Month: January 2020

Articles, Review, Show Time

Show Time: My Eight Favorite BBC Miniseries

Earlier this month, I introduced another friend to one of my favorite BBC miniseries. In the seven or eight years since I found this miniseries, I’ve probably introduced a similar number of people to it; and I’ve really enjoyed everyone’s reactions, critiques and insights about it.

And because watching something like this often prompts me to revisit similar things, I started skimming through a few of my other favorite BBC miniseries. And, yes, all of them are period dramas — I’m sure that comes as a great surprise.

So, in the wake of that, I thought I’d put together a quick list of my favorite BBC miniseries. (And yes, the plural of “miniseries” is miniseries. I made sure to double-check that.)

The British Broadcasting Corporation has been making these types of miniseries for decades — adapting popular and/or well-respected works of (British) literature into several episodes that air over several weeks or months. I’ve seen some from the 70s and 80s, and while they have their merits, they definitely feel older and lack the better production values that these newer ones benefit from. Many of the older ones are clearly shot on sound-stages with lackluster lighting and makeup. Thus, you won’t see anything on here from before 1995.

Of note: I listed them NOT in order of how much I like them nor in the order that I was introduced to them, but rather in chronological order by release date. Boring, I know, but this was honestly the easiest way to do it.

I’ve also included a “starring” section for each, wherein I (in alphabetical order) list actors whose names are the most recognizable. This isn’t to say that there aren’t other actors in these shows you might know, because there likely are, but I’m just going by who I think are the most famous right now.

And, I’ve included short plot descriptions for each, but they are spoiler-free!

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Pride & Prejudice (1995)

Starring: Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth

Plot: This six-episode miniseries is adapted from the beloved Jane Austen novel, as Pride & Prejudice depicts a family of five daughters navigating the world of love and wealth (or lack thereof) after a few eligible bachelors come to the area.

Details: This was the one that started it all for me. I remember sophomore year of high school, my English teacher was diagnosed with MS, and we watched a lot of movies and miniseries that year. While I’m sad that she was sick, I guess some good ultimately came out of it, because Mrs. Fox had us watch this miniseries during class. I loved it so much that after the first or second episode, I had to know what happened and ended up checking the book out of the library and “reading ahead,” as it were.

I love both the book and the miniseries; and of all the P&P adaptations out there — and I’ve seen a lot — this one comes the closest to capturing the length. breadth, tone and spirit of the novel.

Also, this was my first major introduction to Colin Firth, so…

Rebecca (1997)

Starring: Charles Dance, Diana Rigg (and Ian McDiarmid has a small role)

Plot: Based on the famous book by Daphne Du Maurier, this two-part miniseries tells the story of a young woman who falls in love and marries a widower rather quickly, and ends up discovering how much of a shadow his late wife casts on her world.

Details: If anything good came out of Game Of Thrones, it’s how many talented actors it introduced me to, namely Charles Dance. I don’t know how he’s flown under my radar for so long, given how talented he is! Here, he plays opposite Emilia Fox (the narrator/second Mrs. de Winter), who incidentally has a small role in Pride & Prejudice (1995).

While I haven’t seen Hitchcock’s Rebecca all the way through nor have I read the original novel, I understand that this BBC adaptation is a very faithful one. Overall, I think Dance captures Maxim’s complexity as equal parts sympathetic and villainous, and Fox is perfectly cast as the naive narrator.

Wives & Daughters (1999)

Starring: Michael Gambon, Iain Glen, Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Penelope Wilton

Plot: Based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, this four-part miniseries focuses on a teenage girl as she comes into adulthood and has to deal with unwanted affection, a new step-family, obligations to her friends, and the damaging power of gossip and lies.

Details: I have to admit that I remember seeing the above picture and ones similar to it for this show, and it really doesn’t do it justice. It makes it out to be like The Buccaneers or something, but in reality, it’s much more of an Dickens novel. Sure, it definitely touches on a woman’s role in that society, what was expected of her, what her limitations were, etc.; but there’s definitely a lot of actual plot-related drama going on as well. It discusses fathers and sons more frequently than it does mothers and daughters, to be honest.

Anyway, it’s a fantastic miniseries featuring a lot of people who went on to do more notable things later — definitely a hidden gem in their filmographies!

North & South (2004)

Starring: Richard Armitage, Brendan Coyle, Sinead Cusack, Tim Pigott-Smith

Plot: This four-hour show, adapted from the Gaskell novel of the same name, tells the story of a young woman and her family who move from England’s rural South to a Northern industrial town. As they try to adapt to this new way of life, they find themselves in the midst of an ongoing social war between the town’s manufacturers and workers.

Details: Much like Wives & Daughters, the Gaskell novel is almost a perfect blend of Austen and Dickens, and this miniseries adaptation perfectly captures that. Like much of Dickens’ work, which we’ll talk about in a second, it looks at people across the social strata and the various challenges they face; and like Austen, we follow a female protagonist and her male counterpart who both become self-aware of their own failings during the story. There are other parallels, too, but I don’t want to give anything away.

Also of note, THIS is the miniseries I was talking about in the intro — the one I’ve introduced like seven or eight people to. I remember watching it for the first time on Netflix in 2013 or thereabouts. I was house-sitting for my parents, watching period dramas on their Netflix, and this was recommended to me. I decided to check it out and ended up watching all four hours in one sitting, which is really the only way to do it, IMO. While P&P is definitely my favorite BBC miniseries on this list, I think this one is probably second.

Bleak House (2005)

Starring: Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Denis Lawson, Carey Mulligan

Plot: Based on the Charles Dickens “novel” (I’ve seen a copy — it’s the size of three dictionaries combined), this fifteen-part miniseries is about several interconnected individuals across all walks of society as everyone awaits the outcome of a decades-long court case.

Details: Personally, I think a miniseries like this is the best way to experience Dickens. For many of his works, he was paid by the word or by the chapter, and they really drag on because of that. I’ve never read Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit or Bleak House, but I have seen their miniseries adaptations, all of which I greatly enjoy. So with Bleak House, I can’t speak as to whether it’s faithful to the original text, but it’s a well-made miniseries in its own right.

Along with a phenomenal cast — not all of whom are listed above — this show has great production value. The costumes, the sets/locations, and the cinematography all delineate the stark differences among the characters who live in total poverty, those who are extremely well-off, and those who are in-between.

It also features one of the first literary detectives in Inspector Bucket. Although, unlike his more famous contemporaries, Bucket is a police detective rather than an amateur, consultant or private eye.

And while it is 15 episodes, unlike all of these other miniseries, the episodes are about 23 minutes long, rather than 50-ish. Thus, it’s total runtime is closer to six hours, which isn’t that much longer than Pride & Prejudice (1995). It’s biggest drawback, though, is how many moving parts there are. There are so many characters and everyone ends up being connected to everyone else, so that the family trees and personal relationships look like a spiderweb.

