Stew’s Top 20 Movies Of The Half-Decade (#10 – 1)

When last we met to discuss my favorite movies of the opening half-decade of the 2020’s, I mostly bemoaned the passage of time and how old we are all getting and how we keep onward towards our inevitable demise. Also, I mused that COVID-19 was, like, five years ago! Wild! It was really fun stuff.

When not doing those things though, I was counting down movies #20 – 11 on my list, featuring such stellar and varied cinematic offerings as Top Gun: Maverick, CODA, and Flow.

This time we are back to look at my top ten movies that made their mass debut from between January 1st 2020 and December 31st 2024.

Let’s forego the rest of the preamble and get right into it!

10. The Holdovers

For my full review, click HERE!

You aren’t really expecting, this late in the game of cinema, to still be getting holiday classics that you can schedule into your celebratory season calendar for a regular watch. Hollywood has been making Christmas movies (and Christmas-adjacent movies) for almost as long as there has been a Hollywood!

And yet, just this half-decade, we were gifted with The Holdovers, a movie that I would pretty happily watch any December from here on out. It’s headlined by three powerhouse performances, and it has a solid story about lost souls coming together and overcoming their differences and their troubles to make real, human connections.

9. The Wild Robot

My recent #1 movie of 2024 comes in at #9 on the decade because, I guess, 2024 wasn’t a wildly strong year for cinema, at least not at the top. Not a great way to start this entry, but aside from that, I really did adore The Wild Robot. A beautifully animated tale about adapting to new surroundings, it had all the hallmarks of a terrific family film: heart, laughs, and even some action.

Only one animated film came out ahead of The Wild Robot in the rankings, and we’ll get there soon enough.

8. Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3

For more from me on Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, click HERE!

You’ve got to admit whether you are talking comic book movies or all movies in general, the Guardians of the Galaxy is in the running for one of the best trilogies ever. James Gunn’s unparalleled ability to blend emotion, humor, soundtrack, and wall-to-wall action set pieces has given us three absolutely fantastic outings, and with Volume 3, he added in a true scumbag of a villain. The High Evolutionary isn’t just a bad guy; he’s truly detestable and has no redeeming qualities. Gunn was not concerned with giving him loads of nuance; he just delivered someone we could all objectively wait to see get his righteous comeuppance.

Rocket’s backstory here is heart-wrenching. Drax’ development completely works. And the idea to keep Gamora and Quill from getting back together had to have ruffled some feathers higher up in Disney, but Gunn stuck to his… well… his guns, I guess. And it was for the best.

7. Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings

For more from me on Shang-Chi, click HERE!

This is the Bullet Train of this end of my list: you can try to make me feel bad about it, but it will not work! I was an enormous fan of this MCU offering, and it’s partially why I refuse to lambaste the fourth phase. And that’s nuts to me, because I admittedly have huge issues with the third act here! I bring up in my show all the time that SHANG-FRIGGIN’-CHI fighting an end-of-the-world level threat is woefully miscast. And the CGI spectacle final battle is not what I expect from a martial arts film.

But you know what? I loved everything else about this one. The first two acts are GORGEOUS and have some brilliant battle scenes. So who cares if the ending pooped the sheets a bit? I was already enamored by the time we got there.

6. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande

Very little known and desperately under-watched, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is one of a handful of five-star movies I have awarded in the 2020’s. Thompson — a household name and shining star — and McCormack — a superb newcomer — have spotless chemistry in this tale of an older woman looking to… well, not necessarily get her groove BACK, but more like to find it for the first time ever.

It’s just so sweet and adorable and fun. I love these stories, these low-stakes, relatable, interpersonal tales about people just getting to find each other and make impressions that will last the rest of each of their lives. Ever since the first time I watched Lost In Translation, I’ve been a sucker for these. And this is another in the annals of those kinds of tales that take me on such a wonderful ride.

5. The Suicide Squad

For more from me on The Suicide Squad, click HERE!

More James Gunn! I obviously have all of the hope in the world for James Gunn’s outing as head of DC’s cinematic department. He gave us the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, then just bopped over to DC and made the single best movie of the ill-fated DCEU. Like it was nothing. And he did it as a sequel to the hunk of junk Suicide Squad movie!

