Top 100 Films Of The Decade: Intro and 100-91

I originally thought I would start in on this whole list upon seeing 1,000 movies from 2000 through 2009, but I've found that my viewing habits have become focused a bit more on watching older films as well as catching up on films from the current year, so I figured now would be as good a time as any. Besides, since I'm just about 20 films shy of 1,000, it seems unlikely that I'd find something that would crack the top 100 anyway. Especially when I had to leave so many films I really like off this list.

Since I'm linking in friends and family from Facebook who might not be quite as familiar with my tastes in film, I figure I might try to give you a little idea of what to expect here. I've been a bit of a movie dork all of my life, and as a kid, would ride my bike down to the local movie theater at Seminole Mall and see pretty much everything that was playing (those of you who worked at the movie theaters in high school can probably attest to this!)

But with so much time spent watching movies in my teens, I just saw a lot of trends come and go, and every time an interesting film came along, the studios tripped all over themselves to remake that same movie over and over again to see if lightning struck twice (...or more often, three, four, or ten times). For example, remember all the "Tarantino-esque" movies that came along in the wake of Pulp Fiction? Or how about all of the teen horror flicks that came along in the wake of the first Scream revitalizing that genre?. I guess, one part of developing my tastes was born out of that, and I stopped going for the obvious cash-grabbing ploys. And sort of going hand-in-hand with that, I've stopped listening to a lot of the mainstream hype. It seems like each summer, one big special effects extravaganza comes along after the next, and roughly 80% of the time, the people I know who saw that weekend's "event" film would tell me how much it sucked later that night at the bar or at work on Monday. Mostly, it seems like the hype exists to get as many people into the theater opening weekend before word of mouth spreads. This isn't to say all of these films suck, but think about it... for every Dark Knight that comes along, there are a lot more Transformers 2.

While I've learned to avoid a lot of films, I've also learned to seek out the sorts of films that I never had access to growing up... foreign films, documentaries, micro-budget indies and such that simply weren't available at our little AMC or at Blockbuster. This isn't to say that any of those genres are necessarily better. I've seen a lot of terrible foreign films and documentaries too. And while there will be quite a strong number of foreign films on this list, you have to consider just how many different countries there are around the world putting out film, and the U.S. is merely one of them. But don't fret... American filmmaking is more than amply represented here.

So, the 100 films I picked here are all films that made me think, struck a personal connection, lingered in the brain, entertained me in a way that I found smart, felt innovative, or even appalled me to the core in some cases... but all of have managed to stick with me in one way or another. Where available, I've linked to trailers, so you can watch the trailer for most of these films by clicking on the film's title.


100. Fat Girl
(2001) Catherine Breillat - France

This one is one I went back and forth on including honestly. When I first saw it, I found it ballsy, unnerving, and completely unflinching in it's look at sexuality and it's willingness to go to places I never imagined. Yet, with subsequent films by Breillat, I'm starting to think of her as someone whose main purpose is crass shock value, and it has somewhat diminished my appreciation for this film to a certain extent. I know people who love this one to pieces, and I know others who find this film absolutely abhorrent. I understand both sides of the argument. But, I decided to include this one because I think to retroactively dismiss it would be to deny the impact I felt.

This one is about a couple of sisters vacationing with their family and discovering their sexuality as well. The elder sister is young, thin, and conventionally attractive. The younger sister is chubby and plain and doesn't attract the boys. But beyond their physical differences, the sisters also have very different views about romance and sex as well. The ending here is shockingly abrupt, graphic, and disturbing, and I think it's probably the reason most people either love it or hate it. At the time, I loved it for it's boldness. I'm not quite sure where I fall on it now.

99. Sangre de mi Sangre
(2008) Christopher Zalla - USA/Argentina

There've been a few films as of late that have delved into illegal immigration and the immigrant experience, some successful, others less so, but I this is the one that I found to be the most interesting of the bunch, and interestingly enough, one I caught entirely by accident.

This two young men sneaking into the country - one is meet up with the father he never knew when his mother dies, the other a criminal who is fleeing to escape some hoodlums who want him killed. The two become friendly, but their friendship is short lived as the criminal steals the other guy's backpack with everything he had and shows up on the father's doorstep assuming the other's identity. The real son is left to wander New York City alone with no resources. The film follows what becomes of these two boys and both halves of the story are equally compelling.


98. Best In Show
(2000) Christopher Guest - USA

One thing I've come to discover is that my taste in comedy doesn't seem to match up with the majority. There always seems to be one big breakout comedy that comes along each year that breaks box office records and people endlessly quote or become sort of cult classics. But I've watched them, and I simply don't understand. The Hangover, Wedding Crashers, Borat, Napoleon Dynamite... all these films seem to make people laugh, and well, I wish I was in on the joke. I just never found myself laughing or even amused. But Christopher Guest's mockumentaries... THESE make me laugh.

This one follows a bunch of pet-obsessed eccentrics who compete in the dog show circuit and it really sort of spoofs and mocks the whole culture of these little stage parent-like kooks that obsess about their dogs and these contests. And I crack up every time.

