With the new decade underway and the Oscars® today, it seems like a good time to look back at my favourite films from the last decade.

I’ve judged it on the UK theatrical release date, before anyone asks.

*Potential spoilers below*

2010 – The Social Network

What a great way to start the decade. On its release I called it the definitive 21st century film. The writing, acting, editing, cinematography and everything just fit so well into the Web 2.0 world. Everything about it was, dare I say, slick. The narrative was electric and the dialogue as snappy as the internet itself. The opening scene widely regarded as masterclass dialogue writing, that’s not even including the directing, acting, editing and cinematography which make it one of the greatest sequences of all time. The film helped launch the careers of many young adult actors like Andrew Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara, to name a few, all receiving Oscar® nominations before the decade was out. It also helped Justin Timberlake be taken seriously for his acting, well, until Trolls.
In 2020 the film still holds out, as a wonderful piece of filmmaking but it certainly feels odd that it tries to make you feel pity for Mark Zuckerberg as his company is embroiled in scandal after scandal in the coming years. The most timeless aspect of the film is its music. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross helped create this wonderful yet nerving score, that blurs from electronic to almost classical, an unnerving score seemingly years ahead of itself.
All feelings towards Mark and Facebook aside, the world is at least better for having a film like The Social Network in it.

2011 – Drive

I first came across this film seeing it rise through the ranks on icheckmovies.com, having heard nothing about it before, not seeing a trailer or any hint of press. It wasn’t until its home release that  I finally saw it, and it changed everything.
The film has a level of coolness, I could never compete with. The opening is one of my favourite pieces of cinema, minimal dialogue, an addictive building score throughout, beautiful colours and camerawork. It’s so tense, yet so simple and executed beautifully. Then the title sequence to Kavinsky’s Nightcall is just perfection. The film’s latter use of A Real Hero and Under Your Spell are the icing on a very stylish cake.
The aesthetic of neon, almost 80’s nostalgia with a flair of 50’s and 60’s fashion is the film’s most talked about point and for good reason. The film looks like it could have been made 40 years ago, but only works in the 21st century. The violent turn in the second half of the film is brutal, barbaric and arguably unnecessary, but I love it. Yes, the plot is wafer thin, there’s no character development, but sometimes style over substance prevails. I put this down as one of the most inspiring works of cinema I’ve ever seen.

2012 – Skyfall

I’ve always been a Bond fan. I can quite happily watch any Bond film. I was always going to watch Skyfall, but I couldn’t have expected how good it actually was. Bond films are always bad- to-fine, they’re not supposed to be this good.
Towards the end of the 2000’s there was talk of whether we needed Bond anymore, and where he would fit in a world after The Bourne Ultimatum took its crown and reeling from what Quantum of Solace had done to all the hard work Casino Royale rebuilt. Then Sam Mendes came along, brought back Q and Moneypenny and with a slightly complex villain they made a statement as to who Bond could be in the 21st century. It felt grounded, more intimate and more human and respects the tradition of Bond, without pandering to fan service. The film gives a previously wasted Judi Dench some work that isn’t just sitting at a desk.
Above all that though, absent from Bond, it’s a fantastic film on its own merit. From the work of Roger Deakins to its editing, sound and production design. It’s a filmmaking competence we’ve not seen in a Bond film before and aren’t likely to see again. Adele then hits us with one of the best Bond theme’s we’ve ever heard, a song that’s again seemingly too good for Bond.
The audiences loved the film, they just kept going to see it, earning an unprecedented amount for a Bond film at one point being the highest grossing film of all time in the UK. Maybe it’s the mediocracy we expect from a Bond film that when we get a good one it feels extra special and with the disappointment of Spectre it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted.

Special Shout Out – The Muppets

Another film that reinvented its own wheel in 2012 was The Muppets. Whilst I was not overly familiar with previous films (but familiar with characters) the soundtrack became the anthem of me and my friends year. I have many a fond memory when thinking of this film, that it couldn’t go unmentioned. Shame the Ricky Gervais sequel was shit.

