Best movies of the 2000s - Yearly Top 5 lists

[John]

With the Academy Awards just around the corner, I figure this would be a good time to get to something I've been meaning to do for awhile now: A personal Top 5 list from each year of the 2000s.

You've probably noticed that I have an interest in the cinema. What you may not have known is that my interest was only recently rekindled. I grew up exposed to movies, so I naturally fell in love with them. I also grew up on "junk food cinema". Dumb action fare, summer blockbusters... that kind of thing. To say my tastes were unsophisticated would be a gross understatement. I may have only seen one or two Oscar-winning Best Pictures, but I could probably rattle off most one-liners in every Schwarzenegger movie ever made ("What did you do with Sully?" "I let him go.").

I can recall precisely the moment that I finally had gorged too much on empty cinema calories. It was during my viewing of Independence Day, a movie that for me epitomizes the brain-dead blockbuster (though that hasn't stopped its director from churning out similar shlock to this day). I walked out of the theater wondering why I had wasted my time and money on such a worthless spectacle. Shortly thereafter I slowed my trips to the theater, and "slowed" eventually gave way to "basically quit". That state of affairs remained unchanged until... well, I'll get to that in a moment.

For now, let me kick off the yearly Top 5 lists. I'll be posting two years at a time. In addition to the Top 5, I'll add at least one film that's noteworthy for one reason or another. And because highlighting the bad is at least as fun as highlighting the good, I include my worst movie of each year here as well. When I'm finished, I'll wrap up with my overall Top 25 and Bottom 5 from the 2000s.

Just so we're clear, these are not the movies I'd call the very best of each year. Rather, they're my personal favorites. There's a great difference between the two! Don't forget that I basically wasn't going to the movies for the entire first half of the decade. Since I can't rate what I haven't seen, plenty of worthy movies will likely be missed. At the same time, you'll find a few titles on here that have no business even sniffing a yearly best list. Don't blame my inability to recognize a good film - blame my crappy taste.

Lists like these are great fun because everyone is going to have their own take on what deserves and doesn't deserve to be listed. By all means, take issue with my lists! I've certainly provided enough ridiculous inclusions to warrant your scorn. If you like movies, I encourage you to post your own Top 5 movie lists as well. You might inspire me to seek out a movie I otherwise wouldn't have. Finally, feel free to create new threads to share your own lists on different subjects as well. Like I said, everyone likes a good list.

[John]

2000
Although I was in the midst of my disillusionment with the cinema, 2000 was actually a pretty decent year for movies. The top 3 films on my list are all ones I consider to be extremely strong. On the other hand, the worst film of the year was really, really bad...

Top 5 Films

1. Gladiator - I've been a Ridley Scott fan since he scared the living crap out of me with Alien, still my favorite horror film of all time. Gladiator earned Movie of the Year honors, and rightfully so. Incidentally, Scott and Russell Crowe will be teaming up again this year on Robin Hood.
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Simply one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen, both in terms of cinematography and in the movement of the characters (what amazing wire work!).
3. Memento - If this was a straight-up "Best Movies, Period" list, Memento might take the whole darn thing. I wish I had seen this film at a time when I was more interested in mature, experimental cinema. As it was, I still had pretty junky tastes when I saw this movie... and it still wowed. If you haven't seen it, see it.
4. Cast Away - Kudos to Tom Hanks for carrying a film that could have been a real bore-fest.
5. Pitch Black - It may not be a great film, but what Pitch Black is is a stylish horror flick that perfectly casts and utilizes Vin Diesel (not necessarily an easy task, as later Diesel vehicles have proven).

Worst of the Year - Battlefield Earth. I read the book before seeing the movie. The first half of the book - upon which the film is based - is pretty decent. The movie is anything but. A train wreck in every sense of the word. It doesn't help that I'm no John Travolta fan.

Double Diesel - Boiler Room. For one year, at least, Vin Diesel was on. He was appropriately bad-assed in Pitch Black and you could argue that it wasn't his best film. Of course Giovanni Ribisi is the real star here, but it's worth watching Boiler Room just to get a taste of what might have been for Diesel.

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2001
While not as strong for me as 2000, this year may have saved cinema for me. The top film was so good that it at least kept my interest afloat until a really great year later down the road could fully rekindle my love affair with the movies.

Top 5 Films

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - I grew up enthralled with the world J.R.R. Tolkien created (and he really did create a world - I've never seen another more fully fleshed out). The Lord of the Rings books were so formative for me; plenty of who I am can be traced back in part to them. I wouldn't have believed it possible to capture the wonder of those books in a movie that lasts only a few hours, but Peter Jackson managed the trick.
2. Black Hawk Down - I told you I love Ridley Scott. A fine film that highlights a conflict we as a country haven't much wanted to remember.
3. Donnie Darko - Weird, brilliant, experimental and thought-provoking. Like with Memnto, I wish I was better prepared to appreciate this film when I saw it.
4. Shrek - After the cash-in sequels, it's easy to forget that the first Shrek was actually a pretty witty - and even a mite edgy - disembowelment of our beloved childhood fairy tales of old.
5. The Devil's Backbone - My first exposure to director Guillermo del Toro, now a big name but then a relative unknown here in the States. He brings his characteristically striking design to this understated horror film. It's interesting to see a film by del Toro appear in the same year the first Lord of the Ringsmovie, as he'll be directing the upcoming two Hobbit films

Worst of the Year - Ghosts of Mars. You're kidding, right? This is made by the same guy who re-imagined The Thing into my second-favorite horror film of all time? The same guy created the memorable Jack Burton in the cult-classic Big Trouble in Little China? The same guy responsible for one of the top "crap your pants" horror films I've ever seen, Prince of Darkness? No wonder he hasn't worked since.

