Ten movies to watch from the last 10 years

Ten movies you may have not seen from the previous ten years.

Here is a list of 10 overlooked gems from the last 10 years.  I love to curate movies for people that I know are unlikely to have been seen as these movies can fly under the radar, but still have as powerful an impact as the biggest blockbuster or critically acclaimed film.  I tried to cover every genre in the films selected below, so there should be something for all tastes.   Without further ado, here are my thoughts on ten movies, one from each of the last 10 years.

2023 – Past Lives    

Making her directorial debut, Celine Song has crafted a superbly emotional piece of work.  Actress Greta Lee is stunning, playing a woman divided by two cultures.  When a paramour from her past appears, she must grapple with the life she has built in NYC with her upbringing in South Korea.  The film allows the city to have that living character quality of Woody Allen’s depictions of the big apple in movies like Manhattan or Hannah and her Sisters, while the story plays closer to Richard Linklater’s “Before” series with much of the later scenes seeing our two stars walking and talking through lower Manhattan.  At a refreshingly brief 90 minutes every scene is orchestrated brilliantly with a hauntingly poignant ending.  Past Lives was my favorite movie of 2023 and the only film on this list that was also nominated for best picture.

2022 – Aftersun   

This is a movie that has my favorite combination of a nostalgic whimsy combined with melancholy, leading to a truly heartbreakingly authentic experience.   Irish actor Paul Mescal was nominated for best actor as his portrayal of a single father on the edge.  The film takes place almost entirely on vacation in a Turkish resort where Mescal’s, Calum, attempts to make up for seemingly lost time with his 11-year-old daughter Sophie.  I love the way Calum attempts to hide his total emptiness/loneliness, but Sophie knows something is off.  Get ready to shed some tears as in Past Lives, and then savor how jarringly real this film feels.  I think those around Calum’s age, like myself; will find this film extremely moving and relatable.  

2021 – Pig    

                I have always thought Nicholas Cage was one of the great actors in Hollywood, but for a time he was a guy who needed a paycheck and would star in several of the worst films in any given year.  Thank goodness for the Cageisannce, as the Oscar winner’s starring turn in Pig is the best thing he’s ever done.  We all know of the classic Nicholas Cage freak-out meme, and coming into Pig I assumed we were going to get some Cage lunacy.  Instead, we get the most restrained yet intense performance of his storied career as a chef turned hermit living in the Pacific Northwest with his best friend, a pig, that he hunts truffles with.  Someone sees the profit potential and has the pig kidnapped, and Nic has similar feelings to the pig that John Wick has about his dog.  One would think that he’s going to freak out and get revenge, but that’s not what Pig is about.  It’s about acceptance, brutal honesty, and moving on with life in a way that’s far more affirming than any John Wick style shootout could ever produce.   It’s funny and sad, beautifully written and directed.  Go watch.

2020 – Sweet Thing    

This is probably the most indie film on this list.  The title comes from the Van Morrison song of the same name and his romantic folk style music is heard throughout the movie, including an original for the film, which sets the tone perfectly.   A couple of young friends set out on a short road trip where they meet fascinating characters in this coming-of-age fable.  Sweet Thing has a combination of warmth and innocence that is refreshing in an age of depressing news and mistrust among people at a seemingly all-time high.  There are instances where a movie like this could take a dark turn, but it’s got a big heart from start to finish.  The young actors are terrific and all of the side characters they encounter help to enrich this joyous film. 

2019 – The Last Black Man in San Francisco      

What does it mean to truly love the place you live in, is the central focus by this underseen gem starring writer and star Jimmy Fails, and a breakout performance by Jonathan Majors as a couple of young men attempting fend off the oncoming gentrification of where they grew up.  Both men walk the city and discuss the plight of the new San Francisco they see coming, with the soul of the place being bought out.  There are a couple of meta-narrative devices used to help aid the story coming to a head during Majors’ brilliant one man play in an attic in front of a limited audience including Mike Epps and Danny Glover.  This film has all the feels from laughs to tears but is a reminder to us all that the places we grew up in may change, but the people who lived there stay human.   

