Top 20 Films of the Half-Decade Part 1

Hey, this is Steve Blum, and you are listening

to the Geekcast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to episode 76 of The Cinema Geeks. I am one of

your Cinema Geeks optimists, so a little joining

me is Movie Revolt. Dan, hello. Hey, how's it

going? Not too bad. And of course, hard candy

Mandy. Hello? Hello, we're back! We're back!

and took a little bit of a hiatus over the holidays.

Had some scheduling conflicts, some technical

issues, and these things called holidays. So,

that and the fact that about, what, three dozen

movies came out, it seems like, on Christmas

Day, or the week before, or the week after. So,

we've just all been catching up with movies and

doing family things. But we're back, it's 2016,

and we're bringing you a special episode to conclude

our series of our top list of the half decade.

That's gonna kick off the fun here in 2016. and

give you a two part episode of our top 20 films

of the half decade. And then we'll be back with

all the fun year end slash year beginning stuff

that we normally do. So top movies of the year

from last year, most anticipated for 2016, box

office predictions for 2016, and then that'll

all just run into the Oscar funds. So a lot of

stuff coming up. Dan, how was your holiday? I

was it was mighty nice. I went home for the holidays

where I grew up which was nice as I have not

been there since The summertime so it was a good

time very busy so much so that I ended up getting

a cold So if I sound awful more so than usual

this episode, I do apologize Amanda, how was

your holiday? I think Santa was better to me

than I deserved, probably. I think that's what

normally is the theme, so it's pretty good. He's

old and sea now, so. It's just this face. I fool

everybody with this angelic baby face. But yeah,

the holidays were good. We're busy, that's for

sure. They flew right by, but we're definitely

excited for all the fun stuff coming up in 2016.

Dan, anything that you want to preface or get

out there before we start attacking the first

half of our list? No, I mean, I would say, like,

when I ended up doing this list, I don't know

how many times. So I ended up thinking, like,

These are just the top 20 films that affected

me this past decade in whatever way There may

be maybe more prestigious films or ones that

are more personal choices that are on here But

it's the only way I with so many movies I could

I feel like I could accurately rank them. So

That's the way I went And I'm with you. I think

I did my version a couple different times. Originally.

We were gonna do top 50 I believe and then we're

gonna do 30 or 25 or 20 or 10, we kept going

back and forth with how many numbers we were

going to do. And no matter what number we settled

on, it was going to be a hard task for sure to

try to pack those five years into any type of

list. But I kind of am with you. I have some

more. Personal favorites or things that affected

me on a personal level I also have some that

just think represent those five years even if

they might not be the most You know Oscar critically

acclaimed, you know Award -worthy movie, but

I do have some of those in there as well Amanda

How was your first attempt of narrowing down

this half -decade list and how did you come up

with your 20? Well, I was writing them each time.

I wasn't typing them with you and your cool spreadsheets.

So I have a ton of different versions of this

written over and over again. And it's definitely

a very personal list. I don't think there's anything

that's too critically acclaimed on my list. I

don't know. We'll see. We'll see. Well, why don't

you start us off with your number 20 pick? Well,

my criteria was that I left off anything animated,

pretty much everything comic book because those

two would definitely just dominate my list completely.

And I do have a couple cheats, of course, but

of course, so my number, 20. And this is going

to be the one that I probably get the most hate

for, and that's The Heat from 2013 with Sandy

B and Tammy. And Tammy? Is that just what we

call her now? That's just what we call her now.

So this movie has a ton of rewatchability for

me. I had so much fun with it. I just wanted

to hang out with these broads. So this is one

I own and will definitely rewatch and has become

one of my faves. Yeah, I mean hey like you said

it's a personal choice. I actually like the heat.

I think it's a I do enjoy that movie I don't

know if I put in my top 20, but I understand

you know Being a fan why you enjoy it so I get

that I don't think it's a bad movie by any choice.

I enjoy They definitely have a good chemistry,

and I I love it's good seeing good R rated comedy

Which we you know we're starting to get a research

itself, which is kind of cool Yeah, and I'm safe

from commenting because I haven't seen the film

so Avoided that so it's got bill burr in it.

So it's got that going on. All right. Yeah, I'm

sure at some point in 2016 I will be subjected

to watch that film and then I can report back

Dan. How about you? What's your number 20? I

guess my number 20 is kind of a cheat because

I guess technically it's 20 2009 movie, but it

was released in the US in 2010 so But it's from

a director that you you're aware of Kevin's I

know you're a big fan of snowpiercer and it comes

from Bong Ju Ho, but it's not so piercer. It's

a 2010 film mother It's a South Korean film obviously

not North Korean cuz that'd be weird But it's

about this this mother obviously and her trying

to prove the innocence of her who's her son who's

obviously has a a mental disability and has basically

been charged with murder. And if you know anything

about Bong Ju Ho is that his films, even if you

look at something like Snowpiercer, have just

like a tonality to them that's ever -changing.

