Best Films of the Decade, 2000-2009 (a bit late but whatever)

1.      There will be Blood

P.T. Anderson has been a favorite director of mine ever since I first saw Magnolia (also one of my favorite movies but not part of this decade) but was never very well known to the general public until he made There will be Blood. Everything about this movie is fascinating. The comparisons between the church and secular corporations right down to its tense and eerie soundtrack make it a complex work of genius. But most of all it is the stellar and brilliant performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, the dark and menacing oil baron. Thanks to him, “I drink your milkshake!” is now considered one of the most famous movie lines of our generation. And thanks to P.T. Anderson, There will be Blood is now considered by many the best movie of this decade, including myself.

2.      City of God

Although is Fernando Meirelles’ most recent picture Blindess was an unnecessarily dark, disturbing, and dreadful movie, you cannot forget his first picture City of God. It gives us an amazing look into the heart of Rio de Janeiro’s violent drug trafficking scene in the form of a true story that is violent, dark, and disturbing. It’s editing and cinematography are all extremely fascinating and amazing to watch. Not to mention Lil’Ze, the bad guy, is crazy. In all, it is a beautiful film in style and plot and cannot be missed.

3.      Memento

Most people only know Christopher Nolan for Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight which are all fantastic films. However, his most clever, unique, and intriguing film came out long before that in 2000 in the form of Memento. Like all of Nolan’s movies, Memento approaches the actions and motives of its characters (namely Leonard, the main character played by Guy Pearce) from a psychological standpoint. And this time it is to analyze the subject of revenge. But unlike other movies with the same theme of revenge, Memento goes deeper than ever before in a way I can’t explain or describe without ruining the plot. You’ll just have to discover this genius on your own in its truly original, complex story.

4.      The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

I know it seems a copout to have a Lord of the Rings film in the top 5 but The Fellowship truly deserves a spot not just because it’s one of the best book adaptations out there. Out of all 3 it has the best screenplay, music, acting, action, and character development; and no unnecessary, corny comic relief which the other 2 cannot seem to control. The music isn’t overwhelming like the 3^rd one, the action and special effects do not drive the plot or entertainment like the other 2 and the acting remains strong especially with Ian McKellen as Gandalf. The characters and plot is what makes it the best because they are the center like in the books, not the amazing battle sequences (it gets you Oscars and “wows” from the audience, but not true storytelling).

5.      The Dark Knight

This one just could not be ignored. The Dark Knight clarified for the public Nolan’s genius as a director but also reignited the fire and desire for super heroes. No other super hero movie can touch this one. With perhaps one of the greatest villains of all time in the form of the Joker and a plot with twists most could not see coming it never ceases to amaze. And, IT’S A SEQUEL! When has a sequel ever been this good? That in and of itself makes it worthy of this list. Not many sequels can beat its predecessor or score close to $1 billion at the box-office.

6.      No Country for Old Men

The Coen Brothers are brilliant. There’s really not much more to it. They can go from making a goofy, weird, hilarious comedy like The Big Lebowski to a dark, violent pseudo western (not quite sure what that means, but it sounds right) like No Country without even batting an eye. This is yet again one of the best adaptations of the decade and goes to great lengths to keep the eerie, tense silence and darkness of Cormac McCarthy’s style of writing alive. Javier Bardem’s portrayal of villain Anton Chigurh is also one of the best of all time and provides plenty of blood and intense scenes. Not to mention its shocking and baffling ending. Oh, and there’s no soundtrack throughout the entire movie. Now think of THAT.

7.      Gangs of New York

Many people may disagree with this but I think this is one of Martin Scorsese’s best. It gives an accurate look at New York City and early America during the Civil War and boy is it crazy. Many of the characters and/or gang leaders in the movie were real people, including Bill the Butcher. Again we have Daniel Day-Lewis playing one of the best villains who’s so charming and awesome you almost forget about Leonardo Dicaprio who’s supposed to be the main character. Poor Leo. Anyways, the opening sequence is one of the best/most intense openings ever and has some lovely action. The costumes, sets, and cinematography are all awesome here but Day-Lewis really steals the show again and makes you wish you could throw knives. It’s fantastic.

8.      Atonement

Having this in my top 10 probably makes me sound like a girl but it really is a great piece of work. I really think this is the best romance/tragedy of the decade. It probably has some of the most beautiful cinematography I have ever seen, including a long-shot that lasts for around 5 minutes and nearly made me cry it was so awesome. But most of all, you actually care about the characters. In many romances today the main couple usually just ends up annoying the crap out of me. But in Atonement, that doesn’t happen. And the ending is just heartbreaking. Well, don’t want to spoil it, but it really is just a beautiful film. It also has a fantastic soundtrack done by the composer for the most recent Pride and Prejudice which was also done by the same director, Joe Wright.

