Firsts of Cinema in the 2010s
This past decade stood on the shoulders of the giants of cinema and was, therefore, able to reach new heights, some probably unimaginable before 2010. Below are some of the movies that embodied some of the most noteworthy new heights: which one do you think reached the furthest?
Discuss here.
Note: Films are listed in alphabetical order.
Discuss here.
Note: Films are listed in alphabetical order.
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- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsChadwick BosemanMichael B. JordanLupita Nyong'oT'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.The first superhero film to have an almost entirely black cast, it was also the first superhero movie to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEllar ColtranePatricia ArquetteEthan HawkeThe life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.The first major motion picture to intentionally be in production for so many years (12). Instead of production problems, it was an artistic choice that prolonged its filming. Keeping it in production for so long allowed the characters to age authentically with the actors.
- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsTimothée ChalametArmie HammerMichael StuhlbargIn 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.It was not the first critically acclaimed, popular, and (Best Picture) Oscar nominated movie with two gay male characters as the lead protagonists but it was the first that was openly erotic.
- DirectorSebastián LelioStarsDaniela VegaFrancisco ReyesLuis GneccoMarina, a transgender woman who works as a waitress and moonlights as a nightclub singer, is bowled over by the death of her older boyfriend.This was the first Oscar winner to tell the story of a transgendered protagonist with an openly trans actor portraying her.
- DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaAllison WilliamsBradley WhitfordA young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.Never before had a film, successful at the box office as well as in the awards circuit, so openly taken white liberals to task for racism. There are no white heroes or saviors, nor any white redemption, and the movie was widely praised as a roast of the privilege and superficiality of so-called progressive whites.
- DirectorTheodore MelfiStarsTaraji P. HensonOctavia SpencerJanelle MonáeThe story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.The first popular and (Best Picture) Oscar-nominated movie with a cast led exclusively by women of color.
- DirectorBryan FogelStarsBryan FogelDave ZabriskieDon CatlinWhen Bryan sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller.This documentary marked the first time a Netflix-distributed movie won an Oscar in any category.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsJoaquin PhoenixRobert De NiroZazie BeetzDuring the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.This film with the title of one of the most iconic comic book characters ever includes no superheroes nor even a supervillain. No super power is seen in this first DC movie that is a character study instead of an action flick.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsIn 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.One of the first "triple F-rated" (female director, female writer, and female lead actor) films to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. ('The Piano' and 'Lost in Translation' came close but many argue that the difference is that those movies also had male roles integral to the plot whereas the lead and most significant supporting actor in 'Lady Bird' are both women. Also, unlike its important predecessors, romance is not central to 'Lady Bird' and it is not categorized as a Romance.)
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsDonald GloverBeyoncéSeth RogenAfter the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery.The first fully CGI movie to seem like live action.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.'Moonlight' was the first film with an all-black cast to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was also the first LGBTQ-themed movie to get the Best Picture Oscar.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsJason MitchellCarey MulliganJason ClarkeTwo men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.It was the first Netflix film that wasn't a documentary to be nominated for an Academy Award.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.First international (foreign language) film to win the Best Picture Oscar.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsYalitza AparicioMarina de TaviraDiego Cortina AutreyA year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.It was the first film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar to which Netflix had distribution rights.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPayman MaadiLeila HatamiSareh BayatA married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.First film from a Muslim country, in which the country's culture was both central to the story and not simply co-opted by a non-Muslim production, to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
- DirectorBob PersichettiPeter RamseyRodney RothmanStarsShameik MooreJake JohnsonHailee SteinfeldTeen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his universe and must join with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.This stylistically unique movie pays homage to Spider-Man and comic books while subverting superhero movie norms. The Harvard Crimson explains that "the multiverse premise allows for an iconic and traditionally Caucasian male hero to instead be represented by a young Afro-Latin American, a woman, and an Asian American on the silver screen ... Each character’s differences and unique backgrounds are not merely incidental, and contribute to their stories and capabilities."
- DirectorSean BakerStarsKitana Kiki RodriguezMya TaylorKarren KaragulianA hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.Sean Baker's film that preceded, and probably allowed for, 2017's 'The Florida Project' is the most acclaimed, most widely seen, and most financially successful movie filmed entirely on an i-Phone, which probably does more to democratize film-making than anything else in decades. It also made strides by using mostly non-professional actors and focusing on transgendered characters of color, as well as a protagonist who is a sex worker.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsBrad PittSean PennJessica ChastainThe story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.It is possible that no other film has grappled with matters so vast. It is possible that no other film has illustrated these struggles and questions with such vastness. What is more certain is that no other film has dealt with such vastness right alongside such personal and intimate matters and, in fact, conjoins the two.
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsGal GadotChris PineRobin WrightWhen a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.It actually was not the first major motion picture in which the lead superhero is a woman -- but it was the first successful one. (Both the box office and the reviews were strong; many expected it to be the first superhero film to be nominated for an Oscar Best Picture Award. Although it was not, many posited that it helped to make way for 'Black Panther' to earn that honor the very next year.) It was also directed by a woman.