But, at the same time, all the complexity is arguably the miniseries’ greatest strength as well. There’s plenty of drama going on: secrets, scandals, murder, falls from grace, acts of redemption, death, birth, and so on. Again, I have no idea how the book tackles it; but, I think the miniseries does a great job of focusing on certain characters and deciding when to bring minor ones in and when to return them to the background.

On the whole, it’s so well-paced in its reveals, cliffhangers and overall plot, that it really doesn’t feel like six hours.

Jane Eyre (2006)

Starring: Toby Stephens, Ruth Wilson

Plot: Based on the famous Charlotte Bronte novel, this four-episode miniseries depicts an orphan who had a very harsh upbringing coming into her own as a young woman. After leaving school, she finds work as a governess at an almost eerie estate with unexplained phenomena and a very intriguing owner, and she ultimately must find her way through the midst of mystery, growing attachments and heartache.

Details: While Pride & Prejudice (1995) is the first miniseries on this list I watched, Jane Eyre was the first property on this list that I encountered. I read the book in 8th grade and — like P&P — watched the 1995 movie version simultaneously.

Since then, I’ve seen a LOT of adaptations of this story, whether movie or miniseries. And, honestly, it’s really hard to pick a favorite version, because each brings something different to the table. Maybe one captures the atmosphere better, one has a stronger support cast, another’s two leads perfectly capture Jane and Rochester’s looks and demeanor, one has a better production value, while another is more faithful to the novel’s original dialogue.

This particular version has great production value, a talented supporting cast, and serviceable atmosphere; but it definitely takes a few liberties in adapting the original text. And while I think Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson are both too attractive to play Rochester and Jane, and while the personalities they portray aren’t quite on-point with their book counterparts, I think these two have more on-screen chemistry than any other version.

Again, I can’t say that this is my favorite adaptation of the novel Jane Eyre, but then again, I can’t say that I have a favorite one, period. But, I CAN say that it is an incredibly well-done miniseries!

Sense & Sensibility (2008)

Starring: Dominic Cooper, Mark Gatiss, Hattie Morahan, David Morrissey, Dan Stevens, Mark Williams

Plot: Based on the Austen novel, this three-part adaptation shows a mother and three daughters being uprooted from their stately home to live in relative poverty. As they navigate their new situation, they make plenty of friends, including some eligible bachelors who may have lost their hearts to the two eldest sisters.

Details: While I love the 1995 movie version with Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant, I also really enjoy this version as well. In fact, I can’t decide which I like more.

This one certainly has more time with all the characters, and the younger cast captures more of the youthful energy that comes across in the original text. And while the 1995 actors are a little too old for their respective roles, they definitely bring the star power and captivating performances you’d expect from those names. For instance, while I think David Morrissey’s take on Brandon is a good one, it doesn’t really hold a candle to Alan Rickman’s performance, IMO.

Then again, this younger cast maybe doesn’t bring the same level of experience, but they definitely look and act more like these characters should given how young they are in the novel. The sisters, at least, are supposed to be 18 and 16, if I recall correctly.

Anyway, it’s a great adaptation of the story, and admittedly, does include a few aspects of the novel that the 1995 movie version excludes. Also, I do like Dominic Cooper’s take on Willoughby much more than… whoever that guy is in the 1995 version. It’s also very well-paced, as it’s neither too fast nor too slow with its plot developments, and the cliffhangers leave you wanting more at the end of each episode.

And Then There Were None (2015)

Starring: Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Sam Neill, Toby Stephens

Plot: Based on Agatha Christie’s novel that originally had a VERY racist name, this three-episode miniseries is about 10 strangers who are all brought to a remote island under false pretenses, and soon discover they are being murdered one-by-one in the same style as the famous poem.

Details: Hey, an entry that ISN’T a romance! Who would’ve thought.

This miniseries is so unbelievably well-done. The tone, the atmosphere, the performances, the pacing — they are all perfectly executed.

Of all the entries on here, this is the one that I’d argue is objectively the best. Sure, the other ones are all great and mean more to me personally, but I can point out some flaws among them, whether it’s in adapting the original work or something else. Now, granted, I’ve never read the original Christie novel nor have I watched another adaptation; but, from what I’ve researched, this miniseries is very faithful, especially in its ending. The outcome is the same as in the novel, but admittedly, the reveal does have to unfold slightly differently.

I think the reason it’s so good is because it’s so distinct from the others on this list. This miniseries is straight-up horror, with some dramatic and mystery elements thrown in as well.

Plus, this really is an all-star cast, most of whom — as you might’ve noticed — are veterans of these BBC miniseries. Charles Dance, Burn Gorman and Toby Stephens all bring it in this show, as do all the main cast members.

So, while I would certainly recommend any and all of these miniseries to anyone, I’m not sure whether period dramas like these are the Nerds’ cup of tea, so to speak. But, I definitely I need to get them to watch this, because I know they’d all enjoy it.

Articles, Review, Show Time

Show Time: A Statistical Recap of Filmsplosion 2019

Well, it’s been more than a week since Filmsplosion 2019 came out. Did you get a chance to listen to the whole thing yet? If not, don’t read the rest of this post, as we’ll be looking at all the Nerds’ Top 10 lists.

So, in putting this together, I basically assigned every movie a scored based on where it was on a Nerd’s list. If it was their #1 film, I gave it 10 points; if #2, 9 points; and so on until our #10 films received 1 point each. If it was one of eight films that appeared on more than one list, then it has a combined score.

Now, we’ll get to which of those eight movies had the highest average score, but first, we’ll look at the movies that scored the highest overall. If it has an asterisk (*) next to it, it means that it’s a combined score.

So, here are your HIGHEST SCORED MOVIES of the Reel Nerds 2019 Filmsplosion:

  1. Jojo Rabbit* (41)
  2. Avengers: Endgame* (38)
  3. TIE – Knives Out* and Toy Story 4* (20)
  4. Shazam!* (17)
  5. The Irishman* (16)
  6. Parasite* (14)
  7. Us (10)
  8. TIE – Dolemite is My Name, Marriage Story and Spider-Man: Far From Home (9)
  9. TIE – In the Heart of Gold and Joker (7)
  10. TIE – The Amazing Jonathan Documentary, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Always Be My Maybe, Captain Marvel* (6)

So, this list includes all of our eight repeat films. Now, Jojo Rabbi has the highest total score, because it appeared five of the six Nerds’ lists. But, if we look at these eight films’ average scores (total score divided by number of lists it appeared on), it looks a little different.

