #16 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 12[/br]
Fans: bonnielaurel #3, BleuPanda #8, Machine_Man #10, Depeche Mode #12, schaefer.tk #20[/br]
Haters: Greg #54/55, Harold #57/63[/br]
Comment(s): A truly alien film in every sense of the word and definitely one of the most original films of the decade. Also one of the most interesting soundtracks. (Rob)

24. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://progressivechristianity.org/wp/w ... n-wild.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Benh Zeitlin[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 809,77[/br]
Year rank: #5 of 2012[/br]
Voters: 12[/br]
Fans: Petri #2, schaefer.tk #10, Michel #18[/br]
Haters: whuntva #68/74[/br]
Comment(s): Both beautiful as somewhat too idyllic for its setting. The spirit of the people and the fresh film style make it worth a look. (Rob)

23. Jagten [The Hunt] (2012)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://www.lily.fi/sites/lily/files/use ... -de-fr.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Thomas Vinterberg[/br]
Main producing country: Denmark[/br]
Points: 813,13[/br]
Year rank: #1 of 2012[/br]
Voters: 9[/br]
Fans: schaefer.tk #5, Petri #13, Harold #17, Machine_Man #18[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): I have two sisters who work with kids. This movie must be their ultimate nightmare. Mads Mikkelsen is a hero. (Rob)

22. Winter's Bone (2010)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://www.highlandernews.org/wp-conten ... poster.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Debra Granik[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 813,84[/br]
Year rank: #5 of 2010[/br]
Voters: 14[/br]
Fans: Gillingham #5, schaefer.tk #8, bonnielaurel #12, antonius #13, otisredding #16[/br]
Haters: whuntva #71/74[/br]
Comment(s): The movie that introduced the world to Jennifer Lawrence, who I cannot praise enough. It is also a great movie for making an impression actually. (Rob)

21. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U2mS8cmwL.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Edgar Wright[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 814,18[/br]
Year rank: #11 of 2010[/br]
Voters: 12[/br]
Fans: Nassim #1, Machine_Man #8, schaefer.tk #16, BleuPanda #16[/br]
Haters: Petri #93/95, antonius #58/62[/br]
Comment(s): One of the few movies that encapsulate pop-culture of my generation without turning to dumb humor, ultraviolence and over sexuality. On the opposite, Edgar Wright cares about its characters, as much about their good or bad sides. It's also one of the most visually innovative movies (especially blockbusters), incorporating video games element in a witty way. Maybe that's the main word, wit, this movie has tons to spare. I lesbian it !(Nassim)

Who had thought that one of the best movies of the decade would be an ode to everyhting nerd-culture? Leave it to Edgar Wright to make it in something innovative and fun. (Rob)

[Maschine_Man]

Under the Skin: I'm a big fan of Jonathan Glazer. Like many of his contemporaries (the 90's music video directors super stars) their movies don't come around often enough. Scarlet Johansson was captivating and I find it difficult to reconcile the fact that a year later she would play the titular Lucy, in one of the worst films I have ever seen.

Beasts of the Southern Wild: Quvenzhané was 6 when this was filmed and gave one of the best performances on the decade. The Academy was wrong.

Jagten [The Hunt]: No film has made me feel as much anger as this one. Watching the story unfold and seeing the incompetent actions of the adults who ruin this innocent mans life. Frustrating, but a good watch.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The role Michael Cera was born to play. A really fun watch and my second favorite Wright film after Hot Fuzz.

[Petri]

Let's enter to top 20. Here's #20-#18. Two quite big surprises (one is higher than I expected and another one is lower (although it was expected that everybody don't love it) and then in the middle one "for us at Acclaimed Music" like Rob said (apparently not for Nassim and Depeche Mode though).