Studio Killer - Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. You know you've bombed when you're single-handedly responsible for taking down the studio that funded you. That's precisely what FF:TSW did to fledgling studio Square Pictures. Square decided to stick to the game-making business after FF:TSW, which cost $137M to make, earned just $32M domestically ($85M worldwide). Thing is, it's not a completely terrible movie, and the animation was groundbreaking for the time.

[John]

2002
Not everyone will agree with me - especially if you're a fan of superhero or Harry Potter movies - but I view 2002 as just about the worst year of the decade as far as film is concerned. By the time I reach my #5 ranked movie, you'll see I'm no longer even taking this year seriously...

Top 5 Films

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - I've already expressed my love affair with Tolkien's world. The Two Towers continues Peter Jackson's fine adaptation of that world. However, it ranks as my least favorite entry in the series because it is the film that strays furthest from Tolkien's work. Portraying the noble Ents as being dumb as nails was a low point. However, it's still a fine film, and the Battle of Helm's Deep more than makes up for other transgressions.
2. Gangs of New York - Daniel Day-Lewis makes everything better. He's magnificent here as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. Not just a pretty face, Leonardo DiCaprio keeps pace, but Day-Lewis ultimately steals the show, chewing up scenery every time he's on screen.
3. Insomnia - Christopher Nolan joins Ridley Scott and Peter Jackson as directors represented twice on these lists. This lesser-known Nolan film stars Al Pacino as a cop slowly going mad from guilt and exhaustion in an Alaskan town experiencing perpetual daylight.
4. Minority Report - I probably should have liked this movie more than I did. It's based off a great novel and seems to be right up my alley. For whatever reason, though, this one didn't really take hold with me. I might have left it off my list, but I've pretty much run out of alternatives (and you're about to see just how much I mean that).
5. Resident Evil - Look, you know that Resident Evil isn't the 5th-best movie of 2002. I know that Resident Evil isn't the 5th-best movie of 2002. It probably isn't the 50th-best movie. The mere fact that it's a Paul W.S. Anderson-directed film should automatically disqualify it from being placed in a sentence containing the word "best". Any sane person would have bumped this off with Spider-Man or Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I never claimed to be sane, however, and while this movie is admittedly garbage, I at least had fun watching it - more than I can say about pretty much any other 2002 film. The laser defense corridor scene is worth the price of admission.

Worst of the Year - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. There are so many options here - the dreadful treatment of The Count of Monte Cristo, the laughably bad Queen of the Damned, yet another Star Trek stinker - but I have to give the nod to Star Wars for continuing the rape and pillage of my memories of a childhood classic that began with The Phantom Menace

Unknown yet worthy - Equilibrium. Never heard of it? This little-known (and I do mean little-known) sci-fi flick about a world where war is eradicated thanks to the populace willingly taking a drug that inhibits emotions pulled in a whopping $1,050,459 at the box office in limited release. Check it out if you can find it, though. It's actually not too shabby a film, and you'll be surprised to discover names like Cristian Bale and Sean Bean involved.

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2003
I'm still out of love with the cinema, and another beloved movie of old will have its memory trampled upon this year by not one but two horrible sequels. Yet while the overall quality of films this year is still sub-par, 2003 is at least a step up from the hideous year just past.

Top 5 Films

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Return of the King makes it a clean sweep for Lord of the Rings films sitting atop my Top 5 lists over the last 3 years, and it also marks a return to the supreme level of quality of The Fellowship of the Ring. I credit these three films with saving my interest in cinema during a time when I was otherwise completely disenchanted with the medium.
2. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - This movie never got the recognition it deserved, perhaps because it;s a slower-paced, more thoughtful film. Contrast that with another nautical-themed movie released this year, the wildly popular and over-the-top Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (which, admittedly, was much better than I would have anticipated). Don't let the pacing or the dialogue-heavy script deter you, though; Master and Commander is worth seeking out.
3. Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Quentin Tarantino kicks off his two-part samurai epic. As always with Tarantino films, this is bloody good fun.
4. 28 Days Later - More bloody good fun, albeit in a completely different genre. 28 Days Later revitalized and indeed reinvented the zombie horror film, presenting "zombies" (humans infected with the "Rage" virus) that are extremely fast-moving instead of the normal ponderous Night of the Living Dead-style undead. If you're deciding which "Top 5" zombie film to see, this or Resident Evil... pick this.
5. Phone Booth - A small, sharply-made thriller about a man trapped in a phone booth by a sniper who wishes his target to confess his sins.

Worst of the Year - The Matrix Reloaded. I'll give Part 2 of the Matrix series the "Worst Of" nod, though I just as easily could have gone with The Matrix Revolutions, which was also released in 2003. I'm not going to go over why this movie is such a disgrace since it's pretty much the same story as last year's Attack of the Clones (i.e. defacing the memory of a classic). All I'll say is this: Guys, you don't got to lie to kick it. Don't tell us that you planned a trilogy all along. Just come out and say it: You found yourself with a surprise hit on your hands, the studio threw gobs of money at you to churn out a couple sequels, and you decided cash trumps art. Hey, it's cool. If I were you, Larry and Andy Wachowski, I'd have done the same thing. I just wouldn't have lied about it.

