Top 10 Movies of the Decade

(10) Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Thirty years ago, Michael Keaton was playing Batman and effectively became a blockbuster action star, shortly after playing the title character in Beetlejuice. You could never take him completely seriously and his Batman accordingly had the best sense of humor. So Birdman, in which he stars as the former Birdman (who bears a vague resemblance to Batman), staging his own adaptation of an iconic Raymond Carver story, is ultimately Keaton's career-defining performance, the movie that best encapsulates his artistic r'aison d'être. Even if he didn't write the script (which won the Oscar), it feels written for him. Iñãrritu deserved the Oscar for directing (and while he also arguably did a year later with the Revenant, it appears most would now say George Miller was robbed for Mad Max: Fury Road--a movie I still find to be somewhat overrated, an opinion for which I should be taken out and shot) and the supposed single-long-take is ambitious and sort of magnificent. The trope of jazz drumming as soundtrack is now owned by Birdman. 

(9) Call Me by Your Name

Perhaps a controversial pick, there's not much of a story or plot going on in this film. It's about a family on holiday in Italy--father is an art professor that invites a graduate student to stay with them and do research and accompany him on archaeological expeditions. Professor's son then develops crush on grad student, which is apparently mutual (both are also male). It's 1983. The parents encourage their son to basically have a fling with the student. Everyone is ridiculously good looking and the film is aesthetically perfect, more or less. It's very slow and langorous and nothing much happens, and in a way that makes it much more realistic and true to life for a movie about a pleasant summer vacation. It has been said that "fiction is about trouble," and there is not much trouble here, and it proves that sometimes rules can be broken and all a filmmaker need do is closely examine human features and the emotions percolating beneath the surface. 

(8) Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

Perhaps one of the premier cinematic events of the decade, Tarantino's 9th is a love letter to the film industry. Leonardo DiCaprio (who will likely be recognized for this performance, after other iconic turns this decade in the Revenant and Wolf of Wall Street) stars as a fading actor and Brad Pitt as his stunt-double and friend, whose livelihood depends on him. Most will agree that Tarantino peaked early, and cite Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown as his high watermarks. His career then transitions to movies with chapters and a more epic scope, with Death-proof (which I am in the minority in loving) as an outlier. These movies also tend to "recast history" and emphasize dialogue over graphic violence. Don't misunderstand--the violence is still very much there, but it is not quite the centerpiece. Some people say there is too much dialogue in this movie and very little happens. True but still I never found myself bored.

(7) Moonlight

Moonlight is basically the flipside of Call Me By Your Name and it came out first. Brokeback Mountain came out more than 10 years before and started the process of desensitizing homophobia in mainstream cinema. Moonlight took it to an artistic extreme.  Both deal in repression, but in this there is finally some acceptance. The mom doesn't encourage Chiron to embrace his problematic feelings but she doesn't throw him out of the house (she has her own issues). His father figure, however, incredibly communicates empathy in a beautiful performance by Mahershala Ali, which justly won an Oscar. The film unfolds in a bit of a cookie cutter three act play (it was adapted from the stage) yet the use of light and atmosphere and (minimal) music combine to create an indelible cinematic experience. It's not necessarily a fun watch but it's necessary viewing.

(6) The Force Awakens

Having just seen The Rise of Skywalker last night and feeling underwhelmed, I basically decided that the Force Awakens belongs on this list, even though the Last Jedi is probably the better film overall. Now that the trilogy is finished, it's quite clear to me that each film is a clear referent for the original trilogy. Both A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back belong on best of decade lists for the 70's and 80's. No one could say the same for the prequels in the 90's and 00's. But could you could do it again with the new trilogy? Yes, but then why Force Awakens over Last Jedi? Because it was Event Viewing. Because the original stars were back (even though they weren't much more than glorified cameos, I will persist in my stubborn belief that Harrison Ford was snubbed for a best supporting actor nomination). Because it was a return to form, of sorts, after the disappointing prequels. It was fan service, sure, but it wasn't annoying fan service like it would become. It was so exciting when it came out, and the moment has to be recognized. I'm cynical about Disney now that it owns all blockbusters (except Joker) but this was their first step into the Star Wars landscape, before the cynicism took hold, so it was less offensive.

