best of 2010s – PopCult Reviews

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Films of 2019

The Farewell (directed by Lulu Wang)
From my full review:
Wang is very obviously influenced by contemporary European cinema in her shot composition, specifically the work of Ruben Ostlund. There are lots of intentional off-center shots with characters cut off on the sides of the frame or barely peeking up from the bottom. Wang uses her composition to bring out the humor and poignancy of scenes, for example, allowing an opera-singing performer at the wedding to underscore her cousin’s sloppy drunken crying fit in the middle of the banquet hall. There’s an absolutely fantastic slow-motion medium shot in the third act of the family walking towards the camera that is framed and scored to perfection. For a second film, the technique on display is remarkable. These are not the most dynamic scenes, people sitting in a room and talking, yet the cinematography is gorgeous.

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Television Part 4

555 (2017)
John Early and Kate Berlant became two of my favorite comedic talents during the 2010s. They met while doing stand up in New York and shared the same sensibilities. That leads to some of the best videos on YouTube and eventually, this limited series on Vimeo. 555 is five episodes centered around people who work in the entertainment industry. They are at different levels from a child actor to two self-centered executives to actors in a class. The other common thread is that these people are insanely self-absorbed and will passively-aggressively try to one-up each other to the point of absurdity. There is a beautiful line that gets crossed in every episode where it goes from awkward to the stupidest people in the world trying to impress each other. No one else can hit this type of comedy as well as Early & Berlant, and I want more.

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Television Part 3

Over the Garden Wall (2014)
Born out of the inspiration that Adventure Time brought to Cartoon Network, Over the Garden Wall is a mini-series following two brothers wandering through a mysterious forest and encountering strange people. The series was created by Patrick McCale, who had previously worked on Adventure Time and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Over the Garden Wall is a deep dive into the Americana aesthetic of the 19th & early 20th centuries. Many musical numbers consist of pre-1950s phonograph recordings. You’ll be reminded of early animation from the 1920s & 30s in many of these episodes. There’s such a remarkable charm to this show that few animated series possess. It’s funny while being genuinely terrifying at moments, enigmatic and wistful. It’s a program that understands what nostalgia actually is and how that feeling is different from reality. Our protagonists drift through abstract forest landscapes emerging into the dreams and fantasies of others, interacting for a while before being pulled into another story.

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Television Part 2

Billy On the Street (2011 – present)
The late-night show is a tired format in the 21st century, the same template slapped on the program no matter what the network. You see, a suited man deliver a monologue, maybe do a skit, interview a celebrity, add, rinse, repeat. Billy Eichner has taken the boring talk show and the game show and blended them together in a chaotic, frenzied, and beautiful mess. Often, Eichner tows a celebrity guest along with him as they rush through the streets of New York, asking passersby lightning speed questions and giving them little time to respond. The best moments are those subjective questions where Eichner inserts his personal opinions as to the correct answer, usually involving Meryl Streep. The series began on the obscure Fuse cable channel, transferred to TruTv, got picked up by Funny or Die, and is now currently sponsored by Lyft. Previous seasons have hopped around digital platforms but currently find their home on Netflix.

Best of the 2010s – My Favorite Television Part 1

Lost The Final Season (2010)
The decade began with an ending, the finale of one of the biggest shows of the 2000s. The phenomenon of Lost is something that will likely never be captured again. It was a network television series that became a must-see obsessive viewing for almost everyone you knew. The series was entrenched in conspiracy and theories, and each fan had their own wild take on what things meant and where the story was going. The reactions to the series finale were definitely mixed, to say the least. Some fans absolutely hated the character-focused wrap-up while others (like myself) defend how the story concluded. I followed the weekly podcast by Damon Lindeloff & Carlton Cuse religiously and knew that the first three seasons were stretched out longer than the creators wanted to. Once the series got to its fourth round of episodes, the show moved at a much faster pace with a clear intention. There was still plenty of mystery, but I argue that a lot of things were answered in subtle, ingenious ways. I also recommend watching the fan edit of Chronological Lost, where all flashbacks come first before the island, and the flash-forwards feel more cohesive. You can find that fan edit on the regular torrenting locations, and it gave me a great appreciation of the whole show.

