Welcome to my ranking of the 50 Best Movies of the 2010s! Overall, I feel that the past decade was a great one for film. Lots of established directors continued their great careers with multiple films released throughout the decade. Some of those brand-name directors whose films made my Top 50 include: Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Richard Linklater, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Alfonso Cuarón, Spike Jonze, and the only director with 2 films on my list, Noah Baumbach.
There were also many new creative voices who made an impact on the decade in film. Among this new generation of filmmakers you'll find a couple of names on my list that are already recognizable to movie lovers around the world, such as: Damien Chazelle, John Carney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jordan Peele, Phil Lord & Chris Miller, Luca Guadagnino, Taika Waititi, and Ava DuVernay, among others. This group of visionary newcomers is telling diverse stories that help us connect with the world in its current catastrophic yet beautiful state. There's still a long way to go, of course, but that diversity can be spotted more regularly in rankings like mine than in previous decades.
Among the films in my Top 50 there are 3 made by black directors, 6 made by female directors, 7 that are in a foreign language, plus 13 other english language films made by international directors. There are also 5 films that feature LGBT main characters. I don't like to call them "LGBT Films" because these stories shouldn't have to be considered as if they were a separate genre. They are love stories, coming-of-age stories, even suspense stories that are among the very best films I saw in the past 10 years.
Speaking of genres, those 3 I mentioned are among my favorites and you'll find multiple movies from each one on the list. There are also plenty of dramas, comedies, Sci-Fi, action, horror, animation, and musicals to go around. Some are more thoughtful and high-brow than others, but really, I enjoy all types of films. What's high-brow and what isn't really depends on the viewer. In my case, many of my favorite films of the decade, the ones I most connected to on an emotional level, never got serious awards consideration, especially from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In fact, 20 of the films in my Top 50, including 4 in the Top 10, didn't receive a single Oscar nomination.
On the other side of that equation, 19 films in my ranking were nominated for Best Picture by the Academy, including 4 other films in my Top 10. Among those 19 Best Picture nominees there are only 3 Best Picture winners that made my list. Sticking with the diversity theme, those 3 films (Parasite, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave) were all made by international directors, one from South Korea, one from Mexico, and one from England. So yeah, progress was made. I'm excited to see what all that progress means for the next decade in the world of film, but for now I leave you with my list of the 50 Best Movies of the 2010s ...
50) Selma (2014) (dir. Ava Duvernay)
49) Parasite (2019) (dir. Bong Joon Ho)
48) What We Do in the Shadows (2014) (dir. Taika Waititi)
47) Call Me by Your Name (2017) (dir. Luca Gadagnino)
46) Paddington 2 (2018) (dir. Paul King)
45) Inception (2010) (dir. Christopher Nolan)
44) The Lighthouse (2019) (dir. Robert Eggers)
43) The LEGO Movie (2014) (dir. Phil Lord & Chris Miller)
42) Minding the Gap (2018) (dir. Bing Liu)
41) This is the End (2013) (dir. Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen)
40) Logan (2017) (dir. James Mangold)
39) Relatos Salvajes (2014) (dir. Damian Szifrón)
38) The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) (dir. Stephen Chbosky)
37) Obvious Child (2014) (dir. Gillian Robespierre)
36) Hell or High Water (2016) (dir. David Mackenzie)
35) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) (dir. George Miller)
34) Get Out (2017) (dir. Jordan Peele)
33) Frozen (2013) (dir. Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee)
32) Calvary (2014) (dir. John Michael McDonagh)
31) Booksmart (2019) (dir. Olivia Wilde)
30) Planet of the Apes Trilogy (2011, 2014, 2017) (dir. Rupert Wyatt & Matt Reeves)
29) Toni Erdmann (2016) (dir. Maren Ade)
28) The Death of Stalin (2018) (dir. Armando Ianucci)
27) Margaret (2011) (dir. Kenneth Lonergan)
26) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) (dir. Martin Scorsese)
25) Gravity (2013) (dir. Alfonso Cuarón)
24) The Babadook (2014) (dir. Jennifer Kent)
23) Her (2013) (dir. Spike Jonze)
22) Room (2015) (dir. Lenny Abrahamson)
21) The Other Guys (2010) (dir. Adam McKay)
20) The Social Network (2010) (dir. David Fincher)
19) Force Majeure (2014) (dir. Ruben Ostlund)
18) The Fighter (2010) (dir. David O. Russell)
17) The Lobster (2015) (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
16) Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) (dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
15) Sing Street (2016) (dir. John Carney)
14) The Handmaiden (2016) (dir. Chan-wook Park)
13) Marriage Story (2019) (dir. Noah Baumbach)
12) Short Term 12 (2013) (dir. Destin Daniel Cretton)
11) Take Me Home Tonight (2011) (dir. Michael Dowse)
10) La La Land (2016) (dir. Damien Chazelle)
9) Shoplifters (2018) (dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)
8) 12 Years a Slave (2013) (dir. Steve McQueen)
7) A Ghost Story (2017) (dir. David Lowery)
6) Columbus (2017) (dir. Kogonada)
5) The Tree of Life (2011) (dir. Terrence Malick)
4) Blue is the Warmest Color (2013) (dir. Abdellatif Kechiche)
3) Frances Ha (2012) (dir. Noah Baumbach)
2) Before Midnight (2013) (dir. Richard Linklater)
1) Toy Story 3 & 4 (2010, 2019) (dir. Lee Unkrich & Josh Cooley)
