What it says on the tin. I'm going to offer up two films (best and runner-up) for each year of the decade; if you prefer to do a top ten, or just a long list of films you'd recommend, you do you. List for ease of recollection.

2010:
Best - Toy Story 3
Runner-up - Scott Pilgrim vs the World

2011:
Best - The Guard
Runner-up - The Skin I Live In

2012:
Best - Cabin in the Woods
Runner-up - Avengers Assemble

2013:
Best - 12 Years a Slave
Runner-up - Gravity

2014:
Best - Calvary
Runner-up - Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

2015:
Best - Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up - Ex Machina

2016:
Best - Arrival
Runner-up - Kubo and the Two Strings

2017:
Best - The Shape of Water
Runner-up - Coco

2018:
Best - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Runner-up - The Death of Stalin

2019:
Best - Knives Out
Runner-up - Can You Ever Forgive Me?

My main thought, while reminding myself what had come out when, is that there are some huge gaps in my film viewing, even just from this decade - closely followed by the happy reminder that, as much as the wall-to-wall Disney content isn't the best state of affairs, people who claim cinema is dying out should probably just actually watch some films.

 

Year by year makes sense to me. I'll name a favorite of the year, and then others in no particular order. If a movie is on the list, I liked it and I recommend it.

Oh boy. They make a lot of movies.

2010:​

Top Pick: The King's Speech (if you don't know why, you haven't seen it)

Spoiler

• Inception (do I even have to explain this one?)
• Iron Man 2 (it's fun, leave me alone)
• Shutter Island (good mindfuck)
• Green Zone (of what I call "The Hurt Locker Genre"---late 2000s/early 2010s had a crop of these movies)
• Repo Men (decent dystopian flick, see it once if you're into that kind of thing)
• Kick-Ass (novelty)
• Deathly Hallows Part 1 (yeah, I don't mind the OG HP movies, faults and all)
• Letters to Juliet (I have a weakness for some romantic comedies, so sue me)
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (setting based on the games, plot from the screenwriter; as an adaptation, kinda meh, as a standalone fantasy flick, I like well enough)
• The A-Team (I know nothing about the original 80s showm but this was an entertaining action movie---as I understand, it's a poor homage to the show)
• Salt (see-it-once spy action spy flick)
• The Expendables (turn brain off, enjoy explosions---you don't watch Jason Statham movies for cerebral stimulation, that said, I found the sequels toobrainless)
• Easy A (it's funny and clever and Emma Stone is in it)
• Buried (Ryan Reynolds acted the shit out of this)
• Black Swan (for the psycho-thriller people
• Tron Legacy (just for the DaftPunk soundtrack and visuals---although yes, CGI Jeff Bridges looks fake as shit, technology wasn't there yet)

2011:​

Top Pick: Contagion (probably my favorite Soderbergh movie, the soundtrack is strange and cool)

Spoiler

• Deathly Hallows Part 2 (because HP)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (honestly one of the best sequels I've ever seen)
• Fast Five (yes it's silly as fuck, but it's the best kind of silly fun---Vin Diesel was clearly in auditions for the role of Groot when filming this because he only speaks in growls, The Rock is in his ultimate form, perpetually sweating and talking in one-liners, cars have 24 gears, it's glorious)
• Margin Call (it's the kind of underrated film which assumes its viewers are moderately intelligent, at least enough to be engaged by the film despite the lack of explosions)
• The Mechanic (Jason Statham is a mercenary, what more do you want; Ben Foster is a surprisingly solid action buddy for Jason)
• Limitless (because you too have fantasized about how you'd abuse a four-digit IQ)
• Lincoln Lawyer (Matthew McConaughey still before his most famous roles---compelling legal thriller)
• Source Code (solid, thought-provoking sci-fi action flick)
• X-Men First Class (the worse of the two good movies in the reboot series, but still a solid comic book movie)
• Captain America First Avenger (Not as good as Cap sequels, but good enough)
• Crazy Stupid Love (like I mentioned previously, I have a weakness for certain romantic comedies)
• Fright Night (Colin Farrell is a vampire, but not like the sparkly wimp-ass vampires Twilight inflicted on us, but a proper nightstalking, bloodthirsty, can't-cross-the-threshold-uninvited vampire)
• The Ides of March (political thriller with Ryan Gosling and George Clooney, I really like this one)
• Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (Tom Cruise is a whack for the Scientology shit but he's a goddamn unparalleled action star)
• Moneyball (baseball movie about math, wut? but it works)
• Johnny English Reborn (best cooking scene ever put to film)
• The Iron Lady (if for nothing else than appreciating Meryl's acting craft)
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (one of the most charming movies I've ever seen, and I don't often use that word to describe movies)
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Victorian James Bond directed Guy Ritchie)

