The Best Films of the 2010s
Over the last few weeks we’ve taken to asking our readers and followers on Twitter what they would consider the best films of the last ten years. The results are in and our staff at TFS has written up the list of the top 50 best films of the 2010s. It has been an amazing decade of films and these films prove it. Here’s to another great ten years.
50. Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty has been mired in controversy from its initial release through now— 2019’s The Report took a dig directly at the film’s misrepresentation of the use of torture in finding Osama Bin Laden. Kathryn Bigelow’s 2012 film can be doubted when it comes to its historical accuracy, but what is impossible to deny is the powerhouse performance by Jessica Chastain, playing Maya, a CIA analyst who helps track down the most wanted man in the world. Taken as a spy drama, it’s a solid spiderweb of espionage, giving a real look at the bureaucracy in the government seemingly working against our central hero—in a room full of men, Maya is the voice of reason. In a decade when the movement to give voices to not just male-driven filmmakers has grown, it’s thrilling to see Bigelow direct a story about a woman being the best at what she does and giving us all the good and bad that comes with it, putting the entire film on the back of one of the best actresses alive.
- Marcelo Pico
49. Paddington 2
There are a lot of fun films on this list, but none are as full of pure joy as Paddington 2. In an age where a vast majority of children’s films seem cynically designed, first and foremost as a vehicle to sell as much merchandise as possible to as many children as possible, this humble fish-out-of-water tale of a raincoat-clad bear navigating life in London, with the help of his adopted human family, stands apart. It’s a delight from start to finish, a kindhearted, masterfully crafted children’s film all but guaranteed to warm even the coldest of hearts. This sequel managed to retain everything that was special about the first film, while deepening Paddington’s relationship to his family and adding a tour-de-force comedic performance from Hugh Grant. Everybody needs this, and everybody needs Paddington bear.
- Marcus Irving
48. Under the Skin
Jonathan Glazer's films are a lot like a blood moon: magnificent in stature, eerily alluring by nature, and come out roughly every seventeen years. Obviously that's a huge exaggeration, but it has been nearly seven years since the release of Under the Skin; the British director's hypnotic, dread-induced joyride through the streets of Glasgow, as an unnamed woman — a career defining performance by Scarlett Johansson — drives around seducing men before bringing them home to a viscid pool of black sludge. It's a somber journey through a disdainful world that somehow manages to unearth pity through callousness, exposing the terrified heart that beats beneath the objectification of women. Loosely based upon the novel of the same name by Michael Faber, with a screenplay by Glazer and Walter Campbell, Under the Skin was a commercial failure upon release, though if anything that should act as a testament to its undeniable pulse, one that beats beneath a facade of minimal dialogue forced into a dreary setting. Like the title suggests, there's a thick coating of humanity beneath its seductive exterior, where grim despair, haunting existentialism and crushing hopelessness exist. Guided by an effective score from Mica Levi (Jackie) that coils around Johansson and her male prey — mostly real Glasgow citizens who help create an unembellished atmosphere — Under the Skin remains a daunting achievement of a singular mind, one who understands that true science fiction evokes the horror of the unknown while underscoring the jilted benevolence of human beings.
- Greg Mucci
47. The Witch
Robert Eggers’ breakout film, The Witch (or The VVitch for Film Twitter) showed audiences that good horror often lies within the real, rather than twisted fantasies. What impressed me the most about the movie was that it was grounded in history more than lore (though there’s a good portion of the latter) as the viewer follows a Puritan family in New England that has recently been cast out of their community and is forced to survive on their own. The real highlight of the movie is the performance given by actor Harvey Scrimshaw, who plays the young son Caleb, specifically in a scene where he has been returned to his family after being lost in the woods. After waking up from what seems to be some sort of coma, Caleb recites a feverish and sinister version of the lord’s prayer, along with lines from the writings of prominent colonial settlers. It is quite apparent that Eggers has done his homework here and brings along the disturbing tone and atmosphere to produce one of the best horror movies of the decade.
- Anna Stoutenburg
46. Roma
The black and white cinematography that captures Mexico City in the ‘70s gives every image a melancholy feeling. Cleo, brilliantly portrayed by teacher-turned-actor Yalitza Aparicio, as she endures multiple hardships that life brings into her reality. Her tenacity is bold, yet quiet, never overstepping the boundaries set up by the family that employs her. She appears stoic through all the obstacles but the most beautiful moment in the film is when she lets down her guard, allowing her suppressed emotions flow out of her soul. Roma is different than Alfonso Cuarón’s other films, as it tells a story that is personal, rather than fictional. It captures events that an Indigenous woman experienced in her lifetime and puts it on the big screen so that viewers can understand the reality and oppression that exists in day-to-day life.
- Shea Vassar
45. A Separation
Asghar Farhadi is a modern master. Largely unknown to many American filmgoers, he is quietly amassing a filmography to rival any other working director. You could watch any one of his movies and be blown away, but if you must watch one, watch A Separation. This Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film is the story of a divorce that, in terms of emotional power, blows away classics like Kramer vs. Kramer and newer films such as Marriage Story. It is a masterful work for many reasons, but the performances Farhadi wrangles out of Payman Maadi and Leila Hatami are unlike any movie this decade. Unlike other films surrounding the destruction of a marriage, the viewer is not led to take a side. Both partners have their points, and the problems they face are exacerbated by the local laws. The complicated family dynamics force the characters into impossible decisions with terrible consequences, and like many situations in real life, there are no easy answers. A Separation is one of the best of the decade and proof that the Academy gets things right every once in a while.
