Best Movie of the 2010s, Round of 64: Regal Burlington 20 Region
Hey! Sorry it took so long to post the results, we’ve had some craziness going on as of late. But here they are! As a reminder, here’s the process: Erin and I chose our winners and revealed them to each other. If we agreed, that movie moved on. If we did not, then the people became the tiebreaker. So thank you everyone who voted so far, because your votes swung two of these matchups! And we only went against the vote in two others! Here are your eight winners from the Regal Burlington 20 region:
THE FIGHTER (2010)
BOYHOOD (2014)
Erin’s Pitch for The Fighter: Oof. This one is not so good to do a little blurb for today after Twitter-goers were reintroduced to director David O. Russell’s abusive behavior. The good: the cast! The story! And THE ACCENTS. My god, the accents.
Tom’s Pitch for The Fighter: An all-time great Dad Movie, it’s Wahlberg at his finest: surrounded by much better actors. Melissa Leo and Christian Bale both won Oscars for this, and deservedly so, but the engine that drives the film is Charlene (Amy Adams), who facilitates Micky’s (Wahlberg) ascension to greatness. That’s what brings this one to the next level. Do not call Amy Adams a “skank.”
Erin’s Pitch for Boyhood: This is the one movie that deserves its long screen time. Boyhood was filmed over 12 years, capturing the coming of age story of one boy living in Texas. TWELVE YEARS!! It’s gorgeous and sad and beautiful and I just love Richard Linklater so much. And Patricia Arquette!! Oh my gosh it’s just so fantastic.
Tom’s Pitch for Boyhood: I watched this movie the first time I started checking out all the Best Picture nominees back in 2014, and it absolutely blew my mind open. The whole process - meeting up every year for 12 years to incorporate changes in the actors’ lives, depicting people growing up right before the viewer’s eyes - it’s an absolute marvel. Everything about it just brims with emotion - joy, sadness, tension, awkwardness, fear, warmth, and everything in between. It’s one of the most authentic and lifelike movies I’ve ever seen.
Erin’s Choice: Both of these movies are super solid! For me, it was a pretty easy choice though. While The Fighter is endlessly watchable and has some great performances, Boyhood is the only movie that convinced me movies could be over two and a half hours. I only watched it for the first time last year, and couldn’t believe the ingenuity that went into the creation of this film.
Tom’s Choice: Two strong family dramas right off the bat. I love The Fighter as much as the next guy, and I think it’s an extremely entertaining movie, but it’s Boyhood for me. It’s one of the most ambitious projects ever put on film and I think Richard Linklater completely nailed it. It should’ve beaten Birdman (which we found didn’t age very well!) for Best Picture that year.
The People’s Choice: The Fighter - 16 (51.6%), Boyhood - 15 (48.4%). Sorry people!
WINNER: BOYHOOD (2014)
TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016)
ARRIVAL (2016)
Erin’s Pitch for Train to Busan: I think this is easily the best zombie movie of the 2010s. Thank you to my dear friend Janine for recommending this South Korean blockbuster and absolute blast of a movie. This is for anyone who loves having a good time at the movies.
Tom’s Pitch for Train to Busan: Zombie movies, TV shows, video games, etc. have been sort of driven into the ground the last decade or so, but this one is a breath of fresh air. It stands out because of the way it treats its characters. You care if Seok-woo and Su-an make it to Busan to see her mom. It’s layers like that, plus the claustrophobia induced by the idea of a train filled with ferocious zombies, that keeps your heart pounding for all 118 minutes.
Erin’s Pitch for Arrival: Amy Adams stars in this thoughtful sci-fi movie by Denis Villenueve. That’s literally all you need to know. Awesome awesome ending too!! Ignore the fact that Renner is in this. He’s totally fine. Actually don’t ignore it. It’s Rennsday people!
Tom’s Pitch for Arrival: Denis Villenueve is a genius. He deftly balances an intriguing concept, deeply personal character development, and jaw-dropping visuals for a thoughtful sci-fi movie never gets pretentious or boring. Amy Adams lost Best Actress for this and has been in a tailspin ever since - she won it in my heart. And the ending/twist makes this one super rewatchable. Love it.
Erin’s Choice: Train to Busan was so much fun to watch, and one that I will be recommending to a billion people forever, but I’m going with Arrival. The first time I saw it, I randomly had to pee like, no joke, twenty times. I was in the theater too! Ugh. But it still blew my mind!!!! So the second time we watched it, that confirmed that Arrival was the smart, beautiful film that I filled in the blanks for while in the bathroom for the combined 20 or so minutes.
