Red’s Top 100 Movies of the Decade

Check out Castor’s detailed Top 125 Movies of the Decade if you haven’t done so already!

First off, I would like to say that I thought it was a very good decade for film. Did it live up to the expectations that people had for it based off of the monstrous ’99 campaign? Probably not, but it was still entertaining enough for this guy, even if I have been trying to play catch-up the past three or four years. This decade saw the return of the musical, heavy expansion in the animated section thanks to Pixar’s uncanny ability to release great films after great films, and a closing of the guard between critical favorites and fantasies/”comic-book” flicks.

There are still plenty of movies from this decade, as well as other decades, that I am excited to watch. My queue on Netflix of close to 300 movies supports that statement clearly. But over the past few years, I have certainly caught my fair share of films, and I hope the following list shows that I am entertained by a diversity of films. These are the films that I consider to be personal favorites, and can be watched many times over again. Hopefully this list will help some of you expand your movie repertoire, as well as encourage discussion on the movies that you have seen.

Also, I decided that I wasn’t going to include any movie from 2009 in this list. There just hasn’t been enough time for the movies released last year to settle into their right spots, and it wouldn’t be right for me to try to compare them to the other great movies of the decade. “The Hurt Locker” has gone from the #70-80 range to probably top 30, while a movie like “Moon” has done the exact opposite. Like I said, they need more time to settle.

MovieYearDirector
1. Lord of the Rings trilogy2001-2003Peter Jackson
2. City of God2002Fernando Meirelles
3. Pan's Labyrinth2006Guillermo del Toro
4. History of Violence2005David Cronenberg
5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days2007Cristian Mungiu
6. Mulholland Dr.2001David Lynch
7. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford2007Andrew Dominik
8. The Last Samurai2003Edward Zwick
9. You Can Count On Me2000Kenneth Lonergan
10. Memento2007Christopher Nolan
11. Gone Baby Gone2004Ben Affleck
12. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind2006Michel Gondry
13. Children of Men2006Alfonso Cuarón
14. Beau Travail 2000Claire Denis
15. This is England2006Shane Meadows
16. Dancer in the Dark2000Lars von Trier
17. In the Mood for Love2000Kar Wai Wong
18. The Dark Knight 2008Christopher Nolan
19. Spirited Away2001Hayao Miyazaki
20. Cache2005Michael Haneke
21. There Will Be Blood2007Paul Thomas Anderson
22. Let the Right One In2008Tomas Alfredson
23. Moulin Rouge!2001Baz Luhrmann
24. The Son2002Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
25. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button2008David Fincher
26. Adaptation2002Spike Jonze
27. Kill Bill vol. 22004Quentin Tarantino
28. Amores Perros2000Alejandro González Iñárritu
29. The Life of David Gale2003Alan Parker
30. Mystic2003Clint Eastwood
31. Once2006John Carney
32. Yi Yi2000Edward Yang
33. Batman Begins2005Christopher Nolan
34. Minority Report2002Steven Spielberg
35. Finding Nemo2003Andrew Stanton
37. The New World2005Terrence Malick
38. The Class2008Laurent Cantet
39. Amélie2001Jean-Pierre Jeunet
40. The Lives of Others2006Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
41. Me and You and Everyone We Know 2005Miranda July
42. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon2000Ang Lee
43. No Country for Old Men2007Ethan and Joel Coen
44. The Beat That My Heart Skipped2005Jacques Audiard
45. The Prestige2006Christopher Nolan
46. V for Vendetta2005James McTeigue
47. Diving Bell and the Butterfly2007Julian Schnabel
48. Almost Famous2000Cameron Crowe
49. Lost in Translation2003Sophia Coppola
50. Zodiac2007David Fincher
51. Gladiator2000Ridley Scott
52. In Bruges2008Martin McDonagh
53. Traffic2000Steven Soderbergh
54. Sideways 2004Alexander Payne
55. Last King of Scotland2006Kevin Macdonald
56. Up2009Pete Doctor
57. Juno2007Jason Reitman
58. Mongol2007Sergei Bodrov
59. Letters from Iwo Jima2006Clint Eastwood
60. Wedding Crashers2005David Dobkin
61. Hotel Rwanda2004Terry George
62. Dogville2003Lars von Trier
63. Stranger Than Fiction 2006Marc Forster
64.Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 2004Adam McKay
65. After the Wedding2006Susanne Bier
66. Little Miss Sunshine2006Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
67. Requiem for a Dream2000Darren Aronofsky
68. Donnie Darko2001Richard Kelly
69. Y Tu Mama Tambien2001Alfonso Cuarón
70. Spiderman 22004Sam Raimi
71. The Departed2006Martin Scorsese
72. The Child2006Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
73. In America2004Jim Sheridan
74. The Wrestler2008Darren Aronofsky
75. Zoolander2001Ben Stiller
76. Grizzly Man2005Werner Herzog
77. Talk to Her2002Pedro Almodovar
78. The Squid and the Whale2005Noah Baumbach
79. Sin2005Frank Miller and Robert Rodrigue
80. Crash2004Paul Haggis
81. Bridge to Terebithia2007Gabor Csupo
82. Touching the Void2003Kevin MacDonald
83. Brokeback Mountain2005Ang Lee
84. Sweeney Todd 2007Tim Burton
85. The Bourne Ultimatum(series)2007Paul Greengrass
86. Thank You for Smoking2005Jason Reitman
87. Rachel Getting Married2008Jonathan Demme
88. The Death of Mr Lazarescu2005Cristi Puiu
89. O Brother, Where Art Thou?2000Joel Coen
90. Wall-E2008Andrew Stanton
91. Volver2006Pedro Almodovar
92. The Incredibles2004Brad Bird
93. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring2004Ki-duk Kim
94. The Illusionist2006Neil Burger
95. Far From Heaven 2002Todd Haynes
96. Monsoon Wedding 2002Mira Nair
97. Team America: World Police 2004Trey Parker
98. Junebug2005Phil Morrison
99. Birth2004Jonathan Glazer
100. Thirteen2003Catherine Hardwicke

