Best of the Decade Part 2: DrogeMiester's Top 50 Movies of the 2010s

Here's the moment you've all been waiting for. The second part of my best of the decade list. I honestly didn't split this in half solely for the sake of building suspense. My reasoning was mainly that a giant top 50 list would be so large that no one would read the whole thing, so splitting it in half seemed more manageable. And again, I waited this long between posts, not to build suspense, but because typing up that whole thing was exhausting, so I needed a break. But I'm not going to lie, the suspense has been kinda fun. The first part of this sparked so many questions with movies that weren't there. Was it because they were in the top half of the list or because they missed out entirely? Well, now we have the answers. And said answers are sure to present more questions, so feel free to fire away. But I will make one note here that I tried to focus this list on the movies that made more of a lasting impact on me rather than the movies that were enjoyed in the moment, then quickly forgotten, which is why you've seen more of the dark and emotionally heavy films. I've also completely abandoned my year end lists, which you may have already noticed. But nevertheless, there's no real rhyme or reason here. Just my favorite movies, whatever that may mean.

25- Split

As I've referenced once or twice, the specific order of this list isn't necessarily something that I'm completely married to. All of these movies are so good and somewhat interchangeable that their presence on the list is what means the most rather than the order I placed them in. Point in case, when I saw that "Split" was ending up in the 20s, I purposely slotted it at No. 25 so that I could use its picture as the social media preview because it's a great representation of my taste in movies. If you ask me what my favorite movie of all time is, I'm going to dance around that question and throw in something about me preferring to compartmentalize into eras or genres rather than a "best of all time." But then I'll concede and say Hitchcock's "Psycho." And Split is, well, a modern-day "Psycho." Not just in tone and style, but both Norman Bates and Kevin Wendell Crumb are villains who suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder. "Split" is just "Psycho" on steroids because Kevin has 24 different personalities in his head while Norman just has two. Is that concept realistic for actual D.I.D.? Well, maybe not. But in the context of this being in Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" universe, it makes perfect sense as a supervillain origin story. I just wish "Glass" would've been better.

24- Star Wars: The Last Jedi

And this is where all of you laugh at me close this list, right? Because how dare someone enjoy "The Last Jedi." I mean, didn't we all band together and decide prior to the movie's release that we were all going to trash this as the worst movie of all time? Yet here I am, not only breaking away from that by claiming it's a good movie, but I'm including it on a top half of a best of the decade list? Yep. You'd better believe it. And at least you have to give it to me for sticking to my guns and not giving into peer pressure. I'd say I'm just being facetious here, but I'm actually kinda serious on that last point. After the initial wave of hatred came in from the butthurt fanboys, I think people went in with the idea that they were supposed to hate this movie, so they came up with the worst excuses as to why they were disappointed. It's all pathetic in my opinion. Now in hindsight, the sequel trilogy did suffer as a whole from being a bit directionally compromised. JJ and Rian played a game of telephone with the trilogy rather than being in sync with their ideas. But I personally liked Rian's style more. I would've loved to see him do the entire trilogy instead of just the middle chapter. That would've been phenomenal. But I've always gravitated towards Rian's style, so are you really surprised? 

23- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

There's only one thing that I really need to say about the second chapter of this epic trilogy. Apes on horses with machine guns. Am I right? But OK. I'll say more. This is a movie that takes the complex and fascinating themes of the first one and builds on that. After a large percentage of the human race gets wiped out by a virus (uhhh... yikes!), the human characters in this, led by Gary Oldman, are simply reverting to drastic measures to save their race. They aren't the villains of the movie, but there's definitely some questionable things done. Yet can you blame them? No. Their race is going extinct. Then we have the apes. Caesar loves humans. He has a lot of respect due to his connection with his former owner. But he's also going to do what he has to in order to protect his race. Yet it's not just humans vs. apes in this movie. There's some conflicting ideas among the apes as certain of them start questioning Caesar's leadership, which leads to the most fascinating and memorable aspect of this movie. Koba vs. Caesar. If you want to talk about one scary ape, that's Koba. Again, he has solid motivation. But he's fierce and terrifying. As much as Andy Serkis rightfully gets praise for his portrayal of Caesar, Toby Kebbell deserves more credit for his portrayal of Koba. 

22- The Avengers

The movie event of the decade? This is definitely one of those unique movies that completely changed cinema. It was a risky idea to decide to build a cinematic universe, but high risk led to very high reward to the tune of $22 billion worldwide through 23 movies in the MCU thus far. Such a high payout has led every other studio to scramble to figure out how to compete as everyone is trying to build their own cinematic universes or major event films. And it's all because "The Avengers" worked. As a lifelong fan of the superhero genre, it was an absolute joy to be a part of that experience back in 2012. And I've thoroughly enjoyed the journey ever since. With "The Avengers," I watched it five or six times in theaters, being super giddy and excited every single time going in. Even to this day, this stands as an absolutely solid movie that's very well constructed. Yes, there was five movies building up to it, but even for those who skipped those five, the movie itself gave every character his or her moment as they slowly built up the team and the chemistry. This all leading to one of the most entertaining movie finales in cinema as they team up to fight off Loki's alien invasion in New York City. We're not quite done with the MCU, though, so strap in for more!

21- Prisoners

This might come as a slightly surprising entry for people who follow me closely simply because I've just not talked about this movie too much. I don't think I ever reviewed it and there's not been too many opportunities to talk about it, but once you dive into what this movie is, this will make complete sense as to why it's here. As one who's watched all 319 episodes of "Criminal Minds" and binged all of "Mindhunter" in, like, a day, crime dramas are kinda my thing. Few crime dramas have been as perfectly executed as "Prisoners." The movie stars Hugh Jackman as a father who goes completely mad when his daughter gets kidnapped and he doesn't believe the police are doing enough to find her. Hugh Jackman has done a lot of amazing work in his career, so when I tell you that his performance in "Prisoners" is the best individual performance in a movie that he's given, that should mean something to you. Although the more impressive element to this movie is the director. Every movie that Denis Villeneuve has done has been a different genre or subgenre, but he's managed to make top-notch films in every single one of those genres. He seems to have a perfect knowledge of exactly what every individual movie needs. And that's rather mindblowing.

