Best Movie of the Decade?

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I was listening to a debate going on the BS Report about the best movie of the past 10 years.  It’s 2009 and the era called “the aughts” or “the zeros” is almost over.  One thing that is really troubling to realize is that the best movies of this decade are noticeably worse than the movies of the last decade.  Looking at the top movies of the past 10 years you’ll see that very few of them are going to be timeless classics. On the flip side, the movies of the 90’s are extremely re-watchable and seem to be much better:

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The reason i believe is something I heard from Chris Connelly and that TV is the new indie movie. Shows like The Soprano’s, Band of Brothers, The Wire, and Mad Men – those are the best movies of the last decade.  Granted they didn’t come out on the big screen but this is where visionary directors are going to produce character-driven creative stories.   Cinema today is all about either (1) Big budget action movies or (2) formulaic stories in a specific genre whether it’s horror, comedy, romance, or thrillers.   It’s interesting to see that TV is picking up the slack that films are leaving.  This could also be why people are picking up TV DVD’s much more.   The production quality, the music and the cinematography is way better in these tv dramas than they ever were in 80’s and 90’s television – it’s no wonder that they can compete head on so well.

Personally, if i had to pick, i’d choose The Departed or No Country For Old Men as the best movies of the 00’s.  What do you think?  First, what is your top movie of the past decade?  And do you agree that TV is the new Indie film?

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9 thoughts on “Best Movie of the Decade?”

  1. There Will Be Blood, Children of Men, The Dark Knight, City of God, Memento, Eternal Sunshine, Requiem for a Dream, Into the Wild, Amores Perros, and possibly some others are missing for the 00’s.

  2. i still haven’t seen mad men, but i’ll have to add it to our netflix list. what about slumdog millionaire? i don’t know about best, but i’d definitely put it way, way above little miss sunshine or gladiator.

  3. Ok – i just grabbed the latest Oscar nominations to make up the two lists. I didn’t mean for it to be exhaustive. The conclusion of 90’s vs. 00’s is better shown if you look at the top movies of each from IMDB. Here’s the two lists:

    90’s

    1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
    2. Schindler’s List (1993)
    3. Pulp Fiction (1994)
    4. Goodfellas (1990)
    5. Fight Club (1999)
    6. The Usual Suspects (1994)
    7. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
    8. The Matrix (1999)
    9. American Beauty (1999)
    10. Se7en (1995)
    11. Forrest Gump (1994)
    12. Léon (1994)…aka Leon: The Professional
    13. American History X (1998)
    14. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
    15. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    16. La vita è bella (1997)…aka Life Is Beautiful (1998)
    17. L.A. Confidential (1997)
    18. Braveheart (1995)
    19. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
    20. Fargo (1996)
    21. Mononoke-hime (1997) …aka Princess Mononoke (1999)
    22. Unforgiven (1992)
    23. The Green Mile (1999)
    24. The Lion King (1994)
    25. Trainspotting (1996)
    26. The Sixth Sense (1999)
    27. The Big Lebowski (1998)
    28. Heat (1995)
    29. Ed Wood (1994)
    30. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
    31. Casino (1995)
    32. Toy Story (1995)
    33. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
    34. Groundhog Day (1993)
    35. The Insider (1999)
    36. Toy Story 2 (1999)
    37. Good Will Hunting (1997)
    38. Miller’s Crossing (1990)
    39. Before Sunrise (1995)
    40. Magnolia (1999)
    41. The Truman Show (1998)
    42. Lola rennt (1998) …aka Run Lola Run (1999)
    43. Clerks. (1994)
    44. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
    45. Sling Blade (1996)
    46. In the Name of the Father (1993)
    47. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    48. JFK (1991)
    49. Being John Malkovich (1999)
    50. Office Space (1999)
    51. True Romance (1993)
    52. The Boondock Saints (1999)
    53. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
    54. Dances with Wolves (1990)
    55. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
    56. Rushmore (1998)
    57. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
    58. Boogie Nights (1997)
    59. As Good as It Gets (1997)

    And the 00’s

    1. The Dark Knight (2008)
    2. Up (2009)
    3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
    4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    5. WALL·E (2008)
    6. Memento (2000)
    7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    8. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
    9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    10. El laberinto del fauno (2006) …aka Pan’s Labyrinth
    11. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
    12. The Departed (2006)
    13. The Pianist (2002)
    14. Star Trek (2009)
    15. Der Untergang (2004) …aka Downfall (2005)
    16. The Prestige (2006)
    17. Gran Torino (2008)
    18. Sin City (2005)
    19. Gladiator (2000)
    20. Sicko (2007)
    21. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    22. The Wrestler (2008)
    23. Donnie Darko (2001)
    24. No Country for Old Men (2007)
    25. The King of Kong (2007)
    26. Batman Begins (2005)
    27. Into the Wild (2007)
    28. Ratatouille (2007)
    29. Amores perros (2000)
    30. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
    31. The Hangover (2009)
    32. Snatch. (2000)
    33. V for Vendetta (2005)
    34. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
    35. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
    36. Finding Nemo (2003)
    37. There Will Be Blood (2007)
    38. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
    39. Crash (2004/I)
    40. In Bruges (2008)
    41. The Incredibles (2004)
    42. Children of Men (2006)
    43. Changeling (2008)
    44. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
    45. Touching the Void (2003) 8.1 10235
    46. Once (2006)
    47. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
    48. Coraline (2009)
    49. Blood Diamond (2006)
    50. Ying xiong (2002) …aka Hero (2002)
    51. Big Fish (2003)
    52. Cinderella Man (2005)
    53. Finding Neverland (2004)

  4. Granted my point of view is entirely tainted, but I think animation deserves an aught nod… particularly to Pixar. After a void in great feature animation in the late nineties (minus Toy Story), Pixar stepped up and filled it with some truly memorable movies that I believe will withstand the test of time much better than many of the live action … Read Morefeatures on this list.

    Sure they aren’t as “serious” or “heavy” as most of these listed, but who made the rule that a feature has to be dark or some sort of mind-f@%& to be among the best? They don’t need to be self-important. Animated movies with great characters and stories are pure escapism – which are what movies are ultimately meant to be. And Pixar’s got it, knocking out emotionally engaging, yet universally accessible flicks: Nemo, Incredibles, and even their latest… Up (which is definitely not lacking in “heavy” moments).

    So, I toss those into the ring along with my preachy thoughts…

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  7. 1. Pan’s Labyrinth:
    The greatest fantasy film of all time. The greatest dual plot line of all time. Artistic and entertaining a winning combination.
    2. Pixar Movies:
    A revelation in a medium. Beautiful and original. The most important piece of animation since Walt Disney started work.
    3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
    4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    5. Spirited Away
    6. Children of Men
    7. Amelie
    8. The Dark Knight
    9. Little Miss Sunshine
    10. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

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