The 2010s was an epic decade for cinema, featuring genre-bending movies and shows. Find the best ones to stream right now.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Actor: Abe Martell, Alex Knight, Bruce McIntosh, Carla Azar, Chris McHallem, Domhnall Gleeson, François Civil, François Civil, Hayley Derryberry, Jordyn Aurora Aquino, Katie Anne Mitchell, Kevin Wiggins, Lauren Poole, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mark Huberman, Matthew Page, Michael Fassbender, Michael James Ford, Moira Brooker, Morse Bicknell, Paul Butterworth, Phil Kingston, Scoot McNairy, Tess Harper, Travis Hammer
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
There is a chance we will be known as the generation that perfected mixing the two mediums of movie and theater. Think Hateful 8, Horace & Pete, Wild Tales, and Fences! A movie not only packed with Broadway talent, it's also based on a Pulitzer-winning play by August Wilson. The play element is both strong and visible, the movie is dialogue packed, and takes place almost exclusively in the characters' house, not to mention most of the events happen within the span of a few days. The movie element comes through beautiful aesthetics and rich scenery, as well as some of Hollywood's best talent: Denzel Washington (who is also the director) and Viola Davis. They had both actually won Tony Awards for their performances reviving the play back in 2010. Denzel is a black garbage collector who was once a promising baseball player and a victim of racial discrimination. His psyche is as rich as it is determined and he is used to taking out his deep-rooted feelings of anger on his loved ones. His wife (Davis), his son, and his friends are the targets of this hurt and anger, but they also have a lot to deal with on their own. A beautiful if maybe slow play-movie. Do not watch it expecting "things to happen", but watch it to be mesmerized by the acting, the writing, and the underlying tensions it addresses.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Christopher Mele, Denzel Washington, Joe Fishel, Jovan Adepo, Lesley Boone, Mykelti Williamson, Russell Hornsby, Saniyya Sidney, Stephen Henderson, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Viola Davis
Director: Denzel Washington
Watching Carol is like reading a really interesting book while relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. It is one of those movies that you probably heard about during its Oscar run, and have since delayed actually viewing it. Well now that it is on Netflix and other streaming services you have no excuse! It’s refreshingly unique, incredibly charming, and features a kind of story that hasn’t been told very often – a love story between two women. Both characters played by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara attempt to live true to their own principles while facing unjust yet severe backlash from society. If you are open to it, the love story in this will stay with you forever.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Amy Warner, Anita Farmer Bergman, Ann Reskin, Annie Kalahurka, Carrie Brownstein, Cate Blanchett, Chelsea Carnder, Christine Dye, Chuck Gillespie, Colin Botts, Cory Michael Smith, Deb G. Girdler, Douglas Scott Sorenson, Gary Chinn, Giedre Bond, Greg Violand, Jake Lacy, John Magaro, Kay Geiger, Ken Strunk, Kevin Crowley, Kk Heim, Kyle Chandler, Liberty Fraysure, Linnea Bond, Michael Haney, Michael Joseph Thomas Ward, Mike Dennis, Nik Pajic, Pamela Evans Haynes, Robert J. Ashe, Rooney Mara, Ryan Wesley Gilreath, Sadie Heim, Sarah Paulson, Steven Andrews, Tanya Smith, Taylor Marie Frey, Todd Haynes, Trent Rowland, Wendy Lardin, William Cross
Director: Todd Haynes
This is a funny sketch comedy show set in an imaginary small town called Burnistoun. The characters include Kelly McGlade, the town’s answer to Beyoncé, and The Burnistoun Butcher, the town’s serial killer who’s always angry with the media because they keep confusing him with the actual butcher. Most of the characters are played by Robert Florence and Iain Connell (pictured above). In the first episode, they play two co-workers who get into an elevator that only works on voice-recognition. The voice-recognition software starts reflecting how many Americans feel and pretends it doesn’t understand Scottish accents. The two Scots end up getting so worked up that they hilariously recreate the “freedom” scene in Braveheart. In a way it’s saying: if you enjoyed Braveheart and understand the reference, there is no reason you shouldn’t enjoy Burnistoun.
