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
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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!
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eternal sunshine is a masterpiece glad to see it made the list
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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.
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Some great picks. I loved Zodiac, and Reprise is a little seen gem.
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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!
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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. 😉
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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…?
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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.
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where’s Punisher War Zone, Rocky 6, and Rambo 4?! 😉
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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!?
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hi. very good
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