20When many people think of movie classics their minds naturally go into the history of cinema and the pantheon of great movies from the 20th century. From classics like Orson Welles' Citizen Kane to the works of Stanley Kubrick, like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining, the 20th century is full of cinematic classics destined to live on for generations to come.
However, it's easy to forget that time is transient, and many of the movies of recent times will go on to the catalog of cinematic classics. Over on IMDb, movie buffs have been casting their votes as to which modern movies will be revered as classics in the future.
Untouchable (2011)
Untouchable, or The Intouchables in its native French, is a 2011 buddy-comedy from writer/directors Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano. The film tells the story of a friendship between a French aristocrat called Philippe and a young Senegalese man named Driss, who becomes the former's caregiver following his paragliding accident that leaves him quadriplegic.
While some criticized the movie for its Driving Miss Daisy level of socio-cultural awareness, most filmgoers loved the movie and the tear-jerking relationship between its central characters. Untouchable has gone on to become one of the highest-grossing French-language movies of all time, and even received an English-language remake in 2017's The Upside, starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Alejandro Iñárritu's 2014 black-comedy drama, starring Birdman follows Riggan Thomson, a once popular Hollywood actor best known for playing the titular superhero "Birdman", as he struggles to regain his acting prowess in a Broadway production.
The film boasts a stellar cast alongside Keaton, including Emma Stone, Edward Norton, and Andrea Riseborough. What really makes Birdman stand out is how the movie is constructed in a manner that makes it appear as if it's a single shot, with no cuts. The performances are great, the cinematography is superb, and the soundtrack is electric. Birdman scooped the 87th Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. The movie has become a true modern classic and cemented Iñárritu as a true auteur of of contemporary cinema.
None of the Above (2015)
A peculiar entry that reached number eight in this IMDb poll, None of the Above is a film created and filmed by High School students at Hamilton Southeastern in Fishers Indiana, United States. The movie follows three different students running for the position of class president, each with their own secrets and motivations.
The movie is short in length, clocking in at around forty-seven minutes, and is free to watch on the ultra low-budget Blair Witch Project did back in 1999 is up to movie-lovers in the coming years.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Martin Scorsese's 2013 biographical black comedy biopic about the extravagant life of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, was a huge hit upon its initial release.
Since one of the best-reviewed movies of the 2010s, and was nominated for a number of awards globally. The movie is destined to become a classic of the modern era.
Django Unchained (2012)
Quentin Tarantino's tribute to the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s, with a modern revisionist twist, and features Tarantino-favorite characters. The movie follows Django, a black slave, who trains under Christoph Waltz's King Schultz, a bounty hunter, in the hopes of being reunited with his wife.
The movie was a massive success upon its release and has grown into one of Tarantino's most popular movies. However, the movie was leveled with heavy criticism for its racially charged language and depiction of violence. Despite these issues, the movie has become a classic of the modern era and is a prime example of the revisionist western genre that has gained momentum in the past twenty years.
Drive (2011)
Drive, from Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, has grown into a huge cult movie since its initial release in 2011. The story centers on Ryan Gosling's unnamed Driver character, a Hollywood stuntman, and mechanic that drives getaway cars by night, and finds himself entangled with his neighbor Irene Gabriel, played by Carey Mulligan.
Drive was critically lauded upon its release, becoming one of the standout successes of 2011. The movie was praised for its striking visuals, subdued performances, and, perhaps most of all, its iconic alternative synth-esque soundtrack, featuring music from Desire and Chromatics.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
George Miller's high-octane post-apocalyptic action film became one of the surprise hits of 2015. After a troubled production, that included Mad Max: Fury Road become one of the most well-received movies of 2015. The movie was praised for its amazing spectacle, strong female characters, and exhilarating action set-pieces.
The film's unique visual style, over-the-top action set pieces, and overall craziness has set it apart from any other action movie that Hollywood has produced in recent years, with the possible exception of John Wick, ensuring that Fury Road becomes a cinematic classic of recent times. A sequel/prequel, titled Furiosa, is currently in production, with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth set to star.
Whiplash (2014)
Before he made his musical masterpiece Whiplash. Released in 2014, Whiplash is a psychological drama about a bright and ambitious music student, played by Miles Teller, and his relationship to his abusive music instructor, played by the brilliant J.K. Simmons.
Widely lauded for its brilliant score, intense performances, and a creative screenplay that subverts many of the cliches of the student/mentor relationship usually depicted in film, Whiplash appeared in multiple film critic top ten lists in 2014, and has gone on to become one of Chazelle's best movies to date.
Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan is widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of the modern age, and Interstellar is a perfect showcase for the director's unique visuals, cinematography, and weaving time structures. Set against the backdrop of humanity's survival in the face of environmental collapse, ex-NASA pilot Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, leads a team of explorers through a wormhole in an effort to save humanity from destruction.
While Nolan's previous movies were often accused of lacking heart and soul, Interstellar, at its very core, is the story of a relationship between a father and his daughter. The relationship between Cooper and his daughter gives Interstellar its emotional weight and grounds the movie in something worldly, especially when compared to the otherworldly visuals that viewers are treated to. The stunning scope, amazing Hans Zimmer soundtrack, and emotional heft, have made this Christopher Nolan film one of the great science-fiction movies of the modern era.
Inception (2010)
The top spot of this IMDb poll of movies destined to become classics of the modern era was the time-bending Christopher Nolan action movie The Dark Knight, Inception was the director's first original story to become a mammoth hit at the box-office, while simultaneously being praised by critics and audiences for its original story, complex plot, and excellent action sequences.
The plot follows Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), a thief who steals secrets through dream-sharing technology. When Cobb is tasked with planting an idea in a target's mind, he assembles a team to help him in this pursuit, but things quickly get out of hand when Cobb is confronted by his dark past. Inception was considered a classic upon its release, and that hasn't changed in the 12 years since.