(5) The Wolf of Wall Street

Some might say the best movie Martin Scorcese did in the decade was The Irishman but for me it was The Wolf of Wall Street. Both are long, but The Wolf of Wall Street is still digestible. It doesn't feel as long. It's a lot more exciting. It's probably the most "fun" movie he has done. Goodfellas certainly seems fun, but really there's so much death and violence that it's sort of a downer and more evil than fun. Both have major anti-heroes but Jordan Belfort doesn't actually kill people, he just commits securities fraud. This also has to be Scorcese's funniest movie (and they've always had a fairly strong sense of humor). It gave DiCaprio more serious cred (if he didn't already have it) and put him on track to win for The Revenant. The movie may have set a record for f-bombs from what I recall. It may also set some sort of record for drugs consumed. Jonah Hill is arguably better than DiCaprio in it. It may not provide trenchant analyses about the Great Recession, and while the source material may be weaker, it is a better film than the Big Short.

(4) Shame

In what should clearly be the most controversial pick on this list, Shame is not even really that great of a movie. It's sort of a totally flat movie. There's a bit of hysteria in it, but it feels deadpan. Michael Fassbender plays a sex addict. That's it. Again, a very plotless movie. His sister shows up unexpectedly at his apartment, needing a place to stay. That's pretty much it. But even the scene when he first finds her there is suffused with pathos. Without Carey Mulligan, Shame does not make it onto this list. Before Steve McQueen would win for 12 Years a Slave, there was this, and while few people went out of their way to see it, it is arguably gaining increasing relevance, some eight years later, as even the nature of smartphones continues to advance and develop as tools to feed addiction. There is a strong American Psycho-vibe to this movie (maybe it's just the apartments) but it's not a satire--just super realistic. 

(3) Black Swan

Sure I'd put Requiem for a Dream on the best of 00's list because it was groundbreaking, but Black Swan is a more powerful film on multiple levels. For one, the music and the dancing are mesmerizing and it is a beautiful depiction of Swan Lake.  It is probably Natalie Portman's greatest performance to date, which is saying something as she is one of the great actresses of our time. Winona Ryder is brilliant in a small supporting role, channelling the bitterness of the ageism inherent in the world of ballet and dance. Mila Kunis gives a rare serious performance and totally holds her own. Barbara Hershey stands out as the overbearing [white] "tigermom" obsessed with living vicariously through her daughter's success. Darren Aronofsky is at the top of his game before he went bonkers with Noah and Mother! It's an allegory about sacrificing oneself for art and a retelling of the Swan Lake story, and while it is more disturbing than entertaining or humorous, it's rarely boring.

(2) The Master

Really the only thing The Master needs is Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix being directed by PTA. PSH was a PTA repeat-player, making iconic turns in Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love (he sat out There Will Be Blood maybe because he was busy). When he passed out of this world, we lost one of the greatest talents at the top of his game. When Joaquin came out of his mock retirement, this was one of his first projects. It's sort of about the Church of Scientology, though it's never called that by name or specifics. It's more about how one person can manufacture charisma to attract "lost" followers. But it's mostly about the performances and the scenes, like the extended "deprogramming," and the revivals and the jail cell one.

(1) Toni Erdmann

Toni Erdmann won the best foreign language film in 2016. It's a German film about a lonely older father trying to reconnect with his daughter. Basically she has a successful and busy consulting career and has moved to Romania for a lucrative opportunity. He goes to visit her there and he stays and adopts a disguise and persona that she knows is him, but her friends do not. It's a comedy and while it is cute and funny, it is more of a searing human drama. It's 162 minutes long. The ending is totally bonkers and also one of the most moving I have ever seen. It is infamous because Jack Nicholson was going to come out of retirement to play the father role in an American remake. He's no longer attached and while I'm sure Kristen Wiig will do the part justice it will be a very tall order to outdo the original. It will more likely be a "Vanilla Sky situation," yet as long as more people see the original, is it really such a crime? I've only seen it once thus far but it has stayed with me a long time. 

***

Honorable mention: Carol, The Revenant, Get Out, The Last Jedi, Avengers: Endgame, Blue is the Warmest Color, Coco, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Lady Bird, Roma, Burning, Phantom Thread, Skyfall, Before Midnight.

The Line Becomes a River - Francisco Cantu

The Line Becomes a River is the literary debut of Francisco Cantu, who is just slightly younger than me and has adequately proven to be undeserving of my chagrin. Because isn't that what we do to younger writers? We are skeptical of them, and we pick apart their work more readily, anxious to find evidence of their fraudulent display of talent. I'd like to do that here, but I can't. The book is simply too good. (It may stand in sharp contrast to Conversations with Friends, but I am only halfway through it at present).