20. 風立ちぬ [The Wind Rises] (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://moviefanjp.moo.jp/index/wp-conte ... -Rises.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Hayao Miyazaki[/br]
Main producing country: Japan[/br]
Points: 820,41[/br]
Year rank: #19 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 9[/br]
Fans: schaefer.tk #6, Rob #9 Machine_Man, #16 whuntva #18, Miguel #19[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): An old master retires as gracefully as you could hope. Unique for his work is the absence of fantasy. Luckily it has beauty and feeling to spare. If it seems simple at first, look again. Multiple viewings uncover surprising depths here. (Rob)

Very pleased to see this in top 20 (it was #19 of its year). Among the better movies from the director whose worst movie is the best by any director who has directed over ten movies. I wonder what would have been placement of other last work by other Ghibli maestro (Princess Kaguya) if it had qualified (it missed the final by only two points). (Petri)

19. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://www.siegen-guide.de/wp-content/u ... ster-2.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 821,38[/br]
Year rank: #8 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 15[/br]
Fans: Greg #8, schaefer.tk, #14 otisredding #15, Miguel #15, Petri #16, Rob #17, Harold #19[/br]
Haters: Nassim #49/49[/br]
Comment(s): Blandest Coen effort, don't remember much at all from this, probably should revisit.(Depeche Mode)

This one is for us at Acclaimed Music. One of the more complex portraits of a person the Coens have allowed them yet, but of course also a great look at folk music in the early sixties, before Dylan appeared. It's also visually one of my favourite movies of the list. (Rob)

18. The Tree of Life (2011)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://www.scifi-movies.com/images/cont ... 2011-3.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Terrence Malick[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 835,07[/br]
Year rank: #4 of 2011[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: Rob #1 , Depeche Mode #2, Gillingham #6, Machine_Man #9, BleuPanda #12[/br]
Haters: whuntva #74/74[/br]
Comment(s): Malick's last great work, up until now anyway. Maybe it's good for a director like him to put out works at a glacial place. (Gillingham)

A top 10 movie of all time for me. It is deeply flawed actually, but it has a poetic power that goes beyong all reason. The way it captures a life and dares to place it in the context of eternity is unheard of and suprisingly works completely. I can easily see why this movie is insufferable to some, but this is the best cinema has to offer to me. (Rob)

[whuntva]

About what I expected so far. Also, as expected, I am a bit contrarian with the films that are likely to rank very high!

Under the Skin is one of the very few movies to make me feel legitimately uncomfortable. I don't know if that makes it good or bad, but it definitely is its own thing. I think that's the best kind of writing, the kind that is deliberately polarizing and loved and hated in equal measure for the same reasons.

I don't see in Tree of Life what others do. Sorry.

[Petri]

Here's next four. By the way do you want that I release the rest today or should I save top 10 for tomorrow?


17. Before Midnight (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/mo ... TAvTES.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Richard Linklater[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 836,25[/br]
Year rank: #10 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 11[/br]
Fans: Depeche Mode #5, Future Critic #7, Rob #15[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): The greatest romantic duo of films gets a third film in which everything seems to fall apart. That's a daring direction to take this series, but also one you could subtly see coming in part 1 and 2. A risk that not only pays off but makes essential viewing.(Rob)

16. Melancholia (2011)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://orig01.deviantart.net/7152/f/201 ... 4ohq28.png[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Lars von Trier[/br]
Main producing country: Denmark[/br]
Points: 865,52[/br]
Year rank: #3 of 2011[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: Petri #5, Michel #5, antonius #10, bonnielaurel #10, BleuPanda #11, Greg #12, Depeche Mode #19[/br]
Haters: Harold #59/63[/br]
Comment(s): Do I want to see a movie in which the end of the world and of humanity is viewed as mostly a good thing? No, I do not. Von Trier is always difficult for me, because his view of the world and of people is so different from me that it his hard to go along with it. Yet he his command of image and sound is truly amazing and so is his feeling for acting and drama. That makes movies like Melancholia almost impossible to rate and rank. The bottom-line is that I don't feel I need this movie. (Rob)

Melancholia was one of very few movies voted by everyone until I received Miguel's ballot (the last one). If I had guessed which one are the most seen ones I wouldn't have picked Melancholia. (next two are actually voted by everybody who participated) Also very pleased to see it in top 20. (Petri)

