Top Ten Films of the Decade

[anthony le grand]

Beautifl list Tom. It's a shame that I haven't see Yi Yi yet, everybody tells me that it's an absolute masterpiece. There are a lot of great films that I haven't seen but...

Here's my list:

 

Oh, before the 10 I just want to mention directors like Haneke, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Jia Zhang-ke, Carlos Reygadas, Arnaud Desplechin or Laurent Cantet who all made films that I truly admire.

 

10. The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford - Andrew Dominik

Strange film, like a dream about the Self, the fascination for one other, and the unexplainable link between what we are and our relationship with what's around us.

 

9. Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola

Simply beautiful, the birth of love without any cynism and with just the beauty of a brief feeling.

 

8. The Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson

Every second, every shot of this film is full of funny, beautiful and moving ideas. Cinema has rarely been so creative and enthusiastic.

 

7. Paranoid Park - Gus Van Sant

Simple, modern, almost experimental, Van Sant created a mental film where everything seems to exist with the character's subjectivity.

 

6. Saraband - Ingmar Bergman

Bergman's last film, a beautiful testament where the swedish director let cinema to its simplest expression.

 

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher

I think a very underrated film and maybe the deepest exploration of Time that the american cinema gave us this decade.

 

4.The Yards - James Gray

Extremely moving. A modern tragedy close to the italian opera. The actors, Harris Savides and Howard Shore helped James Gray to give to this simple story a timeless feeling.

 

3. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch

What else can I say?

 

2. Millenium Mambo - Hou Hsiao Hsien

Simply gorgeous. A poem about time, our place in the world, the conflict with modernity and the difficulty of finding your way by one of the greatest director of the last 30 years.

 

1. The New World - Terrence Malick

Tom said almost everything. Since The Thin Red Line, Malick gave us a new idea of filmmaking, meeting philosophy, musical montage, poetry and making cinema a transcendental Art. Maybe the greatest film I have seen in my life and cinema in its purest form.

[Hampus Bystrom]

I was going to say "none", but from the movies you guys have picked I can tell that it's actually been a great decade for movies. My all time favorite is actually in this decade.

 

10. Kar Wai - In The Mood For Love

An elegy for lovers, sad and slow, beautiful and sublime. And yes, it is better than Lost in Translation.

 

9. Richard Linklater - Waking Life

The movie that got me in to the concept of "lucid dreaming". A surreal and dreamlike movie with a great soundtrack. A must-see for philosophically inclined.

 

8. Jeunet - Amelie from Montmartre

Who can't love this movie? Pure heart and joy...

 

7. Gondry - Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind

Yeah, what can you say? A trip down memory lane masterfully crafted.

 

6. Wes Anderson - The Fantastic Mr. Fox

I loved this movie, it's like Amelie from Montmartre, pure heart and joy. And also the animation is pretty bitchin'

 

5. Sean Penn - Into the Wild

Even though Sean Penn seems like an annoying douche, he pretty much hit the mark on this one. A great character study of a real life character who did what all fragile, pretentious young men have been wanting to do - and reminds us why that might be disastrous. The Eddie Veder soundtrack is haunting.

 

4. Ruben Östlund - The Involuntary

This might be a movie completely unintelligible for people outside Sweden, but it captures our Swedish mentality so brutally honest and effectively, that I'm jealous of it. It's painfully good, and it hurts me to say so in a competitive field like directing. Kudos Ruben...

 

3. Steve McQueen - Hunger

This movie achieves everything that I love about cinema. The thrust of the movie is purely visual, there's not much dialogue, but not to the point that it becomes ridiculously "artsy". It just explains everything without words, and never ceases to grab you at that.

 

2. Gaspar Noé - Irreversible

This movie is a freight train doomed for catastrophe. It moves in reverse, so everything just becomes a tragic exercise in futility. The rape-scene is gut-wrenching and confrontational. We know the outcome so even the sweetest of kisses seem tragic. There's also an awesome soundtrack by the second half of Daft Punk, which is one guy. It's like Harold Pinter's play Betrayal which chronicles a love-affair backwards, only slightly more disastrous.

