Considering it is the halfway point in this current decade of ours, 2014 is about as good a time as many to begin making “Best of the Decade (So Far)” lists — which I have actually attempted to do over on Letterboxd — and it seems the fine folks over at streaming site and film blog Fandor agree, as just yesterday video essayist Kevin B. Lee posted a video that counts down the 26 best films of the decade so far, as determined by a poll he took of “290 film critics and movie lovers on Twitter and Facebook.”
Lee took to Slate yesterday to explain the results a bit more in-depth, including the importance of social media played in the poll, how Cannes was a better predictor than the Oscars, how movies’ fortunes rise and fall over time, and more. It’s an interesting read, so if you want to check it out, I encourage you to do so.
Of the 26 films in the video (there was a three-way tie at #24), I am happy to see quite a few films earn recognition, including Inside Llewyn Davis (#8), Boyhood (#10), The Social Network (#12), Moonrise Kingdom (#13), Her (#14), Before Midnight (#19t), Frances Ha (#22t), and The Wolf of Wall Street (#22t). The Grand Budapest Hotel (#29) just missed the cut, and if we want to talk about travesties, Silver Linings Playbook is all the way down at #98 while Spring Breakers cracked the top 25. Come on, people!
Other notable selections, as Lee mentioned at Slate, are 12 Years a Slave as the highest-rated Best Picture winner at #39 and Inception as the highest-rated blockbuster at #53. Lee’s video compilation can be viewed directly below, and I’ve posted the list of the top 50 films (52 with ties) directly beneath it. You can check out Lee’s full post at Fandor here to view the entire list of 491 films that received votes, and please feel free to join in the comments and list what you think are the best films of the decade so far!
[vimeo id=”116202003″ width=”640″]
The 26 Best Films of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)
- The Tree of Life (103 votes)
- Certified Copy (91 votes)
- The Master (76 votes)
- Margaret (68 votes)
- Holy Motors (66 votes)
- A Separation (64 votes)
- Under the Skin (61 votes)
- Inside Llewyn Davis (59 votes)
- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (45 votes)
- Boyhood (44 votes)
- Goodbye to Language (41 votes)
- The Social Network (40 votes)
- Moonrise Kingdom (36 votes)
- Her (33 votes)
(tie) Leviathan (2012)
- Mysteries of Lisbon (32 votes)
- The Act of Killing (28 votes)
(tie) The Turin Horse
- Before Midnight (27 votes)
(tie) Melancholia
(tie) Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
- Frances Ha (25 votes)
(tie) The Wolf of Wall Street
- The Immigrant (24 votes)
(tie) Spring Breakers
(tie) Tabu
- Amour (23 votes)
(tie) House of Pleasures/Tolerance
- Grand Budapest Hotel (21 votes)
(tie)Like Someone in Love
(tie)This Is Not a Film
- Upstream Color (20 votes)
- Stray Dogs (19 votes)
- Drive (18 votes)
(tie) Oslo August 31
- Computer Chess (16 votes)
(tie) Cosmopolis
(tie) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
- The Day He Arrives (15 votes)
(tie) Film Socialisme
(tie) You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet
(tie) 12 Years a Slave
(tie) Meek’s Cutoff
- Hugo (14 votes)
(tie) Poetry
(tie) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
(tie) The Wind Rises
(tie) Zero Dark Thirty
- Carlos (13 votes)
(tie) Horse Money
(tie) It’s Such a Beautiful Day
(tie) Stories We Tell
