Decade pt. xi ( Top Five 00’s Movies – Best of The Decade )

Posted on Author Ryan McNeil

So it’s 2010 huh? Pardon my surliness, but didn’t ya think the world would be a bit more futuristic by now? I mean, according to BACK TO THE FUTURE our cars should fly in six years. Anyone else think that ain’t ever gonna happen.

Still we’re turning a page…not only on a year but on an entire decade.

Life on this rock might have taken a bit of a dip in the last ten years, but at the movies, it seemed like we were treated to some truly intelligent and captivating movies. So much so, that whittling what we saw down to just five was actually a tad challenging!

So as hangovers subside and new possibilities abound, allow me a moment to conclude my look back at the ten years that have just past. I give you the conclusion to the Decade Series I’ve been working on since April…

Hatter’s Top Five Films of the 00’s

#5. THE HURT LOCKER (2009)… Yes, I’m bold enough to say that a film from this year will stand as one of the very best of the decade. Here’s why: It will be impossible for us to look back on this decade without thinking of the war that cast a shadow over seven years of it.

This was a war unlike anything we’d ever seen, one where the motive was cloudy, disproven, and ultimately changed. A war where frontlines disappeared in short order making the mission that much more deadly. And a war where the enemy took on a very different camoflauged form.

Hollywood tried to tell stories from this conflict, but seemed to fall flat time and time again (LIONS FOR LAMBS, RENDITION). Then came THE HURT LOCKER…a smaller film with lesser-known actors, pinning the audience with tension right off the top by setting off a real explosive. From then on in, the danger was palpable – and terrifying. It’s a sad look at the war that has defined this generation, and an unflinching tribute at some of the best soldiers who fought it.


#4. PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006)… Very few movies exist in a class all their own – even the three films I ranked higher than PAN’S on this list. However, when it comes to Guillermo del Toro’s fanciful opus, it is quite literally peerless. With nearly 100 years of films behind us, such originality is rare and reason to take note.

The film takes us down a truly astonishing rabbit hole, where indeed every new step on the journey becomes curiouser and curiouser. I could list off the moments of this film that stood out for me as marvels of imagination and filmmaking, but then this post would go on until 2011. Just as much as the fanciful world of Ofelia’s imagination delights and engages us, the harsh reality of Captain Vidal’s unit fighting with what rebels remain terrifies and deeply upsets us. As one world creeps more and more into the other, we’re left wanting to cover our eyes…but never daring to do so for fear of what we might miss.

In a decade where some of the very best foreign films didn’t win Oscars, or weren’t even eligible, this film not winning Best Foreign Film stands as the strangest mis-step of them all.


#3. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)… Speaking of Oscar, every once in a while they get one right, and in 2007 the Best Picture winner actually was the best picture. When it came time to adapt one of Cormac McCarthy’s greatest books, The Coen Brothers knew exactly how to adapt it best – they included everything. Every act of violence, every moment of stress, every ounce of dark humour. Having read the book before seeing the film, it felt like I’d just read a screenplay and not a novel.

Of course it would have all fallen to pot had it not been for Javier Bardem. As a film from my youth says, he’s so evil that he’s eee-villll (“like the fru-its of the de-villl…”). The man is stone cold, and almost always seems to wear an expression of twisted apathy. His eyes look like those of a shark, especially as he draws you into a game of chance for your life – a game that seems fair but isn’t fair in any way.

The fear in this movie is palpable, and the bleakness of it is as stark as the Texas flats on which much of its opening is set. It gained a lot of notoriety for an ambiguous ending, but what many fail to realize os the fact that by the time we get to that scene, the story is already over. Its violence, wit, and helplessness seemed to sum up a lot of what the past ten years have been about.


#2. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)… Charlie Kaufman can’t possibly be human. Really – what mere mortal could imagine the worlds that he can? Who amoung us lowly pleebs could concieve of not only such quirkiness, but make it so beautiful and so heartbreaking too?? And as if Kaufman’s vivid imagintaion wasn’t enough to delight us all, he took his ideas and handed them over to director Michel Gondry who also tends to colour his movies with every crayon in the box.

When ETERNAL SUNSHINE was released, it felt as though Hollywood didn’t really know what to do with it. It hit theatres in late March, and as some of you might have noticed – springtime at the cineplex feels like a walk through cinematic limbo. It’s a collection of leftovers and holdovers…essentially movies that studios aren’t all that passionate about. But in 2004, in the midst of all this dullness we were treated to not only the best film of the year, but one of the best of all time. Who knew?