And that's so much true in Mother, and the thing

is it's capsulated in the most, and it's two

bookend shots, where they're very similar shots,

but just the context of them completely changes

what they represent and how in the journey that

the movie goes through at times. it's more comedic,

at times it's more dramatic, shocking, it's a

little bit of everything, but it's really powered

through its performance of its main character,

and I'm not even gonna try to pronounce your

name and butcher in that way, but I don't know

if, like I said, this is... This came out on

2010 and this is when I was starting to getting

into movies of this nature about five, six years

ago when I was really getting into podcasts and

that's really one of the big reasons I put it

on here was because of it kind of opened the

door for me to South Korean film and the abundance

that was there. So I felt like I had to find

a place for it. It was my favorite film of the

time in 2010 when I saw it. But yeah, that's

my number 20 pick. And I don't remember what

we were doing as far as the the network goes

in 2010 But we must have been interacting in

some way shape or form because I do remember

you champion in this film quite a bit and for

some reason I have forgot about it after the

fact and I still haven't caught up with it and

especially with snowpiercer I would like to catch

up with that and see what that one's like because

I remember a lot of good things being said about

it back in 2010 Yeah, it's I would I would definitely

was it was on Netflix for the longest time I

don't think it's still there, but uh, I would

if you get the chance, I think it's worth a watch

Alright for my number 20. I'm not going that

far back. We're only going back to 2014 which

I guess I can't say is last year anymore But

we're going to 2014 the last year of the half

decade that we're covering a film I think pretty

much everybody is familiar with this is not one

that I would have thought would have been on

my list Right away after I watched it, but the

more Time that's gone past the more it's grown

on me and the more Yeah, I think it's elevated

itself a little bit for me and that would be

from 2014 the film Calvary it was one of very

few films in 2014 that did rise to the top for

me and I just think Brennan Gleeson is amazing

first of all and just about anything he does

and I just think there's a lot of rich thematic

stuff going on in that film and it's like I said,

it's a film that kind of Has a longer life than

just the runtime and it can kind of Give you

a lot of things to think about and ponder as

you kind of dissect it or or think about it as

the weeks Go by months go by after you've seen

it. So that's my number 20 Calvary Yeah, I had

that my top ten I guess whenever that movie came

out two years ago or last for everyone to say

it. I agree I especially from the opening and

just the opening shot of just Brendan Gleeson

I think it's kind of just like yeah, that dude

is a legit actor So and so is the son now so

who has a really great little role in that movie

as well Yeah. All right, Amanda. That means it's

time for your number 19 Okay, uh just want to

say that this Half of my list is probably going

to be pretty weird and definitely not like your

guys's but these these all definitely affected

me and something that I Held as something pretty

awesome and this is one of those as the wolf

man from 2010 with Anthony Hopkins Benicio Toro

and Emily blunt I believe and I think this was

a really really cool adaptation I think it's

probably one of the coolest to werewolf transformations

I've ever seen ever and I love me so Toro and

everything Anthony Hopkins was so creepy in this

even more so than probably Hannibal at some points

So I really really enjoyed this movie. I go to

sleep to this movie. I can watch it over and

over again and I just love how dark it is and

just it's got its own look. I can say that but

it's one that I definitely can. Number one, I'm

not going to try to predict a single movie that's

going to come on your list. I'm not sure how

many pics we're going to have before I've seen

the movie that's on your list either, so I can't

comment too much on the Wolfman. Dan, have you

seen it? I have not. I remember wanting to see

it when it came out, but I just never did. I

did see the transformation scene that you're

speaking of, and I do know that that was highly

praised at the time for sure, just special effects

wise. But I have not seen Wolfman, no. Oh, please

do. Please do. I'm just gonna apparently have

a whole list of movies I have to watch and report

back now after this. Dan what about you? Where

are you going for number 19? Well whenever 19

and I was one that you did see Kevin and it's

again one from 2013 and it's it's funny because

it's that we're around the holidays because when

the holidays tend to happen now this is like

the first movie I think of mainly because of

how much like the family dynamics in this remind

me of my family mostly When you see scenes of

these families just kind of standing sitting

kind of quietly in front of TV's not saying anything

or just talking about traffic and It was one

of the funniest films of the last decade for

me and I didn't necessarily but not necessarily

a comedy and that's Nebraska you obviously with

Brewster and and One of my favorite performances

in the last few years I I was not really truly

familiar with him until until this came up and

I just loved that and his relationship with Forte

and it's it ends on such a Sweet little note

as well. And I don't know. I just hit me in all

the white braces. It looked I think it looks

great. I even like even the poster for itself

just I don't know there's something to it is

amazing that using black and white I think was

really effective especially with the the look

of Brewster and space you just see the wornness

on him and Everything it goes through it's got

a really subtle sense of humor that I enjoy as

well So I I don't know I find it's endlessly

we watchable. It's just one of those movies so

I Don't know much more than to say in it. But

again, it surprised me in how much I liked it.

It's not necessarily the most complex film which

is kind of straightforward but that's kind of

what I like about it. It's just simple and to

the point. Yeah, I think you said it well too

as far as something that surprised you because

I wasn't expecting to like that one as much as

I ended up liking it either it's definitely I

think one of the best films of that year and

the performances not just with Bruce Dern but

with basically the whole cast was pretty amazing

and a couple other ones that were surprising

that I didn't you know necessarily think could

be pulled off by the actors who were in charge

of it so yeah I think it's a very humorous, but

it also has a lot of more, I don't want to say

sentimental in like a cliche way, but more thoughtful

and provoking moments as well. And like you said,

the family dynamic is just something to it's

something that's real. It's something that's

genuine and you don't always get that in a lot

of a lot of films in Hollywood and stuff like

that. So I think that's a great pick. Yeah, that's

that's one. Finally, we have one that Amanda

needs to watch. So we'll put that on her list.

So for my number 19, this movie was again, this

is before I was watching over 100. movies a year

and getting into the podcasting thing kind of

full force. It's coming from 2011. But I just

remember seeing this one and just being kind

of blown away by a lot of the different aspects

of that. And that would be The Descendants from

2011 starring George Clooney and a very early

younger version of Shailene Woodley before anybody

really knew who she was. But again, I think it

goes back to what you were saying with Nebraska,

Dan, it's dealing with that family dynamic and

dealing with the idea of even though it's technically

not us. Apparent family, but it's basically George

Clooney trying to run the show by himself and

that I could connect with a lot on a personal

level and I just thought like you like we were

saying with Nebraska there was a lot of real

genuine moments that you know, they didn't necessarily

try to sugarcoat or pull any punches and I just

thought it was a lot of fun humorous and touching

at the same time So a lot of the same reasons

why I like Nebraska is why I put descendants

on my list two Alexander Payne movies back to

back. So there you go Yeah, craziness. Alright,

Amanda, what do you have for number 18? Let's

continue with the creepy vibe that's going on

in my list here. My number 18 is Cabin in the

Woods from 2012 with the Hemsworth. Which Hemsworth?

The Hemsworth. We'll get to the other Hemsworth

eventually, but this is the Hemsworth. Of course.

