Allan's All-Decade List: The 2010's
The 2010’s will be remembered as a decade that changed how we consume content. It is the decade streaming took over. The decade Netflix went from sending people DVD’s to being responsible for some of the best films and TV shows made in the last ten years, all available in our homes immediately. It is also the decade when television became the premier medium for the highest level of cinematic storytelling, equaling if not surpassing film for the first time ever.
But with that said, the decade has ended with a stronger output of movies than it began, with a mix of blockbuster behemoths like the MCU movies, Star Wars and Hunger Games, the horror movie renaissance led by Jordan Peele, and all the great films that range from Oscar-winners about humans and fish having sex to the dozens of belly-laugh inducing comedies we have feasted our eyes on over the last 10 years. So, before we leap into the ‘20s, I would like to take a moment to reflect on my favorite film from each year of the 2010’s, with some notes and musings mixed in as we go. Let’s do it.
2010 – Toy Story 3
For those of us that grew up in the ‘90s, Toy Story 3 was the official ending of our childhood. Despite being released 11 years after Toy Story 2, the third entry of this wonderful series had all the charm and heart of the first two, with a twist of nostalgia and coming to terms with getting older, having to grow up whether you wanted to or not. From our heroes holding hands as they prepared to be torched together before being saved by the claw, to Andy playing with his friends one last time, it is impossible to watch this film without some therapeutic tears welling up in your eyes. For ‘90s kids, the 2010s was the decade we grew into young adults and taking on everything it means to be a member of society without the shield of being a kid, and Toy Story 3 prepared us well to start off the decade.
Runner-Up: The Kids Are Alright
Honorable Mentions: Hot Tub Time Machine, Scott Pilgrim, Inception, The Social Network, True Grit
Biggest Disappointment: Alice in Wonderland
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Hot Tub Time Machine
Notable Musings: Alice in Wonderland was a very blah movie that made over a BILLION dollars.
2011 – Paul
What do you get when you mix Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, and an alien voiced by Seth Rogan? You get Paul, the most underrated film of the decade and one of my favorite comedies of all time. Broader than Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, it is a film everyone should love and get a bunch of belly laughs out of. Rogan’s voiceover work as the titular Paul lends itself to countless hilarious moments, and Kristen Wiig’s performance was a harbinger for what was to come just a couple months later with the release of Bridesmaids. Paul may be a movie not a lot of people have seen, so I won’t say much more, but I implore you to watch my favorite comedy of the decade very soon (It currently on Cinemax).
Runner-Up: Bridesmaids
Honorable Mentions: Captain American: The First Avenger, Moneyball, 30 Minutes or Less, Cedar Rapids, 50/50
Biggest Disappointment: Green Lantern. Woof.
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Paul
Notable Musings: 2011 was a big year for the MCU, with the release of Thor and Captain American: The First Avenger perhaps saving the franchise after the lukewarm receptions of The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2. It was also the last year where a Marvel movie was not one of the top 10 grossing films of the yer.
2012 – The Avengers
It is odd looking back now in a post Endgame world and thinking about The Avengers. I just remember how *huge* it felt. To have so many amazing heroes and a great villain (Loki felt like the biggest villain ever, but his power pales in comparison to the many great supervillains who have come since him) made you feel like a little kid, in awe of the action in front of you. This first Avengers is also important for a few reasons: 1. It solidified the MCU as a huge money maker and gave it the momentum it needed as it went into phase two. 2. It was a true changing of the guard, with The Dark Knight Rises also coming out in 2011, ending what is pound for pound one of the greatest trilogies of any genre of all time, and effectively ending DC’s hold on the genre (and DC has never felt further away from Marvel than it does now.) The Avengers was everything a comic book movie was supposed to be and set the foundation for the most successful franchise of not just the decade, but of all time.
