Two thumbs up! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best movies released from 2014 to 2023.
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00:00 "My name is Max."
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best movies released
00:10 from 2014 to 2023.
00:13 As exceptional as Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse is, we're only focusing on live-action films.
00:19 "I wish I could shield you from the knowledge that you did what you did, but your sister
00:24 is dead!"
00:28 Number 20.
00:30 Oppenheimer
00:31 "Well, the purpose of this institute is to provide a haven for independent minds.
00:35 That's you.
00:36 You are the man for the job."
00:38 One half of 2023's most celebrated movie meme, Oppenheimer surprised many prognosticators
00:43 with its almost billion-dollar gross worldwide.
00:46 At three hours long and without a lot of conventional "action," it might not have seemed like an
00:50 obvious blockbuster.
00:51 But that's what Christopher Nolan does.
00:54 He makes great movies that usually make a whole lot of money.
00:57 His biographical drama about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer is exactly that.
01:01 In fact, the A.V. Club called it Nolan's best movie yet, which if you look at his impressive
01:06 filmography, is no easy feat.
01:15 Number 19.
01:16 Whiplash
01:17 "Not quite my tempo."
01:26 Now we go from a movie with a $100 million budget about the man who built the atomic
01:30 bomb to a film with a $3.3 million budget about an aspiring drummer and his emotionally
01:35 sadistic band conductor.
01:36 Whiplash is a much smaller film, but in a way, it's no less explosive.
01:41 The intense psychological battle between teacher and student brings a true intensity to every
01:46 frame.
01:47 The performances of Miles Teller and J.K.
01:49 Simmons, the latter of whom won the Oscar, play off each other like two master jazz musicians
01:54 in tune and on tempo.
02:04 Number 18.
02:05 The Batman
02:06 "Are you kidding me, sir?
02:07 You're gonna let him in here?"
02:14 There have been plenty of Batman movies made over the last 35 years.
02:18 A number of them rank among the best superhero movies ever.
02:21 So did we honestly need another one in 2022?
02:25 Technically no, but who are we to complain when the result is another triumph?
02:28 This tale of the caped crusader came from a slightly different angle, taking a film
02:32 noir/detective movie approach to the story and the character of the Batman.
02:37 Director Matt Reeves made this film his own, showing that there are still many fresh places
02:42 to take this iconic character.
02:49 Number 17.
02:50 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
02:59 Frances McDormand stars as Mildred Hayes, a woman who lost her daughter to a violent
03:04 crime.
03:05 When the investigation into her daughter's case goes nowhere, Mildred rents three billboards
03:08 in town to "encourage" the police chief into action.
03:11 This darkly comic crime drama was one of the surprise hits of 2017, grossing over $162
03:18 million.
03:19 In addition to critical acclaim, the film garnered multiple Oscar nominations, including
03:24 a win for McDormand's riveting lead performance.
03:27 Director Martin McDonagh returned to the Best Picture conversation five years later with
03:30 The Banshees of Inisharen, but Three Billboards may be his rawest and most challenging film
03:35 to date.
03:46 Number 16.
03:47 Birdman
04:00 What was the best film of 2014?
04:03 The Academy said Birdman, and we're inclined to agree.
04:06 Alejandro Iñárritu's single-shot masterpiece is, as one reviewer put it, "a film about
04:11 acting, identity, transformation, and the mysterious effects of superheroes."
04:16 Speaking of costumed vigilantes, Michael Keaton goes from playing arguably the definitive
04:20 Batman to giving the performance of a lifetime as Rigan Thompson, an actor looking to be
04:25 taken more seriously following his superhero heyday.
04:28 Along with the Best Picture win, the film's direction, writing, and cinematography also
04:33 took home Oscars.
04:39 Number 15.
04:40 Dune, Part 1
04:51 Opinions of David Lynch's Dune are mixed, leaning towards negative.
04:54 And even Lynch himself has distanced himself from the film.
04:57 However, almost 40 years later, director Denis Villeneuve took his shot at the story and
05:02 made one of the best films in recent memory.
05:04 The scope of the book on which the film is based could be intimidating, but Villeneuve
05:08 was able to keep it under control and not lose the audience in the vastness of the narrative.
05:13 It also helps that Villeneuve's Dune was conceived as the first part of a two-film
05:17 project.
05:18 Despite only being the beginning of Paul Atreides' journey, few modern films are grander in scale,
05:23 ambition, or storytelling.
05:34 Number 14.
05:35 Black Panther
05:36 A lot of superhero movies have been released since 2014, but only a handful of them were
05:46 influential enough to be considered for this list.
05:48 Black Panther was one of those handful.
05:50 It took the MCU nearly a decade to produce a film with a primarily black cast.
