Best Movie of the 2010s: The Elite Eight

We’ve got eight movies left, and they’re a truly worthy list of the best of the decade. BUT — only four of them can move on. Three of the eight are Best Picture winners. How many of the movies crowned “the best of the year” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will move on? WHICH MOVIES PUNCHED THEIR TICKET TO THE FINAL FOUR?!

REGAL BURLINGTON 20 REGION FINAL

Erin’s Pitch for Parasite: I’m writing about my movie watching experience with each film. OMG this matchup is perfect because both of these took place in the cursed AMC Hamilton theater 24 (rip)!!!!! With Parasite, I was literally on the edge of my seat, and I remember shielding my face with my hands, peeking through my fingers. Such a great movie to see in theaters.
Tom’s Pitch for Parasite: This time, I’m going with my favorite scene for each movie. In Parasite, it’s the one where the Kim family is drinking and messing around in the living room during the storm. It draws a perfect parallel to the wealthy and sterile Park family and sets up the remainder of the movie perfectly. And it’s fun!
Erin’s Pitch for Jojo Rabbit: Poop theater vibes here! Longtime readers of MPM will recognize this as the movie we watched in a theater where someone DEFINITELY pooped or threw up right before the showing. The movie was excellent though!
Tom’s Pitch for Jojo Rabbit: I’ve already written about the dinner scene with Jojo and his mom, so this time I’m going with the one where Jojo asks Elsa to tell him about Jews. She says she came from the center of the earth, knows magic, will grow horns, and she hangs from the ceiling like bats. It strikes a mocking tone, but also derives from the richness of an imagination borne from extreme coping by Elsa’s circumstances. It horrifies Jojo even though he sees that Elsa is a living, breathing, normal human girl standing right in front of him. It pokes a hole in right-wing propaganda as a whole.

Erin’s Choice: 🍑 🪨 🤯
Tom’s Choice: These are two of my favorite movies in recent memory, but only one of them blew my brain to pieces and that one is Parasite.

The People’s Choice: Parasite - 18 (60.0%), Jojo Rabbit - 12 (40.0%). Not only did Parasite beat Jojo for the Best Picture award, it moves on by a clean sweep in this bracket too.

WINNER: PARASITE (2019)

AMC HAMILTON 24 MEMORIAL REGION FINAL

Erin’s Pitch for Spotlight: This is another film I caught in theaters. My big memory of it is at the end, when two older ladies sitting in front of us gasped and one whispered, “oh my God…” Same, ma’am. Same.
Tom’s Pitch for Spotlight: There’s a scene that starts with a shot of two of the characters standing on a second floor balcony in Boston, with the omnipresent Catholic church looming in the background. From there, we get a short montage of the Boston Globe journalists investigating the crimes of the church, which leads into a chilling conversation between Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and one of the child-molesting priests. Good Lord.
Erin’s Pitch for The Social Network: I actually think I did see this in theaters, but I remember seeing the trailer in theaters more. I was blown away by the use of Radiohead’s “Creep” sung by a choir, paired in part with the genius visuals of Facebook photos and posts of anonymous users. I was like, “Yooooooo I need to see this.” The perfect trailer.
Tom’s Pitch for The Social Network: It’s a tie between Erica’s excoriation of Zuckerberg in the beginning and the blow-up between Saverin, Zuckerberg, and Parker that severs Saverin’s ties to Facebook. Eisenberg, Garfield, and Timberlake play their roles so well: the arrogant, unaware monster; the betrayed former friend; and the overcompensating snake-oil salesman, respectively. It’s, in the purest form of the word, theatrical.

Erin’s Choice: 👩‍💻🙄🧑‍🏫
Tom’s Choice: This is the only matchup here that I hesitated on. It’s truly a close one, and I’m splitting hairs. But I think The Social Network influenced future movies more than Spotlight has to this point, so I’m going with that one.

The People’s Choice: Spotlight - 15 (51.7%), The Social Network - 14 (48.3%). Just like real life, the billionaire wins despite losing the popular vote.

WINNER: THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

PRINCETON GARDEN THEATRE REGION FINAL

Erin’s Pitch for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: OMG I fell asleep watching this oops I’m so sorry. 🥴
Tom’s Pitch for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: The leap of faith set to “What’s Up Danger” HITS. Not only is it beautifully animated, but it explains the entire purpose of the movie: anyone can be a hero, and you’ll never know when you’re ready, so you’ve just gotta trust your heart and your instincts and be great.
Erin’s Pitch for Moonlight: I can’t believe it but I didn’t see this in theaters! We watched it in my parents’ living room, and while I wish I did catch it on the big screen, I can’t imagine I would like it any more than I already do.
Tom’s Pitch for Moonlight: The best scene in this one is the dinner scene with adult Chiron and Kevin. Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland are unbelievable and it’s a low-key culmination of a decades-long storyline. The actors carried the emotional weight of characters they only play for about a half hour. It’s an absolute marvel.

Erin’s Choice: 🌊😭💙
Tom’s Choice: Spider-Verse is a fun, action-packed, feel-good movie. Moonlight is literature.

The People’s Choice: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - 15 (53.6%), Moonlight - 13 (46.4%). Despite the fan vote, Miles’s web gets clipped as Chiron moves on.

WINNER: MOONLIGHT (2016)

MEGA MOVIES MEMORIAL REGION FINAL

Erin’s Pitch for Bridesmaids: This is another one where I don’t have a distinct memory of watching it for the first time, but I can tell you that Bridesmaids is a film that I will keep on WHENEVER I see it on the TV Guide. Yes, I still have cable, kids.
Tom’s Pitch for Bridesmaids: The whole thing isn’t in the movie, but there’s a 10-minute scene on YouTube of Kristen Wiig arguing with the teenager in the jewelry store (played by Mia Rose Frampton, Peter Frampton’s *daughter*) and it’s gold. So I’m going with that one.
Erin’s Pitch for Get Out: The two times I saw this masterpiece in theaters rank as two of my most favorite movie theater going experiences ever. It truly changed the way I look at film. The audience was almost like a character, proving the thesis of the movie. I’ll never forget it.
Tom’s Pitch for Get Out: The Sunken Place scene is the best in the movie. It has to be. It’s the marginalization, the feeling of insignificance, the overwhelming power dynamic - sometimes subtle, most often violent - that white people have inflicted on Black people in America for half a millennium. It’s original sin in three minutes, come to life with a spoon scraping the inside of a teacup as the cycle perpetuates in the Armitage family living room. It might be the best single scene of the decade.

Erin’s Choice: ☕️😳🚓
Tom’s Choice: Bridesmaids had a fun run, and it’s a deserving member of the Elite 8, but Get Out is the choice here.

The People’s Choice: Bridesmaids - 7 (24.1%), Get Out - 22 (75.9%). Jordan Peele’s masterpiece becomes the last member of the Final 4!

WINNER: GET OUT (2017)

Here they are. The four region winners, as decided by all of us, and the Final Four! Stay tuned for the penultimate set of polls on Instagram!

Best Movie of the 2010s: The Elite Eight

Best Movie of the 2010s: The Final Four

Best Movie of the 2010s, Round of 16: Princeton Garden and Mega Movies Regions