15. Gravity (2013 )[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://cdn.shortlist.com/resource/binar ... ty-cr2.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Alfonso Cuarón[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 875,76[/br]
Year rank: #3 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 17[/br]
Fans: Future Critic #3, Harold #7, Miguel #8 , Michel #11, BleuPanda #15, schaefer.tk #17, antonius #19, Machine_Man #19[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): Difficult to rank because the first half is a masterpiece, while the second half is pretty much worthless. When it starts to depend more on its awful script and the equally awful performance by awful actress Sandra Bullock it sinks like a stone. But the first half is as tense and visionary as it gets.(Rob)

14. Drive (2011)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://blog.signalnoise.com/wp-content/ ... ve_bbc.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 878,86[/br]
Year rank: #2 of 2011[/br]
Voters: 17[/br]
Fans: Miguel #3, whuntva #4, antonius #6, Depeche Mode #9, Michel #10, otisredding #12, Nassim #12, schaefer.tk #18[/br]
Haters: Harold #63/63, Greg #53/55, Rob #83/92[/br]
Comment(s): Brilliance, but Only God Forgives is even better. Drive has one of the best openings and soundtracks to be sure though.(Depeche Mode)

I simply don't get what makes this movie so special. Well shot with interesting music choices, but it feels empty to me. (Rob)

I kind of agree with both Depeche Mode and Rob. I'm also a bit baffled why this is considered such a masterpiece by many (I appreciated though) when Refn's better movies Only God Forgives and especially the Pusher trilogy don't get much love. (Petri)

[Petri]

OK here's #13-#11. I think I continue tomorrow. So you can predict the order of top 10 in Films of the 2010s: Final predictions etc thread. One of these movies was #1 by two voters.


13. La vie d'Adèle - chapitres 1 & 2 [Blue Is the Warmest Color] (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... 59fc29.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche[/br]
Main producing country: France[/br]
Points: 883,52[/br]
Year rank: #4 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 11[/br]
Fans: bonnielaurel #2, Gillingham #3, Depeche Mode #10, schaefer.tk #13, Michel #13[/br]
Haters: whuntva #69/74[/br]
Comment(s): I though some scenes were very „on the nose”, but it was one of the shortest 3 hour movies for me and has stayed with me. (Depeche Mode)

There are some thing I have a problem with here, but that take some more explaining I can allow myself at the moment (it's not the sex scenes). Yet it still remains a raw and gripping portrait of an intense relationship. (Rob)

12. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://sinekdoks.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/tgbh.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Wes Anderson[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 890,63[/br]
Year rank: #2 of 2014[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: antonius #5, Miguel #5, Machine_Man #6, whuntva #10, BleuPanda #13, Greg #17, Rob #19[/br]
Haters: otisredding #29/32, Nassim #45/49[/br]
Comment(s): Wes Anderson is a rare director that seems to get better and better with each new movie and he has been on a steady rise for almost twenty years. For now, this is his masterpiece, with countless visual ideas, good jokes and a surprisingly well-executed sense of pathos. (Rob)

Every new Wes Anderson has felt his best work right after the movie. After few days of the viewing the feeling has become more uncertain (maybe Royal Tennenbaums is still my favorite) until I saw this. The Grand Budapest Hotel is definitely my favorite of Wes Anderson movies. And if next one is better it's gonna be a true masterpiece (and maybe this one was already). (Seems like Rob said almost the same thing better ) (Petri)

11. Amour (2012)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... french.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Michael Haneke[/br]
Main producing country: France[/br]
Points: 893,49[/br]
Year rank: #4 of 2012[/br]
Voters: 14[/br]
Fans: schaefer.tk #1, BleuPanda #1, antonius #3, otisredding #4[/br]
Haters: Miguel #42/42, Greg #52/55[/br]
Comment(s): Speaks for itself. Therefore, let me praise Jean-Louis Trintignant, who undeservedly has received less kudos than Emmanuelle Riva, even though he really carries the movie. (Rob)

[Depeche Mode]

Under the Skin is one of the very few movies to make me feel legitimately uncomfortable. I don't know if that makes it good or bad, but it definitely is its own thing. I think that's the best kind of writing, the kind that is deliberately polarizing and loved and hated in equal measure for the same reasons.

Yeah I kind of had the same, the more I'm away from it the more I appreciate it although it wasn't an easy sit.