Best of the 2010s: My Favorite Films of 2018

Woman at War (Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson)
From my review: The war in the title is most definitely a cold one, and arguably a conflict Halla is fighting with herself. There is a group of inept police and drones that show up in the second act, but they never really feel like a threat. It’s Halla and the mistakes she makes that lead to the film’s finale. Part of what Halla is moving towards is an understanding that you cannot save the planet alone, and by the end of the movie, there is a small but growing number of supporters. We also see her framed against the immense challenge of repairing the environment, further emphasizing how much she needs help. There are no answers to the big questions in Woman at War; instead, it helps soothe those anxieties and remind us we’re not alone.

Best of the 2010s: My Favorite Films of 2017

Beast (Directed by Michael Pearce)

From my review: There are some genuinely despairing moments, highlighting how a woman like Moll, coping with social-emotional issues can be used and beaten up by a society that just wants her to conform. She is pursued romantically by a local police officer whom Moll shuns when she ends with Pascal. Later, she needs this man’s help, and when she goes to him, he tosses her out on the street knowing her pleas are real and she is potentially going to be harmed. It’s a harsh moment and a significant turning point for Moll to come to the realization that she is by herself. The night that follows is transformative, including a metaphorical and literal self-burial. Moll emerges in the daylight with a plan to bring all this madness to an end.

Best of the 2010s: My Favorite Comics of the Decade Part 2

The Omega Men by Tom King (2015)
The latter half of 2015 could be considered the Tom King period for me. I’ve consistently enjoyed almost everything he’s put out, even the stuff that seems to have a significant fan backlash. This 12 issue series for DC Comics takes the Omega Men concept (aliens united as the result of an oppressive force) and revamped it thirty years after its original conception. The Omega Men fight against The Citadel, an interplanetary corporation that uses the destruction of Krypton as a means to sell their services, stabilizing the cores of worlds. The rare metal needed to fix these planetary cores is only found in planets within the Vega System; thus, the inhabitants of those worlds have been enslaved, and in some circumstances, wiped out by genocide to ensure the resources can be harvested. The Omega Men kidnaps former Green Lantern Kyle Rayner so that they might have a witness to the atrocities done to their people and to see their retribution.

Best of 2010s: My Favorite Comics of the Decade Part 1

These are the comic books that I enjoyed reading the most that were published in the last decade. You’ll definitely see some recurring authors and characters, signifying my personal bias. I know there are a ton of great books I haven’t read from this period and as time goes on I plan on reading some (look for a huge Image Comics read-through in early 2020). Please let me know of any titles not on my list as I may have not read them and always appreciate recommendations.

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman (2010)
Jonathan Hickman came onboard Fantastic Four at the start of the decade with big plans for not just this series but Marvel as well. He adhered to that original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby of exploring the unknown and created an optimistic, diverse possible future. The best thing Hickman gave us, and what has been criminally underused since, is the Future Foundation. The Future Foundation was Reed Richards’ effort to cultivate the next generation of scientists, and it played with reader expectations. Of course, Franklin and Valeria Richards are part of the team, but Hickman also includes some adolescent Moloids, the android Dragon Man, and a clone of Reed’s foil The Wizard. Not only is this a great read, one of the best Fantastic Four runs we’ve ever gotten, but it’s also almost essential reading to understand this last decade of Marvel comics.

Best of the 2010s: My Favorite Films of 2016

My Life as a Zucchini (Directed by Claude Barras)

From my review: Director Barras shows us the sorrow of these children and their instinct to be defensive when meeting new people. Simon could easily be framed as the bully trope as soon as he’s introduced. However, there’s an intent to develop him, and he gives up on his act about a day into Zucchini’s arrival. They swap “war stories,” Simon acting as though his background of parents who were drug abusers wasn’t a big deal. Simon casually remarks about himself and the other children that “there’s nobody left to love us.” In the third act, we see how much it pains Simon to lose friends and how standoffish he becomes. Thankfully, Zucchini is aware of what’s going on beneath Simon’s behavior and ensures his friend that he loves him.