2013 – Gravity

This may be through rose-tinted-glasses as it was my first experience of IMAX and seeing it after I collected my second edit with Slick Showreels (not really connected, but a handy coincidence). I’m also a sucker for space, I love it (see 2014 and very nearly 2018.) I had never seen anything like it before. This film is cinematic in every sense, the music, the cast, the direction, the cinematography, the special effects, everything.
At barely 90 minutes long it doesn’t outstay its welcome, it comes to tell a simple story and leave. What happened to all the good 90 minute films? But even with it being so short, there’s beautiful moments of peace where the film lets us enjoy the visuals, or adds some perspective and purpose to Sandra Bullock’s character, reflecting the films messages on loneliness and loss.
George Clooney gets to play his ever charming self and Sandra Bullock adds the real emotion to the film, the balance the two strike is perfect. It’s an absolute technical masterpiece.
Seeing this film in IMAX, is an experience I hope many had, or are able to get one day. Everything including the 3D felt like it made an impact in just adding to the spectacle. I’ve seen it several times since, always enjoyable, but never comes to the breathtaking first.
Oh and we also had the pleasure of editing the films Choreographer’s showreel, the amazing Francesca Jaynes. 

2014 – Interstellar

Back before Inception was released and it was revealed Christopher Nolan was directing a sci-fi film I immediately envisioned some high concept space movie.
Inception, whilst phenomenal wasn’t that. I finally got my wish with Interstellar, a film I remember following for a while and believe Spielberg was once attached to. I enjoyed every second of this film, from the would building first act to the really weird stuff towards the end. It was exactly the film I was after back in 2009.
Interstellar plays somewhat safe throughout most of it, but when the film flips and goes full Kubrickian with the extra dimensions, and the aliens that weren’t actually aliens, was when it cemented itself as a true favourite.
Nolan again gets a huge and highly capable Marvel level cast, even managing to keep Matt Damon’s appearance relatively unknown until release. TARS is the real star though. Hans Zimmer delivers what is also my favourite score of his, the borderline religious sounding organ, juxtaposes the film’s scientific nature and fits so well for this near apocalypse world. The last time I watched it was on 4k blu-ray with some Dolby Atmos headphones and it was breathtaking. The most intense experience since seeing it on the big screen.

2015 – Mad Max: Fury Road

This year and the next were tough to find a film I truly loved. I had Ex Machina on the list for so long but having rewatched Mad Max recently I forgot how fun it was. I saw it twice in cinemas, once on its initial release and again for the Black and Chrome edition.
It’s a film that almost had no right to be that brilliant and one I hardly expected to be much cop. It takes everything good for the first two and takes out everything bad (Mel Gibson) and gives us a truly Guzzolene filled experience. Let’s also not forget this film won 6 Oscars®, mostly for technical awards, but still 6!
The most remarkable thing about the film is that it actually got made. George Miller had seemingly all but retired and had trouble getting the film off the ground, abandoning it at least once.
Additionally although there’s a lot of CGI, the amount of practical effects they were able to do is almost unheard of these days, supposedly 80% was practical. Tom Hardy is a fine replacement of Gibson’s Max, but it’s Charlize Theron’s Furiosa who’s the true star and really the protagonist, the literal driving force of the film. Fingers crossed the rumoured sequel comes to fruition.