20- Captain America: The Winter Soldier

It took me a long time to come to the realization that "The Winter Soldier" is a better movie than "The Avengers." And to this day it remains an interesting debate. Do you go for the movie that changed the movie world and made all of us superhero fans shout for joy or do you go for the movie that has the better plot and better story? As you can see, it remains close for me, but I have ultimately gone for the latter. This is the movie that most definitely put Captain America on the map as his first movie wasn't all that great. I mean, sure, "The Avengers" certainly helped. But this movie was something else. The emotion here is sky high as he realizes that his sacrifice from the first movie was ultimately for nothing and that his friend Bucky is alive, but has his mind wiped and is being used as a super soldier to attack him. Then, of course, we have the inner workings of Hydra coming to light as it's revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised with Hyrda agents working in their ranks for quite some time. It's worth mentioning the brilliant performance of Robert Redford as the very underrated villain Alexander Pierce, leader of Hydra. With the decade being littered with all kinds of superhero movies, "The Winter Soldier" still stands out as one of the better ones.

19- 1917

This past year was quite the excellent year for film as "1917" is one of three movies to make this top half of the list. In fact, "1917" barely slid in at the last moment, coming out it limited release in December 2019. Most human beings, myself included, saw it in theaters THIS decade instead of last. But it still counts and is absolutely worth a mention as one of the best and most surreal war films I've ever seen. It takes the fancy camera trickery used most notably in Hitchcock's "The Rope" and 2014's "Birdaman," that of presenting the illusion of the movie being filmed in one shot, and makes the best use of it that I've personally seen. As we follow two young soldiers during World War I on a very important mission to warn the Allies that they're about to walk into a trap, this camera trickery gave me the illusion that I was walking right along with these two soldiers in a sort of quasi Virtual Reality scenario. I've watched and enjoyed a lot of war films, but I've never seen a war film where it made me feel like I was right there in the battle. That added a new level of intensity as I began to fear for my own life, not knowing at all what was around the corner. The final war film of the decade was definitely the best one to come out, at least in pertaining to historical war films.

18- Gravity

This is a tricky entry. My favorite movie of 2013 easily won that title mainly due to the theatrical experience it provided me. Back when the world still cared about 3D, this was probably the best usage of 3D as it was more than just a gimmick or a visual treat this time around. The 3D of this movie was an important part of the film's narrative as it gave the illusion that you were up in space with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. That 3D element combined with fantastic sound design provided what was certainly one of the more unique theatrical experiences as it felt like quick the personal achievement on my part that I made it back down to Earth when the movie was finished. But I will admit that, prior to creating this list, I had not seen "Gravity" since October 2013. That made it one that I had to rewatch in preparation. Does it hold up seven years later when being watched on my tiny computer screen? Actually, yes. Sure, it's a much different experience, but this movie still has a solid narrative and one of the decade's most memorable soundtracks that makes this a haunting space film. Because, yeah, this movie is quite terrifying as it puts on display the unforgiving nature of outer space, thus effectively ruining dreams of many hopeful future astronauts.

17- Ex Machina

Alex Garland is a filmmaker who is definitely on my radar after both of his first two directorial efforts made my top 50 of the decade, this one and 2018's "Annihilation." Of the two, "Ex Machina" is most definitely the standout. The funny thing about this is that on paper this doesn't sound like anything that special. A dude made a robot and he invites another dude up to his secret place to participate in an experiment regarding said robot. I mean, how often have we seen a premise regarding Artificial Intelligence and how that's maybe not the best idea in the world for humanity to play around with that? Yet despite a familiar premise, it's the execution here that provides for a rather stunning experience. This is a very meticulously crafted film that leaves you on the edge of your seat for the entire film with your heart pounding in your chest. Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleason provide solid work as our two human characters, just months before they reteamed as Poe Damron and General Hux in this little known film called "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." But it's Alicia Vikander as the A.I. named Ava that owns the screen. She actually won an Oscar that year. Personally, though, I like to pretend it was for this movie rather than "The Danish Girl." 

16- Logan

The X-Men had a bit of a wild journey this past decade. After crashing and burning in 2006 with "X-Men: The Last Stand," then failing to ignite in 2009 with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," they officially got rebooted in 2011 and things were going good for a while until they crashed and burned again, then finished the decade being owned by a completely different studio as Disney bought Fox. But nevertheless, going along with the ride the entire time, beginning in 2000, was Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Say what you want about the X-Men. I have my fair share of harsh words. But everyone loves Hugh Jackman's legendary performance as Wolverine. And he provided quite the swan song in 2017 with "Logan," the Wolverine movie that everyone had been begging a long time for. "Deadpool" opened the door for this project's success and "Logan" rather quickly took advantage and sprinted across the finish line. But yet the most impressive thing is that, even though the movie had every right to be this bloody, insane gore-fest, the movie had a lot of restraint as it told a dark and dreary tale of a character once strong and proud, who now seemed to be the last strings of his journey. This is a movie that completely superseded its comic book genre and became a glorious and haunting film.

15- Mad Max: Fury Road

Every year provides its own set of challenges when putting together my end-of-year list. Usually, though, I can rather quickly identify the best of the bunch. However, 2015 was not that year. I struggled mightily as to what my favorite movie was. I eventually settled on a movie that was not "Mad Max: Fury Road," but yet with the help of time, "Fury Road" has definitely risen to the top as the most memorable film of that year. It's a movie that's really rather baffling in attempting to explain why. And it has nothing to do with nostalgia for me. I hadn't even seen a Mad Max film until I did a marathon of them the month this came out. The first two are decent. The third one is weird. But this fourth one is an absolute masterwork of filmmaking. And it's weird because this is such a simple movie. A group of misfits escapes the main group in an apocalyptic wasteland and the result is a movie that's essentially a big chase scene for two hours. But again, it's the execution that makes it work. The pacing is fantastic. The emotion is high. And the action sequences themselves are stunning, both in terms of the construction and choreography as well as the pure entertainment value. This is a movie that can be rewatched an endless amount of times and never get old.

14- The Babadook

Arguably the most disliked genre that I hear from my friends is that of the horror genre. For some reason the entire genre has a negative stigma with some people. And I find it quite amusing when said people watch a horror movie that they enjoy, but then immediately write it off as being a suspense or a thriller instead. This is a strange phenomenon to me that I could go off on a long rant about, but for the sake of not enough space here, I will forgo. The reason why I personally love the horror genre is that, when done right, it's a genre that has the potential to dive much deeper thematically than any other genre. "The Babadook" is a shining example of that. While, yes, there is a high level of entertainment value in the extreme levels of intensity that certain sequences bring. Namely, like, the whole second half of the movie. But this movie is way more than suspense and terror. It's an allegory for mental illness and depression. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a movie that dives deeper into the reality of depression than "The Babadook" as it uses a mysterious shadowy figure that they call the Babadook to explore the mind of a woman whose life has gone to Hell following the death of her husband. And for that, the movie leaves a lasting impression.