 

1. David Lynch - Mulholland Drive

Bergman always said that someone had yet to explore the full capacity of cinema... Well here it is. David Lynch did it, it's been done. All we can do now is venerate it and regardless of what David does after it (euhm, Inland Empire), NEVER criticize him. It's like Shakespeare and Dylan - if you don't like 'em; you're wrong. This is also my all time favorite movie.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Hampus Bystrom

[Hampus Bystrom]

I was going to say "none", but from the movies you guys have picked I can tell that it's actually been a great decade for movies. My all time favorite is actually in this decade.

 

10. Kar Wai - In The Mood For Love

An elegy for lovers, sad and slow, beautiful and sublime. And yes, it is better than Lost in Translation.

 

9. Richard Linklater - Waking Life

The movie that got me in to the concept of "lucid dreaming". A surreal and dreamlike movie with a great soundtrack. A must-see for philosophically inclined.

 

8. Jeunet - Amelie from Montmartre

Who can't love this movie? Pure heart and joy...

 

7. Gondry - Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind

Yeah, what can you say? A trip down memory lane masterfully crafted.

 

6. Wes Anderson - The Fantastic Mr. Fox

I loved this movie, it's like Amelie from Montmartre, pure heart and joy. And also the animation is pretty bitchin'

 

5. Sean Penn - Into the Wild

Even though Sean Penn seems like an annoying douche, he pretty much hit the mark on this one. A great character study of a real life character who did what all fragile, pretentious young men have been wanting to do - and reminds us why that might be disastrous. The Eddie Veder soundtrack is haunting.

 

4. Ruben Östlund - The Involuntary

This might be a movie completely unintelligible for people outside Sweden, but it captures our Swedish mentality so brutally honest and effectively, that I'm jealous of it. It's painfully good, and it hurts me to say so in a competitive field like directing. Kudos Ruben...

 

3. Steve McQueen - Hunger

This movie achieves everything that I love about cinema. The thrust of the movie is purely visual, there's not much dialogue, but not to the point that it becomes ridiculously "artsy". It just explains everything without words, and never ceases to grab you at that.

 

2. Gaspar Noé - Irreversible

This movie is a freight train doomed for catastrophe. It moves in reverse, so everything just becomes a tragic exercise in futility. The rape-scene is gut-wrenching and confrontational. We know the outcome so even the sweetest of kisses seem tragic. There's also an awesome soundtrack by the second half of Daft Punk, which is one guy. It's like Harold Pinter's play Betrayal which chronicles a love-affair backwards, only slightly more disastrous.

 

1. David Lynch - Mulholland Drive

Bergman always said that someone had yet to explore the full capacity of cinema... Well here it is. David Lynch did it, it's been done. All we can do now is venerate it and regardless of what David does after it (euhm, Inland Empire), NEVER criticize him. It's like Shakespeare and Dylan - if you don't like 'em; you're wrong. This is also my all time favorite movie.

 

I can't seem to edit my previous post but anyway, honourable mentions:

 

Let the Right One In - I'm afraid that this might classify as slightly paedophilic but I'm a little bit in love with the girl playing Eli. I think it's the character though so don't worry, she's 500 years old for f-ck sakes. Calm down!

 

I'm Not There - I love Bob Dylan and this is the perfect film for him, slightly gratuitous in it's mystification of Dylan but it left me with a great feeling.

 

Inglorious Basterds - This is such a got damn revenge feast that it's almost ridiculous - But my god, how satisfying it is when Shoshanna lets the Nazis fry with celluloid as ignition. I think Tarantino is more concerned with being hip than making penetrating movies, but you gotta hand it to him - he knows his stuff.

 

Man on Wire - The most artful crime in history. I love how they used Michael Nyman and Erik Saties music in this one.

 

4 months, 3 weeks and two days - A great Rumanian film, it doesn't force the themes in our faces and yet it's so obvious. Just a great film.

 

You, the living AND Songs from the second floor - Roy Andersson is somewhat of a Swedish icon. A unique style that's hard to describe. His movies are artful and complicated.

