As the 2010s come to a close, there’s no better time to reflect on the fantastic filmgoing experiences that have graced the big screen over the last ten years. To celebrate another decade in the books, we spoke with film critics, filmmakers, film festival coordinators, and personalities from around the internet about their favorite movies and filmgoing experiences that have shaped their love for cinema from the last ten years.
In the final part of The Cinematropolis four-part series, we spoke with writers, podcasters and personalities from around the web about their most beloved films of the 2010s.
Logan (2017)
Logan remains revolutionary as an R-rated superhero movie. It’s a violent and edgy send-off for a beloved character, the grown-up film that Wolverine fans deserved. In the world of me, it’s the only Marvel movie that exists.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Would I dare to call this the most beautiful action film ever made? Yeah, I think I would. I love everything about the insane experience of watching Mad Max: Fury Road. Those landscapes, the practical effects, Furiosa…
Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster’s debut feature made me feel things I’ve never felt before in a movie theatre. Mostly, uh, existential dread and gut-deep discomfort, but it’s truly a landmark horror movie that I’m still thinking about almost two years later.
Arrival (2016)
Now that’s what I call sci-fi! Arrival has a gorgeous direction from Denis Villeneuve, a haunting score by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, and an excellent cast. It’s a movie about humanity and connection that came out in one of our most divisive moments in recent history.
Paddington 2 (2017)
Paddington 2 was one of the biggest surprises of the decade. Not only does it tell its story with genuine childlike wonder and charm, but it’s also got some brilliant performances from British mainstays and smart, snappy dialogue. Seriously, have you ever heard the word “bonhomie” in a kids’ movie?!
Drive (2011)
With some of the most unique cinematography in any “car movie” I’ve ever seen, I had to include 2011’s Drive. I was hooked instantly by the 80s-inspired synth-laden score. The dizzying interior shots of Ryan Gosling and the tragic conclusion made this movie stand out to me, more so than any other that year.
Your Name (2016)
Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name is easily my favorite animated feature of the last 10 years. It perfectly captures not only the monotony of everyday teen life but also the intimate bond two people can share and the lengths to which they will go to preserve it. Beautifully animated with a soundtrack that s l a p s, I knew I had to include Your Name in my picks.
Minding the Gap (2018)
Minding the Gap was the skateboarding documentary that I forgot had anything to do with skateboarding part-way through. It gives a visceral look at the extremes of life – from the highest highs to the lowest lows, as well as a candid look at masculinity and abuse. You can’t help but empathize with these characters – Bing Liu told an amazing story.
Drive (2011)
Nicolas Winding Refn’s neon-coated neo-noir is a stunning collision between art house aesthetic and genre film sensibility. I vividly remember my first time seeing this in theater and being left on the edge of my seat as the tension rose and Cliff Martinez’s score punctuated every pulse-pounding second. Albert Brooks should have won all the awards that year.
Arrival (2016)
The first time I watched Arrival, I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. Having revisited this modern The Day the Earth Stood Still, I find myself thinking of it often. Villeneuve’s decision to focus on the challenges of linguistics over CGI heavy set-pieces is a breath of fresh air. With a thematic core as prevalent today as it was upon release, Arrival stands out as a masterful piece of sci-fi work with a heart that wrestles with questions of grief, loss, happiness, and purpose.
What We Do in the Shadows (2015)
What We Do in the Shadows didn’t get a theatrical release here in Oklahoma, so I sought it out the only way that I could. After watching it, I bought it out on Blu-ray as soon as it dropped. It is perfect in nearly every way. Waititi and Clement construct a piece with incredible deep cut references while absolutely nailing the alien mundanity of human life while transposing that onto a group of vampires.
Logan (2017)
Logan exceeds many of the trappings of a “comic book movie”—a subgenre we’ve somehow concocted out of films that simply feature superheroes or are comic book adaptations. Logan means a lot to me personally. From a craft level, it is superbly constructed. Jackman and Stewart give career-best performances. But, old man Logan is too much like my dad. And the idea of trying to outrun the sins of your father while living with his very essence and DNA is too close to home for me to ignore this one.