So, THE AVERAGE SCORES for our eight repeat films are:

  1. Avengers: Endgame (9.5)
  2. Shazam! (8.5)
  3. Jojo Rabbit (8.2)
  4. The Irishman (8)
  5. Parasite (7)
  6. TIE – Knives Out and Toy Story 4 (6.7)
  7. Captain Marvel (3)

Personally, I think it’s bullshit that Shazam! has a higher score than Jojo Rabbit, considering that the former is a passable superhero film at best and the latter is one of the best movies of the year… but that’s just how I feel about it. As Brad reiterated during the episode, our Filmsplosion lists are about which films of the year are our favorites, not which ones are the best.

And, in case you’re wondering, here are THE HIGHEST SCORED SINGLE-APPEARANCE MOVIES:

  1. Us (10)
  2. TIE – Dolemite is My Name, Marriage Story and Spider-Man: Far From Home (9)

Also of note is that six of the Top 10 Highest Grossing Films of 2019, as of Jan. 13, appeared on our lists: Avengers: Endgame (highest-grossing of the year), Spider-Man: Far From Home, Captain Marvel, Toy Story 4, Joker, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And, of those, only three were on more than one list, and they are bolded.

I find it very interesting, although not unsurprising, that the likes of The Lion King (2019’s second-highest grossing film worldwide), Frozen II, Aladdin and Hobbs & Shaw weren’t on anyone’s lists. And, overall, there seems to be a clear difference between what general audiences like and what the Nerds like. Even looking at the next ten highest-grossing movies worldwide in 2019 (#11-20), only one is on anyone’s list — How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Are we turning into snobs?

Perhaps, but I will say that the next 10 highest-grossing movies (#21-30) worldwide includes five of our selections — Alita: Battle Angel, Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood, Shazam!, Knives Out, and Us.

So, of the top 30 highest-grossing movies worldwide, 14 appear on our list. And, even if we look at the domestic list, it’s also 14 even if some of the movies are different from list to list.

But, something to ponder.

One more thing I wanted to examine is how our selected films break down by genre. How many action movies do we have? How many dramas? Super-hero flicks? etc.

So, for this assessment, I went by each film’s most basic genre. Our choices are: animation, action, comedy, documentary, drama, and horror.

I’m also making superhero/comic book its own category because they really are becoming a genre unto themselves, much like Westerns did in the 50s and 60s.

I’m generalizing which category it’s in based on my own experience in either seeing the movie or watching the trailer, and most were pretty straightforward to categorize. There were a few cases where I was uncertain which genre a given movie fell into. Jojo Rabbit is one example: Is it a drama? A comedy?

In those cases, I went by which genre was listed first on its IMDB page. (FYI: Jojo Rabbit’s IMDB page reads: Comedy/Drama/War. Thus, I labeled as a comedy for this exercise.)

So, without further ado, let’s look at the BREAKDOWN OF THE FILMSPLOSION LISTS BY GENRE:

  1. Drama (13 movies)
  2. Comedy (10)
  3. Superhero/comic book (7)
  4. TIE – Action and documentary (5)
  5. Animation (3)
  6. Horror (2)

Thanks to Brad, I put all the Nerds’ Filmsplosion lists below so you can see for yourselves which genre I categorized each movie as (or which one IMDB listed first).

You’ll note that I called Fast Color a drama despite it being about women with superpowers, and if you see the movie, I think you’ll understand why. It doesn’t tackle the subject matter of having superpowers the way that DC and Marvel movies do. Not that that’s a bad thing, but Shazam!, for instance, is much more of a typical superhero/comic book film than Fast Color is. And, while I hesitated whether it was really a drama, I did check the IMDB page, and drama was listed first. Thus, I felt my choice was solidified.

Give the lists a look, in case you forgot what everyone picked. I also think looking over everyone’s lists by genre is very interesting, as you can see some Nerds lean more on one genre than others. Again, not a bad thing — just something to take note of.

Zach

  1. Us – horror
  2. Dolemite is My Name – comedy
  3. The Irishman – drama
  4. Jojo Rabbit – comedy
  5. Knives Out – comedy
  6. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood – comedy
  7. Parasite – drama
  8. Nightmare Cinema – horror
  9. Apollo 11 – documentary
  10. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache – documentary

Henry

  1. Parasite – drama
  2. Marriage Story – drama
  3. The Irishman – drama
  4. At the Heart of Gold – documentary
  5. The Amazing Jonathan Documentary – action, LOL jk
  6. Waves – drama
  7. The Farewell – comedy
  8. Portrait of a Lady on Fire – drama
  9. Honey Boy – drama
  10. Hustlers – comedy

Brad

  1. Avengers: Endgame – superhero
  2. Shazam! – superhero
  3. Jojo Rabbit – comedy
  4. Toy Story 4 – animation
  5. The Peanut Butter Falcon – drama
  6. Ford v. Ferrari – action
  7. El Camino – action
  8. The Bouncer – action
  9. Sword of Trust – comedy
  10. What We Left Behind – documentary

James

  1. Avengers: Endgame – superhero
  2. Jojo Rabbit – comedy
  3. Shazam! – superhero
  4. Knives Out – comedy
  5. Toy Story 4 – animation
  6. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part – animation
  7. Downton Abbey – drama
  8. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – action
  9. Mike Burbiglia: The New One – comedy
  10. Alita: Battle Angel – action

Ryan

  1. Avengers: Endgame – superhero
  2. Spider-Man: Far From Home – superhero
  3. Jojo Rabbit – comedy
  4. Joker – superhero
  5. Toy Story 4 – animation
  6. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – drama
  7. Captain Marvel – superhero
  8. Uncut Gems – drama
  9. Batman vs. TMNT – superhero
  10. Little Monsters – comedy

Corinne

  1. (nothing)
  2. Jojo Rabbit – comedy
  3. Avengers: Endgame – superhero
  4. Knives Out – comedy
  5. Always Be My Maybe – comedy
  6. Official Secrets – drama
  7. Little Women – drama
  8. Fast Color – drama
  9. Captain Marvel – superhero
  10. How to Train Your Dragon 3 – animation

Well, that’s all I had, folks. Hope you enjoyed this statistical breakdown of the 2019 Filmsplosion episode! 🙂

Articles, Review, Show Time

Show Time: “The Rise of Skywalker” Review Part I: A Conversation with Myself

Needless to say I have a lot of feelings about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In fact, I have a lot of conflicting feelings, and I’m ultimately still trying to process this movie.

Thus, this is only the first part of a multi-part review that I plan to do about this movie. In this post, I’ll be doing a back-and-forth format, much like Ryan and I did with the horror movie discussion. Only this time, I’m going to be having this virtual conversation with myself. Like I said: I have a lot of conflicting feelings about the movie, hereafter abbreviated as TROS.

So, let’s meet our contestants:

In one corner is my Inner Critic, who was terribly disappointed in this movie and felt that these new Sequel Trilogy (ST) characters were done a terrible disservice. None of the character arcs were well-done, and some didn’t even get character arcs at all. The entire movie feels rushed and slap-dashed together — like a student who realizes they procrastinated on their homework and now has to write a five-page essay on a book they didn’t read in less than a day. Yeah, maybe there are a few scenes and several performances and other aspects that are well-done, but at the end of the day, TROS is a lackluster end to Star Wars’ Skywalker Saga and all these characters, period.

