Presentation: MAR's Top 100 Films of the 2010s [COMPLETE!]

Directing duo Josh and Benny Safdie followed up their 2014 sophomore film Heaven Knows What with this heart-pounding white-knuckle crime thriller. Led by Robert Pattinson who continued his eclectic post-Twilight career, here he plays a criminal who will seemingly go to any length to try and get out of the cyclical hell of his own making. Starting with a bank robbery gone wrong, what continues for the 101-minute running time is an intense, primal and depraved ride with characters who are equal parts flawed and fascinating. Daniel Lopatin’s adrenaline-fueled synth score adds to the rush, while Iggy Pop’s original song “The Pure and the Damned” offers a much-needed respite by the end. This is a visual feast of a production with everyone involved firing on all cylinders to create one of the finest films of the decade. If you’ve yet to experience it or feel like another viewing, in the timeless words of John Flansburgh, “world’s going to hell anyway, have a good time.”

When I first read Emma Donoghue's novel, I was absolutely enraptured. I was elated to find about the film adaptation but worried that it could never live up to its source material, as so many adaptations fail to do so. And yet, sitting in the theatre, I felt the same sense of wonder listening to Jack's uniquely innocent perspective. Emma Donogue followed in Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)'s recent footsteps by adapting her own bestselling novel for the screen as fluidly as possible. The unimaginable spirit of an optimistic five-year-old with absolutely no experience with or sense of the world at large was captured beautifully by Jacob Tremblay, who immediately emerged as one of Hollywood's youngest talents. Brie Larson earned her Oscar in a competitive year by balancing Ma's undeniable power as a mother with her devastating pain as a young woman whose own innocence has been ripped away from her. Room is a gem with as deep and complex of themes as the best arthouse films while being able to reach all audiences in its breathtaking thrills and universal characters. You, your best friend, and your mother are all bound to fall in love with this film, all for different reasons.

It’s easy to craft a tale of revenge and wallow in the bloodletting, but it’s damned difficult—and bold—to confront the aftermath. Lynne Ramsay’s jagged, stiletto-sharp vision of misery and atonement is a fever dream not of cold brutality, but of haunting emotion. Anchored by an unchained Joaquin Phoenix operating at his vulnerable best, You Were Never Really Here is not interested in glorifying violence and those who commit it, but instead in embracing the victims and understanding their trauma.

Sensitive and attuned, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Two Days, One Night follows a factory worker Sandra who discovers that her coworkers have opted for a significant pay bonus in exchange for her dismissal; over the course of a weekend, she asks each of them to reconsider. Skirting emotional caricature and political didacticism, each encounter newly dramatizes the frustrating economic realities of the situation while acknowledging the average person's capacity for humility and understanding. The film raises questions of self-worth and the limitations of sacrifice while Sandra herself is naturally confronted with the burden of asking others to deny their financial security for her own, amplified by her struggles with depression and anxiety. The resolution of her coworkers' votes plus a complication introduced by Sandra's supervisor weighs the morality of choosing between your own well-being relative to someone else's, while still valuing yourself and the people around you. As the proud final moments punctuate Marion Cotillard's humanizing portrait of Sandra, I am reminded of an advice prompt response I once found scrawled by my grandfather: "Love your neighbors as you do yourself, but love yourself first."

Midnight in Paris is an imaginative, funny, unique and charming look at nostalgia. It is aided by its eccentric and memorable cast of characters, sharp and witty screenplay, fantastic cast, deft direction, Darius Khondji's cinematography lovingly capturing Paris and excellent production design. Woody Allen brings 1920's Paris to life in a masterful way. As a nostalgic much like Gil Pender, the core theme - that one should learn from the merits and drawbacks of past eras to make our present more meaningful, instead of looking at them through rose-tinted glasses - really resonated with me. The message is delivered in a subtle and skillful way - there are no big speeches, no over-the-top dramatic sequence, just a quiet realization.