Moneyball (2011)
Bennett Miller, Aaron Sorkin, Wally Pfister, and Brad Pitt are a powerhouse creative hive. I’m always a sucker for an inspirational sports ball flick, but Moneyball goes beyond that to explore the human condition, both that of its players and also humanity at large. Delivering a powerful tale of resilience and non-conformity, Moneyball never revels in the sports montage but only in the moments of success and defeat.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
Comedies don’t make lists like this that often. Well, this one should. It makes the Mona Lisa look like a piece of shit and is a satire tailor-made for this image-obsessed decade. The Lonely Island may very well be geniuses and we’ll forever have to look back on this decade and admit we allowed this masterpiece to make less money than Thor: The Dark World. For shame.
Mad Max: Fury Road and Blade Runner 2049 (2015 & 2017)
If you’re going to talk about film in the 2010s, then you’re going to have to talk about franchises. Look, I don’t love it either. On the upside though, sometimes that means teams dedicated to making some damn art end up with a Scrooge McDuck sized pile of money just because someone said the words “existing IP”. Sure this is a cheat pick, but these alleged franchise entries offer so much more than the word sequel brings to mind that putting them together just made sense. The 2010s are likely to be remembered as a decade of turmoil, and this pair of legacyquels (we’re still calling these that right?) provided genre fans with visual spectacles that also spoke directly to the concerns of the day. Sometimes art gets to have explosions, and that’s pretty cool.
Girl Walk//All Day (2011) – Available Here
Alright, so a feature-length music video is an admittedly off the beaten-path choice for a decade recap time, but hear me out. Other than the infinite joy to be found in its short run-time “Girl Walk//All Day” reminds us the same decade that was dominated by billion-dollar franchises was also filled with micro-budgets and the dawn of digital distribution. Anytime I’ve found myself in need of a pick me up for the better part of this decade I’ve known I need turn no further than this love letter to dance and community. I hope it does the same for you.
You Were Never Really Here (2018)
The movies love vigilantes. The movies in the 2010s REALLY loved vigilantes. Enter Lynn Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, a film for anyone who ever watched Taken(2008) and thought “I wish this were sadder and took place in the real world instead of an action movie”. As concerned with trauma, violence and masculinity as Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin from earlier in the decade was, You Were Never Really Here gives audiences an action movie premise with none of the cathartic releases. If the protagonist doesn’t feel good about hurting bad guys, then why should you get to? Featuring an all-time great Joaquin Phoenix performance and stylistic flourishes that only ever further its themes, this one is a hard watch, but well worth the time investment.
Inception (2010)
Coming out of the gate into the new decade, Christopher Nolan dropped a summer blockbuster that changed how we think and talk about movies. It also marks the beginning of the current trend of genre films popping up as Best Picture nominees at the Oscars. I’d also like to note that Hans Zimmer’s Oscar-nominated score became the gold standard for film scoring for the next few years — for better and worse.
Spring Breakers (2012)
This film assaults the eyes and mind with a psychedelic sledgehammer critique of the natural evolution of American capitalism and college party culture. Casting two ex-Disney channel starlets is just icing on the cake. Bonus points for the misleading marketing that got real “spring breakers” to see it in theaters.
Baby Driver (2017)
I am an Edgar Wright fangirl, but I found The World’s End (2013) to be somewhat of a letdown after a strong two-thirds of the Cornetto Trilogy. Enter Baby Driver, a film that pushes all my buttons so hard that I saw it twice in theaters on the same day. If you like the action of Hot Fuzz with a tight edit synced perfectly with the soundtrack, it’s for you.
Thoroughbreds (2018)
This is my favorite memory of theater-going in this decade: a 10 AM Tuesday matinee with me in the back and one man in the front row. This film made me fall in love with Anna Taylor-Joy and it was a great final performance for Anton Yelchin. Darkly hilarious and simultaneously devastating, you’ll bust a gut and then wonder if you are a psychopath.
Joshua Unruh, Writer, Comic Book Scholar and Podcast Host/Producer at Pulp Diction Productions
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spidey’s first animated outing has three things that put it over all superhero movies and, frankly, over a lot of movies in general. It is tightly plotted with distinct and interesting characters who all have a deep emotional connection to the events of the story. It is radically diverse, not just in race and age but also in experience. It is also the only superhero movie brave enough to fully embrace the source material on every level from structure to tropes to, and I can’t stress this enough, actually looking like a comic book come to life. Don’t disbelieve the hype, this superhero movie is cinema.
