We’re almost done with the 2010s, so that means it’s time for another Best of the Decade list. The funny thing about these lists is that they’re not set in stone. They’re recommendations and they’re snapshots. I look back at myTop 20 Films of the 2000sand I would definitely make some changes (not includingThere Will Be Bloodis madness), but it’s a snapshot of a time rather than some grand declaration.
But I’ve seen quite a few movies this past decade and yet there are plenty more that I still haven’t gotten around to yet, and maybe once I do this list will have to change someday. But for this moment in time, these are the 25 films with which I had the strongest connection. These are the movies that stayed with me. These are movies that I wanted to revisit, and that I kept thinking about long after they were over. Your list of the Best of the Decade will probably look very different, and that’s okay. Opinions on art aren’t democratically determined, and my hope is that if you look at this list and see a film you disliked or haven’t seen, you might give it a chance.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the Top 25 (with a few cheats to get this at twenty-five items), and be sure toclick herefor more of our Best of the Decade content.
25) Inception
Christopher Nolanbuilt up a lot of capital from the success ofThe Dark Knight, and I’m so glad he chose to spend it on this. We can quibble over how dreamlike the dreams ofInceptionare supposed to be, but at the end of the day, this is a big, audacious, unique blockbuster that studios don’t make anymore, and it paid off for everyone. Nolan knew exactly what he wanted when crafting dreams-within-dreams, projections, and basically spinning out an entire world that an audience could understand with minimal introduction and exposition. The result was a thrilling heist film with a strong emotional core about loss and regret.
24) Marvel Cinematic Universe
The first cheat! Obviously, not all Marvel movies are created equal and some are far better than others. But in terms of building out a cohesive story in the most audacious way possible, Marvel deserves special recognition, especially because most of their movies are so darn rewatchable. WhatHarry Pottermovies were to the 2000s, MCU movies have been to the 2010s, and I can easily chill out withThe Avengers,Captain America: The First Avengers,Thor: Ragnarok,Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, andSpider-Man: Homecomingjust to name a few. Marvel has carved out a unique space in the blockbuster landscape with no one able to replicate their success. Arguing whether they’re cinema or not cinema is a pointless endeavor. They’ve changed Hollywood and I’m excited to see whatKevin Feigehas planned for the next decade.
Nicolas Winding Refn’s neo-noir still kind of blows me away with its easy confidence and raw emotional core. The movie comes right up to the line of being too stylish for its own good, but then Refn eases off the throttle and pulls back to relishRyan Gosling’s cryptic, enigmatic performance. The movie has all the hallmarks of a good noir, and a killer cast to boot withAlbert Brooksof all people being one of the most exciting villains of the decade. Some may have felt betrayed byDrivethinking it was more of an action movie than it was, and while it does have some good driving and gory violence, it’s really a sad, somber tale of human connection that’s just out of reach.
22) Beasts of the Southern Wild
I guess I’ll stop writing angry letters to directorBehn Zeitlinto make another movie since his next film,Wendy, arrives in February 2020. Thankfully,Beasts of the Southern Wildis electric and vibrant enough to make any follow-up worth the wait. The Sundance sensation came out of nowhere and showed the festival at its best by taking a movie with no stars from a director with a first feature and letting people realize they were watching something entirely new that blended the mythic, the poetic, and the tragic into a powerful coming-of-age story. I’d also add that the film also has the best score of the decade as well.
21) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
The Lonely Islandhas been going strong since the mid-2000s, but they took their talents to new highs with the perfect music doc parody,Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Like the best music parody movie of the 2000s,Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,Popstarunderstands that just because you’re lampooning an industry, that doesn’t mean you get to phone it in with the music. ThePopstarsoundtrack is filled with great tracks like “I’m So Humble” and “Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)” to the point where even the deleted scenes are brilliant like the song “Fuck Off”. The fame parody goes hand-in-hand with the hilarious songs, and while the movie didn’t hit at the box office, I really hopePopstarisn’t the last Lonely Island movie.
20) The World’s End
It took me a few viewings to get onThe World’s End’s wavelength, butEdgar Wright’s conclusion to his Cornetto Trilogy is his most poignant film to date. The story of five old friends going on a bar crawl through twelve pubs becomes a really moving story about being stuck in the past and the destructive effects of nostalgia. While the first two parts of the Cornetto Trilogy—Shaun of the DeadandHot Fuzz—have an element of parody to them,The World’s Endchooses to let that go for a more mature film that still has the tight construction of Wright and Simon Pegg’s previous movies, but with a greater trust in more damaged characters. Gary King is Pegg’s best performance and the terrific fight scenes with the robots are just some added spice on a surprisingly emotional movie.
19) Star Wars: The Last Jedi
This movie didn’t make my Top 10 in 2017 and yet it’s a movie that I’ve only grown to love with each new viewing. I understood whyStar Wars: The Force Awakenswas a relatively safe movie given the backlash to the prequels and Disney’s major investment inStar Warsas a franchise, butRian Johnson, rather than continuing to make that safe play, went much bolder in a movie that takes big swings rather than attempt to please anyone. It’s a film that looks at each major character and attempts to throw them the biggest challenge possible to push them forward, and it largely succeeds. It wisely discards useless characters like Snoke and Phasma who are more mystery than substance, and it still finds a way to tie back into the larger franchise while pushingStar Warsout of a dynastic framework and into a more egalitarian one. I understand why some people don’t likeThe Last Jedi. I respectfully disagree with them.
18) Planet of the Apes Trilogy
Another cheat! I really love the first fivePlanet of the Apesmovies. Each one is more bonkers than the last and they use their sci-fi premise to explore some really important social themes about oppression and power particularly with regards to race. When the series was rebooted withRise of the Planet of the Apes, you could see the glimmers of potential in what they were going for, but directorMatt Reevesallowed the series to realize its full potential withDawn of the Planet of the ApesandWar for the Planet of the Apes. These are sharp, thoughtful films about what it means to belong to a society, the destructive impulses between groups, and if there’s any hope for reconciliation and peace when fear and control are such powerful motivators. Rather than look for comfort in familiar plot beats, the newPlanet of the Apestrilogy understood thethemesof the original movies, and it was all the better for it.
17) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Yeah, we’ve had a lot ofSpider-Manmovies. It’s hard to argue that’s a bad thing when you getSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which understands the egalitarian nature of the character. While a movie likeThe Dark Knight Risestried to argue that “anyone could be Batman”, that was obviously untrue. ButSpider-Versemakes the perfect case that not only can anyone be Spider-Man, anyone can be heroic. Anyone can find that courage because while we’re all dealing with personal issues (that day-to-day baggage Spider-Man always carries), nothing prevents you from finding your own identity and stepping up. Also, a bunch of kids saw this movie and their Spider-Man won’t be Peter Parker. It will be the half-black, half-Latino Miles Morales. That is very cool.
16) MacGruber
This movie should not work. It’s based on a very short SNL sketch that’s a very clear parody ofMacGyver. It should not work, but it does work, and it works brilliantly.Jorma Tacconeexpertly parodies the 80s action genre but with the unique spin ofWill Forte’s brilliant performance. The movie has no problem being unabashedly silly and it always goes at that silliness with full force. Whether it’s sticking celery in his butt as a distraction or his obsession with “KFBR392”,MacGruberis unrelenting in how firmly it believes in its weird comedy, and it just plays beautifully. I can think back to so many different moments from this film and just start cracking up from laughter, although my go-to is MacGruber’s anguished cry of, “Just tell me what you want me to fuuuuuuuuck!”
