Ten awesome movies!
Ten years of memories!
Ten genres to fall in love with!
Introduction
Jedi lightsabers, sharing a boat with a tiger, Avengers assembling, James Bond almost dying, and Elsa singing “Let It Go” were just a few of the top movie moments of the 2010s. While I didn’t see all the most popular movies of the decade, here are ten very good (and very popular) flicks that will leave us with great memories for the rest of our lives.
This list shows ten different movie styles with one movie for each category (action, romance, fantasy, etc.) Let’s begin!
Action
Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall not only had an amazing theme song by Adele, it had a great story that felt very 21st century. It featured Judi Dench’s last appearance as M and the introduction of a new Q. Meanwhile, James Bond and MI6 were almost completely replaced by technology and the future.
The action scenes were great, the story was touching, and Skyfall turned out to be one of the best Bond films of all time!
Romance
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Disney has created a lot of romantic tales over the years, but the Beauty and the Beast has always been my personal favorite. Belle is the brave bookworm(1) and the Beast is the kind but misunderstood prince.
Live action scenes brought the Beast’s castle to life, and it was a lot of fun to return to one of the best Disney films of all time with new versions of the same songs we grew up with as kids. The 2017 remake proved that it’s still “a tale as old as time.”
Sci-Fi
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
This was the first Star Wars movie in over ten years, and it also marked the return of Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and many other classic characters. This time, we got a female main character in the form of Rey, who would become the last Jedi.
This movie may not be the best in the series, but it was a nice return and had a lot of great moments. It was good to see Han and Chewbacca again, and Kylo Ren was a pretty interesting bad guy. I just wish Luke had a bigger role in the film and that Rey had been a more developed character.
Horror
It Chapter One (2017)
Clowns are already terrifying, and Stephen King has written some of the best horror stories over the last forty years! It (the movie) marked a return to one of King’s earlier books, and Chapter One was all about the children of Derry, Maine vs. the evil clown. (I am from Maine myself!)
This is a horror movie that gives us great characters we end up falling in love with. Pennywise (the clown) is a truly chilling creature that eats children, and the movie is filled with tense moments that will nearly give you a heart attack over and over until the end. Great job! You managed to both scare(2) me and make me want to come back to see It Chapter Two (which was also very good).
Fantasy
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
It’s finally time for Harry Potter to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes! Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is the final Harry Potter movie. It was also the highest-grossing(3) film of 2011, and the soundtrack, the magic, and the special effects were all used really well.
It was just really nice to see the Harry Potter films end on a high note. Saying goodbye to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the cast was sad, but at least the movies did the books justice! Hogwarts may yet return to cinema someday!
Superhero
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War was the best Avengers movie in my opinion. All the superheroes were finally gathered in one place (it was cool to see Doctor Strange and Black Panther in the crew) and Thanos was one of the best bad guys in Marvel history.
It was packed with action, and it felt like every scene mattered. Watching Thanos get all the Infinity Stones from our loveable superheroes was exciting and scary…but a little part of me couldn’t help but root for the bad guy, even if I wanted the heroes to win in the end.
Animation
Frozen (2013)
This was a surprisingly good movie. I heard the song “Let It Go” every day after becoming a teacher, so I knew I had to see it at least once. Anna and Elsa are total opposites, and who doesn’t love a snowman in summer? The icing on the cake was Kirstoff and his lovable reindeer friend, Sven.
The music though! Every song in this movie is very catchy(4), and it might be the most influential kid’s movie of the last decade. Elsa dealing with her own aloneness and Hans’s betrayal were also surprisingly adult themes for a kid’s movie. This is a must see even for adults, especially with Frozen 2 coming.
Comedy
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Grand Budapest Hotel–Movie Review #JPMN
I need to include a Wes Andersen movie in the list (since he is my favorite director). This movie had a famous cast that included Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, and many others, but the story and charm of the movie is what truly made it amazing.
The funny, dramatic, emotional, and exciting tale of Zero and Gustav and their adventure in a world-famous hotel is told like a great mystery novel that has come to life on the big screen. It is guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, and watch every last second of the movie and want more–a true artistic masterpiece.
Drama
Life of Pi (2012)
Originally a book, Life of Pi starts with an Indian boy and his family on a ship full of zoo animals en route to Canada. When it crashes, the boy must survive with other animals as his only companions. In the end, it’s just Pi and a tiger, who share some pretty crazy adventures on the sea together.
Outside of the beautiful scenery and great CGI, this is a magical tale that is guaranteed to move you. The story is up to you to figure out at the end, but watching Life of Pi is an experience I don’t think I will ever forget…even if it’s hard to explain exactly why.
Historical
The Imitation Game (2014)
Even if history isn’t your thing, The Imitation Game gives us a great analysis of the life of Alan Turing, a famous mathematician who cracked the Germans’ infamous “Enigma” encryption machine as well as coming up with the famous “Turing Test.”
The other half of the movie is about the life of Alan Turing: he is not only so smart that he can be prickly, even to his best friends, but he is also gay in a time when the UK didn’t tolerate homosexual(5) individuals. The sad ending shows Turing being prosecuted for his homosexuality and even dying due to the forced medical treatment. This is a movie that will make you think, and it’s more than just history: it’s a tale of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
Vocabulary
1. bookworm (n.)
Def. a person devoted to reading or studying
Ex. My sister is such a bookworm. While I play basketball, she is always in her room studying.
2. scare (v.)
Def. to fill with fear or terror, especially suddenly; frighten; alarm
Ex. The noise under my bed scared me so much that I couldn’t sleep.
3. gross (v.)
Def. to have, make, or earn as a total before any deductions such as taxes, expenses, etc
Ex. Black Panther was the highest-grossing movie in 2018.
4. catchy (adj.)
Def. pleasing and easily remembered
Ex. Kendrick Lamar’s new song is so catchy, I can’t get it out of my head.
5. homosexual (adj.)
Def. sexually attracted to members of one’s own sex
Ex. Every animal species has homosexual individuals that engage in romance and sexual behavior with other members of the same sex.
Conclusion
That’s it for today’s list, but please let me know what your favorite movies of the 2010s were. Did I miss one? Did you disagree with any of my choices? There are definitely a lot of great movies that weren’t on the list. I look forward to hearing about your favorite movies of the 2010s, and bonus points if you can tell me why you love them so much.
Images
cinema-movie-camera-projector-film by mohammed_assan
Skyfall by AdrianPatrickArtist
Beauty and the Beast by Brenda Rochelle
Avengers: Infinity War by Rodolfo Oliveira
life-of-pi- (1)11 by Avatar Singh
The Imitation Game Movie Video Review by BagoGames