Black Panther (2018)
I’m the resident superhero guy and since I know few are going to rep capes and tights on this list, I got you twice! Black Panther is important. What it does with set design and costumes to show us an idealized Africa is something I don’t think any other film has ever done. It gave us a villain that isn’t just eminently compelling in the (admittedly lackluster when it comes to villains) MCU, but one who invites philosophical debate. The first time I saw this movie, I knew I was watching something not just well-crafted, but legitimately important to a culture that I’m an outsider looking in on. That’s a rare perspective in a movie that a bajillion eyes are guaranteed to see.
The Act of Killing & The Look of Silence (2012, 2014)
Two sides of the same horrific coin, Joshua Oppenheimer’s dual documentaries examine the perpetrators and the victims of genocide in Indonesia. Unblinking in its examination, clarity, and reconciliation emerge amid some of the most uncomfortable conversations ever captured on film. A legacy of violence cannot be overcome without a discussion.
The Master (2012)
Following the experimental hiatus that produced I’m Still Here, Joaquin Phoenix was reborn within Paul Thomas Anderson’s most powerful film of the decade. Anchored by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in a comparably moving performance, The Master dissects the agency and the fallacy of indoctrination.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Inside Llewyn Davis is perhaps the most subdued piece of the Coen Brothers’ oeuvre. It likewise proves to be the most painfully true as it juggles the risk of a creative endeavor with the stark objectivity of life. The breakthrough performance of Oscar Isaac is as humorous as it is tragic, transforming the actor from up-and-comer to icon overnight.
Winter’s Bone (2010)
Few films capture the salience of poverty and addiction throughout generations as Debra Granik’s adaptation, Winter’s Bone. Tragedy thaws like black ice over the film’s four movements, giving way to the faint glimmer of hope just above the peak of the Appalachians. Winter’s Bone is abrasive, real and undeniable.
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Love is seldom timely. Call Me by Your Name is the modern requiem of youthful desire and short-lived passion. Soothed by three somber tracks from Sufjan Stevens, most notably “Mystery of Love,” the film is cathartic as it is contemplative.
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
The movie is slow in a beautiful way that allows you to take in each moment. The story is one that’s has been told often by black and brown people, pushing through unfortunate events related to love and family.
Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One does a good job of staying unpredictable and sucking you in like a fully immersive video game. If you think you’re not a nerd, this film does a good job of proving that we all are in some way.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
The cinematography of the trailer was reason enough to buy a theater ticket. The story of gentrification, family controversy, and a feeling of belonging was moving. Even with the film’s abrupt ending, it still left me feeling content.
Looper (2012)
Looper is a sci-fi drama with an ending I couldn’t see coming if I tried. This movie features a story about going from the desperate quest for selfishness to committing the ultimate act of generosity in seconds. It has suspense, love and cool guys doing cool stuff. And’s that’s all you need to want to keep watching.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
It’s the best action movie I have ever seen. The only dull parts of Mad Max: Fury Road were moments at the very beginning and very end. After watching this movie I was compelled to go watch the whole Mad Max film series in its entirety.
Super 8 (2011)
J.J. Abram’s 2011 trip down memory lane was made as a total love-letter to the movies I grew up with. It had the kids, the adventure, the danger, the music, and everything else that made those films of the 80’s seem so magical.
Charlie Countryman (2013)
This gem was a movie I discovered after the loss of a loved one and it really sums up every possible emotion I felt in those turbulent years.
Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan’s space epic, for me, was a movie about hope. Hope for humanity–Hope for us all and our futures. It fit right into my lifelong love of science-fiction and also my love of all things having to do with space and space exploration.
The Lighthouse (2019)
This one is for my inner movie geek, the kid who worked at the movie theater and four different video stores. It was wild, original and just a joy to watch from beginning to end, not knowing where it was all going. As such, it stands out as one of the best amongst so many great films in 2019.
Thank you for joining us for this special four-part series looking back at the most beloved films of the 2010s and special thanks to everyone who participated by writing submissions. In case you missed it, don’t forget to read parts one, two and three featuring picks from Oklahoma filmmakers, Oklahoma Film Critics Circle members, and the deadCenter Film Festival staff respectively. We’ll catch you all again in 2029…or every week over at thecinematropolis.com.
