It’s not only the end of the year — it’s the end of the decade**. This list is top 5 favorite, best films whatever you wish. These are 5 movies from the “Aughts” that I have been or will be revisiting through the next decade. (** editor’s note — I follow the 0-9 decade/century policy. There’s nothing official so I’m just as right as you are you 1-10′ers. You can post your list next year with 2010 films in it. I prefer symmetry.)
1. The Dark Knight (2008). Both my favorite and in my opinion the best movie of the decade. It is satisfying on every level… the cast (OK — Maggie Gyllenhaal is a bit of a drag, but it ends up OK on that front), the set pieces, the score, the themes it explores, etc., etc.
2. 300 (2006). Again… fascinating visuals. It was nice to see Hollywood celebrate abs like mine. Tonight we dine in Hell! I’m not quite that hungry, but a great movie. And if Gerard Butler doesn’t start making better choices this might be his pinnacle.
3. The Incredibles (2004). thanks to my chillens I’ve seen this dozens of times. I have yet to tire of this film…. it too gets everything right. It may be the perfect movie. I knew kids would pay off.
4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). I’m not sure what it is about this film, but the cast is pitch perfect, the score and pacing. Casey Affleck had a pretty good decade when this is coupled with Gone Baby Gone.
5. We Were Soldiers (2002). Mel Gibson’s Vietnam film. “Sir, Custer was a pussy… you ain’t”. Sam Elliott — ’nuff said. He should’ve won an Oscar for Sgt. Plumley.
Honorable Mention next 5: Batman Begins, Memento, Ratatouille, Gran Torino, Finding Nemo
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Yeah,Floyd,I’ve got flat hard abs,too…somewhere under this beer gut.
Why have a six-pack when you can have a keg?
Has anyone seen “The Hurt Locker”?It’s getting all kinds of awards.
I liked “Master and Commander” with Russell Crowe…love a good sea faring flick,though I personally get sick on a rowboat
Was surprised how much I liked this movie, and consider it some of Crowe’s best work. Definitely would make my Top 10.
Technically, the decade doesn’t end until the end of 2010 (which ought to be pronounced “twenty-ten”).
Because there is no point so picayune that it doesn’t rate a condescending correction.
Decades start in year zero in my book. There’s nothing official as far as I know so I go with the obvious numbering of 0-9.
Floyd is correct. The century and the decade started in the year 2000. 2009 is the tenth year of the new century.
Only if you think there was a year “O.” (Of course, you could say that *this* has been Year Zero, in honor of our Dear Leader, Zerobama.)
I don’t really want to have this fight, though.
I don’t care if there was a Year Zero (and there wasn’t, our current calendar, although based on the birth of Christ was created centuries after the birth of Christ), there was a year 2000.
There is no fight I don’t really want to have.
Fine, Lars, I’ll just name my favorite movies from the last 10 years…
300, Dark Knight and The Incredibles, for the reasons Floyd listed above.
Old School (2003) — Sure, a flat sub-story with Luke Wilson and Ellen Pompeo, but the rest of this movie is everyone clicking on their funniest cylinders. Exactly what I needed where my marriage and life was at the time, too, and saw this at least four times in the theatres, far too many times since. Something tells me Todd Philips Hangover will achieve the same status (though I only saw that once in the theatre).
X-Men (2000) — While they saved my favorite fan-boy moment for the end of X2 (geeky goosebumps when that Phoenix image appeared in the water to accompany Famke Janssen’s VO), I’d waited almost 20 years to see the X-Men on the big-screen and think Bryan Singer stayed as true to the source material as one can with as huge and multifaceted cast of characters. I’ll forgive the Wolverine as “runt” aspect as well, because Hugh Jackman owns Wolverine. Damn.
Lars is correct..shame on you boys!
Lars is correct, but he’s not right.
That’s generally true in all matters.
Lars… I would never let a little thing like you being on the wrong side of the decade debate diminish my respect for you.
1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. Black Hawk Down
3. Master and Commander
4. The Dark Knight
5. Sin City
Honorable mentions: Casino Royale, The Depahh-ted, Spirited Away, United 93, Requiem for a Dream
Okay where is “Up”? That sir(s) is an unforgivable omission and if I could find my good dueling gloves I would surely slap you with one of them.
