Top 10 Movies Of The 2010's

Welcome once more to my world of lists and rankings!

For this list, I have looked at the entire past decade and carefully picked and ranked my favorite movies of the 2010’s. It hurts to leave so many great ones out, but here are my honorable mentions of the ones that came the very closest to making it: 

BlacKKKlansman (2018), Dunkirk (2017), Get Out (2017), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Lighthouse (2019) 

And now for my list! 

10. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) 

Watching the epic Star Wars movies as a kid, I never thought I’d get to see one in the cinema. Then they announced this new trilogy. And sitting in the movie theater as the iconic Star Wars logo appeared while John Williams’s majestic score started to play - I simply can’t describe how bone-chillingly special this felt. What followed was over 2 hours of authentic nostalgia perfectly mixed with fresh new storylines and ideas. J.J. Abrams’s directing was perfect to combine the familiar Star Wars feel with the newer trilogy’s intricacies, and the new cast members Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac were fantastic. The final scene of the movie created a reaction even more mesmerizing and gratifying than the feeling I got when the movie started. While the other installments of this trilogy were also awesome, Episode VII takes the cake for me. 

9. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) 

Charlie Brooker has constantly surprised and challenged viewers with his philosophical and ultra-creative series Black Mirror. After four seasons of constantly new and revolutionary ideas, Black Mirror released its first movie, and they sure chose an out-of-the-box route: a Choose Your Own Adventure –story, where the Netflix viewer makes choices throughout the film, thus affecting the progression of the story. For the first major Choose Your Own Adventure film of all time, they could have impressed viewers enough with the mere concept, but they didn’t stick to “this door or that door” situations: in a very Black Mirror fashion, the whole thing turns into a mind-bending extravaganza of questioning one’s free will and whatnot. 

I hugely appreciate the amount of work that must have went into planning the different story paths and shooting so incredibly many different versions of so many different scenes, as well as the decision to make the adventure so much more with all its philosophical layers and multi-interpretational messages. I have watched Bandersnatch multiple times (at least once for each of the five main endings), and its genius never ceases to amaze me. Creativity is one of the aspects I respect most in movies, and this film sure has plenty of that to go around. 

8. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) 

Much like Star Wars, Harry Potter has a special place in my heart as I grew up with the franchise and have always felt very invested in its story. While the entire Harry Potter movie series did a phenomenal job adapting J.K. Rowling’s books, they truly saved the best for last; just as with the books, the final one is my ultimate favorite. The sheer dramatic, desperate high-stakes tension of the battle of Hogwarts translates so well from the pages to the big screen, as do many other moments leading up to the tear-jerking final scene. But what makes this film truly significant is one key change from the source material: in a very rare instance, a scene from the book is significantly altered and is actually better in the movie version. I’m talking about the final battle between Harry and Voldemort: without spoiling details (although what’s even the point in 2019), I honestly prefer the movie’s version of this clash much more. All in all, The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is an emotional and spectacular ending for a beloved fantasy franchise. 

7. Dark Knight Rises (2012) 

As I have mentioned in a previous entry, we truly are living the golden age of the superhero movie genre: two different comic book movies being on my top 10 list of the decade’s finest is a solid example. While Christopher Nolan’s trilogy-capping blockbuster split opinions among fans, I for one was extremely pleased with how it all went down. The dramatic Hans Zimmer score, the amazing performances from Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine and others, the impeccable story-building of Christopher Nolan and simply the ominous, larger-than-life intensity of the movie made for an unforgettable experience. From the suspenseful and adrenaline-filled opening scene all the way to the epic final montage, the film had me immersed in its events. Rarely has any movie of TV series come to such a perfect end, where every single story thread either gets the perfect closure, or then is left open in just the right way. 

6. Hacksaw Ridge (2016) 

As a pacifist who loves good war movies, this was truly the perfect fit for me. Hacksaw Ridge tells the remarkable true story of pacifist Desmond T. Doss (played here by the brilliant Andrew Garfield), who joined the ranks in World War II as a medic and saved several lives without firing a single shot. The story of Doss is beautiful and powerful enough on its own, but it is elevated even more through Garfield’s passionate performance, Mel Gibson’s dynamic directing, and cinematographer Simon Duggan’s intense camera work. The battle scenes are frightening in their realistic intensity, and the feeling of hope stemming from Doss’s heroic actions plays as a powerful contrast to the horrors of the war. Movies often create emotional responses in me, but almost no other film has touched me as strong and deep as this masterful work. 

5. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014) 

The “gimmick” of this critical darling – the whole movie consists of long interrupted camera shots, which transition into each other seamlessly creating the impression of the film being just one tracking shot – is on its own a feature so purely choreographed and cool to watch, that it’s enough to make me really like this movie. But much like Bandersnatch, Birdman also doesn’t settle in being a shallow concept movie, but rather brings a whole lot of substance into the mix. The cast is one of my all-time favorites: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis all contribute amazing performances. 

