This past week, I recently put the finishing touches on an annual tradition that I have been maintaining since my senior year of high school (2011). Each year, I rank the top ten films that I’ve watched based on the criteria of personal importance, perceived longevity, and rewatchability. Over the decade-plus that I’ve been practicing this ritual, a few rules have evolved. For example, I didn’t rank animated movies or documentaries in the first few years and now exclude them from my rankings. This exclusion has left some noticeable outcasts from the lists. For instance, “Frozen” in 2013 and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in 2018 are not included. Also, the second year that I finalized my list was after the 2013 Oscars. Therefore, to be considered for my list, a film must be Oscar-eligible for that year, and I must have seen the movie before the Academy Awards ceremony of that year. It’s been a fun exercise, and after 12 years of compiling these lists, I thought it would be enjoyable to share. Here are my lists in order:

2011

1. Bridesmaids 
2. Limitless
3. The Lincoln Lawyer
4. Moneyball
5. Crazy Stupid Love
6. Midnight In Paris
7. 50/50
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 
9. Drive
10. Horrible Bosses

What can I say? I was 18 years old when viewing most of these for the first time. Is it surprising that the Best Picture winner “The Artist” didn’t crack my top 10? Also, I stand by rating “Bridesmaids” as the #1 movie of the year. Like many Millennials, I still quote this movie almost daily. If I were in charge of the Academy, Maya Rudolph would have taken home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Sorry, Octavia Spencer).

2012

1. Django Unchained
2. The Avengers
3. 21 Jump Street
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. Looper
6. Life of Pi
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. This is 40
9. Flight
10. Blancanieves 

Ah, 2012, the year that the world didn’t end. This was one of the more formative years in my young adult life. I started my study abroad year in Madrid. This is definitely why the Spanish film “Blancanieves,” a modern silent black and white movie, cracked the top 10. I wouldn’t have been a good film bro if I had left Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” off my list either. What would probably be the biggest surprise to 2012 Nathan is that “21 Jump Street” is the movie on this list that I still watch constantly.

2013

1. The Wolf of Wall Street 
2. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
3. The Great Gatsby 
4. About Time
5. American Hustle
6. Dallas Buyers Club
7. The Conjuring 
8. We are The Millers
9. Her
10. This is the End

2013 was a great year for movies. I don’t find it too surprising that a 20/21 year old white man lists “The Wolf of Wall Street” as his favorite that interesting. However, it’s fun to see that “The Conjuring” is the first true Horror movie to crack my top 10. Lastly, to this day I can not think about Richard Curtis’ “About Time” without crying. This was a hot take putting top 5 that I stand by.

2014

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3. Birdman 
4. The Interview
5. Interstellar 
6. Whiplash
7. Guardians of the Galaxy
8. Neighbors 
9. X-Men: Days of Futures Past
10. Nightcrawler 

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” is my favorite Wes Anderson movie to this day. That said, I’m still surprised when I look at this list and see that it took my #1 spot. 2014 is also the beginning of what I think is the true golden era of comic book movies. We have three in the top ten after only 2012’s “The Avengers” cracking the list. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is still my favorite Marvel movie to this day.

2015 is the year of the reboot. “Mad Max: Fury Road” brought the Road Warrior back to the screen after 30 years! We also got to see the Rocky franchise reborn with “Creed,” of course, not to mention the beginning of a new Star Wars trilogy! Lastly, Seth Rogen’s “The Night Before” flew under the radar and has become an annual tradition in my household on par with “A Christmas Story” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

2016

1. Deadpool
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. Lion 
4. La La Land
5. Rogue One: A StarWars Story 
6. Hidden Figures 
7. Magnificent 7
8. Captain America: Civil War
9. Hacksaw Ridge 
10. Captain Fantastic 

2016 was an action-packed year with ups and downs had by all. The internet was obsessed with Harambe, the Cleveland Cavaliers did the unthinkable coming back from 3-1 to win the NBA Finals on Father’s Day, and Donald Trump was elected President. Unfortunately, it was one of the more forgettable years for moviegoers, with the exception of “Deadpool” shocking studios by outperforming its expectations. I still have not seen “Moonlight.”