13- Parasite

Our most recent best picture winner is honestly one of my favorite best picture winners in quite some time. At least the best of this past decade. I'd have to check if there's anything between now and "Return of the King" that would be better. I'm also ecstatic at the idea of a foreign language film winning best picture. That was a great moment in Oscar history. As Bong Joon Ho said during his Golden Globes speech, if you can get over the one inch barrier of subtitles, there is a huge door open to you with many great films available to watch. That's me summarizing, not a direct quote, but you get the quote. If you skipped this South Korean film because you had to read subtitles, you're honestly missing one of the best movies of the decade. Bong Joon Ho is a fantastic director who really knows how to craft a film. I haven't seen all of his films, but another one of his films, "Snowpiercer," was also one that nearly made my decades list. I don't want to say a whole lot about "Parasite" because it's still fairly new and a lot of people might not have seen it, but nevertheless this is a brilliant combination of a lot of different genres that includes some extremely poignant themes that resonated quite strong with me. It's also one of the most intense films of the decade.

12- Django Unchained

In case you're keeping track, this is the second time in this post where I'm retroactively changing my favorite movie of the year. And this is a big one because it means that 2012's best movie of the year goes to Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" instead of "The Avengers." I binged all of Tarantino's movies prior to seeing "The Hateful Eight." That was quite the bloody marathon, but "Django Unchained" was one that completely blew my mind. Tarantino's second best film behind only the masterpiece that is "Pulp Fiction." In rewatching "Django," I noticed a trend with Tarantino. He has a liking of giving the metaphorical middle finger to dark times in history. In "Django" he did just that with slavery as the movie is about a black slave who gets free, becomes a bounty hunter, and uses that profession to completely annihilate the whole household of a rather brutal and mean white slave owner who wronged both him and his wife. But the movie is more than just a brutal, gore fest. It has the feel of a Western that just so happens to take place in the South and Tarantino implements the perfect amount of suspense and build-up using great acting across the board and super sharp dialogue. And, of course, it has one of the most therapeutic finales. 

11- Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Perhaps a surprise choice here that some may not be expecting to be so high? The reason for this placement is a combination of the astronomically high entertainment value of this individual movie as well as the overall achievements of the franchise as a whole. In pertaining to the latter, how many franchises can claim that they got progressively better with each film over the span of two decades without any sort of reboot? And how many of said franchises has a lead star who found the fountain of youth and is bound and determined to one-up himself in each movie? I'm not going to claim this is the ONLY franchise to achieve similar feats, but in a day where every studio wants a successful franchise, "Mission: Impossible" currently stands a gold standard. And Tom Cruise, man. Like, holy cow. There isn't anyone working today that compares. With "Fallout," specifically, he learned how to fly a helicopter so that he could shoot those scenes himself without any stunt double. Every movie he does something totally crazy and it's all him. And the man is 57 years old. With all of that in context, "Fallout" individually just happens to be one of the best action/spy thrillers to have ever been made. I challenge you to find a better sixth movie in a franchise.

10- Warrior

And now we're into the heavy hitters. The top 10 best movies of the decade. We begin this section by perhaps the most criminally overlooked film of the decade. "Warrior" did not do well at the box office and I haven't many people talk about it since. Yet everyone who I've successfully persuaded to watch it has been completely blown away. Quite honestly, I've never been into real life MMA or boxing, but in the cinematic world of that genre, I grew up loving the "Rocky" movies and I'm typically a sucker for other fighting movies. "Warrior" is in the MMA world and is the story of two brothers and their familial relationship as the enter the same MMA tournament. In terms of the MMA side of things, the fights themselves are exhilarating. Even in a recent rewatch, having known the outcomes of the fights, they are still intense and nerve-wracking. And very well choreographed. On top of that, the emotion the movie packs is intense. The two brothers and their dad have a very broken relationship that the movie explores in significant depth. The father is trying to right the wrongs of the past, but it's too little, too late in the eyes of both brothers. Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte star. Nolte got an Oscar nomination for playing the father. All three deserved one.

9- War for the Planet of the Apes

In a similar light as "Mission: Impossible," franchise achievement is what helps boost the final chapter in the new Planet of the Apes trilogy. Yeah, sure, the movie on its own is cold, dark and chilling. A fantastic movie. But the difference between a good trilogy and a great trilogy is how they stick the landing and "War" was a perfect capstone. And honestly, this has to go down in history as one of the greatest trilogies ever made. Seriously. "Star Wars." "Lord of the Rings." "Planet of the Apes." This trilogy is in that echelon. And the fact that they're all so interconnected, with a beautiful and tragic arc on both sides of the human and ape conflict, speaks volumes about how the finale wrapped everything together. But not just that. This trilogy was able to accomplish something that I don't know has actually ever happened. Create a prequel trilogy that is excellent AND ties into the original film. Because not only does this movie do a fantastic job at tying this individual trilogy together, but it also runs right into the original 1968 Charlton Heston "Planet of the Apes" film in a way that I was, quite frankly, not expecting. In fact, it gave that movie an origin story that made a lot more sense than the direct sequels to the original film, which initially established a weird time loop.

8- Lady Bird

One common theme that you will seem with some of these final films is that of life. As in movies about life really affected me. There's a couple of these major "slice of life" films here as well as movies that make you ponder about real-life themes and scenarios that consequently cause the movie to seep out beyond the confines of a fictional piece of art and thus have greater purpose than mere escapism. "Lady Bird," my top movie of 2017, is one of these direct slice of life movies. There's not specifically one particular story arc that the movie follows. Rather, it follows the journey of a high school senior as she lives out her final year with her parents and then moves off to college. Thus it might be a slightly nontraditional narration than your typical three-act structure, but the way all of it is framed and constructed by director Greta Gerwig is done in such a way that causes you to soak in so many different themes and messages along the way that hit home. In fact, I remember my drive home after initial seeing this was super emotional. I broke down and became homesick. I missed my high school. I missed my home town. I missed my family. I missed my friends. I missed the simple pleasures of life that I often took for granted. It was an extremely overwhelming experience.

7- Joker

To those who might have been somewhat surprised by my pick of "Joker" as the best movie of last year, and might again be surprised as seeing it as the seventh best movie of the entire decade, it all makes sense when you actually think about. "Joker" was the perfect storm of things that I love. I'm no major respector of companies when it comes to superhero or comic book movies, but if you make me choose, I've grown up with DC and have thus had a stronger overall connection to it than Marvel. I love the Batman universe. Joker is one of my favorite villains. And I love movies that are deeply psychological. Sure, I was as nervous as anyone when this was announced because I don't think Joker needed an origin story, And from the director of the dude who did "The Hangover" trilogy? Say what? But despite all the odds, this simply connected on every level. Some may have been critical due to it being too much like an old Scorsese movie. I think that connection made it beautiful. It's a dark and terrifying character study of a man who was rejected by society. Some also have claimed it's a dangerous film. To that I say... why? Because it's real? Remember what I just said in regards to movies about real life? Sometimes real life is dark, brutal and unforgiving.

