Everyone's ranking the best movies of the decade so I thought I’d rank the best movie _years_ of the decade. There were some auspicious ones. And some….less auspicious ones.
Note: this is a wholly accurate and objective list.
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Note: this is a wholly accurate and objective list.
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10. 2010
Apologies all ye Social Networks stans—this was the year of great directors doing lesser work (see also: Inception, True Grit). Twilight was going strong. And Tim Burton for some reason decided to make Alice in Wonderland. Even The Fighter & Black Swan couldn't save it.
Apologies all ye Social Networks stans—this was the year of great directors doing lesser work (see also: Inception, True Grit). Twilight was going strong. And Tim Burton for some reason decided to make Alice in Wonderland. Even The Fighter & Black Swan couldn't save it.
9. 2017
It’s tough to get on board any year that had The Shape of Water winning best picture and questionable franchise extensions like Kong: Skull Island, Fifty Shades Darker and Fate and the Furious. It did give us Get Out, mother!, and Lady Bird. But is that enough?
It’s tough to get on board any year that had The Shape of Water winning best picture and questionable franchise extensions like Kong: Skull Island, Fifty Shades Darker and Fate and the Furious. It did give us Get Out, mother!, and Lady Bird. But is that enough?
8. 2018
Sure, it had Black Panther. But it also had Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody and Vice.
Sure, it had Black Panther. But it also had Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody and Vice.
7. 2015
The Revenant, Spotlight, The Big Short, Mad Max -- it wasn't the pinnacle, but things are starting to get more solid.
The Revenant, Spotlight, The Big Short, Mad Max -- it wasn't the pinnacle, but things are starting to get more solid.
6. 2012
Zero Dark Thirty brought heat and viscerality. Beasts of the Southern Wild piled on the vision. And Haneke went tender with Amour. You can thank Argo for keeping it in the bottom half, though.
Zero Dark Thirty brought heat and viscerality. Beasts of the Southern Wild piled on the vision. And Haneke went tender with Amour. You can thank Argo for keeping it in the bottom half, though.
5. 2014
Pity Boyhood and Birdman, two strong works battered by revisionist history. Also, Selma was the best movie about politics and race in years. And foreign was just busting--Ida, Timbuktu, Leviathan, Wild Tales. Now we're talking.
Pity Boyhood and Birdman, two strong works battered by revisionist history. Also, Selma was the best movie about politics and race in years. And foreign was just busting--Ida, Timbuktu, Leviathan, Wild Tales. Now we're talking.
4. 2016
Toni Erdmann alone puts it in the top half, as does O.J. Also, Moonlight. And Arrival. And O.J. And Manchester by the Sea. And Hidden Figures. And did I mention O.J.?
Toni Erdmann alone puts it in the top half, as does O.J. Also, Moonlight. And Arrival. And O.J. And Manchester by the Sea. And Hidden Figures. And did I mention O.J.?
3. 2011
It gave us one of the most profound/daring films of our time in The Tree of Life, and a bevy of populist gems like Moneyball and The Help (and Bridesmaids and Rio and Crazy Stupid Love). Sure, The Artist won best picture, but isn’t A Separation enough to wash that out?
It gave us one of the most profound/daring films of our time in The Tree of Life, and a bevy of populist gems like Moneyball and The Help (and Bridesmaids and Rio and Crazy Stupid Love). Sure, The Artist won best picture, but isn’t A Separation enough to wash that out?
2. 2019
This was a standout even before 1917 came along. It has Endgame and Ford, Knives Out and Uncut Gems, Little Women and Les Miserables, Jojo and Joker. Plus all those career cappers—Irishman, Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time, Parasite. And of course The Farewell.
This was a standout even before 1917 came along. It has Endgame and Ford, Knives Out and Uncut Gems, Little Women and Les Miserables, Jojo and Joker. Plus all those career cappers—Irishman, Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time, Parasite. And of course The Farewell.
And the best movie year of the decade, unequivocally, is...
1. 2013
Her was genius. Gravity was thrilling. There were epic social masterpieces (12 Years a Slave), sly human dramedies (Nebraska) and rollicking commentaries (Wolf of Wall Street). Frozen, World War Z and Prisoners too. And The Act of Killing. 2013, and it’s not even close.
Her was genius. Gravity was thrilling. There were epic social masterpieces (12 Years a Slave), sly human dramedies (Nebraska) and rollicking commentaries (Wolf of Wall Street). Frozen, World War Z and Prisoners too. And The Act of Killing. 2013, and it’s not even close.