In the other corner is my Inner Fan, who smiled the whole way through the movie — up until the very end — and loved seeing all these characters back on screen again. The movie gave us little nods — including several very obvious ones — to the Original Trilogy (OT) and the Prequel Trilogy (PT), and can see how this maybe wasn’t the best send-off for the entire saga or sequel trilogy (ST), but wasn’t absolutely terrible. Maybe the execution wasn’t the best, sure, but there’s still a lot of symbolism and heart to enjoy about TROS. And, yes, maybe it feels rushed on first viewing, but didn’t The Last Jedi feel like that the first time as well? Maybe it felt weirdly paced because it was new, but after another few viewings, it doesn’t feel so weird. You’ll know this plot and these characters and lines just as well as you know those in any of the other eight saga films in no time. It wasn’t that bad — people just needed time to process it.

OK, so, real quick, before we get into this… Note that these two will be abbreviated as Critic and Fan from here on out. Everything will be broken down into Topics (specific characters, plot points, etc.), so the discussion doesn’t go all over the place.

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TOPIC: General Points of Agreement

Fan: Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley’s performances and John Williams’ score are the best parts of this movie.

Critic: Absolutely! And that scene with the memory of Han Solo talking to Kylo/Ben is the best scene in the movie.

Fan: Tied with the one where Rey and Ben connect through the Force and she gives him the lightsaber and he does that little shrug.

Critic: Yes. We’re in agreement on that. Also, the movie generally looked good, too. There were some dynamic action scenes and shots that were beautifully lit and framed. The cinematography is actually mostly well-done.

Fan: And, there were lots of great Easter eggs for us super-fans, like Kanan and Ahsoka being among the Jedi voices who speak to Rey; the “I know” that Memory!Han tells Ben; Anakin’s old racing pod being the speeders that the group uses in Pasaana; and Ben flying an old Imperial TIE-fighter to Exegol. And, of course, Wedge motherfucking Antilles showing up! I seriously cheered in the theater when that happened… and no one else did.

Critic: OK. Now, you’ll agree that the movie would’ve been better if it was closer to 3 hours instead of 2?

Fan: Yes, I’ll concede that. It also could’ve benefited from a longer production schedule. We used to wait three years in between movies in both the OT and PT. Why is it that we’re just churning these main saga ones out every two years? Do they really want to burn through them that quickly? Kathleen Kennedy was apparently recommending that this come out Spring 2020, which even I would’ve been OK with. It’s worth taking more time to make a better movie, especially since they had to bring J.J. Abrams on to direct so late in the process. But, of course, that would probably cut down on all the Star Wars merch they wanted people to buy over the winter holidays. *rolls eyes*

Critic: Yes, Disney seems to have had some kind of hand in how this movie played out. What parts and to what extent seems to be the subject of Internet rumors and fan theories. But, something definitely feels off, because I remember hearing that the movie was going to be closer to 3 hours, but then it was suddenly like 2:20. So, stuff was definitely cut; but how late and whether Disney went over JJ’s head is mere speculation. But, yes, we all must kowtow to our Disney overlords now, even Star Wars. People can shit on TLJ all they want, but it didn’t feel like a “horse made by committee” (as James described it on the Filmsplosion episode) as TROS does.

Fan: We’re getting off topic here; this is supposed to be areas of agreement. But, yes, I will admit that it would’ve benefited from a longer production schedule and a longer run-time. After seeing how well Avengers: Endgame did, I don’t understand why Disney or JJ or whoever was unwilling to have a three-hour Star Wars movie.

Critic: I think there’s one more point of contention we can agree on: Ben Solo shouldn’t have died.

Fan: Generally speaking, no. But since that’s what we got, I can see what they were trying to do. Still, you’re right. Even I didn’t want him to die going into the movie.

Critic: Well, since we’re already talking about his death, let’s really get into it here.

TOPIC: Ben Solo’s Death

Fan: Like I said, I didn’t want him to die. But, the way he died was so beautiful. He came back from literal hell to rescue the woman he loves, and sees that she’s dead. What else was he supposed to do? The fact that he’s willing to die to bring Rey back shows that the Kylo Ren persona is completely gone. He’s on the road to redemption, at the very least.

Critic: Oh please. His death makes no sense. In fact, her death makes no sense. If they’re a Dyad, why is it one of them can live without the other? Ben was alive while she was dead, initially, and now Rey is alive while he is “dead.” (Although, can we both agree he’s probably in the World Between Worlds?) Also, they never really establish how exactly the Force-healing works. Do you have to give your life to bring someone else back from the dead?

Fan: Yes. In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine clearly used Padme’s life energy to bring Anakin/Vader back to life. So, it has to work on the “only death pays for life” system, like in Game of Thrones. It’s an 1:1 equivalent. Ben was alive, Rey was dead; so he gives her his entire life energy to bring her back.

Critic: OK, but then why is one allowed to live without the other? Aren’t they a Dyad? Shouldn’t both of them die if one dies? They literally share the same soul.

Fan: I like what someone on the Internet theorized: he’s not part of the Living Force anymore (ie, he’s dead), but without Rey, he can’t become one with the Cosmic Force (ie, he can’t be a Force-ghost). That’s why he’s not a Force-ghost at the end. He can’t become one until Rey dies, and the two halves of the one soul will be reunited in Cosmic Force. Or whatever. I hope the novelization or director’s commentary or something helps clear that up. Also, because you brought up the World Between Worlds … maybe Leia saved him from totally dying? Maybe he would’ve died but then Leia saves him — hence that shot of her body disappearing — but she only had enough energy for him to go to the WBW and not be able to completely revive him. If it works on the “only death can pay for life” / 1:1 equivalent system, Leia was already dead. Whatever energy she still had in her body or whatever wouldn’t have been enough to bring Ben completely back to life, BUT maybe she did have enough to keep him from totally dying (Force-ghost and all) and instead send him to the WBW, where Rey can presumably save him, in time.

