Moonlight
The 2010s have been make full with with child films , and these are the best movie directors of the decade . As 2019 draw in to a last , it ’s sentence to look back upon not just the retiring tenner of movies , but also the people who have been responsible for making them .
This decade has been a fascinating prison term for movie directors , which has included legendary filmmakers turn in some bounteous efforts , and new stars emerge on the horizon . At the same clip , it ’s become commonplace for these emerging talents to be chop-chop swoop up by major enfranchisement . The likes of Josh Trank and Colin Trevorrow , for example , all break through with indie , before being chewed up and spat out by the machine . Others , however , have soared thanks to the like of Marvel , Star Wars , and DC .
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We ’ve seen new picture from all - time greats such as Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg , the like of Steven Soderbergh and Kevin Smith have pull back and then returned , and across the table we ’ve seen a number of exciting directors new and old produce somegreat films from 2010 - 2019 .
20. Debra Granik
Movies : Winter ’s Bone , Leave No Trace .
There ’s an eight - year gap between Debra Granik ’s two movies this decennium , and while that ’s too retentive for a filmmaker of her empyreal talent , it was also worth the wait . With a rare gift for depict the world of human conflict , Granik ’s study can be agonizing at time , but she never pass on you without a veneer of hope as well .
19. Richard Linklater
Movies : Bernie , Before Midnight , Boyhood , Everybody Wants Some!!,Last Flag flight , Where’d You Go , Bernadette ?
The volume of Richard Linklater ’s output means he ’s had some misses this decade , but that ’s to be expected when you often take such braggy swings - and when he hits , they tend to be family runs . His best films , such asBefore MidnightandBoyhood , convey an astonishing touch of art : that of a theatre director who can make a film feel so real , in both the felicity and the heartache .
18. Greta Gerwig
Movies : Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig has just a sole film as a director so far , and yet still deserves a position here . That ’s how stunning a debutLady Birdis ( and alsohow greatLittle Womenlooks ) . Gerwig ’s characteristic film belies her relative rawness behind the tv camera , easily merge comedy and emotion for a film that ’s at time screaming , at others heartbreaking , and always bona fide , with a capital visual style than is often mentioned too .
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17. Alejandro G. Innaritu
picture : Biutiful , Birdman , The Revenant .
In the eye of the 2010s , Alejandro G. Iñárritu wasthedirector of the decade , which include himwinning back - to - back Best Director Oscars . Operating at the very pinnacle of his craft for a few age , Iñárritu was able to perform some astonishing exploit of filmmaking , no matter how difficult they might ’ve been to manage .
16. Quentin Tarantino
picture show : Django Unchained , The Hateful Eight , Once Upon A Time In Hollywood .
Quentin Tarantinohas been around long enough now that his elan is n’t just placeable , but a writing style of its own , yet there ’s still little better than the real mountain . His motion-picture show this decade have continued a tendency of extreme vehemence and dialogue no one else can equal , but it ’s his most recent movement that ’s the most singular . InOnce Upon A Time In Hollywood , Tarantino present a much more mature and even sentimental side , confirming that even this old dog can learn some new tricks .
15. S. Craig Zahler
Movies : Bone Tomahawk , Brawl In Cell Block 99,Dragged Across Concrete .
S. Craig Zahler ’s movies are defined by violence . Across his movies this decade , he ’s made films that will make even the stout cinephile wince as clout land , limbs turn , and off-white crunch . It ’s explosive , thrilling hooey , but it ’s also deserving noting that Zahler has a neat mastery of story and character reference , creating absorbing tales that are serve by those burst of violence , and is a director who knows how to get the very good out of his actors , include a revelatory twist from Vince Vaughn .
14. Rian Johnson
Movies : Looper , Star Wars : The Last Jedi .
Rian Johnsonis a dangerous name to bring up on the cyberspace , but even some ofStar Wars : The Last Jedi ’s detractors would admit he ’s a gifted conductor . Johnson has prove himself adequate to of making thought - provoking , thrilling , and visually stunning movie , no matter if the budget is $ 30 million or $ 200 m. With large - shell activeness combined with his own spot of humor , gorgeous filming , and fertile in floor , character , and theme , Johnson deserves to be acclaim , not abused .
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13. Taika Waititi
Movies : Boy , What We Do In The Shadows , Hunt For The Wilderpeople , Thor : Ragnarok .
From a low - budget vampire mockumentary to a massive MCU blockbuster , Taika Waititihas emerged as one of cinema ’s most alone - and hilarious - voices this decade . He ’s able to interpose his sense of humor into just about anything , which include making Thor one of Marvel ’s best characters and most exciting franchises , but even good wasHunt For The Wilderpeople . There , he showed an astonishing and singular talent for taking that humor , but turning it into actual emotion at the flick of a switch .
12. The Russo Brothers
Movies : Captain America : The Winter Soldier , Captain America : Civil War , Avengers : Infinity War , Avengers : Endgame .
Joe and Anthony Russo started the 2010s fuck for their study direct sitcoms . They end it as the people who helmed thehighest - grossing moving-picture show of all - time inAvengers : Endgame . They ’ve become the serious and most - reliable directors of the world ’s large moving picture machine , and doing that takes real skill . They ’re theatre director who can stage a tickle pink lift fight chronological succession , an epical battle featuring 12 of character , or just an intimate dance scene , and make all equally marvelous .
11. Paul Thomas Anderson
flick : The Master , Inherent Vice , Phantom Thread .
