Saturday, February 15, 2020

Top 50 Personal Favorites of the 2010s

I apologize that this has taken a while to make, I have been busy, plus I have been debating what my top 50 personal favorites of the decade should be, but I eventually got this list together. I should also note that with the top 10s of the years that I did, some of those (even if they were on the top) may not have made it to this list. This is a reflection of the whole decade and not just the individual years. This was a hard list to make but still fun. Once again, this is my personal list.


50. Logan - A great way to end Wolverine's story. It is a hard movie to rewatch, but gave us a great ending to the character of Wolverine.

49. Skyfall - My favorite James Bond movie to date. The action is great, the adventure aspect is great, and some nice shots in the movie.

48. Lego Movie - Inspires creativity and just tons of laughs to go with it. Plus the way it was animated was very unique.

47. Rogue One - This is the Star Wars prequel movie I really wanted. Great story and great visuals to accompany it.

46. Ford V Ferrari - Awesome movie based on a true story with amazing race sequences. Plus great performances as well.

45. Secret World of Arrietty - A Studio Ghibli movie that is gorgeous and takes you to a world of wonder.

44. Dunkirk - This was the most intense movie going experience for me, and was just amazingly put together.

43. Only the Brave - A true story on firefighters, made me really appreciate their bravery and skill. Plus I really liked the cinematography.

42. Tron Legacy - Story may be lacking, but the visual and audio experience is just incredible, a dream come true.

41. X-Men Days of Future Past - My favorite X-Men in the Fox series with great cast of characters and great use of time travel.

40. Pacific Rim - The giant robot battle sequences are excellent, and just a ton of fun to watch, and benefits from watching on the big screen.

39. Captain Phillips - Great movie from Paul Greengrass. The last 10 minutes of the movie were very intense.

38. Wreck It Ralph - A great movie about the video game world, that featured great cameos, and also had a great story.

37. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World - One overlooked movie that so uniquely put together and just a blast to watch.

36. Coco - For those that are looking for a great movie about family history, this is it. The world of the dead is colorful and amazing, and has great emotion.

35. A Quiet Place - I am not big on horror thriller movies, but this has such a unique concept and idea that made the movie so engaging and worth revisiting.

34. La La Land - A musical that was very engaging and kind of brought me back to the musicals of the 50s, very stylistic.

33. The Social Network - I thought a movie about Facebook was a very bad idea, then I saw the movie and I was extremely surprised, plus it's one that's worth rewatching.

32. Limitless - A very unique concept behind the movie, a pill that can increase your intelligence, and intriguing to see how it's presented.

31. Wolf Children - Director Mamoru Hosoda is one I have been keeping an eye out for. I really liked his previous efforts, this was the one where I wanted to watch anything from this director. This has many beautiful sequences.

30. Rango - A western animated movie from the director of Pirates of the Caribbean that is very bizarre but incredibly intriguing, the world we are taken to was kind of fun to explore, and some of the animation is pretty. Even has a few great sequences.

29. Edge of Tomorrow - The advertisement was intriguing but mainly got me to the door, but when I walked through the door I discovered so much more than I was expecting. This is an action science fiction oriented Groundhog Day, and some of the ideas and concepts made me think.

28. Prisoners - Didn't know anything about Denis Villeneuve until I saw this movie, I saw clips of this and was intrigued by this movie. It is a very dark and very disturbing movie, but there are things about this, especially how it came together that was somehow fascinating. The experience is both disturbing and intriguing.

27. A Silent Voice - This is not an easy movie to watch, but the story is beautiful and there is so much to it. I discovered this through an add on Facebook one day and I am surprised this has had such an impact on me ever since. One of those Japanese animated movies that I think just about everyone should see at least once.

26. Zootopia - Not just a movie about a city of all types of animals, but an allegory of how we can place labels on groups of people that are different from us. I am trying to be a better person each day, and this is one of those movies that helped me be aware of my words and actions towards others. Plus this is really funny in parts.

