I’m gonna start my coverage of the best that the movies had to offer this decade although I don’t think I’ll have a list of my favorites of the decade that I can stand by until March at the earliest, especially since I have to do a 2019 lists first. But I’m gonna start now with genre or category-specific lists to not just dump everything at once.
Today, we are starting with the following music-specific categories: Best Musical, Score, and Songs Written for Motion Pictures.
Best Musical
Note: I must admit that I’m being pretty loose with what I considered a musical as this list features song-and-dance films, films about music, and movies whose rhythm is clearly influenced by the movie musical. Here are my 10 favorites
10. La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016)
9. Burlesque (Steve Antin, 2010)
8. Frozen (Christ Buck & Jennifer Lee, 2013)
7. Sing Street (John Carney, 2016)
6. Pitch Perfect (Jason Moore, 2012)
5. Winnie the Pooh (Stephen J. Anderson & Don Hall, 2011)
4. The Muppets (James Bobin, 2011)
3. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Ol Parker, 2018)
2. Moana (Ron Clements & John Musker, 2016)
1. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010)
Honorable Mentions: Tangled, Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping, Coco
Best Score
10. Hanna by The Chemical Brothers
9. It Follows by Disasterpiece
8. Carol by Carter Burwell
7. Phantom Thread by Johnny Greenwood
6. Over the Garden Wall by The Blasting Company
5. TRON: Legacy by Daft Punk
4. The Wind Rises by Joe Hisaishi
3. First Man by Justin Hurwitz
2. The Social Network by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
1. If Beale Street Could Talk by Nicholas Britell
Honorable Mentions: The Ghost Writer, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Creed, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, The Skin I Live In, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gravity, Her, In the House
Song Written for Motion Pictures
10. “So Long” from Winnie the Pooh, Performed by Zoey Deschanel
9. “Yellow Flicker Beat” from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1, performed by Lorde
8. “Breath of Life” from Snow White and the Huntsman, perfomed by Florence and the Machine
7. “Skyfall” from Skyfall, performed by Adele
6. “I Get Overwhelmed” from A Ghost Story , performed by Dark Rooms
5. “OYAHYTT” from Sorry to Bother You, perfomed by The Coup
4. “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, perfomed by Auli’i Cravalho
3. “Dull Tool” from This is 40, performed by Fiona Apple
2. “The Moon Song” from Her, performed by Karen O
1. “Visions of Gideon” from Call Me By Your Name, performed by Sufjan Stevens
Honorable Mentions: “Young & Beautiful” from The Great Gatsby, “Drive It Like You Stole It” from Sing Street, “I’ll Have to Dance with Cassie” from God Help the Girl, “Gathering Stories” from We Bought a Zoo, “Becomes the Color” from Stoker, “Flower of the Universe” from A Wrinkle in Time
A Journey Through Cinematic Heaven and Hell 