In the blink of an eye, the 2010s have come and gone. Seems like only yesterday we were sitting in 2012, watching history unfold before our eyes as we watched Cap, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk all come together for The Avengers, and now here we are post Endgame with four Avengers movies. Where does the time go? Thankfully, the decade gave us some cinema even Martin Scorsese can be proud of that we’ll enjoy forever. Let’s take a look back and pick out the 10 Best Movies of the past decade by year. Obviously, you may very well disagree and there are no right or wrong answers, but feel free to put your own list in the comments! Now without further ado…
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2010: The Social Network
While the decade started off strong with some awesome releases, namely Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Toy Story 3, The Social Network was the best movie of the year. Starring Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, who knew David Fincher could turn the creation of Facebook into such a riveting film.
2011: Drive
Some people might give 2011 to The Help or The Tree of Life. While they were great movies, Drive starring Ryan Gosling was an unexpectedly violent thrillride. Both modern and nostalgic in its approach, Drive remains an underrated movie.
2012: Django Unchained
2012’s best film was Django Unchained. While The Avengers was groundbreaking as crossover film and Life of Pi was a visual masterpiece, Django Unchained featured Quentin Tarantino returning at the top of his game.
2013: 12 Years a Slave
While 2013 had its share of excellent films, like American Hustle or Gravity, nothing comes even close to being as powerful as 12 Years a Slave.
2014: Whiplash
2014 is almost a toss up between Nightcrawler and Whiplash, but Whiplash edges out the win just barely thanks to JK Simmons’ riveting performance.
2015: The Martian
2015 was a year that Mad Max and Star Wars returned in a big way. The Revenant earned Leonardo DiCaprio the awards which had eluded him. But Ridley Scott’s film The Martian struck the best balance being both smart and funny, and utilizing Matt Damon’s likability.
2016: La La Land
2016 goes to La La Land. Anyone who doesn’t love La La Land is just wrong.
2017: Baby Driver
2017 goes to Baby Driver. It’s been a long time since a movie this stylish and this cool has come along but Edgar Wright’s thrill-ride is like a 90 minute music video shootout.
2018: Eighth Grade
So many great movies came out in 2018. From Black Panther to A Quiet Place. But while everyone ranted and raved about A Star is Born, Bo Burnham was low key behind Eighth Grade, one of the most awkwardly coming-of-age pics ever made.
2019: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Finally, 2019 isn’t over yet, but it’s safe to say that Quentin Tarantino took it again with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While The Irishman is fantastic, the de-aging of the stars was often distracting, but Tarantino’s love letter to the golden age of Hollywood is a powerful message about how cinema can make life a little better.
