Best Movies of the 2010s

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Dir. George Miller

A 70-year-old director made the best action film of the decade. Two hours of forward momentum with zero filler.

Popcorn pairing: Cayenne and lime

Parasite (2019)

Dir. Bong Joon-ho

Genre-defying class warfare that earned the Best Picture it deserved. The basement reveal is a masterpiece of tonal shifts.

Inception (2010)

Dir. Christopher Nolan

Nolan built a heist movie inside dreams inside dreams. The hallway fight in zero gravity is peak practical effects.

Popcorn pairing: Butter with Flavacol

Get Out (2017)

Dir. Jordan Peele

Peele's debut turned social horror into a cultural event. The Sunken Place is an image that won't leave you.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Dir. Bob Persichetti

Blew open what animation could look like. Every frame is a comic panel come to life with real emotional weight.

Whiplash (2014)

Dir. Damien Chazelle

A jazz drumming movie with the intensity of a horror film. J.K. Simmons is genuinely terrifying.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Dir. Denis Villeneuve

A sequel that matched the original's ambition. Deakins' cinematography alone is worth the runtime.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Dir. Wes Anderson

Anderson at his most Anderson. A jewel-box murder mystery wrapped in pastel aesthetics and genuine heart.

Arrival (2016)

Dir. Denis Villeneuve

A first-contact movie where the alien encounter is really about grief and language. Quietly devastating.

1917 (2019)

Dir. Sam Mendes

One continuous shot through the trenches. Deakins (again) and Mendes make you feel every step of the journey.

The Social Network (2010)

Dir. David Fincher

Fincher and Sorkin turned a website's origin story into a Shakespearean tragedy about ambition and betrayal.

Hereditary (2018)

Dir. Ari Aster

The scariest family drama ever made. Toni Collette delivers a performance that should have won everything.

Popcorn pairing: Plain, because you'll forget to eat