A Decade in Celluloid; Films of the 2010's

[Your Vest Friend]

Okay, so I am not the biggest film buff here by a long shot (barely watch films TBH), but I still thought it would be interesting for people to reflect on their film experiences in 2019 and, as a natural extension, the entire decade. What you liked, what you disliked, and just generally how you think the decade has gone. 

I'll start my own take by contextualising my experience with cinema entering 2010. I was in my last year of college, and up to that point my cinema experience had been entirely controlled by my parents. Sure, I could ask them if I could see a certain picture, but we rarely had time to do it, and as a result any films seen were mostly through television or bought by them on DVD. But when I started University at the tail end, I suddenly had all the spending power, so it became a chance to see what I wanted when I wanted. As such, this is the first decade I've felt invested in the still admittedly few films I've watched. 

In terms of how the decade went, generally I was able to see films I was interested in so I got a lot out of it. It gets patchy in places as my economic circumstances influence how much I'm actually able to see, but that's why I pick and choose carefully. This kinda get murky by the end of the decade but...eh, you'll see. 

2010

Since this was the first year of my independence, I did go a bit extra compared to subsequent years. Not that it means much since I still don't see that many films, but whatever.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 1: Starting with an (half) ending obviously. It was alright. I remember going out partway through for a leak. Otherwise I remember the Dobby scene and that's basically it. Truth be told, I wasn't as interested in Harry Potter's darker turn, so while Philosopher's Stone is my fave, I enjoy 2-4 a lot, and then I start to struggle recalling the rest because it gets almost completely swallowed up in darkness. 

Toy Story 3: Another ending (well, it was before Toy Story 4). This one was pretty fantastic. I still prefer Toy Story 2 to it but definitely a strong outing and solid way to round out the series.

Tangled: I don't actually bother to keep up with DIsney films nowadays surprisingly, but I did get Tangled on DVD and it was pretty enjoyable! I especially felt the music was surprisingly seamless despite definitely embracing more of the pop trappings (something I can't say for, say, Frozen). Not one of all time favourites though. 

Alice in Wonderland (2010): Ignoring that this would never be a patch on the 1951 version for me, this was still dreadful. It managed to turn a story based on being strange into a cookie cutter hero's journey, and it was so boring, I nearly fell asleep watching it. I know this is only 2010, but I would call it a strong contender for my worst film of the decade. 

Shrek Forever After: I can't believe this was in this decade as well. Anyway, I had fun with this one. Having Shrek of all people get into time twisty shenanigans to confront his discontent with family life is not what I would have envisioned him doing, but it executes it in an entertaining and even emotional way. 

Despicable Me: Truthfully, not sat down to see this one per se, but my parents love it so it's on often enough that I've managed to piece together a whole viewing. I can take it or leave it, not won over by the dynamics in the film. 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: Again not one I've sat down to see formally, but dad loves it so it's been on often enough. Definitely not my thing, but I think I'd be okay with it as popcorn fluff. Certainly doesn't seem as boring as Alice. 

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: I had a ton of fun with this one when it came out. Aside from the premise, it was bombastic and riveting. May have made Scott a bit too sympathetic though.

2011

2011 in comparison was much quieter, but I feel had one of the heaviest hitters of the decade to make up for it. 

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2: I actually like this one better than the first part, but otherwise it's mostly the same deal again; too mired in darkness for its own good. 

Rango: Now we're talking! I had a reptile bias going in anyway, but it is honestly great enough to stand out even without that. It's an interesting take on a genre I would otherwise completely ignore, the designs complement the dreary and gritty tone perfectly, and it's just a riot to watch. One of my favourites of all time. 

Puss in Boots: The one people forget about. Honestly I did too until I looked up the 2011 film release schedule. I remember it being alright, but it obviously didn't wow me if I struggled to recall it. 

A Monster in Paris: It's pretty neat, especially for a film outside the scope of the mainstream. It's a pretty interesting story too, what with science gone wrong resulting in giant singing fleas and a murder plot befitting Agatha Christie.

2012

I remember this year being one of the more active for my film-going. At the very least, it had more than one hit for me. 

Wreck-It Ralph: Let's get this one out of the way first; I saw this one because it was Disney doing video games, and it had Sonic and Bowser in it. What we ended up with was a touching story about a guy trying to prove to himself he can be more than his given status in life, while forging friendships along the way. Ralph's a great lead to follow, the other characters are fun, this is one of two films with satisfying twists to the villain, and the soundtrack is a banger. Seriously, I still occasionally find myself singing Sugar Rush. 

