The Movies of My Decade

The decade that has just ended is the decade where I found a deeper interest for movies. As a kid, I used to just watch any movie that is served and laugh when it's funny, get scared when there are ghosts, and get sad when it's emotional. Now, I am fascinated by how movies creatively tell (and invent) stories and how they affect us in many ways.

These films are in this list because of how much seeing them became remarkable/special to me (e.g. first-time experiences). Although some of my favorite movies (or those which I consider the best) are here, this list is not my version of "Best of 2010s".

Here are the films from the 2010s that left indelible marks in my heart: The Movies of My Decade.

The Avengers (2012)

The first of the four Avengers films is the first movie I ever got to watch in a cinema house. It was only in 2014 that going out with classmates to watch sine became a thing in Isabela (a province), when SM City Cauayan opened. So before that, it was only during my visits in Manila that I got to buy tickets and watch movies on the big screen.

The year was 2012 and I was spending the summer vacation in Manila and one day, I watched The Avengers with my father in the movie theater. I remember getting marveled (pun not intended) by Hulk beating Loki, and all other epic action scenes of the original 6 avengers.

 

The Social Network (2010)

Sometimes when I have nothing to do, I watch The Social Network again and skip to my favorite scenes with outstanding dialogues. The Social Network is my ultimate favorite movie, and it’s what I answer when someone asks me the slam book question.

The screenplay and the score are what I love most. I could watch it over and over again.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

I’ve seen some of Wes Anderson movies, but this particular one made me admire him so much and look out for his works. From a typical movie viewer before, I learned to look at how the films look like and appeal to the senses. The movie’s story is quirky and fun to follow, but it’s how happy my eyes were while watching the scenes. 

Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013)

Before the internet hype on the Salazar siblings, I have watched and fell in love with Four Sisters and a Wedding after a cousin’s recommendation. Back then, when I want to feel sad, I would just skip to the family confrontation scene and share a few tears with the characters. 
When I was a freshie in UP, the movie was a hit meme during UAAP 81’s Men’s Basketball championship between UP and Ateneo since these schools are the alma maters of the siblings.

La La Land (2016)

La La Land is my favorite musical film. Young me used to find it absurd seeing characters having to sing out their lines in musicals. Getting to watch La La Land later on gave me a different view.
My favorite part of the movie? The epilogue. The 9-minute ending scene is both so beautiful and heartbreaking, the perfect finale for such great film. I ended up saving the whole music album after.

Finding Dory (2016)

Finding Dory was the choice of our barkada one movie day out and it’s one of the most memorable. As kids, we watched Finding Nemo, and being able to watch the sequel when we were teens is something we did not want to miss.

The character that stole our attention? Becky, the bird. Until we went home, we can’t stop talking, laughing about Becky and its funny, remarkable scenes. We'd watch if there's a second sequel, Finding Becky.

Bar Boys (2017)

That day was a friends’ movie day intended for another Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2017 film 100 Tula Para kay Stella. I liked the movie (until I later found out it feels like a rip-off of 2009’s 500 Days of Summer), but I and my friends were destined to watch another festival entry, especially that the student rate then was just P100 each. It's Bar Boys.

Bar Boys instantly took a place in my heart. It’s one of my favorite Filipino films. I was about to graduate from high school then and somehow, it became my preview of college life. 
In 2019, when it was shown again in Cinema Centenario, I rewatched it, and it became the first movie I paid for twice to see in a movie house.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

The Toy Story movies are some of my favorites in Pixar. Toy Story 3 was special, because it was released a decade after its predecessor and in it, we see a grown-up Andy. (Toy Story 4 was released another 9 years after and it was also great, but the 3^rd movie makes it to this list.)
I watched Toy Story 3 a second time days before I started college. I related so much to Andy leaving his home for university life. The scene where he and his mother stare at his room before leaving hit me so much, as it was also my mom who accompanied me to my dorm in UP. The ending scene, where he gives out his much-loved toys, is just so emotional.

Metro Manila Film Festival 2016: Die Beautiful, Seklusyon, and Vince & Kath & James

In 2016, MMFF took a different turn when they had different criteria for their selection of films, removing the Vice Ganda and Vic Sotto flicks out of the picture. I vowed to myself to watch as many movies as I could, but I was in the province then and cinema offerings were limited. I ended up watching only 3/8 and these films were great for their own genres.

