Many of those so-called failures found audiences in their own right, too. Dredd is one of the best comic book movies of the decade, while The Nice Guys, The Guest, and Blade Runner 2049 found followings despite their box office receipts. Still, there are plenty of gems that have fallen out of people’s memories that need some love.
10
Silence (2016)
Easily the most underappreciated of Martin Scorsese’s movies, Silence was always destined not to be a blockbuster. This historical epic follows Andrew Garfield’s priest as he sneaks into Japan during the 17th Century to find his missing mentor, played by Liam Neeson. Garfield’s Rodrigues soon finds his faith in God brutally tested by Japan’s anti-Christian purge.
Silence is a deeply personal project for Scorsese and is by no means an easy watch. It’s a sometimes despairing work looking at the nature of faith and what it means to serve God, in the face of his overwhelming “silence.” It’s also a deeply moving piece of work that doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as it should.
9
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
The Place Beyond the Pines is one of those movies that everybody raves about the year it arrives, and then quietly fades into the background. That’s a real shame in this case, as the film is overloaded with superb performances and features a weighty story that makes “the sins of the father” extremely literal.
The story is told in three parts, with Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Dane DeHaan fronting each section. To say more would be to spoil how it plays out, but it’s a dark character study looking at legacy and masculinity, and how the actions of a father can dictate the course of their child’s life.
8
Blackhat (2015)
Michael Mann is behind classic thrillers like Heat and The Insider, and with Blackhat, he took a look at the nature of cyberterrorism. Not only did it receive mocking reviews, with critics labeling it dated and out of touch, it was one of the biggest bombs of the 2010s.
A decade on, it holds up as a sleekly made thriller that looks incredible. Sure, it can be a little convoluted and leaden in spots, but the film is bolstered by incredible vibes, visceral action and a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis. Little wonder it’s already earned a critical reappraisal.
7
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
S. Craig Zahler followed his acclaimed Western Bone Tomahawk with this 1970s throwback. This cast Vince Vaughn as a criminal who, after making an enemy of a drug lord, descends into hellish violence as he fights his way into the titular cell block. Like Zahler’s predecessor, this thriller is both brutal and dryly funny.
There are some truly wince-inducing bursts of violence here, as the story is destined to end badly for Vaughn’s anti-hero. Still, there’s plenty of heart in Brawl in Cell Block 99 too, and Zahler’s flair for stylized dialogue is correct and present. For all its bleakness, the film is a very rewatchable Friday actioner.
6
Nightcrawler (2014)
A film best remembered for Jake Gyllenhaal’s eerie performance as an obsessive, unethical “stringer,” Nightcrawler is a searing takedown of tabloid journalism. Part dark comedy, neo-noir thriller and inspirational drama(!), it follows Gyllenhaal’s ambitious Lou, who happens upon his perfect job while watching slimy photojournalists at work.
Lou is well-suited to the gig, and there are few moral lines he won’t cross to pursue his ambitions. Nightcrawler is a tricky movie to classify, and one with a lot on its mind. It’s an indictment of unrestrained capitalism and media exploitation, and there’s little irony in the way it depicts a morally bankrupt sociopath thriving in that world.
5
MacGruber (2010)
A movie based on a one-note SNL parody of MacGyver had no right being one of the funniest comedies of the decade. However, that’s the case with 2010’s MacGruber, where Will Forte’s egotistical special agent is pulled out of retirement to take down an old foe, played by Val Kilmer.
MacGruber received a TV series sequel in 2021, with Forte, Wiig and Ryan Phillippe all reprising their lead roles.
Like any parody, the gags can be hit-and-miss, but when they hit, they’re hilarious. Forte is ably supported by Kristen Wiig, and it succeeds where many other SNL spinoffs failed by really digging into the psyche of its twisted title character. In short, there’s a reason MacGruber is beloved by its biggest fan, Christopher Nolan.
4
Elle (2016)
Paul Verhoeven has never been one to shy away from controversy, as Basic Instinct and Showgirls display. In 2016, he directed this provocative psychological thriller about a businesswoman (Isabelle Huppert) who is assaulted by an unknown attacker. Instead of going to the police, she calmly resumes her chaotic life while tracking down her attacker.
Elle is a blend of black comedy and thriller, and follows a protagonist who refuses to feel victimized and then forms a bizarre relationship with her assaulter. Verhoeven is deliberately prodding taboos with his story, but it’s a fascinating character study and Huppert is exceptional in the lead.
3
One Cut of the Dead (2017)
This horror-comedy became a cult sensation upon release and is probably the most feel-good zombie flick ever. Instead of following an actual fictional outbreak, it charts a scrappy film crew’s attempt to shoot a zombie special for TV entirely in one take. The movie’s structure is unique too, opening with the single take short before revealing how they did it.
The opening is already impressive, but viewers will have their heartstrings plucked as they learn how it was done. One Cut of the Dead stands alone in the zombie genre for its sheer originality and deserves credit for taking a radically overexposed genre and finding a fresh angle.
2
Annihilation (2018)
Loosely adapting the cult novel of the same name, Annihilation saw director Alex Garland making a modern riff on sci-fi classic Stalker. The story finds an all-female military team hiding inside “The Shimmer,” a mysterious zone created by an alien force that plays with both the DNA and minds of all living things inside it.
Essentially dumped straight to Netflix after Garland refused to make cuts that would have made it more “accessible,” Annihilation is a hefty existential meal. It has plenty of action and horror – including the infamous mutant bear attack – but it’s just as concerned with topics like people’s inherent tendencies to self-destruct in both life and relationships.
1
Upgrade (2018)
This utter gem of a sci-fi thriller came along during a run of hits for Blumhouse. While it made a respectable sum, it was overshadowed by movies like Get Out or Halloween 2018, but it’s ripe for rediscovery now. The plot follows Logan Marshall-Green’s Trace, who is left paralyzed following a vicious attack.
He regains control of his body thanks to an experimental A.I. chip called STEM, but he soon finds himself fighting for that control. Upgrade defies its tiny budget and feels like the kind of thoughtful actioner John Carpenter would have made in his heyday. It’s filled with ideas, creative action and its surprise ending packs a real punch.