Tom’s Choice: It’s gotta be Arrival, even though Train to Busan completely rules. Both are twists on somewhat tired genres, but it’s the reveal in Arrival, plus the unique depiction of the aliens, that inches it past Busan for me.
The People’s Choice: Train to Busan - 8 (29.6%), Arrival - 20 (71.4%)
WINNER: ARRIVAL (2016)
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING (2016)
INCEPTION (2010)
Erin’s Pitch for Popstar: This music mockumentary by the Lonely Island trio is an absolute must watch for anyone who is considered our friend/family. The songs? Slap. The cameos? Brilliant. The Boyz? Styled. If you haven’t watched it yet, please schedule a hang out and watch it with us.
Tom’s Pitch for Popstar: I listen to this movie’s soundtrack on pretty much a daily basis. It’s simultaneously one of the dumbest and smartest movies I’ve seen in a very long time. Hologram Adam Levine, the scene with the bees, Seal, Bill Hader doing Flatliners...I could go on all day. It also had a song that shocked me so much that I screamed the first time I heard it. I echo Erin’s plea that more of you watch this movie, preferably with us.
Erin’s Pitch for Inception: This is the rare film that is totally inventive and mind bending while still being approachable. I left the theater screaming about the ending and I feel like the world argued about it for months!
Tom’s Pitch for Inception: Even besides the ending, this movie is a filmmaking and screenwriting clinic. It builds its own internal universe and rules so effectively that you don’t question when Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) shows Ariadne (Elliot Page) around the dream city, which then bends upward and into itself, or Arthur’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) twisting hallway fight scene. It just is that universe, and you accept it. There’s no other movie like it.
Erin’s Choice: Yes, okay, people love to listen to the Inception score while they’re studying. But does it have guest features from Akon, Emma Stone, Adam Levine, Seal, Michael Bolton? Popstar wins.
Tom’s Choice: GUYS. IT’S POPSTAR. I’m literally not even gonna sit here and justify my decision. Inception was awesome and innovative, but Popstar had Seal fighting wolves, “The Catchphrase Verse,” Emma Stone singing a song about meat while she was preparing to win an Oscar for La La Land, and Nas referencing The Good Wife. Inception might have explored people’s dreams, but only Popstar had “Incredible Thoughts.”
The People’s Choice: Popstar - 12 (33.3%), Inception - 24 (66.7%). Come on, you guys are better than that!
WINNER: POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING (2016)
DUNKIRK (2017)
PARASITE (2019)
Erin’s Pitch for Dunkirk: The big thing I remember from Dunkirk is that crazy Hans Zimmer score! The violins oh my gosh I was literally on the edge of my seat in the theater. I think this is one of the best examples of how a score can create a mood in a film. Also, a war movie that’s under two hours? Unheard of and wonderful.
Tom’s Pitch for Dunkirk: Seeing this movie in theaters was a revelation. Christopher Nolan performed his trademark emphasis on visual and sound effects to immerse the viewer in the battlefield unlike any other war movie has done. You get the air, land, and sea campaigns surrounding the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II, and you feel each and every moment of tension because of Nolan’s, cinematographer Roger Deakins’, and the entire Oscar-winning sound team’s attention to sensory detail.
Erin’s Pitch for Parasite: A film about class structure in South Korea, Parasite defies a “genre.” It’s literally every genre. It’s funny and scary and sad and thoughtful and is as close to a perfect film as I have ever seen. A true marvel.
Tom’s Pitch for Parasite: The most perfect blend of horror, thriller, comedy, dread, irreverence, and social commentary that there ever was. Bong Joon-ho is a master of his craft and Parasite is him operating at the height of his powers. His characteristic rapid tonal shifts appear in this one, but every shift is meticulously planned and marches to the beat of Bong’s overarching message on social inequality and class conflict.
Erin’s Choice: It’s Parasite. It’s just going to be Parasite. Of course it is. 🤷🏻♀️
Tom’s Choice: For me, Dunkirk has the spectacle and feel that an ideal war movie should have, and it’s a top tier war movie all-time. But that’s just what it is. Parasite does so many different things and keeps you hooked at every turn. It’s a masterpiece. Parasite is my vote.
