Unlike my albums of the decade list, this was not a list that came easily to me, nor one that I’m all that satisfied with. Sorry it took me so long to finish this, I’ve been spending most of this weekend babysitting high school kids and concentrating on the new “D” album. If you haven’t downloaded it yet I highly recommend doing that instead of reading this list.
Honorable Mentons:
The Dark Knight (2008)
High Fidelity (2000)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Before Sunset (2004)
10. Once (2007)
I originally had a film from 2009 as my number 10, but I figured that would’ve made my best of 2009 list a little less exciting. Anyways, musicals made quite a comeback in the 00’s, an incredibly undeserving one even won a Best Picture Oscar back in 2002. Once was a movie that seemed to strip the musical genre down to it’s bare essentials with a simple, but undeniably charming little love story that I think is hard not to like even if you’re not a fan of the songs.
9. The Pianist (2002)
This is an undeniably powerful take on the Holocaust from Roman Polanski in what is easily his most personal film as well as one of his best. The film paints a picture of World War II that seems to cut to the core of the human element of World War II, and features some unforgettable scenes of both horrific brutality and simplistic beauty. The Pianist would also probably be even higher on this list if it wasn’t for the fact that I saw it for the first time about a week ago.
8. Mulholland Drive (2001)
For me, there’s no one who pulls off surrealist filmmaking as well as David Lynch, and this is easily one of his most inspired creations. Mulholland Drive is probably one of the most unique depictions of dreams, and the film is almost like a kind of puzzle. In fact I can remember the first time I saw it, I just kept replaying the film over in my mind hours after the movie was over, trying to put it all together and just being fascinated by it.
7. Zodiac (2007)
I’m usually not a huge fan of serial killer movies, but this one has such unique approach to the genre that can’t help but get wrapped up in the style and tone of this film as well as it’s confounding story. It’s also quite amazing what David Fincher accomplished with this film, as it’s certainly one of the least flashy of his films, but in my opinion it’s his most finely crafted film yet.
6. Children of Men (2006)
My favorite kinds of sci-fi films are the ones that seem entirely believable in an almost tangible way, and for me Children Of Men is one of those kinds of films. Much of it can be attributed to the film’s depiction of a world without children, but much of it also has to do with Alfonso Cuaron’s gritty style of filmmaking which displays some unforgettable set pieces in this film. Also, Clive Owen is pretty badass in this movie, it’s too bad he hasn’t made a single film I’ve wanted to see since Children Of Men.
5. The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese has always been a master when it come to the crime genre, and with this film he managed to carve out some new ground in the genre, while earning his overdue Oscar. It’s got about as good of a cast as you can ask for and DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, and even Mark Wahlberg are all fantastic.
4. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004)
This is just a remarkable film in my opinion, how it manages to be so unique and unconventional but still rooted in human emotion is something I feel hasn’t quite been achieved in any other film in such an inventive way. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of writer Charlie Kaufman or director Michel Gondry, but this film seems like a perfect blend of both of their sensibilities.
3. Sideways (2004)
I’m a big fan of Alexander Payne, he seems to have a penchant for comedies that have this underlying sadness to them, but this got to be his most optimistic film yet. The cast is a joy to watch in scenes that very from tender and romantic to bizarre and irreverant. There are few comedies I can remember to responding to as much as Sideways, now if only Alexander Payne would finally make a follow-up film.
2. City of God (2002)
This is a crime story that is just as harrowing and vivid as it is exhilarating. I can’t help but get wrapped up in with each viewing, and the film really just grabs you from the first scene and never really lets go. I’m usually not that big of a fan of films that use lots jumpy stylistic editing techniques, but much like Goodfellas, I feel like this film totally uses that style to portray the fast-paced intense lifestyle at the center of the film.
1. The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)
Unlike Sean and John, I have a hard time thinking of one of the Lord of The Rings films without thinking of all of them as one big epic, masterfully told story. Each film definitely has it’s own special qualities, but I think you have to look at the whole as one incredible entity. There were plenty of blockbuster sequels to come out this decade, most of them relying on the newest CG technology, but I don’t think any films quite melded the aspirations of the Hollywood blockbusters with classic storytelling on a grand scale quite like The Lord Of The Rings.