Best Movies of the Decade

It's been quite a decade, hasn't it? Maybe not for movies, but still. What are the best movies of the decade? Who knows? Me. Here are the 11 Best Movies of the Decade.

11. Almost Famous (2000)
Almost Famous is a brilliant reminder of the beauty of music. I don't understand people who can't find emotion from listening to something beautiful in their headphones while lying in the dark. It's in Almost Famous that so many tragically beautiful moments remind us of the utter preposterousness of trying to be cool--when being yourself is the coolest thing in the world. From the "Tiny Dancer" scene on the bus, to the crazy awesome performance of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Almost Famous is the quintessential music movie.


10. In Bruges (2008)
Out of nowhere, perhaps the biggest surprise of this list swept up out of nowhere and simply stuns the audience. It's funny, smart, and the performances of Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell, and Brandon Gleason are all spot on with the tone of the movie. Set in the medieval town of Bruges, Belgium, the film follow two hitmen hiding out and the bizarre circumstances that surround them. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the movie is how much heart it is. It is bizarrely sweet, in a way that only a movie about two Irish hitmen hiding out in a historical town could be.
Funny Moments


9. The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
Judd Apatow's first effort as director started off a new era of comedy. To the ridiculous concept and bromance fad the movie starts, 40-Year Old Virgin is one of the most re-watchable movies of the decade. Steve Carrell is hilarious and it really started the rise of Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd as comedic tools. It's a comedic masterpiece that is quotable from start to finish, and who can ask for much more?


8. The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese's gangster flick, just a remake of an Asian film, brings so much to the table. One might look at the ridiculously stacked cast of DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, and Wahlberg, just to name a few, for the films success. And they wouldn't be far off. The densely layered plot takes twists and turns and drives its characters in so many different directions, it's hard to figure out who's playing who sometimes. But Scorsese succeeds where other gangster films fail: he's got an excellently written script to go along with the violence. And it's played to near perfection.


7. Lost in Translation (2003)
All lists are subjective, and I know this pick will be disputed. But there's something so beautiful about Lost in Translation. Painting Tokyo as a vibrant, alive city with two dead inside souls inside it, Sofia Coppola captures the feeling of hopelessness perfectly. What some may find boring about this movie, I simply find fantastic. Bill Murray is excellent and even Scarlett Johnasson's dialogue is minimal, as to allow us to take in her beauty. Lost in Translation shows that age, location, and distance have nothing to do with our happiness. It can happen anytime, anywhere, no matter what.
Lost in Translation Moments

6. (500) Days of Summer (2009)
Out of nowhere, a movie can take its audience and make it feel like they're living up on that screen. And in (500) Days of Summer, it's hipster agenda aside, it all feels real. It's what happens when two people fall in and out of love and how our own ideas of it can blind us from the truth. One of the best love stories of the decade, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the adorable Zooey Deschanel act on screen like they've been there before--and we all have.


5. There Will Be Blood (2007)
Pair the greatest actor of the generation with the greatest director of the generation and this is what you get: a piece of cinematic brilliance. Daniel Day-Lewis puts in a mesmerizing performance behind director Paul Thomas Anderson's oil spectacle. The movie is often overshadowed by Day-Lewis' bravura show of a performance, but Paul Thomas Anderson's vision is about much more than that. The ending has turned into a bit of a pop culture joke, but lest not forget how amazingly mesmerizing this PTA and DDL made There Will Be Blood.


4. Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2002)
The best foreign language film of the decade, if not the century, is no doubt City of God. The Brazilian gangster epic pans a depressing picture of the youth of Brazil's slums and the inner working of the terrifying "City of God" area that is a haven for violence. It's a brilliant piece of cinema and a master work of art that could only be equaled by a Scorsese.


3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The greatest love story in the 00's, Eternal Sunshine is indie filmmaking with A-list stars. Perhaps the female performance of the decade, Kate Winslet is excellent as a quirky, lovelorn companion for Jim Carrey. As the movie erases the memories of their past romance, it doesn't stop them from finding each other yet again. It's serendipity at it's finest and it's the essence of love in it's most supernatural way.


2. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Shaun of the Dead is the reason many of those shitty parody movies are made--but one can hardly blame it. The best zombie movie, best comedy, and one of the best stories of the decade, Shaun combines all these elements to a near perfect result. There's little to complain about as Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Director Edgar Wright take us on an hilarious journey through London as a bunch of underachievers try to survive a zombie invasion. It's heartfelt, it's funny, and best of all--it knows exactly what it is and knows the perfect tone to convey.


1. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
It's the reason we go to movies. To be enchanted. It's a love story but that's an inaccurate description. Every element of the film works to 100% perfection. The soundtrack is thumping in the vibrant slums. The cinematography is beautiful in an imperfect world. The actors are perhaps not perfect, but real. Director Danny Boyle leaves his audience with a feeling of euphoria leaving the theatre. It's a movie to be remembered. Cliched? Who cares? When a life is that hard, nothing but a happy ending is deserved.