I really like the concept of this. I thought

it was really cool. I loved so much about this

film, and this is another one that I'm going

to rewatch. I think that's probably a theme on

my list, is something that I can rewatch and

still get the same effect out of me. This is

a film on your list that I have seen, so I'm

not a huge fan of the horror genre, but I actually

quite enjoyed that. film and what it was doing

and I guess the motto or the the message it was

trying to get across and not taking itself super

seriously and I thought it was a lot of fun too

so I think I think a lot of people spoke pretty

highly of that when it came out. I think it took

a weird turn but I mean it was actually in my

when we did our top 10 science fiction I put

it in there like it was my top 10 sci -fi for

the year and I mean I'm a huge fan of Bradley

Woodford and him and Jenkins have a really great

dynamic in this. They're probably my favorite

part of the entire film. But yeah, I love Captain

Wood, so good call. Alright, we're all in support

of that one because it's not just not just because

it's one we've seen either All right, Dan, what

do you have for your number 18? Another 18 is

probably another personal choice probably movie

I'd like more than anyone I don't really know

why I just I don't know something about it ended

up connecting me with me in a really a visceral

level and Let's start up came out two years ago

kind of came out of nowhere I ended up watching

it just because I've heard good things and I

was kind of blown away with what I saw Jack McConnell

plays this young kid who's been in jail is basically

his juvie's entire life. He gets called up or

starred up into the full -scale adult prison

where his strange father ends up being. But I

think what really got me with this film are just

the intense... the extreme intensity that's throughout

and just how much is told. There's these scenes

where you have kind of counseling sections and

there's so much tension throughout the entire

thing and just guys in the room talking. And

it really, Jack O 'Connor impressed me and also

has one of my favorite actors of the last decade,

Ben Mendelsohn as well, who gives a fantastic

performance. So I don't know, it ended up. Something

about it just just impresses me just it's his

ability to really just build this character And

I mean it does get a little bit sloppy near the

end I guess but I ended up really enjoying it

So did you say a strange father or strange father?

I said a strange father. I Think he fits both

bills, but a little bit. He's a little bit of

both. But yeah, he's kind of like Five foot seven

yet. Yeah, and so acts like he's like on top

of the world. So right. No, I think this is a

good pick I don't think you're alone with the

with the appreciation for this film It's actually

written down on my sheet of honorable mentions

for this list because it was definitely one that

was in High consideration for making my list.

It didn't quite make it in the end But I totally

understand why this is one that we caught up

with this last year I think as a homework assignment

from you and I'm in full support of that one.

I made it. What do you think of startup? Yeah,

I definitely considered it for my list. I just

I You know, I enjoyed it. I just couldn't find

a room on my list for it, but definitely good

pick All right. Well my number 18 like to him

said with his is strictly a personal choice and

you said that You probably love Year 18 more

than anybody else. I think that's an understatement

when it comes to my 18, because I literally am,

I think, the only person that truly loves this

film. And I don't know why either. It just, for

some reason, resonated with me, and I liked a

lot of the artistic choices. Like I said, I know

a lot of other people don't love it and wouldn't

necessarily rank it this high, but it is from

2013, and that would be The Book Thief. Obviously,

Dan, you know I've been championing this one

the whole way around. It was on my top 10 list

in 2013. It was not on a single other human being's

top 10 list for that year. I've been talking

about it ever since. I know you've seen it recently

and got some exposure to it. Like I said, I know

I'm overrating this. I guess I don't want to

use that word. Maybe he'd be more love on this

film than it deserves, but for some reason it

struck a personal chord with me So I wanted to

give us some more love I guess yeah I ended up

you gave that to me for homework excitement as

well and I did I didn't like it more than I thought

I would say I thought it'd be just this kind

of I don't know by the books numbers of a holocaust

movie, but I think it's definitely more than

that and Great score by John Williams as well,

and really solid child performances throughout

it too. So I would actually think that's worth

people checking out. It's not, I don't know,

it got hammered, and I don't know if it's just

because people just kind of prejudged it beforehand,

but I think it's much better than people give

it the credit for. Thank you Amanda has not seen

that but I got it for Christmas so she'll be

catching up with that real soon So Amanda, where

are you taking us in? What type of horror film

do you have for us at number 17? Stepping away

from horror slightly for a little bit here. I'm

taking it to 2013 Star Trek into darkness. Oh

man, the geeks are gonna be up in arms in either

applauding or shouting at you. I don't know what

they're going to do. It is pretty low. You know,

I really liked, um, I liked all the characters,

all the performances in this. Uh, I had a great

time with all of it in Hemsworth. The Hemsworth

was in it briefly, just saying. I don't know,

was it the other one? That's not this one, was

it? What? Chris Pines? He's the dad. It's the

it's Thor is the dad. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you

can't really recognize him. He's not as buff.

He's the original Star Trek 2009. Yeah. Yeah.

He's not as buff. But I'm really digging the

franchise and I'm excited for the next installment

to come out. So I had to find some room on here.

I don't nearly have the problem with Star Trek

Into Darkness as so many. quote -unquote trekkies

seem to have. I enjoyed it just about as much

as I did the 2009, I believe it was, the original

reboot there. I'm enjoying what they're doing

with that, too. I don't necessarily see the problems

that everybody else sees. I think if you just

allow yourself to have some fun with it, it's

an entertaining time, and I think it's better

than a lot of the other blockbusters you get

throughout the year, so I like Into Darkness.

More so than most. I do like the 2009 one a lot

more. I had some issues with Into the Dark, but

not necessarily to the level that people make

it out to be the worst Star Trek movie ever.

And I'm like, have you seen Star Trek V? There's

so many bad Star Trek movies. It's not even close.

It's not even the top five worst. Right. All

right, so Star Trek making an appearance on our

list here. Dan, what do you have next? I should

have made a note that I did include documentaries

in my top 20. I know it's hard to kind of compare

them to regular films, but for me, like documentaries

are a huge part of my movie going experience

or movie viewing experience. So I had to include

them someplace. So you will see a couple of them

throughout. And the first one I'm going to talk

about is 2010 Senna. It's a documentary that's

actually made up of completely of archival footage.