Boll me over with badness - House of the Dead. If you're wondering who the worst filmmaker of our generation is, look no further than Uwe Boll. Just check out his list of directorial credits; they read like a critical "Worst of Decade" list. I could easily just have used this list to pick my "Worst of" for any year that he made a film. Of course my rule is that I need to have seen the film to list it, and thankfully House of the Dead is the only one of his I've seen (it's enough). So why doesn't it get "Worst Of" status? It's clearly a worse movie than The Matrix Reloaded, but then again, it doesn't carry the weight of expectation that is associated with the name "The Matrix". Besides, we all know Uwe is just in it for the tax breaks.

[John]

2004
Earlier I suggested that 2002 might be the worst cinematic year of the decade. Well, I think we've just found the one year that could trump it. Without a Lord of the Rings film to prop it up, this list gets pretty pathetic pretty fast. #4 on the list is another one of those that has absolutely no business showing up on a Top 5, although I'll take some heat for ranking #5 as low as I did...

Top 5 Films

1. Collateral - I just got finished dissing 2004 in film, so let me say something positive now. While it doesn't have name value, Collateral is one seriously awesome film. Michael Mann has made some absolutely amazing films in his career (as well as a couple of stinkers). Collateral never achieved the notoriety of The Last of the Mohicans or Heat, but it's good enough to stand on its own.
2. Hero - Lord, is this a beautifully-filmed movie. The use of color, the imagery, the poetic motion. If you're a fan of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but haven't seen this lesser-known film, seek it out. I consider it to be even better than CTHD.
3. Kill Bill Vol. 2 - For the second straight year, Tarantino takes the #3 spot with his bloody samurai epic. Both movies are on pretty even footing with me, but I'll give a slight edge to Vol. 1.
4. The Chronicles of Riddick - Okay, now we're into silly season. At least a case could be made for Pitch Black as a stylish noir horror film. This "sequel" to Pitch Black, however, drops all the style and attempts to recast Riddick as a typical Hollywood hero. It's goofy and not half the movie Pitch Black is, and yet it's kind of one of those "Movies For Guys Who Like Movies" deals. I can be flipping through the channels, seeing all kind of superior movies, yet for some reason I'll stop on Riddick just long enough to watch the escape from Crematoria. I guess I have a weakness for Vin Diesel.
5. Shaun of the Dead - Now the #4 pick on this list looks really bad. Shaun of the Dead is considered a comedy masterpiece by many. I'm not saying I didn't like it (it does make my Top 5, after all), but you know how there's always that one movie that everyone's gushing about but doesn't "click" in the same way for you? Shaun of the Dead is that movie for me. I came away thinking, "Not bad," rather than, "Classic!"

Worst of the Year - Alien vs. Predator. Damnit, Fox, now you're not just raping one of my all-time favorites; you're defacing the memory of two. Predator is perhaps the single most bad-ass action movie in the history of action movies. For a good portion of my life, I would have cited Alien and Aliens as my favorite movies, period. And now you go and do this to them? A part of me died watching this movie.

If you believe the "experts"... - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I'm cheating here. This is the only movie listed anywhere amongst these posts that I haven't seen. I mention it because a.) this year sucks so badly that I can't think of any other film to spotlight, and b.) a lot of film gurus have listed this film at or near the top of their personal "Best Of 2000s" lists. Might be worth checking out.

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2005
2005 is a year that wallows in mediocrity. Though I love it dearly, I confess that my top-ranked film for this year is far and away the weakest of any of these Top 5 lists. There isn't the steep falloff on the back end, though, which in my view rescues this year from being considered as putrid as 2002 or 2004.

Top 5 Films

1. Serenity - Look, I know Serenity is yet another film that has no place on a true film critic's Top 5, but I love me some Firefly. In fact, let me use this opportunity to plug this amazing show. Despite only airing 11 episodes (14 were shot overall), Firefly remains one of the most beloved TV series of all time. If you haven't seen it - and you probably haven't - do yourself a favor and pick up a copy on DVD or Blu-Ray. Chances are you'll fall in love.
2. Munich - Steven Spielberg's sprawling retelling of the 1972 Israeli Olympics massacre and the (fictional?) aftermath gets bogged down at times with the weight of its own story, yet it remains powerful overall. The scene where the Israeli agents execute the female hitman who killed one of their own is just heart-wrenchingly brutal.
3. Kingdom of Heaven - If you've seen the theatrical release of Kingdom of Heaven, you're probably wondering what it's doing on this list. May I suggest that you rent the Extended Director's Cut? We're inundated with "Director's Cuts" that add little to nothing to the movie. Not so with Kingdom of Heaven, which adds a whopping 45 minutes and completely transforms the movie. And if you're questioning why I would give credit the Director's Cut when this list is supposed to be focusing on theatrical releases... back off, man, it's a slow year.
4. A History of Violence - David Cronenberg's adaptation of a story of a man who can't escape his violent past is made special by Viggo Mortensen's fine performance. Ed Harris deserves mention as a big bad who reenters Mortensen's life and exposes him as the thug he is (was).
5. Syriana - Syriana gets a bit ponderous at times and the multiple plot lines can be difficult to follow. It's not as great a film as the Academy nominations make it out to be, but it's still worth seeing. You'll gain an appreciation for how complicated our relations can be with the Middle East.

Worst of the Year - Doom. Plenty of candidates this time around. I almost went with War of the Worlds, which would have given Spielberg the distinction of being the only director to appear on both the Top 5 and Worst lists for a single year. It's just that DOOM (the game) rocked. I consider it one of the seminal games in the history of computer gaming. That lends at least some weight of expectation to a movie version, and oh brother, did this film not live up. Lord save us from wooden Karl Urban in a leading role. Watch this movie and then marvel how this same actor actually did a good job as "Bones".