6- The Witch

Is this an empowering movie about a young girl who is finally able to break away from the foolish traditions of her family and accept who she truly is? Or is it a tragic tale of a young girl who tried her best to follow what she knew was right, but was ultimately unable overcome the forces of darkness? Is it a movie that rejects Christianity as fraudulent and binding while painting witchcraft and devil worship as a delicious and exciting path? Or is it a movie that acknowledges the reality of the devil and paints a cautionary tale about what could happen to even the most faithful Christian families if they let down their guard? As a devout Christian myself, you obviously know the angle I choose to take on this one. A lot of horror movies can be unconventionally spiritual and profound in ways that traditional religious films are completely incapable of. But in an awkward turn of events, "The Witch" is a movie that was actually endorsed by modern Satanic worshipers, so what's the actual answer to what this movie really is? I don't know. And director Robert Eggers purposely chooses to not take sides or give any easy answers, which makes this one of the most fascinating and disturbing horror films I've seen. I can't really recommend this. But if you do see it, let's talk.

5- Toy Story 3

There's no easy transition going from "The Witch" to "Toy Story 3." Now just imagine the confused look on my face when I sat down and forced myself to pick which one was better. I think I stared at that screen for five whole minutes. But in continuing this theme about life, here's a quick snapshot into my younger life. I grew up with "Toy Story." In fact, I was around Andy's age when the original came out in 1995. We had Woody and Buzz toys growing up. That movie was one of the movies that was on a constant rotation in our house. That VHS was very well used. With all that in context, you're telling me that Pixar makes another Toy Story sequel during the summer before my first full year of college in 2010? And the movie is about Andy moving away to college and having to say goodbye to his childhood while giving his old toys away? Talk about timing there, Pixar. This is a studio that has excelled in pulling at your heartstrings in multiple different ways. Everyone has their own favorite Pixar film because Pixar is able to speak to each person on a personal level through at least one of their movies. "Toy Story 3" was that movie for me. Pixar probably would've had more representation on this list, but the other movies in my top five Pixar rankings came out in different decades.

4- Avengers: Infinity War

You can go ahead and peak at the top three if you want, but I'll just make the reveal right here. "Avengers: Endgame" did not make the cut. It fell entirely out of the top 50 for me. We can discuss that in more detail later on if you want, but for me it was "Avengers: Infinity War" that was the more memorable experience. Here's the thing. I really enjoy the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A LOT. They have their formula down and I'm a complete sucker for that formula. Yet there are some slight negative consequences to having that formula down so well. One of them is that it doesn't open the door for them too wide to be super crazy and bold. I'm not saying they need to. But that's just the reality of it. And I think that is why "Infinity War" is super memorable because it's the one Marvel movie where I had no idea what was going to happen. The tone is set early on when they kill off Loki right at the beginning. I spent the entire movie living in fear and terror that any one of the other characters who I've grown to love could easily get the ax at the hands of Thanos. Then they ended the movie by doing the unthinkable. Thanos won. He accomplished his mission. Then we spent a whole year on quite the extreme cliffhanger waiting for what the aftermath of all of it would be.

3- Boyhood

Some called this movie a gimmick. I wholeheartedly disagree. Sure, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but for me this was one of the most mind-blowing cinematic experiences ever. Yes, there's been plenty of movies made in the style of "Forrest Gump" where we watch our lead character grow up on screen. But usually they switch actors when they present the passage of time. "Boyhood" did not. Richard Linklater took quite the gamble when he chose to cast a fictional family, then spend the next 12 years filming a movie, wherein he would film for about once a week every year. The end result was the king of the "slice of life" movies because our main kid was a very young kid at the beginning of the movie and off to college at the end. And again, it was the same actor. We literally watched him grow up on screen. "But Adam, this movie had no plot!" Of course it did! Not a conventional one. But the plot can be summed up in one word. And you guessed it. LIFE. Life has many stories interwoven along the way and I enjoyed all of them. I was so invested in this movie that it was probably the shortest three hours of my life. We got to college and I was ready to watch the next 12 years of his life. It could've been a sequel we called "Manhood." What a journey that would've been.

2- La La Land

Does the fact that I interviewed director Damien Chazelle shortly after seeing this movie a month early for my internship at the time cause me to be biased towards "La La Land"? Abso-FREAKING-lutely! I mean, who said I had to be objective here? This is MY list. And I loved this movie so much that I probably ruined it for some of you, who then turned around and hated it because you didn't quite love it as much me and thus didn't understand the hype. But in fairness, you didn't interview the director after seeing it. All that said, I loved this movie before that interview. Me and my friend who I was allowed to invite were on Cloud Nine and were so excited to share this movie with the world when it came out to the public. Fast forward nearly three and a half years, and this movie was still super impactful for me last month when I rewatched in preparation for this. In fact, probably more so. In short, it's a movie about dreaming. But instead of drifting off into a fantasy world of rainbows and butterflies, it takes a -- yep, you guessed it -- real life approach to dreaming. Because sometimes life takes you in a much different direction than you anticipated. And sometimes you then reflect back on all the "what ifs" of life. And I've done all of that more than my fair share of times.  

1- Inception

I considered trolling everyone by putting something like "Cats" or "The Emoji Movie" at No. 1 just to throw everyone off. In all seriousness, I watched "La La Land" and "Inception" back-to-back last month in order to figure out in my mind which one of them was my No. 1. It was a difficult decision, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that "Inception" is really the only choice here. Christopher Nolan set a really high bar at the start of the decade. And although many movies came close, ultimately no movie was able to top "Inception." And it's a movie that's so beautifully complex that it's a gift to the world that keeps on giving. When I first watched this movie, my friends and I sat on a bench in Taco Bell and spent at least an hour or two simply trying to figure out what the frack we just watched. Ten years later, I can still have a similarly detailed conversation with friends and family after watching it. And I continue to gain new insights along the way with each watch. But it's not just the complexity factor in play, this is a movie that covers just about every emotion from being wildly entertaining to deeply depressing. And it hits a whole plethora of genres along the way. It's truly one of the most unique and thrilling cinematic experiences in the history of... ever.  

