written by Skooch
It’s currently late January 2010, which means that this list is either a month late or 11 months early, depending on which pedantic side you sit on in regards to what defines a decade. For the purposes of this list, it was any movie that was released theatrically or on DVD from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009.
Sixteen lists of varying lengths were submitted, with 206 movies listed overall. Every first-ranked movie received 30 points, second-ranked 29 points, and so on down to 1 point for a 30th-ranked movie. There were a couple of submitted lists that had more than 30 movies on it, but popular consensus was to cap the lists at 30 so as not to artificially skew the results. Without further ado, here’s 39th to 31st on the list!
T-39. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
53 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by JoeyAt75 at #3
Back in 2002, nobody really thought that Adam Sandler could “act”, merely just performing in movies as goofy, over-the-top versions of himself. Then Paul Thomas Anderson decided he wanted to follow up Magnolia with a Sandler “comedy” since they were good friends. The resulting film is still one of Sandler’s lowest-grossing movies (just under $25 million) and potentially alienated many of his die-hard fans who went in expecting an ADAM SANDLER movie. Instead we got a gorgeously shot, beautiful love story of … well it’s hard to exactly define what Barry (Sandler) and Lena (Emily Watson) had, but from what I remember Barry’s passion for her was without peer, and watching clips of this movie on You Tube – particularly Philip Seymour Hoffman’s awesomeness – makes me want to watch it again.
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%; Metacritic: 78
T-39. Mystic River (2003)
53 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by Vernitis at #2
Mystic River should probably be credited for returning director Clint Eastwood back to form, after the depressingly bad Blood Work and the seniors-in-space dramedy Space Cowboys. Depending on your tastes, you might say Eastwood had done more bad than good since Unforgiven, but either way, Mystic River and its dark subject matter and quality performances ushered in a new era in Eastwood’s career. Nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture), with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins picking up two wins in the acting categories, Mystic River grossed $156 million.
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%; Metacritic: 84
T-37. City of God (2002)
56 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by Boner at #4
Nominated for four Oscars, City of God is a Brazilian crime film that tells the tale of a man named Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) and the choices he’s made in his life in crime-ridden Brazil. It’s been years since I’ve seen it, but from what I remember it was a timeless coming-of-age tale about the hard decisions one must make when faced with extreme situations. The performances are all top-notch, the cinematography gorgeous and the direction exemplary, and if it weren’t for the third Lord of the Rings movie, director Fernando Meirelles might have gone home with the Best Director Oscar. The film grossed over $28 million worldwide.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%; Metacritic: 79
T-37. High Fidelity (2000)
56 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by Skooch at #5
To say that I have a deep love of High Fidelity is probably a gross understatement. If I’d never seen the film or read the book, chances are good that this and numerous other lists that populate the Internet these days might never have been compiled. But the movie is more than just about a love of pop culture and the endless debates about tastes and the philosophy that what someone likes is more important than what they’re like. It’s a movie that shows that guys aren’t as dumb as we appear to be, and that we’re exactly that dumb. It explores much of our inner paranoia about relationships and the inner workings of our minds and with charismatic everyman John Cusack leading the movie, it’s also a romantic comedy that guys aren’t ashamed to love. High Fidelity grossed around $47 million worldwide.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% ; Metacritic:79
36. Gladiator (2000)
57 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by KAKnyght at #5
Nominated for 12 Oscars and picking up five of them – including Best Picture and Best Actor for star Russell Crowe – Gladiator is a revenge tale from ancient times. Featuring amazingly choreographed and intense action scenes, a larger than life troubled hero in Maximus (Crowe), and a corrupt monarchy, Gladiator is a gorgeously shot high quality popcorn flick. Whether or not it deserved the Best Picture Oscar that year is open to debate (personally I would have gone with Traffic or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), but that certainly does not temper the love many have Ridley Scott’s film which grossed over $457 million.
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%; Metacritic: 64
T-33. Donnie Darko (2001)
58 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by JoeyAt75 at #6
Special Guest Writer: JoeyAt75!