- David Giannini
44. Ex Machina
Alex Garland's jaw-dropping directorial debut is a stunning sci-fi thriller and a star-making turn for each of the lead actors. Oscar Isaac shines as a morally-grey tech CEO who brings in an engineer (Domhnall Gleeson) from his company to do a Turing test on his newly made AI (Alicia Vikander). Like the best films about AI and its ramifications, Ex Machina contemplates what constitutes being a human being and the ethics of AI in a future where it's advanced enough to be indistinguishable from a normal person. Add in the fact that it's just a beautiful, amazingly crafted film with Oscar-winning special effects that beat out many films with much higher budgets, and you've got a film that's just breathtakingly excellent.
- Callie Smith
43. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Tom Cruise cannot be stopped. With the help of writer-director Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise in the 2010s redefined himself and held a mirror to his legacy as an action star with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (featuring an uncredited McQuarrie rewrite), Jack Reacher, and Edge of Tomorrow. The pinnacle of McQuarrie and Cruise’s work together in the 2010s is Mission: Impossible – Fallout, one of the greatest action films ever produced, with a performance from Cruise that still proves he’s not just his own best stuntman, but one of the best actors working today. It’s frightening to think where exactly Cruise is going to go with future Mission: Impossible entries and how much he’s going to push the boundaries of what a human can do. Emotionally it’s going to be hard to top Fallout; an epic globe-trotting action film that ends with a quiet resolution—finding catharsis after the past comes back to haunt you. With the same energy he has had for decades as a Hollywood star, Cruise proves time and again he cannot be stopped.
- Marcelo Pico
42. Before Midnight
Before Midnight, the third film following Celine and Jesse, is the most realistic of the Before series. While the first two movies focus on serendipitous love-at-first-sight and timing, this installment shows the couple at a breaking point as they deal with kids, money, and all the other struggles in their marriage. Though the content matter has changed, the chemistry between Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke is still as charming as the train sequence in Before Sunrise. They play off each other’s dialogue and create a perfect pair of lovers whose relationship is going through its own midlife crisis. Before Midnight is a purposeful stripping of Celine and Jesse’s idealized relationship that has been carefully curated for the screen for cinema audiences to fall in love. It is raw, funny, and the perfect way to close the trilogy.
- Shea Vassar
41. The Shape of Water
If there is any one thread through most, if not all, of Guillermo del Toro’s films, it is his love of monsters. In The Shape of Water, this is the literal truth. Here he tells the story of the outsiders as the heroes. And we are all aberrant, in one way or another. Everyone has felt odd, different, or as if we are on the outside looking in. We are all other. Here is a film that truly understands that feeling of otherness. The Shape of Water is for all of us. GDT, amongst the darkness and the monsters, offers us up a story of pure love. Love that almost needs no language, yet is full of romance. Sally Hawkins and Doug Jones, leading a stellar cast, bring us in with physical performances that pull on the heartstrings. Yes, there is none better than GDT at the dark fairy tale, but this is one filled with yearning rather than warning, and it just may be his masterpiece.
- David Giannini
40. Shame
Steve McQueen’s searing, intimate, uncomfortable sex addiction drama is really hard to watch. Michael Fassbender’s scorching performance is wrenching and unsettling. Carey Mulligan’s self-destructive vulnerability matches him to create a pair of siblings too messed up to help each other. Nicole Beharie is a lone figure of normalcy, but even she can’t bring Fassbender out of the darkness. The film’s look at sex addiction might seem simplistic, but the film works for me more as a portrait of self-loathing, where sexual pleasure becomes something you detest most about yourself. The film’s look is unflinching. The cinematography, production design, editing, and music make you feel claustrophobic. The motif repetition is really confining, and utilized in a brilliant way. Even though everything looks expensive and of high quality, everyone is still stuck in their cycles. These people are living in luxury, with unlimited resources at their fingertips. But they are crippled by their own trauma and addictions, taken to the brink of their own pain.
- Manish Mathur
39. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Notoriously divisive, what Star Wars: The Last Jedi needs the most in order to get its due respect is time. Rian Johnson made some bold choices with an extremely popular pop culture franchise, so the pushback was inevitable — change isn’t for everyone. After the warm bath that was The Force Awakens, the eighth film in the “Skywalker Saga” challenged the characters by separating them and explored the consequences when a rogue mission fails. The representation of this film is inspiring, finally breaking the mold of casting every background character as a crusty British actor. And I have become an ardent defender of the Canto Bight sequence because of the vivid character building — Finn begins the film as a man who has lost his hope in the Resistance and once he sees firsthand what the galaxy’s elite are up to, he knows that he has to fight to defeat them. The line “We are the spark that will light the fire that'll burn the First Order down” is amplified in such a way that makes the final shot of the boy looking up to the stars an emotional knockout.
