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Even though the 2010s only recently ended, it might be difficult to remember all the well-rated high-quality movies that premiered in the decade considering more and more movies get released each year. With such a competition, it's no wonder that not every movie that would have deserved it got an Oscar.
Despite that, those viewers looking for a good story to watch usually won't be disappointed if they take a look at the winners of the best picture since all of these movies have a lot to offer to the audience and offer a variety of genres as well as many talented actors.
10 The Shape Of Water (2017): 7.3
Fantasy or science fiction movies don't often win an Oscar for the best picture, that's what makes The Shape of Water special. That, and Sally Hawkins' performance as the mute cleaner Elisa who falls for a strange amphibian man that the sadistic government agent Strickland (Michael Shannon) is experimenting on.
At its core, The Shape of Water is an unusual love story, but it also captures the uneasy atmosphere of the 1960s when paranoia and suspicion raged high. The movie also creates a clear contrast between the caring Elisa and the cruel Strickland, making it easy on the audience to cheer on the main heroine who feels like an outsider in a world full of people very different from her.
9 Moonlight (2016): 7.4
Sometimes all a movie need to be successful and to leave an impression is to work with a story that will resonate with many people. Moonlight focuses on the difficult life of Chiron (Ashton Sanders) as he's growing up in the outskirts of Miami.
Since the movie stays with the main hero from his childhood to adulthood, it's easy to sympathize with him and become invested in his life. Moonlight doesn't always spare the characters as it portrays real life issues, but that's what makes every glimpse of hope and happiness that appears in the movie that much more memorable.
8 Argo (2012): 7.7
The story of Argo is so daring and incredible it might be difficult to believe something like this happened - but the movie is based on real events. In 1979, a CIA agent risks everything to save six Americans from Iran by pretending to work on a movie.
Argo is full of tension since it's unclear (to those not familiar with the case) whether the main hero, Ben Affleck's Tony Mendez, will pull it off and save the hostages with the help of his team. The movie has a strong cast as it includes names such as Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, or Victor Garber, to name just a few. Despite its topic, Argo also has a sense of humor, best shown in the sheer absurdity of the plan Tony and his team are trying to do.
7 Birdman (2014): 7.7
Birdman is a movie with many layers, and one that shies far away from superhero movies, even though the main hero, played by Michael Keaton, became famous for portraying the titular superhero Birdman. That's, of course, a clever reference to Keaton's past role as Batman in the Tim Burton two Batman movies. Birdman shows the main character Riggan's uneasy journey to staging the Broadway play he cares about.
The movie is full of complex and colorful characters, including Riggan's co-star Mike (Edward Norton) with whom Riggan clashes, or Riggan's daughter Sam (Emma Stone). Birdman is one of the movies that are hard to describe, and it's best to watch them, but it left a strong impression on the Academy and won four Oscars.
6 The Artist (2011): 7.9
The Artist stands out among the Oscar winners from the 2010s since it's a black-and-white picture, and a silent one! That makes sense in the context of the movie since the story focuses on the silent era of movies. The star George Valentin struggles with the upcoming arrival of sound movies, and he has to decide whether he'll be able to accept them or whether his career will fade into oblivion.
Many actual former stars once faced the same problem which makes the movie seem realistic. It has a strong sense of humor, though, and once the audience gets accustomed to the less usual storytelling style, it's likely they'll enjoy the movie.
5 The King's Speech (2010): 8.0
Even before The Crown became a major hit, another movie about the current British royal family scored and won multiple Oscars, including the one for the best picture. The King's Speech focuses on Colin Firth's King George VI who unexpectedly becomes king when his older brother abdicates and has to inspire his nation during the war even though he's stuttering which makes life much more difficult for him.
Just like many Oscar winning movies, this one was too inspired by real events and included some of the best actors. Other than Firth, The King's Speech also stars Helena Bonham Carter as his wife or Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue who's helping George to prepare for the instrumental speech that awaits him.
4 Spotlight (2015): 8.1
Another Oscar winning movie inspired by real events focuses on a huge scandal discovered by the journalists at the Boston Globe. All of them work hard to crack the case even though more than one obstacle stands in their way.
Everybody who wants to know more about how investigative journalists work or simply enjoy the performances of actors such as Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and many others, shouldn't miss out on watching the intelligent Spotlight. The movie was nominated for six Oscars and won two of them, including an Oscar for the best original screenplay.
3 12 Years A Slave (2013): 8.1
Slavery is a dark chapter in the American history, and this movie, once again based on real events, reflects it. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup, a free man, who's nevertheless attacked, sold into slavery and spends over a decade working for various people, some of them kinder, some of them sadistic.
Throughout his whole journey, Solomon doesn't lose hope that he will be free again one day, but it's a hard and long journey. The movie will make the audience sympathize with Solomon as well as others who face slavery and have very little chance of escaping it. Ejiofor gives an excellent performance in the leading role, but the movie is full of talented names, albeit not all actors play very sympathetic characters - most notably Paul Dano and Michael Fassbender.
2 Green Book (2018): 8.2
Racial prejudice rage high even today and they did so even more in the USA in the 1960s. So when two men are forced to work together, the space for conflict is large. But as time progresses, the pianist Tony (Viggo Mortensen) and the educated doctor Donald (Mahershala Ali) slowly begin getting along better.
The movie manages to combine multiple genres - such as drama, comedy and a road movie - into a coherent whole. Even when the characters aren't always sympathetic (that's especially true with Tony), it's fascinating to see what they'll do next, so Green Book keeps a fast pace and has the power to make the audience both laugh and think.
1 Parasite (2019): 8.5
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Parasite holds a special position in the history of Oscars since it's the first South Korean movie that won an Oscar for the best picture. The movie tells the story of a cunning family that tries to infiltrate a rich businessman's household. As expected, things don't always go exactly according to plan.
The movie combines both comedy and thriller, it has a dark sense of humor that not everyone loves but those who do are in for a memorable experience. It's also difficult to guess what will happen next which makes Parasite surprising and fun to watch even though it's over two hours long.