Jim Carrey deserves a lot of credit here. He proved that his earlier foray into drama was no fluke and moved us with some of his most melancholy acting yet. Likewise Kate Winslet, who took a character that seems like a flake and turns her into the girl you really want to ask to coffee. Together they take us by the hand and lead us through the preposterous concept of selectively wiping our memory, and wandering through our own subconcious…and never for a moment do we not believe in it.


#1. GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (2005)… Not the textbook choice, right? Allow me to explain.

Some might have already forgotten, but for a good few years there it seemed very fashionable to question loyalty. As our world went into war, those who dared disagree were quickly branded as traitors. Leading the charge were many in the media, who had long since dropped the notion of an impartial fifth estate, and instead taken to becoming mouthpieces for world powers.

In the middle of this surrealism came George Clooney. Without leading a rally, and yelling into a mic, he gave us a reminder of a bygone era when patriotism was questioned. Without any character ever raising their voice, he gave moviegoers a clear argument as to why it is important to ask the toughest questions in the toughest times. The film reminded us, as Edward Murrow so eloquently said, that it is deeply important not to confuse disloyalty with dissent.

Likewise, Clooney and a stellar nuanced cast took us back to a time when the press stood for something. They were only interested in facts, covered the same amount of news in lower amount of hours, and even had the integrity to engage a leader many could see was in the wrong.

The issue of loyalty and of media integrity are two things that will always stick with me when I look back on this strange decade, and truly, no film summed them up better or classier than GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK. So while there might have been a movie or two that I personally liked better, this is the movie I think is the best.

Epilogue: As I was compiling this series, someone actually asked me to rank my top 25 films of the decade. If anyone’s interested, this is what I came up with when I took the fifty films named in this series, cut the list in half, and then ranked the remaining 25…

25. SHREK
24. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
23. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
22. ONCE
21. ALMOST FAMOUS
20. ADAPTATION
19. MYSTIC RIVER (Best of 03)
18. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
17. THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY
16. MEMENTO
15. THE DARK KNIGHT
14. CHILDREN OF MEN
13. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
12. THE SEA INSIDE
11. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN
10. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM
9. TALK TO HER (Best of 02)
8. TRAFFIC (Best of 00)
7. MOULIN ROUGE! (Best of 01)
6. WALL-E (Best of 08)
5. THE HURT LOCKER (Best of 09)
4. PAN’S LABYRINTH (Best of 06)
3. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Best of 07)
2. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Best of 04)
1. GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (Best of 05)

Did I miss one? Feel free to leave comments with your own favorite movies from 2000’s, along with suggestions for the next top five.

26 Replies to “Decade pt. xi ( Top Five 00’s Movies – Best of The Decade )”

  1. The lack of any Lord of the Rings film great perturbs me, but oh well :P. Also the more and more I get away from There Will Be Blood, Children of Men, Amelie, and Spirited Away the more I'm convinced of their importance in my life, especially in relation to film.

  2. Some bold choices but all good though. I am especially pleased to see Once make the list, great film that more people should see.

    I posted my top ten ages ago so here is a reminder:

    Oldboy (2003
    Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
    City of God (2002)
    Million Dollar Baby (2004)
    Battle Royale (2000)
    Lost in Translation (2004)
    Mulholland Drive (2002)
    Donnie Darko (2001)
    The Dark Knight (2008)
    Memento (2000)

  5. @ Univarn… Sorry, I dig LOTR but still find myself bitter both with the trillion-ending'd final chapter, and likewise the effusion of Oscars it managed to earn.

    My favorite in the series was THE TWO TOWERS…which did make my fifty (number three in the 2002 post if memory serves), but didn't speak to me enough to rank a whole lot higher.

    @ Fandango/No. 6… Thanks for the decree of boldness! I saw yours and quite liked the films you chose – got some bold choices yourself there!

    @ Jake… Pardon me while I go check out your list. BTW, I very easily could have made ETERNAL my number one – such a brilliant flick!

    @ Big Mike… Glad someone caught that.

  6. Loving your placing of Eternal Sunshine and glad Once made it onto the top 25. Still not seen Pan's Labyrinth and I WILL see The Hurt Locker by the end of the month 🙂 Also pleasantly surprised by your number one. I think it's often hideously over-looked. As for No Country, I think I'm the only person who thinks it was a bit over-hyped. I was disappointed with it

  7. Your tastes are really different from mine, but I like this list. It's very non-generic unlike many I've seen. I really like the inclusion of ESOTSM, Mystic River, Moulin Rouge and The Diving Bell & the Butterfly. But I never got into Good Night & Good Luck, WALL-E or Million Dollar Baby.

