# Getting an early start on the lists: What are some of the best films of the decade?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166 "2009-03-12T04:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/1 "2009-03-12T04:18:04Z")
You know, I just realized earlier this evening: the oughts (or whatever) are over 90% done. Therefore, even though some really great movies will undoubtably be released this year, what films released since 1-1-2000 will demand careful consideration for your “10 best of the decade” list(s)? ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/2 "2009-03-12T04:24:15Z")
I’ve been much less of a moviegoer in this decade than in the 1990s. But the romantic in me insists on including **The Diving Bell and the Butterfly**. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/3 "2009-03-12T04:55:26Z")
Overall, it hasn’t been the worst decade for film - not like the 1980s, which, to me, look worse with each passing day. (Not every movie, but most of them. Yuck.) (For reminders as to what played, you can’t do worse than going to Box Office Mojo and look at their top-150 movies for [each year](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/). IMDB has the same lists, separated by year, but theirs is so comprehensive as to be near useless for casual reviewing). Here are some of the films I would have to consider… [The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the life of Robert MacNamara](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317910/) (The best example from possibly the finest decade for documentaries in possibly ever). [The Lord of the Rings](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/) (All three movies, though the link only takes you to FOTR) [Kill Bill](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/) (In a decade dominated by comic book movies, Tarantino made the best, by far, of all). [Moulin Rouge!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/) [The Incredibles](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/) [The War of the Worlds](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407304/) (_The_ favorite film to watch with my daughter, who absolutely adores it (that, and LOTR, which resulted in Sophie’s first verbal burst of passion, once emphatically murmuring to the TV (during the scene where he kills that elephant thing) “Legolas, I _love_ you!” Daddy then christened him Legolove, a name that has since stuck in the Mr and Mrs T household). Anyway, once, when taking her to kindergarten, I asked her if she could say a favorite line from a movie… “Sophie, do you know any movie quotes?” “What’s a ‘movie quote’, Daddy?” "You know, things that people say in the movies. Like if I asked you for a SpongeBob quote and you said ‘Iiimmaaaggginnaaatttiiiioooonnnn.’ " (Those of you Wise in the Ways of SpongeBob recognize that line). “Do you have a favorite movie quote?” “Oh!” _thinks_ “ **… No, Robby! _Not_ like Europe!** ” [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/) [Brokeback Mountain](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/) [In the Bedroom](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247425/) (One of those movies where nobody ends up better in the end. I love those films). [Million Dollar Baby](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405159/). (Come to think about it, the above three films are all in which nobody ended up better in the end (same thing with _Moulin Rouge!_, above. Like I said: I like depressing in an ending). [United 93](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475276/) [Iron Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/). (You know, this held up better on second viewing than did _The Dark Knight_, which is why it gets some possible consideration. I’ve never really cared for how comic book films dominated the decades box-office and publicity, but you throw enough shit and something is bound to stick). ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/4 "2009-03-12T04:56:20Z")
No Country for Old Men Grindhouse Both Batmans. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/5 "2009-03-12T05:09:15Z")
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban Broken Flowers ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/6 "2009-03-12T05:36:44Z")
The Dark Knight The Departed Gangs of New York Kingdom of Heaven ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/7 "2009-03-12T07:52:59Z")
Amelie The Aristocrats Big Fish Clerks II The Departed Gone Baby Gone Hustle & Flow Juno Kill Bill Vol. 1 Kill Bill Vol. 2 Kung Fu Hustle Lilo & Stitch The Lookout Love Actually The Matador Memento Monsters, Inc. No Country for Old Men Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Shaun of the Dead Sideways Snatch There Will Be Blood Waitress ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/8 "2009-03-12T12:28:01Z")
The Incredibles - Pixar’s crowning achievement. And that’s saying a lot. Pure action-packed fun, and with a cute and believable family too. Borat - Yeah, this one will never be agreed on. But I think this is a masterpiece in exposing people’s underlying preconceptions and sillyness Adaptation / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - One of these Kaufman films deserve a spot. I would let it go to Adaptation, but I find the ending boring. If only he actually had a twin brother who could write action better. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/9 "2009-03-12T13:42:37Z")
