Earlier today I happened to see a post on MSN Movies in which three of my former movie-reviewer colleagues from Willamette Week - Dave McCoy, Kim Morgan and David Walker - picked their top ten movies of the decade. Dave McCoy picked No Country For Old Men as tops, not a surprise given he picked another Coen Brothers movie, Miller's Crossing, as his top pick for the 1990s. Kim Morgan picked Battle Royale, and David Walker picked Oldboy.
It has been about three and a half years since I gave up movie reviewing. Sometimes I miss it, particularly when certain really inspiring films come along. Other times I don't miss it at all, like when I see another stupid teen movie coming out that I very well might have been stuck writing about, or when I drive past another antiseptic Regal Cinemas multiplex. I also haven't been prolific about seeing movies since giving up reviewing them. There are tons of promising movies from this decade that I haven't seen.
That said, I give you my tentative list of the top ten movies from the 2000s decade:
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Mulholland Drive
3. Lost In Translation
4. No Country for Old Men
5. Memento
6. What Time Is It There?
7. In the Mood for Love
8. The Dark Knight
9. The Filth and the Fury
10. Old Boy
*Note: I did not include the film Beau Travail, because IMDB lists it as having been made in 1999. But it opened in Portland in 2000, and I would list it as my #3 film if it were eligible, right Between Mulholland Drive and Lost in Translation.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order): American Psycho, The Barbarian Invasions, Before Sunset, Casino Royale, City of God, Collateral, The Deep End, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Donnie Darko, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Gosford Park, Grizzly Man, Hot Fuzz, I'm Going Home, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Last Days, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Man Without A Past, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, My Architect, Punch Drunk Love, Shaun of the Dead, The Squid and the Whale, Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Team America: World Police, Tropical Malady, 28 Days Later, Under the Sand, Waking Life, War Photographer, When the Rain Lifts, Winged Migration, With a Friend Like Harry, Zodiac
What about Beau Travail?
Posted by: Valarie | December 22, 2009 at 03:23 PM
Good question. It seemed unclear to me whether Beau Travail was a 1990s film or a 2000s film. If it's from this decade, it would be #2 on my list at least, and possibly #1.
Posted by: Brian Libby | December 22, 2009 at 04:03 PM
I added a disclaimer about Beau Travail to the post. IMDB lists it as having been made in 1999 and it came out in New York in 1999, but it came out in Portland in 2000.
Posted by: Brian Libby | December 22, 2009 at 04:14 PM
I love your choices!
DARK KNIGHT seems to be the latest..but it is cheese why some good movies did not make it to your list though. :)
Posted by: Ping Tree | April 04, 2010 at 03:10 AM
I think NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN it definitely an IT - I just love that movie a lot!
Posted by: Airport Fence | April 04, 2010 at 03:11 AM
great post! I love these movies! :D
Posted by: aaron atkins | April 13, 2010 at 06:33 AM
It seemed unclear to me whether Beau Travail was a 1990s film or a 2000s film.
Posted by: [name removed - spam] | May 12, 2010 at 01:03 AM
Yeah I agree with most of your selection except for the royal tenenbaums...I mean what's up with that?
Posted by: [name removed - spam] | November 10, 2010 at 12:26 AM
At least the Revenge of the Sith made it to the Honorable Mention list.
I love the Dark Knight. I get goosebumps every time I see the evil in Heath Ledger's face --- such a great portrayal of Joker.
Posted by: web development | January 11, 2011 at 01:39 PM
Christ, almighty, you have awful taste. Aside from Before Sunset, almost everything you list is complete excrement, and they are such obvious choices besides.
Posted by: Npthompson.wordpress.com | February 14, 2011 at 02:14 PM
Thanks for the hostile spew, friend! It also comes without any articulation of your argument. So "Before Sunset" is a masterwork but all these others are without merit? What are you basing that on? And how much is Ethan Hawke paying you?
I also disagree with the notion that quality is based on familiarity or obscurity. And if these choices are so awful, what are the great films you wish to enlighten us with? Let me guess: "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" is the great overlooked cinema of our time. Or was it "Freddy Got Fingered"?
Don't get me wrong: It's fine if you disagree with these choices. But why be such a fucking asshole about it? If you're going to bother with registering to leave a comment, writing it and all that, why not contribute even the most miniscule idea or backup of your claim? Why not go ahead with the real conversation you seem to want to have instead of just beating your chest and belching?
Posted by: Brian Libby | February 14, 2011 at 02:35 PM
And by the way: happy Valentine's Day, asshole!
Posted by: Brian Libby | February 14, 2011 at 03:09 PM
Right on, Brian!
Posted by: Dennis Coalwell | February 14, 2011 at 04:09 PM
Nice post there is as in film industry there is a big growth there. They use many nano products as nano oxidesand industrial products in today's actions films.
Posted by: Account Deleted | September 16, 2011 at 03:52 AM