Mike’s Top 100 Films of the Decade (80-71)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #26 – “Ordinary Love,” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
26. “Ordinary Love,” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
U2 doesn’t contribute to soundtracks all that often, but when they do, it’s usually something special. The last one I can remember is “The Hands That Built America,” from Gangs of New York, which was just a wonderful song. This one was pretty special for them, as they’d been friends with Mandela for years and stopped work on their album to work on this song for the film. It’s just a really lovely song that is among the best work the band’s put out this decade.
Mike’s Top 100 Films of the Decade (90-81)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #27 – “Please Mr. Kennedy,” from Inside Llewyn Davis
27. “Please Mr. Kennedy,” from Inside Llewyn Davis
What a perfect film moment this song is. You’re watching this movie, and Oscar Isaac is singing folk songs, and then he comes in to do a studio bit with Timberlake and Driver and you’re thinking, “Okay, it’s more of that.” But no, it’s this. A novelty song. And it’s just perfectly written. Adam Driver’s vocals on this are just wonderful. I actually memorized just his part to the song after it came out, just because I loved it so much. But it’s a great moment, because you just see them performing this, and it’s both catchy and also funny (because of Driver) and you see Isaac’s character perfect in this moment — he helps with the song, makes it better, performs it well, and then is like, “This is shit and it’ll never make money.” All around one of the most memorable music moments of the entire decade.
Pic of the Day: “How can you talk like this? Your gun has got you everything you have. Isn’t that true? Hmm? Well, isn’t that true?” “Yeah, sure. Everything. After awhile you can call bartenders and faro dealers by their first name – maybe two hundred of ’em! Rented rooms you live in – five hundred! Meals you eat in hash houses – a thousand! Home – none! Wife – none! Kids… none! Prospects – zero. Suppose I left anything out?” “Places you’re tied down to – none. People with a hold on you – none. Men you step aside for – none.” “Insults swallowed – none. Enemies – none.” “No enemies?” “Alive.” “Well. This is the kind of arithmetic I like.” “Yeah. So did I at your age.” (60th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top 100 Films of the Decade (100-91)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #28 – “For the First Time in Forever,” from Frozen
28. “For the First Time in Forever,” from Frozen
Your typical Disney princess song — this is usually the moment where the princess wishes her life could be better, but here it’s more, “Oh wow, change might actually happen.” And it’s her looking forward to all the stuff she’s gonna be able to do that she’s never been able to before. The humor in this one does detract slightly, but the actual serious/emotional moments are quite wonderful. This is pure classic Disney, through and through.
Mike’s Top Films of the Decade (110-101)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #29 – “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from Trolls
29. “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from Trolls
It’s just a joyous song. Sure, it doesn’t exist without “Happy,” but hey, a song’s a song. And this is just a really wonderful piece of music. It’s funny, for as generic and not-good a movie as Trolls is, there are two incredible songs on the soundtrack. This, I think, was like the top song in the country that year it came out. And, even more impressive to me, is how Timberlake called his shot. They hired him to do the soundtrack and he was like, “We’re gonna get this nominated for an Oscar.” And he made it happen. All credit to him, it’s a really wonderful song.
Pic of the Day: “We’ve got to tell everybody. We’ve got to remind them. We’ve got to remind them how good it is.” “How good what is, Leonard?” “Read the newspaper. What does it say? All bad. It’s all bad. People have forgotten what life is all about. They’ve forgotten what it is to be alive. They need to be reminded. They need to be reminded of what they have and what they can lose. What I feel is the joy of life, the gift of life, the freedom of life, the wonderment of life!” (30th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Films of the Decade (120-111)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #30 – “All the Stars,” from Black Panther
30. “All the Stars,” from Black Panther
How great is this song? I can’t really put it higher than this (and even this is kinda high), considering it’s not even remotely in the film and is just over the end credits. But man, what a banger it is. I had to put it this high on that alone. As much as I wanna put other stuff over it, I have listened to this one pretty consistently since it came out. So it had to make it here. And hey, it was nominated for an Oscar. And it may have even won, were it not for another song still yet to appear on this list. It’s just an amazing song.
