Ten Best Films of the Last Five Years (2008-2012)

Coulter kicks off our two part piece in which Double Down Trent picks the ten best films from the past five years. For those of you who struggle with math we're talking about 2008-2012. Tomorrow Cazalet will give you his list and you can determine whether or not we are morons or connoisseurs.

The 10 Best Films ATWBB 

by Steve Coulter

Five months into the 2013 film year and there hasn't been a single film that I've seen that I would rank in the top 25 movies I've seen over the last five years.



Granted, I haven't seen much this year compared to previous years, and it's still early - Man of Steel lands on Earth this weekend and should make a splash; nonetheless. this realization that we may be headed toward a cinematic low-point got me thinking about how audiences should appreciate the 2008-2012 era, or as I would like to call it ATWBB (After There Will Be Blood). 

Although no single year recently has compared to the height of 2007, where three cinematic masterpieces — the aforementioned Blood, Michael Clayton and No Country For Old Men — went toe-to-toe-to-toe with each other for Best Picture, the last five years have delivered a more-than satisfactory list of classics that will stand the test of time. 

(Note: Sean Penn’s excellent adaptation of Into the Wild failed to draw the academy’s appreciation, but completed a quartet of films that would make 2007 standout as the best year so far this century, in my opinion.)

While the ATWBB period has failed to produce a film that has eclipsed what Paul Thomas Anderson’s tour de force accomplished, as well what Martin Scorsese’s The Departed reached the previous year, my top ten list is balanced with every year being represented almost equally (2010 has one, where 2012 has three).

In addition, only six of the films ended up receiving Best Picture nominees, while two were completely blanked from the Academy Award reception, and none of the ten listed here went on to win the top prize.

I can’t really cast my vote on what year stands out as the best because they all bring a solid legacy to the table. 2011 is the only year not represented in the top 5 on this list and that was a real tough choice.

Without further introduction, here are the ten best films from the last five years: 

10. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Coin flip decision to put SLB in front of Christopher Nolan’s Inception, but ultimately, I think David O. Russell’s psycho-drama is the better of the two films and most certainly has the advantage in the writing and acting departments. The last time a film earned nominations in each of the four acting categories was Reds in 1981, so I think that speaks volumes to the cast. Jennifer Lawrence is unquestionably the new generation’s most talented and Robert DeNiro made a great case to runaway with the Best Supporting statue, even though the nominees were all previous award winners. Overall, SLB ended up being the biggest surprise of any film I’ve seen in the last five years, which definitely makes it stand out. Initially, when I saw a preview I didn’t think much of it. Exiting the theater, I was making plans to see it again. It’s that good of a film.

9. Gran Torino (2008)

I was very close to putting Gran Torino on the Honorable Mention list; however, that would be a great disservice to one of Clint Eastwood’s greatest films. He has many, and I’d say this ranks No. 5 all time behind The Good, the Bad and The Ugly, Unforgiven, Dirty Harry and Million Dollar Baby. From beginning to end, this cultural epic makes so many important statements about racism, family and community in the 21^st century. It is unlike any film that’s ever been made and this organic quality, in what is ultimately a simple story, is what makes the film resonate. A vulnerable, yet heroic performance from Clint doesn’t hurt either. How he didn’t bring home Oscar gold, yet alone a nominee, for his turn as Walt Kowolowski will remain one of my biggest qualms with the Academy Award until the end of my days.   

8. District 9 (2009)

My favorite sci-fi movie in the past decade transcended the genre and earned a Best Picture nomination alongside the inferior Avatar. This film is so well directed and has so many elements that are worth praising (cinematography, sound, makeup), but most of all it is on this list because it is a touching, thought-provoking story that explores both what makes humanity great and what make it weak. I’ve heard grumblings about a sequel and I really hope that doesn’t happen. This is a Hollywood sci-fi movie that needs no follow up because the first time up to plate, it hit a home run.

7. Shame (2011)

I first saw Shame at the Denver Film Festival alone in my junior year of college. I can remember the theater’s reaction, the train ride home and even what I thought about as I was falling asleep that night. It was one of those movies that the experience of seeing it transcended the film itself and it would have stayed that way if I hadn’t re-watched it a few weeks ago. And boy, I’m glad I did. Director Steve McQueen (not the famously deceased actor) is an absolute titan behind the lens. and his ability to portray New York City as we watch sex addict Brendan (an unbelievable Michael Fassbender) unravel is sublime. I’d argue with anyone that this is the best-shot film of New York City, bar none. If that wasn’t enough, Shame’s courage to dive into the deep underworld of sexual addiction, and it’s subtle ability to ask the uncomfortable questions we are afraid to pose to ourselves about love, identity, gender, family, passion, and addiction, is unmatched in any film I’ve ever seen.

