When I turned 30 I did a whole series about my 30 favorite movies. Now that I’m turning 40 I’m not going to expand that series to 40 movies, but I am going to reveal my favorite movies of the past decade or so. To emphasize, these are my Favorite movies, not the Best movies.
Before we get to the alphabetical list, let’s start with the honorable mentions by category. I have to mention, that I’m really behind on my martial arts movies.
Animated Films – Brave, the Pirates!: Band of Misfits, the Tale of Princess Kaguya, Toy Story 3, When Marnie Was There, Wreck-It Ralph!
The “Auteur” Director Films – Django Unchained, Get Out, Gravity, Haywire, Mud, Knives Out, Silver Linings Playbook, La La Land, Take Shelter, Wolf of Wall Street, Zero Dark Thirty
Comedies – 21 Jump Street, Blockers, Bridesmaids, Pain & Gain, Melissa McCarthy Comedies – the Heat, Spy
Foreign Films – Akira (Hindi film), A Separation, Shoplifters
“Girly” Films – 12 Dates of Christmas, Crazy Rich Asians, Easy A, the Edge of Seventeen, Miss You Already
Franchise Movies – Ant-Man, Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther, Captain America: the Winter Soldier, Creed, Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, Kick-Ass, Logan, Mad Max: Fury Road, A Quiet Place, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnorok, Wonder Woman, X-Men: First Class
Too Depressing to be Favorites – Ben is Back, Blue Jasmine, Last Flag Flying, Promising Young Woman, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
Arthur Christmas
It was actually a bit of a toss-up between this and Pirates!. Both are wonderfully animated and written films by Aardman Animations that are ostensibly kids’ films but hold up for adults as well. And pitched to my specific brand of humor (or humour). But Arthur Christmas has cracked the “Annual Christmas Watch” list, so I’ve definitely seen it more in the past decade.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The title really says it all. A martial arts/multiverse/generational trauma drama/action-comedy/love story it really manages to be everything everywhere all at once. And is both fist-pumping fun and heartbreaking at the same time.
Force Majuere
A seemingly simple movie about a family’s ski vacation; this is the movie I’ve probably thought about the most since I watched it. It really examines modern masculinity, modern romance, and spousal and parental responsibilities through very well-acted drama.
the Grand Budapest Hotel
Since the Darjeeling Limited auteur director Wes Anderson has tried to expand his style and make each film of his more distinct and not just be a “Wes Anderson” movie. It doesn’t always work, but it really does in this movie, in which he decided to basically just play his hits in one movie. Great character actors in overly theatric roles? Check. Set in a slightly tweaked version of our world? Check. Incredibly bright and twee set, costume, and shot design? Check. What is actually an incredibly depressing story presented as a fairy tale? Check. It’s the most Wes Anderson of his movies in the past decade and also the most fun.
Kingsman: the Secret Service
A modern update to both James Bond and My Fair Lady? This is simultaneously a parody of spy, action, and comic-book movies and just a really good one of those movies. But it’s also knowingly a little more humourous and over-the-top than the self-serious action movies that had been coming out around the same time. There are some similarities to this and Kick-Ass, a movie I also love; but I just have a little more fun watching this one.
Spider-Man – Into the Spider-Verse
This animated film has all the energy and vibrancy of a great debut album. We finally got the movie version of Miles Morales’s story and it was so much fun. The movie was true to the character while packing in hip-hop, street art, various animation styles, and multi-versal villains. This movie feels alive in a way most super-hero and most animated films don’t.
Parasite
I don’t want to say much about this movie because I don’t want to spoil it, but truly one of the most remarkable films of the past few decades.
Prometheus
This is not necessarily a well-received entry in the Alien Franchise. But it’s a great movie. No, it’s not a high-octane action sequel like Aliens was. or a really scary horror film. But it is a thinking person’s sci-fi and an interesting prequel that set up the entire series. It also has one of the best portrayals of faith I’ve ever seen in a movie.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Of the “new” Star Wars movies, this is far and away my favorite. From nearly the beginning, the audience already knows what’s going to happen – we’ve seen the movies that come next chronologically. But the misfit group of characters is so likable you get drawn in and invested in their adventure anyway.
Skyfall
My favorite James Bond movie of all time. It plays almost like a greatest hits of James Bond cliches. So much so that even non-fans will recognize a lot of the Bond tropes that appear. Diehards will appreciate all the shoutouts. But that’s not the only reason it works. It has one of the best Bond villains of all time. And it actually works as a stand-alone movie.
Us
The second of Jordan Peele’s “social horror” films, there’s something unsettling from the very first frame. It eventually goes from unsettling to full-on action and horror, but the suspense is so well-built throughout. Get Out may be a more perfectly plotted movie, but the feeling of dread this movie creates stays with you.