And it's about this Indy car driver and his rivalry.

with other IndyCar drivers. This infamous Senna,

who is one of the most popular drivers of his

time and most accomplished. I'm not a race car

fan at all. I don't know the difference between

an IndyCar or a NASCAR. I have no idea. It's

just a really compelling human story that you

don't even need that and I was just impressed

with the ability to tell the story There's no

real interviews. No talking hands. No narration

It's just using actual footage to tell the story

and the same director did a similar documentary

this year, which I haven't seen yet Amy So I

was looking forward to checking that same thing

where it's just using archival footage and personal

footage and things like that But it's just really

well edited real well put together and like I

said, even if you're not a fan of racing or sports,

that's a part of it, but it makes it interesting.

It's to me one of the best put together documentaries

of the last decade by far. All right. Yeah, I

think what was keeping me away from from that

one is my distaste for the NASCAR slash whatever

Indy car race car stock car. I don't know what

the terms are but Hot Wheels I don't know it's

something to do with that but I'll have to give

it a chance at some point here for my next one

I'm actually gonna go back all the way to 2011

but it is gonna be the film that I saw most recently

so just a recent catch -up here that we did over

the the holiday season or right beforehand, and

I think it's worthy enough to be puttin' on this

list. I think a lot of other people would also

have it on a list of top films of the half decade.

They'd probably be mad that I don't have it higher,

and maybe that's just because I just recently

saw it and want some more time to kind of reflect

on it a little bit, because I'm, I think, the

last one to the party on this one, and that is

2011's film Drive. I think I said it. I'm kind

of shocked you liked that movie, to be honest

with you. I am shocked. No, no, I actually did

like the film. Yeah. Uh, and that's just with

the most, you know, like I said, I just saw it

less than a month ago. So I, I think I need to

watch it a second time to just kind of have a

chance to kind of fully dissect it a little bit

and then sit on it and then see where it ends

up after that. But my bag was, I quite enjoyed

it. Um, I enjoyed the tone of it. Uh, I enjoyed

the Gosling and just kind of. everything that

was happening with it. I know everybody else

has seen it multiple times since then. Amanda's

I think that was her third time seeing it at

least. And I know a lot of people have been championing

it for a long time. And I just for some reason

hadn't caught up to it. But I'm glad I did. And

I think it's definitely worthy of being in the

discussion for one of those films of the half

decade. Well, I'm not going to say about it right

now. Maybe later. All right. All right. Well,

apparently we'll talk about this film a little

bit later so everybody can save their thoughts.

So, Amanda, what's up for your number 16? Let's

get into some comedy here. I got 2010 and that's

The Other Guys with Will and Marky Mark. I think

this is one of the most quotable movies for me.

I love their chemistry. I had a lot of fun with

their their partner dynamics or whatever you

want to call it. I think even the weird little

thing that they had with Sam Jackson in The Rock

for that brief little bit. That was one of the

most shocking moments of that year, I think,

in film. I don't think anybody went into that

film expecting that to happen like it did. I

had a blast with this, and this is another one

that I'm going to re -watch over and over again.

I need to re -watch. I haven't seen that in a

while. This is actually the... the last comedy

to not make my list it was if i had included

one more comedy it would have been this one and

i had a ton of fun with this one and it's one

of those that stands out and the year -by -year

thing that we seem to get lately where there's

hardly any comedies that stand out at least not

like quote -unquote comedies it seems like everybody's

favorite comedies these days are not full on

comedies. They're something that mixes some other

type of genre or they're just a genre film that

is funny. It's not like you're straight up billed

as a comedy. And this is one of those that actually

paid off on like the dozens of others that we

get on a yearly basis. So I'm a big fan of the

other guys. Yeah, actually it was just, we watched,

it was on TV like in someone's house that was

at over the holidays. I'm like, yeah, man, I

forget, you just forget how funny that movie

is. It's, it's quite good. So I, great choice.

All right, Dan, what is your number 16? From

my number 16, I'm normally not a fan of 3D, but

there are occasions where it ends up working

and really even, I think, making the film better.

And I think that happens with my number 16 choice,

which I think is one of the most beautiful films

that I've ever seen, and that is Life of Pi.

Ang Lee's visual striking story about a boy in

a boat with a tiger that is, I don't know. all

levels of awesome, really, and a great story.

I completely love the ending and how it kind

of recontextualizes itself in its stance of religion

and really humanity as a whole, and special effects

-wise, it is fantastic, and I don't know, it's

a movie that is... so much. If anything, maybe

I don't have it high enough, but it's a great

feat and an impressive performance by an actor

doing his first movie ever, which is kind of

insane considering the situation. So it's quite

the film and I think it shows how great of a

director Ann Lee can be because his movies can

really cover the gamut from this to like Brokeback

Mountain. He can kind of do a little bit of everything.

So my number 16 is Life of Pi. I think one of

the most impressive parts of that film, when

you're talking about the visual aspects, and

it's been said multiple times, so I'm kind of

a broken record, but the whole idea that you

cannot tell when that tiger is real and when

it's not, you know, it just is, you have to convince

yourself, you have to remind yourself that that's

CG at times, and it's just, and that adds to

the idea of the performance from the actor there,

and I can't remember his name, but the idea that

you're giving that performance basically, without

anybody else's help. You know, you're performing

against visuals that aren't there. So I think

that's impressive. I think, like you said, just

from a visual standpoint, from an effect standpoint,

from and that's not even touching the story and

the thematic elements that you get throughout

the and that's the strongest part of that film.

So it has a lot working for it. So I totally

agree with you on that one. All right. For my

number 16. Amanda, you might be eliminating animated

films and superhero films, but I could not do

the same. And if there is a superhero film that

I think at least should be involved in the discussion

of the top films of the half decade, I think

you could make the argument for a couple, actually.

