The Top 25 Best Films Of The 2010s
The 2010s were a unique decade for me as I hit 18 and was able to see a lot more films over the last ten years than any other. And since I’ve wasted so much time in front of screens I figured I’d waste some more ranking the Top 25 Best Films Of The 2010s
First off, five films that didn’t make the list but I feel deserved mentions anyway;
A Ghost Story – Examining loss with a level of poetry I’ve not seen before or since, it’s love across morality and one of the most unique films I’ve ever seen.
Calvary – In a decade plagued by shitty Christian Movies with shittier morals, Calvary really honed in on the question of what it meant to be a good man in a bad world, the struggle of finding hope where every heart has been hardened by cynicism. It’s a film that deserves a lot more attention than it got.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 – Consider this a placeholder for the whole trilogy but HTTYD 2 is the easy stand out for its stunning presentation, epic set-pieces and an emotional core that hit harder than I expected. Hiccup and Toothless are easily one of my favourite pairings of the decade and this is their apex.
Logan – After 17 years with the claws Huge Jackedman hung up the mantle with a stripped back, laser-focussed, R-Rated modern Western that easily ranks as the X-Series best and one of the best super-hero films of all time. It might not be as epic as other films on this list, but it nailed exactly what it needed to do.
OJ: Made In America – Technically a TV Documentary otherwise it would’ve ranked high on this list. Over eight hours examining the race relations of L.A. going into the trail, the relationship O.J. had with white and black people before the murders and the mainstream car crash it became afterwards. I’ve never been more gripped by anything in the last decade.
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25 - The Wolf Of Wall Street
Even in his 70s, Martin Scorsese proves he can still delivery the energy of his earlier works. This is a exercise in excess, from the sex to the drugs to the run-time to the fucking cursing, everything about it is just more and it’s so goddamn entertaining to watch. Leo has never been more entertaining in what might arguably be his best role to date, Jonah Hill finally steps out the shadow of being the funny fat guy in comedies and Margot Robbie makes a HELL of a entrance into her career. It might just be bad people doing bad things, but damn if it doesn’t look so good.
24 – Moonlight
In the years to come I hope Moonlight doesn’t just get remembered as the film that got mistaken for La La Land at the Oscars because it deserves a lot more respect than that. This is a tender, melancholic examination of what it’s like to grow up feeling different, the fact that Chiron is black and gay is only surface level, through his life he struggles to accept himself, growing from confused youngster to frightened teenager to repressed adult with no idea on how to find acceptance from those around him or from himself. It’s a strong tale that touches upon its themes beautifully and charts Chiron’s life with a deft hand so rarely seen these days.
23 - Gone Girl
Gone Girl is a film of two halves, in the first you’re following Nick trying to work out the disappearance of his wife Amy and seeing what a piece of shit he is and wondering if he’s responsible. In the 2nd you find out the truth about Amy, realise both of them are even bigger pieces of shit than you expected and left wondering how shitty this world really is. Rosamund Pike alone gets this film on here for her incredibly twisted and manipulative role as Amy but the whole film with its gender politics, it’s deconstruction of the American dream and it’s two cunty leads solidifies its place on the list.
22 - Joker
Well they pulled off the impossible, they made a Joker origin story not only without Batman, but by ignoring the one cardinal rule of the character, they gave him a name. And yet despite that Joker easily holds up as one of the best character studies around, giving new light to the Joker mythos, turning him into a fucked-up, tragic but deranged figure living in a literal hellhole. Phoenix absolutely deserved his Oscar win for making this Joker his own character but the whole film with it’s downtrodden, depressing, sometimes shockingly funny demeanour allows him the chance to let loose.
21 - The VVitch
The first of a few horror movies on this list, and easily one of the most unique thanks to its slow-burn and its ye olde English dialogue. This is a film that plays in the shadows, giving you just enough to know what’s happening but not enough to fully understand it, all you can gather is that this one family is being slowly corrupted either by themselves or outside forces and it can get painful to watch them implode, none more so than eldest daughter Thomasin who gets the blame for their misfortunes. It’s not as scary as some were led to believe but the questioning of God’s abandonment and the sacrifices necessary for survival make it a chilling experience nonetheless.