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Allan Miller, Iain Connell, Kirsty Strain, Louise Stewart, Richard Rankin, Robert Florence
If you’ve never heard of Sonia Braga, you’re in for a ride with this movie. She is, in my opinion, one of the best actresses alive today. In Aquarius, she stars as a 65-year-old trying to keep the home in which she pledged to die. In a quiet, yet stoically powerful performance, she reminds us that identity often intersects with the spaces in which we live.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Allan Souza Lima, Arly Arnaud, Bárbara Colen, Bruno Goya, Buda Lira, Carla Ribas, Clarissa Pinheiro, Daniel Porpino, Edilson Silva, Fábio Leal, Fernando Teixeira, Germano Melo, Humberto Carrao, Irandhir Santos, Joana Gatis, Julia Bernat, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Lula Terra, Maeve Jinkings, Pedro Queiroz, Rubens Santos, Sônia Braga, Tavinho Teixeira, Thaia Perez, Zoraide Coleto
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Iceland is a country of vast lands but limited population - only about 300,000 people can call themselves Icelandic. On the other hand, 8 million people have connecting flights through Iceland every year.
In this setting of mass movement, a single mother dealing with poverty is offered a chance to turn things around - a job as a border agent. One of her first days, she comes across an asylum seeker on a connecting flight from Guinea Bissau to Canada, trying to cross with a fake passport.
Their stories don’t only intertwine as border agent and asylum seeker, but as two mothers. And Breathe Normally is about struggling with poverty both in Europe and coming from a place like Guinea Bissau. It’s a beautiful, plot-heavy statement on the importance of solidarity and of seeing the human behind the country of origin or race.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Ísold Uggadóttir, Babetida Sadjo, Bragi Arnason, Gunnar Jonsson, Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir, Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson, Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson, Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir, Sveinn Geirsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann
Director: Isold Uggadottir
As heartbroken as you will be after watching this movie, you will feel nothing but triumph in the main actor's debut role. This movie has very little hope to offer the viewer, except the small amount felt every time the main character, Marina, gets up again to fight another day. This film depicts grief in such a profound and personal way within a character who must remain relatively silent and alone most of the movie. You will quickly know why the film is called "A Fantastic Woman".
Genre: Drama
Actor: Alejandro Goic, Aline Kuppenheim, Amparo Noguera, Antonia Zegers, Bárbara Mundt, Cristián Chaparro, Daniela Vega, Eduardo Paxeco, Erto Pantoja, Fabiola Zamora, Francisco González Hermosilla, Francisco Reyes, José Antonio Raffo, Loreto Leonvendagar, Luis Gnecco, Marcial Tagle, Moisés Angulo, Nestor Cantillana, Nicolas Saavedra, Pablo Cerda, Pablo Greene, Paola Lattus, Paulina Hunt, Roberto Farías, Sergio Hernández, Trinidad González
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Camille Ucan, Charlotte Rampling, David Sibley, Dolly Wells, Geraldine James, Hannah Chalmers, Richard Cunningham, Rufus Wright, Sam Alexander, Tom Courtenay
Director: Andrew Haigh
Shrooms director Paddy Breathnach has als dipped his toes in romcoms and thrillers, but this queer Bogota-set drama has a lot of tenderness in its heart. Micro-budget and full of life as the name suggests, Viva is an inspiring story that centers around Jesus (Héctor Medina) and his own individuation. A hairdresser with the talent of a drag performer, he assumes the role of Viva in the weekend cabaret. As warm and open as his father is detached and somber, Jesus is a likeable protagonist with the vulnerability and dedication to follow his dream, that no wonder the film made the Oscar shortlist in 2016.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Héctor Medina, Jorge Perugorría, Laura Aleman, Luis Alberto García, Luis Manuel Alvarez, Mark O'Halloran, Renata Maikel Machin Blanco
Director: Paddy Breathnach
Genre: Drama