[Petri]

Top 10



10. Whiplash (2014)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://i.jeded.com/i/whiplash.34229.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Damien Chazelle[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 897,08[/br]
Year rank: #4 of 2014[/br]
Voters: 14[/br]
Fans: whuntva #8, antonius #9, Miguel #9, schaefer.tk #11, Future Critic #12, Nassim #14, Harold #18[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): Honestly a bit cartoonish, if well made indeed.(Depeche Mode)

Great acting, sound design, editing and story telling… but I still have one issue, isn't the ending validating that yes, any kind of abuse is OK if it might lead someone to greatness ?(Nassim)

This was probably the coolest movie in 2014. Deservedly, because it has guts and fully delivers on every front. It's not just a great portrait of obsession and rivalry, but even a sort of thriller that Hitchcock might have liked. (Rob)

9. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... irdman.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 932,89[/br]
Year rank: #3 of 2014[/br]
Voters: 17[/br]
Fans: Machine_Man #2, antonius #4, Miguel #6, Harold #8, Future Critic #11, Rob #14, schaefer.tk #15, Petri #17, Nassim #18[/br]
Haters: bonnielaurel #79/81[/br]
Comment(s): Disliked how all over the place, loud and brash this was(a bit like The Master), but similarly I have a feeling this might grow on a second viewing, not that much though. Both films have rather questionable endings, this one more so. (Depeche Mode)

I hated Innaritu before this. Here his bravoura finally gets a sense of fun, wit and a real feeling for people, however weird they get portrayed. (Rob)

[Petri]

8. Black Swan (2010)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... n-2010.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Darren Aronofsky[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 956,97[/br]
Year rank: #1 of 2010[/br]
Voters: 17[/br]
Fans: bonnielaurel #1, Petri #3, Future Critic #6, Machine_Man #7, BleuPanda #10, antonius #11, otisredding #13, Gillingham #14, Depeche Mode #17, Miguel #20[/br]
Haters: Harold #60/63[/br]
Comment(s): The anime Perfect Blue is one of my favourite films of all time. This simplistic, live-action rip-off with a one-note performance by Natalie Portman, by one-note director Darren Aronofsky just can't hold up next to it. Though admittedly it is quite watchable despite it's many faults. It's very kinetic. (Rob)

7. 12 Years a Slave (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://scenecreek.com/wp-content/upload ... er-Art.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Steve McQueen[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 960,57[/br]
Year rank: #1 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: BleuPanda #2, Depeche Mode #6, Rob #8, Harold #11, Greg #11, Michel #12, whuntva #14, Miguel #16, antonius #18[/br]
Haters: Machine_Man #60/63[/br]
Comment(s): I can see some issues to be had here, deus ex in the end in particular, but overall it was heartwrenching whilst showing tactful constraint all the same. (Depeche Mode)

The most powerful film about slavery I have yet seen. It dares to be horrificly poetic, while keeping the spirit of the nasty racism intact.(Rob)

[Rob]

I wonder what would have been placement of other last work by other Ghibli maestro (Princess Kaguya) if it had qualified (it missed the final by only two points). (Petri)

Ugh, this pains me to hear, because Princes Kaguya is the biggest omission in this list in my opinion. It ranks #3 of the decade in my view. Maybe the best and most arresting take on an old legend since Fritz Lang tackled Die Nibelungen some ninety years earlier!

[BleuPanda]

A couple great animated films missed out. Kaguya is much better than The Wind Rises, and then there's the matter of It's Such a Beautiful Day. I did a similar poll on another forum (except representing 2000-2015), and It's Such a Beautiful Day wasn't just the only movie to receive no bottom 50% votes, but also everyone who voted for it placed it in their top 25%. I don't know where it would place on this forum, but it's a film I've never seen a negative reaction toward.

[Petri]

Yeah It's Such a Beautiful Day was another great animation movie that missed the final (people haven't seen it I guess). Some my favorite animated movies from 2010s that weren't even close (The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki, Ernest et Célestine and Chico y Rita).
Well but all the animated movies that qualified held a candle in the final as we can see when we enter to top 5.


6. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... poster.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Wes Anderson[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 996,49[/br]
Year rank: #2 of 2012[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: Machine_Man #3 , Harold #4, Nassim #4, BleuPanda #6, antonius #7, Future Critic #10, otisredding #10, whuntva #11, Greg #13[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): If you want to present your childhood memories, please do it like this. Not that these are probably really the memories of Wes Anderson. It just seems all so magical, nostalgic and sweet. (Rob)

5. Toy Story 3 (2010)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61euyU4feZL.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Lee Unkrich[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 1006,10[/br]
Year rank: #4 of 2010[/br]
Voters: 13[/br]
Fans: otisredding #1, Nassim #2, whuntva #2, Rob #4, Future Critic #4, BleuPanda #14, Harold #15[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): You shouldn't care, hurt or laugh that much for plastic toys, but you do, because once again Pixar found humanity in its subject and is not afraid to tackle dark subjects in a family friendly movie. I cried in the theater, as much of laughter as of emotions. (Nassim)

A late ending to a trilogy turned out to be its best movie. I've been a fan of this series since childhood, but wasn't even prepared for the awesome direction this third part took, especially near the end. Usually I resent sentimentalism. Here it is completely earned. (Rob)

[Petri]

OK here are #4 and #3. Looks like we have surprise in top 2.


4. The Social Network (2010)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://dcairns.files.wordpress.com/201 ... fullsi.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: David Fincher[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 1035,71[/br]
Year rank: #2 of 2010[/br]
Voters: 15[/br]
Fans: Harold #1, Future Critic #2, Depeche Mode #3, Rob #5, whuntva #5, Gillingham #8, BleuPanda #9, Michel #9, otisredding #9[/br]
Haters: Machine_Man #59/63, bonnielaurel #73/81[/br]
Comment(s): Because of the subject material I was a but sceptic beforehand, but Fincher pulled this one off wonderfully, whether it's true to reality or not. (Gillingham)

Leave it to Fincher and Sorkin to turn an uninteresting subject into a very captivating movie in which every spoken line seems alive with a rythm of its own. Very witty, funny and mesmerizing and with one of the more unexpected but great soundtracks of the decade. (Rob)

3. Boyhood (2014)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... d_film.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Richard Linklater[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 1078,12[/br]
Year rank: #1 of 2014[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: Petri #1, Machine_Man #1, Harold #3, BleuPanda #3, otisredding #3, Future Critic #5, Michel #7, Gillingham #9, bonnielaurel #15[/br]
Haters: whuntva #72/74[/br]
Comment(s): Fails, Mason just coasts through life, there is hardly any drama, everything is too easy for him to identify with, for me. There were good moments and scenes, in the last third I started to be emotionally involved but it ended on a bad note for me. (Depeche Mode)

Richard Linklater observing a group of people is always worth your time. Sadly, he lets sentimentality slip in near the end, which never happens in his other films. Still, it mostly remains a nice portrait of a boy, his parents the last decade. (Rob)

[whuntva]

Comment(s): Fails, Mason just coasts through life, there is hardly any drama, everything is too easy for him to identify with, for me. There were good moments and scenes, in the last third I started to be emotionally involved but it ended on a bad note for me. (Depeche Mode) [/size]

I have to agree here. I liked it for its ideas when I saw it at my university. But I just see it as a great experiment that I simply cannot enjoy as anything other than an experiment. It offered little upon rewatch also. I think it would have been better if the boy had a character arc, like if he were gay or something.

And can we acknowledge Ellar Coltrane is not a good actor.

I have to wonder though, was my vote what cost it first place?

[Nick]

"Boyhood" and "The Social Network" are my top two films of the decade thus far, with "Boyhood" in my top 5 movies of all time. I'll spare you the rant, but I heavily disagree with a large majority of the criticisms thrown at it (there are some valid ones though, there are times in the movie when it treads just a bit too close to sentimentalism for my liking). But Mason faces no challenges? He's born into a poor family, the son of a single mom who got pregnant as a teenager, his parents are divorced, he constantly moves about and changes schools, his mom dates several deadbeat losers, one of which is a violent and borderline psychotic alcoholic, and he faces classic teenage tribulations such as breakups, losing friends, peer pressure, conflicts with school administrators, etc. The "he just kinda coasts through life" criticism is one that is totally beyond me, as this kid has anything but an easy life.