Best of the Decade Part 1: DrogeMiester's Top 50 Movies of the 2010s

It's crazy to think that we've recently completed a whole decade. While 2020 has not been kind to us so far, there's certainly a lot to look back on from the 2010s. This particular post has been in the works for some time. My initial idea was to get this out at least a month ago,but diving in was quite the daunting task and became quite stressful. Then the world got put on pause with the outbreak of the coronavirus. This has been an absolutely horrific period of time in our world's history and I want nothing more than for it to be over with so that we can all go back to normal. But until then, we sit in our homes and wait. With theaters all closed and everything through June being currently postponed, I've been taking advantage of the extra time to finally finishing this list, which has included necessary rewatches of a lot of these movies in order to get the placement right. And, sure, while the exact order of some of this could be a bit malleable, I'm happy with the final 50 films that I've included. And hey, perhaps this is good timing on my part. While we all patiently await the green light to get back to our normal lives, I've now created a list of 50 films that are definitely worth watching. You're welcome. For multiple reasons, I've decided to split this in half. Here's part one!

50- The Martian

We begin this mega list with a good old fashioned trip to space. And actually, we got a lot of those last decade. The movie "Gravity" in 2013 started a trend of an annual trip to space. And I'm not even talking about the likes of "Star Wars" or "Guardians of the Galaxy." I'm talking about these attempts at realistic space travel. Of all these trips to space, "The Martian" definitely stood out as one of the more enjoyable journeys. Yeah, sure, you can act like a pretentious physicist if you want by pointing out all the horrible inaccuracies to this movie, like Matt Damon's Iron Man theatrics at the end. But I don't really care. Honestly I think you're missing the point if you let yourself get caught up on all of that. This movie is a lot more than just a silly sci-fi trying to accurately portray what a trip to Mars would be like. In addition to being a wildly entertaining survival epic, there's actually a lot of profound themes here, like learning to take things one step at a time in order to solve a giant problem or realizing that laughter is often the best medicine to keep yourself sane when you're stranded by yourself. In fact, as I think about it, there's a lot that this movie can teach us about how to manage our current situation. It's"Cast Away" meets "Apollo 11," which is a solid combination.

49- Life of Pi

Shortly after the release of "Life of Pi" in theaters, I used the movie to start a new tradition. Eat pie and watch "Life of Pi" on Pi Day! I've slacked off in the last couple of years in regards to that, but it's been a fun tradition nonetheless. Does this movie really have anything to do with the digit Pi? No, not really. Pi is the name of the main character. Although there is one scene towards the beginning where he goes off listing a whole bunch of digits of Pi. Really it's just an excuse to watch a good movie with a strong message. We start off with a rather stunning visual treat. It was one movie that actually worked quite well in 3D and was beautiful on the big screen. In terms of it being a survival movie, the pacing is rather impressive. It's just a boy on a boat with a tiger for most of the movie, but it manages to keep you engaged the whole time. The payoff, though, is the message at the end that completely transforms the movie on repeat viewings. The movie is narrated by the adult version of Pi as he attempts to convince an atheist to believe in God and he uses this particular story to do the trick. Pi presents two different stories as to what happened to him on that boat, then he poses the question, "What's the better story?" It's been a rather profound parable for myself this past decade.

48- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I'm not much of a reader. Not that I have anything against reading books, it's just hard for me to focus on an endless amount of words over the course of hundreds of pages. Some have mastered the skill of reading large books in mere hours. For me it takes weeks if not months to get through some books. Given that time commitment it takes me, I usually choose to do other things with my life. But "Catching Fire" was a book that I sat down and read in a day. It was just so captivating and intense. I absolutely loved it. Very rarely does a movie adaptation of such a great book ever live up to the hype, but the movie adaptation of "Catching Fire" was nearly perfect. Yeah, sure, Suzanne Collins rushed the ending of the series as it could've been a five to six book series. And yeah, the final movie completely crashed and burned. And that coming from one who liked the ending of the "Mockingjay" book. Yet despite all of that drama, that doesn't take away from the magical experience of reading a near perfect and seeing it perfectly adapted on screen. With this genre of YA dystopian movies having completely died out, "Catching Fire" reigns supreme as the gold standard of the genre. And it's a crown that I don't think any movie will take away from it. Because at the moment, no one cares to try.

47- The Gift

I'm willing to bet that most of you will at least recognize the majority of the movies on this list, even if you haven't seen every single one of them. There's a couple of movies here, though, that I feel flew right under most people's radars. The 2015 thriller "The Gift" I feel is one of them. There's a few movies and shows called "The Gift," so if you're checking this one out, as it is on Netflix at the moment, make sure you catch the right one. This is directed by Joel Edgerton in his feature-length directorial debut, while starring him, Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall in a story about an old high school acquaintance who comes back seeking a bit of revenge for his fellow classmates not treating him too well. And man, talk about a directorial debut. This is a movie that convinced me that Joel Edgerton had the potential to be the next Hitchcock because the execution of this pure Hitchcockian thriller was darn near perfect. Unfortunately the only other movie Edgerton has directed was a little movie called "Boy Erased" that was in a completely different ballpark than this in regards to tone and genre, but oh well. This individual project still stands a marvelous achievement. It's also a movie that clued us all in, prior to "Ozark," that Jason Bateman is an excellent drama actor.

46- The LEGO Movie

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!! And now that you hate me for getting that song stuck in your head again, let me just say that who would've thunk that a movie based on the little LEGO bricks could be so fantastic? When this was announced, most people thought that this was a terrible idea. And they have every right to think that since movies based on toys, games, or apps with no inherent, built-in story have a really bad track record. But "The LEGO Movie" goes to show that with good writers and solid execution, you can take any premise and work miracles with it. This is definitely one of the movies that launched Lord and Miller into superstardom. What could've been a complete disaster ended up being a fantastic animated film that's perfect for all audiences. Not only is the fun, quirky, comedic nature of the film the perfect thing to distract young audiences, but the attention to detail made this a nostalgic journey for anyone who grew up building LEGOs. On top of that, it taught a loud and clear message that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, which is a very good thing for kids learn. And the idea that the whole movie is simply a kid playing with his dad's LEGO set is pure genius, which completely transformed the movie upon repeat viewings.