The People’s Choice: Dunkirk - 10 (27.8%), Parasite - 26 (72.2%)
WINNER: PARASITE (2019)
COCO (2017)
THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)
Erin’s Pitch for Coco: This is one gorgeous film, and I love it when a movie contains like fifty iterations of the same exact song, but is somehow able to make it fresh each time. It’s Pixar at its very very best.
Tom’s Pitch for Coco: The Day of the Dead is such a creative, beautiful, morbid concept for a kids’ movie, so it was a natural fit for Pixar after a couple of “regular” movies. The scene where Chicharrón gets forgotten is so tragic (I’ll remember you, Chicharrón) but it adds legitimate stakes to an animated movie with colors and mariachis and possibly immortal dogs. I adore Coco so much.
Erin’s Pitch for The Lighthouse: This is a truly strange movie. I have no idea what I would have done if I saw it in theaters, because the subtitles were a MUST for Willem Dafoe’s truly INSANE lines. I feel like people love it or hate it, but you just need to ride the wave of these two fellas tending to a lighthouse back in the Who-knows-hundreds.
Tom’s Pitch for The Lighthouse: This movie is a short story in movie form. I don’t know if that makes sense, but to me it does. It’s a classic Poe-type story (not to be confused with his actual story “The Light-House”) where things mostly make sense but also don’t, and that fear of the unknown contributes to the viewer’s discomfort in watching a descent into madness. There’s a part where Dafoe spends five minutes cursing Pattinson to a bloody murder at the hands of Poseidon or whatever because he refused to say he liked the dinner Dafoe made. It’s absolutely unreal.
Erin’s Choice:
Today I’m fitting to spin a yarn,
of a tale about Dafoe and Pattinsarn.
Black and white is how this story was told,
it made poor Willem look quite old.
Chaos and wind and farts galore,
I can assure you The Lighthouse was no bore.
We watched in horror as these two men went loco,
but alas! I’m ‘fraid the win goes to Coco.
Tom’s Choice: As I was putting the polls up on our Instagram story (@motionpicturemadness!) I said to myself, “I wonder if anyone at all is going to pick The Lighthouse here.” Lo and behold, five of you did. And good for you, that movie rules! But this one is Coco all day, sorry guys.
The People’s Choice: Coco - 29 (85.3%), The Lighthouse - 5 (14.7%)
WINNER: COCO (2017)
GONE GIRL (2017)
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013)
Erin’s Pitch for Gone Girl: I swear to you, this movie is actually a comedy. It’s an absolutely iconic adaption of the Gillian Flynn thriller about a woman who disappears, and whose husband is under suspicion, because as many true crime podcasts always say: the husband did it. David Fincher is the perfect director for this film, and the second time I watched it, I found comedic elements that I didn’t pick up on upon first watch. I love this one so much.
Tom’s Pitch for Gone Girl: Rosamund Pike is amazing, and Gillian Flynn’s writing is heavy-handed and typical of her, but it works. I also think David Fincher was the perfect director for this movie - he knows how to make twisty thrillers (Se7en, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), so he fit like a glove with the source material. Gone Girl is the platonic ideal of a toxic relationship and it pushes the concept to its limit on the back of strong performances from Pike and Ben Affleck.
Erin’s Pitch for The Wolf of Wall Street: This movie was so much more fun than I wanted it to be. I hate that college boys took this as a “YEAH LET’S BE LIKE THEM” type of movie, rather than a bit of an Icarus story. But still, it’s a blast to watch.
Tom’s Pitch for The Wolf of Wall Street: I waited and waited and waited to see this movie because I was sick of all the Leo hype at the time. I of course rationalized McConaughey winning Best Actor that year (and still think he deserves it!) but Leo’s performance in this was his best ever. He and Jonah Hill (and Margot Robbie for that matter) have so much chemistry in this that it’s hard not to have fun for all three absurd hours. Like Goodfellas and The Irishman, I feel people misconstrue Scorsese’s message - like those movies, the protagonists are terrible people who deserve their comeuppance. But man this movie is fun.
Erin’s Choice: I hate it here. I wanted Gone Girl to win so bad you guys. I liked Wolf of Wall Street too, but UGH. Gone Girl is a CLASSIC.
Tom’s Choice: Okay, so we had some controversy here behind the scenes - when Erin and I revealed who we picked I said Gone Girl and then immediately was like, wait no, Wolf of Wall Street. That’s how hard this one was for me. Anyway, we’ve developed a better way of choosing winners (writing them down) from here on out, but for this instance I stuck with Wolf of Wall Street. Which means…
The People’s Choice: Gone Girl - 15 (41.7%), The Wolf of Wall Street - 21 (58.3%). Congratulations friends, you decided your first tiebreaker!