[BleuPanda]

And even if there are minimal big arcs, I don't want there to be big arcs. Boyhood works for me because it's a simple portrait of a rather ordinary person.

[Depeche Mode]

Well sure there are those scenes but do we see Mason actually struggling with these issues or do we get from an argument scene to another with virtually no connection. I don't mean that Mason has an easy life but his character is passive throughout the movie and stuff just happens to him, we don't see him try to do something, we get a lot of loosely connected scenes with varied quality acting and unremarkable direction.

[Depeche Mode]

I would actually prefer if the movie was more focused on his character or some time period rather then throwing these obstacles at him without actually showing them resolved.

[Gillingham]

I would say I even appreciate the lack of a big story arc, which would possibly have made the film and story (feel) very fabricated. A lot of obstacles aren't really resolved in life, they just make up your life.
Yes, he is kind of passive in some situations, but for me that's a nice, contrasting alternative to the classical hero who conquers it all.

[Petri]

I have to wonder though, was my vote what cost it first place?

Actually it would have been very close (if it had been your #1, not in any other cases).
#2 had the most fans (and one true disliker) but the winner got the most #1 votes and was leading from beginning to the end.
Again I want to thank you all who voted and commented the movie. It was such a pleasure to read comments (even in the cases I disagreed about the movie) and the presentation also looked better with them. Thank you!
And here are the two best movies from 2010-2014 by Acclaimed Music Forums fans.



2. Her (2013)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... Poster.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Spike Jonze[/br]
Main producing country: USA[/br]
Points: 1112,64[/br]
Year rank: #2 of 2013[/br]
Voters: 16[/br]
Fans: Future Critic #1, schaefer.tk #3, Machine_Man #5, BleuPanda #7, Miguel #7, otisredding #7, Petri #8, Michel #8 Gillingham #10, Rob #11, Harold #14[/br]
Haters: Depeche Mode #38/38[/br]
Comment(s): I have problems with the whole concept, I just don't see how any of this would happen, how human beings forget they're not interacting with human beings, how this whole world looks in this movie feels way off. Clunky dialogue too. I couldn't stand it.(Depeche Mode),

A movie with a daring concept that also dares to play its love between a human and a computer earnestly. In doing so it beautifully captures the time we inhabit and the role technology plays or can play in our lives. (Rob)

1. جدایی نادر از سیمین [A Separation] (2011)[/br]
[imgsize 250x360]http://gundeshapur.files.wordpress.com/ ... inader.jpg[/imgsize][/br]
Director: Asghar Farhadi[/br]
Main producing country: Iran[/br]
Points: 1154,51[/br]
Year rank: #1 of 2011[/br]
Voters: 14[/br]
Fans: antonius #1, Gillingham #1, Michel #1, Harold #2, BleuPanda #4, otisredding #5, Rob #7, whuntva #9, Petri #15, bonnielaurel #16, Future Critic #16[/br]
Haters: None[/br]
Comment(s): A great drama and I especially liked the nuanced script and acting. (Gillingham)

A family drama that feels like a thriller. Every person shows his worst side and still everyone remains completely human and deserving of sympathy. Farhadi is the modern master of human behaviour. (Rob)

Two first ballots came from antonius and Gillingham and the game was practically over before it even started. There weren't a single moment where something came even near A Separation. Definitely deserved to win. (Petri)

[Depeche Mode]

I would say I even appreciate the lack of a big story arc, which would possibly have made the film and story (feel) very fabricated. A lot of obstacles aren't really resolved in life, they just make up your life.
Yes, he is kind of passive in some situations, but for me that's a nice, contrasting alternative to the classical hero who conquers it all.

I couldn't get into this because it was too disjointed and inconsequential for me. The scenes didn't feel real enough for me, but I guess we have to agree to disagree

Now my even more controversial opinion is out :O

Thanks Petri!!!

[antonius]

Thanks for running this poll Petri, it's been fun.
So I really have to watch "Her".

[whuntva]

Thank you Petri!

Great poll and worthy winner, even if it wasn't my first choice.

I actually didn't find Her THAT illogical. Not saying it wasn't, but I was able to buy the scenario mostly and was very surprised with its direction. I liked how Jonze was able to control his actors and bring this wacky story to life.

