After watching Weapons, I thought it was one of the most entertaining films I’d seen in a long, long time. But to see if this was really the case, I went back and scanned all the films I’d seen in the last ten years–not just current releases, but older films as well. In this thread, I’m going to list those films, and talk about a few of them.
Here’s the list, starting with the films I saw in 2016
2016
- Dark Places (2015) Dir. Gilles Paquet-Brenner
2017
- The Martian (2015) Dir. Ridley Scott
- The Hateful Eight (2015) Dir. Quentin Tarantino
- Hell or High Water (2016) Dir. David Mackenzie
- Wind River (2017) Dir. Taylor Sheridan
2018
- Lady Bird (2017) Dir. Greta Gerwig
2020
- Under the Silver Lake (2018) Dir. David Robert Mitchell
- The Big Sick (2017) Dir. Michael Showalter
- Knives Out (2019) Dir. Rian Johnson
- Too Late (2015) Dir. Dennis Hauck
2021
- Manchester by the Sea (2016) Dir. Kenneth Lonergan
2022
- 20th Century Women (2016) Dir. Mike Mills
2023
- The Daytrippers (1997) Dir. Greg Mottola
- The Suicide Squad (2021) Dir. James Gunn
- Certain Women (2016) Dir. Kelly Reichardt
2024
- Thief (1981) Dir. Michael Mann
- The Baker’s Wife (1938) Dir. Marcel Pagnol
- Marseille Trilogy: Marius (1931, Dir. Alexander Korda), Fanny (1931, Dir. Marc Allegret), Ceasar (1936, Dir. Marcel Pagnol)
2025
- You Hurt My Feelings (2023) Dir. Nicole Holofcener
- Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) Dir. John Farrow
2026
- Girl with Hyacinths (1950) Dir. Hasse Ekman
- Weapons (2025) Dir. Zach Cregger
Some random comments about the films above:
The Daytrippers, Wind River, and Hell or High Water come very close to these two. The Daytrippers has the mix of comedy and drama, like an indy James L. Brooks film or Norman Lear sit-com. Wind River and Hell or High Water are Taylor Sheridan films, either via the directing and/or writing. Hell is the better and more interesting film, but I like both to the point where I have re-watched them more than once.
More later.