My Favorite Movies of the Past Decade

Here are my favorite movies of the past ten years. In alphabetical order:

Children of Men
Easily the best sci-fi movie of the past decade, this movie took the dystopia and made it feel real. Alfosno Cuarón is an amazing director, and manages to balance the movie’s realistic and gritty feel with it’s sci-fi elements and deeper themes, like a fantastic Christian allegory. The action is also shown in a great way, and the chase shot alone is something to be studied.  Brilliant. 

High Fidelity
One of the more serious movies in the “chick flicks for dudes” genre, High Fidelity is one of the best movies I have ever seen about love and loss. In this movie based on the book by Nick Hornby, Rob Gordon (John Cusack) recounts his “Top Five” breakups in a quest to figure out why he is aging and miserable. Along the way, he discovers that he isn’t miserable because of his relationships, but because of how he feels about his own life. Rob owns a record store, so the movie has an awesome soundtrack, and a wonderful caricature of record store workers in Todd Louiso and Jack Black’s Dick and Barry. 

The Incredibles
Half of this list could have easily been Pixar output, but the reason this reigns supreme is that it’s the best superhero movie of the decade, and manages to do the Watchmen story on screen better than the movie that straight-up adapted the comic book. It’s the best Fantastic Four movie ever made, with both nonstop action and heart through and through. 

Inglourious Basterds
I think Brad Pitt’s character Aldo Raine sums up this movie perfectly. Towards the end of the movie he says, “I think this might just be my masterpiece.” This is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece. It combines perfectly his mastery of dialogue with the building of suspense in such a way that makes this film a Hitchcockian thrill ride from start to finish. It’s a Bingo!

The Italian Job
I love heist movies. Especially smart ones, and there are few smarter ones that 2003’s remake of the Italian Job. What really shines here is the excellent ensemble cast led by Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, allowing the movie’s thriller and comic tones to work equally well. 

Lord of the Rings
Making the most epic novel in existence into a film is something only a crazy man would attempt. And Peter Jackson is crazy. Lucky for us, he also happens to be a filmmaker of the highest caliber. Pulling this all together and doing it all so well may be the single greatest achievement in film of the past decade. 

O Brother Where Art Thou
What I love about this film is that it is about so many things all at the same time. The Odyssey, the South (politics, culture) in the 1930’s, Americana, etc. Featuring great performances from Coen Bros. staples, this is a vision of a film. And features the best (and most important) soundtrack of the decade). 

Sideways
Not since Annie Hall has this movie deconstructed nerdish maledom in mid-life so well. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church play not only well-rounded male friends, but absolutely believable as real people. The relationships between the characters feel vibrant and real, making this one of the best depictions of real people on film. 

Stranger Than Fiction
I have watched this movie upwards of 10 times, and there are still metaphysical questions to be answered. This from a quirky rom com starring Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhall. This movie is funny, poignant, and deeper than it first appears.  

Unbreakable
M. Night’s best film, and the best superhero origin deconstruction ever put to film. Before Chris Nolan ever decided to take on the Dark Night, M. Night imagined what superheroes would look like in our world without loosing the iconography that makes them superheroes. Highly underrated, with excellent character performances by both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.