King of dung - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Another movie that was up for Worst "honors". I spared Revenge of the Sith for being the clear-cut best amongst the second Star Wars trilogy of films. It's worth noting, though, that being the best of a pile of dung doesn't exactly speak volumes for you. I've listened to geeks debate why these movies failed on a plot or canon level, but to me it's not even worth discussing those elements because I don't believe these films were ever designed with "plot" or "canon" in mind. They were designed as money-grabs and nothing more. Once you see them in that light, you realize that - despite the overwhelmingly negative critical response - these films were actually quite successful. Of course we the moviegoers have a different definition of "success" than those profiting from the sale of Jar Jar Binks lunchboxes.

[John]

2006
Here it is: The year that restored my love of cinema. For the first time I actually have too many good films to choose from. Ultimately, though, the credit has to go the movie at the top of the list as the work that brought my movie passion back to life...

Top 5 Films

1. V for Vendetta - This was the movie that did it for me. I can't say why, exactly, but for some reason I bonded with this film. I found it to be unbelievably powerful. Its messages - we are responsible for the sins of our leaders; political inaction is a political choice in and of itself; despite our differences, we are all brothers/sisters - are timely and powerfully delivered. It's wrapped up in a dark action package and I think a lot of people dismissed this film as yet another brainless Matrix wannabe (it was produced by the Wachowskis after all, the creators of The Matrix), but it's so much more than that. I found this film to be extremely moving on a personal level.
2. Children of Men - Children of Men would have headlined my "Top 5" in several other years. It presents a fascinating "What if?" scenario: What if humans were suddenly unable to reproduce? What would happen to society when people have no new generation to pass their wisdom on to? The answer given here is bleak, perhaps bleaker than you might imagine. It's hard to overemphasis the importance of context in our lives. We look to so many sources for context: religion, social networks, and most of all, family. Take that context away and you strip us of our humanity. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the incredible single-shot scenes in this film. The work that must have gone into setting those up is simply mind-boggling.
3. Blood Diamond - Director Ed Zwick has been criticized for making ham-handed films that attempt to manipulate audiences by pulling on their heartstrings. That claim has been leveled at Blood Diamond as well, and to be fair it's probably deserved. Every so often, though, one of these heartstrings-pullers actually does it intended job so well that it becomes something more than it should be. Blood Diamond worked for me, perhaps due to Leonardo DiCaprio's performance. I believe Djimon Hounsou's portrayal of a fishermen forced to mine diamonds to fund the RUF's war efforts as his son is brainwashed to become a child RUF foot solider was what really stole the show for me, though.
4. Pan's Labyrinth - How in the world am I just mentioning Pan's Labyrinth at #4? That's how good 2006 was, because this film deserves higher billing. Guillermo del Toro's imagination is on full display. The menagerie of creatures he's created here bodes well for his future work on The Hobbit. del Toro has called Pan's Labyrinth a spiritual successor to The Devil's Backbone, which took the #5 spot on my "Best of 2001" list.
5. Inside Man - I likes me a good brainy thriller, and I likes me a good Spike Lee joint, so Inside Man is right up my alley. A group of robbers burst into a bank, taking hostages and clearing out the vault. Problem is, they're completely surrounded by police. Dumb robbers; what did they expect? There's no way out, right? Wrong. Watch and see what they've got planned, then get ready for the rumored sequel.

Worst of the Year - Poseidon. The Poseidon Adventure was one of the better offerings in the 1970s tedious "disaster movie" craze. The remake is a paint-by-numbers retelling of that story that somehow manages to get everything wrong. I can't even recommend it for quality "check your brain at the door" action. It's just a very dull, lifeless, CGI-dependent waste o' time.

Overflow of quality - United 93 and The Last King of Scotland. There really were too many good films released this year to list, but I wanted to highlight two additional movies that deserve your attention. United 93 could have been emotionally manipulative, but instead the filmmakers understood that the story is powerful enough on its own without the need to Hollywood-ize it. We'll never know exactly what happened on that flight, but the tale remains powerful nonetheless. Forest Whitaker is sensational as the troubled Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. His Best Actor award was richly deserved.

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2007
For once, I'm in lockstep with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. My top two films from this year were their top two as well, and it's hard to deny them their due. There were a number of other quality films released this year, continuing 2006's strong showing.

Top 5 Films

1. There Will Be Blood - Simply marvelous. Paul Thomas Anderson (not to be confused with sholck artist Paul W.S. Anderson of Resident Evil infamy) creates a modern masterwork in his tale of a turn of the 20th century oilman with a mind for business and an inability to connect with his fellow man, his adopted son excepted. The always amazing Daniel Day-Lewis is at his most memorable here. This film will be remembered years from now as one of the classics, in my opinion.
2. No Country For Old Men - Right behind There Will Be Blood comes another quirky gem from the Coen Brothers, though this one is more serious in tone than, say, Raising Arizona or even Fargo. It's high time the Coens got recognition for their brilliance, and while I personally would rank There Will Be Blood ahead, I can't begrudge the Academy for naming No Country For Old Men the movie of the year.
3. Shoot 'Em Up - And now for something completely different. In just a mild change of tone, we go from Academy Award-winning material to a celebration of cartoonishly over the top violence. Yet I make no apologies; I freakin' love this movie about an impossibly skilled ex-military drifter who reluctantly saves a baby and a prostitute, all the while complaining about life's little irritations and eating carrots (or killing people with carrots; either way, carrots play a major role in the film). If you like you action movies bloody, vulgarity-filled and way, way, way over the top, you've just found your nirvana.
4. 3:10 to Yuma - Never considered myself a big fan of Westerns, yet I have two on my 2007 list. I never saw the original, but I very much enjoyed this remake. Bonus points for casting Alan Tudyk, who played Wash in the previously mentioned Firefly.
5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - It's probably 40 minutes too long (I'm referring to the film itself, not the title of the film), but Assassination is so beautifully shot that it deserves its mention here. Seriously, the cinematography is just gorgeous. Brad Pitt lends a dreamy, wistful quality to the doomed Jesse James. If you can stand the slow pace, this movie worth seeking out.