ParaNorman: Little known fact; I love stop-motion animation. It just has this air all to itself, and ParaNorman uses that well to tell its bizarre tale of a boy who can talk to ghosts and how he needs to utilise it to save his town. I think it strikes a good balance between a dark tone and a comedic edge, and I especially like how all of the towns' jerk tendencies are addressed at the core of the conflict, and how it all resolves. 

The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists!: This year really spoilt with the stop-motion goodness. Pirates is hilarious and a very goofy satire of 19th century events.  You can't help but fall in love with the Pirate Captain and his crew. Outside of the Wallace and Gromit franchise, this is Aardman's best work since Chicken Run.

Brave: I actually managed to catch this on television. I'm actually going to go against the grain and say that I liked this one. It's a lot more stoic than other Disney output (yeah, okay, it's Pixar but they're kinda interchangeable by this point) but I did enjoy the mother and daughter dynamic the film was going for. 

Ice Age: Continental Drift: Yeah, I was dragged to this. It...wasn't unbearable. The pirate crew were amusing at times. That's about it. 

Men in Black III: It was better than 2, that's for sure. Otherwise, alright but in hindsight pretty forgettable. 

Rise of the Guardians: Another one I had to look up to remember that I had seen it. I remember liking the premise and the unique takes on the different holiday mythologies, but I could not tell you anything about the plot now. I guess it just didn't do much to stand out in that department. 

Hotel Transylvania: More from seeing chunks like Despicable Me. Unlike that franchise, I think this film actually has something decent to offer. Pretty creative premise done in a stylish and amusing way. 

2013

This is when slowdown starts to kick in again. Bear mind that 2013 was my last year of University, so I would have been studying for my final exams, completing my dissertation and entering the job market for the first time. 

Monsters University: Speaking of which, here's this one. It was cute, inconsistencies with the original aside. I especially liked that while Randall was indeed a cutie when he was younger, they didn't try to play him overly woobie and instead made it clear he set up his own fall. Otherwise, the original is definitely superior but this one is cozy. 

Despicable Me 2: Like the original I've not sat down to see it but I've caught enough bits and pieces of it to form the whole thing. And from that, I can't say it'd be something I'd be interested in seeing in one sitting. Seems very cliche (which is actually a pretty rare thing for me to level at a film this decade). 

The Croods: I wanted to like this more than I do (I mean it has something called a Crocopup, why would I not?), but ultimately it's a pretty meh film. I don't remember that much happening in it, so I had to look up what the plot even was. 

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: I...guess this counts? First Equestria Girls was pretty naff all in all. A lot of nothing where the hook was seeing Twilight Sparkle react to a new world with another species. Not a brilliant hook and it's pretty standard high school stuff. 

2014

After my initial exploratory phase, I go right back to not seeing much in cinema, if not even moreso because being taken out with the family is even more sparse. 

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks: Eh, if the last one counts, this one does too. And to be fair, this one's actually much better. A fun twist on the high school premise and now it doesn't rely on that initial hook it can actually utilise the characters in fun ways. 

And that is literally it for 2014, no more to cover!

...Okay, there is, but I won't until much later. 

2015

This was still in that downtime, so another very short list here. 

Minions: *sigh*

Shaun the Sheep Movie: A notable bright spark in this period of pretty much nothing. Shaun took a risky direction by sticking to its dialogue-free roots, but I think it pulls it off well by bringing a simple and cute plot driven by fun characters and a ton of charm. 

2016

You know how it goes here. At least I got a big title this year. 

Zootopia (or Zootropolis in my country): It was decent. My favourite part of it was actually when it took on the tone of a murder mystery. The rest was fine barring the villain twist (which I wouldn't usually note but it was done so badly it stands out) and the main song (it's bad). 

Kubo and the Two Strings: I am going to be in a minority for this, but this film did not impress me. I just didn't like how dry it was. I know that was probably the intention since the film was more action drama than anything else but...I dunno, it just didn't rub right with me here. 

Ratchet and Clank: Okay, technically not, but there were cutscenes from it in the video game, and that was enough to tell me it was way different from the original telling of the story. 

2017

Once more with feeling. Doesn't help that this is the only year so far I've been unemployed throughout, so money was tight and seeing films was a non-priority. 

My Little Pony: The Movie: Literally every year that would otherwise be empty has been carried by a MLP movie. Didn't think much of this one though, it had a lot of stuff but I don't think it took advantage of the unusual territory it was putting the Mane 6 into. 

2018

In contrast, this year was when I started my best-paid job thus far, and time and flexibility to use said pay, so I went out of my way to officially end this lull. 

Incredibles 2: I found this one fun. Liked it way more when it came out compared to now, but still. I do like how it expanded on Frozone and the kids' roles, and Void as a hero is sweet. Also the Mr Incredibles jingle is an underrated little piece. 

