1979 Semi-Finalist’s Top 25 Films Of The 00’s

So everyone is doing their “best of the decade” lists and apparently I’m no exception.  Though the Aughts (also known as the 2000’s) were horrible in a lot of ways for the world – or at least for the US (Bush years, ongoing wars, September 11th, massive recession and economic meltdown) there were also some great things and going through my list of films that came out from 2000 – 2009…it was a VERY strong decade.  So strong in fact that I can’t bear to just post a Top 10…so I’m doing a Top 25.

As usual, keep in mind that there are many movies I have not yet seen that might have made the list but just didn’t have a chance because I haven’t gotten to them yet…notably missing off the top of my head are:  The Wrestler, The Cove, 35 Shots of Rum, Revanche, Wendy and Lucy, and Synecdoche, New York.

I’d also like to offer up honorable mentions to the following:  The Station Agent, Ballast, Police Adjective, Friends With Money, The Savages, Syriana, Children of Men, Monster’s Ball, Michael Clayton, Go, Lovely & Amazing, Requiem For A Dream, Irreversible, Brodre (Brothers), The Incredibles, and Dead Man’s Shoes.

Okay, onto the list!

25. The Dark Knight

24. Dogville

23.  Movern Callar

22.  The Departed

21.  Brick

20.  Away From Her

19.  Closer

18.  Half Nelson

17.  Brokeback Mountain

16. There Will Be Blood

15.  Lost In Translation

14.  The Royal Tenenbaums

13.  No Country For Old Men

12.  Gosford Park

11.  Unbreakable

10.  Zodiac

09.  City Of God

08.  The Lives Of Others

07.  Reprise

06.  The Wind That Shakes The Barley

05.  The Squid & The Whale

04.  In The Mood For Love

03.  Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

02.  4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days

01.  28 Days Later

12 comments

  1. dandeeXD’s avatar

    Great list! I especially like your selection of Lost in Translation, Dogville and Gosford Park. #1 is a very daring choice, and there are several films on the list that I’ve yet to see, so I have some major catching up to do!

  2. Car’s avatar

    eternal sunshine is a masterpiece glad to see it made the list

  3. kfugrip’s avatar

    Great list. I love it. I also like a lot of the poster choices. I love the film Closer too, but doesn’t it have the worst poster? It’s like they didn’t even try.

  4. thejamminjabber’s avatar

    Some great picks. I loved Zodiac, and Reprise is a little seen gem.

  5. Paul’s avatar

    Oh man, nice list! But I absolutely hated Closer. That said, as suspected, I haven’t seen a bunch of these and will remind myself to try in 2010!

  6. Lead Character’s avatar

    hmmm… on some levels, I agree with your number one pick. I absolutely loved There Will Be Blood, though. It’s probably my number one. But 28 Days Later isn’t a bad choice, either. 😉

  7. 1979semifinalist’s avatar

    Thanks for all the comments guys – I’m glad you’re enjoying the list.

    The Closer poster is god awful. When I was pulling this together, I thought, ‘thank the gods that this list isn’t based off of posters or I’d have to toss out Closer all together’.

    Paul: I can’t believe you hate Closer!? Did you read the play? It’s some amazing stuff. Brutal, but amazing.

    Lead Character: I’m sure lots of people won’t agree with that number one pick. But for me, it’s just a movie that has stayed with me hugely ever since I first saw it. It has emotional impact and beauty and horror and really makes me think. I can watch it an infinite number of times and never get sick of it…though I will have nightmares. :)

    As for There Will Be Blood, it’s a masterpiece. I think the reason it doesn’t rank higher for me is mostly because though I liked Paul Dano and thought he did the best he could, he’s just not a match for Daniel Day Lewis on the screen and so the adversarial aspect of that film didn’t really have the impact I needed from it. Other than that though, a near perfect film. As I talk about it now I feel like I should bump it up a couple notches…isn’t that always the way…?

  8. Ben Cohen’s avatar

    Lets get this out of the way…KELLY NOT YOU TWO!…regarding Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Ecstatic to see Lost In Translation and The Royal Tenenbaums. A few I have not seen and now will. A few surprises, but not disappointments. In a personal note, I have a family member that worked on the sound for Zodiac (nominated for an Oscar).

    Assuming you saw mine.

  9. ross’s avatar

    where’s Punisher War Zone, Rocky 6, and Rambo 4?! 😉

  10. 1979semifinalist’s avatar

    Ben: Your list is good – I liked how you combined all media and did a top 100. It’s hard for me to organize a list of that magnitude though (as I learned with the 100 comic covers) when I go back I’m never sure that I really liked #98 less than #76, y’know? Also, I have trouble comparing mediums…like is this film more important to me or better to me than this comic book? Difficult task, I’m impressed you did it. It was hard enough here doing a top 25…and I’m still not really confident with the order.

    Are you saying you don’t like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? I can’t imagine why…please elaborate.

    Ross: D’oh! How could I have missed those three gems!?

  11. keyvan’s avatar

    hi. very good

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