20 - Inside Out
Pixar proving once again that they are the top tier in animation with this one, initially a film about a young girl’s emotions struggling to accept their new home in San Francisco, things take a turn when Joy and Sadness leave the control room and suddenly we’re looking at one of the best depictions of depression put to cinema. There’s a mountain of uniqueness here that comes from being a Pixar creation, from its dream theatre to the memory balls to the imaginary friend Bing Bong who will crush your heart, but it’s that extra level of understanding depression as the absence of joy and the importance of reocgnising your own emotions that makes it a truly incredible film.
19 - Django Unchained
Tarantino’s first foray into the Western is easily one of his most ridiculously entertaining films in years, following freed slave Django and dentist turned bounty hunter Dr King Schultz on a quest to free Django’s wife. It’s a brutal time in American history, filled with violence, racism and idiots but Tarantino presents it so head-on, so in your face with so much bloodshed that even watching the horrendous things people do to each other, you’ve got a massive smile on your face. You can say it’s too much, you can say that they use the N Word far too often or you can sit back and enjoy the madness.
18 - Short Term 12
Brie Larson might have won the Oscar for Room but this remains her best role to date, following her character Grace, a supervisor at a care home for teenagers dealing with the arrival of a young girl with an abusive past and trying to work through her own demons as well. There is a level of maturity and intimacy here that comes from the film’s understanding of some pretty hefty topics, touching on sexual abuse, suicide and the pain and fear of growing up with Larson at the centre, spitting fierce at anyone who tries to hurt the kids in her care but too scared and fragile to fight her own battles. Easily worth seeking out despite its heavy topics, and to see a bunch of now famous faces in early roles.
17 - Hanna
Part coming of age story, part action thriller, part Grimm fairytale, Hanna encompasses a fair number of genres but it does all of them justice in spite of – and indeed because – its director and star are not the typical picks for an action film. Ronan delivers a bluntness to Hanna that’s equal parts bad-ass and humorous depending on the situation but the more she grows, the more her emotional centre does as well, delivering one of the best characters in her career while Joe Wright gives the film enough energy – helped immensely by the incredible score from The Chemical Brothers – to get you hyped up during the fight sequences.
16 – Frozen
Disney’s slump in the 2000s was done by the time Tangled came out in 2010, but it was Frozen that proved they were back with their best film since Mulan. Between poking fun at their own ‘love at first sight’ tropes and singing Let It Go at the top of their voice, there’s a great story here about the relationship between two sisters who couldn’t be there for each other, now needing each other more than ever. It carries all the staples of a Disney classic, good humour, great songs, flawed but strong-willed characters, but the modern twists it brings in send it over the top in their pantheon.
15 - Toy Story 3
Toy Story 4 was, and still to me is, unnecessary because Toy Story 3 capped off the trilogy so goddamn perfectly. They timed the whole thing to a Tee, releasing it when the kids who were Andy’s age in the first one would be the college aged Andy here, no longer the imaginative little boy he was, the toys only kept for emotional value and Woody questioning the worth of him and the other toys to their kid who’s no longer a kid. As hilarious and heart-wrenching as you’ve come to expect from the series but carrying that extra weight of growing up and growing apart, it’s a pitch-perfect closer to the franchise and still hard to watch without getting emotional
14 - Four Lions
It’s been 10 years since I first saw Four Lions and I still laugh every time I see it, it’s hard to imagine that a comedy about terrorists could work or work as well as it does but they bloody well pulled it off. They balance a very fine line between showing that most of the terrorists are idiots brainwashed by religion and power and sympathising with them for being normal family men as well, you understand why they plan to blow themselves up and you will laugh when some of them do, but that doesn’t mean you want to see them die. There’s comedy in the tragedy and nowhere is that more evident than here, the sheep scene especially remains one of the highlights of the decade.