That's my two cents. But kinda disappointed I saw nearly 3/4ths of the list and my highest miss was #26. That makes me feel like I have little to look forward to. Oh, well. Still a great poll.

[Maschine_Man]

Only a 4 films in the top 25 I yet to see, I know what I'm doing this weekend. I don't think I'm ever going to develop love for the The Social Network and I just remember being underwhelmed by 12 Years. Other than those and the ones I have yet to see, I think the top 25 is fantastic. Thank you for running the poll Petri!

Comment(s): I have problems with the whole concept, I just don't see how any of this would happen, how human beings forget they're not interacting with human beings, how this whole world looks in this movie feels way off. Clunky dialogue too. I couldn't stand it.(Depeche Mode)

I guess the point is that it is easy, when in love, to you deceive yourself and ignore flaws that in retrospect are quite large. I would also argue that the relationship in the film is quite similar to those that already happen in the real world; people have been known to fall in love with, erm, anatomically correct sex dolls (or roller coasters) for example. The film reminds me of Deeper Understanding by Kate Bush, a story about a lonely person looking for what they perceive to be a meaningful connection, in both cases it's with a computer. We can see unhealthy the relationship is, but they can't.

I think one of the most impressive elements of the film was the ability to combine a well thought comment on artificial intelligence and the rather silly notion of "one true soulmate" at the same. I need to watch it again, with Lost In Translation, because I believe they are both about the same dissolved relationship (Jonze and Sofia Coppola were in a long term relationship).

Other than this and Boyhood, I think I agreed with all of your comments (especially Inception), which I enjoyed reading, DM.

[bonnielaurel]

Thanks for organizing this, Petri. Some weird results: nothing from my top 14 finished in the top 7, but that's how polls turn out. At least my No. 1 "Black Swan" has made the top 8.

[bootsy]

Good list overall. Her and Black Swan Just don't understand the love for those movies.

[Depeche Mode]

Only a 4 films in the top 25 I yet to see, I know what I'm doing this weekend. I don't think I'm ever going to develop love for the The Social Network and I just remember being underwhelmed by 12 Years. Other than those and the ones I have yet to see, I think the top 25 is fantastic. Thank you for running the poll Petri!

I guess the point is that it is easy, when in love, to you deceive yourself and ignore flaws that in retrospect are quite large. I would also argue that the relationship in the film is quite similar to those that already happen in the real world; people have been known to fall in love with, erm, anatomically correct sex dolls (or roller coasters) for example. The film reminds me of Deeper Understanding by Kate Bush, a story about a lonely person looking for what they perceive to be a meaningful connection, in both cases it's with a computer. We can see unhealthy the relationship is, but they can't.

I think one of the most impressive elements of the film was the ability to combine a well thought comment on artificial intelligence and the rather silly notion of "one true soulmate" at the same. I need to watch it again, with Lost In Translation, because I believe they are both about the same dissolved relationship (Jonze and Sofia Coppola were in a long term relationship).

Other than this and Boyhood, I think I agreed with all of your comments (especially Inception), which I enjoyed reading, DM.

Thanks, although I think we disagreed on Birdman too

There is just something upsetting to me about how many people find this story touching and relevant to their lives, and it's not like I'm not using computer, I do that all the time actually, and still can't understand why would you fall into something like here is depicted as a probable vision of our near future. It's gonna take some courage to give it a second viewing.

[Rob]

There is just something upsetting to me about how many people find this story touching and relevant to their lives, and it's not like I'm not using computer, I do that all the time actually, and still can't understand why would you fall into something like here is depicted as a probable vision of our near future. It's gonna take some courage to give it a second viewing.

I think the point isn't that he falls in love with a computer. It's the connection that this aritificial intelligence makes with him that makes it work. It's not that strange. People get attracted to persons they only met throughthe internet all the time. Besides, the AI in Her is made to fit the personality of the Joaquin Phoenix character. It is part of the programming. After that she develops her own personal traits. She can even be spontaneous and fun. Through this, Phoenix can really connect with her, create something he feels as a bond between them. The love isn't physically based, but comes from a deeper, emotional connection that has been programmed to be perfect. Wether or not people will actaully fall in love with a non-humanoid computer remains to be seen. Artificial intelligence is not there yet. But the idea someone going crazy about someone they can't really see or reach is definitely not far out.