The Suicide Squad does everything its predecessor couldn’t do. It made us care about the characters. It delivered spine-tingling action beats. It told an actually enjoyable story. It didn’t use Jared Leto as The Joker. All wins!

4. Spider-Man: No Way Home

For more from me on Spider-Man: No Way Home, click HERE!

This could have been so easy. Once they had Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield signed on–and signed on to be significant roles in the film!–all they really had to do was fart out a half-baked story, let the three Spider-Man play with each other, and call it a day. The movie was going to make a billion no matter what.

But you know what? They didn’t do that! They, instead, actually followed through with a really gripping and interesting story that killed off Aunt May in a poignant moment and focused on redeeming the Amazing Spider-Man films. They really put in the work!

And I always appreciate that. It’s got to be tempting to say “Fuck we, we already won”, but I would dig this movie even without the two original Spider-Men.

With them? Woo boy, this is a TREAT.

3. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

I AM DYING WAITING FOR BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE.

While not quite as good overall as Into The Spider-Verse, Across The Spider-Verse was a phenom of a movie that really pushed the boundaries of what can be done artistically in animation. The scenes in Gwen’s Earth; the fight with The Vulture; The Spot. All truly marvelous looking stuff.

It all also grows the story of Miles Morales from the previous flick and shows a hero really coming into his own and growing out of his childhood, even as he fights to still show his parents that he loves and respects them.

Everything works here. The Spider-Verse nexus where we meet all the new (and some old) Spider-characters we love is magnificent. Gwen and Miles tap-dancing on the line between friends and something more keeps their dynamic exciting. An iteration of Spider-Man 2099 as a quasi-villain obsessed with keeping the timelines in order sets him up as an interesting character who could really go either way in the third movie.

Now. I JUST NEED THE LAST FLICK TO COME OUT SOMETIME BEFORE I DIE, OKAY?

2. Everything Everywhere All At Once

For my full review, click HERE!

I’m such a basic bitch, but I really loved this movie. Loved it the first time I watched it (see: that review I wrote). Loved it even more the second time. On the second go-round, I found Waymond’s moments where he implores Evelyn to choose peace and love so much more powerful. Ke Huy Quan really deserved that Oscar, man.

Jamie Lee Curtis definitely did not. In a REALLY strong Supporting Actress year, she was probably the worst choice, but I get it as a “Good career!” award. I would like to have seen Stephanie Hsu win it instead, though.

Is that the worst thing I can say about EEAAO? The wrong person won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar from it? That’s still pretty good!

1. RRR

For my full review, click HERE!

Prior to being convinced to watch RRR, I had seen a grand total of zero movies from Indian cinema (Bollywood, Tollywood, etc).

Since watching RRR, I’ve seen… probably a dozen total. Look, I’m not saying it changed my whole life, but it DID open up a whole new realm of cinema to me that I had never considered before! Now I go on Netflix and search “Bollywood” sometimes and watch whatever the newest offerings are. Or I take other recommendations and watch.

If RRR had not STUNNED me, I would never have gotten to that point. But it’s an awe-inspiring flick. Arguably the best action movie I have ever seen, and it’s hilarious, too. And it has real scenes about the power of the human spirit.

*******

It’s wild to me how few horror movies made my top twenty when I am SUCH a horror hound. I would guarantee that the single genre I have watched the most of in the 2020’s has been horror, but aside from Bloody Hell on the first half of this list… nothing! What a shame.

But I think that just goes to show how good movies have been these past five years that so many other offerings have snuck in ahead of one of my favorite genres.

Speaking to my OTHER favorite genre, though, I guess it’s no surprise how many comic book outings made the list. Five of my top ten are based on Marvel or DC properties. I guess I can’t really apologize for what I love, but I do feel… I guess a bit bad? Or at least predictable over how many of these made the cut.

But that’s enough out of me. Let me know: What are YOUR top ten movies of the 2020’s so far? And how do you feel about this decade as a whole? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time… take care!