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Like the Croods way back, I want to like this more than I do. I love the original, but this one didn't really do it for me. I think it's fact they diverted so far away from the video game premise, the plot feels disjointed (like, it literally feels like two plots stuck on either end of the film) and the ending just didn't resonate. 

The House With A Clock In Its Walls: Dunno what drew me to this one, maybe I just wanted to do something for Halloween. And this film's alright, so it wasn't exactly a bad on-whim decision. I think the cast bounce off each other good and it's surprisingly serious in tone considering it advertised itself as a more light-hearted fantasy affair (what with Jack Black as a lead). 

The Grinch: While not a patch on the original animated version, I actually like the different take it had on the story compared to the live action version. You could easily argue that the titular character has way less bite in comparison, but I do prefer the cozier presentation overall compared to the bitter and cynical tone of the other one. 

2019

And last but not least, there's this year in review. It's the whole reason I made this topic to cover the entire decade, since it's woken me up to some pretty hard-to-swallow truths about my actual film experience compared to what I thought. 

Toy Story 4: I have mixed feelings on this one. As an actual film it's alright, with plenty of the stuff that made the previous Toy Story films great. I don't even bemoan it for continuing the ending of Toy Story 3. I think my main issue is that for a film that aimed to close out a chapter in the way it did, it did not utilise all its elements well. The old main cast was basically left to the sidelines, I felt the new cast weren't that used either and it's just not overly strongly justified as to why Woody ultimately went the way he did. On the bright side, I did really like Gabby despite not having the greatest payoff to her villain arc.

Frozen II: Now here's a film I plain don't like. I've made a large vent about it before so I won't repeat it all here. To sum up though, it feels like a film that rides on the success of its predecessor to get by without doing much to expand on its ideas (instead pandering to the idea of lore to give the impression of such). This is definitely one of my worst of the decade. 

Pokémon Detective Pikachu: Honestly wasn't too impressed with this one either, it was just okay. Like, it felt like it stepped right out of the 90s with its plot and wasn't much more than that. Certainly great fanservice for Pokemon fans though. 

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part: 

"Let's address the elephant in the room."

Okay, so the whole impetus for making a topic dedicated to a decade of film experience was this one film. To give context, I was dragged to this film unwillingly. I'd seen the original, and didn't think much of it (it was a bit too by-the-books for my liking). So naturally, I wasn't particularly excited at the prospects of seeing its sequel. And then I saw it. 

Lego Movie 2 is kind of the opposite of Frozen II in how it handles its plot. As in, it tosses the idea of expanding the lore of the first film out of the window in favour of expanding on its themes, in the process allowing the plot to go completely balls to the wall mind bending. The resulting film, while not perfect, is so goddamn fun and enjoyable. So much so, I can actually go back to the first film and appreciate it more (it's still a bit too by-the-books for me to see it above decent, but I can at least see where it was simultaneously taking jabs at that too). Its characters are great (one of which has shot into my favourites list along with long standing faves like the Chaotix), the way does its twist is great, the entire soundtrack is a gem, I just...fucking love this movie. 

It's also re-contextualised my view of the great big animation monoliths that are Disney and Pixar this decade. Like, I've always taken for granted that they would always exist and consistently be top dogs for my favourites, even when we got other gems from Aardman and Nickelodeon and such like. Why would they not, they've always dominated and several of their previous films have permanent places in my favourite films of all time. But while the decade started out that way, after 2013 it sort of just...dropped off. I haven't been interested in their output for most of the decade, despite how many of them have been said to be quality films (Inside Out is the most prominent of these that I can think of). And when I made an effort to see four of their sequels in the last two years (three of which from franchises I had an active affinity for), they were all just...wiped away by two inches of plastic. 

Eh, maybe I'm just sick of modern Disney/Pixar in the same way I got sick of the formula for renaissance Disney. Maybe that can change in the next decade, maybe not. All I know is that the Lego Movie 2 now has its own spot carved in my favourite films of all time list, right up there with Alice in Wonderland, Lilo and Stitch, Wallace and Gromit and Nightmare Before Christmas. If you had told me that at the start of 2019, I'd have branded you a madman who didn't realise I stopped playing with LEGO when I was 11. 

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Just to round off the topic opener, I've got a couple more points to cover;

1. Since I left the LEGO stuff to the end, that leaves me with the two 2017 LEGO films to review. LEGO Ninjago Movie is one where I can see why a fan would dislike it, but coming in as a standalone film I was amused by it and I think it set out to do what it wanted, even if not catered to the fans. LEGO Batman Movie is kind of its opposite; I can see why a fan would like it, but it's my least favourite LEGO movie. Ironically, while Batman is my least favourite character in the main LEGO Movies, he was the best part of this one. What can I say, I'm not a fan of superheroes, I think the film list makes that pretty obvious. 