2017

1. Get Out 
2. The Big Sick 
3. Logan
4. Thor Ragnarok 
5. Wonder Woman
6. Spider-Man Homecoming 
7. Dunkirk 
8. Goodtime 
9. The Greatest Showman 
10. The Disaster Artist

I will never forget the first time I saw the police lights at the end of “Get Out.” The fact that this movie didn’t win Best Picture is probably the only time in my life that I have been actually upset at the outcome of an Academy Award. Unlike other years where certain nominees are not listed simply because I never saw the movie, I did see 2018’s “The Shape of Water,” and I consider it to be the most overrated movie of all time and one of the worst movies to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars. Lastly, flying under the radar in 2017 is Kumail Nanjiani’s “The Big Sick,” which was an instant classic and one of my all-time favorite romantic comedies.

2018

1. Black Panther 
2. Crazy Rich Asians 
3. A Quiet Place
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Deadpool 2
6. Game Night 
7. Mission Impossible: Fallout 
8. Sorry to Bother You 
9. American Animals 
10. Oceans 8

Watching “Black Panther” and Avengers: Infinity War” in sold out theaters was such an increadible and unforgettable experience. I think that both films will have a ‘you had to be there’ elament when discussed with younger genrations. The later is still probably the best true movie going experience that you can have. 2018 was the peak for Marvel and they will probably never come near again.

2019

1. Parasite 
2. Jojo Rabbit 
3. Avengers: Endgame 
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
5. Knives Out
6. 1917
7. Joker
8. Hustlers
9. Us
10. Rocketman

This is my all-time favorite year for the Oscars. Finally, the movie that I loved wins Best Picture! “Avengers: Endgame” beautifully closes the chapter on Marvel dominating the charts. Lastly, “Joker” perfects the dark comic book film genre. 2019 was a great year at the cinema!

2020

1. Judas and the Black Messiah 
2. Promising Young Woman 
3. Tenet
4. Minari 
5. Sound of Metal
6. The King of Staten Island 
7. One Night in Miami 
8. Nomadland 
9. The Father 
10. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 

The pandemic played a major role in this year’s film scene, and it’s probably the weakest since I started these rankings. Technically, “Judas and the Black Messiah” was released in 2021. However, due to the strange pandemic world we were living in, it was eligible for the Academy Awards of that same year. So, due to the rules set forth by previous years’ lists, it ends up topping the ranks of 2020. “Nomadland” took home the hardware at the Oscars, and it deserves credit. Lastly, it’s interesting that no comic book movies made my list for the first time in 7 years.

2021

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home
2. Licorice Pizza 
3. Candyman
4. Dune 
5. King Richard 
6. Black Widow 
7. Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings 
8. Don’t Look Up
9. The Harder They Fall 
10. American Underdog 

2021 sees the resurgence of the superhero flick. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” dominated the box office and my imagination by combining all three actors who had played the titular role in a trully epic film. Furthermore, “Black Widdow” and “Shang Chi” were strong showings from Marvel Studios. Writing this in in March of 2024 I do find it interesting that I have the first Dune movie ranked at #4.

2022

1. Top Gun Maverick 
2. Everything Everywhere All At Once
3. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
4. The Banshees of Inishiren 
5. All Quiet on The Western Front
6. The Batman
7. Avatar: The Way of Water
8. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
9. Hustle 
10. The Menu

2022 is the perfect example of my favorite movie of the year beating out the best. “Top Gun: Maverick” had me literally jumping out of my seat in the theater. I loved the original, and the sequel came at the perfect time, 36 years later. On the other hand, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” told a completely original story that had me laughing and crying during the same scenes. I think this will go down in history as an underrated year in cinema.

2023

1. The Iron Claw
2. Oppenheimer 
3. Barbie 
4. American Fiction 
5. The Book of Clarence 
6. Poor Things 
7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
8. Killers of the Flower Moon 
9. Dumb Money 
10. Please Don’t Destroy:The Treasure of Foggy Mountain 

2023 will always be known as the year of “Barbenheimer.” That said, “The Iron Claw” may be the most underrated movie of all time. As the oldest of three brothers, there is no movie I have ever experienced that better showed the all-time highs and lows of family life. The fact that it was completely shut out and snubbed from the Oscars is an all-time low for the Academy. That said, it was a great year for moviegoing. We may be in the “endgame” for comic book films, but we still got a great Marvel flick in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” We also got what, in my opinion, is a top stoner comedy in “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.” The kids are all right.