- Joey Aucoin
38. Hereditary
The hysterical horror of Hereditary is grueling and exhausting, presenting a family crumbling to dust. Grief can make or break a family, and the parade of trauma inflicted on this family (both before and during the events of the film) is as torturous to watch as it is to imagine. Ari Aster’s slow-burn film has its share of dark laughs and weird gags, and the film balances that edge shakily, but ultimately successfully. Toni Collette throws herself into her lead role, twisting her face, shrieking, and yelling and she does a lot to maintain this tricky heightened tone. Gabriel Byrne is effectively rendered useless (and he’s great in that role). Ann Dowd is creepily affable in her supporting turn, and Milly Shapiro plays frighteningly odd well. Alex Wolff for me is the standout as the walking-nervous-breakdown-of-a-son. His face during THE car scene is haunting and horrifying. The film might lose some in its final scenes, which is understandable as it answers questions the audience might like to ponder on its own. But the frank ending is strangely cathartic after almost two hours of existential dread and unrelenting buildup.
- Manish Mathur
37. Silence
It is nearly impossible to decide upon Martin Scorsese’s best movie. Hell, it’s difficult to choose his best movie in this decade! When you have Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, and Silence to choose from, this is the definition of an embarrassment of riches. But Silence obviously belongs on this list. As a filmmaker, and as a man, Scorsese has struggled with faith and guilt for most of his life. He has approached this as early as Mean Streets, and most obviously in The Last Temptation of Christ. But with Silence, he takes perhaps his most nuanced and mature view of it. Every lapsed Catholic has asked the questions that he asks here. Is my faith for me, or is it important to share it, to shout it from the rooftops? What would I do if someone actually challenged my faith? Will it stand up to the threat of true violence? There are many readings of this film, but one that I will always keep with me is this: No matter what threats face us, no one can truly take away our faith, our belief. We hold it close, it transforms and is what we need, no matter where or who we are. This nuanced look at faith is one he never would have made as a young man, and we are all lucky that Silence was finally made, and made this decade by this man.
- David Giannini
36. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino’s epic masterpiece is told with such a passionate desire to get every detail exactly as intended that you can almost taste the air they’re breathing. A film that gets better with each viewing, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood feels less like a story and more like a hang with characters that are so lived in that’s it’s shocking that these guys are fictional. The image of Leonardo DiCaprio standing outside his house in his robe and a pitcher of margaritas is absolutely iconic. Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth is an all-timer performance, never pushing the moment, allowing the story of friendship, fame, and eventual murder carry him to the closing credits without one false note. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood operates with so much reverence to the moment it’s depicting that the viewer can only succumb to the experience. The sequence in which “Out Of Time” by the Rolling Stones plays as the stage is set for the climax of the film is probably the best example why I will never grow tired of watching these characters.
- Joey Aucoin
35. Black Swan
When pressed to submit a genre for this masterpiece by Darren Aronofsky, psychological horror-thriller feels appropriate. Yet even with the hyphen, there are so many layers to this film, and description can only go so far. Black Swan uses metaphor in such a calibrated way due to the beauty of Matthew Liibatigue’s cinematography. There’s a surprisingly effective sense of humor that bubbles underneath the surface of this film – the tone has a poppy sheen that seems to take glee in the idea of falling prey to artistic obsession. The control that Natalie Portman exhibits in this film is striking, never going into melodrama when the rest of the production spins out in a thrilling dose of extreme paranoia. With five Academy nominations and one win for Best Actress, the fact that Black Swan simply exists feels like a miracle and its success is even more unfathomable. Yet, ten years later, it’s a modern classic and arguably the best work of everyone involved.
- Joey Aucoin
34. The Irishman
The first time I watched Martin Scorsese's The Irishman I knew it was something special. The second time I realized it was one of his best. The third? It became dreadfully obvious that this is one of the best films of the last ten years. Scorsese's latest is also one of his most tragic. A story of friendship betrayed to keep things level, a story of aging and losing control, a story of coming to terms with your own mortality. It really is a sight, seeing these legends at work. DeNiro, the best he has been in a while, Pacino giving an accurate and bravura turn as Hoffa, and Joe Pesci giving the best performance of his career. This is Pesci like you've rarely seen him; calm, quiet, and able to get his point across without a lot of muss and fuss. I'm in awe of him here. A sprawling yet focused gangster film, The Irishman is a singular picture that really only would've made sense coming from Scorsese. Yes he has been down this path before, but it has never been this sad and immediate. It's also very funny at times, a needed addition to such a bleak story, a story that will be watched and discussed for years to come.
- Matt Curione
33. Manchester By The Sea
Cinephiles are no strangers to stories about loss and grief. Director and writer Kenneth Lonergan, however, created something special with Manchester By The Sea. It may seem cliché to say now, but filmmaking, and especially acting, is not merely the dialogue. It is the in between that truly connects us. In maybe his best performance thus far, Casey Affleck tests that connection. His character of Lee Chandler is purposefully distant, and even unlikable, especially at first glance. Lonergan’s script, as well as his patient hand behind the camera, lets us in moment by moment, even sometimes taking steps backwards. There are precious few scenes of standard exposition in his films, and that naturalism is rewarded when we finally bear witness to the tragedy that Lee has hidden from everyone. This, along with his burgeoning relationship with his nephew (Lucas Hedges), forces the audience to do the work of connection when we are usually led by the hand. Instead, because of their circumstances, there is no easy empathy for any of them. But this allows us to eventually be rewarded and, in the face of incredible odds, gives us hope. Hope, even when we experience the absolute worst life can offer.