But the one that I think was the most impressive

for how it did not fail... is the film from 2012

Marvel's The Avengers. I know you could make

an argument for some of the Captain America films

or the X -Men films, and I wouldn't disagree

with you on those. The reason I decided to put

Avengers on there, though, out of all those,

is just because it just shouldn't have worked.

And we saw why it shouldn't have worked, I guess,

a little bit with Age of Ultron, but... Just

putting all of those guys and then trying to

decide and decipher how you're going to share

the screen time, how you're going to kind of

let it be fun, but still let story progress and

this, that, and the other. And for some reason

with Avengers, it seemed that it all clicked

pretty well. And it kind of went off without

a hitch. I think there's a lot of funny parts.

There's good action. There's good character moments.

So I think it paid off big time for the Marvel

Cinematic Universe. Don't know if they're gonna

be able to recapture that maybe they will with

the Captain America Civil War this year But up

to this point, it's the best collaboration film

that they've done. So I put Avengers on my list

I think it's if I'm just straight up like movie

experiences It's one of my favorites, you know

the last five years for sure Just writing in

that theater being hearing the cheering it it

was it was quite the event so and I think one

of the criteria and the reason why it's on my

list I for this for the half decade is because

I wanted to put some films on there that were

representative of those five years and I don't

think you can do that without at least putting

a superhero film on there because it's been such

a huge part of the of film in the last five years

with the 30 plus superhero films we seem to have

gotten but uh so for that reason I just wanted

to put some type of representation for superhero

films amongst this part of the decade. Well,

thanks for shitting all over my criteria. No,

if you were eliminating that, we already did

our top 10 superhero films, so I totally get

not putting them on here. It was just one of

the things that I wanted to include, but I don't

fault you for not putting them on your list.

I'm like Thor. Thor 2. Guardians of the Galaxy.

Alright, Amanda, that means it's your turn for

number 15. To bring it back to 2010 with another

scary joint with insidious. This movie scared

the crap out of me. So bad. I think that - You're

just getting back at the fact that we didn't

do a top 10 horror film. God damn it, yes. I

don't need your horror list. I got my own right

here. I mean, it sparked its own little mini

-franchise. I mean, it's got three out now, I

think. And plus, you know, the conjuring and

things like that. It's got - even spin -offs

now. So I think that this started its own little

resurgence of what horror can be. I mean, it

scared the crap out of me, and it's the same

kind of... You know haunting or the paranormal

feel but it just it bumped it up a level and

it took it there for me And actually I did see

in cities. It didn't scare me. I mean the thing

I keep thinking about it There's like a little

kid ghost dancing that still is on smart dreams.

It's With the Tiny Tim music. It's just yeah

So that's all I need to hear to know that I should

never watch this film. So I recently saw in CS3

and I guess not recently. It's been a little

while now I'm able to sleep in the room after

Kevin has left for the day by myself and not

be terrified because there's some scenes that

really stuck with me and So yeah Dan before I

get scared anymore by these stories of these

scary movies. What's your number 15? Well, my

number 15 is definitely not a scary movie again.

It's another a documentary And it's a documentary

buck It's this documentary that is kind of based

upon a movie probably well not based upon but

really the behind -the -scenes story in a little

bit of The man who inspired the movie the horse

whisperer It's it sounds kind of an odd choice

for a documentary but it really ends up working

because what you have is this guy who kind of

has this complex life and victim of child abuse

and he He finds this kinship with horses and

this ability to really kind of take these horses

that others can't kind of seem to handle and

break them down and be able to really train them

and it's used it's this really personal story

and I know 10 the documentaries that the tend

to get a lot of attention or the cause Documentaries

or things like that and buck is one that's not

gonna do that They're not gonna really get the

Oscar attention because it's really just a story

about a man and really personal journey There's

a really kind of heartbreaking scene where you

see him dealing with a horse that was been kind

of mistreated and you can kind of see the effect

it has on him and he it's this guy that you know

it's this classic cowboy with the hat and the

boots but I think you kind of really get to know

him and get to see what what kind of shaped him

into the person that he is and you find out he's

a lot more than your what you would think of

the horse risk bird to be so again I'm one that

does not nearly this is I get the attention that

it should but again the number 16 we're on is

buck 15 my number yeah that's right My numbers

are all crossed off and rewritten over and stuff

like that so I can barely tell what mine are

as well. For my number 15, if Amanda didn't have

a polarizing film with Star Trek Into Darkness,

I think for my 15 it might be the most polarizing

film of the last, well I shouldn't say the most

polarizing film, but one of the most polarizing

films at least of 2014. There's a whole lot of

people that hate it. There's also a whole lot

of people that love it. I like it for what it

represents in the genre and kind of the spectacle

of the movie going experience. So I am going

to put at my number 15 interstellar. Like I said,

I know there's a lot of detractors and a lot

of champions of it. And I'm kind of a little

bit more towards the champion side, but not as

high on it as maybe some people are. But I just

still think it's something fun to experience.

It's a fun journey. I didn't have as much of

a problem with the shipped towards the last act

that a lot of people did. But maybe I'm just

still basing it all off of the little voiceover

in the trailer for Matthew McConaughey and how

much it mesmerized me. So Matthew McConaughey

can do that to people. So I think I'm just under

the spell. So maybe I can't see all the issues

with it. But I thought it was fun. I thought

it's a good entry into the sci -fi genre. And

I think it's something that might have a better

time. As time goes by it might not have quite

as strong detractors. Maybe after rewatches and

after maybe a couple years have gone by maybe

I'm wrong, but I Thought it was good enough to

put on the list. So interstellar is my number

15. You definitely liked a lot more than I did

Yeah, I've enjoyed that movie more as I've watched

it like recently not recently I we watched it

after seeing it for the first time and I've enjoyed

it more. It's growing on me I still have some

issues but I'm definitely not one of the haters

ever like people who which I think it's a little

bit more of the the Nolan backlash that you tend

to get a little bit here. Yeah It's definitely

yeah, I mean you can have problems with it and

you know it Kind of critique certain parts of

it, but I think it'd be silly to say it's a overall

bad movie or a lot of people were saying it was

one of the worst films of that year or One of

the most disappointed ones. Let's not get too

carried away. So that's my number 15, Amanda

Take us to 14 land. All right. Well, last one,

I promise. That's Sinistar from 2012. This also

sparked a sequel. It went in a different direction

than what I guess I'm used to seeing in scare

movies. It did put some kids in danger throughout

the thing. That was basically what the problem

was, what the risk was, is these kids. Killing

their families and whatever else that's happening

in these videos. Hey, if you haven't seen it

by now You're off the tracks I'm off the tracks

The character the main character the main bad

guy dude my ghoul he creeps me out still and

I saw sinister 2 and You'd have to see sinister

to see sinister 2. There's no jumping around

there and yeah, I get the full effect of Bagu.

