Blade Runner 2049

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

The plot: This film is the sequel to the groundbreaking 1982 sci-fi movie about an overpopulated and polluted future in which emotionless human clones known as Replicants are used as slaves and the rogue ones are hunted by cops called Blade Runners. In this follow-up, a replicant named K (Ryan Gosling)  who works for the police as a Blade Runner discovers a conspiracy that might crumble their society.

What Makes It Great: Unlike most modern sequels, Blade Runner 2049 never seems concerned with reviving the franchise simply to make two more cash-grabbing sequels. Instead, Blade Runner 2049 is intent on continuing the complex themes and ideas of the original movie in interesting and new ways. The first film’s questions of “Do memories make us human?” and “What qualifies as a soul?” are continued here intelligently. The other element of Blade Runner 2049 that makes it so great is how jaw-droppingly beautiful it looks. Roger Deakins’s flawless cinematography combined with Denis Villeneuve’s stellar directing results in one of the most gorgeous looking films I have ever seen in my life. I guarantee that there is not a single mundane shot in the whole movie. Because of this aesthetic, the world, while dirty and grimy looks like a work of art. Blade Runner 2049 is by far one of the best sequels ever made.

The Babadook 

Directed by Jennifer Kent

The plot: A struggling single mother (Essie Davis) tries to raise her son with behavior issues (Noah Wiseman) and one night, she reads a story to him about a creature called the Babadook that invades your home and drives you mad. Slowly, the Babadook seems to seep into their lives as the mother starts to lose her sanity.

What Makes It Great: The Babadook is an incredibly disturbing movie but probably not for the reasons you might think. Most horror films this decade, seem to rely on cheap jump scares and gore to shock audiences. This is the laziest way to perform horror. A friend once said to me “a jumpscare in a horror movie is like tickling you to make you laugh in a comedy” and I completely agree with that statement. The Babadook is a great horror film because it remembers where true terror lies: in how the mind shatters when reacting to horror. The mother (who is phenomenally portrayed by the criminally underrated Essie Davis) goes mad due to the stress and grief of her dead husband and her difficult relationship with her son. In fact, it is heavily implied that the haunting creature is a figment of her imagination and pain. This is what The Babadook focuses on. So when the scares do happen, you understand the characters’ mindset when they are being terrorized, which makes them the fear more real and relatable than any  Jason Vorhees stabbing. The Babadook is a horror film that works because it reminds the audience of where the best terror comes from.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Directed by Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman

The plot: In this animated comic book film, a young teen named Miles Morales (Shamik Moore) gains the abilities of Spider-Man and must be taught how to use them by a Spider-Man from a different dimension (Jake Johnson.)

What Makes It Great: Before I get into what makes Spider-Verse so surprisingly spectacular, I must first bring up my thoughts on animation in general. Animation is possibly one of the most underrated art forms in the world. So many people believe that “cartoons” are nothing more than mere kid’s stuff with no way of possibly being mature and adult (but to be fair, that’s how most studios have been treating animation lately.) I couldn’t disagree more if I tried. Animation at its best is the imagination unlimited as there is no limit to what you can create. You don’t have to be limited by budgets and the real world. An animator can do things like exaggerate facial movements and bring backgrounds to life in a way live-action can’t. And that is the first thing I must praise Spider-Verse for as it’s animation is nothing short of STUNNING. Instead of the usual approach to 3D animation, this film instead opts for a cell-shaded art style. This gives the film more personality and visual flair. As much as I adore Blade Runner 2049’s gorgeous aesthetic, I will admit when it comes to visuals, Spider-Verse is the best of the 2010s. However, looks alone are not all the movie has going for it. Spider-Verse is filled with so much great humor and heart, that it is not only possibly the best-animated film of the decade but it also is one of the best comedies of the decade. This is due to the sharp and witty writing of Phil Lord and Christoper Miller, who are easily some of the best comedic writers of the modern era. Also, each character feels so well developed and quirky with their distinct personalities. This leads to the film’s great emotional moments that mix beautifully with the more comedic ones. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the best-animated films in recent memory.

Nightcrawler

Directed by Dan Gilroy

The plot: An unemployed anti-social man named Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal)  finds work as a freelance photojournalist selling footage of violent incidents to a local news company.

What Makes It Great: One night, I was watching the local news and it was nothing but a continuous stream of car crashes and murders. I realized that this is not news but instead exciting stories to draw in more viewers. This is why Nightcrawler not only works as a great neo-noir thriller but also as a unique analysis of the modern-day news media. When Lou sells his footage of things like home invasions, car crashes, and murder, the news broadcasters don’t shy away from showing it. This is not because they want to educate the public but they know it will give them more viewership and attention. Nightcrawler feels so chillingly accurate in its portrayal of the way news is told today. Speaking of portrayals, Jake Gyllenhaal shines as the cold and socially distant Lou. He plays a character that shows very little emotion yet it never feels like Gyllenhaal is giving minimum effort. He feels like a true anti-social person and not a ridiculous Hollywood version. His character is helped by the great writing both on his character and the whole film. The screenplay is very compact as it never drags while at the same time never glossing over important character details. Nightcrawler is an underrated thriller with great performances and satire.