- David Giannini
32. The Handmaiden
Park Chan-wook's lesbian thriller is a breath of fresh air, when it comes to films about queer women made by straight men. Park takes these women very seriously and treats them without an iota of the usual, damaging male gaze that comes hand-in-hand with other similar films of this era in cinema. Even the sex scenes in The Handmaiden don't make the audience feel like a voyeur. And, of course, it sure doesn't hurt that this movie is just genuinely great. The plot takes multiple twists and turns that leave you second-guessing everything along the way, and the characters are complex in their moralities and personalities. Balancing this tone and atmosphere while making a truly exciting thriller that doesn't depend on exploiting the sexuality of its leads for tension is an amazing high-wire act of storytelling that raised the bar for all future queer cinema, especially when it's made by straight directors.
- Callie Smith
31. Dunkirk
A fighter pilot running low on fuel over the pacific, a group of young men stranded at sea after retreating from the frontlines, and a boat full of civilians who want to do anything they can to help the war effort converge on Dunkirk beach during the height of World War II in what I feel is the most impactful of Christopher Nolan’s many masterpieces this decade. Nolan tells the story in such a chaotic way that you’re always on the edge of your seat. Hoyte Van Hoytema’s gorgeous cinematography fills the screen with dark blue water as far as the eye can see so things feel as hopeless as possible. Hans Zimmer’s score in infused with the sounds of a ticking clock, ratcheting up the tension even further. In keeping with the themes of the film, every element of the filmmaking perfectly comes together to tell the story of a horribly anxious moment in history.
- Marcus Irving
30. Lady Bird
“I gave [my name] to myself. It’s given to me by me”. So claims Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), the complex, charismatic lead of Greta Gerwig’s 2017 directorial debut. A character study of Lady Bird set in Sacramento over her last year of high school before the life-altering (or so she hopes) experience of going to college, the film is far from Ronan’s first lead role, but somehow still feels like her breakthrough. After all, Gerwig clearly has a skill for perfectly matching actor to character, hiring Timothée Chalamet as ‘deep’ fuckboy Kyle, who says things like “hella tight” unironically, and A24 poster boy Lucas Hedges as sensitive budding thespian Danny. You could make a very strong case for 2017, which also brought us Moonlight and Call Me By Your Name, being one of cinema’s greatest years yet, and Lady Bird undeniably contributes to the trend of thoughtful, tender portrayals of adolescence and its trials and tribulations. Funny, intimate and at points truly heartbreaking – the fraught relationship between Lady Bird and her mother Marion (Laurie Metcalfe) provides several scenes that I’ve concluded it’s impossible not to cry over – the film announced Gerwig as one of this generation’s most talented filmmakers.
- Hannah Rosina Holway
29. Call Me By Your Name
Everybody has certain films that they feel were made exclusively for them. Films that speak so directly to you that you feel as if you understand them better than anybody else. Call Me By Your Name is one of the very few of those that came this decade for me. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom shoots the Italian countryside with such grace, making the bright open skies and centuries old architecture look like the lush dreamscapes you’d hope they’d be if you ever saw them in person. The tender love story between Elio and Oliver is among cinema’s very best and most nuanced. Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer’s performances entranced me, while Michael Stuhlbarg’s final monologue shook me to my core. I’ve listened to songs from Sufjan Stevens’ soundtrack every week since leaving that theater, and I don’t think that the final shot that plays over the credits will ever leave my mind.
- Marcus Irving
28. Boyhood
Richard Linklater has always been an experimental filmmaker. Jumping genres and going from crowd-pleaser to quieter indie fare, he has always been interested in telling stories in his own unique way. With the Before series, he told a story of a young couple’s first eventful meeting who eventually going through a marriage crisis, over a span of nearly two decades and three films. With 2012’s Boyhood, he dedicated 12 years to make a story of a family growing up (and growing apart) in Texas. Linklater has always been obsessed with time and with Boyhood he makes the ultimate time capsule of what it was like to grow up during that time. There are moments that are universal; Patricia Arquette’s Oscar-winning performance, for one, is a testament to the sacrifice many mothers make when raising kids. And her line, “I just thought there would be more,” pretty much sums up growing old and trying to capture the past in memories. With Boyhood, Linklater attempts to make that possible, capturing the little moments of a life lived.
- Marcelo Pico
27. Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino’s bombastic Django Unchained was a revelatory experience. I was still in high school and had only just discovered Tarantino’s style months earlier. Sneaking into a packed auditorium on December 26, 2012, (I wasn’t even old enough to buy my own ticket, I’m fairly sure I’d bought one to the first Hobbit), I felt very “adult”. It wasn’t my first time clandestinely seeing an R-rated movie, but there was something about the name attached, “Quentin Tarantino”, and the understanding that the movie was going to be heavy, and have mature themes and language and violence I was still tantalized by, and that made it all very exciting. As I’ve grown, I’m not sure anyone could call Quentin Tarantino “mature”, but Django is nonetheless “adult”. As a kid still learning what it meant to make a “real movie for adults”, seeing such stylized dialogue and visuals, blending tones from brutal depictions of real-world horrors to wacky Mel Brooks-esque klansmen, made me realize the bounds of what constituted “real movies”. There were no limits on any of these things. All it really took was a madman like Tarantino making the types of movies he wanted to see. I thought it was so goddamn cool.