Runner-Up: Lincoln
Honorable Mentions: Looper, The Dark Knight Rises, 21 Jump Street, Silver Linings Playbook, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Biggest Disappointment: The Dictator
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: 21 Jump Street
Notable Musings: 2012 is responsible for the beginning of the second Spider-Man franchise, this of the Andrew Garfield variety. Although it was not awful, no one needed the same exact story told again with the same origin story we already knew, and the sequel would be even worse. But it all makes us even more grateful for our current Spidey and all of the others in the Spider-Verse.
2013 – Enough Said
Enough Said is my favorite movie of 2013 for a variety of reasons. For one, it is just a great, well-executed little piece of cinema that is a joy to watch. But the most important reason is because of its stars, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the great James Gandolfini. The movie would be released after Gandolfini’s tragic death in the same year, and it is a fitting final entry into his filmography. He plays a mild-mannered divorcee who is just trying to get through the regularness of life, and it is a nice reminder he is one of the great actors of this generation, and more than just Tony Soprano. It is also notable because it is two of the great TV stars in history having critical success in a place they historically had a hard time finding it: on the big screen. It is a delightful movie that deserves your time, and if you like Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini, you will find this movie to be a real treat.
Runner-Up: 12 Years a Slave
Honorable Mentions: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inside Llewyn Davis, We’re the Millers.
Biggest Disappointment: Anchorman 2
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Tie between This is the End and We’re the Millers
Notable Musings: 2013 had one of the best races for Best Picture at the Oscar’s, with many worthy entries, including, 12 Years a Slave (winner), American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Her, Dallas Buyers Club, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Philomena. Ironically, along with this great selection of nominees, 2013 is responsible for one of the worst movies ever made, Movie 43.
2014 – Whiplash
2014 has a ton of great movies, and this was the hardest choice of the decade for me, but Whiplash delivers in so many different ways. For one, as a former music major, I can relate to the pressure and intensity that Miles Teller’s character is going through at some level, and many music majors and professionals have gone through an experience similar to the story being told. The performances are incredible, including the Oscar-winning brilliance from J.K. Simmons, and it was a look into the potential of Damien Chazelle, who would go on to direct La La Land and First Man. Whiplash also has some of the most heart-stopping moments you will ever see in a movie, ones I can still feel even though it has been years since I have seen, and an ending worth waiting for.
Runner-Up: Guardians of the Galaxy
Honorable Mentions: Birdman, Big Hero 6, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, John Wick, Still Alice
Biggest Disappointment: A Million Ways to Die in the West
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: 22 Jump Street, and it is not even close. Never has my wife or brother-in-law been so embarrassed to be near me in a movie theatre.
Notable Musings: That Awkward Moment was one of the more low-key enjoyable Sunday-afternoon-nothing-to-do movies I saw that year. I just feel like I needed to tell someone that.
2015 – Carol
Pound for pound, 2015 may be the best year of the decade when it comes to the volume of above-average-to-great films, but for me, Carol takes it as my favorite in a crowded room of terrific movies (not you Aloha, you suck). When it comes to Carol, it is really all about Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara’s terrific chemistry as we go on a journey of forbidden love. Carol not being nominated for Best Picture is still a stain on the Academy, as it is likely the most complete film of the year, and one of the best of the decade. If you haven’t seen Carol, I cannot urge you strongly enough to see it, and you can even enjoy a surprisingly good performance by Jake Lacy!
Runner-Up: Spotlight
Honorable Mentions: The Big Short, The Martian, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Inside Out, Mad Max Fury Road, Cinderella, Brooklyn, Trumbo
Biggest Disappointment: Black Mass
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Ant-Man
Notable Musings: Like 2013, the Best Picture category was packed with worthy winners (and omitted Carol): Spotlight (the winner) The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, Brooklyn, Room, The Revenant, and Bridge of Spies.