Worst of the Year - Transformers. The very definition of a brainless Hollywood summer blockbuster. I'm sorry, but I can find absolutely nothing redeeming in this turd. This is pretty much everything I don't like about movies rolled up into one. Look, I'm all for good brainless fun. Just look at my Top 5 lists and you'll find all kinds of examples of this. But this... this just isn't good. There's nothing happening. There's no performances. It's just a lot of CGI and sound. Eventually, my head starts hurting. A big, big thumbs down.

Cronenberg's violence resurfaces - Eastern Promises. Just missing my Top 5 was David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. Although not directly related to Cronenberg's A History of Violence (which scored the #4 spot on my "Top 5" for 2005), the movies are thematically linked. Both feature men who wage internal battles with their demons of rage while trying to protect the innocent in their lives (both from external dangers as well as from themselves). They also share a star (Viggo Mortensen). This film will be most remembered for the brutal nude steam bath knife fight scene.

[John]

2008
This marks the year that I began returning to the theater in earnest. It's a curious year in that I have a Top 5 that's arguably the strongest of the decade, but I could make you a Bottom 5 list that would curl your toes. The strengths make up for the weaknesses, though, and some of these movies are going to stick with me for a long time.

Top 5 Films

1. The Wrestler - Welcome back, Mickey Rourke. A laughingstock around Hollywood when he left his acting career to return to his boxing roots, The Wrestler put Rourke back on the map. His performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a small-time wrestler who can't quit the biz despite his declining health and dreams of reconnecting with his estranged daughter, is as moving as any you'll see.
2. In Bruges - If you enjoy your comedies dark, dreamy and wordy, In Bruges is your movie. You can really tell that it was scripted by a playwright. Dialogue - extremely clever dialogue - sets this movie apart from your typical American slapstick. You'll have to get past the accents, but trust me, it's worth it.
3. Frost/Nixon - I'm not usually into biopics, but this face-off between the notoriously media-shy Richard Nixon and the interviewer David Frost, a relative unknown in the States, is a subject worth looking back on. Great performances all around, particularly by Frank Langella as Nixon, help make this a memorable film.
4. Tropic Thunder - This send-up of the war movie genre is side-splittingly funny. It's a totally different comedy style than In Bruges, showing that there's multiple ways to illicit a laugh. Who knew we could still laugh with Tom Cruise instead of just at him? The fake trailers at the beginning of the movie were a riot, particularly the one for Satan's Alley.
5. Slumdog Millionaire - Who doesn't love a good rags to riches tale? As good as this movie was, the poverty and squalor of the Mumbai slums it depicts really stuck with me. India is in the process of growing up, and it's going through some nasty growing pains. There is brilliance coming out of that country. There is also unspeakable poverty and class/sex bigotry. The story of the child actors who starred in the movie mirror the difficult road of the country.

Worst of the Year - The Happening. Despite the incredible strength of this year's Top 5, it was no easy task picking a single worst film. I almost went with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but really, what could I have said? That movie was never going to be good anyway. Instead I'll go with incredibly overrated M. Night Shyamalan's beat-you-over-the-head eco-"thriller". Yes, M., we get the point: We need to take better care of our planet if we hope for it to take care of us. Can you be any more obvious? Why don't you hire people to whack us with 2x4s on the way out of the theater while we're at it, just in case someone missed the point. What's frustrating is that there's actually a decent idea for a story buried in this train wreck of a film. It would have taken a better director to dig it out.

Marketing matters - Cloverfield. Like most of us, I like to believe that I'm immune to advertising. Maybe I am more resistant than the average bear, and maybe I'm not. Examples like Cloverfield point to the unhappy fact that I'm hardly immune to the wiles of clever advertising. Cloverfield featured one of the most brilliant viral ad campaigns in movie history. Along with a wicked trailer, it generated an unbelievable amount of hype and expectation. When the final product was merely "meh", it felt like a massive letdown. Yet I bought the hype hook, line and sinker, and by the time I had figured out that this J.J. Abrams's-produced film wasn't anything special, I had already plunked down my $9. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

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2009
2009 can be called "The Year of Science Fiction". Three of my Top 5 films hail from the sci-fi genre. This is outstanding news. The word coming out of Hollywood has been that, with times being what they are, people aren't interested in science fiction any more. This sentiment is reflected in a lessened number of movies featuring space, aliens or other typical sci-fi trappings. Hopefully 2009 showed Hollywood execs that this sentiment is wrong and that tough times are exactly when science fiction is at its most valuable.