05:55 Anyone who thought Black Panther wouldn't reach Marvel's usual levels of success couldn't
05:59 have been more wrong.
06:01 Not only did Black Panther make over $1 billion, it also earned unprecedented levels of acclaim
06:06 for the MCU.
06:08 This extended to the Oscars, where it became the first comic book superhero movie to be
06:12 nominated for Best Picture.
06:13 This was sadly Chadwick Boseman's only opportunity to take center stage as T'Challa.
06:18 Few things last forever, but Wakanda will.
06:28 Number 13.
06:29 Roma
06:35 Next up is director Alfonso Cuarón's beautiful semi-autobiographical look at life in the Colonia
06:39 Roma neighborhood of Mexico City in the early 1970s.
06:43 Seen through the eyes of an indigenous maid working in the house of a doctor in his family,
06:47 Roma is intimate, reflective, and perhaps Cuarón's most personal film to date.
06:52 The story may be simple, but the outcome couldn't be more profound.
06:55 Set in beautiful black and white, Roma took home the top prize at the Venice Film Festival
07:00 and the BAFTAs, winning Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars while also being nominated
07:04 for Best Picture.
07:13 Number 12.
07:14 The Shape of Water
07:19 The Shape of Water is a romantic fantasy film set in 1960s Baltimore about a woman who communicates
07:25 only through sign language who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian being held
07:29 in a secret government lab.
07:30 Sure, it sounds weird, and it most definitely could have gone off the rails so many times,
07:35 but in the hands of the great Guillermo del Toro, finds its heart and soul in the originality,
07:40 the fantasy, and the powerful emotions.
07:42 Del Toro draws the audience in with deep feelings and honest characters, making us believe this
07:47 utterly unbelievable love story.
07:58 Number 11.
07:59 Licorice Pizza
08:11 Set against a 1970s backdrop, Paul Thomas Anderson's 2021 comedy-drama didn't open
08:16 to the biggest box office numbers.
08:18 Licorice Pizza is the definition of a cult classic in the making, however.
08:22 Not only is this one of Anderson's funniest and most atmospheric films yet, but it contains
08:26 one of the most layered relationships between Cooper Hoffman's Gary and Alana Haim's Alana.
08:31 One's 15 and has his life all figured out, the other is 25 and meandering through life.
08:37 There are a dozen reasons why the relationship shouldn't work, and yet we find ourselves
08:41 rooting for these two kids all the way to the rousing finish.
08:44 Fans are still discovering Licorice Pizza, but it thankfully didn't take critics or the
08:48 Academy long.
09:01 Number 10.
09:02 Avengers Endgame
09:03 In Avengers Infinity War, Thanos destroyed half of all life in the universe.
09:16 In Avengers Endgame, the good guys team up again to reverse his actions.
09:20 They're both great movies, but when it came to selecting one for our list, it had to be
09:24 Endgame.
09:25 Technically, Spider-Man Far From Home was the final film in Phase 3 of the MCU, but
09:29 Endgame was truly the climax that Marvel had been building to.
09:33 And to paraphrase Fifth Harmony, it was worth it.
09:36 Even with the first-rate special effects and larger-than-life action, the film never loses
09:40 the characters and honors our emotional connection to them.
09:52 Number 9.
09:53 Top Gun Maverick
09:54 Fans of the first Top Gun from 1986 were beyond excited and nervous when they heard the long-awaited
10:06 sequel was finally getting made.
10:08 Excited because it would mean more jets, air action, and of course, more Tom Cruise.
10:13 Over 30 years later, though, would it be able to capture the excitement and energy of the
10:17 first one?
10:18 The answer was a resounding yes.
10:21 Top Gun Maverick not only had even better in-air action than the first one, but it was
10:25 a surprisingly thoughtful film about redemption and making the most of the time you still
10:28 have.
10:29 This one was a runaway hit with both audiences and critics, raking in over $1.4 billion and
10:36 earning an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
10:44 Number 8.
10:45 Arrival
10:46 Needless to say, Denis Villeneuve had a pretty good decade.
10:55 His thoughtful sci-fi drama Arrival follows a linguistics professor attempting to figure
11:00 out how to communicate with recently arrived alien spacecraft before a war breaks out.
11:05 Rather than relying on big action and explosions like so many alien movies do, Villeneuve gives
11:09 us a smart, completely engaging film about connecting.
11:13 It got Oscar voters talking as well, picking up nominations in multiple categories, including
11:18 Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Cinematography.
11:30 Number 7.
11:31 Triple R
11:39 Triple R stands for Rudram Ranam Ruhiram, but given the quality of the film, they could
11:44 just as easily stand for Really, Really, Really Good, because that's what this film is.
11:49 Triple R is an epic period action drama about the battle of two Indian revolutionaries against
11:53 British rule in the 1920s.