WINNER: THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013)
JOJO RABBIT (2019)
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (2019)
Erin’s Pitch for Jojo Rabbit: I’m a dedicated Taika Waititi fan (even though he has been getting some WIIIIILD press lately) and this is, I believe, his magnum opus. It’s about a young boy growing up during WWII idolizing Hitler, and it is a truly amazing experience watching the story unfold. To me, it’s a career best performance from Scarlett Johansson and I will remember the last scene forever.
Tom’s Pitch for Jojo Rabbit: I don’t even know what to say about Jojo Rabbit. I knew three minutes into this movie that I was gonna love it. Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie have a chance to be major stars, and that’s before we get into the performances of Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, as well as the ridiculous Taika Waititi. Taika has been on fire since 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, and this might be his most inspired work. It’s the shoes. The shoes killed me.
Erin’s Pitch for Portrait of a Lady on Fire: If you go to Letterboxd, you can rate this movie up to five 🔥 emojis instead of hearts, and that’s literally how I felt about it. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
Tom’s Pitch for Portrait of a Lady on Fire: This is one of the most French movies that has ever existed and I mean that in a good way. The entire story is told through the progression of a painting of an aristocratic woman engaged to a nobleman. We see Marianne and Héloïse connect over music, mythology, and romance, and the final scene is one of the most memorable and bittersweet in a long time.
Erin’s Choice: I mean, we stayed and watched Jojo Rabbit in a movie theater that had poop or throw up in it, just barely concealed by a plasticky flower scent sprayed liberally from an aerosol can. It’s Jojo Rabbit for me.
Tom’s Choice: I’m going with Jojo here. I’ve seen it twice and I had a stupid smile on my face for about 75% of both viewings. Portrait is a beautiful period piece but didn’t quite connect with me like Jojo did.
The People’s Choice: Jojo Rabbit - 28 (84.8%), Portrait of a Lady on Fire - 5 (15.2%)
WINNER: JOJO RABBIT (2019)
THE FAREWELL (2019)
BOOKSMART (2019)
Erin’s Pitch for The Farewell: Zhao Shu-zhen was robbed of an Oscar nom for this one!! I adore this film. It’s a quiet, moving, and big hearted movie about family. It’s a feel good film that I would recommend to anyone.
Tom’s Pitch for The Farewell: Just a wonderful semi-autobiographical movie by Lulu Wang. It’s about a grandmother who receives a cancer diagnosis but her family abides by Chinese custom and doesn’t tell her. Awkwafina carries it as the lead, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as great without Zhao Shu-zhen (a 75-year-old woman in her film debut!). It explores themes of cultural identity, truth, and family, all while remaining funny and heartfelt without going into melodrama territory. It’s a beautiful and charming movie.
Erin’s Pitch for Booksmart: This reminds me of Bridesmaids because it keeps getting better each time you watch it. I wish that this movie was out when I was 18, because it is so relatable and confident, but also so understanding of young women. Just lovely and so much fun to watch.
Tom’s Pitch for Booksmart: I’ve heard this movie described as the girl version of Superbad and while I agree, it’s more than that too. This movie is SO funny - pretty much every scene is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and it stars two women who I think we’ll be seeing a lot of great stuff from in the future, Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. It’s such a refreshing coming-of-age high school movie and it never stops endearing itself to the viewer for all 105 minutes.
Erin’s Choice: I WANTED THE FAREWELL YOU GUYS ARE NOT HELPING ME AT ALL HERE. Don’t talk to me. I need time.
Tom’s Choice: This one was tough at first glance, but when I thought about it, it was clear to me that the answer was Booksmart. The Farewell does so much great stuff and is such a heartfelt, complicated movie, but I want Booksmart to have 52 sequels because it’s so good. So yeah, tough choice, but I gave the edge to Booksmart.
The People’s Choice: The Farewell - 6 (20.0%), Booksmart - 24 (80.0%). Second tiebreaker! Booksmart bids Awkwafina “farewell.” Ugh, sorry.
WINNER: BOOKSMART (2019)
That’s it so far! Keep an eye on Instagram for the next region’s matchups! For now, we’ll leave you with the state of the Regal Burlington 20 region as it stands:
