There were a lot of science fiction movies released from 2010 to 2019. Here are my ten favorites. They’re not necessarily the best films of the decade, but they’re the ones I’d take with me if I was going on a long trip. Listed by year.

1. Inception (2010) – A team of espionage experts led by Dominick Cobb (actor Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrate people’s dreams to extract information. Clever, complex plot with dreams within dreams within dreams. It ends happily for most of the characters. Grade = A.

2. Limitless (2011) – Edward Morra (actor Bradley Cooper) is a struggling loser who comes across an experimental super drug that makes him basically the smartest person on the planet. Russian gangsters and a mega-tycoon (actor Robert De Niro) are after the drug too. Clever, happy ending. Grade = A-.

3. Source Code (2011) – A man (actor Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train and has no idea who he is or how he got there. He slowly learns he is a U.S. Army officer who is repeatedly sent back in time to discover who planted a bomb on the train. The ending was setting up to be terribly sad but an unexpected twist made the ending happy. Grade = A.

4. I Am Number Four (2011) – John Smith is a good teenaged alien who was sent to Earth as a child to escape the evil invading Mogadorians. John has semi-super powers. This movie has characteristics of movies that I usually don’t like (teen leads, cute animals, etc.) but I liked this movie. Grade = B.

5. Oblivion (2013) – In the future of 2077, Jack Harper (actor Tom Cruise) and Vika Olsen (actress Andrea Riseborough) are two of just a handful of technicians left on Earth after the defeat of an alien invasion. But it turns out they are actually clones created by the aliens who in fact defeated Earth. Harper figures out the deception and destroys the aliens. An unexpected happy twist ending. Grade = B.

6. Ant-Man (2015) – Scientist Hank Pym (actor Michael Douglas) developed shrinking technology but suppresses it because it might be dangerous. Loser Scott Lang (actor Paul Rudd) is recruited by Pym to become Ant-Man to defeat an evil industrialist. Nice balance of action and humor. Grade = B. The 2018 sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp” was also very good.

7. Doctor Strange (2016) – Dr. Stephen Strange (actor Benedict Cumberbatch) is a wealthy but arrogant neurosurgeon. He is severely injured in a car crash and goes to Nepal where he learns to control mystical energy in alternate dimensions. Strange defeats evil sorcerer Kaecilius and his minions, and saves the Earth. Grade = B.

8. Life (2017) – This is a very scary movie. Crew members (including actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds) aboard a space station retrieve a probe returning from Mars. It has a very nasty life form. The movie has an unexpected twist ending — things do not end well for any of the crew — and Earth. Grade = B-.

9. Time Trap (2017) – A group of college students are searching for their missing professor. They accidentally discover a mysterious cave. Trapped in the cave they slowly realize space and time are distorted there. Clever plot with a happy ending. Grade = B.

10. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – In the future of 2049, bio-engineered replicants are workers/semi-slaves. Replicant K (actor Ryan Gosling) is a police officer who hunts down rogue replicants. The plot is complicated and involves the idea that replicants might have developed the ability to reproduce. Actor Harrison Ford plays old replicant hunter Rick Deckard. The movie also features Joi — an AI girlfriend of K. Grade = B+.