Top 100 Films of the Decade

Over the past decade we’ve seen the state of cinema change completely. Whether it be how a film is made, who they’re for, or where they’re watched. DVD and blu-ray sales were strong ten years ago, Netflix still operated by post, you could access mid-to-low budget films at the cinema and be exposed to more original content, but the arrival of the mega-blockbuster ‘Avatar’, at the end of the 2000s, was a clear sign that things were about to change. A film which makes close to $3 billion – no matter how mediocre it truly is – that’s a movie that’s hard to ignore, and arguably one which studios and investors take note of and begin to try to replicate over and over and over again.

The shifts brought about by streaming services and the endless, conveyor-belt release system of superhero movies, franchise, remakes, reboots, etc. which oversaturate cinemas every week, make it clear that the type of cinema that existed and thrived ten years ago is sorely missing from mainstream cinemas.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Now, anyone with a great idea can shoot a film on an iPhone, distribute on-demand and make back their budget, they can create original cinematic works. The theatrical side of cinema may be gradually destroyed bit by bit, with the endless onslaught of rehashing the same thing over and over again, but the creative spirit is still alive and well.

At this point I feel I have to urge you to “vote with your feet”, meaning anytime you choose to watch a franchise film at the cinema over any original material – even bigger budget epics like ‘The Irishman’ (still original, groundbreaking cinema), or anytime you pirate or hold off until an independent film is on a streaming service, you ensure that the next film or generation of filmmakers have less chance of getting their films in a cinema. The moneymen look at numbers of bums in seats and it has an effect. If you find yourself complaining there’s nothing good at the cinema, ask yourself when was the last time that you paid to go see something that wasn’t a remake, reboot, franchise, or mega-budget blockbuster.

Here’s my top 100 films of the decade:

1. Under the Skin
2. The Master
3. Holy Motors
4. Moonlight
5. The Square
6. You Were Never Really Here
7. Happy as Lazzaro
8. Boyhood
9. The Act of Killing
10. We Need to Talk About Kevin
11. First Reformed
12. Cold War
13. Margaret
14. Mommy
15. Whiplash
16. Minding the Gap
17. The Irishman
18. Duke of Burgundy
19. Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy
20. Blue Valentine
21. The Great Beauty
22. Kill List
23. Call Me by Your Name
24. Her
25. Get Out
26. Manchester by the Sea
27. Birdman
28. Mother!
29. Grand Budapest Hotel
30. Ex Machina
31. Before Midnight
32. 45 Years
33. Enter the Void
34. Frank
35. Phantom Thread
36. Hereditary
37. Anomalisa
38. Faces Places
39. Wolf of Wall Street
40. Inherent Vice
41. Stories We Tell
42. Tree of Life
43. Social Network
44. Inception
45. Thunder Road
46. One More Time with Feeling
47. Blue Ruin
48. Metro Manila
49. Shirkers
50. Good Time
51. Private Life
52. The Favourite
53. Midsommar
54. Carol
55. Inside Llewyn Davis
56. Arrival
57. The Handmaiden
58. Deadwood: The Movie
59. Destroyer 
60. Free Solo
61. Kate Plays Christine
62. Black Swan
63. The Witch
64. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
65. Nightcrawler
66. The Revenant
67. A Ghost Story
68. Green Room
69. A Bigger Splash
70. A Seperation
71. Nocturnal Animals
72. Paterson
73. Beasts of No Nation
74. Chiraq
75. Dogtooth
76. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
77. Blade Runner 2049
78. La La Land
79. Springs Breakers
80. Prisoners
81. Casting of JonBenet
82. Shutter Island
83. Four Lions
84. Midnight in Paris
85. Gone Girl
86. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
87. Skin I Live In
88. 20,000 Days on Earth
89. Shame
90. The Raid
91. Another Year
92. Sicario
93. Exit Through the Gift Shop
94. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
95. Inside Out
96. The Arbor
97. Logan
98. The Lobster
99. Lady Macbeth
100. Hell or High Water