Now that we know how insignificant these lists are, here are my top 21 films of this decade. ("21?", you say. Yep, for a few reasons: Being different is trendy now, and I didn't want to cut out Memento.) It's a mix of what I enjoyed most and what I think are artistically the best. So even though I love a movie like The Village, I know that it really isn't that good of a movie, so I left it off the list. There is no exact science to my method though. Take it for what it is. Each has a reason for it's ranking that is no longer than a sentence.
1. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - epic and powerful; visually and emotionally stunning.
2. No Country for Old Men - intense, insightful, and perfect film about evil's relentless attack on humanity.
3. The Dark Knight - a thrilling, complex, relevant film noir that, like No.2, focuses on the sometimes seemingly hopeless struggle against evil.
4. El laberinto del fauno - fairy tale for adults that speaks to the power of childlike faith.
5. Cidade de Deus - action packed and brutal; a brilliant study of "hoodlums" and crime in the City of God.
6. Children of Men - a crying baby and shouts of "Cease fire!" will send a chill down your spine after one of the longest "uncut" shots in cinema history.
7. There Will Be Blood - relentlessly dark and brilliantly acted.
8. Slumdog Millionaire - a feel-good film that also brings the horrid conditions of India's slums to light.
9. Das Leben der Anderen - brilliant look at the value of human relationship.
10. The Hurt Locker - extremely intense film about soldiers in Iraq; one of the greatest war films ever.
11. Crash - a though-provoking parable on the effects of seen and unseen racism.
12. Munich - shows the impact of committing violence, both on the individual and on the nation.
13. A History of Violence - devastating study on the nature of violence
14. Lost in Translation - an exquisite and sad romantic comedy without your typical romance.
15. The Passion of the Christ - a brutally shocking and eye-opening depiction of the physical sacrifice of our Savior.
16. Michael Clayton - a corporate legal thriller not really about corporations at all.
17. Boy A - who decides who gets a second chance?
18. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - beautiful cinematography and score.
19. Gone Baby Gone - Casey Affleck's second great performance in a row.
20. The Bourne Ultimatum - mixes action and intelligence in a style that has been ripped off multiple times since, but never duplicated.
21. Memento - Chris Nolan crashes onto the scene.
1 comment:
I was actually kind of surprised by some of your choices especially because you said you were playing it safe. "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Hurt Locker" were definitely bold choices. I have yet to see "Boy A" but I guess I ought to check it out. It was so hard for me to choose films from the past couple years to put on my list because I don't know how relevant they'll be in years to come. I don't think I'll ever forget the power of "Jai Ho!" or "Why so serious?" though.
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