Prepping for My Top 20 Films of the 2010s

By Tanner Smith

Well, it’s getting close to that time–the time when I count down my top 20 favorite films of the decade.

When I started this series of “Looking Back at 2010s Films,” I did not anticipate the many, many, MANY movies I would be “looking back” on. And I think I’m only halfway done covering the 2010s films I really like (or really hate–I only wrote three negative posts in this series). But I figure, I should get started with my #20 choice real soon, despite not writing about “enough” 2010s films that aren’t on the list. So, if I feel the need to write about another film from the decade, I’ll do it (even if it’s during 2020). I’m just saying…the time is come.

BUT FIRST…here are the closest things I have to “honorable mentions” (separated via category):

Great for the Whole Family–“Toy Story 3,” “Paddington 2,” “Coco,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Kung Fu Panda 3,” “A Monster Calls,” “Frozen,” “Tangled,” “ParaNorman,” “The Lego Movie,” “Big Hero 6”

“Based on a True Story” (as far as YOU know)—“127 Hours,” “The End of the Tour,” “The Stanford Prison Experiment,” “The Disaster Artist,” “Argo,” “Love & Mercy,” “Boy Erased,” “I, Tonya,” “Dolemite is My Name,” “The Wind Rises,” “First Man,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Impossible,” “Molly’s Game,” “The Tale,” “First They Killed My Father,” “Loving,” “Southside With You,” “Bernie,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “Bridge of Spies”

New Life into the Franchise—“Logan,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Black Panther,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Creed,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Skyfall,” “Mission: Impossible–Fallout,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” “The Muppets”

True Lives of Interesting People—“Three Identical Strangers,” “Stories We Tell,” “Big Sonia,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rich Hill,” “Man Shot Dead,” “West of Memphis,” “Love, Antosha,” “Amy,” “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind,” “Free Solo”

Listen to Them!–“When We Walk,” “The Hate U Give,” “Blindspotting,” “If Beale Street Could Talk”

“True Grit” (Gritty, Compelling Dramas/Thrillers)—“True Grit,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Prisoners,” “First Reformed,” “Mud,” “Leave No Trace,” “Room,” “Joker,” “Cop Car,” “Buried,” “Drive,” “Lean on Pete,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Wildlife,” “Blue Ruin,” “Two Step,” “Come Morning,” “Gone Girl”

“Dramedy”—“50/50,” “Short Term 12,” “The Way, Way Back,” “The Big Sick,” “20th Century Women,” “The Descendants,” “The Farewell,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” “Mistress America,” “Private Life,” “Columbus,” “Chef,” “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” “Bridesmaids,” “The Meyerowitz Stories,” “The Kids are All Right,” “Don’t Think Twice,” “Don Jon”

Screen of Terror—“Let Me In,” “It,” “Doctor Sleep,” “Hush,” “Attack the Block,” “Us,” “The VVitch,” “Split,” “The Babadook,” “Green Room,” “Lights Out,” “Hereditary,” “The Gift,” “Gerald’s Game,” “It Follows,” “The Invitation,” “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” “10 Cloverfield Lane,” “Super Dark Times”

Just Flat-Out Fun/Funny—“The World’s End,” “Deadpool,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Shazam!,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “22 Jump Street,” “Turbo Kid,” “This is the End”

Coming-of-Age High School Dramedy—“The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” “Eighth Grade,” “Booksmart,” “The Edge of Seventeen,” “mid90s,” “Love, Simon”

Celebration of Creativity!—“Sing Street,” “Operation Avalanche,” “A Star is Born,” “Birdman,” “Brigsby Bear”

Magical Realism—“Life of Pi,” “Safety Not Guaranteed,” “The One I Love”

And the Rest—“The Artist,” “Roma,” “Arrival,” “Her,” “Inception,” “La La Land,” “Chronicle,” “The Master,” “Flight,” “Dunkirk,” “Searching,” “Moonlight,” “Last Flag Flying,” “Gifted,” “Call Me By Your Name”

MAN, I hope I didn’t miss anything…but I fear I did. (I can’t help it–I love movies so much!)

And don’t expect me to even touch upon all the short films I reviewed for this blog–because, chances are I’ve missed a lot of great ones in the past few years since I regularly reviewed a whole bunch of them. BUT…is there a better one than Mark Thiedeman’s “Sacred Hearts, Holy Souls”? If there is, I haven’t seen it. (But I may make a special post for that one, if it’s not in the decade-end top-20.)

See you guys in the #20 post!