Top 5 Films

1. District 9 - Remind me to go shopping with Neill Blomkamp, 'cause this man knows how to get the most out of his dollar. What he did with a $30M budget - paltry by industry standards - is simply amazing. District 9 looks like it cost 5x that amount to make. More importantly, it has the brains and the deeper meaning to live up to the looks. The movie reminds us that it's easy to look down on a group of individuals that are different from you until you have to walk a mile in their shoes, but it delivers this simple message in an understated way that puts a hack like M. Night Shyamalan to shame. If you want the message, it's there for you. If you just want to enjoy explosions and power suit battles, you got that, too. Nothing is forced on you, which is just the way it should be.
2. Avatar - Like District 9, Avatar explores the difficulty we sometimes have relating to groups of individuals different from us. It's very much a tale of Imperialism of the past brought into a future fictional world. Unlike District 9, Avatar makes its themes much more explicit, clearly defining its worldview. That has made the movie a target amongst some who feel that it's anti-something they hold dear. To those offended by the movie, I would suggest that we don't always need to agree with a film's worldview to recognize it as a good piece of movie-making. There are several movies on my own Top 5 lists that expound viewpoints not in line with my own. That doesn't make them bad movies. If I had to agree with everything to make it enjoyable, life would be very dull and very unenjoyable.
3. Inglourious Basterds - Another movie that, like Avatar, has stirred controversy. Detractors may be taking the movie a wee bit too seriously. Any movie featuring an alternate history where Hitler gets gunned down by avenging Jewish Americans should be taken with a shaker-full of salt. Better to sit back and enjoy the wonderfully quippy Tarantino dialogue, as well as Christoph Waltz's soon-to-be Oscar-winning performance as Col. Hans Landa, a heartless Nazi hunter of Jews who ends up bringing down the Third Reich.
4. Zombieland - There's always room for a movie that's just plain fun. Zombiland is that kind of movie. From the moment the movie kicks off with Rule #1 for surviving the Zombie Apocolypse ("Cardio - because the fatties are always the first to go,"), you know you're in for a good time. The super-secret cameo in the middle of the film is worth the price of admission alone.
5. Moon - The best movie and the best performance by a lead actor that nobody saw in 2009. Moon is a modern-day 2001. It's a quiet, contemplative film about a man living and working on the moon in complete isolation, until he discovers that he's just one of many clones. If there were any justice in the world, Sam Rockwell (essentially the movie's lone live actor) would walk away with the Best Actor nod.

Worst of the Year - The Hangover. It's not that I don't get why lots of people found this to be hilarious. It's just that this is not my kind of comedy. It's just too petty and mean-spirited for me to enjoy myself. I'm not going to say there weren't moments (the cameo by The Daily Show alum Rob Riggle was cute), but I spent more of my time feeling uncomfortable than laughing.

Better than Avatar? - The Hurt Locker. If I had extended my list to the Top 6 films of the year, The Hurt Locker would have made the cut. You'd think that the movie with the best chance to knock off Avatar as Best Picture of the Year would be higher up on my list, and to be sure, this is a really good film. If first impressions were everything, the taunt opening scene would have vaulted this movie to the top of my list. A lot of times, however, our opinions are colored by the finale, and The Hurt Locker stumbled a bit at the part where the bomb defusal team goes off base to find a bomber. That turn was a bit tough to swallow, and I had difficulty getting back into the movie afterwards. Still, I feel bad for ranking this movie as low as I did. It really is a fine bit of cinema and it absolutely deserves Oscar recognition. If you haven't seent it, do so.

[John]

Finally, let me end up with my overall Top 25 and Bottom 5 of the 2000s lists:

Best of the 2000s

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - The movie that kept cinema alive for me long enough for my #2 movie of the decade to rekindle my passion. I never would have thought it possible for there to be such a perfect capturing of those masterworks of literature, but Peter Jackson pulls it off.
2. V for Vendetta - The movie that made cinema relevant to me again after a 10-year falling out. Much more than a simple action film, this one really reached me on a personal level. "Remember, remember the fifth of November,"... a message as timely now as it was in the time of Guy Fawkes.
3. District 9 - It's always dangerous ranking movies you've only recently seen; they tend to come off higher than they should be. If there's some slippage for District 9, though, I expect it to be slight. It's just my kind of film; simultaneously entertaining and thought-provoking.
4. There Will Be Blood - An acting and directorial tour de force. Who would have thought, "I drink your milkshake!" would become a classic line for the ages?
5. No Country For Old Men - The Coen Brothers have long deserved recognition for their quirky work. They finally received it with one of their darkest films ever - and coming from these guys, that's saying a lot.
6. Avatar - Say what you want about the film's worldview, but it's clearly a film that's going to impact how we look at movie's for years to come (quite literally, if the spate of announcements of 3D versions of upcoming movies is any indication).
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - RotK gave this trilogy the fine send-off it deserved and cemented its place as the #1 movie series of the decade.
8. Children of Men - An artistically shot film depicting a hopelessly bleak future. Sometimes depressing can be beautiful.
9. The Wrestler - As touching a movie as you'll find. Just a superlative performance by Rourke. The work he must have put in to get his body in shape for this film is difficult to imagine.
10. Gladiator - A grand epic in the Braveheart mold (which, incidentally, remains one of my favorite films of all time).
11. Collateral - No one paid much attention to this move. They should have. Watching Jamie Foxx make the journey from dreamer to doer is inspirational.
12. In Bruges - My highest ranked comedy was also not seen by many people. Like Collateral, it deserves more attention, though I admit the film's foreign-ness works against its acceptance here in the States.
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The least of the trilogy is still a fine film in its own right. Boo for dumbed-down Ents; yay for the Battle of Helm's Deep!
14. Blood Diamond - Is it emotionally manipulative? Probably. In this case, I was successfully manipulated. You win this round, Ed Zwick.
15. Serenity - My lowest ranked top film of a year. It won't show up on most film critics' top anything list, but then most film critics aren't as passionately in love with Firefly as I am.
16. Shoot 'Em Up - I make no apologies for unabashedly loving this celebration of wanton violence. If you're thinking about going over the top, take a hint from Shoot 'Em Up and go all the way over... then be careful not to trip over your audiences' jaws as you go even further.
17. Pan's Labyrinth - Watching what Guillermo del Toro dreams up here makes my mouth water in anticipation of what he's going to do with The Hobbit.
18. Munich - Despite being too long for its own good, some extremely powerful scenes propel Munich to these lofty heights.
19. Frost/Nixon - If you're going to see just one biopic, see this one.
20. Gangs of New York - Daniel Day-Lewis makes everything better.
21. Tropic Thunder - Those of us who have seen lots of war movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket will be rolling at this send-up of the genre.
22. Inglourious Basterds - How can you not love a movie where Hitler gets a hot lead-full of comeuppance?
23. Hero - If I were asked what the single most beautifully shot movie of the decade was, I would nominate Hero.
24. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - If I were asked what the second most beautifully shot movie of the decade was, I would nominate Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
25. Memento - You could make a compelling argument that this amazingly told story is the best movie of the 2000s. Perhaps I saw it before I was ready, but I still recognize its genius.