2016 – Moonlight
There is not much I can say that has not already been said about Moonlight. The easy pick for the best movie of 2016, and likely the overall best movie of the decade, Moonlight is a near perfect film. Barry Jenkins’ instant classic was Jenkins’ introduction to the mainstream, despite the quiet success of Medicine for Melancholy, and it is clear after If Beale Street Could Talk that Jenkins is one of the great forces of the industry right now, and he is just getting started. It is simple, if you see a “Best of the decade” list that doesn’t have Moonlight on it, that list should be thrown out and ignored.
Runner-Up: Deadpool
Honorable Mentions: American Honey, Captain America: Civil War, Sing, La La Land, Moana
Biggest Disappointment: Assassin’s Creed
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Sausage Party
Notable Musings: 2016 was a weird, top-heavy year for cinema. Moonlight and La La Land led the way in terms of the critically successful movies, with a large gap between them and the other contenders of the year. There were some great animated films like Sing and Moana, and a really good selection of comic book movies. But man, after that, there’s a ton of crappy movies in 2016, none worse than Batman V Superman: the film that killed DC.
2017 – Thor: Ragnarok
Let’s be real, the first Thor movie was fine but eh, and the second Thor movie is straight booty, so up until 2017, it was a confusing thing to come to terms with because Thor as a character has so much to offer and shines as bright as anyone else in the Avengers movies, but it seemed as if Thor on his own just didn’t work. And then comes Thor: Ragnarok, and holy shit If that isn’t the most fun film of the decade, I don’t know what is. Director Taika Waititi deserves a ton of the credit (he also voices Korg, my low-key favorite MCU character) for giving a new energy to Thor’s world, and the supporting cast is one of the best in the MCU canon, led by the likes of Tessa Thompson and Jeff F***ing Goldblum. Ragnarok at its release was my favorite MCU movie, and still ranks in my top three.
Runner-Up: The Meyerowitz Stories
Honorable Mentions: The Shape of Water, Get out, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Lady Bird, Dunkirk, Jumanji, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Biggest Disappointment: Justice League
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Tied between Jumanji and Thor: Ragnarok
Notable Musings: 2017 is the beginning of the most prolific run a franchise has ever had in movie history, and so saw the revitalization of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. On the other hand, despite the success of Wonder Woman, DC had another disaster with the flop of Justice League.
2018 – Black Panther
2018 is when Marvel officially took over the world, with Black Panther, which is either the best or second best comic book film ever made (depending on if you put it ahead or behind Dark Knight), Infinity War, the most shocking comic book movie ever, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the best animated film of the decade and probably the century. But Black Panther stands alone as my top film of the year. An origin story better than any other in the MCU, with nonstop action and heart, that in the end is the most complete film Marvel has ever made. It helps having one of the most complex and relatable supervillains, played to perfection by Michael B. Jordan, but it also has star power in every single role.
Runner-Up: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Honorable Mentions: BlackKklansman, Eighth Grade, A Star is Born, If Beale Street Could Talk, Roma, The Wife
Biggest Disappointment: Holmes and Watson
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Deadpool 2
Notable Musings: Green Book should not have won Best Picture. I will not be taking questions.
2019 - The Irishman
I won’t go too deep here for a couple reasons: 1. I will have the review of The Irishman up soon. 2. There are still a lot of movies I need to see that have come out this month. But I will say The Irishman is the most complete film Martin Scorsese has maybe ever made, and it is my favorite performance by Joe Pesci since Raging Bull. The film is a masterpiece, and successfully tells its story without glorifying the mob, which is something a mob movie has never been able to achieve before. It feels as fresh as it does familiar, and as it stands now, it is my favorite of 2019.
Runner-Up: Avengers: Endgame
Honorable Mentions: Midsommar, Booksmart, Spider-Man: Far From Home, El Camino, Late Night
Biggest Disappointment: Joker
Movie that made me laugh the hardest: Late Night
Notable Musings: I will continue to update this as after I see the rest of the December releases. I anticipate Uncut Gems is make a run at the top.
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Who knows how we will be watching movies when the 2020’s end, but cheers to a new year, a new decade, and hopefully a decade full of great movies. Happy New Year!