2018 – The Wolf House    

Mariaaa?  Mariaaa?  Those are words that will induce many a nightmare in this animated Chilean horror masterpiece.  Maria is a girl who is desperate to escape her home, a village commanded by a literal post World War II Nazi who in an aside to my history buffs, helped Chilean President Pinochet to disappear dissidents in the 60s and 70s.  The girl escapes to a nearby cabin with a pig, hah, where the majority of this hellish experience occurs.  This might turn some of you off right there which is totally fine, but for horror buffs, this is special.  I don’t recall another time I felt more uncomfortable where I had to literally grasp the handles of my chair to secure myself for an ENTIRE movie, but the Wolf House meets the challenge head on.  From the nauseating sound design to the torrent of horrifying imagery of a nightmare world the girls mind has designed for her.   I love this movie and if horror is your genre, please watch this because it will scare the crap out of you. 

2017 – One Cut of the Dead    

The first 15 minutes of this comedic gem from Japan, is an extremely strange zombie horror short film, followed by non-stop laughter as we see that the zombie film was actually a live shoot with actors and a lot of mistakes that must be overcome in order to keep the in-film plot somewhat intact.  Every strange occurrence in the first 15 minutes turns out to be hilarious gaffs, bloopers, and chaos that come when the crew attempts to film something live with limited time, budget, and talent.  This film is a love letter to do it yourself filmmaking.  It exudes the never give up mentality that is necessary to complete something on the fly.  As disgraced former pundit Bill O’ Reilly once said, “**** it, we’ll do it LIVE!”

2016 – Sing Street     

Drive it like you stole it!  Ireland steals our hearts with this wonderful film about impoverished teenagers attempting to chart out their own path back in the 80’s.   Our main character, Conor, is a kid in the middle of a transition period with his family that is highlighted by tension due to lessening economic security.  Our group of characters might not have a lot of money, but are passionate about their shared love of music, which leads the young lads to create a high school band at a no fun, all boy schools in 1980’s Dublin.   You’ll be toe-tapping to great original songs including a show stopping song and dance number with a 1950’s style imagining of what a social dance was supposed to be like.  This movie has a terrific understanding and display of how a chaotic home life can lead people to negative behavioral output, but if a chance is given that one’s life can change for the better, no matter how good or bad of a family you grew up in.  As Adam Levine sings at the end, Go Now (and watch).

2015 – Carol    

Carol is the most formal/elegant film not named Past Lives on this list.  Cate Blanchett has never been better than her performance in this film which says a lot considering she is possibly the best actress of her generation.   The delicate yet passionate romance of Rooney Mara and Blanchett takes place in a 1950’s society plagued with legalized homophobia that resonates harder today than when Carol was made just 9 years ago.  The actors sizzle on screen and the romance comes across as truly authentic, showing the necessary restraint for a relationship of their kind to have a chance at success in such an adverse time and place.   I have no idea how this missed out on best picture at the Oscars, as I feel that if this movie was released today that it could win, not just be nominated.  It’s that good.

2014 – Spring    

This movie should not work based on plot alone but defies all expectations in this beautiful movie from Sci-Fi gurus’ Aaron Morehead and Justin Benson (The Endless).  This duo loves to mash up every genre of movie and splice it in as Spring can be described as a sci-fi rom com with horror elements that somehow leaves you with a big fat smile on your face as the film crescendos.  Two young lovers walk the streets of Pompeii in this fun romance in which one of the two is hiding a “monstrous” secret.  Can they find a workaround to a seemingly impossible problem because love can overcome, or was this fast yet deeply romantic duo doomed from the start?  Spring is about living in the present and trying to do the right thing while being a decent person because you only have a finite amount of time.  This one is a total crowd pleaser that will absolutely leave you with a smile for viewers who vibe with the movie.