2. I do want to give some nods to films I was and am still curious to see but didn't for whatever reason. 

Winnie the Pooh (2011): I think it came at a bad time, looks like it had the charm of old Disney though so more up my street. 
Frankenweenie (2012): It was this or ParaNorman at the time. While ParaNorman was probably the better choice, I still wouldn't mind seeing this. 
The Peanuts Movie (2014): It's sacrilege that I didn't see this on release. Our family loves Peanuts, and this seems adorable. 
Early Man (2018): It's Aardman so I'm always curious to see their output. 
Missing Link (2019): While Boxtrolls I missed because it didn't look interesting, this was just unfortunate circumstances. It looks neat. 
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019): I'm kicking myself for missing this one, but it was in the cinema for, like, two weeks around here. 
The Playmobil Movie (2019): Yes, I've heard all the negative buzz and the accusations of it being a LEGO Movie ripoff, but it honestly looks like a Pagemaster thing more than anything, and if people were willing to see 90s schlock in the form of Detective Pikachu, I'm curious as to whether this is the same brand of 90s schlock in turn. 

And...that's it from me. Nobody else has to be this in depth with their look backs, it's supposed to be more a summation of the year/decade. 

 

 

 

[Myst]

The Lego Batman Movie, Into the Spiderverse, Rise of the Guardians, the Michael Bay Ninja Turtles movies (yeah, sue me) and Tron Legacy are some of my favorites of the 2010's.

The MCU I feel is a bit overrated. They're fine 'turn your brain off' movies with lots of spectacle and action, but ultimately it just feels like Power Rangers for the modern day era. That being said, Avengers, Iron Man 3 and the Winter Soldier are my top 3 favorite MCU films.

As for the new Star Wars movies.. Force Awakens was decent, Last Jedi was terrible, and I honestly have no interest in seeing Rise of Skywalker.

All in all, while there were some gems in the 2010's I feel this decade was lacking in quality films.

[Solister]

For me, I fall in a very similar situation as yours. By 2010, I was only 7 and so was very controlled by my parents, now I don't have strong memories of such movies and I should focus specially after 2015 when I got a majority freedom for seeing movies. Like pretty much everything of this decade, I'll once say I didn't appreciate many of the releases of this decade when compared with other decades, the same worked for musics and video games but, every rule have their exception.

The highlight of the decade for me was, in no doubt, the Star Wars reboot, rather letting me out of breath, either thinking if Lucas' was right on letting the saga end on Return of the Jedi. The second highlight was those early 2010's kid animations and then some minor and independent releases. Here, I'm not listing every movie I saw on the theaters, but just the highlights. (I may let only 2 or 3 movies out).

2012

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D: I think the first highlight of the decade comes when I first went to watch Star Wars on theaters. Now a extremely forgettable release, this was one of the latest steps George Lucas took as header of Lucasfilm. Now considered as a mediocre movie in the franchise, I appreciate it more for being Star Wars on the cinema, than properly the movie. (It wasn't my first Star Wars movie, but the first time I saw it on theaters).

Wreck-it-Ralph: A movie many gamers love, Wreck-it-Ralph showed the videogames world in the Disney way to tell tales. If you consider this movie made me paid it's price only for a less than 5 minutes appearance of Sonic, it certainly is something to be noticed, though it's not a lie is an excellent movie and really worth watching.

2013

Frozen: Here the only highlight of this year, it isn't a story I really remember for now, though it was a movie I was thinking about recently with the release of the second movie, which maybe (Really a minor chance), I catch it when release here in my country early next year (The promotion is being massive). It wasn't a bad movie, in fact the very oppose, but I don't have nearly any memory to talk about it.

2014

The LEGO Movie: Unlike Frozen, this is a movie which stayed up in my head, but mainly for its game, tbh. Once again, a movie I was thinking about recently and I was thinking this might be one of the best movies I've ever seen, even if it's been almost since then that I don't buy many LEGOs. I still must admit I'm a huge fan of the bricks and I really miss the time when I spent whole afternoons playing with my LEGO City. The movie, of course, just grew up this hype.

2015:

Minions: Ehh... A movie which many are a bit shy to tell they watched it. Once again, not a really remarkable movie to I write about.

Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens: I've made a full Star Wars review here, so I'll just copy and paste my opinion.
I remember when Episode VII came out I (And the fans in general) were in a huge hype that Luke, Leia and Han would have to face their new adventures, and it's not for less it's 4th High Grossing film in overall as well the 1st on the Saga. The movie isn't bad taking it solo, impressive Special Effects and Plot but if we start comparing, specially with Episode IV, the movie just looks like more of the same. [Adapted from here]

2016:

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Basically the main reason (Alongside The Mandalorian), that Disney bought of Lucasfilm wasn't useless. For a good time my favorite Star Wars movie (Which I may give its position again). Charismatic characters, good filming and quite simple story. Plot well-developed in a way that seems everything new seems so familiar as if they were with us since the saga beginning. Secondary characters could be a bit more used and the story could work better as if not held in the mid of the saga. [Adapted from here]

2017:

Kimi no na Wa (Your Name): Definitely the biggest surprise of the decade. Well known in the anime scene but definitely unknown in the western market, I took this movie by randomness when me and my mom were bored on a weekend afternoon. The movie is from 2016 but released worldwide in 2017. Saw the movie, read the book (Despite being exactly the same thing) but both are awesome, despite being extreme confusing.

Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi: Ehh... Next please?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Oh dear, we go from bad to worse here. The Last Jedi was bad for killing nearly all the Star Wars concepts, now compared with this one, The Last Jedi was heaven. I don't really want to talk much about this one 'cause it's a very unpopular opinion, but I disliked it, A LOT. So, without mentioning the adult jokes and being a bit to mature for me (Which, independent from my age, I believe I'll always dislike), this movie certainly wasn't a great introduction for MCU and I still don't think I want to watch another movie in a near future.

2018:

Tomb Raider: Well, we can now lift the things a bit. Still not synonym of perfection, I think this movie was the definite point which proof Tomb Raider was my next favorite franchise. Yeah, the movie is just copy paste from the 2013 game, but in overall, it's still being very cool and a nice movie to watch. A sequel has been confirmed, and even if the next one is just copy paste from Rise of Tomb Raider, I never played the game in full, so will be a very pleasant movie.

Solo: A Star Wars Story: The movie just explains and bring up some short facts which only hardcore fans will understand. Cool facts are explained but it seems the plot was just wrote for this. Of course, Han is my favorite character from the franchise and I'm not going to say this movie let him down. Qi'ra was a cool character, but maybe the only real strong point of the movie. After all, makes me wonder if really worth create this movie. [Adapted from here]

2019:

Alita: Battle Angel: Not just a highlight of the year, but of the decade, I think this is really a cool movie which got very underappreciated or which simply wasn't promoted enough. Don't have much to write about this, I went to see it for doing a school work, but I liked it anyways.

Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: Closing up the decade, a movie which I got pretty hyped and really enjoyed when I exit from the theaters. Now is being a bit bad rated. Idk, I said it was the best from the franchise but I guess other opinions are changing my mind, either letting the Thrawn trilogy as the real sequels, either believing everything would be fine if ended on Episode VI. But still then, I still think it was an awesome movie.

Plus, I guess you referred only for movies you saw on theaters this decade. But some I've seen on TV, or anywhere else:

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019): As I just said, it happened to me to see a full movie in an airplane. Like many said, I think it was way inferior to the first one, which even having it highs, it also wasn't that cool. I wished they kept more the essence of telling a story of the LEGOs than properly trying to be hybrid real life/LEGO life.

Despicable Me Series (1, 2 and 3 + Minions) (2010-2017): As I said, I've seen Minions on 2015 and I'm a bit shy to say I watched it, and would say the same for the main series. Despicable Me 1 (2010) and 2 (2012) I've seen via lend DVDs and 3 (2017) I've seen on theaters. Like I've said on Minions, it can even be a great series, but I personally don't even remember nothing from the plot.

And that's it. I hope I'm nothing letting anything aside. Some real cool movies I think I should give a rewatch, other really sounds as a loss of time. I though on adding a “cult” section of classics and older movies I've seen this decade which definitely must be remembered, but I think it's too off-topic.

[PC the Hedgehog]

I've never been much of a movie-goer, only going to theaters to see films based on established franchises I really love. The best thing to me about the 2010s is how anime movies have started being released in theaters for a limited time, something that was insanely rare in the 2000s. That being the case, most of the movies I saw over the past decade were such anime films, like the Dragon Ball Z and Super films, the last few Pokemon films, and the Digimon Adventure Tri movies. Other than those, the only other films I recall going to the theater to see were the new Star Wars Trilogy, Detective Pikachu, and Bumblebee (took my mom since she loves the Transformers films).

[Milo]

I don't want this to be long, but I kinda want to go through the gauntlet of movies I saw "on first run" during the decade. I can somewhat relate to some posters here that I was kinda tethered to my folks in terms of locations, and my parents rarely if ever go to the theater for movies much. It was only until earlier in the decade that I started going to the movies by myself, and even so it was only until the past couple of years recently (getting a car) that I was able to start seeing movies in the theater more frequently (in the sense of, say, seeing at least one movie in the theater one-three times a month).