Pic of the Day: “I loved you, I’ve never loved anyone else. I never shall, that’s the truth, Roy, I never shall.” (80th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Films of the Decade (130-121)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #31 – “Black Eyes,” from A Star Is Born
31. “Black Eyes,” from A Star Is Born
What I love about this song isn’t just the song itself, but also how it functions in the film. This is how the film opens. Bradley Cooper walks in stage — we don’t even see his face during most of this, if not all of it — he walks out, picks up a guitar and just starts rocking. And the song, mixed with how he’s shot the whole time, just perfectly introduces his character. He’d already refused the ear plugs, which become a central part of the character throughout the film, but also you just get the sense that this guy only exists while on stage and otherwise doesn’t like himself when he’s not there, making music. He pours all his anger and rage and everything inside him into this song, and into his performance on stage. And that, to me, is such a powerful moment to start the film with. Plus, the song fucking rocks. It’s hard to have a song be as perfect for its film and in its film as this one is.
Pic of the Day: “A dog can not make this journey alone, but maybe a wolf can.” (25th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Films of the Decade (140-131)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #32 – “Over the Love,” from The Great Gatsby
32. “Over the Love,” from The Great Gatsby
This is the best song in Gatsby. It’s not even close for me. It’s just beautifully written and orchestrated and sung. You really feel the longing for the characters to one another. It’s more Daisy, of course, but still, it’s there. Everything that’s unsaid between the two of them is all in this song. Florence just has the absolute perfect voice for this. Her voice absolutely soars in this. When I think of this movie and the music in it, this is the song I go to. It’s such a powerful entity.
Pic of the Day: “How do you wanna get rid of him?” Well, do you want to shoot him?” “That’s a little noisy, isn’t it?” “Well, do you want to stab him?” “Well, that’s a little cold-blooded, isn’t it?” “Do you want to kill him, or not?” (20th Anniversary)
Mike’s Top Films of the Decade (150-141)
And here we are. The big list. Theoretically the one we’ve been building toward. But really anticlimactic when you get down to it. You think the list of my ‘favorite’ films of an entire decade would be the thing you want. But really it’s just me going back over a lot of the stuff I covered on the other lists and a broad regurgitation of my top ten lists from the ten years. So, rather than treat this like some big holy set of rankings, I’m just gonna do what I did with all the other lists – try to get you to see some of these you haven’t seen before and maybe introduce you to some cool movies.
It’s important to note, as it’s important to note with all my lists – the rankings don’t really matter. The number is only a function of the day I put it together. The only way to truly get a real ranking of my favorite films of the decade is for me to take the pool of films I used and make up this list from scratch at least ten different times and then use some sort of formula to figure out the average position of each movie and then create a ranking. And that’s not the goal here. I don’t care about the numbers. I care about talking up the films I like and trying to get people to see some of them.
So, if you feel like you want to get upset about where something is ranked, know that it’s a broad ranking. For the most part, films are in the general range of the 25-50 where I’d generally rate them next to everything else. Things will change as I revisit stuff and as time goes on. Like I said, this is really just about telling you what I enjoyed most in the hopes that it gets you to check out some of the stuff you either didn’t know about before or never bothered to see (or maybe saw and didn’t fully appreciate at the time). That’s it. It’s really just about celebrating movies. Don’t get so hung up on the numbers.
So, here are my 500 favorite films of 2010-2019: (more…)
Mike’s Favorite Original Songs of the Decade: #33 – “Glory,” from Selma
33. “Glory,” from Selma
You know what’s great about this song? You know it’s great immediately. All it takes are two words from John Legend and one piano chord. And you get it. You feel the power in the song and all that it represents. And then Common just destroys the verses. You feel the drive in this song, moving forward to that chorus. This is what film music is all about.
Pic of the Day: “Oh, you… you poor dumb son of a bitch. You’ve done more damage than you know.” “I hope so.” (45th Anniversary)
