As 2020’s cinematic releases continue to be pushed back into 2021, I thought now would be a good time to take a retrospective look back at my 50 favourite films from the last decade, in case anyone’s looking for some inspiration of what to watch.

To prevent the Top Fifty from becoming completely swamped with (let’s be honest) Marvel films, I’ve introduced the rule that only one film from a franchise can appear in the Top Fifty (subject to a few special cases). I should also stress that these are my favourite Top Fifty films from the 2010s, not necessarily the “best” (whatever that means).

I’ve already covered numbers 50 to 41, 40 to 31 and 30 to 21 in my rundown, so now we’re into the cream of the crop with numbers 20 to 11 in my Top Fifty Films of the 2010s:

20) Joker (2019): Often, the showy, Oscar-winning films are not my “favourite” movies when it comes time to do my rundowns, but in this case, Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar winning performance earns this film a place in my top 20. Maybe I enjoyed Joker so much precisely because I had very low expectations going into it, but I was taken completely by surprise by the unsettling character study that is more closely related to psychological thrillers like Taxi Driver than it is to any comic-book movie.

19) Jack Reacher (2012): Full disclosure: I had never read a Jack Reacher book before I saw this film (although I loved this film so much, I’ve read several since), so I didn’t spend the whole film complaining how much Tom Cruise didn’t match the novels’ descriptions of the character’s physicality. Instead, I was captivated by one of the best mystery thrillers I’d seen in years, and completely fell in love with Reacher as a twenty-first century detective to rival Sherlock Holmes. The 2016 sequel, Never Go Back, was a much more run-of-the-mill action thriller, but this first film (written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie) is a clever, gripping and very striking cinematic debut for the character.

18) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010): This is certainly a “marmite” film, and I know it’s way too stylised and surreal to appeal to everyone – but I absolutely love it (and it’s probably my favourite of all of Edgar Wright’s films). If you can tune into its unique mash-up of martial arts, quick-fire dialogue, anime aesthetics, surreal humour, and video-game nostalgia, it’s an absolute delight. Not to mention that it has one of the best ensemble casts of the 2010s – many of them during their “before they were mega-famous” phase.

17) John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017): There are some who prefer the first film for its simplicity, and there are others who love the OTT action set-pieces in Chapter 3 (and some people don’t even appreciate the wonder of John Wick at all) – but for me, the second instalment is the perfect action sequel, as it takes the promise of the first film, but expands the mythology of the universe in interesting and unpredictable ways. It’s also a sequel that feels very justified – all during the first film, John Wick was warned that his actions would have consequences, and the second film shows exactly what those consequences are. This franchise manages to be both slightly tongue-in-cheek, while also delivering the best action sequences and fight choreography seen in any Hollywood film this decade, which is not an easy thing to pull off. I’m already looking forward to seeing what they have planned for the announced Chapters 4 and 5.

16) Blade Runner 2049 (2017): I was on record as thinking that it was a terrible idea to make a belated sequel to one of the most iconic sci-fi films of the twentieth century … but I was totally wrong. Director Denis Villeneuve achieved the impossible and made a sequel that is every bit as beautiful, poignant, thought-provoking and poetic as the original. The new cast is amazing, from the lead Ryan Gosling (who gives a stunning performance that conveys so much of what is going on beneath the surface) all the way down to the supporting actors who get to shine in a scene or two (like Ana de Armas, Dave Bautista and Robin Wright and Mackenzie Davis).

15) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016): This is hands down my favourite comedy of the 2010s – which makes it all the more tragic that it was a huge commercial flop. The spoof musical documentary is a This is Spinal Tap for the YouTube generation, combining gags and one-liners with a satirical swipe at the larger-than-life personalities in the music business, all wrapped up with a soundtrack full of songs which are simply works of lyrical genius – each song not only contributes to the plot of the film, but they are also fantastic songs in their own right, packed full of clever wordplay where not a single line is wasted, and yet still managing to be genuinely catchy. The comedy is so layered that each time you re-watch the film or listen to the soundtrack again, you’re bound to find some new nugget of comedy gold.

14) Skyfall (2012): My favourite James Bond film of all time is still Casino Royale, but Skyfall is probably a very close second. For me, what makes Daniel Craig’s Bond by far the best is the depth and emotion he has brought to a character who has traditionally lacked both. Skyfall not only continues to flesh out Bond’s character, but it also brilliantly closes the book on one chapter of the series while simultaneously setting up the next. At this point, I’m just hoping that No Time To Die gives Daniel Craig the send-off that he so clearly deserves.

13) A Quiet Place (2018): I am not a fan of horror films, but A Quiet Place is the kind of “horror” film that appeals to non-horror fans – it is, quite simply, a masterclass in sustaining tension and suspense, without ever losing the emotional connection to the characters. The very small cast are terrific, and director (and co-writer) John Krasinski took a concept that could have easily become just another straight-to-DVD B-movie and instead crafted a modern masterpiece. Intelligent, tense and gripping, it still packs an emotional punch each time I re-watch it.

12) Inception (2010): There’s always a risk that the market for “tent pole” movies becomes overwhelmed by franchise films and sequels – but Christopher Nolan has almost single-handedly ensured that there are still some original-concept blockbusters out there. Inception is still perhaps his most accessible original film so far – combining breath-taking stunts and action sequences with an intelligent plot that is unlike anything you’d seen before (but still relatively easy to follow once you’d wrapped your head around the “rules” of the universe). There are great performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy and Marion Cotillard in particular, but the whole cast is fantastic.

11) The Dark Knight Rises (2012): Two back-to-back Christopher Nolan films! In all honesty, The Dark Knight Rises is by far the weakest of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but it’s also the only one released in the 2010s! And even the weakest instalment in the trilogy is a fantastic film in its own right, finding an interesting and satisfying way not only to adapt two classic comic-book storylines (Knightfall and No Man’s Land) but to also conclude the cinematic trilogy with a “proper” and definitive ending.