 

I could go on and on...

Edited January 11, 2010 by Hampus Bystrom

[Jay Stewart]

just saw An Education - and it would have to be included in my list if I had one.

[Robert Costello]

Some I enjoyed:

 

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge

There Will Be Blood

Inland Empire

George Washington

Winged Migration

Loose Change

Russian Arc

The Fog of War

Chop Shop

 

struggling for one more...

[Gus Sacks]

Great names. I'd have many of others' lists on my own. A few I didn't think I saw on the lists:

 

Stranger than Fiction

Unbreakable

One Hour Photo

Oldboy

Children of Men

[George Ebersole]

I guess that's a "no" on "Kingdom of Heaven"?

[Marcus Joseph]

What does everyone think of the movie Synecdoche, New York? I certainly felt it was a very compelling film in a lot of ways, but quite difficult to understand. I do certainly enjoy Charlie Kaufman though, I would likely put Adaptation somewhere on my top ten.

 

Also does anyone know if Tom Lowe will return?

[Marcus Joseph]

Not sure if Road to Perdition has been said, but I'd consider it in the top ten.

[Freya Black]

Wow thats really difficult, everytime I thought of something it was the wrong decade. I actually think the last decade was preety bad for films on reflection. Amelie would definitely be VERY high on my list given the candidates. I've no hesitation in calling it a great film. After a lot of thinking, I could only add the following not already mentioned:

 

Dogville

DEBS

Mean Girls

Howls moving castle

The Wave

Dear Wendy

Far from Heaven

The Inside Man

Inland Empire

House of flying Daggers

Grizzly Man

Ghost Dog

Primer

The Five Obstructions

 

Possibly that film with the silent monks too if that can count (it's feature length?) Can't remember it's name tho.

 

I've recently aquired "Elephant" and "The Astronaut Farmer" but havn't seen them yet (fingers crossed)

I was having quite a giggle here because after Toms post, people here succeeded in managing to list just about every one of my all time most hated films. (I guess they were preety much all made in the last decade too) In short it would appear that most of the last decade was bad. I'm starting to feel okay that I missed out on most of it now. :)

 

I thought Toms list was quite good tho. Avatar was the only thing I would strongly disagree with as I thought it was kinda terrible. Innovative probably and great looking visuallyin a cgi kinda way but...

 

In contrast, hasn't this decade got off to a fantastic start! :)

 

love

 

Freya

[Peter Moretti]

I wouldn't overlook "Slumdog Millionaire."

[KH Martin]

THE LIVES OF OTHERS

CHILDREN OF MEN

MULHOLLAND DRIVE

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

STRANGER THAN FICTION

LOST IN TRANSLATION

THE PRESTIGE

UP

SERENITY (this just plain works, better than it has any right to, given how much they had to cram into it, and was tons better than anything done as a trilogy or sextupology (though I do like Cuaron's POTTER film a whole lot.)

 

That's nine ...

[Matt Stevens]

Interesting list. I agree that Mulholland Drive and In The Mood For Love belong in there. Lynch's film is easily top three or better for me.

 

But boy oh boy, do I disagree with the rest. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence was an absolute bore (other than the rousing finale), as was Malick's The New World (should-a been called the Snooze World).

 

I really do believe The Dark Knight is one of the greatest action films ever made and even better than Superman The Movie, which makes it the greatest comic book movie ever made. It's in my top ten films of the last decade.

 

The Passion of the Christ is also in my top ten.

[Max Field]

Apologies for necro-threading but not a single person here put Training Day? Really? Easily in the top five of the 2000's.

Great plot, great lines, culturally rich, and anxiety stirring shots/sequences.

[Rory McCarthy]

lots of great ones mentioned but can't believe nobody mentioned LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL by Roberto Benigni

 

oops , should have read the title more carefully (1997)

Edited November 26, 2016 by Rory McCarthy

[George Ebersole]

Amazing movie!!

 

I thought it was visually stunning. I'm sorry it didn't grab more attention.