- James Barrett
26. The Favourite
This is Yorgos Lanthimos’ most accessible work, but to be fair, that’s not saying much. Despite much higher emotions being on display, there is, as always, a lot more going on beneath the surface. This is a also a film that demands perfect casting, if any of the trio of lead female characters were just a bit off, this would fall apart. Luckily, Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz are more than up for that challenge. Although Colman got most of the awards publicity, truthfully each of these three performances are perfectly on point. In a lesser film, there would be no one to root for. But instead, Lanthimos and the performances lead us to constantly switch allegiances with each new twist of the plot. The sharpness in wit and intelligence throughout provides us with a reason to hope for these women, even if we don’t completely root for them, so we relish every bit of bad behavior. But beneath all of this, The Favourite is a story about love, friendship, and loyalty. Depending on who you support (and that could be all three or none), the message you take from The Favourite could be drastically different each time you watch.
- David Giannini
25. Phantom Thread
This is the best comedy of the decade and, frankly, the best movie of the decade. Paul Thomas Anderson, who has basically not had a misstep yet (unless you count Inherent Vice, and if you do, you’re a monster), creates a dark, beautiful, intricate romantic comedy for those of us who appreciate the bittersweet. Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, and Lesley Manville are all picture-perfect in a film that certainly pushes the boundaries of both romance and comedy. This movie has it all; flirtation, mommy issues, and unparalleled stare downs. A stunning story about broken people that somehow fit together. No matter what you think of their actions, or how they treat each other (terribly), they need to be together, if for no other reason rather than neither should be inflicted on any normal thinking human being. And like any other PTA film, no one could possibly complain about the precision of the craft, not even Reynolds Woodcock.
- David Giannini
24. Nightcrawler
One of the best directorial debuts of the 2010s, Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler is a film that captures the growing sense of nihilism that has partially defined the decade. Jake Gyllenhaal gives a career best performance as Lou Bloom, a psychopath with a camera who does horrible things yet continues to be rewarded for them — a scenario we have become all too familiar with. That sense of reality and believability is what makes Nightcrawler one of the most terrifying films of the decade. The film brilliantly tells this horror story by framing Bloom as the hero, right down to James Newton Howard’s upbeat score as Bloom excitedly films a murder scene. Gilroy’s eye in combination with Robert Elswit’s gorgeous photography help to make this one of the best “LA at Night” films. Nightcrawler is a vicious takedown of the media’s obsession with violence and an uncompromising bleak portrait of our society, that happens to be endlessly watchable and thrilling.
- Sam Van Haren
23. The Master
This searing, disturbing exploration of dependence and influence is a movie that has to grow on you. When I first saw it I didn’t really care for it but something about it had stuck in my head. So I watched it again. And again. Then it really hit me. Topped by three astounding performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and a powerhouse Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Thomas Anderson’s cult epic is striking and enigmatic. The film is unsettling, with piercing close-ups and scenes so long they wear you down. The camerawork by Mihai Malaimare Jr. is unflinching, with careful editing by Leslie Jones and Peter McNulty. While many suspect the cult in the film is based on Scientology, the film isn’t a straight biopic or indictment. It’s a cutting but often hilarious look at an aimless soul looking to belong and the people who prey on that need. It’s about false gods trying to control those that follow them while promising liberation. The Master is beautiful to behold, complicated and strange.
- Manish Mathur
22. Carol
The 2015 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Price of Salt” is understanding and tender, the 16mm camera working as a spy, capturing the moments between two women who are forbidden from being in love. The introverted innocence in Rooney Mara’s performance as Therese brilliantly accommodates the boldness that is associated with Cate Blanchett’s titular character. Carol is captivating, elegant, and smart. What both Therese and Carol have against them is the homophobic society of the 1950s that cares more about appearance than true emotion. The most memorable quality about Carol is the importance every moment has to the two women: no glance goes unnoticed, no slight brush of the hand is an accident. Just being together in the same room is enough for the characters, which persuades the audience to feel exactly the same.
- Shea Vassar
21. Interstellar
The first time I saw Interstellar, it was at the AMC Lincoln Square IMAX in New York. That’s the biggest IMAX screen in the state, and for my money, the best. Because I misread the seating chart when buying my ticket online I ended up sitting in the third or fourth row. To say Christopher Nolan’s space travel epic overwhelmed me is an understatement. The bleak, anti-intellectualist Earth is contrasted with the wide, magnificent vistas of the strange, inhabitable planets. The dizzying space travel between galaxies and through wormholes is complemented by Nolan’s most heart-wrenching narrative yet. Performances from Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain are compelling and stirring. Celebrated cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer bring the film to its expansive heights, crafting a visually striking and unforgettable experience. I’ve seen the film several times, on screens of varying sizes, and it provides stunning thrills each time. The emotional backbone of love reaching through space and time might seem cheesy to some, but within Nolan’s intergalactic melodrama adventure it works.
- Manish Mathur
20. 12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen’s best picture winner 12 Years a Slave is hard to talk about for two reasons. The first is its gut-wrenching and devastating display of an unforgivable period in America’s history. The second, is where to even begin. There are too many astounding performances to list. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Solomon Northup anchors the entire movie, and without his constantly human, viscerally real work, it’s hard to imagine it hitting as hard. Lupita Nyong’o, in her feature film debut, shows everyone that she is a force to be reckoned with immediately. Thinking about 12 Years a Slave always elicits memories of specific images burned into my brain, all captured so beautifully by DP Sean Bobbit. Solomon burning his letter, and the embers fading away as the screen turns to black. The unflinching shot of him nearly hung from a tree, only his toes on the ground, that feels like an eternity but is really only about a minute of screen time. All these incredible parts are brought together by the powerfully talented Steve McQueen to form a painfully unforgettable whole.
