We're still counting down the fifty best movies of the 2010's, and this time around we've landed in the middle tier. These were the films that shined a little brighter than the previous twenty-five entries but still aren't quite awesome enough to land a spot in the coveted top-ten. Nonetheless, the fifteen flicks you'll find below are each incredibly impressive. I once again attempted to balance my personal preferences with some critical objectivity, but even if I failed, these are all worth a watch anyway. With COVID and quarantine still dangling like twin swords of Damocles, why not try some of these? It's not like anything else is coming out anytime soon...
24.) Searching: Wow. I just...wow. In an era of overblown filmmaking, it's surprisingly refreshing to watch a movie with such simple efficiency. The premise might be familiar (a father hunts for his missing daughter), and the storytelling device is a tad gimmicky (the whole thing plays out on computers, with Skype, FaceTime, and even local news channels framing the narrative), but it's all pulled off with such intensity and dedication that you can't help but be sucked in. The mystery is a real corker, and by the end you'll be gasping for air. John Cho carries the film, and his portrayal of anguished father David Kim is one of the most honest, soulful performances of the entire decade. Check this one out. And soon.
23.) The Clovehitch Killer: While I love a good horror romp, something with a larger-than-life villain and buckets of blood, I nonetheless have a soft spot for the quiet films, too. The Clovehitch Killer is so muted and unassuming that you won't even notice as it creeps into your home and places the knife against your throat. It pierces the depths of human evil, examining the duality of American life and how violence hides in even the most tranquil places. Bolstered by a razor-sharp script and two career-defining performances from newcomer Charlie Plummer and a surprisingly sinister Dylan McDermott, this flick is overlooked, underrated gold. It's one-part Rear Window, one-part Psycho, and one-hundred percept awesome.
22.) Creed: Here comes the cliché. Are you ready? Creed is a knockout! …but seriously, it is. This movie has a tight script, loving cinematography, brilliant direction from Black Panther's own Ryan Coogler, and some of the decade's best performances - especially Sly Stallone's glorious return to Rocky, which should have won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Casual fans could consider this to be the electrifying finale to Rocky Balboa's story while simultaneously being a fantastic introduction to boxing's newest hero, Adonis Creed. It's the best sports movie of the 2010's, and will hopefully give rise to a slew of entertaining sequels. Here's to six more!
21.) Drive: With Drive, director Nicolas Winding Refn has crafted a stylish neo-noir thriller, one that is exciting and emotionally engaging. It's a film built on clichés (are you noticing a metamodern theme with this half of the list yet?): a glimpse of Chinatown, a dash of Bullitt, a sprinkling of The Third Man and LA Confidential. But by building an iconoclastic story within such a familiar framework, the film can be avant-garde without alienating audiences. With scarce but nonetheless breathtaking action sequences, vivid violence, and oodles of artsy imagery, this is a white-knuckler that dares to tease the mind and tug at the heartstrings. All the important cinematic elements are here and pulled off with a polished finesse. The performances are stellar, the plot is lean, the score is intriguing, the cinematography simmers, and the themes are integrated smoothly into the narrative fabric. Drive honors the films of yesterday, pleases moviegoers of today, and slyly hints at the cinema of tomorrow. It is an incredibly satisfying work of art - emotional, entertaining, and intelligent.
20.) Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse: This very well could be the best Spider-Man movie yet, and is probably the best standalone superhero flick since The Dark Knight. It's pure pop insanity brought to life with characters, moments, and storylines ripped straight from the pulpy pages of Marvel Comics. The visuals alone are sensational, sporting the most bombastic color palette I've ever seen on the big screen. Thankfully, the story and characters are just as colorful as the world they inhabit. I've even used this movie to help teach Joseph Campbell's "mono-myth," or Hero's Journey, in my classroom. With everything from the writing to the score to the animation playing out in perfect synchronicity, how could I not put this one in the top twenty?
