The 10 best movies of the past 10 years, according to critics
Everyone has their own standards and strong feelings about what makes a great movie. Some people prefer independent-horror-comedies while others watch nothing but star-studded dramas. And when it comes to choosing the best movies ever, forget about it. It’s impossible to come up with a definitive answer.
Still, the review aggregator Metacritic has taken a stab at pinpointing the best movie from each year since 2000. How? They assigned scores based upon each movie’s composite critical reception. So if you’re looking to fill up your Netflix queue, check out this list of movies that held the number one spot by Metacritic’s analysis for every year of the past decade.
2007: “Ratatouille”
Critic score: 96/100
User score: 8.6/10
It might surprise you to learn that the best movie back in 2007 was an animated film, but Disney’s tale of Remy, the rat who dreams of becoming a great French chef, charmed audiences and critics alike.
2008: “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”
Critic score: 97/100
User score: 8/10
2009: “The Hurt Locker”
Critic score: 94/100
User score: 7.3/10
This timely film followed soldiers tasked with disarming bombs in the heat of combat during the Iraq War. The movie won six Oscars, including “Best Picture.”
2010: “The Social Network”
Critic score: 95/100
User score: 8.3/10
“The Social Network” told the real-life story of the founding of the social networking site that would become Facebook. The film scored three Oscars, including one for “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score.” The moody score was composed by Nine Inch Nails’ front man Trent Reznor and English musician, producer and audio engineer Atticus Ross, who joined Nine Inch Nails in 2016.
2011: “A Separation”
Critic score: 95/100
User score: 8.9/10
A married couple in modern-day Iran must make an agonizing choice: to move to another country to improve the life of their child or stay in Iran to take care of an aging parent suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
2012: “Zero Dark Thirty”
Critic score: 95/100
User score: 6.8/10
Inspired by true events, “Zero Dark Thirty” chronicles the 10-year search for and subsequent assassination by U.S. forces of al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden following 9/11.
2013: “12 Years A Slave”
Critic score: 96/100
User score: 8/10
Based on an amazing true story, “12 Years A Slave” follows the life story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who is abducted into slavery during the era preceding the Civil War in the United States.
2014: “Boyhood”
Critic score: 100/100
User score: 7.7/10
An unconventional film, “Boyhood” was made over the course of 12 years with the same cast. The audience witnesses a boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) grow up in real time.
2015: “Carol”
Critic score: 95/100
User score: 8/10
“Carol” is an adaptation of a novel by Patricia Highsmith, “The Price of Salt,” and explores a forbidden love affair between two women in 1950s New York.
2016: “Moonlight”
Critic score: 99/100
User score: 7.2/10
A deep character study, “Moonlight” follows the life of Chiron from adolescence through adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world as a gay African American man living in a dangerous area of Miami.
2017: “A Fantastic Woman”
Critic score: 96/100
User score: TBD
Although 2017 has not yet come to a close, Metacritic has already determined their pick for the best film of the year. “A Fantastic Woman” explores the discrimination faced by a transgender woman in the wake of her boyfriend’s untimely death.
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