20 - Toy Story 3 (2010)

Pixar is the best at what they do. And Toy Story 3 is one of their best efforts. This movie came out in my freshman year in college, so it really felt like I had grown up with Andy. One last outing to give us the closure we didn’t know we needed. There’s very little to say about this movie that hasn’t already been said. Or felt.

19 - The Nice Guys (2016)

Shane Black wrote one of my favorite movies of all time, Last Action Hero. The Nice Guys is not quite as good as Last Action Hero, but you can see the same fingerprints. Gosling and Crowe’s turns at action comedy is a sight to behold that it’s a shame neither of them seem to be utilizing those chops afterwards. Angourie Rice’s extremely memorable role as Gosling’s daughter Holly feels like the kind of thing we’ll be looking back at in 10 years when she’s winning Best Actress. Her role as Betty Brant in the new Spider-Man movies are smaller, but still very good.

All of this great acting is in service of one of the funniest comedies of the decade. I was as often laughing my ass off as I was just staring at the jaw-dropping insanity of the proceedings. If you missed this one, I highly suggest you check it out.

18 - Colossal (2017)

I covered Colossal in my 2017 end of year post. I had the privilege of rewatching this movie again more recently. It’s bit different the second time, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. Like I said 2 years ago, this movie touches your emotions in ways other movies don’t. This movie gave me a newfound appreciation for the chops of Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekeis. It’s really crazy to be like “yeah that giant monster movie is really about the emotions”, but this one really is. Maybe the real giant monster was the fremenies we made along the way.

17 - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

It’s hard to describe what it felt like to watch this movie for the first time. By the fourth time though, I had it down to a science. I saw this movie in theaters more times than probably any other movie. Looking back, it feels like almost a different lifetime. Not everything about this movie has aged well. Its protagonist feels like a proto-gamergater who would blossom into neo-fascism a few years later. Despite all this, my friends and I saw a part of ourselves in this movie. In a time when comic book movies were on the rise, none of them were like this. And Edgar Wright’s deft hand still makes this movie (despite its flaws) incredibly fun to watch. You can ignore the less fortunate parts as you go on the roller coaster ride that is this movie.

16 - 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

The psychological thriller genre can be a tough nut to crack sometimes. But this movie really has it all. A tiny, stellar cast: the always depedable Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the underrated John Gallagher Jr, and the incomparable John Goodman. Few movies can play with genre like this one can. You’re never quite sure what’s happening for real. And honestly, everything about it blows me away with how good it is at just keeping your eyes glued to the screen. Not a moment is wasted. And it even managed to make JJ Abrahms look good!

15 - Hidden Figures (2016)

I’ve see a lot of movies about NASA. As a kid, I used to check out books from my school’s library about space every chance I got. I couldn’t get enough. This movie, more than others where people actually go into space, captured the feeling I had at how incredible all of that is. The framing within the context of the time and the civil rights movement hits a spot few of these movies ever do. The three leads kill it, too. Taraji P. Henson’s Katherine Johnson makes me know she’s meant for great stuff, starting with this. Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae both put in extremely compelling performances and lead their own suplots. I hope that this movie can inspire a diverse generation of space-lovers.

14 - Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Sorry to Bother You feels like the kind of movie that you make up while joking with your friends. I mean, Lakeith Stanfield’s Cash Green with David Cross as his “white voice” sounds like something from an SNL skit. And yet, this movie makes it work. Every moment somehow has both moments of importance and humor. And everyone is giving it 110%. And the movie itself adds that all up to 1000%.

13 - Coherence (2013)

A friend of mine told me about this movie because they knew I liked Primer (one of my favorites of all time). That’s all I knew going in and honestly that probably all anyone needs to know. Coherence’s cerebral plot hits in the same way that Primer’s does. As a normal dinner party spirals out of control in the weirdest ways, you never quite know what’s coming next. But for every riveting moment you can’t wait to see. The whole thing feels like an off-kilter version of some dry drama play. But it uses its true genre to heighten everything just enough to make a point.