The story itself is about a washed-up movie actor trying to reinvent himself as a serious playwright, on the days leading up to the opening show of his Broadway debut. The plot and dialogue contain a lot of smart and poignant criticism of how corrupt and hypocritical the business of professional critics and common opinions can be at its worst – this makes Birdman’s Best Picture win quite amusing but very well-deserved. Between the world class cinematography, impeccable cast, bold message and overall vision of director Alejandro G. Iñarritu, this film is a huge favorite for me. 

4. Avengers: Endgame (2019) 

I already gave quite a full review of this film on my list of the top 10 movies of 2019, which you can check out if you want more detail on my deep-founded love for the final installment of the Avengers saga. Suffice to say here, a 22-movie behemoth with all of its many characters and stories comes to a magnificent, 10/10 climax, and as a fan of good endings (as one might guess from #8 and #7 of today’s list), this means a lot to me. You know what I’m talking about – if you’re reading a movie blog, chances are you’ve seen Endgame as well. 

3. Interstellar (2014) 

I find it funny how nearly all of the movies on this list were well-received for the most part, but also gained immense amounts of criticism from less-than-happy fans. The 2010’s have been a decade for divisive movies (or perhaps just hard-to-satisfy audiences), as is evidenced by my own favorites including the “pretentious” Birdman, “insanely stupid” Bandersnatch, “childhood-ruining” Star Wars VII, and of course the “absolute nonsensical fiasco” of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (these are all opinions that I have come across more times than I would care to count). While I respect everyone’s opinions, it does sadden me when a product of such incredible amounts of work and vision is teared apart by fans for often frivolous reasons. Sorry, I had to get this off my chest. 

Anyways, Interstellar was a nearly out-of-mind-and-body experience for me, as I truly felt some kind of trance while watching Nolan’s science fiction odyssey play out in the movie theater. Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and the rest of the cast are excellent. Nolan’s uniquely crafted atmosphere and rising levels of intensity are absolute gold. The visually mesmerizing worlds, creative sci-fi ideas, clever plot devices and mind-blowing resolution are all incredible. And words just aren’t enough to express how much I love Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack. Every time I hear the piece Cornfield Chase, I’m brought back to the exact feeling I had sitting in the theater, watching this masterpiece for the first time. Christopher Nolan, you are a genius. 

2. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012) 

Describing why I find this movie to be very good is easy. The story is compelling. Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller are all amazing as the three high school misfits at the center of it. The soundtrack is strange but absolutely perfect for this film. There’s a good amount of humor and some truly awesome feel-good moments, mixed with very gripping and hard-to-watch scenes. The directing and camerawork are on point, making for an all-around decent cinematic production that is entertaining but also emotional to view for pretty much everyone. (Everyone, by coincidence, is exactly who should watch this movie). 

But to understand why The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is second on my list of the very best movies of the decade, one must go deeper. Without getting specific about it, many of the film’s themes coincide a lot with my own life and things I have been through. No other movie has resonated with me on such a pure and deep level as this one. For me, this is the perfect example of cinema at its very best – in addition to providing entertainment and telling stories, movies can be therapeutic and healing in a very powerful way. That is what Perks was for me – a sobering reflection on aspects of my own life, beautifully told as a story so good that I’d enjoy this movie very much even if it didn’t have this personal connection to me. Of all movies I have ever seen (and there have been many; too many if you ask most of my friends), no other one has been as much of a moving and ultimately heart-warming experience. 

And number one... 

1. Inception 

Yes, out of the four movies Christopher Nolan made in the 2010’s, three made it onto my top 10 of the decade and even the fourth is in the honorable mentions. I don’t even feel like I have to defend this; Nolan deserves it all. He is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time and definitely my favorite of the past 10 years. And the crown jewel of all his achievements just has to be Inception. 

There is so much that a film can do with the mere concept of dreams – I think it’s one of the most fascinating aspects in all of life that we go to strange fantasy worlds in our minds when we sleep. When you add a heist-thriller format, a gargantuan soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and a cast of a-list actors such as Leo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and about 10 others of their gravitas, you have a film on your hands that you can’t really go wrong with. Especially when your name is Christopher Nolan and you happen to be a story-telling genius. 

With its intense set-pieces, Inception is a great action movie. With the clever use of its plot device of technology that lets people into other people’s dreams (not to mention how the film uses the idea of deeper dream layers moving slower in time to create magnificent amounts of tension), it’s a great science fiction movie. With its edge-of-your-seat heist sequences, it’s a great crime movie. And with the complex personal relationship between protagonist Dom (DiCaprio) and his wife Mal (Cotillard) and its emotional developments and reveals, it’s a great drama. Add to that one of the greatest endings in cinema history, and you have yourself a masterpiece. 

Next week I will end my saga of looking-back-on-the-year/decade -lists with my list of the best TV shows of the 2010’s! Stay tuned!