Best Movie of the 2010s, Round of 32: Mega Movies Memorial Region
The second round is over and the final entries into the Sweet 16 have been decided! We’re down to just 16 movies, people! Erin was nobly able to pick up the pieces after Paddington 2 was struck down in its prime, but she has promised to go scorched earth in the name of everyone’s favorite cuddly, marmalade-loving, Peruvian-British bear. Did another of her all-time favorites, Get Out, also fail to advance to the third round?! Read on, people!
ROMA (2018)
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! (2016)
Erin’s Pitch for Roma: The scene at the beach? The tears, I tell you. The tears that streamed down my face forever. Gorgeous movie!
Tom’s Pitch for Roma: This is the ONLY MOVIE that Yalitza Aparicio has been in. It follows her for 2 hours and 15 minutes and she’s never been in a movie before! And she’s amazing! It’s a complete marvel and it’s so full of depth and heart and nostalgia and fear and love and and and...
Erin’s Pitch for Everybody Wants Some!!: This one is a vibe, friends of mine. Just sit back, get some popcorn and a refreshing beverage of your choice (mine is probably, like, a Sprite. OOOOHH! One from the fountain--NOT a can) and enjoy the fun.
Tom’s Pitch for Everybody Wants Some!!: Just watch the scene on YouTube of the guys in the car singing Rapper’s Delight and tell me you don’t want to turn this movie on immediately. Everything about it is infectious.
Erin’s Choice: The 🔅Vibes🔅could not be more different between these two movies, so I wouldn’t necessarily pick Roma for a rollicking good time. But I pick it to move on because it’s so good!
Tom’s Choice: Everybody Wants Some!! is another one I’ll scream from the rooftops for people to watch, but Roma is on a different level. It’s Roma for me.
The People’s Choice: Roma - 13 (81.3%), Everybody Wants Some!! - 3 (18.7%). Alfonso Cuarón and Richard Linklater are two visceral directors. Cuarón wins this round.
WINNER: ROMA (2018)
BRIDESMAIDS (2011)
12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013)
Erin’s Pitch for Bridesmaids: In my heart of hearts, I believe this will one day be recognized as one of the best comedies ever made. So as it is spoken, it shall be written.
Tom’s Pitch for Bridesmaids: The airplane scene alone is worth the price of admission. Kristen Wiig is hysterical. Don’t be a Stove. This movie is great.
Erin’s Pitch for 12 Years a Slave: What sticks out in my mind in this movie is the natural beauty of the American South. The film is so gorgeously made and filmed, and I couldn’t imagine a better choice than using this as a clear juxtaposition with the man-made horrors of slavery.
Tom’s Pitch for 12 Years a Slave: Michael Fassbender has such an evil, ruthless face. He’s also such an intense actor that it almost doesn’t feel like he’s acting in this. Which is amazing but also absolutely horrifying. The guy needs to pick better roles, man. He’s so great. The Snowman?! Seriously?!
Erin’s Choice: I am going with Bridesmaids here because I really truly think it’s a future classic! Maybe in the top comedies of the decade.
Tom’s Choice: This one’s really hard so I’m just gonna go with the one that was more entertaining to me. Bridesmaids it is.
The People’s Choice: Bridesmaids - 11 (44.0%), 12 Years a Slave - 14 (56.0%). Despite the will of the voters, 12 Years a Slave becomes the second Best Picture winner to bite the dust in this tournament, after The Shape of Water.
WINNER: BRIDESMAIDS (2011)
GET OUT (2017)
KNIVES OUT (2019)
Erin’s Pitch for Get Out: I have always been a cinephile. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t absolutely love movies. That said, Get Out made me love movies EVEN MORE.
Tom’s Pitch for Get Out: There are only a handful of directors that have a grasp on how and when to use popular music to enhance their movies. Jordan Peele introducing this movie with “Redbone” is a masterstroke.
Erin’s Pitch for Knives Out: This was such mysterious, spooky fun. Daniel Craig is an instant icon of course, and we stan a Chris Evans sweater moment, but can we just take a moment for king Don Johnson? Wait and also Toni Collette?! But now I feel bad for leaving out Michael Shannon and Jamie Lee Curtis...and Ana de Armas. OH and Lakeith Stanfield. Dang this cast is good.
Tom’s Pitch for Knives Out: Erin, you didn’t even mention CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER THE GOD. Rest in peace to an absolute icon.
Erin’s Choice: I am ashamed that I missed the Christopher Plummer mention ⬆️ but I’m still picking Get Out.
Tom’s Choice: Both were extremely fun theater experiences. Both feature Lakeith Stanfield. Both had me rapt from the beginning right through to the end. I sip my “Michael Shannon Fan Club” coffee mug in remembrance of a king. Unfortunately for Shannon, my choice is Get Out.
The People’s Choice: Get Out - 15 (51.7%), Knives Out - 14 (48.3%). Jordan Peele twists the knife into Rian Johnson’s murder mystery. I bet this will be in The New Yorker.
WINNER: GET OUT (2017)
EASY A (2010)
SICARIO (2015)
Erin’s Pitch for Easy A: You know, if more people appreciated Thomas Haden Church as an actor, the world would be a better place. I’m a sucker for cool teachers who sometimes curse roles (see Woody Harrelson in Edge of Seventeen) and THC does his darndest in this absolute banger.
Tom’s Pitch for Easy A: Who knew that when Olive Penderghast performed “Pocketful of Sunshine” in the shower and “Knock on Wood” during the pep rally, that Emma Stone was auditioning for her Best Actress role in La La Land?!
Erin’s Pitch for Sicario: This is an excellent movie in one of my least favorite settings, so if it made it this far into the bracket, you know it’s good. I am hoping they don’t set Sicario 3 in outer space.
Tom’s Pitch for Sicario: If you created characters in this movie from scratch, you would build Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro, and Jon Bernthal. Yet Emily Blunt outshines them all. That’s how unbelievable she is. Also, Josh Brolin is one of the last people in the world I’d expect to be named “Josh.” Anyway, Denis Villeneuve, Taylor Sheridan, and Johann Johannsson (RIP) have to be my favorite off-camera trio in the world.
Erin’s Choice: EASY A once again, friends. I am over the moon that this is still in the bracket, and that it’s doing its thing in the “friends of the blog” polls. Go girl!
Tom’s Choice: I’m a fan of Easy A and Emma Stone is one of my favorite actresses, but it’s the Emily Blunt show here. I’m going with Sicario.
The People’s Choice: Easy A - 21 (75.0%), Sicario - 7 (25.0%). The Little Engine that Could keeps on rolling. Easy A has toppled two Best Picture nominees and now a film widely regarded as one of the best of its genre en route to the Sweet 16!
WINNER: EASY A (2010)
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 Mega Movies Memorial Region as it stands:
