On...The Best Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

The Best Films of the Decade

I thought I would add my cinematic two-cents at the end of the decade in regard to the best in film. I visit boxofficemojo.com at least a handful of times each week and I was perusing their lists of the top moneymakers per year and was astonished at how many films are made each year and how many films I used to watch. (That number has dwindled with the baby). For example, in 2004 I watched 56 of the top 100 films produced. I watched roughly 500 films this decade. Crazy amount of time devoted to movies!

So I devoured Entertainment Weekly's Best of the Decade with zeal and then looked around the Internet for more data (and mindjogging). My biggest problems were in regards to genres. How do you compare Pixar's Up with The Lord of the Rings or with There Will Be Blood. They are so different in experience and in texture. Some movies have wonderful re-watching value such as Master and Commander while others, though fantastic, don't (United 93). Also comedies seem to be a beast unto themselves. So what I have done is cheated. I have multiple lists. First are my Top 12 Comedies. Then the Best 40 Films of the Decade. Then the Best of the Best.

So here it is, my list of
The Best Films of the Decade.
(All 60+)

Top Twelve Comedies
1. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Simply my most quoted film since Big Lebowski. And to think I didn't even enjoy it that much the first time I saw it.

"I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am. You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science."

2. Tropic Thunder "I'm the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."
3. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? "We're in a tight spot."
4. The Hangover "Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine."
5. Juno "THUNDERCATS ARE GO!"
6. Zoolander "Hansel is so hot right now."
7. School of Rock "I have been touched by your kids... and I'm pretty sure that I've touched them."
8. Mean Girls "Hell, no. I did *not* leave the South Side for this!"
9. Love Actually Really funny, but not quite quotable.
10. The Simpsons Movie "Spider Pig!" "Hello, I'm Tom Hanks. The US Government has lost its credibility so it's borrowing some of mine."
11. Wedding Crashers "Make me a bicycle, clown!"
12. Napoleon Dynamite "Your mom goes to college."

Best 40 Films of the Decade

40. (500) Days of Summer (2009)
39. Miami Vice
38. Sin City
37. March of the Penguins
36. Memento (2000)
35. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
34. No Country For Old Men (2007)
33. Troy (Director's Cut)
32. Sideways (2004)
31. The History of Violence
30. Gangs of New York (2002)
29. Cold Mountain
28. Serenity
27. Gosford Park (2001)
26. Minority Report
25. Apocalypto
24. Zodiac
23. Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2
22. Amelie
21. Chicago (2002)
20. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
19. Cinderella Man
18. The Departed (2006)
17. 300
16. Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut)
15. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
14. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
13. Gran Torino
12. Lost in Translation (2003)
11. Gladiator (2000)
10. A.I. (2001) Kubrick and Spielberg. Underrated and misunderstood.
9. Black Hawk Down (2001) Ridley Scott puts you in the middle of war. Tense.
8. The Dark Knight (2008) Greatest comic-book movie. Pulses with life.
7. Sunshine (2007) Unseen masterpiece by Danny Boyle (see #35) Sci-fi wow.
6. United 93 (2006) Breaks your heart and elevates your spirit.
5. Master & Commander: Farside of the World (2003) You are in the Napoleonic Wars. Director Peter Weir and star Russell Crowe bring depth and life to history.
4. Children of Men (2006) Beautiful, chilling, marvelous work from Alfonso Cuaron. Humanity on the brink. Robbed at the Oscars.
3. Passion of the Christ (2004) Gibson went to another level with this unexpected masterpiece. Violent and powerful. Should be watched ever Easter. Also robbed at Oscar time.
2. There Will Be Blood (2007) Paul Thomas Anderson has become the director he was thought to be. Daniel Day-Lewis is hypnotic. The Best Film about America and creative destruction of capitalism since Citizen Kane. Yes, it's that good.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
A tough pick over There Will Be Blood. But I went with passion and love over brilliance and greed. Michael Gondry's movie is pure joy and heartbreak and imagination. I can watch it again and again.

Best of the Best
The Films of Wes Anderson
His films are inevitably quirky and mischievous. From 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums through the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) to The Darjeeling Limited (2007) to finally 2009's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson has had a unique, American view. I look forward to each of his new films with anticipation.
The Films of Pixar
Whatever they touch turns to gold. It shows what happens when you combine story, heart, determination, and technology. Actually quite unbelievable. For those who simply blow off "cartoons" are missing out. Look at this line up. Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), & Up (2009). Masterpiece after masterpiece and 4 Oscars.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Peter Jackson turned the improvable and some said impossible and made it a reality. Sit down and watch all 10 hours of this saga and you can't imagine New Line game the man behind The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures and Dead Alive the greenlight. Breathtaking and powerful and pure epic. I still marvel that it exists.

So until next time.

PS: Totally forgot all about Terrence Malick's The New World! Easily should be in my top 20 in not my top ten. Beautiful poetic.

Anything else I might have missed? Feel free to comment.