The Tens: Our last decade meant the rise of Netflix and the decline of cable television. The way we watch films changed. Series such as House of Cards and Game of Thrones dominated the industry, while we massively hurried to the cinema to watch superhero films. In the meanwhile, we gathered around to dance to trending hits such as Gangnam Style and The Harlem Shake. Whether it was a decade to remember is up to you to decide.
Avengers: End Game (2019)
The universe is in ruins. Once more the Avengers assemble in order to reverse Thanos’ actions and undo the chaos of the universe. Taking the throne from Avatar as the highest grossing film of all time, End Game truly was a gamechanger. It was the final cameo by Stan Lee and the end of an era. Even though the film’s length is three hours and one minute, some fans take watching it to another level. There even was a news item about a man hoping to set a record. He watched the film 110 times. Be right back.
Available on: Disney+, Pathé Thuis, Rakuten TV, Google Play and iTunes.
Boyhood (2014)
An honorable mention is the film that was shot between 2002 and 2013. In Boyhood we follow the life of Mason. From early childhood until he goes to college. Ellar Coltrane was just a boy of seven when he took on the leading role. When filming was done, Coltrane was 19 years old. Watching Boyhood is just a whole new experience of watching a film as the main character grows up right in front of you. Leading actors Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette were on board during the whole production as well. In their real lives they also experienced divorces and re-marriages, just like their characters. Talking about character studies.
Available on: Ziggo, Pathé Thuis, Google Play and iTunes.
Frozen (2013)
After being crowned queen, Elsa accidentally curses her home in infinite winter. To get everything back to normal, her sister Anna, a mountain man, a reindeer, and a snowman team up so they can save both Elsa and their home. Soon after its release the film got every family with young children sing the lines of the now iconic song called Let It Go. This definitely took some effort. For example, rendering one single yet very complexed frame required 132 hours. That’s just one frame of the film. Considering 24 minutes of the whole film is dedicated to musical sequences, it’s not hard to imagine rendering the whole film took forever and a day. (600 people and three million hours)
Available on: Disney+, Pathé Thuis, Rakuten TV, Google Play and iTunes.
Joker (2019)
Mentally troubled Arthur Fleck does not do well in society. He takes on the criminal life and comes face to face with his alter-ego the Joker. While admitting finding the perfect Joker’s laugh was hard for leading actor Joaquin Phoenix, he got rewarded winning several awards for it. Apart from laughing a lot, Phoenix also had to lose 24 kg. Hard work definitely paid off. The Joker became the first R rated movie ever to make $1 billion dollars. Plus, it received an eight-minute standing ovation at the premiere. Why so serious? Oh, wrong movie.
Available on: Rakuten TV, Google Play and iTunes.
La La Land (2016)
While perusing a career in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love. When success lies ahead, the dreams they worked on so hard are most likely to rip them apart. And the winner is…. Not La La Land! The most remarkable thing about this film might not even be the actual film. It’s their Oscar nomination, their win, their starting speech, and the moment the whole organization realized they invited the wrong film onto the stage. The actual winner of the Academy Awards was Moonlight. Being mistakenly named best picture is a moment in film history we will never forget. Oh well, it is another day of sun.
Available on: Pathé Thuis, Google Play and iTunes.
Got interested? Watch the trailers here
Avengers: End Game – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcMBFSGVi1c
Boyhood – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0oX0xiwOv8
Frozen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQm5doF_Uc
Joker – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAGVQLHvwOY
La La Land – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu4RHvouJH8
This is it. My last Cinematic Hits article. With Corona taking over our lives, I hope these lists will help you choosing the right film to watch. As series all over the world temporarily shut down their productions, at least this is the perfect time to rewatch classics. Who knows what the Twenties will bring us?