The World Between Worlds, as seen in the “Rebels” series

Critic: Maybe. But, then the movie should’ve made that clearer. Why did Leia disappear when Ben did? Was it just for the fan theories? Why didn’t she disappear when she died, like Yoda did? And, also, and this is my biggest gripe with his death: WHY WAS IT SO QUICK AND SHORT AND BASICALLY GLOSSED OVER? Rey watches him vanish and… that’s it! At least in Return of the Jedi, Luke had a moment with his father as he died, and then we got resolution where Luke gave Anakin/Vader a Jedi funeral (by burning his body). Here, Ben disappears and we don’t get any indication that Rey mourned him, or thought about him, or anything. He’s never brought up again by her or anyone else! It was so quick!!! Why?! He was a co-main character. Both JJ and Rian Johnson have described Rey and Kylo/Ben as both halves or both sides of the protagonist. Could you imagine Rey dying for real and us not getting any kind of resolution or beat for us AND the characters to process and react? It’s just like he falls over, he disappears, and whoop!, that’s it — onto the next scene of Rey flying away in the X-Wing. *screams into the void* Even when she died IN THIS VERY MOVIE, we got shots of her falling over, lying there, the life leaving her eyes, Ben coming over to her, cradling her in his arms and processing the fact that she’s gone. And, even then, SHE CAME BACK TO LIFE! If anything, Rey’s death should’ve been shorter and Ben’s should’ve been longer — not the other way around.

Fan: To be fair, he had died like twice before that in the movie. How long do you really want them to linger on a character who’s already met his end—

Critic: THEY GAVE MORE TIME TO REY MOURNING CHEWIE THAN THEY DID TO HER MOURNING BEN, WHO WAS HER LITERAL SOULMATE!!!

Fan: Yes, you’re right. But, again, we don’t know whether he’s really dead… Is he in the WBW? Does his spirit live on in Rey? Remember in TLJ, when she sees the shadows in the mirror, and people speculated on the Internet that the shadows were her and Kylo/Ben… The two shadows become one, and then she sees the reflection of herself!! Maybe it was foreshadowing? The two halves of the soul have merged in Rey. Maybe Kylo’s half of the soul is now in her. His spirit is in her. He lives on in her! Maybe his body disappears because his physical form is no longer relevant, because his soul is still alive. Rey carries both halves — the whole soul — now.

Critic: Maybe. But, looking at it through the cinematic language of Star Wars, he fell over and disappeared, and only dead people do that. Obi-Wan disappeared, and Luke read that as him dying, even though his spirit lived on; same with Yoda; same with Luke and Leia. They are dead. They’ve basically moved onto this universe’s equivalent of the afterlife. If Ben’s half of the soul or whatever lives on in Rey, they should’ve communicated that better, because the general audience will just think he’s dead.

Fan: Yes, that’s true, but the Dyad situation is so unique in-universe; and because of that, we fans have no real idea about how any of this works. It will be interesting to see what it says in the novelization…

Critic: OK, we’ve debated the mechanics of his death enough. Let’s talk about Ben’s death more in terms of his character arc and how it fits into Star Wars as a whole…

Fan: OK, let’s. Kylo Ren was clearly meant to be the ST’s Darth Vader equivalent. He even says that he basically wants to follow in Vader’s footsteps. Not Anakin’s. Vader’s. He speaks to Vader’s helmet, because he wants to be a Dark Side badass in TFA; and if he’s following Vader’s story in this movie, which he clearly is, he’s supposed to die saving someone he loves from the universe’s Big Bad. Which he does! He comes back to the side of the light and good, stands up to the epitome of evil, and sacrifices himself to save his loved one. Just as Anakin did.

Critic: Except that Adam Driver was specifically told that Kylo/Ben’s arc was going to be Anakin’s but in reverse!

Fan: Meaning the reverse of what Anakin did in the prequels. Yes, the whole “Anakin loved the woman until he wanted the power; Kylo/Ben wanted the power until he loved the woman.” He’s doing reverse of Anakin in the PT, but Anakin Skywalker doesn’t really appear in the OT until the last few minutes of ROTJ. In the OT, he’s Darth Vader. So, yes, Ben was doing the opposite of Anakin in the PT, but following in Vader’s footsteps in the OT.

Critic: Except that doing the same thing again is so lazy and boring. People got onto the TFA for basically being a soft reboot of A New Hope. Are we now sitting through a soft reboot of Return of the Jedi? Do something different! They set up this whole Force Dyad / yin-yang symbolism with Rey and Kylo/Ben. Do something with it! Have Rey and Ben defeat Palpatine together using the Force in balance… Whatever. Ben dying spits in the face of Han and Leia’s sacrifice — and even Luke’s to some degree. All of them died trying to turn him away from the Dark Side, and trying to convince him that he could still come home. Yes, Kylo wanted to follow in Vader’s footsteps in TFA; but his whole arc was supposed to be about him coming home. Han and Leia both died trying to tell him that. If he’s doing Anakin’s arc from the prequels but in reverse, that means that he starts off with nothing but the Dark Side, and ends with a home and a family. Remember Anakin’s whole arc starts about when he’s taken away from his home and his family. We need to bring this thing full-circle. Do something new and let Ben live! That’s more interesting. Imagine the conversations we could’ve gotten between a Redeemed!Ben and Lando, Chewie, Poe and Finn.

Critic (continued): Star Wars’ whole thing is Fairy Tales In Space! Ben is the fucking prince of this story. Even JJ said so in the TFA commentary. He was someone who was basically brainwashed into being evil. OK, maybe not actually brainwashed, but he was manipulated from birth into being evil. His family didn’t know how to deal with him and the only one who seemingly did was Snoke. He was an abuse victim — groomed from a young age into thinking that his family didn’t understand him (which, to be fair, was true) and that they didn’t love him, and that his abuser was the only one who did. He never sought power, as Anakin seemingly did. He sought acceptance and love. That’s why when he finds it with Rey in TLJ, he’s more than willing to kill Snoke to save her. Plus, after joining Snoke and doing all the bullshit with the First Order, he feels like he can’t come back, as he tells Rey in TROS. But, of course, Leia, Han and Luke all either do or say something that indicates that THEY don’t feel that way — that Ben can come back, that there’s always hope. Ben dying flies in the face of that. Give him a chance to prove himself! Give him a chance to atone, to change and grow, and most importantly — to come home to Rey, to their family, to the Light.

Critic (continued): We can have the likes of Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sasuke in Naruto, Regina in Once Upon A Time (a show about fairy tales, btw), and Kenshin in Rurouni Kenshin all get a chance to atone for their past crimes — mass-murder, assassinations, betrayal, war crimes, and even patricide, etc. — so why not Ben Solo, who as done all of those things too? The ‘redemption via death’ is so cheap and lazy, and we’ve already done it with Anakin/Vader. The Powers That Be needed to stop being cowards and let him live! #BenSoloDeservedBetter

Critic (continued): In summary: Ben dying doesn’t feel hopeful, which is Star Wars’ whole ~thing~; it makes the Original Trio’s sacrifices pointless; it’s unoriginal and uninteresting; and it means he’ll never have true redemption… just a Vader-like realization to stop being evil.