Isn't it more safe to be off the tracks? Not

necessarily, guys. Not if you want to keep going

fast. Okay. Dan, have you seen Sinister? I have

not, no, no. Alright. Another one. You ousted

both of us with that one. So much hate. So much

hate. No hate. Haven't seen it. Such hate. Like

you're prepared for us to hate it and you're

just going off of like insert reaction to hate

now She's just hitting a button actually that's

not her real voice pre -recorded but like I said

a lot of this this list is things that really

stuck with me and that That I had a good time

with so I got no problem with that Like we said

we didn't have a horror film list. So this is

your opportunity to get some love for the horror

genre Somebody's got to all right Dan. What's

your number 14 my number 14 again? Definitely

not a horror movie unfortunately, but a movie

from last year my first movie from 2014 One that

didn't make my top 10 that year mostly because

I didn't see it yet, but I don't know man One

of the best endings of a movie Period and that's

whiplash JK Simmons, you know well -known performance

that won an Oscar Miles Teller just you know

story about a guy and it's just this unrelenting

goal to be this infamous drummer and it's it's

the price of fame and like everything that goes

into it and never that I think you know college

or concert band would be that exciting what it

was it's such a great film and it's just Jakey

Simmons is my old seller. They're back and forth

and his performance is just Phenomenal it's deserving

of all the praise that it definitely gets so

it's not much more to say about Willette But

whiplash that hasn't been said already since

you know did recently come out last year I mean

a movie that got huge at Sundance and just kind

of wore Rid that wave all the way to an Oscar

nomination But it's I don't know I went into

it, you know hearing all the praise and it ended

up matching it. So it's a ended up being way

number 14. Yeah, I think you said it best. Almost

the exact same that I would say as far as it

was not a film on my top 10 of 2014 either because

I hadn't seen it yet. But I said all year that

I was searching for the, you know. my number

one film of the year, and I didn't see it until

January, I think, when I finally saw Whiplash

and it quickly became my number one film from

2014. So I am in complete agreement with you,

Dan, on that one. So great pick there. For my

number 14, I'm also going to pick a film from

2014 because I guess that just makes sense. And

it was the film that was occupying one of my

top spots for quite a while until I actually

saw Whiplash. And again, I think I'm probably

a little higher on this film than some people

might be, but my number 14 is the film Fury.

And I just love the ensemble that we got here.

I think there were some incredible performances.

I think that it pulled off something that should

not be able to be successfully achieved, which

is making tank battles interesting because tanks

do not move very fast and they don't re maneuver

their guns very fast. And if you've ever played

any old school video games with tanks, you quickly

got bored with them because half of the time

you were just trying to. get your gun into position

faster than your opponent so you could finally

fire. And it made all that interesting. I think

there's some incredible scenes in there, some

pretty high drama that scene around the, I guess

you can call it a dinner table. And that one

house is pretty incredible as far as how tense

it gets and I just I just liked a lot of this

But I'm also a sucker for any type of film in

a war setting with any type of historical significance

So fury was very high for me last year. So I

put it up on number 14 for the half decade I

just the one thing of that movie you think of

that dinner scene and just like it like that

that moment for whatever reason last year had

a lot of dinner scenes I don't know. It just

happened. But yeah, that's but a japer and thought

like his His performance in that is kind of really

stood out to me. I mean, there's even Shia LaBeouf

is good in that movie. Yeah, so for sure, which

is not easy to say Yeah, and Brad Pitt and Michael

Pena. This is a good all -around ensemble. I

think so Amanda, what do you have at number 13?

Okay, so I promise no more scare movies. That's

that's the truth here I'm gonna take it into

some sci -fi though 2012's Looper with Bruce

Willis and JGL Alright. Nice. I think that definitely

got some love when we were doing our sci -fi

list as well. I think it's probably one of the

best examples of a good science fiction film

from the half decade, so I think that's a great

choice. What made you put that one on your list?

I'm a big fan of both Bruce Willis and JGL and

seeing them together, you know, I was excited

for it. Plus the whole sci -fi genre is just

kind of, you know, my thing too. So going into

this, I had high expectations and it paid off.

I think it was a really cool concept. I think

that it had some really cool visuals and shots

and definitely some good performances too. Yeah,

and similar to that like the one scene that kind

of sticks out to my mind is the disappearing

body part scene Though it's not a horror film.