2000-2009:
Black Hawk Down
Master and Commander
Almost Famous
Unbreakable
Lord of the Rings trilogy
I’m not sure I’ve seen more than 5 movies from the past decade so my list might be less based on quality than restricted by quantity, but here goes:
5. The Rookie
4. In Bruges
3. Amelie
2. National Treasure
1. The Incredibles
Two points:
0. When you count on your fingers (and we know you do0 you start with “1″, not “0″, right? When presenting a list of points, you start with “1″, not “0″, correct? When you count the years you start with “1″, not “0″, which is both correct and right and everybody who thinks otherwise is simply wrong no matter their numerical majority.
1. I cannot believe how the BEST movie of the decade was ignored, especially as it was simulcast on all American television networks! I refer, of course, to the film we ALL watched, fascinated, on September 11, 2001. You are aware that was a film fake, right??? Produced by the Bushitler administration, framing peace-loving Islamists for a fictitious crime? Heck, we all know that Hollywood and Bush were controlled by the Mossad, steel won’t melt in fire and it was all a pretext for waging war for oil (admittedly, the debts run up by that administration was so great we have been forced to sell Iraq’s oil rights to the Chinese, yet another example of the incompetency of Chimpy and his cronies.)
Two points:
A. I can’t believe no one’s mentioned “The Passion” yet. I haven’t seen it, so I can’t put it on my list, but I’m surprised none of the others have.
II. What do fingers have to do with anything? If I only have ten fingers does that mean there can be no quantities of anything beyond the number 10? What if I lose one in a knife fight? I understand all the nonsense behind the argument over when the millenium began and the prior one ended, but, 2000 was the first year that contains the prefix “20.” Were there 366 days in that year? Yes. Did the things that happened on those days matter? Yes. So, if we examine the first ten years of the internationally accepted civil calendar (the Gregorian one) that begin with a two and a zero we have 2000 – 2009. Count them on your fingers, assuming you have ten; 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. I come up with ten. What did you get?
“The Passion” was in a foreign language and therefore cannot be considered for any “best” films list.
When counting on my fingers I start with the left pinkie at (2 to the 0) for 1, move to the left ring finger (2 to the 1st) for 10 and 11, go to the middle finger (2 squared) for 100, 101, 110, and 111, the index finger and thumb let me get all the way to 11111 before switching to my right hand which will allow me to count all the way up to 2 to the tenth minus 1. How is it you only get up to 10? Even 3-Fingered Mordecai Brown could get higher than that!
Thanks,Jake and Jimmie…forgot Black Hawk Down
Although I denounce the concept of “Best” lists as artificial and elitist, films worthy of attention include:
5. Iron Man (2008) — Best. Film-based-on-a-comic-book. Ever. Because this celebration of capitalism and entrepreneurship significantly enhanced the market value of my near-mint copy of Tales of Suspense #39
4. Mongol (2007) — a visual spectacle which establishes my pretentiousness credentials
3. The Rookie (2002) — arguably the best Baseball movie ever and one of the rare movies depicting father-son relationships positively (unlike Field of Dreams of Fear Strikes Out)
2. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001), aka “Miyazaki’s Spirited Away” — because a second foreign film really establishes my pretentiousness
1. The Incredibles (2004) — because it was on last night and I was reminded how charming, counter-cultural and terrific this film is (and it was chock-full of in-joke references to comic books and Bond films)
I also think The Incredibles simply flat out nailed the look and feel of a 50′s superhero Universe. Everything; the color palette, the fonts, the civilian dress, the architecture, the costumes… Nailed it!
The Incredibles is a marvel to behold … but We Were Soldiers? Yikes. Corny and one of the weaker war movies in recent memory. Just don’t tell Sam Elliott I said that.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossmann, author of _On Combat_ and _On Killing_ says “We Were Soldiers” is the most authentic war movie he ever saw.
Oh, and “Once” and “40 Year Old Virgin” …
Looking at all this has made me realize what a godawful decade it was for movies.