Fan: OK, there’s a lot to respond to there, and we do need to move on eventually. But, I’ll say that in your examples of other redemption arcs… all of those are TV shows, which have waaaaaay more time to set up, execute and deliver on their redemption arcs. I mean, hell, Rurouni Kenshin even starts 10 years into Kenshin’s self-imposed atonement process. He’s basically a good guy the whole time. Sure, his past sins are touched upon, but we never get to see him do those things except in flashbacks. I’ll concede that they set up Ben/Kylo as this conflicted character from the start. But, if they wanted the audience to feel like he deserved redemption, they needed to start his actual redemption process waaaay earlier in the trilogy. Like, maybe at the end of TLJ, he doesn’t become Supreme Leader but allows Hux to. Or he needs to not be evil at all in TROS. If we’re following Zuko’s example, the third movie needed to start with him being totally conflicted, not do anything evil at all, and have him symbolically killing the Kylo Ren persona halfway through. Again, they clearly wanted him to do the Vader thing of being the trilogy’s iconic “villain” (and I use that term loosely) but then also have a realization at the end and him dying at peace because he was able to sacrifice himself for someone he loved — not redeemed but simply at peace. I mean, Vader was basically Space!Hitler for 25+ years… the one act of throwing his master down a pit to save his son didn’t redeem him.

Critic: Maybe not, but he’s still a Force-ghost at the end with the likes of Obi-Wan and Yoda, who never committed any large-scale atrocities as far as we know. The Force afterlife seems to operate under the Good Thief / Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard logic: show remorse for your misdeeds, even if it’s at the very end of your life, and you’ll still end up with everyone else. Anakin showing up with Yoda and Obi-Wan shows that he was redeemed, to some degree, whether it was in the eyes of the Force, Luke, himself, or others.

Fan: Yes, but you have to sell the audience on Ben’s redemption. Vader got the ‘redemption by death’ route, so he doesn’t have to work as hard to earn a good standing in the audience’s eyes. But, if you want Ben to live at the end, you have to do a looooooot to sell the audience on him being 100 percent redeemed.

Critic: Maybe not 100 percent redeemed. But, yes, you’d have to do the Sasuke thing of showing that he recognizes all his past misdeeds and plans to do things on his own accord as a way of atoning for that — even if we don’t get to see those things ourselves. Anyway, we need to move on, because we still have plenty to talk about…

TOPIC: The “Rey Palpatine” Revelation

Fan: Let me first say that I don’t like how the movie retconned TLJ’s idea that Rey was a nobody and that her parents were horrible people. Did I just say something bad about this movie? *fake gasp*

Fan (continued): But, the revelation of Rey being a Palpatine does play into this yin-yang thing that Rey has going with Kylo/Ben. She’s descended from the greatest Dark but chooses to embody the Light, and he’s descended from the greatest Light but chooses to embody the Dark. They literally complement each other. Plus, it definitely plays into the whole soap opera / fairy tales In Space! thing. She’s an orphan who’s trying to find her family and discovers she’s actually royalty. She’s basically Anastasia (from the animated movie, not the real-life person), except that her grandparent turns out to be a giant asshole who wanted her back for the wrong reason. Plus, it also plays into the soap opera-esque revelations from the OT. We had five characters who were human, white and appeared in every OT movie: Luke, Leia, Han, Obi-Wan and Vader/Anakin. And we find out that three of those five are related and then Han basically marries into that family; so really four out of the five are related by blood or by marriage.

Critic: Exactly. We had such a small pool of people in the OT, and yet they all turned out to be related. This universe is huge! Why does everyone have to be related? Why can’t Rey just be her own person? Ben was already related to four of those five people you’re talking about in the OT, and he was named after the fifth one (Obi-Wan / Ben Kenobi). Rey being a nobody was a nice contrast to this crazy-ass lineage that Ben has. He is literally related to all of the main characters in Star Wars — Anakin/Vader, Padme, Luke, Leia, and Han. And again, he’s named after Obi-Wan. I love all the characters in this saga, but sometimes we need to be willing to go beyond it and create new characters. There are thousands of planets, and yes, not all of them are inhabited by humans, but it seems like a lot of them are.

Critic (continued): Plus, it just feels like a way to appeal to dumb-asses in the audience who don’t know how Force sensitivity works. Everyone was like “She’s so strong!!! She has to be related to someone!” When TFA came out, people were speculating she was Ben’s sister, his cousin, another vergeance in the Force / a reincarnation of Anakin (which I actually kinda liked that theory), and then — of course — that she was a Palpatine. To quote Han Solo: “That’s not how the Force works!” Force sensitivity is basically like mutations in the X-Men franchise. It happens at random to individuals of all genders, races, species, etc. Not everyone in this universe is Force-sensitive, but it’s not something that has to be inherited. Granted, it was that case for Luke, Leia, Ben and now — apparently — Rey, but they seem to be more of the exception than the rule. (Although, the movie seems to imply that Rey’s father / Palpatine’s son wasn’t Force-sensitive, and that it skipped a generation. And that’s something we haven’t seen before. Does this universe have its own version of Squibs? That’s something I’d rather see a movie about than Palpatine’s granddaughter.) Now, of course, her being so powerful in the Force does make her being related to another powerful Force-user more likely, but not a necessity. After all, they reveal the whole Force Dyad thing in this movie. If you wanted an explanation as to why she’s so powerful, there it is. Hell, even Snoke explained it in TLJ as Rey being Kylo’s equal in the Light. Boom! Only explanation needed.

Fan: OK, but I think we can both agree that Rey being able to shoot Force lightning with no Dark Side training — just by simple virtue of her being related to a Sith — is absolutely stupid. Dooku specifically said in Attack of the Clones that it was something that he had to be taught.

Critic: Yes, and speaking of — if she absolutely had to be related to a pre-existing character, why couldn’t it be Qui-Gon or Dooku? OK, Qui-Gon probably wouldn’t have broken the Jedi Code to have an affair with anyone, but I could believe someone hooking up with Christopher Lee-looking Dooku than old gremlin post-ROTS Palpatine. Plus, that’s now the $1 million question: Who the hell had sex with Palpatine? That is an infinite “ew,” even if it was consensual.

Fan: I have no idea, but I wondered whether Rey’s dad was merely a clone of Palpatine but wasn’t Force-sensitive. Maybe that’s why he was allowed to live a relatively normal life until Palpatine found out about Rey being Force-sensitive. I mean, there was a line in this movie about only the Sith having the ability to clone (which, LOL, they totally forgot about Kamino), and there are other Star Wars properties about various clones of Vader. But, yes, if Rey’s dad was naturally made and born, then I’m morbidly curious to find out how that all came about.