No Country For Old Men was one of the better movies I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’d echo your choice of The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the life of Robert MacNamara too. Extremely well done. Beyond that, I’m way behind on what are I’m sure many worthy candidates. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/10 "2009-03-12T16:09:17Z")
[Pan’s Labyrinth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan%27s_Labyrinth) would top my list for sure. Perfectly crafted. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/11 "2009-03-12T16:22:01Z")
They’re hardly deep, but this decade saw a real renaissance, so to speak, in superhero movies. Up until _Spider-Man_, the studios had been half-assing these movies, with crappy directors and crappy plots. When they saw that movie-goers responded well to well-made superhero movies, they started to turn things around. Marvel especially has done a fantastic job in this respect. _Iron Man_, as one example, is just a great movie all around, not just a good superhero movie. Now we just need to drag Uwe Boll away from the game movies and get some decent people to do those… ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/12 "2009-03-12T17:22:55Z")
Limited by movies I have seen (and I am sure I am missing a few) by years: **2000** (? as to whether this counts…) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Chocolat Amores perros **2001** Y tu mamá también Shaolin Soccer **2002** The Pianist Frida Cidade de Deus **2003** Kill Bill Vol. 1 Big Fish Koi… Mil Gaya **2004** Kill Bill Vol. 2 Hotel Rwanda Ray **2005** The 40-Year-Old Virgin Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Pride and Prejudice Hustle & Flow **2006** Snakes on a Plane **2007** No Country for Old Men Grindhouse Hot Fuzz **2008** _I haven’t seen enough of them yet_ ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/13 "2009-03-12T17:26:02Z")
The Royal Tenenbaums City of God Spirited Away Honorable Mentions (these aren’t so much great films but deserve recognition for other reasons): An Inconvenient Truth Hotel Rwanda One I’d like to see up there, but nobody else is likely to have: Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/14 "2009-03-12T17:39:42Z")
My rough top ten for this decade in no particular order: Master and Commander The Lives of Others Spirited Away The Incredibles Memento The Queen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Gosford Park Lord of the Rings Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/15 "2009-03-12T17:41:17Z")
Seeing Wallace and Gromit listed made me remember a film that I consider to be the best non-Pixar animated film done this decade: the sadly underviewed and underappreciated [Hoodwinked](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443536/). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/16 "2009-03-12T17:45:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Seeing Wallace and Gromit listed made me remember a film that I consider to be the best non-Pixar animated film done this decade: the sadly underviewed and underappreciated [Hoodwinked](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443536/). I adore _Hoodwinked_, but I don’t know that I’d call it one of the best films of the decade. Definitely in the top 25, though. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/17 "2009-03-12T17:47:05Z")
These aren’t the definitive lists, just films that we, personally, would have to _consider_ when making said “top-10 of the decade” lists. _Hoodwinked_ probably won’t make the list, but I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand, like I would, say, _Gigli_. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/18 "2009-03-12T17:56:28Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > My rough top ten for this decade in no particular order: > > The Lives of Others Many good choices in this thread, but I came in here specifically to make sure someone mentioned this movie (since it’s foreign, a lot of folks could have forgotten it). I’ll echo the other comments: this has been a pretty lousy decade for movies. It seems to me like we go in 20 years cycles: the 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s were probably the best decades for movies, while the 1940s, 1960s, 1980s, and this decade have been noticeably weaker. Exceptions to every rule, of course, but there does seem to be a generational pattern. . . ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/19 "2009-03-12T18:04:07Z")
Speaking of non-Pixar animated films, some that come to mind are Triplets of Belleville, Millenium Actress and Persepolis. And Spirited Away of course. I haven’t seen it yet but Miyazaki’s latest: Ponyo on the Cliff sounds terrific as well. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166/20 "2009-03-12T18:05:45Z")
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Lord of the Rings Kill Bill Talladega Nights: Ballad of Ricky Bobby (I have not laughed harder during a movie this decade than this one) Love Actually and… Speed Racer (not without its flaws, but dang if that movie isn’t as much fun to watch the 5th time as the 1st) Hmm, I’m not a racing fan but I have 2 racing influenced movies up there. Also I apparently rate movies on how likely I am to rewatch them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-early-start-on-the-lists-what-are-some-of-the-best-films-of-the-decade/489166.md?page=2)