45- Hacksaw Ridge

I'll try not to get too personal with this one, but out of all the religious films that came out last decade, or films with religious themes in them, it's impressive that a Clint Eastwood war film was the one that affected and inspired me the most. With that being said, a quick disclaimer that I'll throw out is that if you don't have a strong stomach for war and violence, this is not your movie. The first half is tame. But then as the soldiers are walking up to war in the second half, suddenly the dread hits that you are a Clint Eastwood film. And he doesn't hold back when it comes to violence. Sure enough, this film turns into an outright horror film in a way as the battle begins, which doesn't allow you to even breathe for the longest time. But through it all, it's the perseverance and dedication that Andrew Garfield's character has that shines through it all. After the dust has settled and the armies have retreated, he sticks around with the intent to save as many lives as possible. And it's his faith and God that helps him through. Before he runs out into the battle field, he kneels down and says a prayer, "Please God, help me save one more." I don't think you even have to be a Christian to appreciate this story, but how do we save the world? One life at a time. And having God's help doesn't hurt.

44- Little Women

One theme that you will see throughout this list is that movies about life often had a strong impact on me. We call them "slice of life" films. When executed properly, these types of movies really hit home because they become very personal thematically. While certain superhero movies or action movies can be a lot of fun, there's a level of escapism that comes with them where you're entering into a reality that's different than your own. That can be therapeutic at times when you want to forget about your current situation and have some simple fun. But for me, when I come across a film that's a reflection of what I've personally gone through, that often cuts deep and sticks with me a lot longer. Greta Gerwig did that twice to me last decade. We'll get to the other one much later, but this most recent happening is when she took a classic novel and created a very powerful and poignant adaptation that had me reeling. When Saoirse Ronan's character cried out about how lonely she was after trying so hard to be strong, that just hit me on another level and I found myself sobbing with all the other girls in the theater with me. And that happened several times throughout. This is not a sappy chick flick. So if you're a guy and you skipped this, man up and go see it.

43- Manchester by the Sea

If you're in the mood for a good, solid punch in the gut, then "Manchester by the Sea" is your must-see movie. I mean, when you're bored out of your mind in lockdown right now, watching a movie about the miserable tale of a man's life falling apart might be just the remedy! OK, that's a bit tongue-in-cheek there, but the fact that "Manchester by the Sea" is only in the 40s on this list is a good indication of what's to come because this made it as my No. 2 movie of 2016. I say it's an indication of what's to come because I completely threw out my end of year lists when creating this decade list because I wanted to come up with a fresh ranking of the movies that truly stood out this decade rather than being married to old rankings that most people probably forgot about. Creating these lists is a snapshot of what I feel in that individual moment and I want this list to be a snapshot right now rather than a collection of snapshots from the past. Don't get me wrong, though. "Manchester by the Sea" is an excellent film. One of the more emotionally heavy films of the year with a lot of real life themes. But if I'm bored on a Saturday night, "Manchester by the Sea" is not necessarily the movie I'd pop in to pass the time, if you know what I mean. It's a great clinic on acting, though. 

42- Creed

The Rocky franchise has always been a favorite of mine. I have lots of great memories watching the Rocky movies with my dad and brothers. I honestly can't remember what my specific thoughts of this Rocky spin-off leading up to it, but I do remember being absolutely blown away at the final result here. "Creed" not only justified its existence as a member of the Rocky franchise, but it was somehow able to elevate itself onto the same level as original two films in terms of overall quality. A huge round of applause to Ryan Coogler for knowing what makes a good Rocky film and being able to deliver a near perfect result. Yeah, the boxing scenes are massively entertaining and intense, but a good Rocky film is more about the characters and the development rather than being just about the boxing itself. Michael B. Jordan as young Adonis Creed did a fantastic job of making you really care about his journey as he wanted to be successful as a fighter, but not because he was the son of a legend. And Sylvester Stallone gives a performance of a lifetime as an older Rocky struggling with declining health while also trying to figure out how to help Adonis. The fact that he lost the Oscar to Mark Rylance still makes me mad, especially since he was winning everything else.

41- A Ghost Story

Here's the other movie that I'm betting you haven't heard of. No, this is not a horror movie. It's not even a suspense/thriller. It's a very unique and unconventional drama about a ghost. He starts off as a man, being happily married to his wife, but then he dies and gets stuck having to watch his heartbroken wife live on without him. She can't see him, but he's portrayed as someone with an old-fashioned sheet over his head with two holes for the eyes. That's what signifies that he died. And he can't talk or make any noise. He just has to sit there and watch. But then as his wife moves on, he's still stuck at that house, thus "haunting" it. But in reality it's just a movie that's filled to the brim with emotion and you fully understand his frustrations as he lashes out. The individual scenes are long and drawn out as it squeezes every ounce of emotion out of every scene. And much of it feels all too real. The scene I always tell people about is a scene where the wife is so depressed that she just sits on the floor and eats a whole pie. Because that's what happens when you can't handle life. And we as an audience sit there for about five minutes while she eats this pie. As I said, unconventional. It might break every rule of filmmaking, but that's what makes it so fascinating. And it's on Netflix, so go watch it.

40- Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I'm going to play spoiler here real quick in regards to other entries on this list. When it comes to the recently rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy, "Rise" is the lesser of the three. And that's not a knock on this movie individually. It's some high praise for the trilogy as a whole. They made a fantastic film with "Rise" and then they just kept one-upping themselves, creating a trilogy that has to go down in history as one of the greatest trilogies ever made. Not from this past decade. EVER. So I'll have plenty to say about all three of these movies. But in terms of this introductory chapter, the thing that fascinates me the most is that I have no idea who I'm supposed to be rooting for. It's not a situation where these evil humans are abusing these apes, so the apes rebel and take over. Our lead human, played by James Franco, is simply trying to help his father's medical condition and his experiments get out of control and cause a global pandemic. But the apes certainly aren't the villains either, even though they start to rebel against the humans. And man, speaking of global pandemics, trying watching this during this coronavirus scare. I'm now expecting to turn on the news and hear a story about an army of apes that started taking over a city. It adds a unique level of terror.

39- Wonder Woman

The beginning of this decade was a rather dark time for me as a DC fan. Granted, I'm no respector of comic book films. The whole MCU journey has been a marvelous ride. But I grew up a DC fan and it pained me to watch Zack Snyder and co. fail so miserably in trying to create a new DC cinematic universe. Everything about what makes DC great, they were getting WRONG. But then came 2017, when Patty Jenkins delivered us a Wonder Woman movie. And it started out being solidly entertaining. But then when they were in the trenches and Chris Pine was trying to get Diana to hurry up and not worry about this situation, yet she decided that it was her personal battle that she was going to help these people, the movie elevated and became something else. Then she stepped on that battle field and I got chills. I became so happy that I was on the verge of tears. The DC that I grew up loving was back! While Zack Snyder did everything wrong, Patty Jenkins did everything right. Except for maybe that final battle. But we forgive her for that because the rest of this movie is fantastic. And I've loved that Warner Bros. and DC have learned from this movie that they need to stop trying copy Marvel and just focus on making good individual movies.