2006 and 2008 are the only two years to have four movies appear on the Top 25. 2006 comes off strongest of all; its top four movies rank #2, #8, #14 and #17 overall. It joins 2007 (#4, #5) and 2009 (#3, #6) as the only years featuring multiple Top 10 entries. 2000, 2007 and 2009 each get 3 movies, while 2001 and 2003 only get one. Interesting that 2001 features my #1 overall movie and nothing else. The strength of the top films of 2001 and 2003 propel those years higher in my estimation than 2002 and 2004, which each had two Top 25 films but featured little else of note.

And now the very worst 5 movies of the 2000s:

Worst of the 2000s

1. Transformers - When one of these brain-dead mega-budget films gets made, how many smaller budget potential gems do we lose out on? I shudder to think.
2. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - The Phantom Menace already dragged my memories of the original trilogy through the mud. Now you're burying my memories neck-deep in dung.
3. Battlefield Earth - Of all the movies on this list, this one is easily the worst from a purely technical perspective. Film students will be studying this movie for years as an example of what not to do.
4. Alien vs. Predator - How do we get from the brilliance of this and this... to this?
5. The Matrix Reloaded - Chalk up one more in the "tarnished memories" column. At least The Matrix only had three years in my heart before it was brought low by cash-in sequels.

Thank you for reading my personal list of favorite (and not so favorite) movies. I welcome your thoughts, and I also welcome your own personal lists. I'm always ready to learn about a great movie I need to see.

[Maulers]

Really interesting lists, John. I've actually seen most of what you list, which is a bit of a surprise since my wife and I have been to the movies exactly 3 times in the last 6 years. God Bless Netflix!

A couple of very minor notes:

I have not yet seen V for Vendetta, but it is an adaptation of the great Alan Moore graphic novel. Moore also wrote the amazing The Watchmen, which was actually much better as a movie than I anticipated going in.

I just didn't get No Country for Old Men, and I'm one of the biggest Coen brothers fan you'll find. I found it inscrutable, and so far less enjoyable than most of their movies.

Nice call on Insomnia, which is a terrific movie. Speaking of Christopher Nolan, though, I'm frankly stunned that you don't have The Dark Knight on your 2008 list. Superhero movie or not, it is a simply brilliant exploration of contemporary American fears and desires.

Finally, you're too hard on Independence Day. As the late, great political cultural critic Michael Rogin argued, it's far from the brainless popcorn flick that it seems. It's actually quite insidious. Not that it is intentionally so messaged, of course. But the cultural and political themes that it unwittingly plays with at once summarize and propel 50+ years of American popular and political culture.

[John]

Huh, very interesting! I read the Amazon excerpts from that book you linked to, Jeff. I may have to seek that book out. Perhaps I am being too hard on the movie. Generally speaking, director Roland Emmerich is a purveyor of cheap, trashy films. However, he didn't write the script. Maybe there's more to the movie when you look a little deeper. I'll have to seek it out again sometime and see if it comes off a little better with 14 years of separation from the first viewing.

Without a doubt, Christopher Nolan's Batman movies are the very pinnacle of the superhero genre. The guy is just an extremely gifted director. I wouldn't have imagined anyone could turn around that train wreck of a franchise, but he's come out with two winners. It really is only due to the fact that I'm generally not that hot on the superhero genre that I don't have the movies ranked - that and the fact that 2008 was a year just loaded with awesome films. For what it's worth, I gave Batman Begins consideration for the #5 spot in place of Syriana.

Speaking of good superhero films... like you, Jeff, I really enjoyed Watchmen. It didn't do so hot at the box office, but I think it deserved a better fate. I never read the graphic novel (never read the "V For Vendetta" graphic novel either), but I thought the movie was a clever twist on the genre. Too bad there was no truth to the recent rumor of a Watchmen sequel.

Funny that you say you found No Country For Old Men inscrutable. I felt the exact same way about Fargo. I think even the biggest Coen Brothers fans (a group I don't count myself in) have difficulty absorbing at least one or two of their movies. Burn After Reading, for instance, caught a lot of flak from fans coming on the heels of the much-praised No Country For Old Men. For the record, if I had to rank my #2 favorite Coen film, it would be Raising Arizona. Nik Cage at his best.