9.      Pan’s Labyrinth

Guillermo del Toro (I actually spelled that right without looking) may have not been the best director before with clunkers like Blade II and Hellboy under his belt, but this one really made the cake. The different monsters in this movie were fascinating and I know I’m not the only one who nearly got the s*** scared out of him by that thing that ate babies with the eyes in its hands. But just the real life story of poor Ophelia caught up in the Spanish portion of WWII mixed in with her imaginary world was so interesting, and you never quite know if it’s real or not…..?  Then there’s that really bad guy who smashes a guy’s face in with a bottle. Crazy stuff. All in all, it’s creepy, dark, and violent but wonderful and filled with things like fauns that look like ents.

10.  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

I just HAD to put this one in the top 10, the special effects and the end of such a brilliant, colossal trilogy could not be ignored. I believe I would not be facing much disagreement in saying it is the best trilogy of all time. The epic scale of those battles and external and internal strife of the characters created a movie-going experience that cannot easily be matched. Peter Jackson took a big risk when he decided to make these movies, but I believe it was a success. And I’m saying this as a hardcore Lord of the Rings fan who read The Silmarillion twice and a good portion of the Middle-Earth history books. The Return of the King made it possible for the trilogy to go out with one hell of a bang.

11.  The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)

Most of you probably haven’t heard of this film, and it’s not surprising since it’s German and came out in 2006, although it won the Oscar for best foreign film that year. It is probably the most fascinating film on this list in terms of historical merit. Taking place before the fall of the Berlin wall, it follows how a man in the police force (known as the Stasi) of the Socialist party in East Germany is assigned to wire a playwright and his girlfriends’ room and monitor them for any disloyal activity towards Socialism. It’s a deeply moving story in the end. Intense and frustrating to see unfold in its tragic course. But it makes for a fascinating movie experience and my favorite foreign film of the decade.

12.  Road to Perdition

If there’s one director that came out of nowhere and surprised everyone the most, it’s Sam Mendes. He started his career off with the highly acclaimed American Beauty and then went on to direct Road to Perdition. However, it is generally overlooked when reviewing Mendes’ work which includes Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, and Away We Go. It is also overlooked as a gangster movie. And it is a brilliant one. But it is also a fantastic father/son movie with Tom Hanks as the said father. A dark and somber flick, it also features Daniel Craig in a little known performance, Jude Law in a creepy-killer role, and Paul Newman in his last appearance on screen before his death earlier this year. It’s a moving, entertaining, gripping story and features one of my all-time favorite sequences in a silent scene in the pouring rain with a somber, simple piano theme playing over the sound of a tommy-gun mowing down a group of men. So sick.

13.  The Royal Tenenbaums

And now we come to Wes Anderson, one of the best young directors of our generation who teamed up with Owen Wilson (as he often does) to pen a script about a particular, peculiar dysfunctional family (the Tenenbaums) and the father (Gene Hackman, so funny) who tries to win their affection again when everyone else in the family is not exactly sane or ok themselves. It’s just wonderful piece of work. Anderson has created a style of comedy grounded in sarcasm, dry dialogue, and moments of slapstick comedy that cannot be matched or successfully imitated elsewhere without someone like me saying “they’re just trying to copy Wes Anderson.” This is him at his best and the whimsical story says it all.

14.  Gladiator

“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.” Geez. So BA. That’s pretty much what makes this movie so fantastic (I’ve been using that word a lot). It’s epic battles, commanding performances, awesome visuals, great soundtrack, and of course, the extremely epic ending. It paved the way for Troy, Alexander, 300, etc, which I’m sorry to say, were all pretty bad. But it still inspired them. And you gotta give it that. It’s just too epic for words.

15.  Big Fish

When I said Road to Perdition was a great father/son movie, I meant it. But Big Fish is the real deal. Trust me, you’ll probably cry at the end of this movie or have already, it’s that sad/happy at the same time. I seriously feel so satisfied and amazed every time I finish this film. Tim Burton’s other movies are nothing compared to this one (now don’t go and cry all you Nightmare Before Christmas kids, cuz it’s true and you gotta get used to the idea). Ewan McGregor really doesn’t get better than this and neither does a movie split between the fanciful and the real (although Pan’s Labyrinth does too). Although this sounds cheesy, it really is pure magic.

16.  The Departed

Martin Scorsese never fails to deliver, and he really delivers a fast, energetic, BA mafia movie with The Departed. Although Scorsese deserved to win best picture and director with Raging Bull, it makes sense he got both with this one too. Everything is top notch, but most of all the fast-paced screenplay and the smooth, slick editing. Like every Scorsese picture it’s near or over 2 ½ hours, but you really don’t notice it’s so intriguing, fast, and complex. Jack Nicholson never fails to deliver either with his performances, and he does here, along with Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg giving everything they got as well. This crime/mafia movie finds its place among The Godfather and Goodfellas.

17.  A Serious Man

Although 2009 was not my choice year for movies, it had its few shining stars and A Serious Man was one of the brightest. The Coen Brothers produced another outstanding film in terms of acting, original story, directing, and their brilliant use of black comedy. No director(s) has mastered the art of the black comedy like the Coens. A Serious Man has a professor losing control of his wife, family, job, and faith and is at a loss for where to find solace…..and we somehow find this funny? That’s because it is. “No one in this house is getting a nose job!”…..they’re a Jewish family. That’s the kind of stuff you find in this tragic story. Check off another work of genius from the Coens.

