Top 25 of the Decade

This was quite the endeavor. End of year lists are tough enough and I almost always end up regretting one inclusion or omission within days of finalizing a list like that. But a decade? That’s a lot of movies. I started working on my list in November. I went through my end of year lists from each year in the decade and grouped any movie I really liked into genres; action, superhero, romcom, sports, etc. I ranked within those genres, came up with top 15-20 lists in each genre, and started cutting and sorting from there. This process kept me up at night, y’all. There are a lot of movies I love that couldn’t even be in consideration for a spot in my top 100 because of the plethora of choices I had at my disposal. But I persevered and I came up with a final top 50 and then agonized over how to rank those 50 films.

Next week, we will be dropping our 600th episode. For the occasion, we each picked our ten favorite films of the decade. In preparation for that, here’s the list of beloved movies that fell just short of that top ten status for me. Listen to our next episode to hear my top ten as well as Kent and Richard’s lists.

A note: The key term here is “favorite.” Not “best” and not “top” but “favorite.” I value rewatchability and fun and the movies I revisit the most in my non-podcast movie watching typically lean more toward action and comedy than anything else.

25. 21 Jump Street (2012)
In every single way, this should not have worked. 21 Jump Street should have been one of those cautionary tale-type movies that everyone points to for years afterward and says, “This is a bad idea. Remember 21 Jump Street?” And instead, it is one of the funniest movies of the decade and immensely rewatchable. It also recast Channing Tatum in my eyes, and I think paved the way for his much-rangier-than-expected decade. The sequel has the funniest moment of either of these movies (when Jenko connects the dots in Captain Dickson’s office) but as a whole, this movie is the best of the two.

24. How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy (2010, 2014, 2019)
Animated movies have prominent places in my top ten, but this will have to serve as the only representative of the medium in this section of my list. I loved the first film, with its unique animation and heartfelt moral center, before I had a child and his love for the series as it’s gone on has only furthered my own appreciation. The series has several Pixar-level emotional pulls and the conclusion of the series is spot on. Gerard Butler’s voice work in the first two movies makes up for four, maybe five of his terrible movies this decade so he’s only, like, eight or nine movies in the hole right now. (Please stop, Gerard. 

23. Little Women (2019)
Here I go on my Little Women soapbox once again. I’ve talked about this movie ad nauseum both in print and on the air over the last month but I’m still swooning over Greta’s perfect work here. The entire cast is magnificent and the re-structure of the story to add a bit of modernity to the timeless nature of the story is a stroke of genius. Gonna go ahead and change my Twitter handle to @LittleWomenBrian at this point, I guess.  

22. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Just a notch ahead of Little Women on my “favorites” list despite their ranks being flipflopped on my top ten of 2019 list, rewatchability is the big key here. I walked out of Ford v Ferrari, a movie that is immensely better than it needed to be and which features some of the best direction of the decade in addition to the cast, and my first thought was, “I am going to watch that sooooooo many times in the future.” So shall it be written, so shall it be done.  

21. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
I love Wes Anderson. Whoa, I know, hot take alert! We only three movies from Anderson this decade (after four last decade, stop slacking, Mr. Anderson!!!) and they were all bangers but this, for me, is his masterpiece (at least so far). It has all the elements I want and expect from an Anderson movie but with Ralph Fiennes at the helm. Watching Fiennes, one of the greatest dramatic actors of his generation, delivering Anderson’s quirky, weird dialogue PERFECTLY is one of the most satisfying experiences in film history for me. On paper, he seems like such an odd fit but in execution, it’s delightful. Saoirse Ronan is also a great fit in the Andersonverse and I hope she is a part of the troupe forevermore.  

20. Knives Out (2019)
My favorite movie (again, not necessarily BEST, but favorite) from a packed year in cinema, Knives Out is the kind of movie we don’t get nearly enough: mid-budget movies made for adults that are FUN. I love blockbusters and I love awards-y dramas that make me cry but sometimes I just want to have a good time at the movies without explosions and Iron Men suits and aliens and stuff. The cast is great, and the pairing of Daniel Craig Having Fun with Ana de Armas is excellent. I’m a big fan of Rian Johnson and I think he has even better movies ahead of him but if at the end of his career, Knives Out is his best work, that will be quite an achievement.

19. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
For as much as I love the Coen Brothers (Fargo is a masterpiece and I think No Country for Old Men is the best movie of the previous decade), I don’t rewatch a lot of their work. It takes a certain mood for me to appropriately appreciate a Coen movie and I’m not often in that place after the first viewing. But I LOVE Inside Llewyn Davis. It feels like it was written specifically for me and that observation might bear weight given that I was literally the only one laughing in my theater during my first viewing. Oscar Isaac is so at home in this world; he jives seamlessly with the Coen tone and aesthetic. And the music... Oh, that music. This is by far my favorite soundtrack of the decade and the record makes frequent appearances on my turntable.

18. Crazy Stupid Love (2011)
The thing that I love the most about Crazy Stupid Love is how imperfect it is. The plot is sloppy in places, the dialogue isn’t always spot on, a few scenes run a little too long, etc. But because the story itself revolves around a bunch of imperfect humans trying their best to figure things out, I think those imperfections work. I think this movie would be a guilty pleasure-type, though, if it weren’t for the cast. Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon all bring their A-game to the movie and their roles. Carell and The Gos make up perhaps my favorite on-screen pair of the decade which is not a thing I would’ve thought possible going into this movie. Gosling taking off his ring to punch Bacon in the face is a perfect cap on an imperfect movie.

17. The Martian (2015)
This was one of my favorite books of the decade and the adaptation was vintage Ridley Scott. (By vintage, I mean he was actually awake on set.) The Martian is one of the better blends of comedy and intensity you will see in film and the cuts back and forth between Mark Watney on Mars, the crew of the Ares III, and NASA at him are really smooth and build out the story exquisitely. Also, I don’t know if you know this or not, but Matt Damon is a movie star and it is very fun to watch him do interesting things on screen.

16. The Way Way Back (2013)
I love blockbusters (see above and below) but there comes a point every summer at which I am crying out in the desert of explosions for something different, something smaller, something more human. 2013 provided that and more with The Way Way Back, a delightful little movie featuring an all-star cast and a feel-good premise that is much more actual feel-good and less emotional manipulation. I love the “father/mother figure takes misunderstood or neglected child under his/her wing” trope and this one nails it with Sam Rockwell delivering one of his very best performances. It’s funny and touching and much better written than it had any need to be and I love that combination.

15. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
There’s plenty of fun to be had in the previous Marvel movies but Guardians is, for me, the movie in which the MCU truly embraced the fun. It’s outlandish and galactic and makes less sense on paper than the more standard MCU movies but this is one of those movies that you remember seeing for the first time. It pops off the screen, with its colors and weird characters and perfect music cues. Sure, the villain is lacking (as per usual) but the strengths of the cast more than makes up for this shortcoming and prior to 2014, I did not have Rocket Raccoon in my life and now I do so I am eternally grateful.

14. Skyfall (2012)
I’m hit or miss on Bond (or perhaps Bond is hit or miss on me) but I thought Casino Royale was likely to be as good as Bond could possibly get. Then Skyfall vaulted Bond to all new heights. As I mentioned in Knives Out, when Daniel Craig is invested, he’s a sight to behold and here, he is supremely invested. Javier Bardem’s Silva is interesting, calculating, and creepy which makes him an actual adversary for Bond not just a goon to be pummeled between martinis. And then there’s Roger Deakins’ superlative-inducing cinematography. Skyfall is a GORGEOUS movie from start to finish and Deakins adds so much sophistication to the World of Bond that the movie ultimately transcends Bond.

13. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Whereas Bond has always been hit or miss, the M:I series has always been a favorite (excepting that weird turn in 2000 that no one needs to talk about or remember). Just like Bond, though, I thought the series had reached its peak with Ghost Protocol and then had my expectations blown away here. My affinity for Cruise, the hardest working movie star of all-time, is well-known but even by my incredibly high standards, he topped himself here. And who knew the addition of Henry Cavill would be so awesome?! The dude literally powered up his shirt cuffs! What a MOVE! The action sequences in Fallout are all-timers and I left the theater pumped up for whatever foolishness this series is going to bring to the table next time around.

