Couldn't find a thread for this topic but if there is one please shut this down. Well the decade is drawing to a close and inevitably movie websites and bloggers are starting to post their list of films they consider to be the crowning achievements over the past 10 years. So the question begs, what are your top ten films of the decade? Looking back at the many films I sat through there are so many stand outs it really makes it hard to cull the list to just 10, it's kinda hard justifying why one really good film gets in ahead of another. But none the less I've narrowed my list as follows:
10. Ratatouille - There is no more consistent movie studio in the business this decade than Pixar and thus they deserve an allocated spot. Picking just one of their films is hard but Brad Bird's tale of a rat who wants to be a cook is the one I find myself watching over and over again.
9. Collateral - A guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, but told through the lens of Michael Mann. It's not the best script I'll admit, but this film reminds you that underneath all the couch jumping and Scientology crap there's an actor in Cruise, and is supported wonderfully by Jamie Foxx.
8. Pan's Labyrinth - Del Toro's gothic Alice In Wonderland-esque fantasy set amidst the back drop of Fascist Spain, it's at times confronting and brutal, but is contrasted by an innocence as seen through the eyes of it's heroine.
7. Little Miss Sunshine - It's the kind of film that makes you realise your family isn't so bad to begin with. The script is hilarious, the characters great and the cast is awesome, this one sticks in my mind more than any other comedy in the last 10 years.
6. The Departed - Whilst still not his best, Scorsese's sharp gangsta drama was a gob smacking trip of corruption, double crossing, violence and consequence, topped with a cast that is perhaps one of the finest assembled of the decade.
5. The Lord of The Rings - Given then nature in which the films were made I considered them as a whole to be a single movie. Jackson somehow managed to do what many considered impossible, bring Tolkien's story to life. An epic saga filled with glorious effects, remained faithful to its source and laid the foundation for CG characters that can genuinely perform. And of all countries to make it ...New Zealand - thank you my Kiwi cousins across the ditch.
4. Memento - Quite possibly the most original movie of the decade, Nolan's psychological thriller told in reverse puts you firmly in the eyes of it's main character and keeps you guessing the whole time. Complex and engaging, I can't help but watch this multiple times.
3. The Dark Knight - Where once considered nothing more than light entertainment, Nolan elevates the Superhero genre to a new level, and in doing so catapults the film to a level along side some of the of great cinematic crime dramas. This remains the most thrilling cinematic experience for me in this decade.
2. Zodiac - The best film this decade never to be Oscar nominated. Fincher's tale of the Zodiac killer is a thrilling character driven film made even more scary by the fact the not only did the events happen, but that the case remains open to this day.
1. Children of Men - A world without children, sounds bloody good to me.
t:. Alfonso Cuaron's bleak outlook of the future is the one film that I cannot help but marvel at every time I watch it, the grittiness, the texture, the uncut action sequences, the cast, it's as subtle a sci-fi movie as you'll get yet is also thought provoking. This is my film of the decade.
10. Ratatouille - There is no more consistent movie studio in the business this decade than Pixar and thus they deserve an allocated spot. Picking just one of their films is hard but Brad Bird's tale of a rat who wants to be a cook is the one I find myself watching over and over again.
9. Collateral - A guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, but told through the lens of Michael Mann. It's not the best script I'll admit, but this film reminds you that underneath all the couch jumping and Scientology crap there's an actor in Cruise, and is supported wonderfully by Jamie Foxx.
8. Pan's Labyrinth - Del Toro's gothic Alice In Wonderland-esque fantasy set amidst the back drop of Fascist Spain, it's at times confronting and brutal, but is contrasted by an innocence as seen through the eyes of it's heroine.
7. Little Miss Sunshine - It's the kind of film that makes you realise your family isn't so bad to begin with. The script is hilarious, the characters great and the cast is awesome, this one sticks in my mind more than any other comedy in the last 10 years.
6. The Departed - Whilst still not his best, Scorsese's sharp gangsta drama was a gob smacking trip of corruption, double crossing, violence and consequence, topped with a cast that is perhaps one of the finest assembled of the decade.
5. The Lord of The Rings - Given then nature in which the films were made I considered them as a whole to be a single movie. Jackson somehow managed to do what many considered impossible, bring Tolkien's story to life. An epic saga filled with glorious effects, remained faithful to its source and laid the foundation for CG characters that can genuinely perform. And of all countries to make it ...New Zealand - thank you my Kiwi cousins across the ditch.
4. Memento - Quite possibly the most original movie of the decade, Nolan's psychological thriller told in reverse puts you firmly in the eyes of it's main character and keeps you guessing the whole time. Complex and engaging, I can't help but watch this multiple times.
3. The Dark Knight - Where once considered nothing more than light entertainment, Nolan elevates the Superhero genre to a new level, and in doing so catapults the film to a level along side some of the of great cinematic crime dramas. This remains the most thrilling cinematic experience for me in this decade.
2. Zodiac - The best film this decade never to be Oscar nominated. Fincher's tale of the Zodiac killer is a thrilling character driven film made even more scary by the fact the not only did the events happen, but that the case remains open to this day.
1. Children of Men - A world without children, sounds bloody good to me.
t:. Alfonso Cuaron's bleak outlook of the future is the one film that I cannot help but marvel at every time I watch it, the grittiness, the texture, the uncut action sequences, the cast, it's as subtle a sci-fi movie as you'll get yet is also thought provoking. This is my film of the decade.