- James Barrett
19. The Grand Budapest Hotel
The films of Wes Anderson have always been carefully curated pieces of offbeat delight, and he arguably perfected that style in 2015 with the unbelievably stunning film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Continuing to use the skills and techniques he gathered working in stop-motion animation, Anderson and his immensely talented crew created a beautiful vision of wartime Europe. A top-of-his-game Ralph Fiennes leads the amazing ensemble as M. Gustave, but Tony Revelori more than holds his own as the two tear across the meticulously designed world. Featuring a cast of characters made up of actors like Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, and Tilda Swinton to name just a few, the movie is just endlessly entertaining. In terms of pure craft, this is Anderson’s most impressive work in live-action and a near-perfect distillation of everything that makes the indie auteur so unique a voice.
- Sam Van Haren
18. The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life in 2011 heralded in a new phase for the reclusive director. It was his fifth film in nearly four decades. After The Tree of Life, Malick released five more films before the close of the decade, seemingly inspired after making the epic, experimental film that earned him a Best Director nomination. Reunited with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Malick creates stunning imagery in The Tree of Life that reaffirms his ever-moving and graceful camera trademarks. The film centers around a family who deal with the loss of a son, then it shows us the creation of the universe and life on Earth. It’s a staggering and bold film this side of 2001: A Space Odyssey, testing its audience but providing an awe-inspiring, emotional passage through time. Anchored by nearly wordless performances from Jessica Chastain, Brad Pitt, and Sean Penn, as pretentious as that sounds, The Tree of Life is an experience, one that will surely change your perception of the world around you.
- Marcelo Pico
17. Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coen brothers have made countless good decisions over their long, successful careers. But, perhaps, their best decision, of this past decade at least, was hiring Oscar Isaac to star in Inside Llewyn Davis. Isaac is not only one hell of an actor, featured in pretty much every scene of the film and holding his own against Coen mainstay John Goodman and the ultra-charismatic Justin Timberlake, he’s an amazing singer and stage presence, performing the folk songs live on set. It’s the definition of a breakout role, and not only that, the film itself is one of the best Coen films ever. Accused of being misanthropes, here the writer-directors give Isaac’s Llewyn Davis a driving force and heart, as foolish as it may seem. The specter of his songwriter partner’s suicide hangs over him, but Davis moves forward and get the literal crap beat out of him. As crazy as it seems, in the end, it’s all about making music. Really, that’s all there is.
- Marcelo Pico
16. Inside Out
Pixar’s movies always tell textured stories about genuine human emotions, even within fantastical worlds. Inside Out takes place in the mind of an adolescent young girl and it is one of the most empathetic and sincere films of the 2010s. The animation is jaw-droppingly beautiful, with cleverly designed “lands” that represent parts of the human brain. Every detail is well thought out, the film takes endearingly bizarre detours, and the film is often bright and funny. I love the voice cast, especially the five leads: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, and Lewis Black. Richard Kind’s role as Bing Bong is truly magical, while also delivering Pixar’s most crushing, devastating moment yet. Over the last ten years, Pixar’s hasn’t quite hit home runs every time, but Inside Out is a glorious reminder why we flock to their films and revisit them often.
- Manish Mathur
15. Parasite
What can one even say about Bong Joon-ho's latest masterpiece that hasn't already been said? It's a brilliant film; part thriller, part comedy, part social commentary. Parasite defies categorization, as it deftly switches gears into unexpected territory every time you almost think you have it pegged down. And yet, I wouldn't categorize it as one of those movies that's known for its crazy twists; everything makes perfect sense once you've had time to sit back and digest the movie and its characters in full. It's a film best experienced going in as blind as possible, and if you've somehow missed the crazy amount of hype surrounding this one, be assured that Parasite is the rare film that lives up to everything being said about it.
- Callie Smith
14. Drive
2011 was an important formative year for me and my love of movies. Tree of Life, Shame, Weekend, all of these and many more made a big impact on me, but at the time of release, sixteen-year-old me was certain that Drive was the best movie he had ever seen, and I know that I was not alone in that line of thinking. Ryan Gosling mumbling in his now iconic scorpion jacket was the epitome of cool. Carey Mulligan said more with a look than any amount of lines ever could have. Albert Brooks took his few scenes and turned in one of the best performances of the decade. The horrifying violence startled whenever things felt comfortable, and it was all presented with an intoxicating neon-lit style. In the years since, all of the previously mentioned films have risen higher in my mind as Drive has fallen, but I still appreciate just how obsessed with it I was and consider it a very personally important film for me. For its influence alone, it is absolutely one of the best films of the 2010s.
- Marcus Irving
13. Get Out
Before his second feature, Us, celebrated the most successful opening weekend of any original horror film, comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele debuted his unique brand of the self-described ‘social thriller’ with 2017’s Get Out. A searing indictment of white liberalism in America (the sort of people who “would’ve voted for Obama for a third term, if they could”), the film sees Skins’ and Black Mirror’s Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, visiting his white girlfriend Rose’s (Alison Williams) affluent family for the first time, before he realises that the black ‘help’ and their vacant, passive expressions are indicative of something much darker and more terrifying that he (or we) could have ever imagined. Drawing on social thrillers of the past such as Funny Games and Rosemary’s Baby, horror film fanatic Peele drops multiple Easter eggs, foreshadowing and subtle hints into Get Out’s sprawling, ambitious plot, from Chris symbolically picking cotton out of an armchair and stuffing it into his ears and resisting hypnosis, to a nod to The Shining’s infamous Room 237. Written in the Obama era but with themes echoing even louder when released just months after Trump’s inauguration, Get Out cemented Peele’s place as one of the most innovative and unexpected horror auteurs operating today, with a thousand memes, fan theories and ‘sunken place’ references confirming its stratospheric cultural impact.