18.  The Hurt Locker

Let’s face it: pretty much all of the Iraq/Afghanistan war movies so far suck. I nearly lost all hope that any of them could be good. That is until The Hurt Locker came along. It’s good in that it is extremely intense, and you really won’t know just how freakin’ intense until you see it (hint: diffusing bombs). It’s also super realistic (hint: sniper standoff with a .50 caliber rifle. All you CoD players out there know what I mean :0 ). But most importantly, it’s not political. It doesn’t take sides. It just shows the war for what it is and does a helluva job doing it. Also, Jeremy Renner does a fantastic job in the starring role and should receive a nomination.

19.  O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Before I say anything about the movie itself, I just have to say that the soundtrack is awesome. T-Bone Burnett really knows how to make a great soundtrack and you know what I mean if you’ve also seen Cold Mountain or Walk the Line. But come to think of it, you really can’t separate the soundtrack from the movie. It’s almost a musical that way; the songs are so ingrained in the movie and often take place as different scenes. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s done by the Coens again! Well shucks. My list seems to be full of their movies. It’s not my fault they made a hysterical, awesome film parody of the Odyssey set during the 1920’s (or something like that). It’s just too unique and entertaining to ignore.

20.  Moulin Rouge! 

Again, many of you probably think I’m a girl/drama kid for putting this on here but really you’re just an ignorant fool for not having seen it and/or not recognizing it as the best musical of the decade. It may just be a remix of a bunch of famous songs (like Roxanne from The Police) but even that’s inventive. And the story itself is original and entertaining and engaging. Not to mention the way in which the musical numbers are performed. But my favorite part is also tragic….it doesn’t end as planned so it’s not a corny, stereotypical romance.

21.  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Some of you, if you managed to see it, may have found it boring or ignored it because of its really long title, and if you did you missed out. Anyone who loves aloof, gray, drawn out movies like this that dwell on shots of nature while listening to the overtones of the narrator will absolutely adore it. It’s pretty much a homage to Terrence Malick’s movies (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World). Brad Pitt is terrific and terrifying as Jesse James and Casey Affleck is great as Robert Ford. It’s another historical piece that’s worth the time if only for the history lesson. But I’m a sucker for thoughtful, brooding films like these so it probably won’t find its way on to many other top lists. Plus, the cinematography is gorgeous….which I’m also a sucker for.

22.  The Bourne Identity

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to the good guy being a perfect, guiltless model for young children to look up to and want to be someday because he’s so good, blame Jason Bourne. He’s the one who started the shaky camera craze for action movies and he also did away with the good part of the hero. Bourne is ruthless. He’s still BA and a generally cool guy, but he’s definitely not the charming hero we used to know that Sean Connery gave us as James Bond. He’s a hardcore fighter and gave us a relentless thriller that left a trail of movies behind striving to create something similar but never quite coming close to this one.

23.  Minority Report

A lot of people may disagree with me on this, but I believe Minority Report to be the best Sci-Fi film of the decade. And before you tell James Cameron about this statement, let me tell you why. It had an amazing, twisting storyline. Tom Cruise may be crazy but he was awesome as the hero John Anderton in this film and was perfect as the man framed for a crime he hadn’t committed. It has so many twists and you really can’t predict any of them. And it’s really cool. I’ve met so many people who share my same fascination with the pulse gun he uses on those guys in the car factory. I want that. Not to mention the other thousand different gadgets, vehicles, social oddities, etc, that pop up throughout the movie. It’s really almost an overwhelming dose of Sci-Fi but by the end I was amazed and highly satisfied.

24.  Away We Go

As mentioned earlier, Sam Mendes has only made a handful of films so far in his young career and they’ve all been the big, Oscar winning types. After Revolutionary Road, Mendes took a trip from the ordinary and made a simple but funny, meaningful, and charming little romantic comedy starring John Krasinski from the Office and Maya Rudolph from SNL who is also married to P.T. Anderson, the director of There will be Blood (so many connections). In my opinion, this is the best romantic comedy of the decade. Want to know why? Because it’s actually good. Every other romantic comedy out there only strives to make money off of teenage girls and middle-aged women looking for a corny outing with actors like Gerard Butler and Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Grant. Away We Go has a couple of things going for it: a great original story and characters, laugh out loud scenes and dialogue, a great soundtrack, and most of all, it has a meaningful, not-corny ending.

25.  Thank You for Smoking 

Many seem to think Juno or Up in the Air is Jason Reitman’s best movie so far, but I have to disagree. The clever use of satirical humor in Thank You for Smoking just cannot be beat and makes it one of the most original and funniest comedies of the decade. Aaron Eckhart (Two-Face in The Dark Knight) gives his best performance as the hilarious lobbyist for Big Tobacco and the rest of the movie is riddled with odd, hysterical characters and dialogue. It doesn’t rely on gross out comedy like Superbad or other crude content like Knocked Up (although I can’t deny both are pretty hilarious but Smoking is more clever). It’s what started Jason Reitman’s career as a notable young director and I believe it is still, and will be for a while, his best film.