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My Top 25 Movies of The Decade
There’s almost nothing movie fans love more than making lists, and honestly, maybe that’s one of the things I love so much about movies. I’ve always loved to rank things, whether it is movies, favorite baseball players, or memes. So now that the 2010s are over, it's time to rank my favorite movies of the decade.
This is the decade that I really got into movies, so it just so happens that some of the movies on this list are some of my favorites of all time. Any time I get to write about some of my favorite movies, that's a great thing!
25. Midsommar - When I first saw this movie, I never would have guessed that it would be on my top 10 of the year, let alone the top 25 of the decade. It emphasizes the importance of having people who are there for you no matter what, and its anthropology completely fascinates me.
24. Beautiful Boy - This movie always touches me and reaches me on a personal level. It is certainly about addiction and the toll it can take on a person and their family, but I connect to the story of a father never giving up on his son.
23. Arrival - I love movies that have a reveal at the end and make you see it through a completely different lens on a rewatch. Arrival does this and is incredibly deep at the same time. It has great staying power just because of its timeless themes.
22. Crazy, Stupid Love - This list is mostly full of movies that I can rewatch over and over. Crazy, Stupid Love is just so fun and so charming and has some of the best actors of the generation.
21. The Nice Guys - I love Ryan Gosling. He's one of my favorite actors, and this is him showing off his comedy chops in a way he doesn't do very often. Shane Black used his prestige coming off Iron Man 3 to make one of my favorite movies of the decade.
20. Paddington 2 - Always listen to Aunt Lucy. The life lessons that Paddington's aunt gives him are what sets this series apart from other children's series with an animated character superimposed on the real world. It's a like if Wes Anderson made a kid's movie - this movie is just awesome.
19. Inside Llewyn Davis - The Coen brothers create some of my favorite movies. They subtly weave in deep life lessons with incredible filmmaking. This movie shows how important each choice in life is and Oscar Isaac sells it.
18. Get Out - One of the most important and best movies of the decade. Jordan Peele is a directing and writing revelation with this. It's a horror movie that keeps you invested because of its social commentary, and it is eminently watchable.
17. Looper - Rian Johnson is easily one of the best directors working today. He weaves in social commentary and personal messages with entertaining stories. This is how you pull off a modern time travel movie.
16. The LEGO Movie - Phil Lord and Chris Miller come in and make movies that should be bad and make them important. This movie is absolutely hilarious and sends the message that The Rise of Skywalker failed to - anyone can be special.
15. Locke - A simple movie when presented at face value, but it’s so much more when you think about it deeply. It’s a movie that shows the power that we all have over our own lives – life is all about the choices that we make having deep effects on everything else we do. Tom Hardy sells the premise of a man alone in his car better than anyone else could have, and he’s the reason the movie works as well as it does.
14. Eighth Grade - I love Bo Burnham's standup, and I love the way he incorporated his style into this movie. Somehow a man in his mid-20s was able to get in the mind of a middle school girl and let his entire audience relate to her. It deals with technology and the way it affects young people growing up in a great and real way.
13. Swiss Army Man - I love the message of this movie - don't worry about societal norms. Just live life the way you want to. Plus, Daniel Radcliffe gives his best performance and Paul Dano is great as always.
12. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - I already mentioned how much I love Rian Johnson. And the more times I watch this movie and the more I think about it, the more I really love it. As someone who grew up on the Prequels, this movie builds on their themes in a perfect way.
11. Silence - Silence is my favorite Martin Scorsese film because of the religious ideas it explores. Even the leaders of the religious community in this movie aren't completely secure in their ideas. Are your beliefs or the lives of others more important? This is what Silence dives deep into and it makes me think every time I see it.
10. Waves - After the first half of this movie, I wasn't expecting it to hit me emotionally the way it did. It sends incredible messages about acceptance, love, and forgiveness and brings out genuine emotion in a way that not many other movies do.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - I think this is my favorite movie of the MCU. There are only about 5 movies in the franchise that I love, and this one almost completely blows the others away. Another movie that is more successful than The Rise of Skywalker at sending its own messages, it deals with choosing your own family and the people who are close to you.
8. Knives Out - Here to complete the Rian Johnson Trifecta is Knives Out. Expertly written, excellently cast, and totally relevant, this is a perfect movie. Calling it a deconstruction of the murder mystery is underselling it by a long shot.
7. Parasite - Bong Joon Ho said it best by calling subtitles a one inch barrier. In about 20 minutes, you'll forget this movie is in another language. Layering in social commentary that spans the globe, this is one of the most mind-blowing and insanely entertaining movies I have ever seen.
6. The Social Network - If any movie can predict the future, it is this one. Facebook has become quite dangerous and this movie shows it. It's possibly the best movie to come out this decade (not quite my favorite) greatly due to David Fincher's direction combined with Aaron Sorkin's writing.
5. La La Land - This is one of my favorite movies of all time, so naturally it will show up on this list. It takes a realistic look at the nature of love and relationships in the world. Sometimes your professional goals and personal life don't line up, and that's exactly what La La Land shows. Also, the music is so, so great.
4. Interstellar - This is Christopher Nolan's underappreciated gem. It shows the actual power and reach of love in the most epic sense. Its plot is genius, rather than corny, and the movie itself is absolutely incredible.
3. About Time - I've watched this movie so many times that I've deemed it one of my top 3 rewatchable movies ever. There is something for every stage of life. Plus, its message about simply enjoying life is one that could benefit everyone.
2. Moneyball - As soon as I saw this movie, it became one of my favorites of all time. Since then, I’ve quoted it endlessly and watched it dozens of times. It satisfies me on two levels – it’s a baseball movie, and baseball is the only thing I love as much as movies, and it’s the story of a man realizing what’s important in his life. Brad Pitt delivers one of the best performances of his career and of the decade to make this a perfect movie in my mind.
1. Inception - If The Lord of the Rings didn't exist, this would be my favorite movie of all time. Every time I watch it (and I’ve seen it dozens of times), I’m still noticing new things and piecing together its different ideas. This is a movie that will not only make you think about life, but about the absolute wonder of film.