- Hannah Rosina Holway
12. Gone Girl
David Fincher’s Gone Girl is the date movie of the decade. I can still see the couples on opening night squirming in their seats which led to a hushed silence in the theater lobby afterwards. One of the most watched films in my library, there’s always something new to discover in this story of vengeance and liberation. A dark tale of horrible people doing horrible things that's all the more memorable and glorious for it, Gone Girl is a trashterpiece of the highest order. Fincher is able to spring surprise twists on his audience with little to no warning and that’s all thanks to the slick screenplay with which he’s working. This is a masterful satire of media in the modern age and one of the most dark, funny films in recent memory. It's a crime he hasn't made a feature since, but with a little luck, we'll see more of him on the big screen in the coming decade.
- Matt Curione
11. Blade Runner 2049
Few sequels of successful films live up to the standard set by the original, even fewer still manage to be greater than their predecessors. Unexpectedly, Blade Runner 2049 managed to do the latter, accompanied by stunning visuals via Roger Deakins (who went on to win the Oscar for best cinematography that year). Yet, the film’s brilliance does not lie merely in its aesthetic qualities, but rather in how it reframes the philosophical questions posed by the original Blade Runner. Instead of asking, “What is the difference between man and machine?” it asks, “Where is the man within the machine?” The main character that the viewer follows in Blade Runner 2049, K, spends the entirety of the film attempting to grasp tangible human experiences. Whereas some characters are obsessed with replicating human qualities, K simply wants to experience them for himself, leaving the viewer to ponder these intricate questions long after the film is over.
- Anna Stoutenberg
10. La La Land
2016 was a tough year. In times of national crisis, people turn to musicals to uplift their collective spirits. Damien Chazelle’s La La Land was the musical of the year, becoming a box office hit, picking up a ton of awards, and almost winning the Best Picture Oscar. What’s surprising is just how little music there is in this musical. It has some amazing numbers, no doubt, but there’s a long stretch when the film slows down and concentrates on the relationship between the lead characters, played by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. It’s off-putting for some (that and the jazz, but let’s not get bogged down by that), but it’s an emotionally heart-wrenching deconstruction of a relationship that hit all too close for me. Few movies for me these last ten years have hit me with this big of a punch; moments of love marred by forces outside of your control and an end that proves hearts ache for longer than you’d want. It’s not overwrought with joy, rather it’s the bittersweet pill that hit at the perfect time, an ode to the fools who dream in a time when we needed it.
- Marcelo Pico
9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
For better or worse, we live in a world where the comic book movie is king. It’s easy to get caught up in the rhetoric of “they’re all the same.” Well, true believers, this movie is something different. Focusing on a new Spidey (to movie audiences) in Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) enables us to get an origin story without repetition, but it’s more than that. This movie transcends the genre and is perhaps the most emotionally moving comic book movie made to date. It has a genuineness and a pure energy that is rare in this day and age of movie products. Visually, it was phenomenally impressive in the theater, but the growth and relationships of the characters (both blood and chosen family) make it worth at least one rewatch. The creators managed to take advantage of the lack of limitations of animation, as well as making an actual movie that includes an incredible amount of information (and easter eggs, for fans) without it feeling overstuffed. Yes, there are several side characters that could be described as fan service, but even they are an important part of Miles’ growth and eventual ability to take over the identity of Spider-Man. This one is for comic book fans and novices alike, and we are lucky to have it.
- David Giannini
8. Inception
Christopher Nolan is not without his detractors, but there is no denying that he is one of the most influential filmmakers of the 21st Century, and he kicked off the decade with a bold and personal blockbuster that is my favorite film of the 2010s. Nolan took the eternal freedom he was granted after the critical and financial successes of his Batman films to make Inception, a film he had been trying to get made for nearly a decade. Part science-fiction epic, part heist drama, and part metanarrative about filmmaking, Inception is a movie that is still hard to believe exists – let alone a film that grossed nearly a billion dollars. The true magic lies in the fact that the film works completely as a genre piece and as a meditation on the cultural and personal impacts of creating art. It also features one of the best ensembles of the 2010s, and the incredible score from Hans Zimmer influenced the soundscape of the entire decade. This is a large-scale action thriller about how art has the ability to exorcise the personal demons of the artist and genuinely influence the worldview of the audience. Inception is a rarity, to say the least, and one of the best films of an incredible decade of cinema.
- Sam Van Haren
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
Leonardo DiCaprio is uproarious in Martin Scorsese’s Wall Street satire. He has always done his best with Scorsese, but this might be his greatest performance. This movie is really fun, at least on the surface. But it’s another scathing look at people who think they are above the law, one of Scorsese’s favorite themes. Running three hours, the film paints a large portrait of American greed (and some international greed too), with a rambling, ambitious screenplay executed with precision from a master. The Wolf of Wall Street is a great movie, but perhaps its greatest accomplishment is bringing Margot Robbie to the A-list in a spellbinding, star-making performance. She matches DiCaprio step for step crafting a full-bodied, iconic performance as yet another ferocious Scorsese heroine. This film is disturbing even as it makes you laugh; as it goes on, you start to realize these corrupt idiots have sold their soul to the dollar and their enjoyable buffoonery is just a mask for their thirst.
