Ahwell's Lists and Projects

9. Your Name (2016)

Makoto Shinkai triumphs with this heartbreaking and beautiful fantasy romance. There's something so surreal about this one that makes it special. It's probably my favorite anime outside of Miyazaki. The animation is gorgeous and the characters are super well fleshed out. Something truly special and unexpected for a lot of people.

Rating: +

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Lists and Projects
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8. Toy Story 3 (2010)

Both hilarious and somehow depressing, Toy Story 3 brought a conclusion to the series that is nostalgic for so many people (until 4 came along). This is the least character based of the Toy Story movies, but that's okay because it works as an exciting adventure film. We still get the question of morals and what it means to be alive, and all of that existentialism stuff Pixar always does. The ending is one of the best I've seen in a long time, it wraps up the series perfectly... again, until 4.

Rating: +

7. The Irishman (2019)

Wow. This movie truly blew me away with it's amazing cinematography (I think the best of 2019), of course superb direction from Scorsese, and three powerhouse acting performances from DeNiro, Pesci, and Pacino. It's a movie that's over three hours long, but totally earns it. What starts out as a normal crime film from Scorsese turns into a beautiful and heartbreaking meditation on life, loss, and aging. It certainly earns the title of most beautiful crime movie I've ever seen.

Rating: +

6. Marriage Story (2019)

Netflix had a good decade, and especially a good year in 2019. They had Klaus, Dolemite is My Name, The Irishman of course, and best of all, Marriage Story. Noah Baumbach is a director who I'm really excited to explore. I really enjoyed The Squid and the Whale and flat out loved this. It was so powerful, so real, it felt like I was living in the movie. I think Johansson easily has Best Actress Oscar in the bag. And while Adam Driver has tough competition with Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Joker, I think he deserves the award much more, as it's flat out the best performance of the year.

Rating: +

5. Whiplash (2014)

With only two films, Damien Chazelle has managed to become one of my favorite directors living today. The man directed this masterpiece before he was even 30, which is pretty damn impressive. For me, this is the most intense movie of the decade and one of the most intense movies I've seen period. Don't come in expecting a movie like Rocky about a guy giving it all and achieving success in drumming. No, this is a furious, raging, yet somehow beautiful look at the relationship between an abusive college drum professor and his student. JK Simmons gives an amazing acting performance, and Miles Teller is fantastic as well. A favorite of mine for sure.

Rating: -

4. The Tree of Life (2011)

I tried this a couple years back and couldn't get into it. Then I watched it again this year and I wonder what the heck I was thinking? This whole thing, it's just larger than life. It's probably the "best" film I've seen this year, in that it truly evokes a sense of eternal wonder and truth that no other film has captured, period. Brad Pitt is stunning and real as a "tough" father, and the child actors do a great job too. This movie is almost too hard to talk about, as it's so visual. But just watch it, for the visuals if nothing else.

Rating: -

3. Inside Out (2015)

Pixar does it again with this endlessly lovable and rewatchable masterpiece. Was this their "answer" of some sort to Cars 2 in 2011, Brave in 2012, and Monsters University in 2012, all pretty poor movies? Maybe, or maybe it's just Pete Docter jumping right back to the top of his game. This movie is so funny, so creative, so imaginative, and through it all manages to be a perfect commentary on grief and its importance in our lives. Pixar hasn't made anything this good since Wall-E in 2009.

Rating: -

2. Parasite (2019)

For all the expectations I had for Parasite, I was still quite blown away by it. Bong Joon-ho is at his best directing in Parasite, and the cinematography is excellent, almost as good as The Irishman's. This is also my pick for Best Picture of 2019. Everything in it is top notch, including the acting, script (hilarious!), plot, and characters. I'm trying to be as vague as possible because I don't want to give anything away. The twists are unexpected, unnerving, and make for a brilliant film that's one of the best of the decade.

Rating: +

A couple honorable mentions...

The Florida Project (2017)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Phantom Thread (2017)
The Shape of Water (2017)
Hell or High Water (2016)

1. La La Land

La La Land encompasses everything I love about movies. What do I love? Great acting. We have top notch performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. I love a great story. A romance with a twist, and couple tears at the end. I love great cinematography/visuals. What more could I ask for? The visuals are stunning, as are the dance numbers. I love great music. Justin Horowitz produced maybe the best score of the 2010s. Literally everything about this movie is fantastic, I have not a single complaint.

Which is why it's the only movie of this decade to receive a:

Ernest & Celestine doesn't even get an honorable mention?!

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Sorry that would have made a top 20 list, but not quite top 10 for me.

Interesting Top 10, very varied which is a plus. I've only seen 1 of those 10 and you had it ranked at #1 La La Land...and I loved that film!

I'll think about doing Letterboxd, you'll probably be my only follower

Yeah La La Land’s great.

Nah I’m sure we can get rauldc14 too haha.

Absolutely loved La La Land. Already have seen it 3 times. And I don’t even own it.
Particularly enjoyed the satirical digs at Hollywood throughout the film, such as the scene where she asks Gosling to grab her keys and they all look the same.
Or the great line he gives her about Hollywood “They worship every thing and value nothing!”

I don’t own it either and I’ve seen it three times as well!
Yes it’s such a fun film.

Outside of Hall of Fames I've talked about movies more on letterboxd then here. Doesn't seem like people care more on this anymore as they used to with chatting about movies.

La La Land is a rare film that I saw twice in theaters.

Does Letterboxd have some type of forum or how do people talk to each other there? I was under the impression it was strictly logging of movies watched. That's why I never got around to doing it.

There's comments for lists or movies watched.