12. Logan (2017)
I would peg Logan as the best superhero movie of the decade, a decade that was, after all, dominated by superhero movies. Wolverine is so interesting on screen but rarely built around properly and Logan felt like a final chance. In fact, I think I was worried going in that this would feel a bit desperate. Instead, the movie truly unlocked Wolverine for the first time, made him human, and allowed him to be who he was meant to be. Much was made of the R-rating and that’s certainly paved the way for one genre of superhero movies moving forward but it’s not the violence and language that made Logan great, it’s the mature story and the willingness to go dark in search of finding something hopeful. I love X-Men in pretty much every form but Logan is the only X-Men property that packed a true emotional punch.

11. Baby Driver (2017)
I love when a movie can be technically brilliant, supremely well-crafted, and compelling but also fun. Edgar Wright made that combination sing (sorry, sorry) in Baby Driver. The action is intense, the story adds unique elements to some well-worn tropes, and the cast is fun (minus Kevin Spacey who I am contractually obligated to mention as very not fun in every movie ever), particularly Jon Hamm who is so good at being sleazy that I’m a little concerned for his friends and family. It’s an explosive movie with a great soundtrack and poetic dialogue that flows beautifully as the story unfolds. Baby Driver could so easily fall victim to its own ambition and become a gimmicky but Wright steers (again, sorry) clear of all pitfalls and delivers an outrageously fun film.

The rest of my top 50:

26. Avengers Infinity War/Endgame 39. X-Men: Days of Future Past
27. Mud 40. Lady Bird
28. Black Panther 41. Coco
29. Get Him to the Greek 42. Warrior
30. Zero Dark Thirty 43. Moonrise Kingdom
31. The LEGO Movie 44. Looper
32. About Time 45. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
33. The Social Network 46. Dunkirk
34. Easy A 47. Super 8
35. Hell or High Water 48. La La Land
36. The Muppets 49. Deadpool
37. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol 50. Edge of Tomorrow
38. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Top Ten Favorite Performances of 2019

I’m going to confess to you right off the top, dear reader, that there is a whole lot of cheating going on in this list. One might even call it shenanigans. Whenever I make a list for either the podcast or the blog, I am always inclined to find ways to stretch the list a bit, dance around the edges, slide an extra movie in here or there because I love movies and I want to talk about as many of them as possible. Usually with a list like this, I might break the rules a time or two. This time I basically spat in the face of the rules and did what I wanted because, after all, this is my blog and I can do what I want. I don’t know exactly how many performances I crammed into this list of ten but suffice it to say it is a lot more than ten. So be it. 2019 was one of the best movie years in my time as a part-time critic and as such, when I sat down to make my list, there were far too many that demanded to be included and so many that felt tied to one another. So here are my ten to 30-ish favorite performances of 2019.

HONORABLE MENTION: Keanu Reeves, John Wick (John Wick 3) and Keanu Reeves (Always Be My Maybe)
It’s nice when an actor who is by all accounts a great person but is not, perhaps, the rangiest performer in the industry finds a thing and latches on to it the way Keanu has with John Wick. The third movie in this franchise is by far the MOST John Wick-y and thereby the MOST Keanu-y and it is a blast to watch him have a blast on screen. His turn as an exaggerated version of himself in Always Be My Maybe was also magnificent and gave us my favorite gif of the year and for that alone, Keanu bears mentioning.

Other close calls that deserved a mention: Awkwafina and Shuzhen Zhao (The Farewell), Daisy Ridley (Rise of Skywalker), Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems), Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart), Taron Egerton (Rocketman), and Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit).

10. Robert Downey, Jr., Tony Stark/Iron Man (Avengers Endgame)
Perhaps a bit of a Lifetime Achievement Award here, with Endgame representing the culmination of ten-year, 22-movie endeavor, it feels appropriate that the character that started it all got to have the hero moment of hero moments. RDJ has always been stellar in this role, even when the movies around him were a bit up and down, but this movie allowed him to do some real acting in addition to playing what is essentially a parody of himself. He’s the emotional core of the movie and provides stability for a huge cinematic endeavor brought to fruition in this, the biggest movie of all-time.  

9. Shia LeBeouf, Tyler (The Peanut Butter Falcon) and James Lort (Honey Boy)
I can’t say I always saw this revival coming but I always hoped LaBeouf would right his own ship in the midst of what felt like a decade of perpetual self-sabotage. He’s been doing interesting things in smaller movies for the last couple of years but with this pair of performances, it feels like he’s fully broken through and rediscovered himself as an actor. Both of these roles were challenging in different ways and he met them head-on, delivering complex portrayals of characters with harrowing pasts. His turn in Honey Boy drew the most critical attention but for me, it’s his work with Tyler that really resonates and with which he made the most interesting decisions. Here’s hoping the Shiaissance is real and lasts long-term.