- Manish Mathur
6. Her
The only better time to be alive than now is the future* - the one with technological progress and the promise of solutions, applied equally and abundantly to all. But the biggest threat to that future, as 2001 and all the other films in its family of utopian promise disrupted have found, is the folly of man and what the technology could drive them to do. What I love most about Her is how it steps back to highlight not those traits of ours that could lead us to choice of doom, but our everyday failures - in how we communicate our wants and desires, and how we are all too often destined to repeat the mistakes of our past. Elevated by an astonishing performance from Joaquin Phoenix - and the start of Scarlett Johansson accidental trilogy on what the human body of the future might be - it’s a perfect mix of sappiness, cringe, hope, and darkness. Jonze’s only contribution to the decade is perhaps best punctured by the bitter metaphor of our character traits driving away the things we love and create, but giving us the chance to heal and try again.
*Not the one we actually got, the garbage fire of culture wars, the backlash of a dying homogenous generation, and an actual dystopia of technology run amuck. Couldn’t get it all right, could you, Spike?
- Nick Isaac
5. Arrival
It seems that every decade there's a science fiction film that represents mankind as a whole. For my money, in the 2010s, it's Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. One of the rare science fiction pictures to be nominated for Best Picture as well as resonate with audiences, it’s a shining achievement in a genre that rarely gets respect. With a narrative of holding communication above all else, it's a message we need in order to prepare for the current state of things. Made all the more memorable thanks to career highlight performances by Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, as well as striking visuals and a sublime Jóhann Jóhannsson score, Arrival really is the business. Endlessly rewatchable, with sequences that stick in your head long after the credits roll, it's catnip for fans of smart sci-fi, a genre that has happily enjoyed quite the resurgence throughout the decade.
- Matt Curione
4. The Social Network
The film of the decade for me is David Fincher’s The Social Network. No other film, in my opinion, continues to be as influential as the Aaron Sorkin-scripted film telling the story of Facebook’s creation. On paper, it shouldn’t work as well as it does, as it travels from the Harvard dorms in 2003 to the depositions for the lawsuits against Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) years later. It’s Fincher’s masterful direction, along with the Oscar-winning script by Sorkin, that heighten these talks of website coding to a Shakespearean-level tale of a rise to power, filled with manipulation, deception, and backstabbing. It feels revolutionary, especially considering the use of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score which, almost a decade later, is still influencing modern day soundtracks. It’s both timeless and of its time; it captures that “startup” mentality of the new millennium while also ringing true in this day and age with lines like, “The internet's not written in pencil, Mark, it's written in ink.” The idea of a perfect film is a falsity, except for films like The Social Network, which will surely stand the test of time.
- Marcelo Pico
3. Whiplash
When I first saw Damien Chazelle's Whiplash in theaters, it was an experience I'd never really had before. The film wound me into a ball of tension and anxiety in a way I'd never felt before. The tension starts with the first interaction between Neiman (Miles Teller) and Fletcher (JK Simmons), and it just continually ratchets up from there. To those who may not have ever had a Fletcher in their lives, he may seem like an overly angry caricature, but Chazelle perfectly depicts what it's like to have a verbally abusive band director, the psychological toll that takes on students, and just how big the stakes can feel in a situation like that. It's (relatively) easy to agree that Whiplash is a wonderful piece of thrilling filmmaking, but for me, it's also a very personal movie that showed some of my own experiences. And though they are shown through the lens of an over-the-top, unrealistic thriller, this film helped me heal a wound I hadn't realized I still had.
- Callie Smith
2. Moonlight
Barry Jenkins makes masterpieces. Moonlight is full of complex feelings, some difficult and painful, but the slight hint of hope drives the entire narrative. Visually, the use of neon blues and yellows used during scenes at night contrast with the utilization of the bright Floridan sun to tell a story that is deeper than any words could convey. The dedication from the various actors who really bring the story of one man known by three names — Little, Chiron, and Black — at three different points in his life reveals how trauma can stay with a person throughout the decades. While being a story about lost love, it is also a story of self-exploration and forgiveness which allows the hopeful feeling to pay off in the end. Moonlight is a film that should not only be remembered for the iconic Oscar mixup that ended with it being awarded Best Picture of 2017, but also for its ability to communicate intense emotion with cinematic language.
- Shea Vassar
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
It’s become the industry standard to resurrect franchises long thought dead over the last decade. The results have been mixed to say the least, but one entry in this growing genre that succeeds with flying colors is George Miller’s 2016 masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road. A vivid shock to all the senses, Fury Road is not only one of the best films of the decade, I'd wager it's one of the best films ever made. Thrilling from beginning to end, rarely allowing the audience to catch their breath, and yet not at all overwhelming, Fury Road has the perfect balance of action and drama. With "blow-your-hair-back" stunts, a truly evil villain, and a timely story, there's really nothing bad you can say about it. Yes it's a serious endeavor, but it's also fun as hell, a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place. Action films come and go every year, but only Mad Max reigns supreme over the wasteland of big budget action cinema.
- Matt Curione