2016 – Arrival

Another year I struggled to find a favourite, having had The Revenant, The Big Short and I, Daniel Blake on here at various points. To me 2016 had lots of really good films, but none that truly resonated with me. After watching Prisoners last year I nearly put that down for 2013, but that got me thinking of Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 masterpiece.
I’ve still only seen it the once, but it’s a film I now can’t stop thinking about. It’s very smart, doesn’t take the audience for granted.
The film wants us to think. It keeps us guessing and questioning, especially the way Arrival plays with different timelines, through flashbacks that were actually flash forwards. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner bounce beautifully off one another, reminding me of  the dynamic Josie Foster and Matthew  McConaughey in 1997’s Contact. Anything that reminds me of Contact, is a win.
Like every sci-fi film it does a great job of telling us something about the world today and reminding us we’re all on the same planet and cooperating is better than competing. Beyond that though, it’s great on a human level, especially in the way it portrays loss and given the twist, it makes the loss more tragic. One thing is certain, I need to watch this film again.

2017 – La La Land

What. A. Film.
I think anyone who followed our social media accounts saw (got fed up with) how much I love that film. It might be hyperbole but I believe La La Land changed my life. I knew so little about the film going into it, other than it was by the guy who made Whiplash (didn’t know his name at the time), it was somewhat connected to music, it had good reviews and Emma Watson was once attached before she left for Beauty and the Beast.

From the first few bars of Another Day Of Sun I was hooked, utterly hooked. I genuinely didn’t think I could like a film so much. The day I saw it a friend and I were seeing 3 films, this was the first during a pensioner screening at 11am. I was very tempted to skip this as it was early and more interested in catching Assassin’s Creed; I know. How differently my life would have been. I still listen to the soundtrack weekly, and contemplated taking piano lessons. Is it perfect? Obviously not. Does it forget it’s a musical for a large portion of the film? Yes. Is it another tale of the white man coming to save jazz? Yes. Does any of that matter to me? No! It’s a film I believe I needed to see when I saw it. Let’s not talk about the Oscars® for now though…

2018 – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

2018 was a great year, so many good films from The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Roma and BlacKkKlansman, but for me there was only ever going to be one favourite.

Three Billboards was a film I had high hopes for, having heard the reactions from the London Film Festival the year before and watching a trailer, I knew it was a film I had to see. I also knew, before evening seeing it, this film was going to be my favourite from the year. First Man comes a very very close second.
It’s a film that is brutally funny throughout most of it, but then brutally honest and emotional in others. Frances McDormand’s range is impeccable. Her supporting cast of Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson and the entire ensemble really, just work perfectly off each other, you can tell they’re enjoying the work, and the material.
Whereas last year it was a film I needed to see, this was the film I wanted to see. The perfect ‘Dramedy’, capable of hitting the highs with the comedy, and bringing down when it needed. Finding the ways it influenced people to help deal with their injustice in their lives was always an inspiring read. It’s crazy to think Martin McDonagh has only directed 3 films in the last 13 years.

2019 – Knives Out

To be honest, I’ve not seen a great deal of films from 2019. I would really love to have put The Rise of Skywalker here, but that’s impossible. So this is a reaction to that? Maybe, but Knives Out though, was a thorough delight. Truly a delight. Not usually a fan of whodunnit’s but as a huge fan of Rian Johnson. With Brick dictating a series of films I watched in my teens, I was always going to watch it. I find it very easy to zone out, not over analyse a film and just enjoy watching for what it is. Doing so allowed me to enjoy the ride and enjoy every twist and turn the narrative took.

My love for the film boils down to 2 main components, the writing and Daniel Craig. Craig is obviously the highlight of the film, he’s having so much fun in this movie, to be fair probably everyone is. At this point Daniel Craig seems to be trying to shed his Bond image, from the ‘introducing’ role in Lucky Logan to the awful (brilliant) southern US accent he does for this. It also shows when given material he cares about how well he can perform. With a sequel supposedly just green lit, here’s hoping we see Benoit Blanc again, with my dream for him to have a different ridiculously absurd accent. Doing some late night proofreading whilst listening to the Rocketman soundtrack, thinking if I’ve made the correct decision for 2019…

There it is, a round up of my favourite films from 2010 – 2019. It’s nonsensical and lacking nuance, but it’s fun.

Author – Dan O’Dwyer

SlickShowreels.co.uk