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12 Comments

  1. rtm says:
    January 18, 2010 at 3:30 PM

    Hi Castor, wow this is an in-depth list, I have to take time to read it more thoroughly. I too have more trouble listing my top ten or even top five movies from last year, but I’m almost done with my Top 25 of the decade, which I find easier to do.

    Btw, it’s post like this that makes your blog awesome, Castor! And your reviews are so fun to read, too! That’s just a few of the reasons why I nominated you for Kreatif Blogger Award: http://wp.me/pxXPC-Pb

    Reply
  2. Castor says:
    January 18, 2010 at 11:24 PM

    Nice top 100 Red. You have definitely seen a lot more foreign and small independent movies than I did but that’s adding a nice list of movies I haven’t seen that I should catch up with.

    I did not enjoy The Assassination of Jesse James as much as you did. I thought it felt a little too slow for its own good.

    Prepare to catch some flak for putting Wedding Crashers ahead of The Departed LOL

    I’m surprised to see Rachel Getting Married that low since you were raving about it so much I forced myself to watch it even though I never intended to.

    And yes… I must question Zoolander lol but to each his own ;)

    Reply
    • Red says:
      January 19, 2010 at 9:46 AM

      Yeah, most people don’t let Jesse James because of how slow it moves. But I feel that for acting required to display the right characterization, the pacing of the movie had to be slowed down consideriably to match it. While Casey Affleck was great, I still say that the role of Jesse James in the movie was quite possibly one of the toughest lead roles for an actor to tackle this decade, and Brad Pitt nailed it.

      As far as Rachel Getting Married goes, I tried to stick close to my best of 2008 list. So all of the movies I had RGM on that list, I’m pretty sure I kept them ranked higher on this. I’ve also seen RGM only once, and I think over time it will fly up my board.

      Reply
  3. Thomas says:
    January 19, 2010 at 12:37 AM

    I’m happy to see Bridge to Terabithia here. Our top ten’s have a lot in common. Good work.

    Reply
    • Red says:
      January 19, 2010 at 9:49 AM

      Thanks! Except for the movies released by Pixar, I thought Terabithia was the best kid’s movie released this decade. Very creative, and Anna Sophia Robb takes her character to another level. I can’t wait for her to tackle some more serious work, even if “Sleepwalking” was a total disaster.

      Oh, and having Zooey never hurts either. :)

      Reply
  4. Heather says:
    January 19, 2010 at 7:33 AM

    Ewwww @ The Departed being so high, but still a very interesting list and unique Top Ten. Kudos for giving The Lord Of The Rings it’s deserved attention.

    Reply
  5. Castor says:
    January 20, 2010 at 10:47 PM

    Put the blunt down and back away from the computer!

    ;)

    Reply
  6. M. Carter @ the Movies says:
    January 26, 2010 at 11:04 AM

    Three movies I am very, very happy to see high on your list: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days,” “City of God” and “You Can Count on Me.” The first is one of the best foreign films I’ve ever seen and one of the most unsettling; ditto that for “City of God,” which reminds me kinda-sorta of a Brazilian “Goodfellas.” Being a big fan of Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo and indie character dramas where nothing much happens, “You Can Count on Me” essentially was my dream movie.

    You’ve made a great list here, and I like the way you include smaller, independent movies as well as blockbuster entries like “Lord of the Rings.”

    Reply
  7. Red says:
    January 26, 2010 at 12:02 PM

    Thanks! Numbers 2-5 really could’ve been in any order, but I’ve been able to watch “City of God” a few more times than “4 Months..”, so it got the #2 spot. I would probably have to say that “4 Months” is quite possibly the best well made movie I have watched. I can’t wait to see what that director comes up with next(I believe he is a part of a collaboration with a few of his fellow Romanian director).

    And I don’t really understand why Mark Ruffalo hasn’t caught on more. He’s almost perfect in everything he’s done so far, especially on the indie circuit. I thought MAYBE he was gonna get some bigger and meatier roles after Zodiac came out, but I digress.

    Reply

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