[Depeche Mode]

Well to me it is icky and pretty much everything you described makes me hate the movie and it's ideas. The silly ending doesn't help.

[Petri]

Here's some diagrams in which you can see A Separation dominated from beginning to the end (actually difference in points was the smallest after last ballot (it was only smaller after antonius' first ballot so Her took a final spurt.). A separation is the blue horizontal line in the top of the first picture and in the bottom of the second picture.

The top four were in league of their own. After first ballot Carlos was #2 and after two ballots (antonius' and Gillingham's) Winter's Bone was at #2. After that there were only final #2-4 movies at the second spot. (later red lines in the picture only tells that holder of the second place is chaning).

In the second picture you can see the rank of top 4. Boyhood started badly (because antonius wasn't among the fans) but before the half of the voters had voted nothing threatened top 4 anymore.

Picture 1: Difference in points between A Separation and the final #2-#4 movies (and #2 at the time) during the poll.


Picture 2: Rank of final top 4 during the poll.

[Nick]

Re: "Her"

I had never seen the movie before, so after this poll I decided to watch it last night with some of these discussion points in mind.

I thought the film didn't have a silly premise at all. I actually thought the idea of a human/computer romance was an extremely realistic one, one that might be a little farfetched in 2015, but one that could certainly become mainstream in a couple decades (when this movie probably takes place).

Ultimately I think it's a generational thing. I have no idea how old you are, Depeche Mode, but everyone who raved about the movie to me in the past was around my age (early to mid twenties). I could see it being a lot harder for someone from a previous generation to fully accept the premise though, as this generation (the so-called "millennials") are already so invested in their computers (and technology in general), whether it be facebook, twitter, email, instagram, smart phones, Siri, dating apps, online dating, or the fabulous Acclaimed Music Forums. To the younger generations, the notion of powerful computers and the great potential that they hold is something that has always been prevalent in our lives, and because of this, a human/computer romance becomes a more realistic prospect to us. After all, if you tried to explain smartphones to someone in 1985, they'd regard it as outlandish science fiction. Now smartphones are as ubiquitous as oxygen. With the ever increasing pace that technology evolves, who's to say that the premise of "Her" couldn't happen in 30 years' time?

But then again, Depeche Mode, you could be 19 years old and my entire theory could be moot.

[BleuPanda]

I think A.I. is one of those strange points where some people are fully willing to accept them as an equivalent to humans and others just can't see them as anything more than programs. If you're in the first group, Her is a perfect look at how those relationships will evolve. If the latter, I can see it being kind of silly.

I think Her goes further than what the former group would see as a positive relationship, which is its most effective punch. There is only a limited time where humans and A.I.'s, even ones designed for social purpose, could truly relate before the differences between the two are insurmountable. What makes Her so unique among similar stories is its refusal to bring in robotics as well. Samantha's disembodied existence drives the film, and I think it's a perfect parallel for the numerous modern relationships that exist long-distance.

[Depeche Mode]

Well I'm 21 so your theory Nick doesn't apply here. I think there is a fundamental difference between all those activities and romance in Her, that is here, on other forums, social portals, we are interacting with other human beings, we read about their opinions, that is what drives today's technology, look how cooperative games are developing for example, what is depicted in Her is closer to being a single person video game addict, closing yourself off the world.

You're probably right BleuPanda.

[Jackson]

Thanks to all the voters for an awesome list. I wish I had participated but it's likely the results wouldn't have been too different. Moonrise Kingdom is my number one for the decade, followed by Her, Black Swan, Django Unchained, Boyhood, and Whiplash. My least favorite are Wolf of Wall Street, Hugo, and Spring Breakers.

The biggest surprise for me was the relative placement of the two recent space epics. I prefer Interstellar to Gravity and was surprised they were so far apart. I also thought Django was a lock for top 10 and potential number one overall.

Looking forward to seeing many of the foreign entries I'm less familiar with.

[Depeche Mode]

I watched Inception again and it's pretty great tbh.