Listmania Decades: My Favorite Oscar-Winning Films of the Decade (2010-2019)

Scene from Black Swan

With 2019 marking the end of a decade, it's time to commemorate the past 10 years with the help of Listmania Decades. Over this year's 12 months, the series will look at a variety of different styles of film in order to highlight everything that made this period unique and exciting. While this isn't meant as a collection of the greatest films ever released, it's more meant as a highlight of films that I would consider to be among my favorite, or ones that are worth remembering in the future. So please feel free to join me every 19th of the month to highlight a new entry that will highlight 25 films that exemplified a certain field of cinema. There's a lot of great work out there, and this list barely captures the bulk of it. Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments so that we can find more to appreciate before this year is through.

THIS MONTH: As of today, the 91st annual Academy Awards are only five days away. Over the course of almost a century, the prestigious movie award has become the gold standard for what a film award should be. While there's often controversy over what did and should've won, there's no denying that a win can easily change a star's reputation and make one wonder what lies ahead. With this in mind, it feels like a good time to look back at the Oscar winners from this decade who actually deserved the award. While it's easy to pull from every nominee ever, this list is only made of winners from every category. The following is a ranking of the 25 movies, documentaries, etc. that left a strong impression on me and are worthy of remembrance well into the next decade.

*NOTE: Due to this not coming out when the latest winners have been announced, there will be a short addendum next week with five additional movies to consider.

1. Life of Pi (2012)

On its surface, the story of a boy floating on the Pacific Ocean with a CG Bengal Tiger sounds a bit hokey. How could something computer generated ever create anything resembling deeper emotion? That's where director Ang Lee comes in with an adaptation of Yann Martel's novel that transfuses faith and spirituality into one of the most technically and emotionally impressive films of the short millennium. With an underrated performance by Suraj Sharma, the film is a rare mix of thought provoking stories and beautiful spectacle. No studio film has come close to capturing the magic of Sharma's relationship with the Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker, and its ability to get to the heart of the human condition makes it a far more rewarding film. It explores faith without isolating the secularists and never does it in a way that distracts the story. It's a beautiful, ambitious film that continues to prove why Ang Lee is one of the most exciting and essential directors of the modern era. 

2. Black Swan (2010)

The decade kicked off very well with one of the strongest groups of nominees in recent memory. What made it more incredible is that there would be room for one of the most beautiful, intense, crazy Best Picture nominees in history. Director Darren Aronofsky has made a name for himself by pushing boundaries with cerebral imagery and a performance by Natalie Portman that is physically taxing and gets under your skin. Everything about the film is ethereal and thrusts the viewer into a world of obsession that makes ballet into a horror show that has never ending hurdles. You too would go crazy if you had to perform in Swan Lake, and the camera's swift pace is just as much a dance as the ballet itself. By the third act it's a look into just how far some would go for a perfect performance. It's scary, it's campy, but most of all it's a premiere example of the "prestige horror" that will become more popular by the end of the decade. Still, nothing comes close to what Aronofsky does here with surreal long takes and spinning dancers.

3. Manchester by the Sea (2016)

The idea of grief is universal, yet it's very difficult to capture on film. Director and writer Kenneth Lonergan not only understands the sadness that comes with death, but also the humor that lies in its agitation. Life doesn't stop merely because someone else's does, and Lonergan knows how to find the subtle ways that people hurt themselves in this instance with a screenplay so casually perfect that it feels like every "Uh" and "Um" has been written into its DNA. At the center is a career best performance by Casey Affleck who manages to play the character with a defensive sense of humor that hides the pain underneath. It's soul crushing and cathartic, showing the permanence of a damaged man. It's also a breakout role for supporting actor Lucas Hedges, whose work here has lead to many other great roles. It may not seem all that exceptional as a film, but sometimes the best stories are the simplest, and this film proves it.

4. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

There have been few events in 21st century American history that defines the atmosphere quite like September 11, 2001. Everyone has a story, even 18 years later as the chaos continues to rumble on. Director Kathryn Bigelow follows up her Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker with a film that may be factually inaccurate, but captures the mentality that America has developed in the decade since that fateful day. There's an obsession for closure, and nowhere does it feel more perfectly symbolic than killing terrorists. The film otherwise is a conventional cat and mouse chase that features a career best performance by Jessica Chastain as she yells in board rooms and witnesses controversial interrogation tactics. It's not always the most pleasant of depictions, but it is a film that gets to the heart of America's ongoing frustration, raising the question of why we're so hungry for revenge. Bigelow's towering, controversial epic set a bar for how we view 9/11 through cinema. Most films are too timid and patriotic to come close to a story this scathing and honest.