This was the 3rd selection of the Voracious Violets book club, and my favorite so far. It was my favorite because: (a) it was the shortest; (b) it was the most relevant; and (c) it was the most emotionally resonant and had the most original literary style. Ok, the style is not exactly super-original because it is basically Ernest Hemingway in 2019. In any case, I think we can all agree that we need Ernest Hemingway in 2019. Now I highly doubt that Cantu will go down in history like Hemingway but I have not read anything by any other modern writers that have reminded me as much of him. However, this may be because he is simply ripping Hemingway off, which, when you have sacrificed as much of yourself as Cantu has, is more forgivable than not. 

The plot? This is a memoir. Cantu's mother is a Park Ranger. His father is MIA. He studied international relations in college and he is obsessed with the Border and so he applied to be a border patrol agent, sometime around the Great Recession. He does that for a few years, then transfers into more of an office job in Arizona, then takes up a research opportunity and grad school, as the book hits its closing arc.

Really, the book is perfectly laid out as a 3 act drama, and it could be made into a rather compelling film (though obviously this is unnecessary as any film would likely sentimentalize it further): border patrol wars, border patrol intelligence, and border patrol humanity. Of these three parts, the second is both the least compelling and the most articulate. This book barely has any weaknesses and is therefore the latest entry in the Best Books list (after Sabrina).

Perhaps this is a political decision, to consider it one of the Best Books, but it stands on its own merits (while not the literary equivalent of A Farewell to Arms, it is more than its equal as to political themes). Perhaps this book is "very prescient." Because nobody really seemed to talk about the Border very much until it became known as the concept of the Wall. And what does it actually look like? (Or what did it look like back in the late 2000's?):

"In keeping with the trend toward consolidating a well-demarcated and enforceable line, the convention agreements stipulated 'that the distance between two consecutive monuments shall never exceed 8,000 meters, and that this limit may be reduced on those parts of the lines which are inhabited or capable of habitation.' In the course of their ensuing work, the commission found that most of the original markers were 'but rude piles of stone...while the intervals between them were found to be in some cases as great as 20 or 30 miles...and in one instance 101 miles.' Some monuments had disappeared altogether, spirited away by wind and water or swallowed by the landscape, as if they had never existed at all." (48-49)

Interspersed through the personal narrative are allusions to sociocultural and literary texts, as well as historical vignettes such as this, which lend the work a vaguely academic air. It situates his personal experience into a greater context. These passages are often more beautiful than those describing the daily realities of life in that environment, yet each conveys a facility with spare and crucial detail. For every pseudo-intellectual aside, there are just as many casual depictions of chaos and violence and heartbreak:

"Near the end of my shift, Mortenson called me into the processing room and asked me to translate for two girls who had just been brought in, nine- and ten-year-old sisters who were picked up with two women at the checkpoint. He told me to ask them basic questions: Where is your mother? In California. Who are the women who brought you here? Friends. Where are you from? Sinaloa. The girls peppered me with nervous questions in return: When could they go home? Where were the women who drove them? Could they call their mother? I tried to explain things to them, but they were too young, too bewildered, too distraught at being surrounded by men in uniform. One of the agents brought the girls a bag of Skittles, but even then they couldn't smile, they couldn't say thank you, they just stood there, looking at the candy with horror.

Once the agents placed the girls in a holding cell, I told Mortenson I had to leave. My shift's over, I said. He told me they still needed to interview the women who were picked up with the girls and asked me to stay and translate. I can't help anymore, I told him, I've got to go home. As I drove away from the station I tried not to think of the girls, and my hands began to shake at the wheel. I wanted to call my mother, but it was too late." (51-52)

Why is this book important? It's the sort of book you could lend to people that chant, "Build the wall!," except they probably wouldn't read it. They wouldn't be interested in nuance. I would like to imagine a world where two people with diametrically opposed political viewpoints are able to read and discuss it and actually have a productive conversation where each side learns something. Cantu anticipates many of these arguments and addresses most of the issues surrounding the immigration debate. Yet it will likely preach to the choir, as books are wont to do. 

We can hope, however, that one day a comprehensive and progressive border policy will be enacted, one that prevents unnecessary deaths and injuries and offers an incentive to utilize the appropriate procedures and channels to emigrate legally. Still, even though this is likely to remain one of those dilemmas with no one-size-fits-all solution, books such as this can help to shape the conversation to determine the best possible course of action.