That was a truly horrific scene and That yeah,

I love looper. It was actually number 27 on my

list, but that's it No, Brian Johnston is a great

director and I'm really looking forward after

seeing looper what he can do with something like

Star Wars Yeah, I think a lot of people are excited

to see what he does in that franchise as well,

and most of that is based on the positive reactions

to Looper, so I think that's a great pick. Dan,

what do you have at number 13? My number 13 pick

comes from 2012 another pretty well acclaimed

film So it's not too shocking here and it's zero

dark 30 similar to whiplash it's a movie about

a person that is kind of just on a full drive

and dedicated to the to a certain goal and this

obviously is finding that Osama bin Laden personally,

I love procedural movies and kind of seeing the

process of trying to like say investigate and

accomplish that goal and I really really found

that fascinating. I love Jessica Chastain here,

Jason Clark, the ensemble as a whole from Joel

Edgerton, Mark Strong, even Chris Pratt shows

up for a little bit. And two, I think the really

thing that takes it over to the top for me is

the closing 20, 30 minutes, the siege on Ben

Laden's... Home, and I thought that was masterfully

directed and edited Really little sound it's

just a lot of moving pieces, but it works really

well And yeah, I think it has a lot to say And

I think it's an important movie for sure in a

really strong strong screenplay overall so Yeah,

it's pretty much it for server dark 30 Yeah,

I think this is one that I need to re -watch

for sure. I think I was a little... I wasn't

as high on it as maybe I could have been after

the initial watch, but I think I definitely just

need to watch it again and make sure it wasn't

just whatever mood or atmosphere I was watching

it in or what had to do with it. But it definitely

has a lot of universal praise, and I think the

part that's probably the best thing about it

is the ability from the director and the screenplay

to... Kind of show a lot of things without necessarily

telling you what's right and what's wrong or

You know kind of force -feeding any type of political

message. It just kind of shows you Kind of been

to the best of its ability with both sides of

things and I think that's why you said, you know

When you say it's an important film, I think

that's one of the reasons it's gonna resonate

for years to come. Yeah Yeah flicking up here

like say this American sniper. We're like Americans

from the sniper. It feels like more of a raw

raw movie I think there's more of a like a solemnness

to that of zero dark 30 where it's not it's just

kind of I don't know there it's more It's not

necessarily a movie a celebration or looking

at right? It's it's like it looks at more of

the subtlety more complexity of the situation

than that. So Yeah, I would agree with that.

I did not see this. All right Well when I rewatch

it you can see it for the first time. Oh, you'll

allow that you'll I can do that. Yeah For my

number 13, I'm going to stick with the 2012 theme

that Dan started there, and I'm on my historical

kick. So I had Fury with my last pick, and I'll

go ahead and do Lincoln with this pick. I mean,

you got to have the only film that Daniel Day

-Lewis appears in make your list, right? So I

mean, he only does a film every five years, so

it's got to make your half decade list. So I

really like Lincoln. I like the idea. In a, you

know, we talked about how the last five years

has had so many superhero picks. It's probably

had more biopic films than superhero films. I

mean, it seems like we get about 10 of them a

year at least. And so many of them are done so

poorly and so many of them can't show the restraint

or the control. that you get with Lincoln and

the decision to, obviously, number one, only

show a section of his life, focus on a single

event or something like that and kind of really

delve into it. And I think Lincoln did that very

well. I think there's been a few others that

have done that as well. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire

Hunter. What? No, but Lincoln really resonated

with me. Performances were great from not just

Daniel Day -Lewis, but Tommy Lee Jones and the

whole cast was was pretty fantastic. And Like

just about everything about it. It was in my

top three or four for that year So it was enough

to stick with it and just got it on blu -ray

for Christmas as well So looking forward to we

just bought that or we just bought it on blu

-ray So looking looking forward to another rewatch

of that one. So that's my number 13 pick I'm

kind of kind of similar to wait I'll just echo

what you said about zero dark 30 for Lincoln

and I like Lincoln but I wondered too if I Need

to rewatch it. There's just elements of it that

didn't ring as true as I was not true but necessarily

didn't affect me as much as I would like them

to but there were things like Daniel Day -Luce's

performance which were fantastic even like some

of the smaller like James Spader's role and I

did enjoy and um overall I did like how though

it's a biopic it wasn't necessarily the traditional

biopic where it was his entire life it just kind

of focused on this one thing right so And maybe

when I rewatch it, it'll drop down for me, and

maybe I won't like it quite as much, going mostly

on that initial reaction to it. So sometimes

that can not be the truest reaction. So Amanda,

what is your next pick? My number 12 is my first

cheat. What? Yes. There's no cheating? There

is some cheating going on here. Is it not from

the last five years? It's from 1992. It's not

that big of a sheet. From 2012 and 2013, I've

got Hunger Games and Catching Fire. All right,

I'll allow it. As long as you're not going to

say I can't do it. I wasn't asking permission,

bro. Yeah, so definitely sparked a huge following.

We don't think we need to say much about these,

but I was involved in the whole thing from reading

the books to opening nights of the movies and

all that good stuff. So definitely had some fun

with those two. I don't think you're alone. There's

a lot of fans of the Hunger Game franchise. I'm

a partial fan. I like some of the films, but

I think... Go ahead, Dan. It's Catching Fire,

the second one? I can't... Okay, yeah. I think

that's my favorite bit of the franchise. Yeah,

I think so, me too. Yeah, I like Catching Fire

a lot. I mean, the first one's good for what

it was and kind of introducing things. I have

a lot of problems with the two Mockingjay versions,

but... But yeah, I think Hunger Games is definitely

representative of the half decade as well. So

I think that's a good pick. Dan, what do you

got next? My next one, I'm not going to talk

a lot about it because we actually did a full

review show of it. And it's Quentin Tarantino's

Django Unchained. As a huge Tarantino fan, I

know I've obviously enjoyed Django Unchained

a great deal. I've enjoyed it more and more as

we watched it. time and time again. And I love

the music, I love the action, I love the performances.

It's pretty much everything I would hope for

for Tarantino Western. So yeah, like I said,

if you want to know more, you can go to our full

review of it that we did about a month or so

ago. Yeah, obviously I'm in agreement with you

as well. Django Haters Be Damned. I think that's

a great movie and I think it's one, like you

said, every time I watch it, I find something

else to enjoy even more about it. Great pick

for that one. And for my number 12, I'm gonna

go to the comedy that did make my list, and it's

one that Amanda will be catching up with very

soon. It was also mentioned when we did our top

10 comedies, and that's from 2011, and that's

Crazy Stupid Love. I just think there's a lot

of fun stuff about that. You said that's how

weird. Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell. There's just

some great scenes. There's some great dialogue.

There's some twists and turns you might not see

coming, and there's comedy throughout. I think

it does borderline on getting a little cheesy

and a little kind of off the rails towards the

end a tiny bit, but it wasn't enough to wreck

the film for me. It's still, I think, one of

the better Comedy films of the last five years

so crazy stupid loves my next pick all right

that means it is time for our Last pick for this

episode closing it out with our number 11's Amanda.