2012:​

Top Pick: The Dark Knight Rises (Avengers came close, but alas, Bane was too good)

Spoiler

• Avengers (well duh---although the fucking weird non-cinematic aspect ratio can make it look, well, fucking weird)
• Skyfall (it's not Casino Royale but yeah alright)
• The Amazing Spider Man (tbh purely on the strength of the chemistry between leads)
• Hunger Games (novel concept, and before Jennifer Lawrence started to get on my nerves)
• 21 Jump Street (dumb and fun)
• Cabin in the Woods (kept surprising me)
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (tbh I don't remembur much about this one except that I enjoyed it)
• The Bourne Legacy (of the Bourne series after the trilogy, I find this to be the better one)
• Dredd (if it was made today, it would make a billion at the box office and there'd be sequels scheduled into the 2020s)
• End of Watch (intense stuff, I really appreciate the lead actors)
• Pitch Perfect (sequels sucked, but this one was fun)
• Flight (that opening sequence)
• Lincoln (I loved the shit out of the dragged out voting montage at the end)
• Zero Dark Thirty (another of the "The Hurt Locker Genre")
• The Impossible (the phone call scene---heartbreaking)

2013:​

Top Pick: Her (a romance movie with a curious premise and understated but engaging execution)

Spoiler

• Frozen (yes, I loved Let it Go)
• Fast and Furious 6 (at the time I couldn't believe they topped Fast Five and that they transformed the series from night time street racing into over the top, larger than life The Rock's bicep heists)
• Side Effects (I like Soderbergh)
• Olympus Has Fallen (I'll admit I've seen it more than once)
• Iron Man 3 (it grew on me)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (I like Khan and I don't care what you think, Benderbliss Cronklinbrat was great)
• The Purge (I've only seen this one and I liked the premise)
• The Bling Ring (I watched it because of Emma Watson)
• White House Down (apparently most people preferred this over Olympus Has Fallen, I thought it was a fun see-it-once action flick)
• Pacific Rim (GIANT ROBOTS! GIANT MONSTERS! GIANT ROBOTS PUNCHING GIANT MONSTERS!)
• Elysium (I watched this one because of Matt Damon, liked it)
• The Butler (it was Oscar bait and I was baited)
• About Time (one of those romantic comedies I like)
• Prisoners (good crime thriller)
• Rush (Daniel Bruhl makes this film)
• Captain Phillips
• Hunger Games Catching Fire (when those movies were still about the Hunger Games)
• The Wolf of Wall Street (a modern classic)

2014​

Top Pick: Interstellar (this one hits me every time, it's epic, visually stunning and it wouldn't be nearly as good without the soundtrack, Hans Zimmer did incredible work)

Spoiler

• GOTG (We are all Groot)
• Days of Future Past (the better of the two good reboot series movies)
• Winter Soldier (one of favorite Marvel movies---Captain America was phenomenally cast, just like Iron Man)
• Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (put away the pitchforks please; it's a well potu together spy action flick and I like it for what it is)
• Whiplash (yeah yeah Miles Teller is a talented young actor, but if you've seen it you know this film is all about JK Simmons)
• The Signal (one of those strange, low-budget indy sci-fi things that appear every once in a while; this one didn't make waves)
• The Lego Movie (I'm not so hot on the sequels of the franchise, but the OG took me back to the childhood days when Minecraft wasn't on computers yet and I didn't have unlimited pieces)
• Predestination (one of the best sci-fi mind-twisters ever, clever as fuck)
• It Follows (I don't usually watch horror movies because well, they scare me; I also think watching a horror movie with company, in daylight, is a copout, so when I recommend one, take it to mean it terrified me)
• Edge of Tomorrow (great standalone action film, probably my second favorite film of the year; once again, Tom Cruise knows how make a movie)
• Snowpiercer (if Captain America lived aboard a dystopian train)
• Nightcrawler (Jake Gyllenhaal plays a good creep)
• The Equalizer
• The Maze Runner (apparently with these YA adaptations the first one is enjoyable and sequels just fuck the whole thing into the ground)
  