12 - Eddie the Eagle (2016)

I look at the year that this came out and I can hardly believe it. This movie so quickly entered my repertoire of “stuff I watch to feel better” that it feels like it has to be older. Honestly, I love sports movies. It’s always something else when the protagonist(s) win the final game. But I never felt it quite so much as when Eddie loses. And no, that’s not a bad feeling. It feels amazing to see him lose, but on his terms.

10 - Max Mad: Fury Road (2015)

This movie has been analyzed to death by people a lot more eloquent than me, so I’ll just tell you what this movie meant to me. This was one of the first times I realized that just because a movie is in a genre that normally ignores the consequences of violence, that you don’t have to ignore it. It also helped me realize that continuity matters so much less than just telling meaningful stories. It also made me realize that even though a lot of action movies are becoming sloppily made with extremely confusing frames, we can see movies like this made. The care that George Miller took in making every moment have proper stakes and clarity shows what we can have if we just ask for it.

9 - Megamind (2010)

This movie is one of the weird hidden gems that never really made it during its time. It starts by playing with the tropes of superheroes and supervillians. And then it takes a few twists and turns in order to pull much bigger things out of it. It’s crazy how much it makes you care about a silly parody of a silver age supervillian. It also is just… pretty dang funny? I’d recommend checking it out if you haven’t.

8 - Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

It’s been a while since Disney has given us original characters as compelling as the ones in this movie. The ability of this movie to be funny and emotionally compelling for people of all ages is really something. Just a quality flick all around.

7 - Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

I was intrested in this movie when the first trailer dropped, having always been a fan of the James Bond movies and meta-humor. The final film blew me away anyway. The characters are well realized, funny, and compelling. The story is relevant, interesting, and actualy pays off well. The parody aspects are spot on while obviously having reverence for the originals.

6 - Logan Lucky (2017)

Jokingly called “Ocean’s 7/11”, this nickname almost doesn’t give this movie justice. Ocean’s 11 is one of my favorite movies, but this take by the original director–Steven Soderbergh–is even better. Following the unlucky Logan family as they try to rob a NASCAR stadium. Every character is recognizably southern, but none are pure stereotype. Every character is deeply understood, despite the fact that this is a comedy heist movie. Hell, this movie made me enjoy a performance by Seth MacFarlane! I really can’t recommend this enough.

5 - Get Out (2017)

So much has been said about this movie, that I don’t think I can add much. However, I’ll just reiterate what’s been said before. This movie’s visceral and nuanced dealing with race in America is really unparalleled. On a pure pulp thriller level, it does its job incredibly well. It’s really the must see movie of this decade. I liked a very few movies better, but this one is the most important.

4 - Snowpiercer (2014)

Snowpiercer is not a subtle movie. But I think it does what a lot of good dystopian sci-fi does: it uses its lack of subtlety to talk about society in an interesting way. The plot is largely straightforward, but with enough twists to keep it interesting. It’s just a damn fun ride too!

3 - Warm Bodies (2013)

I’m probably gonna get some flak for this, but I unironically like this movie. I know that it perpetuates the romantic persistence myth, but I still like it anyway. It’s just a really neat concept and manages to be relatively uplifting for a zombie movie. The actual story is a clever riff on Romeo and Juliet, while not being suffocated by specifics. Also the soundtrack slaps extra hard.

2 - Eighth Grade (2018)

When I saw this movie, I was 27. I am a man. The main character is a 14 year old girl. And yet, I have never related to character in a movie more than this one. It manages to explore the human condition in a very universal way: being a shy eighth grader. But unlike other movies of its ilk, it’s not trying to make you cringe (too much). It’s just a very honest look life at a vulnerable age for everyone. CW: There is a scene of non-physical sexual assault.

1 - Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

This movie owns, unironically. It just cool and shit and that’s all it really needs to be. It’s not trying to be subtle, or say anything all that interesting. Or really do anything other than be badass as fuck. But it knocks it out of the goddamn planet in that regard so it gets to be at the top of my list for the entire decade.