19.) Train to Busan: It's simply astonishing how good this movie is - the manic terror, the scrambling action, the heart and humor and, of course, the horror. Director Yeon Sang-ho takes the overwrought zombie subgenre and, with a lightning-quick pace and deeply honest performances, makes it new again. In my opinion, this is the best zombie movie ever made, besting contemporaries like 28 Days Later and even classics like Night of the Living Dead. Seriously. Bounce over to Netflix and give this thing a try. If you're a zombie-fanatic or a fan of Asian horror films, give this a watch. By the end, Train to Busan will have thundered down the tracks, off the screen, and into your heart.
18.) 12 Years A Slave: This horrific true story is a searing, unflinching examination of American slavery in the mid-1800s, and yes - all the compliments that have been said about it are spot-on. Mesmerizing? Captivating? Genius? Yes to all of the above. It's certainly one of the decade's best films, saturated with arresting imagery and moral complexity. Even better, the performances are some of the best the silver screen has given audiences in years. Lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is miraculous as Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped and sold into slavery. He can speak volumes with merely a glance, a gesture, or a song. The supporting cast is equally magnificent, featuring such incomparable talents as Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfre Woodard, and Brad Pitt. Most importantly though, it's a film of stunning artistry. Everything drips with sunlight, thrumming with the hum of horseflies and songs of human sorrow. These delicate aesthetics transport you to a time and place you're glad you've never experienced. It makes you mourn for the past, celebrate the present, and hope for the future.
17.) Argo: If you're addicted to tense thrillers, ones wrought with nail-biting suspense and palpitation-inducing close calls, then Ben Affleck's historical docudrama Argo will be an overly-satisfying fix. A movie about the Iran Hostage Crisis is bound to be exciting, but thanks to Affleck's artful directing, it feels positively urgent. The editing is seamless, and the gritty cinematography gives the film a true non-fictional quality; it feels more like a live news-feed than a big-budget blockbuster. Thanks to the realistic conflict and characters, this is a deeply unsettling movie. Thanks to the brazen creativity of one CIA agent, it's also a cathartic one. After the smoke cleared, when the film came to a halt and the credits started rolling, I was bolted to my seat. For I had actually forgotten this was all history - the events predetermined, the actors simply stand-ins for actual human beings. This is why Argo is great. The power of the storytelling, the weight of history, the focused conviction of everyone involved: all these things coalesce into a beautiful, compelling, stunning motion picture.
16.) Detroit: As someone who grew up in Michigan, just forty-five minutes north of the Motor City, I find this film to be essential, horrifying, and spectacular. The technical specs are all immaculate - as usual, Kathryn Bigelow's direction is raw, uncompromising, and without peer. The performances are hauntingly authentic, perhaps none more so than John Boyega, who needed an Oscar (and more) for the humanity and reality he brings to his role. Nuts and bolts aside, however, this is a stirring film. It's the Schindler's List of the American Civil Rights Movement, a brutally visceral account of a horrid era in the country's most iconic rust belt city. To me, Detroit is 2010's ultimate cinematic statement on racism in America. This isn't a broad-stroked horror-comedy mess, nor is it a veiled parable almost unrecognizable beneath its many layers of intellectual detachment. No, Detroit is as stunning as it is terrifying, and it deals with its subject matter with a frankness you won't find anywhere else. If you're brave enough to stomach it, you should watch. If you're not brave enough? Then you need to.
15.) Gravity: Two American astronauts are stranded in space after a terrible accident leaves them without a crew, without a ship, and without hope. Too many movies over-complicate their narrative, cluttering the plot with twists and turns. But in this film, the premise is the plot. The story is lean and clean, letting the characters blossom with little interference. Speaking of characters, our two protagonists are riveting. George Clooney is perfect as the movie's mouth. He muses, he explains, he jokes and talks and laughs. In a film with very little sound, he plays an integral role. He keeps us rooted to the situation, with all its grandeur and horror still in tact. Also perfect is Sandra Bullock as our determined protagonist. If Clooney is Gravity's voice, then Bullock is its heart. Her performance is astonishingly empathetic. You feel everything she feels - pain, despair, gratitude. Also notable is the cinematography, which is as immense as it is intimate. Here, director Alfonso Cuaron lets the camera do the talking. We swoop, we linger, we cut away, we soar, we drown, we survive. I was lucky enough to see this in 3D, and it was truly an unforgettable experience.
