My Top 100 Movies of the Decade

Obviously it's a borderline impossible task to intertwine different genres of movies into one massive countdown. I did my best to line up a film based off where it stands within it's genre or subdivision and tried to rank accordingly. My basic criteria was: How much did I like it. Actually, that was my only criteria, prevented me from going crazy you know? Special thanks to Netflix and my overall lack of energy for their massive contribution to this list...


100. RED DRAGON – Original Lechter. Good shit.

99. STATE OF PLAY – Love me a good political thriller
98. COLD MOUNTAIN – Renee Zelwegger at her ugliest. No small feat.
97. THE PATRIOT – Bravehart, only set in South Carolina.
96. MEAN GIRLS – The first hint of Tina Fey’s genius
95. THE OTHERS – And I’ve hit my Nicole Kidman quota.
94. DISTURBIA – Surprisingly good, had extremely low expectations
93. SHREK – Only animated film I saw all decade. Had its moments.
92. A BEAUTIFUL MIND – Overhyped tremendously but quality nonetheless
91. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE – Tells the stories of the late 60s as sung by the Beatles. Duh.
90. EASTERN PROMISES – Unique, engaging, twisted. Great formula.
89. UNBREAKABLE – Before M. Night Shamilan went to shit
88. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU – Top notch dry humor.
87. THE RING – Gotta respect a quality horror flick
86. WE WERE SOLDIERS – Before Mel went off the deep end, covers a period of the Vietnam War often overlooked. Bonus points for being the first movie I saw at a drive in, in the serial killer area of northern California.
85. ABOUT SCHMIDT – Yeah, nothing really to add
84. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS – Gets better with each viewing
83. MASTER AND COMMANDER – Darwin. Respect.
82. IDIOCRACY – You got it or you didn’t. If you didn’t, you proved its point.
81. WE ARE MARSHALL – Most “based on a true story” movies blow. This one didn’t.
80. GI JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA – Ain’t afraid to admit it, I thoroughly enjoyed this throwback.
79. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGANDY – Eminently quotable. Whale’s Vagina.
78. BAD SANTA – Tis the season to laugh your friggin ass off.
77. CINDERALLA MAN – Why are boxing movies so easy to do right?
76. SYRIANNA – What a wonderful world we live in.
75. MIRACLE – Like “We Are Marshall” only better cause Soviets are involved.
74. THE GOOD GIRL – Unheralded but probably John C Reilly’s best work ever.
73. THE KINGDOM – I’m glad I never held hands with a Saudi Prince
72. CAPOTE – PSH at his best.
71. BLOOD DIAMOND – Kind of a disappointment based off cast/premise. But a good watch anyway.
70. BEST IN SHOW – I will NEVER tire of Christopher Guest movies. Never.
69. STAR WARS: EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES - I always have a hell of a time ranking a SW movie. Empire it wasn’t, but it was sure better than Menace.
68. I AM SAM - Sean Penn plays an austic man who likes ponies and the Beatles. Oscars for all!
67. ENEMY AT THE GATES – Soviets, Nazis, snipers. Only missing midgets.
66. MINORITY REPORT - Personally think Tom Cruise only had like 3 great roles: A Few Good Men, Born on the 4th of July, and this.
65. GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK - Dry and bland but tells a great story and captures the time perfectly.
64. VERONICA GUERIN - Irish. Sold.
63. NATIONAL TREASURE - A guilty pleasure that I’ve enjoyed thoroughly through many airings on TNT or USA.
62. BATMAN BEGINS - Finally broke the funk of bad and predictable comic book movies.
61. AMERICAN PSYCHO - The part Christian Bale was born to play. Literally.
60. DOUBT - An absolutely shitty ending knocks this otherwise incredible film down about 50 spots.
59. ANGELS AND DEMONS – Perfect cast, perfect adaptation.
58. TROPIC THUNDER – Did not expect to laugh as much as I did.
57. A MIGHT WIND – E A Oe’s. Another Chris Guest classic.
56. MONSTERS BALL – One hot woman with issues.
55. RESCUE DAWN – Another incredible performance by Christopher Bale and Steve Zahn shows a side you’d never have thought possible.
54. DODGEBALL – I found it funnier than most.
53. FOG OF WAR – Stunning McNamara memoir.
52. AMERICAN GANGSTER – Makes me wonder why I never heard of Frank Lucas before this film. By the end, you’d have thought he was Al Capone.
51. OCEANS ELEVEN – A lotta remakes suck. This didn’t. Thoroughly entertaining. I don’t care how low you set the bar.
50. ANGELS IN AMERICA – Technically a mini-series but whatever, my list, my rules. Pacino’s finest work in ages as Roy Cohn.

49. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE – Mind-bending.
48. EUROTRIP – Don’t even think the director would rank it this high but making a great “bad movie” is an art form.
47. SAVED! – Little know film makes a mockery of evangelical hypocrisy. Don’t take much more than that to make me happy.
46. THE QUEEN – Pisses on the house of Windsor. Score!
45. KNOCKED UP – So THAT’S how you get Pink Eye.
44. RENDITION – This is why the Constitution matters folks.
43. RELIGOULOUS – With George Carlin having left us, Bill Maher is my new spiritual guru.
42. BORAT – Disturbing, gross, offensive, hysterical.
41. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL – Moves up 5 notches every time I see it.
40. THE STRANGERS – A great thriller. On the edge of your seat 5 minutes in and you’re there all the way through. The most disturbing part is probably the final quote. “Because you were home”.
39. BIG FISH – A bit cheesy but one of those movies you think about for days and days after you see it.
38. THE GOOD SHEPPARD – Over 3 hours long, but a great retelling about the formation of the CIA and the intelligence aftermath of the Bay of Pigs.
37. RAY – A perfectly cast, well produced biopic.
36. GARDEN STATE – From underrated to overrated and back again, settles nicely around the 36th percentile.
35. THANK YOU FOR SMOKING – You’re quite welcome.
34. SLUMDOG MILLIONARE – Was never going to meet the hype and expectation, but it was a fascinating tale nonetheless.
33. 61* - Thomas Jane’s Mickey Mantle was one of the best played roles I’ve ever seen.
32. SIGNS – M Night’s last hurrah before finally going down the crapper.
31. OLD SCHOOL – Possibly the funniest cast of the decade, Frank the Tank’s “Streaking” Moment might be one of the 5 funniest of these 10 years.
30. THE WRESTLER – I still can’t believe that was Mickey Rourke. Gotta respect 2 people doing shots and listening to Ratt in the middle of the afternoon.
29. IN BRUGES – 180 degrees different than what I was expecting, makes you appreciate films free from the Hollywood constrictions for story arcs. Also, Dwarves. Racist Dwarves with coke problems!
28. CRASH – Clever, intelligent and thought provoking.
27. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Over the top a bit, but very well done.
26. RAT RACE – Christ, my ribs were hurting after watching this, laughed non-stop for the entire movie. Highlighted by the trip to the Barbie Museum.
25. THE WACKNESS – I forgive it for making 1994 seem like it was 40 years ago, this little known Ben Kingsley movie was shockingly good.
24. FAHRENHEIT 9/11 – Really, do I need to explain why I loved this?
23. ROAD TO PERDITION – Outside of Forrest Gump, possibly Tom Hanks’ best work.
22. THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY – Tragic tale of the Irish Civil War. Done very well.
21. HOTEL RWANDA – Finally, Don Cheadle was no longer “That Guy from the Golden Girls Spin-Off”
20. IN AMERICA – Classic story about immigrant life, the decades may change but the fundamentals never do.
19. MAGDELENE SISTERS – Anyone else find it ironic that there’s likely a very special room in hell for Nuns?
18. MOTORCYCLE DIARIES – I hate subtitles but the highest compliment I can pay a subtitled film is that you didn’t notice them. Fascinating tale about the early life of Che Guevera (the dude with the Star beret on red T-Shirts that the kids wear). Also the last movie I saw at The Rialto Theater in RP. Pour Some Out.
17. WALK THE LINE – I don’t care if it was “Ray For White People”, it was done better, and cast just as well. Reese Witherspoon’s “June Carter Cash” might be the surprise performance of the decade.
16. 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN – A role that couldn’t be played by anyone other than Steve Carrell.
15. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND – Extremely interesting premise, and Jim Carrey’s least annoying role since ever.
14. FROST/NIXON – Well cast, well produced and with an incredibly authentic feel. A bit dry but if you love politics and history that obviously doesn’t bother you.
13. SUPERBAD – Coming of Age Done Right. My ribs were sore for days after seeing it for the first time. McLovin enters the Pantheon.
12. THE DEPARTED – Odd that Scorcese finally won the Oscar for this but that’s besides the point. Jack and Damon carry a ridiculously impressive cast in an unpredictable and bloody masterpiece.
11. THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS – You either love it or hate it. I’m with the former. Not exactly action packed or fast moving at all but a deeper “dramedy” that’ll have you thinking about it for days.