6. Midnight in Paris (2011)

Woody Allen’s comedic fantasy deals a lot with the past and why nostalgia is an innate part of the human condition. The themes of this movie alone intrigue me enough to put it on any list of top films (I’m a sucker for talking about retrospective endeavors and melancholy desires); however, the execution is why it ranks as the best film from 2011 and the sixth best on this list. Allen’s writing is impeccable, perhaps never better, here and the cast is ideally chosen from the offbeat Owen Wilson to the actors tasked with performing historical figures such as Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein (Alison Pill, Corey Stoll and Kathy Bates). What’s most exceptional about MIP though is the way it weaves the past and the present so meaninglessly together. When the movie ends, you want it to continue you on forever and that makes it stand out on this list — not that the ending isn’t satisfying; rather, the story is so easy to connect to that it transcends time and place.

5. The Master (2012)

Similar to Shame, Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow up to There Will Be Blood didn’t overly impress me on first viewing, but this film has many layers and in order to unravel them, a second (or even third) viewing is absolutely necessary. I have a feeling this will become a cult classic in years to come, but then again, the general public may never be willing to commit to the story of a WWII War veteran unraveling at the hands of a church leader and his family. What this film made me realize is this: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Pheonix in a room is as dynamic as any pairing in recent Hollywood history. Their repertoire is unmatched and the way they convey Anderson’s script is praiseworthy to say the least.

4. Lincoln (2012)

Steven Spielberg’s biopic met my extraordinarily high expectations and the fact it didn’t walk away with the Best Picture award in February is almost unfathomable. In a year of many pleasant surprises (see: Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom), Lincoln reigns supreme. While the films that rank below it on this list may be analyzed, discussed and thought about more for a variety of reasons, Lincoln equally resonates because it nails the difficult task of bringing real life events and real life people onto the screen as it breaks down our preconceptions of the impact these events have on our country. For a movie about history, this film accomplished the rare feat of not getting lost in telling facts; rather, it was more concerned about showing us how our 16^th president and his battle against slavery is a fight that was not only worth all the suffering it rendered, but more importantly, is a fight we must continue to fight until the end of time.

(Side note: I wanted to test myself and see if I could write a blurb on Lincoln without mentioning the name Daniel Day Lewis. Wasn’t easy but 165 words later, mission accomplished…sort of.)

3. The Social Network (2010)

Initially, I had The Social Network lower on this list but then I remembered how I felt when I first left the theater way back in October 2010 — like I had just seen the movie that would define my generation; the film that I would show my kids and say “this is the world Dad grew up in.” I still hold a lot of those feelings today when I think about what David Fincher accomplished with this story about the founding of Facebook. However, what makes it stand apart from almost every film on this list isn’t the directing (Fincher is at his best in Seven, the Game and Fight Club, though an Oscar win here would have been fine by me. Instead it’s the writing and it’s the editing. Every scene is perfect that to remove one piece of dialogue or one three-second shot, would be like removing the bottom log of a Jenga castle. Everything is necessary and every part feels needed and I think that’s what separates this from the rest of the pack.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

While The Social Network feels like the movie that defines our generation, The Dark Knight is that movie. To make a simple, true statement: TDK is the best superhero film ever. However, I don’t think the film’s legacy can be written about from a generational or comic book perspective. To do so would be to oversimplify everything that Christopher Nolan achieved when he set out to remake Batman and what this sequel does to all movie trilogies. I could go on for a while and praise the acting — Health Ledger with a top three performance ever — or the score or the cinematography, but there’s no need. The best way to describe what Nolan achieved is to ask someone — the next person you see, no matter where you are in the world — what his or her opinion is of the movie. I’m willing to bet it’ll be positive and somewhere in the dialogue these words will be spoken “one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.” I saw it a personal record four times in theaters and with soaring ticket prices that will probably never be eclipsed. Again, I could go on but there’s still one more movie left to talk about…

1. Inglorious Basterds (2009)

I’m definitely a man who likes to think about the impact of legacy in all areas of life — school, sports, films, shows, etc. However, legacy will never triumph personal preference. That’s the exact reason why my favorite movie is The Big Lebowski while Godfather and Godfather Part II round out my top 5.

Inglorious Basterds isn’t the type of film that will stand the test of time like The Social Network and The Dark Knight, but it is my favorite movie of the past five years and it wasn’t even one that jumped out at me during my first viewing. Four years later (almost five when I saw it back in August 2009), I have now seen the movie more times than I can count and I quote it more often than any movie that’s not named The Big Lebowski. What Quentin Tarantino accomplished with this bizarre-World War II fantasy is something that should be studied and passed down for future generations to learn from. And if it doesn’t make its way into the film criticism textbooks, then so be it. I will at least always enjoy sitting down and losing myself in Tarantino’s homicidal-revenged based universe.

Honorable mention: Inception (2010), In Bruges (2008), Wall-E (2008), Black Swan (2010), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Moneyball (2011), Blue Valentine (2010), The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), Frost/Nixon (2008), Cloud Atlas (2012)