Critic: Well, anyway, let’s move on and tackle one more topic in this first review post:

TOPIC: Palpatine’s Return

Fan: I definitely don’t have any problem with Palpatine returning. I know I’ve seen some people saying that it made Anakin/Vader’s sacrifice in ROTJ worthless, but it doesn’t really. Palpatine was technically dead for the bulk TROS, and only truly comes back to life when he uses Rey and Ben’s Force Dyad energy to restore himself. By killing Palpatine in ROTJ, Anakin/Vader still saved his son not only from Palpatine’s Force lightning but also from dying on the Death Star when the Rebels blew it up. Even if the First Order still rose up from the ashes of the Old Empire and Palpatine’s followers found a way to bring him back in a zombie-type form, Anakin/Vader’s act still — at the very least — saved his son’s life and also helped the galaxy find a measure of peace under the New Republic, even if only temporarily. But, anyway, Palpatine being back as a sort of half-dead zombie or whatever does help bring everything full-circle. Episode I was called The Phantom Menace, referring to Palpatine, and he was the Big Bad of the entire PT and — to some degree — the OT. It makes sense that he remain the Big Bad of the ST. He didn’t really show up in the OT until ROTJ; he just acts through subordinates like Tarkin and Vader the first two movies. Why couldn’t he do the same here, where he acted through Snoke the first two movies?

Critic: Yeah, I actually don’t mind Palpatine being back in general, but how he’s brought back is too vague. He’s not dead, but he’s not really alive either, but, he can still use the Force? So, why does he need for Kylo or Rey to kill him so his spirit can pass into them? He seems to be doing pretty well with his half-dead zombie body if he can lift a giant fleet of Star Destroyers out of the ground without any strain. Why the urgent need for a new body? Is his current zombie body failing or deteriorating? Does he just not like having to be tied down to that machine thing? I don’t see why he can’t just send the Final Order fleet out to wreck shit and then just rule from Exegol. He can clearly communicate with his followers aboard the Star Destroyers via hologram…

Fan: I imagine he’s trying to eliminate his biggest competition by having Rey or Kylo kill him to let his spirit pass into them. Kylo would be his biggest threat politically, as he’s the Supreme Leader of the First Order and has a bunch of resources at his disposal. And then Rey would be his biggest threat spiritually, as she represents all of the Jedi. Overall, he seems to be most interested in carrying on the legacy of the Sith; and he seemingly can’t do that in his half-dead body. Hard to have an apprentice or whatever when you’re a zombie. By basically possessing Kylo or Rey — because I’m sure the goal of ritual would’ve been the same for Kylo as it was for Rey — he ensures that the ‘spirit’ of the Sith live on. He only becomes interested in coming back to life himself when he finds out about the Dyad. Before that, he never really considered ‘coming back to life’ an option, because he is dead to some degree.

Critic: About that, if Palpatine was the one behind Snoke, how did he not know about Rey and Ben/Kylo’s Force-bond beforehand?

Fan: He seems to have created Snoke through some kind of dark science experimentation. It doesn’t necessarily mean he was controlling him or possessing him and thus knew everything he knew, a la Voldemort and Quirrell from Harry Potter.

Critic: I liked that idea better — of him operating more like Voldemort and being more of a spiritual antagonist rather than a physical one. The idea that he could theoretically jump from body to body ad infinitum would make for a compelling showdown, and would explain a lot of things — like where Snoke came from and why he suddenly wants Rey or Kylo’s body.

Fan: Just because it didn’t live up to your predictions doesn’t mean you should hate on it. Plus, the movie is trying to do its own thing.

Critic: That’s true, but don’t you also get the sense that the whole Force Dyad thing was brought up just to restore Palpatine to life? Yes, it does explain a lot about Ben and Rey’s connection in TFA and TLJ, but Palpatine’s whole dialogue in that scene just made it sound like he was justifying its existence: “The life force of your bond — a Dyad in the Force. A power like life itself. Unseen for generations. And now, the power of two restores the one, true Emperor.” He’s telling the audience that this thing is rare and powerful — that’s why it’s never been mentioned before in any other Star Wars property (to my knowledge) and that why he can now use it to come back to life. They basically just introduced this concept for the sole purpose of bringing him back to life when he was already super-powerful as a zombie. And then they kill him off like 5 minutes later! How is him being alive any more dangerous than him being half-dead? He can shoot Force lightning from his fingertips powerful enough to bring down hundreds of ships. Whoop-de-doo! Him lifting the new Sith fleet out of the ground earlier in the film was more impressive, especially when you consider that Exegol has plenty of natural lightning already. Maybe he was just doing something in the vein of Sasuke’s Kirin jutsu, and just controlling the lightning that’s already present in the atmosphere. Plus, apparently anyone can use Force lightning even if they’re just related to Sith and not actually Sith themselves. *rolls eyes*

Fan: Well, as you admitted, the Dyad revelation addresses Rey and Kylo/Ben’s Force connection more so than it is a deus ex machina to fully restore Palpatine. He represents a threat regardless of whether he’s half-dead or restored to life, but him being alive is definitely a bad thing long-term. If Rey hadn’t taken him down right then and there, who knows what he could’ve or would’ve done! Again, it’s not so much about Palpatine as an individual living on, but the Sith living on through him or his spirit or whatever. Also, if you watch him use that Force lightning, all of that seemingly comes out of his fingertips. Sure, I guess it’s possible that he could be channeling some lightning already present in the atmosphere, but the film seems to indicate that it’s his power doing it, and his alone. And, maybe raising the fleet earlier is more impressive, but he also hits all the Resistance/ally ships without hitting any of the Sith fleet, and that’s pretty impressive on its own.

Critic: I guess. I still wish they would’ve given us clearer details on how and when he was resurrected, why he needs to come back to life if he’s so powerful and what exactly his limitations are as a zombie. Or hell, exactly what he is would’ve been nice. Is he a zombie? Is he the Original Sidious, and the Palpatine Vader destroyed was Sidious’ clone, as Red Letter Media theorized? There are so many questions and major plot points that are just glossed over.

Fan: Probably because it’s not really important. Evil people gonna do evil shit, and it doesn’t really matter how, because good still wins in the end. 🙂

###

OK, I think that’s plenty of discussion for this first part of the review. Next time, I’ll be continuing this conversation with myself as I examine Rey’s arc, Finn & Poe, TROS’ tone and the saga’s conclusion… possibly more. TBD. Keep your eyes peeled for that.

Articles, Review, Show Time

Show Time: My Top 10 Movies of the 2010s

With Filmsplosion 2019 almost upon us, and a new decade beginning, I though it’d be fun to take a look back over the movies that the 2010s gave us. There were many that were fun and adventurous; there were some that were thought-provoking and awe-inspiring; and there were several that tried too hard and others that didn’t try enough. It happens.

So, in putting this list together, I chose the entries based on a combination of cultural significance, overall quality and personal preference. I weighted cultural significance about 10 percent; overall quality about 30 percent; and personal preference the remaining 60-ish percent. Basically, I went to my shelf of DVDs and BluRays and looked at what movies from the last 10 years were so good that I decided to buy them (which is a high honor from me).

Then, in determining my order for the list, it was basically just reflecting on how much each one impacted me whether physically through the effects, animation, and cinematography or emotionally through the performances, character and story.

