An American Film Geek's Best of the Decade, 2000-2009

Sheesh, another list! At the end of every year, the need to do an annual best-of movie round-up seems to sneak up on me. The fact that it's now the end of the decade snuck on me all the more. In compiling this admittedly quick list, I looked over all my qualifying year-end lists, and re-evaluated where necessary. I tried to consider the films I saw in the greater sociological context of the decade itself - their effects on it, and what they have to say about it. At the same time, I also tried to include some personal selections that probably wouldn't make other such lists, but were important to me. Please keep in mind that i could not see everything, and that my beat around here is the mainstream theatrical films. I managed to narrow it down to twenty films, ranking the first ten. So here it, my best of the decade, 2000-2009.

1. The Incredibles (2004)
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
3. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Kill Bill Volume 2 (2004)
6. The New World (2005)
7. Star Trek (2009)
8. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
9. Almost Famous (2000)
10. Memento (2001)

For the second decade in a row, Pixar tops my list.  (My best of the 1990s: Toy Story - followed tightly by Pulp Fiction, and GoodFellas)  In the case of what may be the decade-defining achievement in the world of film, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, I opted to single out my favorite entry, The Two Towers - although I could've just as easily cheated, and listed the entire trilogy in a single entry.      

The best of the rest, in no particular order: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Unbreakable, Bubba Ho-Tep, Casino Royale, Brokeback Mountain, Hustle & Flow, American Splendor, Iron Man, Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Rocky Balboa.

 - Jim Tudor