Mud (2012)

Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) are two boys of Arkansas that make quite the discovery along the Mississippi river. They meet the fugitive Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a man who desperately needs their help. Mud is accused of murder but has a deep desire to return to his love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), a plight the boys can relate to as they agree to protect the unfortunate fugitive. Mud is a Southern-fried coming-of-age tale that works its magic well as a Huckleberry Finn for the 21st century.

Foxcatcher (2014)

Steve Carrel completely sheds his comedic skin to play the quiet and creepy role of wrestling coach John du Pont. Based on a true story, John invites the Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) to his estate for training with Mark’s chipper brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo). But their stay soon turns dark with the unsettling nature of John that continues to build with sinister that intent that soon brew into an intense tragedy. With a pitch-perfect cast and uncomfortable building of athletic devotion, it’s impossible to look away from the palpable dram of this Oscar-winning true crime story of wrestling and murder.

Weekend (2011)

When Russell and Glen first met, they didn’t count on their one-night-stand turning into something more. They meet at a club on a Friday night where a spark is lit between them. But such a relationship may be difficult to continue when one of them plans to leave the country soon. A modern romance caked in the intoxicating young world of alcohol and drugs, Weekend is brimming with beauty most sensual and uncompromising in this masterful romance written and directed by Andrew Haigh.

Everybody’s Want Some!!! (2016)

Richard Linklater returns to his biggest strength of composing movies where we merely hang out with a collective of characters and get to be a part of their world. Considered a spiritual sequel of sorts to his iconic Dazed and Confused, the film follows a group of college students under a baseball scholarship just a few days before classes start. And just like Dazed and Confused, the film meanders around their antics of parties, booze, drugs and the occasional deep conversation about where their lives will be headed next. While the film certainly has that sensation of youth’s dwindling final hours, it’s just as cathartic in how Linklater weaves a world that seems both familiar and lost to time, taking just a few moments in between to appreciate the memory. Few films about troublesome and goofy college students ever feel this sentimental.

L’illusionniste (2010)

A struggling French illusionist (Jean-Claude Donda) of the 1950s takes his magic act on the road to less than stellar establishment. His luck seems to be running out until she runs into the true believer of Alice (Eilidh Rankin), a little girl who still believes in the power of magic. Not one to dash her dreams, he keeps up the illusions as works of pure magic as the two of them tour Edinburgh. It’s a deeply moving picture of great innocence from accomplished animation director Sylvain Chomet.

The Hunt (2012)

The kindergarten teacher Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) finds himself in the toughest of situations when he has been accused of sexual harassment by a student with a crush for him. Wrongfully accused, he becomes the prime target of his small Danish village and there’s mass hysteria over such accusation, making his battle for child custody of his son all the more difficult. Director Thomas Vinterberg delivers on a profoundly intriguing drama observing loneliness and mob mentality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cf-V1WqbFU

Blue Jasmine (2013)

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) seeks to shake off her failed marriage in New York and move in with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), in San Francisco. Without a job or a stable emotional state, she still asserts herself as judgemental of her sister’s choice in men and manages to land a position in a dentist’s office. Blanchett and Hawkins are at their best in a film that gives them plenty of room to breathe with a tale of tragedy and charm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cf-V1WqbFU

The Great Beauty (2013)

The partying journalist Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) finds himself going from the fun of his youth to the nostalgia of turning middle-aged. Now in his 60s, Jep finds himself being both nostalgic for his time as a younger man and unsure if he can find something more meaningful at such an old age. Co-written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, this Academy Award winning drama on the evolution of one man amid a shifting society paints a remarkable portrait of unfulfillment and emotional distancing that comes with trying to let go of the past.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019)

Quentin Tarantino has always had an affection for movies but Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is his ultimate love letter to the medium. Set in 1969 Hollywood, the film follows the fictional acting duo of washed-up Western icon Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend of a stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Set before the events of the murder of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), the film ambles about its sunny nostalgia of the era with the wonder of movies and television, teetering on the edge of tragedy.

Birdman (2014)

Michael Keaton took on his most powerful and meta role as Riggan Thompson, a washed-up actor who was once a movie superhero, akin to Keaton’s real-life portrayal of Batman in the two Tim Burton Batman movies (“It’s not 1992 anymore!”). The camera follows him around a theater as he struggles to put on a dramatic play when everyone in his life and the cast list seems to be against him. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu gives a rhythmic surrealism in addressing Riggan’s darkest fears that have its roots in classic tragedy, leading to one of the most contentious of ambiguous endings.

Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon-ho has directed many pictures that criticize the capitalist structure but the one film of his that punches the hardest in the gut on this theme is the genuine surprise of Parasite. This ensemble picture follows a poor South Korean family that struggles to make ends meet. They’re handed a bone, however, when a rich family hires one of them for a tutoring gig. Soon, the whole family has infiltrated the household as hired help in a dark comedic fashion. What they didn’t count on was the horrific secret they discovered in the cellar that leads to the family questioning their actions as the film takes on a whole different meaning. Easily the biggest surprise of any film this decade.