8. Michael B. Jordan, Bryan Stevenson (Just Mercy)
MBJ is in the tier of actors whose name alone can get me in the theater. “Ah, Michael B. Jordan is in this movie, you say? I shall see you there. Bully!” (I don’t really say “bully”, but it felt like that sentence needed a “bully”.) Just Mercy is a beautiful, touching, and infuriating movie that I would see and trumpet regardless of the lead but MBJ is just so great in this role. He blends character actor traits with movie star charisma, quietly exhibiting all of the emotions someone should feel while handling the events of the film while also burning up the screen in that “I can’t stop watching this guy” way that only the greats can pull off.

7. Tom Hanks, Fred Rogers (Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
I can’t tell you, dear reader, how much I needed Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers in my life. There are so few times, even with movies I love, that I leave the theater feeling good; like, truly good. Hanks’ perfect embodiment of all the virtues that made Mr. Rogers who he was did just the trick for me. It would be easy to overlook the work Hanks put in here because he kind of is the Mr. Rogers of Hollywood. But when you see the movie, you see Hanks for about two minutes and then you see Mr. Rogers from then on. It’s a subtly great performance and gives me warm, fuzzy feelings.

6. Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Okay, time to start all the cheating. Because I am a garbage person and because we do not make movie stars with the frequency that we used to, I very much enjoy watching movie stars be movie stars along with other movie stars. That sounds like a very dumb, overly specific Netflix category but there we are. The intensity of DiCaprio is in direct contrast to Pitt’s easygoing charm and they both deliver those Tarantino lines flawlessly throughout. Hollywood is perhaps Tarantino’s most fun movie and boy, were these two having fun working with each other.

5. Lupita Nyong’o, Adelaide Wilson/Red (Us)
We’re past the point at which Nyong’o’s name should always come up when discussing the best actors and actresses in the industry. I did not personally need more proof of that prior to forcing myself to sit through Us but if I did, this would have been the clincher. The duality of her roles is extremely difficult to pull off, but the real brilliance is in her ability to show the similarities between her two characters. She’s excellent in both and with a lesser actor in her shoes, I’m not sure Us is nearly as effective or memorable as it is with her in the fold.

4. Song Kang Ho, Kim Ki-taek (Parasite)
I’m still in awe of Parasite and the incredible strength of the entire cast but it’s Mr. Song’s work that still stands out to me the most so many months after my first viewing. So much of the film’s emotional weight rests of Song and the transitions in tone, the blend of comedy and drama and beyond, take their onscreen cues from him. It’s like you’re not quite sure how to react until you see how Kim reacts. He has great gravitas on screen, and I expect to see his name come up frequently in the future.

3. Ana De Armas and Daniel Craig, Marta Cabrera and Benoit Blanc (Knives Out)
On with the cheating! Like Parasite, the entire cast of Knives Out (my favorite movie of the year) is outstanding but these two are the stand outs and while they’re both GREAT in their own, it’s their scenes together that truly propel Knives Out to its greatest heights. It’s a bit of an unlikely pair, as opposed to Leo and Brad in Hollywood and Damon and Bale in Ferrari, and that adds to their playful dynamic. It feels unknown and spontaneous. I was pumped to see Craig in a fun role, knowing that when he’s invested, he’s wonderful on screen, but De Armas took me by surprise and proved to be a breakout star.

2. Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles (Ford v Ferrari)
Let the cheating continue! When I set out to make this list, I knew both Damon and Bale had to find a place herein and ultimately, that’s what opened up the door for all the pairings. But seriously, I don’t know how you could watch Ford v Ferrari (a movie I will rewatch approximately 600 million times over the rest of my life) and pick one of these actors over the other. Like I said with Hollywood, I greatly enjoy watching movie stars work with other movie stars and the chemistry between these two is kinetic. Damon is always insanely likable and normal in the midst of great performances (he’s the closest we have to Hanks in this regard) and that’s on full display here. Bale, on the other hand, sometimes loses a bit of relatability in the name of ACTING (said in a deep, booming, stage voice) but here he’s both relatable and ACTING. It’s the combination of the two of them on screen that takes FvF from solid sports movie to exquisite dramedy.