13 - The Neon Demon
Refn might be a divisive flavour for a director but he’s one I love and Neon Demon is one of his best, portraying the cut-throat modelling world as literally cut-throat and blood-starved. It’s a dark, corrupting tale, not taking away innocence from main character Jesse, but tempting her to give it away, all the while a pounding synth soundtrack, neon drenched aesthetic and slight instances of necrophilia surround her. The lines between sex and violence are blurred throughout making an uncomfortable but unforgettable experience.
12 - The Lighthouse
If you ever wanted to see what isolation, drunkenness and sexual frustration can do to two men then look no further. The Lighthouse slammed into me in the final moments of the decade and easily set itself up as one of its best film. From its quarrelling dual leads to its claustrophobic cinematography to its references to Gods of Christianity, Greek, Roman and Eldritch to its humorous farting and its screech of the damned soundtrack. Every element of this film is designed to make you sit up and take notice and I absolutely did.
11 – Shame
Arguably the unsexiest film about sex out there, Steve McQueen’s breakdown of a sex addict forced to relive his harsh past with the return of his sister is a film that I’ve not stopped thinking about since I first saw it. Michael Fassbender gives his best performance to date, showing Brandon’s emotional armour slipping as he falls further and further into depravity, his attempts at intimacy ruined by his inability to get close to anyone, all the while his sister – Carey Mulligan in arguably her best role as well – reminds him of all the horrible things that he’s done and have been done to him. There’s a subtlety to the power at play here, never going immediately for the swing but when it hits, it hits hard.
10 - Hereditary
The impact of Hereditary to my fragile little head still has me reeling from that first viewing, it is a goddamn masterpiece of horror, portraying itself as a family drama filled with sorrow but tinged with some otherworldly evil that’s pushing this family to their breaking point. I’ve said it numerous times but Toni Collete deserved a lot more attention for her incredible performance and director Ari Aster shot himself into the big time here, capturing the destructive power of grief so strongly that the possession angle almost didn’t need to be a part of the film. This will shock you, scare you and leave you unnerved but god help me I was so glad it did.
9 - Ex_Machina
Alex Garland has slowly built himself up as one of the best voices in modern sci-fi and nowhere is that more obvious than here, the implications of fully-realised A.I. and what that could mean for humanity, and for the A.I. themselves are all questioned here, creating an intelligent, thought-provoking film that has a lot more going on under the surface and most of it sinister – none more so than Oscar Isaac’s random dancing. It’s rare to have a film challenge you so well with everyone involved seemingly out for their own interests and Garland asking if that’s so wrong, there’s no easy answer by the end but that’s what makes it so interesting to watch.
8 - The Babadook
Aster might have captured grief well in Hereditary, but The Babadook wields it like a goddamn weapon, focussing on a widowed mother and her troubled son as they deal with a demonic presence that might not actually be there at all. The dual work of lead actress Essie Davis who perfectly grabs that frustration and anger and pain that comes from losing a loved one and being constantly reminded of it by a son who every years gets harder and harder to control and from director Jennifer Kent who treats the Babadook himself as an allegory for sorrow and the poisonous nature of not being able to mourn properly is what absolutely make this film as effective as it is and easily stands as the best horror movie of the decade.
7 – Arrival
Denis Villeneuve quickly became one of my favourite directors over the course of this decade and this list wouldn’t have been complete without him. While his previous works – Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, etc – have all dealt with the worst of the world and the moral grey area that comes from dealing with them, Arrival is his most optimistic film to date, even with some dark themes and moments. For anyone thinking this is just a two hour language lesson they’re missing the point, this is an Alien invasion film without the invasion, it’s about co-operation, about learning to trust others, both in the main theme of the film with the aliens and the subtext for Amy Adams strong performance coming to terms with what this strange language is telling her. It’s the closest thing to modern Star Trek we’ve gotten and it deserves the praise for going the pacifist route.
6 – Margaret
Easily one of the most difficult films of the decade, Margaret is something that can be incredibly difficult to get into with the wrong idea but holds something truly amazing for those that do. This is a film about a teenage girl who has her first brush with guilt and doesn’t know how to handle it, Anna Paquin’s turn as Lisa is unsympathetic, awkward and confrontational in a post 9/11 New York but she’s a teenager who doesn’t know how to react to a world in which the massive trauma on her is minuscule to the stories that litter the city. It might not be for everyone but there has been nothing like it before or since.