    PS. Not one Scorsese film 🙁

  8. @Mad Oh well, it's ok I love it enough to counteract your mere "digging" :P. Also I second Filmgeek on No Country for Old Men, perhaps it was the hype but I was underwhelmed by it greatly.

  10. @ Filmgeek… ESOTSM is perhaps the best example of a truly original idea being executed in a way that is both avant garde, and yet still so accessible. That's a difficult trick to pull off, even amongst some of Kaufman and Gondry's other unique ideas (like SYNECDOCHE NY or SCIENCE OF SLEEP).

    @ Andrew… Ah, Scorsese – such an interesting case this decade. Of the three feature films he released, I fully believe he was trying to win an Oscar with the first two. Then he just "made a movie" for his third, and whaddaya know – he ends up winning an Oscar.

    THE DEPARTED was awesome (and indeed made my top five of 2006)…but when compared to his amazing body of work probably wouldn't make the top five.

    Hmmm…perhaps a Scorsese Top Five is in order!

    @ Univarn… Curious about NO COUNTRY – what didn't you like about it?

  11. @Mad you know my personal feelings towards Coen brothers films in general but to be honest No Country just felt like it dragged on forever (both times I watched it). I could see where they were going, what they were trying to say, but in the end I just didn't care.

  12. lol @ Jake for the line about not trusting people who don't pick ESOTSM. It was my #1.

    Univarn picked most of the ones that I would claim as "missing," as I also had the first LOTR, TWBB, Kids of Men and Amelie high up.

    Overall, though, there's not a film you chose (that I've seen) that I didn't at least like very much, if not outright loved. Of course, I've not seen 6 of 'em, including your numero uno. Yeah, shame on me.

  13. We indeed actually have some overlap my friend, since we clearly share a love for "Pan's Labyrinth" … All of these would and did (would only because "The Hurt Locker" won't appear until Monday's best of '09 list) … And I'm with you completely on "The Lord of the Rings" .. Not bad movies by any stretch, but also not nearly as great as they were built up to be

  15. @ Univarn… I'd actually almost forgotten. Fair play, and I certainly respect LOTR's massive place in the scope of what this decade had to offer.

    By the by – thanks for reminding the missus of how long it'd been since she's watched the Middle Earth trilogy. After our podcast she went on a bender and watched all three extended versions in a day.

    @ Fletch… Can't really blame him, can ya? How in the world have you not seen six of my ten…I almost don't believe that! I almost want to assign 'em to you as homework. Looking over my 25, i could make a case for almost any of 'em to be much higher on the list, many even a number one ranking. It really was an exercise in quantifying greatness trying to assemble this list.

    @ Reel Fanatic… Can't wait to see your 2009 list, and I'm always happy to get some backup in any online discussion.

    @ Blake… Well, guess you have your next homework assignment for some library loot then, don't ya?

  16. @Mad Serves your right. I take bi-yearly treks back through Middle Earth, all 3 extended editions :). Look at it this way though I have Das Boot on its way, so I'll be watching that in the next couple of weeks, may counteract :P.

  18. haha

    I haven't seen 3 of your top 5, and 11 of your 25…I think them's failin' grades…ah well…

    – Boozie

  19. @ Univarn… Enjoy it – lookin' forward to hearing what you think!

    @ Fletch… Now I'm curious. Which six?

    @ Boozie… I own quite a few of these. We'll put you on a lending program.

  20. Diving Bell, Iwo Jima (though I saw Flags of our Fathers, so that should count for half), The Sea Inside, Y Tu Mama, Talk to Her, and Goodnight/Luck.

  22. Fletch, you should go and see them they are all great films. Do you have an aversion to subtitles of is just coincide that five of the six are foreign language? For the record there are two of the twenty-five that I haven’t seen. Shrek and Wall-E, doesn’t take a genius to see the pattern there!

  23. fandango – In due time, at least for the ones I'm interested in seeing. Haha, no, I have no aversion to subtitles at all, but enough of North America does, making them harder to catch.

  24. No Oldboy? Did I miss it? And no LOTR at all?

    A lot of people are giving Eternal Sunshine and Children Of Men their props though, and I'm happy with that.

    We do have different tastes and a few of these movies I admittedly haven't even seen, but now feel more inspired to catch.

  25. @ Fletch… I second the notion that you should go on a bender renting those six. You can thank me later, or give me a virtual smackdown.

    @ Number Six… Do YOU have an aversion to animation?

    @ Heather… No you didn't miss LOTR, they didn't make my list. They're great films, but didn't speak to me the same way these ones did. And sick as this might sound, I've never seen OLDBOY.

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