There might not have been a more polarizing movie this decade. Lambasted or loving lamented, Donnie Darko is a movie so open to interpretation that even people who adore it do so for a plethora of different reasons. For instance, I have a buddy who loves the film every bit as much as me and we at times have nearly come to blows over what it’s even about.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the titular character who may or may not be living in an alternate reality, he may be dead, he may be lusting after his sister. The film plays as almost as a more accessible David Lynch movie although no less understandable.
In a movie like this it’s very easy to fall of the desired path but thanks to the brilliant cast and the perfect ambiance created by the director, the story, whatever you think it is, never falters.
It’s very easy to nitpick and second guess how good a film is or isn’t but I think the truest judge is what you feel upon initial viewing and what emotions it evokes. Donnie Darko is a scary, sad, and ultimately numbing movie about how helpless we all truly are, and how randomly the universe decides our fate. It’s also about wanting to fuck your sister.
Grossed a little over $4 million and became a huge cult favourite on DVD.
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%; Metacritic: 71
T-33. Snatch. (2000)
58 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by Buckdiddy at #8
Special Guest Writer: Buckdiddy!
Snatch, the third film by Guy Ritchie and his first of the decade was perhaps his best. It included a star cast before many of them were stars. Most of the movie’s greatness could be attributed to Brad Pitt, Jason Statham and Alan Ford as they were on top of their game here. And of course Guy Ritchie is one of the best at combining not only genres but artistic style to draw a unique film that stands out among its peers. Grossed over $83 million.
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%; Metacritic: 55
T-33. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
58 Points from 4 lists, highest listed by KAKnyght at #10
Special Guest Writer: KAKnyght!
Based on the Disney theme park attraction. Seriously. There was no reason for this movie to be any good. But great casting, an epic scale, a memorable soundtrack and a great sense of humor made Black Pearl one of the best and most re-watchable big adventure movies of the 2000’s. It could be said that Johnny Depp’s performance as Captain Jack Sparrow stole the show, but if he did he really didn’t make anyone else look bad because of it because even minor characters came off interesting and memorable. And while it had some silly moments, like after the big reveal to Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) by Barossa (Geoffrey Rush) and her running into the crew menacingly swabbing the deck, chased by an evil monkey and getting parachuted into the air, all to the beat of an overly melodramatic score, you remember that because it’s based on a frigging amusement park ride, that that level of bombastic whimsy is not only appropriate, but welcome. And not to be taken completely seriously, just enjoyed. Yo ho, yo ho, Steeleclem approved matey, AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
Grossed over $654 million and landed Johnny Depp a Best Actor nom at the Oscars.
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%; Metacritic: 64
32. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
59 Points from 3 lists, highest listed by Kendergardener at #3
Special Guest Writer: Kendergardener!
Little Miss Sunshine is a movie about family. But it’s not a movie about a typical family, or a normal family, or even a happy family. Yet, it manages to be both hilarious and poignant at the same time. You have a father trying to make it, a mother trying to keep it together, a son who has taken a vow of silence, an uncle taken in after a suicide attempt, a grandfather who does drugs, and most importantly, a little girl who is going to a beauty pageant and taking her whole family with her. They are all gloriously dysfunctional, interacting in ways that real families do, with all the sparks, bumps, and frustration that comes along with this. Still, this is a film that will have you walking away smiling, because as trite as the sentiment in, they have each other, and they’re in it together, and somehow that sentiment seems more meaningful and real when it comes from a group who don’t always even like each other, let alone love each other. The writing is deceptively simple, but meaningful, and the acting carries the day, with a superb understated performances from Steve Carell and an uproarious performance from Alan Arkin in particular, but every part of the cast holds their own and contributes something important to this film. I should note that this is a film about the characters. It’s much less about getting to the beauty pageant and much more about how these people cope and interact while they’re getting there. Though not a straight comedy, this movie had me laughing about as much as any released over the past decade, and as I said, it combines these moments of comedies with touching moments that sometimes border on the profound. Overall, it’s a great film that deserves all the accolades it’s received. That’s why I ranked it as the third best film of the past decade.