What do you got? Something that's already been

mentioned. That's a fury from 2014 With Brad

Michael Pena and Shia all that good stuff I think

that I like that you're on a first base name

basis with all these guys we tight we tight And

I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going

to. I think Brad Pitt gives a really cool performance

in here, too. Definitely some really powerful

scenes and some pretty gory scenes with some

people getting exploded. Yeah, some cleaning

of the tank. That was not good. Yeah. But yeah,

I enjoyed it. All right. Good pick for number

11, obviously, since I had it only a couple of

picks away. Dan, what do you got for your last

one for today? Ah, for my last one for today.

And for 2015 my most anticipated film was Spectre

at large part because of this movie and that

is Skyfall. I'm not a huge James Bond fan, I

enjoy most of the films, but what I love about

Skyfall is just kinda, it to me sets a new bar

for the franchise that's been around since the

60s. From the performances to the amazing cinematography

from Roger Deakins, it's just gorgeous to look

at. The silhouette fights, the amber fire in

the finale, and it kind of, it... Sam Mendes

like has a tradition of you of working with really

great visuals and getting great Cinematographers

in his film and he really brings agrapodas to

this franchise that wasn't there before and I

don't know and we talked about having You know

with comic book movies like with the Avengers

Representing and to me this kind of represents

to me that like the the blockbusters of the last

decade and I feel like this is one of the it

was my favorite action film of the last five

years and maybe to me, second to maybe only Casino

Royale is the best James Bond movie ever. I am

a fan of the Craig era, and Skyfall, I have yet

to see Spectre, but after everything I've heard

about it, I'm a little scared now. Yeah, a lot

of people didn't fall too positively on that

one. I want to rewatch Spectre, actually, because

I had a much more positive reaction than I think

a lot of people after the initial watch. But

Skyfall is a great pick. It was so close to making

my list. I think if we were to expand it to our

top 25, it definitely would have been in mine.

I think a lot of what you said is right on as

far as being one of the best action adventure

films from the last half decade, being one of

the best Bond films I've ever seen, which isn't

saying a lot because I haven't seen most of the

early stuff before Pierce Brosnan and Daniel

Craig, but I'm also a fan of the Craig Bond films.

So I think that's a great pick. I think that's

definitely one that stands out from the last

five years. And Amanda, you just caught up with

all the Daniel Craig films, even though you had

somehow seen them all already once. But what

do you think about Skyfall? Is that a good representation?

Was Skyfall the one where they had that torture

scene? No, that scene around. The one in the

chair and yeah, yeah that kind of messed me up

a little bit but I Really do like the Craig Bond

films. No matter how hard it is for me to stay

awake during them I'm just not good at staying

awake in some movies, but I think that he he

is the perfect bond So I'm on board for that

pick. All right For the last one for today, my

number 11, Dan, I think you'll be in somewhat

of agreement in this one, even though it is being

put on here for mainly personal reasons. I think

it's just something that just resonated a lot

with me, and I think it's a very good character

story and also a very good representation of,

maybe not, we're not talking about representation

of films in the last five years, but representation

of society. modern society and how much they

can overreact kind of the media culture and then

things of that nature and there's just a lot

of thematic resonance with this one so it's from

2012 and that is the film The Hunt. I just think

there's so much going on in this film and Dan

I know you're a huge fan of Mads Mikkelsen and

he is amazing in this film and I just like what

it's doing here. I like how it's showing how

easily something like that could transpire and

how much of an effect something like that could

have on someone's life. And yet, we live in a

society that's so quick to do that to anybody,

even if they don't know them. If they do know

them, it doesn't matter. And I just think it's

a real touching character piece on that. Yeah,

definitely shows like the hive mind that people

can have and the effect of it and yeah, and like

you said Madman Michael said I'm a pretty much

everything he does and it's crazy seeing him

something like that and then like seeing him

in some of the Campbell which like Wow, they'd

like it's just he's got a lot of range for an

actor. So yeah, I think so too So let's just

quickly review our 20 through 11 giving people

a quick snapshot of what we've done already And

then we'll be coming back next week to give you

guys our 10 through 1 picks. So Amanda, what

have you so far revealed on your list? I got

20, The Heat from 2013. I got 19, The Wolfman,

2010. 18, Cabin in the Woods from 2012. 17, Star

Trek Into Darkness from 2013. 16, The Other Guys

from 2010. 15, Insidious from 2010 as well. 14,

Sinister from 2012. 13, Looper from 2012. 12,

My Cheat with the Hunger Games and Catching Fire

from 2012 and 2013. And then number 11 with Fury.

Alright, that's a lot of numbers Dan. What do

you got? I was actually gonna say thing. Yeah

Number 20. I have mother 19, Nebraska 18 start

up 17 Sena 16 leaf of pie 15 buck 14th whiplash

13 zero dark 30 12 Django untamed unchained and

11 skyfall Alright, and my 20 was Calvary, 19

The Descendants, 18 The Book Thief, 17 Drive,

16 The Avengers, 15 Interstellar, 14 Fury, 13

Lincoln, 12 Crazy Stupid Love, and 11 The Hunt.

So that is our first half of our top 20 films

of the half decade. Let us know your thoughts

on which films have shown up so far and also

let us know your thoughts on which films you

expect to see the rest of the way. And obviously

interact with us on Facebook, Geekcast Radio

Network. You can also go to the website geekcastradio

.com where you can comment on the actual episode

post and we definitely will interact and reply

to any comments made there. You can also follow

the show on Twitter. The show's Twitter handle

is at cinemageekcast. Amanda, what's your Twitter?

Hard Candy Mandy, eyes know why. Dan, what's

your Twitter? I'm at Movie Revolt. And mine is

at Optimus Solo. So we hope you enjoyed our first

episode of 2016. Like I said, we'll be back next

week to finish off the list. And then it's on

to the top films of 2015 soon after that. So

we hope you had a good time and we will see you

next week.