For this post I'm gonna do a thing in which I'll have blurbs of films I really want to give a little bit of discussion about, while the other films I'll just compile into a list. That's not to say the films in the list / without blurbs are forgettable or bad, they're just out of focus for this post.

Some symbols: * - Saw in the theater, but in the following year ^ - Saw on the plane, the year of its release # - Streaming exclusive (usually Netflix)

2010:

Daybreakers - I enjoyed this quite a bit. At a time where Twilight was popular and was kinda the big/modern image of vampires, I really liked how was a more traditional approach to modernizing them, and I really liked how in this film, this was a world where vampires had essentially transformed most of humanity and how society had changed in reflection to that. It's a movie that I do want to see again.

Dear John - Now this is one of the few movies I can honestly say I did not really care for. It was very by-the-numbers in its story aside from one or two twists in the plot. It was honestly boring for me.

Toy Story 3 - I had been kinda familiar with the Toy Story films in the past but I think this one really got me into checking out the other films proper. There's honestly quite a few Pixar movies that are genuine favorites of mine, so it's hard to choose overall, but I'd say this is arguably among somewhere in my top five of their output. On its best day I'd probably peg it right after Ratatouille as my overall favorite.

Alice in Wonderland - This one I think I somewhat liked but even back then I felt it was pretty uneven and all over the place. To say nothing about its noodle-strong connection to the original books beyond borrowing characters (even though this is technically a sequel that follows the events).

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - I felt this movie was better than being given credit for in reviews. Upon re-watching it I imagine my opinion of it would be lower but at the time, I felt it was one of the better (if not the best) videogame adaptation.

Inception - I really loved the cinematography, visual effects, and concepts of different states of mind/dreams touched on of this movie. My parents however I think they were more confused more than anything else and didn't care for it too much.  

Other films I saw in the theater: Edge of Darkness, The Book of Eli, Shutter Island, Death at a Funeral, Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, The Karate Kid [2010], The Expendables, Unstoppable

2011:

Rango - This is a non-anime example of the type of animated films I'd like to see from the industry more. Roughly two months ago in the status updates, I was actually talking about how every now and then, certain animated projects hit a surprisingly offbeat tone that's rare for mainstream animated films. I wish I remembered this movie at the time I wrote it, this is arguably the most recent example of the type of animated film I was talking about. It's neither forced in what's otherwise a serviceable property for families/kids or forced to further demonstrate how an "adult animated" film is not intended for kids at all. The look is also nicely distinct from many of the other animated films/studios of this era as well, it really is in something of a league of its own with its art direction.

I'm honestly bummed that Industrial Light and Magic aren't likely every going to do a project like this again, between their second/last animated film being the Lucasfilm megabomb Strange Magic and Disney (with WDAS/Pixar/Blue Sky under their belt) acquiring them along the rest of Lucasfilm. It's kinda cool that the success of this film (and their contract with DWA ending) actually led to Paramount establishing their own animation division, but I don't think they will make an animated film like Rango with a ten-foot pole.

Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son - I can perfectly recall only laughing once. It's otherwise really, really devoid of any good humor for what's supposed to be a comedy. Probably not only the worst film I saw this decade in the theater, it's also probably the worst film I saw from this decade overall.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: I really enjoyed this film. The effects of the apes was very well done, and I really liked Caesar's development over the course of the film into evolving into the leader he eventually becomes. it's also one of the few films I saw with my folks and they really enjoyed it as well.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon: This isn't a good movie, but I do want to mention the last half/last third where it becomes an all-out sci-fi war movie, which I felt was rather exhilarating. I also kinda liked how they tried to do an espionage / mystery story for the second half of the movie; it's not exactly good, but I will commend the effort. Out of the Bayformers films (re: not including Bumblebee) I would consider this the second best film after the 2007 original. Not that it's saying a lot, but hey.

Other films I saw in the theater: Kung Fu Panda 2, Rio, Super 8, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Real Steel

2012:

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists [aka The Pirates! Band of Misfits]: It's honestly a really novel film of its ilk, both in terms of the setting and the blend of stop-motion and CG. I really liked the characters too, and some great comedy. For some reason I think when I came out, I just felt that the movie was alright; I think part of it was because I felt the ending was somewhat weak. I do have a more positive attitude about the movie now, looking back on it. I recall reading about Aardman having ideas for a sequel, but Sony (who owns the IP) wasn't happy with the international grosses and said they weren't interested. I hope Aardman and Sony reconcile to take another shot at it.