Grossed just over $100 million, landing Alan Arkin a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, as well as a Best Original Screenplay Oscar, while also being nominated for Best Picture and Abigail Breslin for Best Supporting Actress.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%; Metacritic: 80
31. The Incredibles (2004)
61 Points from 4 lists, highest listed by Skooch at #2
In my opinion, everything that Pixar puts out from now until whenever, will always be compared to The Incredibles. If I give another Pixar movie 5 stars, I want to go back and put an asterisk on my review of The Incredibles to make it just a bit higher. Combining several of my loves (comic books, animation, movies, super heroes) in perfect fashion, to me this a flawless film. It’s got action, comedy, romance, drama, intrigue, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The vocal cast hits all the right notes from the top down. It’s no wonder to me that the film grossed over $631 million, won two of the four Academy Awards it was nominated for (including Best Animated Film, though for me it should have been Best Picture instead of Million Dollar Baby) and is a continuing testament to Pixar’s ability to make timeless treasured classics. Pixar excels at creating animated features that aren’t just for kids without insulting the intelligence of adults or dumbing down the material.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%; Metacritic: 90
Thought Joey's review brought the IQ level of the article down, then I read Kenders.
Yeesh. 7th grade English as a second language students have nothing on him
Finally some movies I've seen though, and Skurch does a below average job as promised.
WELL DONE
Fuckin Donnie Emo and Little Miss Sunshine getting higher than City of God is a god damn travesty.
Little Miss Sunshine was awesome. City of God was so boring I turned it off.
Sunshine was bland.
Punch-Drunk Love: Own it. Excellent film.
Mystic River: Saw it. Good, not great.
City of God: Never seen.
High Fidelity: Saw it. A bit overrated. Still, has some great scenes. Response to the chick getting kind of raped is fucking classic.
Gladiator: Saw it. Seemed decent.
Donnie Darko: Own it. Quite good.
Snatch: Own it. Tremendous.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Saw it. Quite entertaining.
Little Miss Sunshine: Saw it. Meh.
The Incredibles: Saw it. One of the worst pixars.
Punch-Drunk Love: Never seen it
Mystic River: Never seen it
City of God: Never seen it
High Fidelity: Love it. Is on top 25 all time list. Holy Shit moment when Jack Black started singing at the end of the movie.
Gladiator: Pretty good movie, still seems weird that it won Best Picture.
Donnie Darko: Fuck that stupid ass movie.
Snatch: Wonderful movie, becuase of this movie, I always picture Hun and Cheekbone speaking Pikey.
POTC: Never seen any of them.
Little Miss Sunshine: Seen and thought it was alright. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Incredibles: I expect Monsters Iinc., Finding Nemo, and Wall-E to be ahead of this.
Punch Drunk Love: Never seen, heard good things.
Mystic River: Never seen
City of God: Never seen.
High Fidelity: Seen it a long time ago and don't remember much. On my list to re-watch.
The Gladiator: Never seen, although on my list to watch.
Donnie Darko: Never seen, but on my list to wathc.
Snatch: Meh, thought it was overrated.
Pirates of Caribbean: Saw a bit of one on TV and it looked good, but tried the first one and was bored.
Little Miss Sunshine: Never seen.
The Incredibles: Only seen bits and pieces. Didn't seem that great.
I watched Punch Drunk, don't remember much about it, but I do remember being totally underwhelmed by it.
Punch-Drunk Love - Haven't seen it
for liking that and not Mystic River or No County For Old Men. But I had another convoluted mess of a film as my number 3, and I'm sure we won't be seeing it on the list. Maybe other stuff by the same guy, but not that one.
I though about mentioning the box office thing in the writeup cause it only made half of it's budget back on it's release date, which would usually equal box office bomb, but it recovered nicely. The other two movies aren't near as good though I'm sure I'll go see the fourth one whenever it comes out.