11:55 At over three hours, the film is definitely one of the longer films you're going to see
11:59 this decade.
12:00 But oh, is it worth it?
12:02 Action, adventure, and did we mention the dancing yet?
12:05 The visuals are big and bold, but the tale of brotherhood at the heart of Triple R is
12:10 what gets us pumped above all else.
12:19 Number 6.
12:20 Get Out
12:21 Today, we all know that Jordan Peele is one of the great psychological horror filmmakers
12:35 working in Hollywood.
12:36 But back in 2017, very few of us would have guessed that one half of the sketch comedy
12:41 duo Key and Peele would make one of the best horror films of the 21st century, in a genre
12:46 where we thought we'd seen it all.
12:47 It turns out we hadn't.
12:49 Peele's film is social commentary, satire, and horror.
12:52 It's a film as funny as it is scary, blending the two in ways that make for an experience
12:57 unlike any other.
13:06 Number 5.
13:07 Moonlight
13:08 The film might be remembered as part of the Best Picture announcement mistake at the 89th
13:20 Academy Awards ceremony.
13:21 What we hope no one ever forgets is how wonderful Moonlight is, and completely deserving of
13:27 its Oscar win, even if it was the second film announced that night.
13:30 Both black and sexual identities are explored by writer-director Barry Jenkins.
13:34 This LGBTQ+-themed coming-of-age movie brings to the big screen characters rarely given
13:39 this kind of loving, thoughtful, and forward-facing treatment.
13:42 Along with its Best Picture Oscar, Moonlight also held the top spot on numerous Best of
13:47 the Year lists.
13:59 Number 4.
14:00 Mad Max Fury Road
14:05 In 2015, we aren't sure how many moviegoers were even aware of the first Mad Max movie,
14:11 released back in 1979.
14:13 Regardless of whether or not you've seen that one or the two sequels that followed in the
14:16 1980s, Mad Max Fury Road is well worth your while.
14:20 We could get into the film's narrative, but the whole post-apocalyptic story is secondary
14:24 to the action.
14:25 The film puts all its eggs in one basket - the basket being the chase through the desert
14:30 landscape which comprises the vast majority of the movie.
14:33 It is a bold move, and it pays off big time.
14:36 The energy is palpable and the stunts - 90% of which were done practically - are incredible.
14:46 Number 3.
14:54 Hereditary
14:55 In case you thought that smart, thought-provoking horror films had gone away since the heyday
15:09 of classics like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, the past decade has shown otherwise.
15:13 Amazingly.
15:14 It's set out and Hereditary were both feature film directorial debuts.
15:18 With Hereditary, Ari Aster shows a directorial mastery beyond his years.
15:23 He isn't without seasoned talent to work with.
15:25 Toni Collette is a revelation as Annie Graham, a grieving mother spiraling into madness,
15:31 and not just of the psychological variety.
15:33 The fact that Collette wasn't nominated for Best Actress might be the snub of the decade,
15:38 but Hereditary will persist for generations.
15:52 Number 2.
15:53 Everything Everywhere All at Once
16:04 A mix of genres and film styles, Everything Everywhere All at Once is an experience that
16:08 cannot be described, but instead must be seen to truly be appreciated.
16:13 IndieWire described it as a "orgiastic work of slap-happy genius" and we could not have
16:18 said it better ourselves.
16:20 The film was a surprise hit.
16:22 Beyond the $141 million box office, on a between $14 and $25 million budget, it won seven Academy
16:29 Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.
16:34 In fact, the film seemed to win every accolade everywhere all at once, taking home a whopping
16:39 266 awards out of 405 nominations.
16:56 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
17:00 West Side Story - Steven Spielberg's take on the Jets and the Sharks, not Jaws.
17:22 Barbie - The movie that put the Barb in Barbenheimer.
17:40 The Grand Budapest Hotel - A grand success with audiences and critics alike.
18:00 What We Do In The Shadows - The vampire horror-comedy mockumentary we didn't know we needed.
18:22 CODA - The little movie that brought a streamer Best Picture.
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18:58 Parasite - Using literal staircases, director Peng Joon-ho explores class structure and
19:14 social and economic disparity in modern-day South Korea in this brilliant black comedy
19:18 thriller.
19:19 While taking first place on our list is obviously Parasite's most impressive accomplishment,
19:24 the film did reach a few other milestones worth mentioning.
19:26 After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, it became the first Korean film to win the
19:30 coveted Palme d'Or.
19:31 Then, almost a year later, it became the first non-English language film to ever take home
19:36 the Oscar for Best Picture.
19:48 Can you see any glaring omissions from our list?
19:50 Let us know in the comments.
20:03 [music]
20:14 (upbeat music)