The Avengers: Besides being a fun blockbuster in its own right, this was one of the my favorite theater going experiences. All of the action sequences and comedic bits resonated with me and the others in the best possible way. It's also amazing how much of an event this movie was at the time of its release and how much of an impact it was inside and outside the box office.

The Dark Knight Rises: Despite some of the issues with the writing and how some characters were handled, I do think this is still a good movie and I liked the overall conclusion they did for Wayne/Batman, as well as Hardy's performance with Bane. I'm not in agreement with people I won't argue that it's not as good as The Dark Knight, but I'm not in agreement with people who write this off as absolute trash and I do think some of the critique I've read about the film ignore the plenty of good elements the movie still has, solely to focus on its problems.

Other films I saw in the theater: Men in Black 3, Frankenweenie

2013:

Pacific Rim: I honestly had so much fun seeing this movie, this was honestly my favorite movie from this year. The action sequences, the superb CG, the setting and locations, and the comedy were all so good. I also really enjoyed the performances of the supporting characters like Elba as the general and the two scientists. This was amplified seeing it with a full audience--this was my absolute favorite movie theater experience. This is a movie that I would go out of my way to own on DVD/Blu-Ray if I was more prone to buying films on home video nowadays.

Man of Steel: I recall finding this okay. The action scenes were genuinely great, but I can't say I in disagreement about the other complaints that I've seen regarding the mythology and other changes to the character. Even though I cannot say I'm too familiar with the character (I might had seen snippets of TAS back when it was still on the air, but nothing more beyond that).

The Great Gatsby: This is the first movie I recall seeing in 3D in the theater, and the 3D effects were solid if kinda distracting. I generally liked the movie itself, mainly for its cinematography / sets and some of the performances of the cast. I do recall reading some concerns that people felt they focused on some aspects from the novel more than others. (I was actually kinda compelled to see it since I was reading the novel its based on for my literature class at the time).

Other films I saw in the theater: Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Despicable Me 2 (I think?...)

2014:

The Lego Movie: I honestly loved this movie. The animation, the cast of characters, the meta-commentary/allegorical twist, and especially the humor, very few of the jokes didn't land for me. Probably my favorite film of this year.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: This is one of the few films where I do feel that it's an attempt at a darker tone with a sequel and I feel it was pulled off really well. I found the story suspenseful and the action some of the best of the MCU. This was probably one of my top three MCU films when it came out, and I'd probably still consider it within the top 5 or top 10 even after the rest of Phase 2/3 has come and gone.

Galaxy of the Guardians: Again, like Winter Solider, this is still probably in my top 10 of the MCU years on after its release. The cast and performances were really good and I really liked the more off-color tone and character dynamics Gunn and the rest of the cast brought to the table. Another film which I remember it being a fun theater experience.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: While TLM was my personal favorite, this was the best movie of 2014 to me in terms of quality. The way the story evolved into showcasing the divide between not only the apes and the humans, but between the apes themselves (and how it sets things up into the next movie) was fantastic, and the performances from both the apes and the human cast was. It's also profoundly sad at certain points.

Paddington*: As a fan of the books, I was left skeptical about how this would turn out due to the trailers highlighting certain jokes over others (the toothbrush-in-ear gag...), but this film honestly astonished me for how good it turned out to be. The characters and tone was actually faithful to the books and it actually managed to help the story actually work (which I feel could had gone totally awry under other hands). This was easily the biggest and most pleasant surprise of 2014 to me.

Other films I saw in the theater: Heaven is for Real, X-Men: Days of Future Past

I honestly spent a few hours brewing this, so I'm probably going to leave it here for now. I'll cover the rest of the decade in a followup post.

[batson]

Here is my top 7 list (instead of top 10, because I can't think of 3 other movies that truly deserve to stand with these).

7 It Chapter One
The rare horror movie that succeeds wholeheartedly with both the horror element as well as all the other elements that make for a great movie, including likable characters and a story that engages.

6 The Babadook
In my opinion not just the best horror movie of the decade, but of the entire 21st century so far. It portrays not just fear but also other dark emotions like grief and anxiety in a way very few movies have managed before it. It's genuinly depressing and unseasy to watch, and that's what makes it stand out.

5 The Muppets
An absolutely wonderfull musical comedy. The script is incredibly clever and charming, and it has the best musical score of the decade. There have been other good Muppet movies before it, but this one is the franchise's towering masterpiece.

4 Skyfall
The best Bond movie of all time. It takes a clear page from Christopher Nolan's Batman movies to great effect to create a both thrilling and emotionally resonating storyline. And speaking of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies...

3 The Dark Knight Rises
The movie is almost up to par with 2008's The Dark Knight, and that alone is an amazing achievement.