5. The Fighter (2010)

For a five year span, it did look like director David O. Russell was bound to become one of Oscar's biggest darlings. While most are likely to remember his later collaborations with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, it's the film that he kicked the decade off with that captures what makes him capable of being great. In the boxing drama, he finds an anorexic Christian Bale turning in one of his best performances as an addict barely holding onto his relevance in a dysfunctional family. The cast is stacked with amazing performances (most of them even nominated for Oscars) and the pathos of a man dealing with his poisonous family adds weight to the drama. This film joins Rocky and Million Dollar Baby as further evidence that some of the best sports stories take place in the ring, and often benefit from its underdog sensibility. Russell would go on to make more crowd pleasing movies, but none were as accomplished on every level as this.

6. Dunkirk (2017)

After reinventing the superhero genre with The Dark Knight trilogy, it seemed like director Christopher Nolan was out of tricks. This was far from the truth, as he came out swinging with a war film that reinvented the genre by not having any singular protagonist. With some incredible hat trick, he takes the story of Britain escaping the island of Dunkirk and finds a way to make it the most intense film of the decade. With his mending of time, he manages to make a story with a massive scale and several intimate moments that still hit hard. This is about the survival of a community, and thankfully Nolan knows how to create memorable montages of chaos that are pure cinema, reviving the 70 mm. format and making IMAX into an essential viewing format. More than being just another war film, it was a story that benefited from cinematic technique both visually and sonically (make sure to check out Hans Zimmer's incredible ticking score). He even manages to make fighter pilot shooting guns feel new. It takes a true master to make a film this visceral yet personal, and Nolan proves he's got even more to prove.

7. Get Out (2017)

There have been few welcomed surprises as finding out that comedian Jordan Peele was a gifted artist. In his directorial debut, he far exceeds expectations by finding a story of racial divisions and turning it into the horror experience of the decade. With a story that never ceases to twist and turn in disturbing ways, it creates iconic moments drenched in historical and cultural references that makes it one of the densest nominees in recent history. There's plenty to love in Daniel Kaluuya's reserved performance, which hides his fear from others while cuing the audience into something more terrifying. It's hard to forget Get Out, if just because it refuses to be anything except relevant. There's power in every frame and it will join the ranks of the greatest horror films of all time. The question as to whether Peele will be on that list as well has yet to be seen. Just wait until Us comes out.

8. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

The impact of director Steve McQueen's third film is not something to take for granted. Based on a memoir by Solomon Northup, the story's exploration of slavery helped to reshape the conversation that America has about its own past. While this is far from the first sympathetic portrait of slavery, it's one that paints it in a painfully realistic manner, lead by powerful performances by Chiwetel Ejiofir and Lupita Nyong'o. The film searches for humanity in times of endless despair, and it manages to become one of the most singular cinematic statements of the decade. It's powerful in all of the right ways and creates images that will scar the viewer, forcing them to consider the pain faced by those who were mistreated for decades. It's a film that is capitol I Important from start to finish and shows how art can not only create deeply complex emotions, but also forward conversations in ways that matter.

9. Inside Out (2015)

One of the strange phenomenons of the decade has been Pixar's slow pull away from its perfect track record between 2000 and 2009. Then again, it's hard to continually make masterpieces that think outside the box, and it's admirable to see them keep trying. It's why there's something incredible about the out of nowhere success of Inside Out, a film that commemorated the studio's 20th anniversary by being the perfect thesis for why we love Pixar. The film's explorations of emotions pulling levers can be seen as the creators knowing how to write a screenplay that makes us happy, sad, anxious, and even mad. The film packs some of the studio's heaviest punches in years and manages to make a seemingly ridiculous character (Bing Bong) into one of the most compelling figures in recent Pixar. This is everything that the studio does best and is among the best animated films of the decade. It makes something conceptual into a visual wonderland in a way that's accessible, serving audiences and therapists alike with a tool that will help you understand yourself better along the way.