Mystic River - You know, I really liked this movie. Up until the end when Penn's wife goes on her rant about him running the town. It seemed so randomly out of place, especially considering should she be grieving over the death of her daughter. No, you could run this town, you should this town! Now maybe she was meaning it in a way like "If you were running this town, this wouldn't have happened", but I don't fucking buy it. The timing pissed me off then, it pisses me off remembering watching it now. Tim Robbins was great in it, and though I normally dislike Sean Penn he was good in it too. But I hated that fucking ending. And if I'd seen the wife on the street after I saw the movie I would've broken a bat over her face, all over less than, what, two minutes? Clint Eastwood is great director, so it's a shame to hate this movie, but I rated a better movie of his high, so it's OK. No offense to those that liked it, it just rubbed me the wrong way, with lemon juice and paper cuts.
City of God - Haven't seen it
High Fidelity - Good movie, might have made my top 50 had I remembered it when I was working up my list, just hadn't seen it in awhile.
Gladiator - My number 5. I'd mostly agree to the "popcorn theater" remark, and I like it for alot of the same reasons I wrote for Black Pearl. But I thought Gladiator had a bit more heart and more of a down to earth feel. I like POTC for the setting and situation, I like Gladiator for the story. And Joaquin Phoenix is fucking awesome in this.
Donnie Darko - Almost made my list. It really is a bit of a convoluted mess, but a compelling one. But then I actually kinda liked Southland Tales. Yes, yes, INSTANT
Snatch - Forget about this one when I made the list, I think I saw this and Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels the same day, and it was very entertaining, especially Brad Pitt. Probably would be in a Top 50.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - I spelled Barbossa right in my writeup, sir. >
Little Miss Sunshine - Haven't seen it.
The Incredibles - Probably the first one on the countdown so far that would've fought for the Top 25 had I remembered it, it was probably one of the best Super Hero movies at the time it came out and it still stands up now.
Punch Drunk Love: Would have been in a top 50.
Mystic River: Always meant to be seeing this.
City of God - On my Netflix queue.
High Fidelity - Can't remember much about it. Will have to watch again.
Gladiator - Not best picture worthy but good.
Donnie Darko - Hate to admit I like it because of all the fuck offs that enjoy it but it's a good movie.
Snatch - Great movie. My write up looks tiny compared to Joey's and KAK's
Curse of the Black Pearl - Good but I wouldn't rate it highly on my bigger list.
Little Miss Sunshine - Seen the end, so I know what happens. Seems too indie.
The Incredibles - Only seen parts. I assume it's good, it's Pixar.
Punch Drunk Love: In my top ten...worst movies of the 00s. I knew it wasn't a "Sandler movie" but still found it terrible and boring. Paul Thomas Anderson is probably my 2nd most hated filmaker, after whoever does those Genre Movies.
Mystic River: Never seen
City of God: Never seen.
High Fidelity: Never seen.
The Gladiator: Good but totally not worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Donnie Darko: Never seen.
Snatch: Never seen.
Pirates of Caribbean: #18. Based on a lame Disney ride it should be awful but Depp totally kicks the shit out of it.
Little Miss Sunshine: Never seen.
The Incredibles: My #23 but not my fav Pixar movie, probably would rank it lower if I watched it again.
Punch-Drunk Love - haven't seen it since it came out on DVD, would probably appreciate it better now, NR
Mystic River - 4.5 / 5, well-made but really have no intention of ever seeing again, NR
City of God - 5 / 5, excellent movie, NR
High Fidelity - 5 / 5, inspiring movie for me, #5
Gladiator - 3 / 5, dismissive wanking motion, NR
Donnie Darko - 3.5 / 5, see above, NR
Snatch - 3.5 / 5, like it better the first time when it was called Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, NR
Pirates of Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl - 5 / 5, very enjoyable well-made and entertaining movie that I view with disdain for the two terrible movies that followed it, NR
Little Miss Sunshine - 5 / 5, excellent in all aspects, #23
The Incredibles - 5* / 5, what I said in the write-up, #2
Punch Drunk Love: I liked this movie. I dunno that I'd put it in my top 30, and it was definitely weird, but worth watching.