10. O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU – Why suffer through 600 pages of Homer’s “Odyssey” when you can watch the Cohen Brothers’ interpretation, set in the depression era South, in a little more than 2 hours. A vision you could only expect from them, the clever dialogue and adventurous journey ranks right there with the best of their work.

9. THE DARK KNIGHT – Throw out the fact that Heath Ledger died before its release, naturally over-hyping the movie and the reviews. This movie is THAT good, and Ledger’s role is THAT impressive. Can’t quite say the late brokebacker carried the movie, not with the performance that Christian Bale turned in, but he did what I thought was impossible: Out-Jokered Nicholson’s Joker.


8. THE HANGOVER – There’s got to be a spot in the top 10 for the best slapstick comedy of the decade, right? Instantaneously, The Hangover enters the Comedy Hall of Fame on a level with “American Pie” and “Dumb and Dumber”. With the release of the DVD just in time for the holidays, expect to hear a lot more about Tigers loving Pepper and how Rainman was “A Ra Tard”.


7. MYSTIC RIVER – Deep, sick, and an impressive cast of characters. Sleepers with a Southie twist and Tim Robbins’ finest work since Bull Durham.


6. JUNO – It’s like “For Keeps” only with a better cast, better dialogue, better soundtrack, better looking expecting mom, better storyline, more realistic and a better overall movie. Any movie that can cast Vern Schillinger as a sympathetic working class father doing his best to help his pregnant teenage daughter is worthy of all the accolades and praise that comes his way.


5. “V” FOR VENDETTA. And thus begins the Natalie Portman portion of the top 10. A movie you’ll either get or hate, this adaptation of an old comic book was nothing short of captivating. Part 1984, Part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Part Red Dawn.


4. STAR WARS: EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Yeah it’s a bias pick. Whatever. Sith had the unenviable task of wrapping up the first trilogy and setting the scene for the original, more beloved trilogy and it exceeded all expectations. Seeing the rise/birth of Darth Vader on screen after 30 years was a treat for all moviegoers, SW Heads or not. And it kept to most sacred formula of all Star Wars films: Make sure the acting kind of sucks.


3. MILK. Tells a tale that needs to be told. Harvey Milk was a genuine American martyr and almost nobody had heard his name before this movie was released. Imagine that being the case with other American icons, be it Susan B Anthony or Martin Luther King? But simply retelling a story doesn’t make a movie great. Sean Penn delivered the performance of a lifetime and James Brolin turned in a solid one as well. The movie blended actual footage from the time into its cut production more seamlessly than any film before hand. Tremendous production, an all time great film.


2. ALMOST FAMOUS. While it has the best soundtrack of the decade, Almost Famous doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserves. Possibly the greatest Rock’N Roll movie ever, it’s completely rewatchable, stands the test of time, extremely quotable, and has women traded for beer. What’s not to love? Bonus points for PSH’s “Lester Bangs”, arguably one of the most interesting movie characters of the decade.


1. GANGS OF NEW YORK. I find nothing more fascinating than the history of New York City. How did this new world trading post grow to become indisputably the greatest city in the history of mankind? Why New York and not Boston or Philadelphia or Richmond? Who were the people that built this metropolis? Gangs covers (while taking some historical liberties) one of the more interesting eras in New York history (and lets face it, they’re all interesting). More of a composite than a rundown of actual events, Martin Scorcese does an impeccable job of capturing the mood and culture of both the “Natvie” Americans (as in, immigrants who’ve been ashore since the Revolution) and the more recent wave of predominantly Irish immigrants, who were arriving in lower Manhattan in droves in the mid-nineteenth century. It’s a story of their backbone, it’s a story of how they built the City and it’s a story of how they stuck together through thick and thin. With a cast anchored by Leo DiCaprio and the untouchable Daniel Day Lewis, Gangs of New York is Marty Scorcese’s finest hour, and the best movie of the 2000s.