A Star is Born and the 15 best movies from the last 15 years
By Ricky Valero
Over the last 15 years, we have seen some great pieces of filmmaking that have highlighted some incredible work from top to bottom. Narrowing it down to the 15 best movies of the last 15 years will be challenging, but here we go.
From veteran feature filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, and Spike Lee to new to the scene filmmakers in Damien Chazelle, Chloe Zhao, and Barry Jenkins, the last fifteen years have proved to be very fruitful for lovers of film. It might be the best stretch run of films that we have ever seen, if we are honest.
One of the more challenging things in making a list of this nature is narrowing the list down to a solid number. About 5-7 of the movies I list were really easy to throw together because they are some of my all-time favorites, but after that, the entire thing was trying to fit in the ones I love by kicking out others that I love.
What are the 15 best movies from the last 15 years?
What makes a great movie? Well, it’s not always about that first watch. Instead, it’s about the repeat watches and whether the film gets better after each rewatch. The film that comes to mind is last year’s Mass. I remember watching this movie at 2021 Sundance and liking it, but after every rewatch, I was blown away by what Fran Kranz and these four incredible actors presented.
Another factor in making this list is trying to avoid recent bias. In five years, Mass will 100% make the list, but I believe a great movie is something you watch back in a couple of years that you go WOW that is as good as I remember. That rule of thumb knocked out some recent classics you should watch like Promising Young Woman, The Father, and even Parasite. So 2018 is the most recent year of a film that made my list.
Without further ado, here are the 15 best movies from the last 15 years.