# The Onion's best films of the decade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931 "2009-12-04T01:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/41 "2009-12-11T11:00:28Z")
The “token Swedish movie” should have been _Songs from the second floor_. This movie is painfully overlooked. Roy Andersson’s return to cinema was one of the best things that happened this decade. On the whole, I like the list - while I don’t agree with all the choices, it at least felt honest and well articulated. Of course, the discussion on which movie is the better between _No country for old men_ and \*There will be blood \*will go down in history as the “Blur vs Oasis” of the 00’s. It’s fitting that they are grouped even if one by order of rules has to be placed higher than the other. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/42 "2009-12-11T13:39:08Z")
The first time I watched Eternal Sunshine, I cried my eyes out. I’m not sure why, it definitely didn’t affect me as strongly the second time around. I still think it’s a great movie, although I dunno if it’s #1 even on my list. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/43 "2009-12-11T16:18:41Z")
> [@jordanr2](#): > > Not sure why, but I expected more from them. A few things I like, balanced out with an awful lot I dislike or to which I’m indifferent. Apichatpong Weeraseethakul, at least one of his films from this decade, belongs on any such list (instead we get two titles by the vapid Christopher Nolan). The omission of Pedro Costa, Jia Zhang Ke, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Aleksandr Sokurov, Hong Sang-Soo, Bruno Dumont, and Claire Denis (in favor of things like _United 93_) is a sin. _What Time Is It There?_ seems to be a favorite on a lot of these lists, but I like _Goodbye Dragon Inn_ and _The Wayward Cloud_ better. > > At least they chose _Gerry_ over _Milk_, though _Elephant_ was probably Van Sant’s best this decade. As the comments acknowledge, no Guy Maddin or _Inland Empire_? Ridiculous. They went for the wrong Lukas Moodysson film (they call his recent work “didactic,” but _A Hole in My Heart_ has to be his most powerful). And no list like this is complete without _In Praise of Love_. You just made up all those names, right? ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/44 "2009-12-11T16:35:02Z")
I thought it was a good list, but I enjoyed their lists of the decade’s [best scenes](http://www.avclub.com/articles/our-favorite-film-scenes-of-the-00s,35888/) and [best performances](http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-film-performances-of-the-00s,35851/) a lot more. There’s also the [list of 25 “orphans”](http://www.avclub.com/articles/almost-the-best-films-of-the-00s-orphans-and-perso,35939/) (movies championed by one of the writers but no others). All in all, I think their “best of the decade” series was a lot of fun, and not just the film stuff. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/45 "2009-12-11T16:50:25Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > You just made up all those names, right? of course I did! Who would actually name their kid “Apichatpong”? (in fact, he goes by “Joe,” recognizing his name is pretty near unpronounceable in the West.) ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/46 "2009-12-11T16:58:18Z")
This is a list of real movies with genuine, sincere descriptions, done by people who value movie-making, care about the medium and cherish the classics both recent and older, as well as some of the lesser-known work. That’s the last thing I expected when I clicked on ‘The Onion’s best films of the decade’ - now I am left wanting something done by The Onion proper that ridicules all these attempts at list-making, and the films of this decade while they’re at it! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/47 "2009-12-11T17:14:20Z")
If you only put one of the Lord of the Rings movies on the list, I think The Two Towers is the worst choice. The theatrical release had an unfinished ending to the battle of Helms Deep. (Helm’s?) I’d put The Lord of the Rings if you only put one because getting the first one right would be the real trick and beside the death of Boromir was one of the best scenes of the decade. Heck, just the take on Boromir was so freaking fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931/48 "2009-12-11T19:01:42Z")
Apparently _The Onion_ used the characters from _Swingers_ to compile their list. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onions-best-films-of-the-decade/519931.md?page=2)