I’m just the opposite. While we’re repeating a few, seeing others’ takes makes me think the decade wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
Adding to the mix, and not repeating already mentioned movies:
Thank you for Smoking
Gran Torino
Taking Chance
Serenity
Star Trek
I’ll probably post my favorites later this week or next, but as for some of what I thought was “best” …
The Dark Knight
Up
Sideways
Tropic Thunder
Thank You For Smoking
Murderball (which I have unbelievably not caught all of, but loved what I did)
Spider-Man 2
The Incredibles
Master and Commander
Gladiator
300
Almost Famous (I think this was 2000)
Team America: World Police
Pirates of the Caribbean I – People forget what a fun romp this was, due to the sequels.
It was made in 1999, but The Matrix deserves special mention. By far the most influential movie of the decade. Even with the horrendous sequels. Amazing how a bad follow up leaves a bad taste for the original, just like he Pirate movies.
on the matrix sequels, some of the action sequences in those flicks were very impressive (highway sequence in the 2nd and the zion battles in the 3rd). i think given where the first left off, they did an admirable job of playing it all out, even if their own plots overwhelmed them.
Top Five Comedies…
Team America
Role Models
Sex Drive
Old School
Wedding Crashers
@ Christian, “We Were Soldiers…” was weak, interesting take. I think because I am very familiar with the story I read into some things, and assumed things that those who haven’t read the book may not have.
The guy from American Pie who played the LT was pretty weak. Some of the scenes with the wives were over the top. But I for one will give it a pass, because at least it attempted to tell the truth about Soldiers and what happened that day in Vietnam. For that I am grateful and can overlook a great deal.
LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy: Great fun for me. Created a huge interest in mythology.
DARK KNIGHT: What. A. Movie.
Though I have only seen half of it, ONCE: Three reasons, one is the song “Falling Slowly” for which I will provide a link below, the second is the fact that they did not immediately jump in bed together, and the third is their meeting. Just beautiful.
Any film by PIXAR since January 1, 2000. MONSTERS INC. to UP. Especially RATATOUILLE and FINDING NEMO.
DOWNFALL: Powerful view of Hitler’s last days. Wow. (F— you, RES)
Honorable mentions: PASSION OF THE CHRIST (F— you, RES), BLACK HAWK DOWN, SPIDER-MAN 1&2, BATMAN BEGINS, PIRATES (though, like JohnFN said, the sequels sucked), HANGOVER, 300, IRON MAN, GRAN TORINO, 300, GODS AND GENERALS,.
I might put PRINCESS AND THE FROG after I see it.
Falling Slowly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFB8f8bzbY
Once had some good tunes, good characters.
No Coen fans? O Brother was 2000. No Country was greatness. Burn was typical quirky, maybe forced – but good good.
Oh, and ranked lists are stupid.
I use the numbers more as an organizer — in an otherwise no particular order fashion.
Forgot Once… reat soundtrack — should be on my top 5 albums of 2000 too. Ditto O Brother.
the ol’ “i just number the list for the articles” defense?
i think that attempt at a joke was too oblique. i must away to bed and submit to unconsciousness.
I got it, but I work on my abs and obliques daily.
“Oh Brother” is a great soundtrack. If you don’t have them, the soundtracks to “Get Shorty” and “The Mambo Kings” are also great.
Doc Zoon,
I like the Coens a lot, but “Burn” was not very good. The joke at the very end was funny, and you have to sit through the prior 90 minutes to get the joke, but the prior 90 minutes was not very entertaining. It didn’t even have the look of a movie, more like a TV production. Maybe the Coens were trying to do an “ABC After School Special.”
john malkovich storming off his boat in boxers and robe wielding a hatchet doesn’t do it for ya i guess.
i dunno what sort of after school specials you’re used to … but remind me not to ask you to babysit.
Malkovich is always awesome but this movie seemed too random. The Coens have a knack for not following a common, typical path, but sometimes it seems like they are trying to write a Coen brothers’ script, rather than just writing a good script. “Burn Before Reading” felt more like someone less talented than the Coen brothers trying to emulate the Coen brothers. A lot of the quirkiness seemed contrived; thrown in just to be quirky.
while i liked nolan’s batman stuff alright, i forgot memento was in 2000 — one of my favs. the prestige & insomnia were also great.