My Favorite Movies of the 2010s

This is the same concept as the decade music list I posted yesterday. I wish I had the time/energy to do a full rundown of these movies—it was a phenomenal decade for film—but I just don't. Again, the order isn't of tantamount importance, and no standard criteria were used here—just the same mix of personal taste, cultural importance, personal impact, and rewatch value as I used for the music list. I hope you enjoyed some of these as much as I did!

1) The Social Network (2010)

2) Drive (2011)

3) Frances Ha (2013)

4) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

5) Hereditary (2018)

6) Moonlight (2016)

7) The Florida Project (2017)

8) Parasite (2019)

9) Take Shelter (2011)

10) The Handmaiden (2016)

11) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

12) Boyhood (2014)

13) The Grey (2012)

14) Sicario (2015)

15) Get Out (2017)

16) Silence (2016)

17) Whiplash (2014)

18) Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

19) Avengers: Endgame (2019)

20) Destroyer (2018)

21) First Reformed (2018)

22) Arrival (2016)

23) Birdman (2014)

24) Logan (2017)

25) It Follows (2015)

Movies/Performances of the Year

Same deal as the movies list—click the hyperlinks to see my original write-up for each year, and I've included the best film and actor/actress performances for each. Interesting to note that there was very little overlap between the best films and performances (only twice). And there's even less correlation between my winners and the actual Oscar winners (just Moonlight in 2016). Note that 2019 is subject to change. (Will have a full write-up in the near future.)

2010

Best Picture: The Social Network

Best Actor: James Franco – 127 Hours

Best Actress: Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole

2011

Best Picture: Drive

Best Actor: Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia

2012

Best Picture: The Grey

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone

2013

Best Picture: The Wolf of Wall Street/Frances Ha (tie)

Best Actor: Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

Best Actress: Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha

2014

Best Picture: Boyhood

Best Actor: Michael Keaton – Birdman

Best Actress: Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin

2015

Best Picture: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor: Samuel L. Jackson – The Hateful Eight

Best Actress: Emily Blunt – Sicario

2016

Best Picture: Moonlight

Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes – A Bigger Splash

Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert – Elle

2017

Best Picture: The Florida Project

Best Actor: Hugh Jackman – Logan

Best Actress: Haley Lu Richardson – Columbus

2018

Best Picture: Hereditary

Best Actor: Ethan Hawke – First Reformed

Best Actress: Toni Collette – Hereditary

2019 (write-up forthcoming)

Best Picture: Parasite

Best Actor: Antonio Banderas – Pain & Glory

Best Actress: Lupita Nyong'o – Us

That's the short-but-sweet version of the decade in cinema that was. I actually had a lot of fun putting together these brief lists. I hope you enjoyed reading them!