• Gone Girl (watched it just because it was directed by Fincher, wasn't disappointed)
• Fury
• Unbroken
• Kingsman: The Secret Service
• Selma

ugh, I'm ending the mini reviews for every single movie here, I'll only write something if something is really worth saying

2015:​

Top Pick: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (it's rare when a 5th film in the franchise ends up being the best one, but you know Tom Cruise would be one to do it)

Spoiler

• Star Wars TFA (kind of riding the line with this one---basically a ANH remake, Rey is fucking stupid and all that jazz, but I enjoyed the good more than I disliked the bad)
• Avengers: Age of Ultron (I have no idea why it's unfavorably compared to Avengers 2012---Ultron is the better looking, better shot movie of the two and I find Ultron to be a more interesting villain than Loki. Loki is a great character don't get me wrong, but as a rogue antihero companion, not as a villain)
• Inside Out
• The Martian
• The Intern (a charming, feel-good, family movie)
• Project Almanac
• Furious 7
• Woman in Gold
• Age of Adaline
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Sicario
• Southpaw
• Everest
• Ant-Man
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Straight Outta Compton
• Spotlight
• Steve Jobs (I loved the format of this, very unusual for a biopic, and Sorkin's dialogue is great)
• Bridge of Spies
• Burnt (Masterchef is one of my guilty pleasures, so I knew I was gonna like this one the moment I saw the trailer)
• Creed (I don't usually watch sports movies, but I loved this one, bought into the underdog story all the way)
• The Big Short
• The Witch

2016​

Top Pick: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the best of the Potterverse movies, I cannot believe how much JK fucked up the sequel)

Spoiler

• Captain America: Civil War
• Rogue One
• Zootopia
• Deadpool
• London Has Fallen
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
• Hardcore Henry
• Money Monster
• The Nice Guys (I had no idea Russell Crowe had in it him to be funny)
• Imperium (Harry Potter and the Final Solution)
• War Dogs
• Sully
• Doctor Strange
• The Accountant (autistic hitman accountat-for-hire? but it works)
• Arrival
• Moana
• The Edge of Seventeen
• Miss Sloane (not the easiest movie to get into imo, but if you let it get going, it gets interesting)
• Hidden Figures (always assume these "based on a true story" are exaggerated, so it's not a documentary, but I enjoyed it)
• The Founder
• Raw

2017​

Top Pick: none (there are still some films I haven't gotten around to watching, so I might be missing out, but of the ones I've seen, I just don't feel strongly enough about any single one of them to say that X stands head and shoulders above the other 2017 movies I enjoyed)

Spoiler

• Fate of the Furious (these movies keep getting more ridiculous but the people who make them know not to take them seriously, it's just good over-the-top fun)
• Spider-Man Homecoming
• Thor Ragnarok
• Split (apparently it was a script from the time before the Shyamalamalama became a shit filmmaker)
• A Dog's Purpose
• Logan (I suppose it's technically part of the reboot series, but it's so far removed from other X-Men movies that I just put in its own series with Jackman's other solo Wolverine movies---needless to say, it's miles better than either Wolverine 2009 or 2013)
• Life
• Gifted (Mckenna Grace is gonna be a huge Hollywood star in a decade, or at least I hope so because the kid is so good it's criminal)
• Atomic Blonde
• Wind River
• The Hitman's Bodyguard (the fight that moves from a kitchen to a hardware store is one of the funniest and most captivating action scenes I've seen in recent years)
• It (I saw it and it fucking scared me so job well done)
• Molly's Game
• American Assassin
• Happy Death Day
• Coco
• Novitiate

2018​

Top Pick: Infinity War (Mission Impossible: Fallout came close, but ultimately, IW is the one I kept going back to because it's just so good---truly the most ambitious x-over in history at the time)