38- The Great Gatsby

It's funny, when you dive into the archives of my blog and find my original review of "The Great Gatsby," I wasn't convinced that it was that great. And if you look at the mixed critic scores for the movie, it would seem like I was in the majority. But that was all the way back in 2013, when this blog was in its early days and I was still figuring things out in regards to my taste in film. It was later that year where I really discovered the brilliance of this movie, that being via a rewatch on DVD followed by an analytical deep dive into all of the characters and story with a roommate of mine. And yeah, there's a reason why the original novel is considered classic literature. It's such a fascinating character study as it looks deeply into a cast of flawed characters who come together to essentially ruin each others' lives. Who's the protagonist? Who's the antagonist? Well, there really isn't one on either side. Events just sort of happen. I think this modern adaptation does a fantastic job of capturing the tone and themes of the classic novel. Led by Leo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan, this is a beautifully acted film that combines with some fascinating visuals and musical choices that ultimately do a great job of adding to the scenery and symbolism of it all.

37- Marriage Story

Another hard movie to watch that might hit a bit too close to home for some. This is a movie that's about on the same level as "Manchester by the Sea" in terms of the raw emotion that dives into the harsh realities of real life. Although this being a much more recent example, so I can't yet speak to what I will think of this several years from now. Yes, we all love a happy, feel good movie where the beautiful couple works out their differences and lives happily ever after. But sometimes the Cinderella story is just not what happens. There could be a man and a wife who are the absolute perfect match, but for whatever reason, they just aren't able to make it work. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are absolutely oozing in chemistry and are the perfect match, but they also kinda hate each other because they didn't put enough effort into making it work, and thus we as observers get continually punched in the gut as we are forced to watch this spiral out of control. Like Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams in "Manchester," Driver and Johansson put on an absolute clinic when it comes to their acting performances. Said performances are the driving force of the film. Speaking of Scar-Jo, she needs to go make a happy movie because 2019 was a rough year for her characters.

36- Annihilation 

Well, you might not sit down and watch "Manchester" or "Marriage Story" when you're bored and need to pass the time. "Annihilation," though, would be a great choice. It's not necessarily a relaxing, feel good movie, but it's a movie that requires multiple viewings and plenty of discussion to truly appreciate. As we passed the 50th anniversary of "2001: A Space Odyssey" last decade, there were still a plethora of sci-films that continued to try to replicate that movie's success. "Annihilation" was one of the best efforts in attempting to replicate that. It's not a space adventure by any means, but it's a slow moving movie that keeps you absolutely captivated with its sound design, musical score and visuals. But it also does a good job of slowly building the world around you as step by step you learn what exactly is going on. I don't want to give away too many details for those who actually haven't seen it, but there's a scene with a bear that might be the most terrifying and haunting imagery I've seen in a movie recently. The final sequences are something absolutely glorious. The movie got its fair share of negative response and a lot of reaction made me wonder what people were expecting. This is no action/thriller. But if you have patience, this will evolve into something great.   

35- 12 Years a Slave

Every once in a while an important historical film comes around that I feel everyone needs to watch once, but no one really needs to watch twice. In terms of movies that you won't turn to if you're bored on a Saturday night, this falls into the same category as the likes of "Manchester" and "Marriage Story," but for much different reasons. This is brutal and hard to watch as it dives into the dark reality that was slavery in this country in the 1800s as it tells a story of a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, wherein he spent the next 12 years of his life. Nothing in this movie is sugar-coated, yet it's also honest in the fact that some slave owners were nice to their slaves. But when we get to the extreme slave owners who treated their slaves like inhuman dirt, this movie makes you want to sit and your corner and cry at the monstrosity. And if I was in Michael Fassbender's shoes, I'd want to go home, throw up and take a nice long shower at the end of each night for having to play that awful slave owner. This is also a movie that introduced us to Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o, and for that I'm definitely grateful. But yeah, in terms of comparisons, this was last decade's "Schindler's List." Both movies should be watched. But you only need to once.

34- Black Swan

Do I have any happy movies on this list? Like, wow. I'm not sure what it says about me if I gravitate towards all the dark, dreary and depressing movies. I'm promise I'm a happy person who enjoys feel good movies. But this is not one of them, either. I didn't watch "Black Swan" back in 2010 when it was released. Before the release of "mother!," I went through a binge of Darren Aronofsky's films. Or at least some of them. I'm realizing now that I didn't get to "Pi" or "The Fountain," but man, talk about a director. Polarizing is definitely the best word to describe him and I think he feeds off of that. When your filmography includes "Requiem for a Dream," "Noah" and "mother!," then other movies like "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler" feel safe and happy comparatively. Out of all his films, "Black Swan" is one that I really enjoyed. And I rewatched in the midst of compiling this list so that I could have it fresh on my mind. It's a movie about ballet on the surface, but it's more or less about the dangers of striving for absolute perfection when the cost happens to be your relationships and your mental stability. Yeah, sure, Natalie Portman's character gets what she wants, but was it worth it? Maybe the phrase, "I just want to be perfect" is something we should be careful with. 

33- Spotlight

No, we're not going super happy just yet, although this is a step in the right direction, I suppose. I can't call this a "happy" movie, per se, when the subject matter is the child molestation problem of the Catholic Church, but this is a movie that was very personal to me as it vindicated my career choices at the time. Yes, the Catholic Church scandal is the subject matter, but the heroes who uncovered it didn't wear capes and have superpowers. They had their pens and notebooks to go along with a desire to uncover the truth. Of course I'm talking about journalists. It was a rough journey for these people, but their passion and persistence led to some monumental investigative journalism that saved lives. And when I stumble upon a movie like this during the latter portion in the pursuit of my journalism degree, that can go a long way in helping me feel like I'm doing a good thing. Granted, my path to become a successful journalist hasn't really turned out quite like I had hoped or planned, but that's a discussion for another time. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that "Spotlight" was a very influential film for me that inspired me continue down the path I was headed. And for that it most certainly deserves this high placement among the best films of the decade.

32- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

OK, if you wanted happy and fun, I finally have your movie. "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" most definitely wins the award for the most unique and quirky film of the decade. The movie isn't based off of a video game. The movie IS a video game. Granted, the audience member is not in control of the main protagonist, but you get what I mean. Scott meets a girl and suddenly he finds himself in the middle of a war against her seven evil exes. He has to fight them off retro video game style. When he wins, they turn to coins. If for some reason you haven't introduced yourself to Edgar Wright, this is a great movie to start off with as it showcases his very unique, personal style. In addition to being off-the-walls entertaining and hilarious, Edgar Wright has a very sharp editing style with a very smart execution. Yes, tip of the hat to "At World's End" and "Baby Driver," two other great movies of his that missed the cut, but "Scott Pilgrim" is his shining jewel. It's an absolute shame that it made close to nothing at the box office, but I feel it has achieved cult status as it has become a very popular film. And for good reasons. Edgar Wright FINALLY got his much deserved box office smash with "Baby Driver" and I feel it's movies like this that helped build him up to achieve that.