14.) Bone Tomahawk: If you needed a reminder that Westerns can be absolutely awesome, that they can be defined by realism and gravitas and unadulterated brutality just as much as any other genre, then Bone Tomahawk should definitely be in your queue. This is 3:10 to Yuma meets The Hills Have Eyes, and if you think that's a wacky juxtaposition in theory, just wait until you see it in practice. Populated by a terrific cast of characters portrayed by some of Hollywood's best (Kurt Russel, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins, etc.), the magnetic charm of this throwback thriller is undeniable. And while the plot gets a little fantastical by the third act, the heart of the film is tangibly real. These feel like actual people with real relationships, and your eyes will certainly mist up a little before the end. This is the definition of metamodernity - throwback themes delivered with nontraditional flair. It's the best western of the decade and I absolutely adore it.
13.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: This was the first Star Wars flick in 36 years that dared audiences to abandon their preconceived notions of the genre - to embrace a new, boldly tragic direction for the series. I'm not saying this is a perfect film (it's somewhat low on character development, and made some questionable choices with its computer effects), but when it works, it works very well. From a design standpoint, it is a marvel - the sets, the costumes, and the vehicles are all wonderful to gape at. The story is simple and efficient, its character beats coinciding with larger plot points. And the tone? Dismal, challenging, yet sprinkled with hope. This is the first movie in the saga to emphasize the "war" in Star Wars, and poignantly expresses the nobility and goodness of ultimate self-sacrifice. Although this movie stands apart from the rest of its kin, it is nonetheless stylishly made and loads of fun. While I'm one of the few unapologetic fans of Disney's sequel trilogy, I think Rogue One is the best Star Wars flick of the new era. It deserves to be as cherished and adored as the original films.
12.) Annihilation: Transcendentally surreal, shockingly emotional, and expertly filmed - these are the phrases that perfectly encapsulate Annihilation, my pick for the best film of 2018 and, apparently, the twelfth best film of the entire decade. Alex Garland, known for directing Ex Machina and writing 28 Weeks Later, adapts Jeff VanderMeer's ponderous novel for the big screen. The entire cast is exceptional, perhaps none more so than Natalie Portman in her best role since Black Swan, whose character grapples with both herself and the unknown. It's difficult to find the right words to describe this trippy sci-fi experience, but if I had to boil it all down, I'd say watching it felt a lot like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey for the very first time. It is strange, sometimes upsetting, yet nonetheless mandatory viewing. It also provides an intriguing counterpoint to the lethal concreteness of Rogue One, and forges a psychedelic spirit-walk into gorgeous yet horrifying new realms.
11.) 1917: I went into this movie expecting nothing and came out of it having felt like I'd experienced, I dunno, everything? Heroism, horror, loyalty, love, wrath, redemption - it's all there in this, the best war movie of the decade. Directed to perfection by Sam Mendes (of American Beauty and Skyfall fame), this WWI thriller is filmed in such a way that it looks like a single uninterrupted shot from beginning to end. A neat trick, but if that was all the movie had going for it, it would be mighty dull. Thankfully, this isn't the case. 1917 is a powerhouse film, one that made me cry half a dozen times before the credits started to roll, when I proceeded to cry even more. It's this melding of genuine emotion, artistry, and technical achievement that makes for a perfect movie. And that's just what this is - so perfect, in fact, that it's almost in my top ten movies of the decade. Almost.
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