Paul Thomas Andersonis another director whose legacy is already guaranteed and speaks for itself , but that does n’t make his work this ten any less worthy of celebration . We ’re well - present with PTA ’s filmmaking styles , from his bewitch use of medicine to his always probing camera , get each of his movies a work of art . This tenner , he ’s done so in a psychosexual speculation of relationships and love ; an Lucy in the sky with diamonds head trip disguised as a film ; and inThe Master , arguably his best study , one of the great American film of modern times .
10. Jordan Peele
flick : Get Out , Us .
Jordan Peelewas well - have a go at it for his comedy penning and playing , which has made his act into the horror director of the minute even more surprising . WithGet Out , Peele did n’t just make an first-class horror celluloid that immingle scares with comedy and a seasonable message , but what felt like a ethnical milestone . Uswasn’t quite as successful , but it was the sign of a director with great aspiration , expert acquirement , and who is only go to get even better .
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9. Barry Jenkins
Movies : Moonlight , If Beale Street Could sing .
Returning from an eight - year reprieve , Barry Jenkins deliver one of the most sing - about films of the decade withMoonlight(for reasons good and bad ) . Oscars shenanigans away , whatMoonlightand its follow - up , If Beale Street Could Talk , express is that Jenkins is one of the most important voices in movie theatre today : seldom have mass of colour been prove on silver screen in ways that flux pain and anguish with such dish and grace .
8. Kathryn Bigelow
Movies : Zero Dark Thirty , Detroit
Kathryn Bigelow has n’t been as interfering as you might ’ve hop on the back ofThe Hurt Locker , but when she has point , it ’s been a reminder of just how unbelievable she is . In bothZero Dark ThirtyandDetroit , Bigelow has shown that she can make tense , taut , politically - charge thriller that will have you on the sharpness of your seat as well as , if not good than , just about anyone else in the business .
7. Wes Anderson
Movies : Moonrise Kingdom , The Grand Budapest Hotel , Isle of Dogs .
By now , everyone know what they ’re getting fromWes Anderson : his olf - kilter humor copulate with his own brand of melancholy , all dressed up in the most gorgeous , fussily designed and absolutely proportionate sets . But if it ai n’t broke , do n’t fix it . Anderson this decade has become even more , well , Wes Anderson - y , and maintains his alone interpreter through both hot - action and stop - motion animation . The Grand Budapest Hotelis one of his absolute best , and this decade has proved Anderson as a supremely talented movie maker who does n’t just allow us see into his mind and heart , but puts it on magnificent display .
6. Alex Garland
Movies : Ex Machina , Annihilation .
Alex Garland made the spring this decade , buy the farm from novelist and screenwriter to director of his own films , and it ’s one he ’s handled with such accomplishment you ’d think he ’d been doing it for decade . In bothEx MachinaandAnnihilation , he ’s not only prove that he can create jaw - dopping visuals on low-pitched - to - mid budget , but also produce intellectual sci - fi films that dexterously play with full-grown ideas , do n’t dumb thing down , allow for thrills at the time , and turn down to forget your thoughts after .
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5. Alfonso Cuarón
picture : Gravity , Roma .
Alfonso Cuaróndoesn’t make movies very often : he has just two this decade , and only five this C . But when he does , you’re able to be certain they ’re pretty all-fired great . With 2013’sGravity , he made a technological marvel that achieved peachy thing with young technology . Even better was 2018’sRoma , which is not only the good Netflix movie to appointment , but paired that technical brilliance with a searingly human story , making for his most stupefying piece of work so far .
4. David Fincher
Movies : The Social web , The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo , Gone Girl .
David Fincheris still perhaps well known for his two major whole kit and boodle in the 1990s , but his run at the commencement of this X is a stunner . Across his three movies from 2010 - 2014 , Fincher continued to be a director who can so hauntingly capture the darkest side of humanity , create mood and mysteries that enrapture us , and do so with meticulous attention to contingent that check every single shooter not only look cracking , but is worth analyzing over and over again . Mindhunterhas helped fill up the gap , but it remains a vast disgrace that he has n’t directed a movie since 2014 .
3. Christopher Nolan
flick : Inception , The Dark Knight Rises , Interstellar , Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan shew himself as one of the world ’s best directors in the 00s , but what ’s most impressive is that he ’s kept up those standard while press himself even further . Inceptionis a groundbreaking ceremony employment of genius , and his subsequent exploit this decade show not only a filmmaker mold to keep on raising the limits of his craft , but espouse that ambition with a bully emotional maturity too . Like Spielberg at his peak , Nolan is now pure result movie house , and does n’t disappoint .
2. Damien Chazelle
flick : Whiplash , La La Land , First Man .
Damien Chazelle ’s still - fledgling calling has perhaps been slightly dominate by controversies around his films , but what matters is just how special his pic are . Through his three features this decade , Chazelle has examine himself to be a filmmaker who has a serious sense of expressive style and technical glare , whether he ’s creating a Golden Age musical or a massive sci - fi flick . But he ’s also one of heart too , enchant the pain and glory that come with so singularly pursuing your dreams , even if they are sap .
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1. Denis Villeneuve
Movies : Incendies , Prisoners , Enemy , Sicario , Arrival , Blade Runner 2049 .
Denis Villeneuve has had a longer career than most realize , but it ’s doubtlessly the 2010s where it has skyrocketed . He ’s been on a remarkable running game that just about any director in chronicle would be majestic of , and marked himself out as one of this generation ’s great journeyman , whether it ’s small - weighing machine thrillers or dazzling blockbusters . He can catch the ugliness of humanity , but in the likes ofArrivalandBlade Runner 2049- two of the decade ’s best films - its beauty too .
Honorable Mentions
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