1. Cast, Little Women
So much cheating, you guys. When the year began, if you would’ve told me that Little Women would be my top movie of the year and the entire cast would take the top spot here, I would have sued you for slander or libel depending on the form in which you made these claims. And yet, here we are. I’m in love with the way Greta Gerwig reworked this movie to give it both a modern and timeless feel and I’m possibly even more in love with the cast. Casting directors Kathy Driscoll and Francine Maisler should be in charge of casting every movie from here on out. At virtually every turn, they got the perfect actor for each role and at virtually every turn, those actors crushed their respective performances. Saoirse Ronan is a force! Laura Dern delivered her most relatable performance ever! Florence Pugh is a star! Eliza Scanlen is perfectly understated! Emma Watson is fine! And that’s not to mention the surrounding players like Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Bob Odenkirk, and beyond. It’s an exquisite group of actors giving exquisite, beautiful performances throughout and the way they click together with Gerwig’s script makes Little Women work perfectly.

Top Ten of the Decade Part IX

2020 brings with it the conclusion of the previous decade and the beginning of a new one. In celebration of this transition, I asked our contributors to put together lists of their respective top ten films from the previous decade (2009-2019). I left the definition of “top” to each individual in order to create more diversity in the lists; some of our writers used the term “best”, some used the term “favorite”, and some (like me) attempted to blend the two. We’ll be publishing these lists over the next two weeks and at the end of it all, Kent, Richard, and I will be releasing our own lists in podcast form. Enjoy today’s entry by Amy Carter and make sure you check out all of the lists over the coming days. -BG

This past decade spanned my mid-20s to my mid-30s. Now that I am 35, and have reached full self-actualization, my pop culture wisdom and insight is unimpeachable... But really, as I have gotten older, I have only grown to appreciate the subjective nature of art and really love hearing people explain what has spoken to them and moved them. Here are ten movies from the 2010s that spoke to me, moved me, entertained me, and that I love to rewatch. 

10.) Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
This movie really surprised me. I watched it at home and almost turned it off, thinking it was just another trite take on the douchey male misogynist. I’m so glad I finished it. The performances from all four leads are so much better than they need to be for a rom-com to work, and Gosling and Carell are so funny together. And the audience isn’t looking for a “twist” in a movie like this, so I didn’t see it coming and it worked so well for me. 

9.) Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
David O. Russell doesn’t always land for me, but he sure did with Silver Linings Playbook. Having lived in Philly for nine years, all the setting-based humor really worked for me. And to refer to the “chemistry” between the leads feels like the wrong word, but at least the dynamic that they established with each other was so fun to watch. Their extreme candor is at times unrealistic, but sometimes that’s why we go to the movies, to see things we can’t live in the everyday (and enjoy dialogue we don’t get to participate in). There are no weak performances here and I’ve revisited this one a bunch since 2012.

8.) Annihilation (2018)
I tried to leave this off my list because I am a little ashamed of it. I know this movie missed for a lot of people. But my husband saw my list and was like, where the heck is Annihilation? So here we are. I’ve watched this many times. Sometimes I watch the last 20 minutes when I want to feel something. To call this an adaptation of a novel is a bit silly given how much liberty writer/director Alex Garland took with the source material, but I am here for all the changes. The merge of genres (adventure, horror, sci-fi) I find very fun and I love showing this movie to people who missed it (which is pretty much everyone). 

7.) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
I feel like it’s gotten less cool to love this movie since its release, but I can’t help it, I love this movie. Are there relevant talking points about Sam Rockwell’s character-arc? Yes. But the creativity of the dialogue in this screenplay, coupled with the performances bringing it to life, really make this heartbreaker of a movie immensely rewatchable for me. The best scene (objectively) comes when the feud between Frances McDormand’s character and Woody Harrelson’s character is coming to a head, and Harrelson accidentally coughs up blood on her face and her rough exterior melts into compassion for him. The theme of rivals meeting in moments of shared humanity is all over this movie, and I love it. 