2 Inside Out
The concept of the movie is great in itself, but few could ever have executed it as well as Pixar. Overall the 2010's decade hasn't been quite as kind to the studio as the previous decade was, but Inside Out is one film that represents the studio at it's very best.

1 Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino is a master, a true artist in every sense of the word, and Django is in my mind his best movie since Pulp Fiction. It is a film that showcases the best of Tarantino, how he manages to imbue every single scene with a sense of tension and drama, always mixed with a slight touch of comedy, to a unique effect. In Django, there is litterally no such thing as a dull moment, which is something that usually even a masterpiece inevitably has a few of, and that is why I think it is the best film of the decade.

[DarkRula]

I’ve just had a good half hour looking things up on Wikipedia so I know everything here is within the last decade. Despite being easier to view, I won’t sort by date, but series or set groups instead. That way, it’s easier to link certain things together when talking about them. And all of these won’t be just from the cinema, but still stay within the original release year of this decade. So, let’s get this started with some singular efforts.

 

The start of the decade had some good and not so good. Furry Vengeance and Yogi Bear, while entertaining, weren’t exactly the greatest or memorable, and it’s no wonder I’d forgotten about them. Both are owned on DVD, and neither have seen that many watches. One that did hit from this year, however, was Megamind. This is a great film I’ve watched many times, with a decent enough plot and humour that lands quite a lot. The greatest of the lot, though, which was seen at the cinema, is Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore. Sure, it uproots and throws away certain world building elements of the first, but it has a great story that builds a relatable arc for the main character in learning what it takes to be a good officer of law.

 

As for others, the best for me have probably been Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows [2011] (seen at the cinema with friends, having seen the previous film beforehand with them), Hop [2011] (anything with Hugh Laurie gets my attention, really, and this is on TV a lot), The LEGO Movie [2014] (bought on Blu-Ray around a year later as one of only a few additions to that collection), and Shaun the Sheep Movie [2015] (watched it when it first appeared on Prime Video and found myself enjoying it a lot).

 

The first collection I’ll talk about is the Pixar films. Both Toy Story 3 and 4 were seen at the cinema, and I enjoyed both greatly. Even though 4 didn’t need to have existed, it managed to tell the story it wanted to tell and fit it into the world already established. Brave and Monsters University were both bought on DVD, and again I enjoyed them both. The story they told worked, with great character interaction between the main duo of both. Also on the DVD list is Cars 2. Throughout the last year I’d been doing a watch of all Pixar movies on Disney Life, which allowed me to watch Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, and Cars 3 for the first time. Inside Out was the best of those three, though I did like the character interaction The Good Dinosaur provided between its two leads.

 

I’m technically cheating with this next group, as depending on definition, one isn’t even a movie. Power Rangers in 2017 provided a mature take on Rangers with the atmosphere and effects to match. It provided some good characters and story, even if it did seem to be trying way too hard to grab the audience it wanted. I’m kind of glad that Hasbro won’t be continuing it, though, as I feel they’d be able to do a much better first effort going by their first effort with the TV series. This isn’t the only Rangers movie of the decade, however, as there was a TV movie made for the first season Saban created. Clash of the Red Rangers took the usual team-up routine of the series and… made it only about the Red Rangers of current and previous team. But it worked. At least it’s a much better team-up than Legendary Battle from Megaforce.

 

Since Battle For The Grid released, Power Rangers is quickly becoming a consideration for the fourth core franchise, and since there’s been no Sonic the Hedgehog movies (shout-out to Wreck-it Ralph here for being an awesome movie), I’ll move onto second core – Pokémon. The latest two have been great, crafting an original universe away from the TV series of the current generation, and providing some great story without feeling like they were simply an episode or two stretched to a movie runtime. It’s something I felt Genesect and the Legend Awakened had started to fix, though I haven’t seen any of the generation six films to know if such a thing had continued to build or was simply a product of moving to an alternate timeline.

 

And then we have Star Wars. I maintain the sequel trilogy is a good if flawed trilogy. Standalone, each is great, with some wonderful fight scenes and character interaction mired among the weaknesses each of the films have. As a trilogy, though, it’s a mess of execution that can be linked together by taking the basis of the ideas and finding out how they link together. The films themselves only go so far in making those connections. Rogue One has some great ideas and executes them well, with an excellent final act making up for some of the weakness of the first. The characters are all great as well. And of course I couldn’t go without a mention of seeing my favourite in (admittedly weak) 3D. Oh, I do love The Phantom Menace.

 

Special mention goes to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which were all seen on TV the year before the fourth was out in cinema and proved to be some good entertainment that the family went to see the fourth when it did. While that fourth wasn’t as good, it still proved to be a good addition to the series.