25. Thor Ragnarok - With many Marvel movies coming out that grabbed my attention, this was not one of them. Wow did this movie surprise in so many ways. I was laughing so hard throughout the movie, and I was blown away by the visuals, they were so unique, it was very unique.

24. Interstellar - Christopher Nolan did it again, gave us an epic space movie. The ideas behind it were very intriguing, and very pretty to look at. The performances were great, especially the actress who played young Murph. Also, I think this is probably the best score by Hans Zimmer.

23. Knives Out - I really like Rian Johnson's movies, and yes, even The Last Jedi, but this is one that I probably like the most. I really loved the murder mystery vibe, but what stood out more was that as you pulled the layers back you get a very intriguing family drama. There were also plenty of twists and turns that kept me invested, especially when I thought I figured out the whole movie.

22. Kubo and the Two Strings - Studio Laika had my attention for the previous movies from them, but this is the one that stands out the most. I really like the story and the visuals are just gorgeous. This was just an amazing movie.

21. Paddington 2 - I was very surprised by the first one, it was a charming movie. I didn't think the second one would be as good, and wow I was very much surprised when I saw this. I was sad to see this got ignored, and I try to tell people about it and hope more people discover this, as it is a hidden gem.

20. Captain America Winter Soldier - This was one of those movies that changed everything for me in the MCU, with how Iron Man 3 and Thor The Dark World turned out, I figured I knew everything, and then this movie changed everything. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, and the action was amazing.

19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - I wasn't the biggest Harry Potter fans, I enjoyed them, but then when The Half Blood Prince came out, that one got me invested in the overall story somehow. This movie was a grand experience, preparing by rewatching all the previous entries before seeing this, and just loving this final entry and how everything came together. I also enjoy rewatching this and catching all those things I missed the previous viewings of the movie.

18. The Martian - A story of someone being lost on a planet for a very long time, you would think this would be depressing, but I was laughing and I really liked Matt Damon's enthusiasm and optimism in the situation. Gives me the courage to try to be a bit more enthusiastic and hopeful in difficult situations. Plus the shots on Mars are great.

17. Your Name - One of the most beautiful animated movies I have ever seen. Seriously, there are many scenes in this movie that I could take and frame onto my wall, they are so gorgeous, director Makoto Shinkai's movies are very pretty to look out, but this also gets further props by giving us great characters, I was so invested in seeing the two main characters ending up together.

16. Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Something about this movie really stands out to me, the biggest thing is I really relate to the main character Walter. I really love the progression of the movie, especially when you start in dream sequences and then all of a sudden you end up in Greenland. This was an awesome adventure movie from someone that you would think wouldn't end up in one.

15. Blade Runner 2049 - The first Blade Runner is intriguing, I caught it years ago, and one I need to rewatch to better understand. Anyway, this was very stunning visually, and just the whole world is very intriguing. It also has a story that kept me invested, but the world created was the biggest highlight.

14. Mad Max Fury Road - My first experience with Mad Max was Beyond Thunderdome. I heard they were trying to do a sequel for a very long time, I didn't think they would even make it even better than what we got before, but this was just an amazing experience. The action sequences are just amazing.

13. Star Wars The Force Awakens - I know there are many that have quarrels with the new trilogy and anyone would think I am crazy for putting this in my list, but this is a movie that had a huge impact on me. This brought back the nostalgia from the original trilogy when I thought we wouldn't get anything that felt like the original trilogy, and also gave enough new mysteries to get me thinking and wondering. This was a totally fun Star Wars movie.

12. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - The trilogy as a whole is worth seeing, but if I were to single out any of the entries, this is the one I would single out, it was a totally mind blowing experience. The story and the characters kept me very invested, and also the world we got was amazing. I think Caesar is an amazing character, which kept me invested in the final entry as well. This is a trilogy that I strongly recommend checking out, but if not the trilogy, this is still an excellent movie.

11. Gravity - I got to see this on the IMAX screen in 3D, and this is one of those movies where that large screen experience with the 3D really had an impact on me, it was visually gorgeous, all those shots in space. This is one of those movies that after experiencing it, I don't have a desire to be an astronaut because of all that goes wrong, but the beauty is enough to make me rethink that decision.