Actor: Alain Eloy, Baptiste Sornin, Batiste Sornin, Ben Hamidou, Catherine Salée, Christelle Cornil, Christelle Delbrouck, Fabrizio Rongione, Laurent Caron, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Marinne, Myriem Akeddiou, Myriem Akheddiou, Olivier Gourmet, Philippe Jeusette, Pili Groyne, Simon Caudry, Tom Adjibi, Yohan Zimmer
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
This is a documentary with a dark underbelly. When Bobby Shafran goes on his first day at college, everyone seems to recognize him. The person they're actually recognizing is his twin brother, as the two were separated at birth by an adoption agency. A third brother surfaces to make the story even crazier, but things take a darker turn when questions arise about why they were separated as toddlers and to what end. If it wasn't a documentary, this story would be an unusual science fiction on the themes of identity and nature vs. nurture.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: David Kellman, Ellen Cervone, Howard Schneider, Lawrence Wright, Michael Domnitz, Robert Shafran, Tim Wardle
Director: Tim Wardle
The Last Man on the Moon is a documentary about astronaut Eugene Cernan, Commander of the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission in 1972. Chronicled by Cernan himself as he reminisces on his life, the film follows his early career with the Navy, his recruitment and training as an astronaut, and his participation in 3 trips to space: Gemini 9A, Apollo 10 and eventually Apollo 17—the last of NASA’s six expeditions to the Moon. Cern also delves heartfully into his loss of friends as well as his regretfulness for missing out on so much family time while away. It’s a poignant and inspiring account, with Cern providing a fine lesson in the confidence and diligence in takes to pursue and accomplish one’s dreams
Genre: Documentary, History
Actor: Alan Bean, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan
Director: Mark Craig
Probably the weirdest film you'll ever see. Paul Dano plays a borderline suicidal man who befriends a farting corpse that washed up from the sea as played by Daniel Radcliffe. It's an adventurous, witty and hilarious film yet it is filled with discreet and very deep lessons about society and norms. The soundtrack is so charmingly unique as well, it's a definite must-watch for anyone looking for a refreshing comedy.
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Actor: Aaron Marshall, Andy Hull, Antonia Ribero, Daniel Radcliffe, Jessica Harbeck, Marika Casteel, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paul Dano, Richard Gross, Shane Carruth, Timothy Eulich
Director: Dan Kwan, Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Genre: Drama
Actor: Aleksandros Memetaj, Alessandro Borghi, Alessio De Persio, Andrea Lattanzi, Andrea Mautone, Antonio Gargiulo, Aurora Casavecchia, Bernardo Casertano, Daniela Amato, Daniele Amendola, Dora Romano, Elisa Casavecchia, Elodie Treccani, Emanuele Cerman, Federico Tocci, Francesca Tomassoni, Gaetano Aronica, Giuseppe Ragone, Italo Amerighi, Jasmine Trinca, Marco Giuliani, Massimiliano Tortora, Mauro Conte, Max Tortora, Michele Botrugno, Milvia Marigliano, Orlando Cinque, Paolo D Bovani, Pietro Faiella, Roberta Sferzi, Roberto Galano, Rodolfo Bigotti, Stefano Miglio, Vincenzo Tanassi, Walter Nestola
Director: Alessio Cremonini
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Actor: Adam Driver, Alex Ross, Alex ter Avest, Ann Mahoney, Autumn Dial, Boden Johnston, Brandon Ray Olive, Brian Allen, Brian Gleeson, C.C. Taylor, Caleb Emery, Carl Edwards, Channing Tatum, Charles Halford, Daniel Craig, Daniel Jones, Darrell Waltrip, David Denman, Deneen Tyler, Dwight Yoakam, Edward Gelhaus, Farrah Mackenzie, Hank Quillen, Helen Abell, Helen LeRoy, Hilary Swank, Ito Aghayere, Jack Quaid, Jay Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Jerri Tubbs, Jesco White, Jim O'Heir, Jimmy Kustes, Joey Logano, Jon Eyez, Joshua Hoover, Karen Wheeling Reynolds, Katherine Waterston, Katie Holmes, Keith Hudson, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, LA Winters, Lauren Revard, LeAnn Rimes, Lesa Wilson, Macon Blair, Matthew Brady, Matthew Cardarople, Michael Tourek, Mike Joy, Neva Howell, PJ McDonnell, Randy Havens, Rebecca Koon, Reid Carolin, Riley Keough, Robert Fortner, Ron Clinton Smith, Ryan Blaney, Scott Parks, Sebastian Stan, Seth MacFarlane, Shaun Michael Lynch, Stephanie Langston, Steven Soderbergh, Sutton Johnston, Suzanne Jordan Roush, Terence Rosemore, Timothy J. Richardson, Tom Archdeacon, William Mark McCullough
Director: Steven Soderbergh