6.) Inside Out (2015)
Sometimes you go to a movie and really enjoy yourself and think, “those two hours were great, what’s next?” Sometimes you go to a movie and leave with a fundamentally clearer understanding of yourself. And sometimes that movie is an animated movie. Pixar (usually) takes their time with their screenplays, and they super did with Inside Out. It’s really complicated to put the human mind into visuals that kids understand, but they did, and they nailed it. So creative, so clever, so contemplative. And then, if the rock-solid premise wasn’t enough for you, they deliver a message for the ages: sadness and hardship have meaning and shape us and it’s okay. I’m glad I don’t have to parent in a world pre-Inside Out and only wish I had gotten to see it when I was a kid.

5.) Inception (2010)
There’s a sense that I am putting this in here to honor Interstellar and Dunkirk as well, but this is definitely my favorite of the three. Nolan is doing some of the most creative writing out there right now, and I only wish we could have more of him (but am willing to wait to allow his work to simmer). The risk with Inception is super heavy exposition as you teach your audience the rules of your world, but even on rewatches, it never feels forced or awkward, but rather inventive and compelling. The audience becomes so engrossed in the story that we’re quick to make the leaps he asks us to take. And, like all his movies, this is a fun one to discuss (argue about) afterward. 

4.) The Way Way Back (2013)
I don’t remember how I ended up seeing this in the theater, but I am glad I did. I assume Carell was the draw for me, because, to my shame, this was my introduction to Sam Rockwell, and I instantly fell in love. Such a creatively-written character that manages to toe the line of maintaining both his cool factor and his relentless empathy—and played so brilliantly by Rockwell. We have some more of Nat Faxon’s writing/directing to look forward to with Downhill coming out this winter, so let’s hope it’s on par with the sweetness and awkward authenticity of The Way Way Back. And, FWIW, my family called this part of our station wagon “the backity back.” 

3.) The Social Network (2010)
This is not a hot take, I realize, as I don’t really know anyone who doesn’t love this movie. Sure, I grew up “loving” movies, but walking out of this movie was one of the first times I remember thinking “who picked all those words that they said?” And so began a love affair with Aaron Sorkin. That this didn’t win Best Picture in 2011 is tough; The King’s Speech is totally great and I really liked it, but I have seen it appear on virtually no one’s Best of the Decade lists. And The Social Network is on pretty much everyone’s. This is immensely rewatchable, if for no other reason than the aforementioned word choices; it’s so fun to watch these people talk to each other. And the creativity of the depositions as story-telling mechanisms makes all the exposition feel organic. Can’t get enough of this movie. 

2.) The Big Short (2015)
I felt like doing fist-pumps when I left the theater after seeing this. Who does fist-pumps? No one, but I was so amped up. The movie about the stock market crash? YES. I don’t care who you are, this is genius storytelling and filmmaking. For a story that is both so mundane and also so tragic to be that compelling to the audience takes the work of a champion. And our champ is Adam McKay. Talk about rewatchable, I bet I have seen this movie 15 times in four years. And each time I am a puppet in McKay’s hands, feeling precisely what he wants me to feel in each scene, especially when the audience realizes they have lost themselves in rooting for our protagonists’ inevitable profiting off the impending crash, only to be pulled back down to earth by Brad Pitt’s character when he tells us what the crash will mean for the citizens it affects (unemployment, illness, homelessness, deaths). What other movie has been so successfully informative, while maintaining a keen and nuanced self-awareness, while also so endlessly entertaining? Rhetorical. The Big Short takes the cake. 

1.) Arrival (2016)
I have seen this movie four times, and each time have left the experience with an odd combination of feeling more alive and more burdened. I love sci-fi regardless, whether it’s trying to “say something” or not. So, when a sci-fi movie succeeds in “saying something” that feels so particularly crafted for my ears, it’s going to skyrocket to the top of my best of the decade list. At the end of the day, Arrival says one thing to its audience, answering the question every parent (and, for that matter, anyone who has ever loved someone) asks themselves at some point: if I lose them, will I wish I had never had them? Will the grief be too crushing? And (spoiler?) the answer is no. I remember feeling actual relief leaving the theater thinking, “Well good. Now I know.” And you obviously can’t just say that to your audience; you have to earn it. And Arrival does earn it, as it situates its message at the end of a super-compelling and thoughtful story (about aliens with seven legs). Can I watch this every day? No. Do I think about it a lot? Yep.