5 - The Raid 2: Berandal
The first Raid was a well-made action film that made up for its small story with enough energy and bloodshed to satisfy genre fans. Then The Raid 2 came out and changed the fucking game, this is the pinnacle of action movies for this decade, across 2 and a half hours we take on some of the most visceral and intense action set-pieces ever put to film with hero Rama taking on a prison riot, a car chase and a kitchen scene that put me right on the fucking edge, all backed up by a surprisingly strong gangland story that ties everything together. Whether we get a Raid 3 or not is still up in the air, but Gareth Evans made his magnum-opus with this one and it’s probably best not to try and top perfection.
4 - Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame
Am I cheating by putting both films here? Yes but shut up, it’s my list, and honestly you can’t separate the two, these are two halves of one film, each bringing the Avengers and the MCU to the best and worst places its ever gone. From Thanos’ war for peace to seeing everyone on screen at once to The Snap to the time-travel to the portals to the funeral, each moment builds upon the last, giving the MCU its greatest villain, its biggest defeat, its most triumphant return and its most heroic sacrifice, 11 years in the making but for a nearly 6 hour conclusion, it more than made its mark on the cultural landscape and on how big cinema can get if it can push itself.
3 - War For The Planet Of The Apes.
Like How To Train Your Dragon, consider this a placeholder for the entire trilogy with its strongest entry in place here, it was a toss-up between this and Dawn but War’s personalised storyline with Caesar’s psychological battle against The Colonel sticking with me for far longer. This is the end of Caesar’s journey and we see just how far he’s come, becoming older, colder and bitter but still trying to hold onto that little bit of hope that came from his adoptive family, still trying to teach his people the ways of peace even if his heart is calling for war. Andy Serkis is phenomenal in the role, across all three films but never better here with his stand-offs against The Colonel – Woody Harrelson delivering a chilling, barbaric but never insane performance – being some of the franchises highlights. Dawn might have the set-pieces, but War has the heart and the head to stand out.
2 - Birdman
I remember walking out of my first viewing of Birdman thinking that I’d just seen a film that could and should go down as one of the greatest films of all-time, and every viewing since has not changed my mind on that. I adore every little piece of this film, I love the meta-narrative of a former superhero actor trying to get out from the shadow of his iconic role, I love the one-take style and how it ties into the use of the theatre giving no-cuts, no breaks in the performance. I loved the performances from Michael Keaton’s bitter old man desperately tring to help himself and his loved one but too angry to show it properly, to Edward Norton’s semi-biographical role as the difficult actor to Emma Stone’s realist daughter of Keaton who calls her dad out on his bullshit the same way the film calls out the bullshit surrounding it with critics, pretension, blockbusters and internet fame. This film had something to say and it chose a fucking incredible way to say it.
1 – Drive
If you try to break down Drive, you end up disappointed, as an action film it’s too slow-paced and methodical, as a crime thriller it’s too focused on an awkward romance between a mute driver and a semi-single mother, as a romance it’s WAY too violent and blood-thirsty. But you put all those elements together and you have a masterclass of a film, this is so perfectly crafted, so expertly put together that even 9 years after my first viewing I’ve still to find fault in it, from the opening heist I was involved and it never let me go, taking me from a beautiful but tragic romance between Gosling’s unnamed driver – given just enough to be interesting but never revealing enough to disrupt his mystery or explain his action either good or evil and Mulligan’s angel next door Irene all the way to a blood soaked final act with the elevator scene probably being my favourite moment of the entire decade. All the while, Refn directs the film like a neon-fuelled 80s movie, set to a synthetic soundtrack which will absolutely make you want to play A Real Hero as you drive along a dark road lit by nothing but your headlights. This is a film that’s more than the sum of its parts, where each individual element, no matter how strange or unconventional adds to a perfect whole to create what is easily, the Best Film of the 2010s.