10. Mission Impossible Fallout - Seriously, when you get an entry this far, there is no way the movies would get better, but this is in fact one of those movies that was the best in the series, I would say this is my favorite if it weren't for the one I put above it. Not only are the action sequences amazing, but the cinematography is beautiful. Plus how some of the details linked to the previous entries, this is one to not be missed.

9. Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol - Yes, Fallout is an amazing movie and probably the best in the series, but I have to say that I really liked this one a hair more, keep in mind the word hair, but this one slightly edges out Fallout, I really love the team in this one, and some of the action sequences are amazing, as well as the use of humor in certain sequences, and the adventure aspect is the big highlight for me here.

8. Guardians of the Galaxy - This entry put us in a new part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and helped to expand it. This was a totally fun space movie, I get complete joy by rewatching this one. Plenty of moments that I busted out laughing and the chemistry between all the main players is fantastic.

7. Inside Out - Pixar hit it out of the park with this one. This one led me to experience all the emotions, plenty of moments where I laughed so hard, and moments I nearly got teary eyed. This movie has a unique concept, and one when I rewatch I catch some new things. This left a huge impact on me. Easily in my top 5 Pixar movies of all time.

6. Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse - I really like Spider Man, but I was tired of all the reboots of the character. But when I saw the first teaser in 2017, I knew I wanted to see this. I got to go to an early sneak peak of the movie and I was blown away, and this movie is one I enjoyed more and more when I rewatched it, the visual style is so unique and awesome that it's hard to look away, plus it's accompanied by a great story and great characters.

5. Arrival - A movie about aliens coming to Earth where Amy Adam's character must make contact with them and find out why they are there. There is a lot more to the movie than I was expecting, mainly the themes present in this movie, like establishing common ground in communication, learning to come together. Also, the cinematography and visuals in this movie are just excellent in this, and the story unfolding is great, which has benefited from multiple viewings for me.

4. Avengers Infinity War/Avengers Endgame - I am going to cheat here, yes these are two movies, but they come together to tell one large story, and I still can't say which one I prefer, as they are both excellent. This was the big finale for the first saga (known as the Infinity Saga) in the MCU. So many satisfying moments, from crowd pleasing moments to small emotional moments. These were huge epic movies that I figured wouldn't be the same for multiple viewings, but they only got better for me with each viewing.

3. How To Train Your Dragon - With the title, you would think this wouldn't be a good movie, but the trailers got my attention and I went to see it, and I just fell in love with the movie, and this is another movie that has gotten better with time. The characters are excellent, especially Hiccup and Toothless, and this was a movie that was totally worth experiencing in 3D. The animation is gorgeous, it is one of those worlds I would love to go to. The sequels are also great as well, and I strongly suggest seeing them all.

2. The Avengers - When Iron Man debuted in 2008, I learned they were working to this. When I saw the first trailer, it looked exciting, but wasn't sure how it would turn out. This one blew me away, it was amazing and funny and all. This was one I really wanted to rewatch immediately after it was over. This is the first MCU movie that I felt I could get an idea of how big this universe was, or so I thought until future entries showed how big this universe really is. All the ideas and concepts were totally fun as well.

1. Inception - In my opinion, this is Christopher Nolan's masterpiece. This is in my favorite movie of the 2010s. It has a very unique concept, yeah I am sure there were movies that attempted entering people's dreams, but this was still done in a unique way, also it is one of those movies you can enjoy the simple narrative the first time through, and then with multiple viewings I would figure out new details that would lead me to see the movie in a different way. Even with the ambiguous ending, I would rewatch the movie to find a way to support if Cobb was still in the dream world or not. This was a superb science fiction movie with a cool look to it.


The 2010s had excellent movies, even more that I couldn't include here, I was originally going to do 20, but I wanted to include more since there were so many great movies. I will continue to do more postings in the future and more reviews.

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