Reflections at the End of the Decade: Favorites from the 2010s in Film

Dec 31

Dec 31 Reflections at the End of the Decade: Favorites from the 2010s in Film

I didn’t want to write a long schmaltzy post about how I started writing film criticism near the start of this decade and it has taken me places I never dreamed of, so instead I am posting a simple and unfettered list of favorites. That being said, I am grateful and I am a sucker for reflection especially when the decade is coming to an end.: A decade that began with the ending of my teens and now the nearing of my thirties. My viewing habits have changed drastically over the years, and the long list of titles and directors I keep showcases that better than anything.

The beginning of the decade is full of newer releases, foreign films, indies, and docs. As the years progressed I see tidal shifts alongside the enrollment in film studies classes, the boom of Marvel, the full reliance of streaming services, the library holds, and now the all-encompassing adoration for Old Hollywood. In 2019 I am at a strange point in my life, where I no longer hold Oscar bait in high regard, where most of the new releases I see are on Netflix, and most of the movie tickets I buy are for films that were released forty to fifty years prior. I have become a happy convert to all things Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Channel’s large catalogue.

Now, I am not saying the below list is the best of the best. For that you should venture elsewhere. This is a list of some of my favorite films of the past decade and some of the best. Funny how they usually go hand in hand. Here is my truncated list of the best of the 2010s:

Black Swan 2010 Darren Aronofsky
Drive 2011 Nicolas Winding Refn
A Separation (Jodaí-e Nadér az Simín) 2011 Asghar Farhadi
The Intouchables 2011 Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano
The Cabin in the Woods 2012 Drew Goddard
Looper 2012 Rian Johnson
Frances Ha 2012 Noah Baumbach
Django Unchained 2012 Quentin Tarantino
Wadjda 2012 Haifaa al-Mansour
The Broken Circle Breakdown 2012 Felix Van Groeningen
It's Such a Beautiful Day 2012 Don Hertzfeldt
Blackfish 2013 Gabriela Cowperthwaite
12 Years a Slave 2013 Steve McQueen
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I 2013 Lars von Trier
Nebraska 2013 Alexander Payne
The Wolf of Wall Street 2013 Martin Scorsese
Gravity 2013 Alfonso Cuarón
Before Midnight 2013 Richard Linklater
Short Term 12 2013 Destin Daniel Cretton
The Conjuring 2013 James Wan
Oculus 2013 Mike Flanagan
Snowpiercer 2013 Joon-ho Bong
We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!) 2013 Lukas Moodysson
X-Men: Days of Future Past 2014 Bryan Singer
Guardians of the Galaxy 2014 James Gunn
Gone Girl 2014 David Fincher
Boyhood 2014 Richard Linklater
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 2014 Alejandro González Iñárritu
Whiplash 2014 Damien Chazelle
The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 Wes Anderson
John Wick 2014 David Leitch, Chad Stahelski
Interstellar 2014 Christopher Nolan
Clouds of Sils Maria 2014 Olivier Assayas
Song of the Sea 2014 Tomm Moore
Mad Max: Fury Road 2015 George Miller
The Revenant 2015 Alejandro González Iñárritu
Sicario 2015 Denis Villeneuve
Spotlight 2015 Tom McCarthy
Carol 2015 Todd Haynes
Anomalisa 2015 Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson
Sing Street 2016 John Carney
Moonlight 2016 Barry Jenkins
Logan 2017 James Mangold
Coco 2017 Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
The Florida Project 2017 Sean Baker
Get Out 2017 Jordan Peele
Ingrid Goes West 2017 Matt Spicer
Eighth Grade 2018 Bo Burnham
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé 2019 Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019 Quentin Tarantino