10. La La Land (2016)

In an era where movie musicals feel like they're dead, director Damien Chazelle and collaborator Justin Hurwitz created a wholly original tale that turns Los Angeles into a place of wondrous awe. With a central cast in Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, the film manages to capture the feeling of being a young opportunist in a world that doesn't immediately accept you. More than the films it pays homage to, it's grounded in a familiar realism and features more natural dancing. While there's complaints that Gosling and Stone aren't the best song-and-dance team in history, they still bring a passion to their roles that is downright charming. Even as the film navigates towards a more conventional plot and away from its peppy beginning, it still manages to convey something new and interesting in a genre that hasn't had much to work with lately. This is a musical in the vein of Jacques Demy, managing to be as much performance as it is celebration and criticism. It's all worth it for the moments that click, such as Stone's audition song. Few movie musicals try to be this grounded and still work, which is thankful that Chazelle had the idea to make it work.

11. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

There's a certain charm in watching Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet slowly fall in love over the course of two hours. There's not much else to the story besides that, but director Luca Guadagnino still manages to make the most of everything by mixing in conversations of philosophy as characters have conversations in front of beautiful villas. By the end, it all depends on the central duo's chemistry, and it is something that is electric and captures the naivety of young love in a way that feels honest and at times raw. While some are likely to buy into the film's "controversy," the story is far more pure than that and feels familiar as it revels in dance scenes set to Psychedelic Furs. If you've been in love, there's something that will resonate here. If you've had a summer love, there's a good chance the ending will hit like a ton of bricks. Still, it's one of the best atmospheric films of the decade and features a great third act monologue from Michael Stuhlbarg. There's so much to love about the film, and the only way to do it justice is to give into its positive energy.

12. The Social Network (2010)

While the decade was only a few months old at the point and Facebook's stranglehold on society still in its infancy, this collaboration between director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin still came out swinging. It's a film that explored why we turn to the internet for validation, finding a way to explore how egos clash and tear apart friendships in favor of a once in a lifetime idea. Was it worth it? It may be a typical looking court room drama, but it's also the groundwork for one of the most secretive technical achievements in Fincher's career. There's a good chance that you didn't recognize that Armie Hammer wasn't both of the Winklevoss twins. Another thing that still feels grandiose is the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which set a new bar for musicians-turned-composers and has rarely been matched since. The film is a nonstop exploration of style and theme that has only grown more relevant as Facebook has become more omnipresent. With great performances, writing, and direction, it makes sense why the film continues to resonate as more than another film about social media. It's a film about ourselves.

13. The Artist (2011)

On its surface, the film is one of the most self-congratulatory Oscar winners ever. It's a film about how great Golden Age Hollywood was, where silent film was the standard. However, it's still one of the most delightful oddities to win in quite some time thanks to a charismatic lead performance by Jean Dujardin. As much as it's a celebration of the past, it's an example of how silent film still can be used in meaningful ways long after the form has been deemed obsolete by telling a story full of comedic charm and one of the greatest scores in Ludovic Bource. A story can be told through movement, finding drama in action that is just as searing as any monologue. It also helps that Uggie is the film's secret weapon, bringing some of the most charming and effective pet performing of the decade. While the film may feel rooted in the past, director Michel Hazanavicius brings enough ingenuity and heart into it to make it feel like more than novelty.

14. Les Miserables (2012)

While one could argue that there have been better movie musicals released this decade, few have felt as bawdy, ambitious, strange, and sometimes missing the mark entirely. As flawed as director Tom Hooper's take of the Tony-winning musical is, it's still hard not to love on some strange level thanks to how it swings for the fences. Sure, Russell Crowe can't sing and the editing is at times a bit off, but there's still moments of sublime cinema such as Anne Hathaway singing a soul-crushing rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream." Hooper got flack for his close-up camera work on a story that was expansive, but it helps to capture the deeper emotion of its characters. It's likely that the film's divisiveness will make many question why it's here, but for me it's an embodiment of what an epic musical could be. There's probably a more perfect version that could've been done, but it still packs a punch for me every time. If you can get on its wavelength, I'm sure you'll agree.