31- Gone Girl

Well, we had our fun with the happy movie via "Scott Pilgrim." Now it's time to bottle up those rainbows and butterflies for now because we're back to the dark and twisted realm. This one isn't necessarily depressing, this goes into the thriller realm. And it is one that I'd definitely watch again, albeit under the right circumstances when I'm in the right mood because this movie is insane. I'm going to be vague about the plot here and the specifics of why this is so crazy, but nevertheless the disappearance of a man's wife leads leads us down quite the rabbit hole. My jaw practically hit the floor halfway through this film and I was left in a stunned silence for the remainder of the movie is it never let up. The craft of this movie is done to perfection and the acting by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike is top notch. Of course, when it comes to David Fincher, I'd expect nothing less because he always delivers perfection when it comes to the craft of his films. Oddly enough, he started his career directing music videos for the likes of Madonna and Paula Abdul, but then broke away and delivered things like "Se7en," "Fight Club" and "Zodiac." So yeah, if you ever say David Fincher thriller, I am 100 percent on board. The man is a master of the genre. And pretty much any genre for that matter.

30- Now You See Me

If ever the question is posed as to what my favorite movie is that has a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, this is my answer. Granted, if you look closer into what a 50 percent score means on Rotten Tomatoes instead of just looking at the green splatter, you'll figure out that half of the critics who reviewed it did like the movie, but still. The fact that this movie got so much hate completely baffles me. First off, it's a lot of fun. It's a heist movie with magic that provides non-stop energy from start to finish and a cast that has perfect chemistry that makes for an exhilarating ride. But also, the movie preaches to you from the beginning that magic is all just a matter of misdirection and a sleight of hand. Oftentimes the secrets to the trick are right in front of the audience's faces. They're just not paying attention. As such, the movie itself is a magic trick. You're so focused on all the shenanigans of the four horsemen and the magic heists that you're not even paying attention to the ACTUAL plot of the movie that's right in front of you the whole time. The movie literally transforms into something completely different upon a second viewing when you actually know what you're supposed to be paying attention to. And that's a pretty darn genius concept for a film.

29- Whiplash

When young Damien Chazelle graduated from film school, he moved to Los Angeles with high hopes of making it big in the film industry. He initially had an idea to make this movie he called "La La Land," but it was such a bombastic idea that no one would take him up on his idea given that he was a new filmmaker without much of a resume, so he struggled to make by. Eventually he had to abandon the idea of "La La Land" and in doing so he came up with this little thing called "Whiplash." Long story short, "Whiplash" gets a best picture nomination at the Oscars and suddenly he has everyone's attention. And finally he's able to to make "La La Land." How do I know all of this? I interviewed the man. Remember the whole journalism thing? More on the "La La Land" stuff later, but man. What an introduction to a career. Miles Teller plays a drummer trying to make it in the world and he has Band teacher from Hell in J.K. Simmons as his "mentor." To impress this teacher, he goes to great lengths to prove his worth, dumping Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) in the process. The movie had, like, 10 different endings, each of which increased the intensity to the point where I was in a state of dumbfounded shock when the movie ACTUALLY ended. It was literally breathtaking.

28- Nightcrawler

No, not the X-Men character. The Jake Gyllenhaal movie. I feel that this is another movie that's more or less slipped under the radar, but those who know of it really love it. And I'm one of those people. How Gyllenhaal didn't get an Oscar nomination for this is quite baffling because he puts the whole movie on his back with an absolutely chilling performance. This is kind of a journalism movie, but not really. Gyllenhaal is out each night getting videos of crimes and other graphic scenes in order to sell the footage to news stations for a few quick bucks. He plays a character who doesn't have much of a soul to begin with it or any sense of boundaries, but by the end of it he's completely lost his whole soul to this freelancing business of his. So this is less of a journalism movie and more of a character study of a man who progressively loses all sense of morality due to his obsession of trying to make a name for himself. If you haven't seen the movie in a while, or at all for that matter, it's currently free on IMDb TV. I learned that when I was about to type this paragraph up. I went to search for the cast and crew and IMDb told me that I could watch the whole movie right there on their app. So I did. If you're in for a crazy, twisted, dark adventure, check this one out.

27- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

The best way I can describe "Birdman" is that it's the perfect movie to study in film school. Like, seriously. If you want to feel all artsy and fancy, go watch "Birdman" and then start bragging about all the fancy filmmaking qualities that are on display. Your friends might all call you a film nerd, but hey, that's not necessarily an insult, right? OK, fine. If you're wanting to sit and relax while watching something entertaining, a pristine and prestigious movie that highlights the art of filmmaking might not be your cup of tea. But if you're in the mood to simply appreciate film, then "Birdman" checks every single box. It's very deep thematically. It'll make you spend a lot of time pondering on all the mysteries of life. It's about an actor who used to be a huge deal and is now more of a has-been trying to make a comeback. And it puts on an absolute clinic in acting because most of the scenes are very long, so everyone on board had to be at the absolute top of their game. And this because it pulls off the trick of giving the illusion that the movie was made in one shot, so all of the technical aspects of the film of the film are top notch work as well, with the camera work, cinematography, editing, as well as things like visual effects and sound design. I mean, there's a reason why this won best picture.

26- Shutter Island

And the final entry on the first half of this list is a movie that sometimes I forget actually came out last decade. For some reason when I think "Shutter Island," I think of an early 2000s Scorsese movie. But nope, this is 2010. But like with a good number of movies on this list, this is another dark and twisted thriller that completely transforms itself upon a second viewing. I won't dive too deep into all of that, but even the surface level stuff is right down my alley. Two U.S. Marshals, played by Leo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, are visiting a mysterious mental institution for the criminally insane where one murderer completely vanishes from her cell. And, of course, this place is all on this remote island where the only way on and off is through a certain ferry that is controlled by the people who run the place. In the meantime, Leo's character is convinced that the man who killed his wife is secretly locked up in one of the darker places on the island that no one is allowed into. The cold and chilling atmosphere of the movie does an excellent job of setting the tone. Specifically I'm thinking of the film's lighting, as well as fantastically put together soundtrack (no original score, just a collection of classical pieces) and sound design that really does the trick in hitting this home.