I felt the kilig and the screams of the audience when I saw Vince & Kath & James. I was scared by Seklusyon and was amazed by its cinematography. I clapped at the end of Die Beautiful.

Born Beautiful (2019)

One fine day in UP, I passed by the UP Film Center and saw the schedule for the day. It said: Born Beautiful Advance Screening. Since I had no more classes that time, I immediately called a friend to accompany me watch the film. Admission was free and it was my first time to attend a premiere of a movie.
After watching the film, we stayed to listen to the cast and crew as they answered questions from the press, and took selfies with some of the stars present, which are also first time experiences for me.

Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017)

Paddington and Paddington 2 are my favorite live action-animated films. The bear Paddington and both movies are so charming and adorable, feel-good, and inspiring. I also love the films’ creativity and the outstanding techniques they employed. The movies are visual treats.

Never Not Love You (2018)

If I were to name two of my favorite Filipino artists, they would be Nadine Lustre and James Reid, together known as JaDine. After their cheesy hit movie Diary ng Panget, they went on to star in mediocre movies meant to be forgotten, until Never Not Love You.

I was hyped when the movie trailer was released and saw how promising the movie was. I spent time tweeting about it that night instead of devoting my time to studying for the exams the next day. It was an Antoinette Jadaone direction, and it’s one of the realest love stories I’ve seen in movies. It is absolutely the best JaDine movie, and one of the best Filipino movies of the decade. I fell in love with the theme song, Ebe Dancel’s Prom.

When Nadine Lustre was awarded Gawad Urian Best Actress for her role in the movie, I was in the ceremony, for it was held in the UPFI Film Center, only that Nadine wasn’t able to attend.

Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2019: Cuddle Weather, LSS, Open, and The Panti Sisters

Eager to be able to watch as many Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2019 entries as I wanted, I attended the Grand Fancon and played games to win a festival pass. The festival pass allowed me to watch the entries for just P20 each. I aimed to watch all 10 entries but the PPP 2019 week was a busy week in school so I was only able to watch 6 (including G! and I’m Ellenya L).
I liked these four PPP films for different reasons: Cuddle Weather for its colors and poetic dialogues, Open for being so quiet yet so painful, LSS for its simple but sweet story, and The Panti Sisters, not just for the laughter, but for its commentaries on socio-political issues.

X-Men Days of Future Past (2014)

I am an X-Men fan (in the movies at least). There was one vacation I spent time watching all movies in the film series. 20^th Century Fox’s X-Men film series is about to end, with lots of misses due to overused storylines and characters that did not deliver. However, one X-Men movie stands out for me and other fans, Days of the Future Past.
The time travel story aspect is always cool, especially when movies get it right, and DOFP does it so. I also enjoy rewatching its trailer, deemed by Youtube comments as one of the best. We might be getting new X-Men characters and movies, but we must never forget the great film that is Days of Future Past.

Alone Together (2019)

In my first sem in UP Diliman, in my arts class towards the end of the term, we had unexpected visitors (prof did not tell us beforehand). I first saw director Antoinette Jadaone, who sat beside us. Later on, there was Liza Soberano. Turns out, the production team chose our arts class for Liza to sit in since she was about to take on a role of an Arts major in UP Diliman for her movie with Enrique Gil, Alone Together.

I saw the loveteam shoot a scene in UP’s sunken garden and even made a version of it later (for an org pubmat). The movie’s so close to my heart as an isko that I made sure not to miss watching it in cinemas.

Honorable Mentions

It Chapter 2 (2019). The It sequel is my first 4D movie experience. The smoke, water splashing, and chair movements added to the thrills. The movie's transitions caught my heart.

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and My Life as a Zucchini (2017). These movies made me fall in love with stop-motion animation and appreciate how much work is done to come up with such masterpieces. The first one's funny as hell, even without dialogues; the latter perfectly shows innocence, sadness, and longing.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018). I loved that there's a Hollywood movie of a mainly Asian cast. I talked about it in one impromptu speech in my Speech class.

There's a lot more of 2010s movies I haven't seen and for sure, I would also find even more that I would consider remarkable. But for now, these are the 2010s films I watched and deemed special due to certain reasons, and thus, they are the movies of my decade.

Here's to a new decade of great films!

This list only includes films I saw before 2020. My new all-time favorite, Jojo Rabbit (2019), is not here because I only saw it in March 2020.