Again, keep in mind that this is *my* list. It’s not a definitive THE BEST MOVIES OF THE DECADE post. It’s just the movies from the 2010s that I enjoyed the most.

So, let’s get started…

10. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

I’ve always loved sci-fi movies, especially ones that deal with the concept of time. And while I’m not a huge fan of Groundhog Day, I loved this concept of “Groundhog Day meets War of the Worlds” or what-have-you. The action is great; I love all the performances and little comedic bits; but most of all the story is compelling. You have a man who keeps repeating not only a tragic defeat over and over again, but who also continually watches the woman he’s grown to love die over and over again. It’s such an interesting and emotional concept that, in that final scene, he’s a stranger to her but he’s lived thousands of days at her side. It’s like the real-world situation of “losing” a loved one to Alzheimer’s or dementia. For an action/sci-fi movie, it has a lot of heart and humor, and I enjoy it tremendously.

9. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

While it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, I remember appreciating how stunning this movie looked and how powerful its action scenes were. You felt like you were in the midst of the chases, the explosions and the fights. I think by keeping the characters relatively quiet, especially Max, it allowed us to get to know them through their actions. Also, I appreciate how its narrative subverts a lot of the ‘action hero’ cliches, by having Furiosa be the ‘main character’ and Max be her side-kick (sort of). And, honestly, it’s a very feminist movie without feeling on-the-nose about it, or at least overly preachy. Amazing action, a well-crafted story, and characters you invest in. What more could you want?

8. The King’s Speech (2010)

You guys know I’m a huge Colin Firth fan, right? So, of course this was going to be on here. It’s basically a movie that was made for me. British period drama? Check. Colin Firth in the lead role? Check. Other talented British actors supporting him? Check. Discusses the importance of speech and the power of an individual voice? Check. FUCK, this movie is so good! (Did you see what I did there?) On top of this being a story that I feel needed to be told, I love the way Firth and Geoffrey Rush play off each other and the friendship that their characters form over the course of the movie. Does it seem a bit Oscar-bait-y? Sure, but I still love enough that I own it. And, as I said, that’s a high honor because I don’t really buy movies all that often, surprisingly enough.

7. Your Name / Kimi No Na Wa (2016)

Holy shit is this movie amazing. I honestly don’t want to talk about it too much for fear of spoiling it for anyone, but just every aspect of it is so well-done. The animation is beyond stunning; and the characters, the music, the humor and the story are all perfectly crafted. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to check it out right now!!!

6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (2018)

Much like Your Name, there really isn’t a weak link in this whole movie. Everything works, and it all comes together so beautifully. The music, the animation(!!!), the voice performances, and the character arcs are all amazing. I’m pretty sure I’ve cried every time I’ve seen it. I love all of these characters so much, and I cannot wait for the sequel.

5. Toy Story 3 (2010)

I really wanted to put other Disney and Pixar movies on this list, including Coco, Zootopia, Frozen and Moana. But, the reason why I picked this one over any others is because of how it resonated with me. I remember seeing this in the theater the summer between my first and second year of college, and man, did I really feel it! Like Andy, I too had recently moved away from home, leaving the toys of my childhood behind. And the fact that I had grown up with these movies and had Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys of my own (from HappyMeals or whatever) made me connect with their journey and Andy’s. And that final scene where Andy and Bonnie play with the toys and Woody says “So long, partner” as Andy finally drives away… that was the ending to the trilogy that I needed. For me, there is no Toy Story 4. That scene stays with me so much emotionally because it was the perfect note to go out on.

4. Juliet, Naked (2018)

I’ve already raved about this movie in my “What Makes a Romcom Good?” post, so I’d recommend giving that a read. But, TL;DR — This is a fucking good romcom, and we need more like it. The minute I walked out of the theater after seeing it the first time, I thought, “I’m definitely getting that on BluRay,” and I did, and I’ve watched it like three or four times already.

3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

I was very tempted to put Avengers (2012) on the list, because I remember going to see that in the theater my final month of college, but I truly feel that Infinity War is a better movie. The stakes feel more real; we get nice little beats with the 20+ characters from all around the galaxy; and it serves as a great ‘origin story’ for Thanos, the Big Bad of this entire universe. Endgame is fun, Avengers started the whole thing, and I even like Age of Ultron, but this takes the cake for me as the best of the MCU movies.

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars is back, baby! And without a doubt, the best of the Disney Star Wars movies in my mind is The Last Jedi. While it definitely has flaws and The Force Awakens was a good start to the sequel trilogy, I appreciate the amount of character work that went into this movie. I’d argue that five characters in TLJ have noticeable development and growth, which is a lot when compared to The Rise of Skywalker, which developed one character (maybe two) and even then not very well. TLJ also gave us several images that are now iconic in Star Wars history, including the Throne Room scene and Holdo’s lightspeed maneuver. I also appreciate that it had definite themes, beyond something rudimentary like “family” or “identity.” I wish it received more love from certain sections of the Star Wars fanbase, but I appreciate and love it and wished TROS had taken up where it left off, instead of retconning and taking us “back to formula”. (Can you tell that I’m still bitter about TROS?)

1. Arrival (2016)

I cannot begin to tell you how much and how profoundly this movie moved me after seeing it for the first time. I remember I got back home from the theater, went for a walk, came back, found out I’d absentmindedly locked the door behind me and had forgotten to take a key, and — because my roommate was out of town and my landlord was unavailable until the next day — I ended up having a friend pick me up so I could stay at her place overnight. That’s how much this movie impacted me emotionally when I first saw it. Everything about it is something that’s special or important to me. As I said, I love sci-fi movies, especially ones that deal with the concept of time; I love language and studying how it shapes us and how we see our world; I love the idea of aliens actually being a mechanism for challenging how we think of ourselves; and I love the idea of free will and choosing a life of love even if it ends tragically. The amazing visuals, the music, the character work, and the questions and themes it poses all land in such a way that, when I asked myself, “What’s my #1 movie of the decade?”, Arrival was my first and only answer. Of all the movies on my list, this is the one that was on there first and never changed positions when I was assembling my entries. Because, in my opinion, this IS the best movie of the 2010s — not just my favorite — and nothing else comes close for me. I know that’s not what this list is about, but that’s what I objectively think.

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So those are my Top 10 films of the 2010s. Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I’m curious to hear what your favorite movies of the decade are. Do you have a clear #1 as I did? Do you have a list of 3 or 5 or 10 that you love but can’t rank one over the other? If so, feel free to email your movie or list of movies to the Nerds at reelnerds@gmail.com, and they’ll read it on the air during an upcoming episode. Or, post them as a comment on the Facebook page. Even if we’re not doing a 2010s Filmsplosion episode (because that would be a lot right after 2019 Filmsplosion), we still want to hear from you!

Cheers!

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