15. Ida (2014)

There's a lot of ways that director Pawel Pawlikowski's work defies expectations. His Oscar-winning film Ida is a strong example of this, as it manages to capture something so beautiful and thought provoking in only 88 minutes. While that running time would suggest that the film is cheap or lazy, it actually is a perfect example of how one condenses story telling to its bare essentials, finding a story of faith during war and exploring it in a way that never has a chance to get dull. While the story itself is great, credit should be given to the gorgeous black and white cinematography that has some of the most beautiful landscapes of any film released this decade. It's a film that defies expectation and its short length is more of a feature than a bug. With his latest film (Cold War) also clocking in at 90 minutes, it's time to reconsider how we view shorter films. They may not look like it, but they have a chance to have the biggest impact on audiences if they allow themselves to be taken in by the beauty and intrigue.

16. O.J.: Made in America (2016)

While one could argue that it's technically a TV miniseries, this still won an Oscar due to a theatrical run. With a running time of almost eight hours, the story of O.J. Simpson is laid out in incredibly expansive detail that follows him from his days as a football player to the time he stole back his memorabilia. While it's a look into a life full of contradictions, what makes it essential is that the story of Simpson is a metaphor for how society views African Americans in general. As one of the rare figures that transcended racial barriers, Simpson embodied a rare celebrity that brought out a lot of tension in people. It's as much about the man's hubris as it is America's reaction to his controversies. While it's made up almost entirely of archival footage, it still has an intensity and purpose to it that will leave the viewer not only with a deeper understanding of Simpson, but the general treatment of black celebrities in America. As the title suggests, he is a strong example of the American experience, and it isn't always a pretty picture.

17. Still Alice (2014)

There is a fate worse than death, and it's watching a loved one, especially at a young age, suffer through Alzheimer's disease. What makes Julianne Moore's performance incredible is that it feels like a subversion of the type of roles that win Best Actress. It's not a showy role, instead finding ways to slowly remove the layers of an identity as the horror sets in. It starts innocently enough by forgetting one thing. Soon an entire identity is forgotten and the film builds to that heartbreaking and inevitable moment. It's a perfect character piece enhanced by a supporting cast that includes excellent performances by Kristen Stewart and Alec Baldwin that embody that repressed grief of trying not to lose hope that things will pull through. It won't. The film is a powerful exploration of one of life's cruelest games, and it helps that everything about it is a bit too convincing.

18. The Shape of Water (2017)

It still seems bizarre to think of a film in which a deaf woman falls in love with an aquatic creature winning Best Picture. It's too esoteric of a concept, especially given how rarely fantasy cinema has won. With that said, director Guillermo del Toro's empathetic heart manages to raise the monster movie genre to a thing of prestige, capturing a vulnerability of its central cast that explores how we search for love in this cruel world. It's a contemporary fairy tale, albeit with more of an R-Rated sensibility, and one of the most touching love stories of modern years. It's a film that proves that there's room to question genre movies of the past and update them in a way that speaks to our modern sensibilities. Thankfully del Toro did it with one of the best set designs of the decade as well as a creature design that finally gives actor Doug Jones the credit he deserves. It's a thing of beauty and proves that cinema can be far more interesting than it currently is. All it takes is a little effort.

19. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

This is the moment where the cult of Wes Anderson went mainstream. While he has been working for decades, this was the film that not only gained him some of his highest critical acclaim, but also established what society envisions a Wes Anderson movie to look like. With a literal storybook format, he is winking at the camera as he plays with style that is at times too cartoonish to take seriously. Luckily it's grounded by an underappreciated Ralph Fiennes performance and one of the decade's best supporting casts. It's a madcap adventure that has way too much style, but even more substance. It's impossible to not find something to love in this infinitely creative tale that takes Anderson past the point of self-parody and into his own art form. His story has never been more political, adding something dark and personal inside of the brightly colored package. It's subversive cinema at its finest, leaving an impression at all costs. 

20. Moonlight (2016)

More than any other film this decade, there will be few moments as memorable as when this won Best Picture. Beyond the La La Land fiasco that lead to endless ridicule, it was a film with an entirely African American cast telling a queer love story without painting him as a martyr. It's the antithesis to the type of film that wins Best Picture and marked a seismic shift in what the category means. Director Barry Jenkins' tale was revolutionary in many ways, including the way that black characters were filmed in the literal moonlight. It also challenged the narrative structure by playing with how actors portrayed characters through different parts of one man's life. It's one of the decade's most empathetic winners as well as the most artful, capturing a side of the black experience that rarely gets recognized at the Oscars. There's power to every frame and helped to establish Jenkins as one of the most humane and visually talented directors currently working.

21. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

In a career full of bold decisions, director David Fincher's "franchise for grown-ups" film is maybe one of his most daunting thanks to a mix of its dark subject matter, a humongous budget, and a running time of almost three hours. It's a bold move, and one that isolated audiences at the time. Still, it's one of those rare achievements as an adaptation of a Swedish murder mystery book that perfectly brought an American sensibility without losing the point. Its ambitions are perfectly met by a career-making performance by Rooney Mara whose shameless embodiment of protagonist Lisbeth Salander is radical, intense, and makes her small frame feel intimidating. The cold atmosphere brings a touch of intrigue to the story and the methodical pacing allows for the audience to not only get to the heart of the mystery, but explore one of pop culture's most enigmatic icons. As superhero cinema continues to dominate, it's easy to argue that the R-Rated adult franchise is a thing that will never again exist. Even the film's "sequel" (The Girl in the Spider's Web) was knocked down to a paltry PG-13. If for no other reason, the edginess of this film reflects a yearning for a world of cinema that could've been far more interesting and strange than the one we have. 

22. Blue Jasmine (2013)

If we're being honest, the past few years have proven that the era of Woody Allen might be over. Not only has his latest film been unable to be released, but he hasn't exactly released a masterpiece in the past five years to fight the increasing backlash. It's difficult to argue that future audiences will even humor his work in decades to come. With that said, it makes this Cate Blanchett comedy all the more special as what can be viewed as his final "masterpiece," focusing on a woman suffering from mental illness and struggles that find the actress at the top of her form (see also: Sally Hawkins). Despite everything it does right, it's one stacked with already problematic performers (Louis C.K., Alec Baldwin) that may make this film harder to enjoy. Still, it's quite possibly the last time that Allen will have been relevant, and this film is much, much better than it has any right to be. If you don't like Allen, then see it for the great Blanchett, Hawkins, and Andrew "Dice" Clay performances that add weight to this west coast story.

23. Phantom Thread (2017)

While director Paul Thomas Anderson has continually produced great work, it's interesting to see The Academy fall in love with his most intimate film. With another great performance by Daniel Day Lewis, the film finds a way to explore the struggles of marriage through a costume designer and his assistant that is equally scathing and humorous. It's a patient film and one that rewards viewers willing to slowly get inside the mind of its characters, struggling to maintain their sanity amid feuding egos. The third act is a thing of beauty and features great role reversals that add a warmth to its perverse sensibility. Add in another career best score from Jonny Greenwood and you get a film that plays like an elegant (literal) costume drama but through the lens of a man coming to terms with the world outside of him. If this is Lewis' last movie, it's a pretty great way to go out, though one could hope he teams up with Anderson at some point down the line, if just for our cinematic sanity.

24. Gravity (2013)

Following up Ang Lee's triumphant Life of Pi, director Alfonso Cuaron took special effects and intimacy to someplace even more isolating: outer space. If there was ever a film this decade that represents the future of cinema, it's this. With a great performance by Sandra Bullock, the film follows an astronaut trying to return home in the face of constant peril. While its realism will always be up for question (thanks a lot, Neil DeGrasse Tyson), nobody can deny that it visually is one of the most incredible thrill rides piled into 90 minutes. It helps that Cuaron is a master of the effects as well as using a camera that goes to new angles in ambitious long takes that only thrust the viewer further into anxiety. It's a film that not only deserves to only be experienced in IMAX, but brings importance to the 3D technology that has since become stale (though you'll be forgiven for watching it at home). It's a film that gets to the point and never lets up, proving that technology isn't always a deterrent to cinema. It can enhance it in ways that films like Avatar were only starting to allude to a mere four years prior.

25. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Of every Oscar-nominated film of the decade, few feel as unprecedented or groundbreaking as the fourth film in director George Romero's Mad Max series. On paper, it should've been a failure. However, it ended up being one of the most delightfully experimental action films that raised conversation about feminism thanks to Charlize Theron's excellent performance as Furiosa. It's a film that proved that the economy of film doesn't need endless exposition and set-up to give audiences an enjoyable time. All it really needs is a bunch of cars driving in the desert and people swinging from poles. It's a perfect distillation of madness, and one that puts every other car movie of the 21st century to shame. In an era where they sequels are the norm, it's incredible to realize not only that Romero's fourth entry resonates, but that it shows how much more interesting studio cinema could be with people who know how to have fun (and probably have good insurance agents).