Spoiler

• Mission Impossible: Fallout (not as good as Rogue Nation, but still a marvelous action film)
• Aquaman (stands out all the more because the rest of the DCEU is so disappointing)
• Bohemian Rhapsody (it plays on all the cheap tropes of musician biopics, but I couldn't help but be entirely taken in---that Live Aid sequence, holy mother)
• Upgrade
• The Meg (it's not on this list because it's so nuanced and thought-provoking
• Black Kkklansman
• A Simple Favor
• First Man
• Creed II
• Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
• Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (talk about a mindfuck)

I'm not doing 2019 because there are still quite a few movies I haven't seen that I want to, but if I had to name a few now, it would be the usual suspects: Avengers: Endgame, Joker, Spider-Man: Far From Home.

 

I just sat, staring at the screen for five minutes trying to think of a movie I enjoyed more than Spiderverse this decade...

If there is one, I can't remember it. So that's mine.

 

2010: Inception
2011: Moneyball
2012: Dredd
2013: Django Unchained
2014: Days of Future Past
2015: The Martian
2016: Arrival
2017: Logan
2018: Vice
2019: Avengers: Endgame

Days of Future Past probably tops this list for me, with Inception and Django not far behind.

For the Near Misses category:

Black Swan was close for 2010. Avengers was close in 2011. Ditto The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, Man of Steel in 2013, Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, Straight Outta Compton in 2015, Civil War in 2016. The Last Jedi in 2017, Infinity War in 2018, and Ford vs Ferrari for 2019.

Yeah, I loved Man of Steel and TLJ.

This post had edits after and during and even before.

 

Arrival is a very good shout. Such a smart, yet restrained sci-fi movie.

 

One film released in the last ten years overtakes all others. It was released in 22 parts.

 

Its strange for me how some years are such obvious choices while others have nothing that really stands out. Nevertheless, here are the winners for me:

2010:
W: Inception, with Toy Story 3 a close second.

2011:
W: Captain America: The First Avenger

2012:
W: Tie between Avengers (duh) and Skyfall

2013:
W: Lincoln, Wolf of Wall Street is memorable for me, and will likely be remembered more than many other films, but its not so much entertaining as interesting (like a high-speed car crash you can't look away from).

2014:
W: Tie between Captain America: Winter Soldier and John Wick, Guardians deserves special mention for the comedy as well.

2015:
W: The Martian

2016:
W: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

2017:
W: Logan or Dunkirk, nothing really stands out much to me this year actually.

2018:
W: Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

2019:
W: Either Avengers: Engame, Knives Out or Shazam, though there is still a month left I suppose.

 

seeing a lot of the same major motion pictures (which is not unsuprising considering most people don't watch more than about 20 movies from each year, but disappointing). Here's my list

2010
FAV: The Social Network - classic, really influential
HM: True Grit
2011
FAV: Drive - a vibe
HM: Tree of Life
2012
FAV: Cloud Atlas - a vibe
HM: The Master, Anna Karenina
2013
FAV: The Wind Rises
HM: Snowpiercer, Prisoners, Only God Forgives, The Place Beyond the Pines
2014
FAV: Interstellar - deeply flawed, but guilty pleasure
HM: Under the Skin, What We Do in the Shadows, Enemy, Boyhood, Whiplash
2015
FAV: Sicario / Mad Max
HM: Tangerine
2016
FAV: Hell or High Water / Silence
HM: Kubo, American Honey, Moonlight, Paterson, Arrival, The Neon Demon, Train to Busan
2017
FAV: Good Time - a vibe
HM: Lost City of Z, Phantom Thread, All These Sleepless Nights
2018
FAV: Spider-verse
HM: First Reformed, Burning, The Rider, The Favourite,
2019
FAV: Ad Astra - a vibe
HM: Uncut Gems, Irishman, OPATIH, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Little Women

Favorite 20 of the Decade

1. Silence
2. Hell or High Water
3. Sicario
   
4. Drive
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
   
6. Ad Astra
7. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
8. Little Women
9. The Wind Rises
   
10. Good Time
11. Phantom Thread
    
12. Uncut Gems
13. Under the Skin
14. The Master
15. True Grit
    
16. The Irishman
17. Kubo
18. Interstellar
    
19. The Social Network
20. Cloud Atlas