High Fidelity: Again, I like it, though probably not enough to put my top list. It gets rather trite in places.
Gladiator: Garbage. Right out of the "I have an on-off switch that's either roaring and angry or quiet and brooding with nothing in between" Russel Crowe school of acting.
Donnie Darko: An interesting film, probably even a good one, but also one that's vastly overrated.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Silly fluff. Harmless, but shouldn't be on this list.
The Incredibles: Never really saw what all the fuss is about for this one, and it was made by a Simpsons guy. Again, not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but nothing to write home about. To rehash an old argument, for all the shit that Cars gets, it's at least as good as this film.
Fuck you and your Cars love.
I wouldn't call it love exactly. I'd say it's good but not a homerun or anything, but everybody just hates on it like crazy and it's at about the same level as most pixar films.
Your comments enrage me.
Punch Drunk Love: Boring as shit. I love Paul Thomas Anderson's entire catalog except for this boring chore of a film.
Mystic River: Good movie, didn't rank it though.
City of God - #6 on my list. Mishmash of stories woven together in the ghettos of Brazil. Highly recommended to all.
High Fidelity - #19 on my list. Every time a girl breaks my heart, my emo routine always includes, among other things, rewatching this film. It just captures so perfectly the mix of anger, betrayal, and most importantly, deep depression and isolation that having your heart broken brings.
Gladiator - Not ranked. Probably gonna have to watch this again.
Donnie Darko - Not ranked. Good movie, although it's become massively overrated. I actually preferred Southland Tales to this.
Snatch - Bought the DVD a while ago but never got around to watching it. Might have to now.
Curse of the Black Pearl - Not ranked. Entertaining popcorn flick that got dragged down by the less-than-steller sequels and Orlando Bloom's "acting". Johnny Depp is terrific though.
Little Miss Sunshine - FUCK THIS INDIE PIECE OF SHIT. FUCK IT UP ITS STUPID ASS.
The Incredibles - Not ranked, I didn't want to list every Pixar movie but I did enjoy this film when I saw it.
Just because you have a tie for 39 doesn't mean this list isn't 31-40.
Aside from that minor nitpick good stuff.
T-39. Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - never seen it
T-39. Mystic River (2003) - rated it #20. Not watched it for a long time though.
T-37. City of God (2002) - never seen it. Really should.
T-37. High Fidelity (2000) - never seen it. Have read the book. It's good but it's no Fever Pitch.
36. Gladiator (2000) - had it shortlisted but didn't make the cut
T-33. Donnie Darko (2001) - I'm sorry but this movie makes no fucking sense. NONE AT ALL. Then I watched the directors cut and I was like 'oh now I get it'. But the screen version... yikes. It's one of those movies insecure people say they like to make them appear smarter than they are.
T-33. Snatch. (2000) - #13 for me, just a very fun action-comedy-crime capering.
T-33. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - I like it but not that much
32. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - sweet movie, well acted, #43
31. The Incredibles (2004) - this is one of the weakest Pixars. I reated three of them and this didn't come close. Although saying you're a weak Pixar still makes you pretty good.
Punch drunk was in my top 5, love that film.
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Some just like incomprehensible gibberish starring the Gylenhaal family.
Wrong. I like it because it's one of the better time travel explanations.
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But not the best.
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That movie didn't explain a damn thing.
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Back To The Future
There's a website I'll link where a scientist analyzes time travel movies.
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Are there pictures of him wearing a labcoat so we know he's a for-realz scientist?
Turns out he was actually a butcher.
He has a degree in thuganomics.
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Is it an advanced degree?
Masters actually.
http://www.mjyoung.net/time/index.htm
As long as it's not basic.
Sorry all, been working all weekend. Will work on the next installment today. If anyone I sent out an email request for the next list is interested in contributing (besides those I already got), send it in by tonight, thanks!
Next one is up tonight.
Hahahaha no.
It was.
Um yes actually it was. In fact you just posted in it.
You fooled me you fucking fooler!