Filling in the gaps of my 2010s movie watching, I’ve discovered some new favorites from a decade that is, to be frank, filled with a lot of average films.
From four girls’ wild spring break to a dance team’s group acid trip, here are a few recommendations:
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” (2010)
A criterion of the Thai New Wave. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, nicknamed “Joe” by fans, has spearheaded this cinematic movement with his films grounded in folklore and mythology, adapting the most mundane moments into surrealist dream worlds.
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” forms an ocean for viewers to drift over. A world reconciling with death and still in awe of its natural beauty. The kind of movie that puts you to sleep in the best way possible – speaking from experience.
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime.
“Twixt” (2011)
The name Francis Ford Coppola is all too familiar, but “Twixt” fails to ring the same notoriety.
During the dusk of his marriage and career, writer Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) grapples with his trauma in this haunting and unconventional vampire flick.
It’s the work of an “auteur” making movies with one audience member in mind: himself. “Twixt” is a devastating display of grief and a landmark in digital filmmaking.
“Uncle Boonmee” is a dream; “Twixt” wanders into a world of nightmares.
“Twixt” is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
“Spring Breakers” (2012)
“Motion and liquid narrative … more sensory, more of an experience … an attack of sounds and images … it was meant to be a pop poem or something,” is how director Harmony Korine described “Spring Breakers.”
The visual and auditory stimulation the film gives the viewer is more important than what is being done and said on screen: a sensory film. Though not for everyone, if you can buy into it, “Spring Breakers” will make for a phenomenal experience that demands incessant rewatching — once again, speaking from experience.
If you wanna know what Charli xcx meant by “go Spring Breakers” – or why she sampled “Everytime” by Britney Spears – check this out and get ready for some “crazy girl shit.”
“Spring Breakers” is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime.
“After Earth” (2013)
To further my pro-Shyamalan propaganda after “Trap” and the “Director Deep Dive,” allow me to recommend his departure from the mystery-thriller genre and into a dystopian future.
It’s a snappy plot. Thirteen-year-old Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) needs to retrieve the homing beacon to his crash-landed ship on an Earth evolved to destroy human life. His injured father, Cypher Raige, coincidentally played by Will Smith, is his only guide through this terrain via an earpiece.
“After Earth” is a futuristic video game with a personal Shyamalan touch exploring this meta display of a father-son relationship.
“After Earth” is available to stream on Max.
“Raw” (2016)
A debut that will make the name Julia Ducournau hard to forget. This new voice in horror splattered on the scene with the gruesome cannibal coming-of-age film “Raw.”
Blending body horror with the teen college experience, the film feels fresh and still blood-soaked in horror history. Let’s hope nobody had a freshman year quite like Justine (Garance Marillier).
“Raw” is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
“The Killing of a Sacred Deer” (2017)
At the intersection of the Lynchian and Kubrickian, you’ll find this mammoth — or deer — of absurdist and surrealist cinema.
Yorgos Lanthimos approached this spin on the Greek tragedy “Iphigenia at Aulis” with an unfeeling sense of objectivity. Its horror is balanced with an awkward black humor brought to life by the cast. Studded with stars Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman, a young Barry Keoghan steals the show as the former patient of Farrell who encroaches on their structured and idyllic suburban life.
“The Killing of a Sacred Deer” is available to stream on Max.
“Climax” (2018)
Queue “Windowlicker” by Aphex Twin.
The premise sells itself: a group of dancers are celebrating their last rehearsal when somebody spikes their sangria with LSD. Split right down the middle, “Climax” introduces us to the cast and the setting before spiraling into chaos with an unbroken 42-minute-long take. It moves like a structured but improvisational-based dance that’s simultaneously organized and erratic.
Craving about a dozen WTF moments? Save yourself the search; “Climax” is the movie for you.
“Climax” is available to stream on Max.
“Ready Player One” (2018)
The 21st century has been an interesting and uninteresting time for Steven Spielberg. Amidst a whole lot of nothing comes this unsung gem, sandwiched in his filmography, between the snooze fest “The Post” (2017) and the tedious “West Side Story” (2021).
I’m not sure people realize the incredible feat of filmmaking — especially in the blockbuster world — that is “Ready Player One.” Spielberg’s movie magic, which has been missing for a while, shines through in the movie’s engrossing virtual reality. These digital images are so textured that — following the narrated prologue — “Ready Player One” can function solely as a visual experience. It’s another thrilling video game-type adventure with deep connections to internet culture.
“Ready Player One” is available to stream on Hulu.
New voices claimed their spotlights and established ones perfected their craft; digitized, sensory image-making took over. This has been the 2010s.
This article was edited by Marina Zaczkiewicz and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Charlie Mennuti.
