12 Great 10/10 Movies from the Past 10 Years
I can be pretty picky when it comes to films and TV shows. In fact, despite rating every movie I’ve seen over the past ten years, I’ve only rated a dozen movies a perfect 10/10.
This 10/10 rating is completely subjective to me, as it doesn’t mean these are necessarily “the best” movies I’ve seen over that time, but that they are movies that I very strongly enjoyed, in addition to finding them to be quality movies in their respective genres.
Without further ado, and listed in alphabetical order, my 10/10 list from 2012 through 2021.
Arrival (2016)
After 12 spacecraft arrive hovering over different locations around the earth, the military brings in linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrials on board. My favorite movie of the past ten years, Arrival is smart science fiction and just an all-around beautiful story and film.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Want an emotionally moving sci-fi story that’s much deeper than your typical “alien” movie.
Dredd (2012)
Do you crave all-out action and violence? Are you tired of boring things like an intricate plot or too many characters? Do you want to watch a movie where the hero has a large helmet covering the top half of his face for the entire film? Dredd has all of these things and it’s my favorite guilty pleasure super-violent action movie of the last decade.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Want a nonstop action thrill-ride and to watch Karl Urban acting like a badass.
Enemy (2013)
After a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) tracks down an actor he sees in a movie that looks exactly like him, things escalate between the two as they become wrapped up in one another’s lives. Enemy is a thought-provoking thriller that definitely merits more than one viewing so you can understand what’s truly going on.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Don’t mind multiple viewings, symbolism, and like to analyze films.
Ex Machina (2014)
This sci-fi drama focuses on a programmer who wins a contest to spend time at the estate of his company’s reclusive CEO. Once there, he’s tasked with conducting a Turing test, a test of whether a machine can show intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human, on the beautiful robot the CEO has created. Excellent acting with an intriguing story.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Want to ponder what it means to really be human.
Eye in the Sky (2015)
The military sets up a mission to capture terrorists in Kenya who are plotting a suicide bombing attack. When a little girl enters the area where she could be harmed though, both tensions and stakes quickly rise. Definitely a heart-pounding and intense film.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Like “ticking clock” movies and want to debate what’s really the right (or wrong) way to go about dealing with collateral damage in modern warfare.
Green Room (2015)
An ultra-violent horror-thriller about a punk rock band who have to fight for their lives against a group of neo-Nazi skinheads. Stars Patrick Stewart as the leader of the skinheads.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Like escape movies, where our heroes are put in a near impossible to deal with situation and must find a way out. Also, for those who don’t mind realistic violence with their horror films.
Lincoln (2012)
The best movie about Abraham Lincoln ever made. (Sorry, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.) Lincoln cements Daniel Day-Lewis as one of the best actors of his generation and serves as an example of an excellent historical drama.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Want to see a realistic portrayal of Abraham Lincoln and want to have a better understanding of an important time in America’s history.
The Lobster (2015)
Without a doubt the weirdest movie on this list, The Lobster definitely isn’t for everyone. This black comedy takes place in a dystopian future where people who can’t find a mate are taken to a secluded hotel where they have 45 days to find a romantic partner or they will be turned into an animal of their choosing. Features the offbeat style, in terms of how characters speak and design, of other Yorgos Lanthimos films like The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Appreciate quirky dark humor and love a totally out-there story.
Molly’s Game (2017)
My favorite movie that centers around playing poker (yes, it’s better than Rounders). Molly’s Game, which is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, is the true story of Molly Bloom (played by Jessica Chastain), a world-class skier who ends up running some of the country’s most exclusive, high-stakes poker games.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Love a strong female protagonist, have at least some interest/understanding of poker, and just want a super solid drama/thriller based on a true story.
Parasite (2019)
The first non-English film to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Parasite is my second favorite movie of the past ten years. Parasite is equal parts black comedy, thriller, and drama, and explores how two families, one wealthy and one poor, form a symbiotic relationship with one another. An important movie for what it has to say about society and class, in addition to being just an all-around great film.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Want to watch the best foreign language film of the past 10 years and don’t mind thinking about a movie long after you’ve finished it.
Predestination (2014)
Time-traveling sci-fi at its best, starring Ethan Hawke and a pre-Succession Sarah Snook. A temporal agent hunts a criminal that has eluded him throughout multiple points in time. Extremely underrated and not as well-known as it deserves to be, Predestination is well worth a watch for science fiction fans.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Like time travel and its paradoxes; this one is definitely strong sci-fi.
The Witch (2015)
Taking place in 1630s New England, The Witch is supernatural horror that’s definitely not for everyone. Perhaps best appreciated with subtitles (the cast use strong accents to accurately reflect how people of time spoke), The Witch is a slow burn that feels more realistic than most horror movies.
Best for Movie Fans Who: Want to experience the brutality of what the 1630s might’ve really been like if witches existed.