Glad to see there's another Insomnia fan out there! Christopher Nolan really is a superlative director. I simply cannot wait for Inception, and I have absolutely no idea what it's about! If Nolan is attached, that's good enough for me.

See V For Vendetta. Can't recommend it enough.

[Maulers]

You know, I'm actually happy that there is no Watchmen sequel planned. I was amazed that it worked as well as it did as a movie, but even then the book is much richer. I just can't imagine a movie sequel that wasn't based off an Alan Moore script, and Moore has stated publicly numerous times that he will not return to those characters again (not because he wouldn't like to, but rather because he has been in an epic spat with DC comics over control of the franchise basically since the serials were released).

You should look into the Rogin book. I promise that you'll never see ID4 the same way again.

[Dinosaurs]

but I could probably rattle off most one-liners in every Schwarzenegger movie ever made ("What did you do with Sully?" "I let him go.").

I love how Matrix says he's going to kill Sully last and ends up killing him first. Also love the "don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired" line. wonderful.

And Equilibrium is awesome action movie.

[Dinosaurs]

Hero - Lord, is this a beautifully-filmed movie. The use of color, the imagery, the poetic motion. If you're a fan of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but haven't seen this lesser-known film, seek it out. I consider it to be even better than CTHD.

Hero is like watching a piece of visual art unfold before your eyes, the use of color is excellent, I think my favorite scene was the battle between the two main female characters that occurs in a forested area, and the leaves falling turn red when the one character is killed.

If you believe the "experts"... - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I'm cheating here. This is the only movie listed anywhere amongst these posts that I haven't seen. I mention it because a.) this year sucks so badly that I can't think of any other film to spotlight, and b.) a lot of film gurus have listed this film at or near the top of their personal "Best Of 2000s" lists. Might be worth checking out.

I have seen this and own it. I have a personal affinity for certain films that I consider science fiction only for the purpose of exploring the human experience (not that I don't mind a good action/adventure sci-fi movie from time to time too) which Eternal Sunshine... fits for me (also the remake of Solaris, The Fountain, and Blade Runner all remain some of my favorites).

Oh and Daniel Day-Lewis is purely amazing in his lead role in "There Will Be Blood".

[John]

Alright, I definitely have to seek out Eternal Sunshine now. Too many people are recommending it for me to continue to take a pass. I just hope it can live up to the hype!

Dude, don't get me started on Schwarzenegger movie quotes and trivia. I'll be here all night. Oh, okay, just one more... (delivered to airline stewardess after breaking his captor's neck and covering his face with a hat)... "Don't disturb my friend; he's dead tired."

[klewis]

I'm with Jeff on No Country for Old Men. I watched that movie blindly without any knowledge of the scope of the movie (watched it based on its hype). Maybe it was too dark for me or something, but I thought it was a little "light" and the plot was not well fleshed out. By light, I meant the psychological aspect of things. It just felt like mindless killing by a serial killer. I did like the "quarter" scene. In contrast, I am big fan of the 3:10 to Yuma movie. I loved the interaction and psychology played by the main characters. I am not a Western fan but the deepness of the characters made it a joy to watch regardless of the theme.

I didn't read Jeff's Amazon link on Independence Day - so I'll just judge the movie based on how I felt at the time of watching it. It was a decent summer flick but I didn't care much for it. In general, I'm not a real fan of Will Smith movies. I guess you can say I am a fan of his as a person and possibly as an actor but I'm not really a fan of his movies. I did not like I Am Legend at all. I didn't care much for Men in Black or any of his blockbuster hits.

Pan's Labyrinth was pretty cool. I understood why people praised it so much. But for myself, I thought it was good but not something I would watch over and over again. It is a good movie though and I'm glad I saw it.

The Wrestler is another good movie. The story of the character was great. I especially appreciated it because I grew up watching wrestling. But like Pan's Labyrinth, it was not a movie that I would watch over and over again. I appreciate the artistic masterpiece and the director's vision, but it's not a movie that leaves a long lasting effect on me.

I probably need to watch Gangs of New York again. I don't remember too much of the movie except for the gore. I do remember that I liked the other Leo movie more that came out that same year (Catch Me if You Can).

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an interesting movie. It's one of those movies that probably got more of a cult following after being released on the market for years. It has a nice cast of famous actors. It's probably one of those movies you need to watch several times to truly appreciate.

I don't know. Maybe, I'm a harsh critic. I tend to enjoy movies for what they are (1.5-2 hours of escape). So I did enjoy the first Transformers for serving as a summer popcorn action flick. I guess the best way to it is that I like movies easily but it is very hard for me to love a movie. I had a good time watching the Hangover but I wouldn't call it the best comedy movie in years.

I'm not sure how my top movie list would shake out. But I would definitely give props to Pixar. I know they make animation and all, but rarely do they make a movie that disappoints me. I like the fact that adults can enjoy their movies as much as children do.

The movies that I really enjoy are movies that make me view the world differently or just movies that give me that aftertaste feel... you know that feeling you get several days later where you are still thinking about the movie.

[Borealis]

I'll come back with some commentary later, but want to speak out for a couple of Eastwood flicks: the Changeling and Grand Torino. Eastwood is flat out hysterical I'm Grand Torino!

I remember in high school I worked a movie theater and he'd come to those Sunday matinees no one ever went to si he'd be able to enjoy the movies in peace. This was ho's pre-Mayor of Carmel days.