97. Werckmeister Harmonies
(2001) Béla Tarr - Hungary

Curiously intriguing would probably be the best way I could describe this one. It's one of those films that's rather ambiguous in nature, but manages to evoke a mood and a feeling like few others I've seen, and it's managed to linger ever. I recall watching this one, and experiencing such a feeling of dread, even though I had no idea what lied ahead or if I was even supposed to be feeling that way. There's just such an odd and ominous air about the film the builds and grows, and mostly through Tarr's use of music and uncomfortably long takes (I recall reading that there were only 33 takes or something like that in the entire two-and-a-half hours). If a largely dialogue-free, black-and-white Hungarian film sounds like it would be a chore to you, than it quite likely will be. But for the few who think that the above sounds interesting, I would encourage you to check it out. Although I couldn't find a trailer with English subtitles, I think this clip does a pretty good job of succinctly giving you a feel for the film.

96. Morvern Callar

(2002) Lynne Ramsay - Scotland

Lynne Ramsay was one of my favorite directors to emerge at the turn of the decade, so it's been disappointing to me that she hasn't made another film since this one, though I recently read that she is teaming up with Tilda Swinton to adapt the novel We Need To Talk About Kevin into a film, which makes me very happy. I find this one a little more difficult to discuss regarding the whole plot, but I find this one fascinating mostly because of the character and the actress who plays her. Samantha Morton stars as the title character, and I believe her to be among the best actresses of her generation (she'll be in quite a few of these films, including another in this segment). I don't think many actresses could have played such a damaged character like Morvern quite so effectively, especially since much of the performance (and the film, by extension) is so internal, and I think that her performance fuses beautifully with Ramsay's style of filmmaking.

95. The Gleaners And I

(2000) Agnès Varda - France

While Varda is probably best known for her films from the French new Wave, such as Cleo From 5 to 7, she's one of those directors whose documentary work I find infinitely more fascinating. In part because I find Varda herself so fascinating. One of the biggest lessons I learned in college was that a fascinating professor could make even the dullest of subjects interesting, and I think that sort of applies here as well. Inspired by a painting of a woman gleaning (or, scavenging) wheat, she set off to make a documentary about people who live off the land scavenging to survive, both in rural and in urban settings. But Varda is very much a part of this film, as she mingles with the subjects she speaks with and scavenges along side of them. And while in her 70's at the time the film was made, she's a complete free spirit and her childlike enthusiasm for what she's doing makes this such an enjoyable watch.

94. The Weather Underground
(2003) Sam Green & Bill Siegel - USA

While this group drew more attention later in the decade, I'd not been familiar with them at the time this film came out, and I found this to be an interesting and well-researched look at the group who despite lofty ideals, imploded in on itself by adopting the wrong tactics to convey their message.

93. Minority Report
(2002) Steven Spielberg - USA

See, I like mainstream stuff too! It's not all artsy-fartsy existential documentaries about Bolivian ox herders and stuff :)

But seriously, I've always appreciated this one quite a bit and find it a bit underrated among the decade's science fiction films, and I find the moral implications of the story interesting. Though I'm no Tom Cruise fan and I think the supporting cast (Max Von Sydow, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton) is much better, he didn't annoy me, so there's that. This one might have come in just outside of the top 100, but I actually happened to catch this one again not too long ago, and found it held up rather well and I found myself reconsidering it for this list.

92. The Devil And Daniel Johnston

(2006) Jeff Feuerzeig - USA

I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a fan of Johnston's music, but I did find this documentary about this man and his career to be a rather amazing look at mental illness. I can't say I knew much about the man beforehand, though I'd heard of him and was aware that he had a small but devoted cult following, I was unaware of the man's battle with severe bipolar disorder that has both shaped his work and undermined any hopes for success he would ever have.

91. The Virgin Suicides
(2000) Sofia Coppola - USA

Back when this came out, I saw the trailer, and I didn't recall thinking too much of it (I think it had somewhat of a teeny bopper chick-literature appeal), but I caught it later on DVD and was interested to find it had more depth than I imagined it to have. The story focuses more on the group of young boys in the film who now, 25 years later, are recalling the events that occurred one summer when the Lisbon sisters - the object of all the boys affections - offed themselves, and the memory that lingers for them all these years later. Coppola gives the film a very moody, mysterious aura and manages to imbue the whole film with a very distinct feeling of time and place that makes this film work so well. I was happy that my preconceived notions were wrong.

90-81 will be up soon...

Top 100 Films Of The Decade: 90-81

90. Burn After Reading
(2008) Joel and Ethan Coen - USA

In conversation, I've discovered that this falls into that "love it or hate it" category that so many Coen Brothers films seem to fall into. Quite obviously, I'm on the "loved it" side of that debate. I don't think Brad Pitt or Frances McDormand have ever been funnier or more endearing, and while it may be a screwball comedy that doesn't add up to much, it's one hell of an entertaining ride.

89. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
(2006) Cristi Puiu - Romania

This one's a bit more difficult to pigeonhole... a darkly comedic tragedy, perhaps? Anyway, this tale of a dying man being shuffled from hospital to hospital all over Bucharest is among the best of a great crop of films coming out of Romania these days.

88. Zombieland

(2009) Ruben Fleischer - USA

For whatever reason, I have a strange affection for zombie films, and seeing this in a crowded theater certainly added to that experience (it doesn't fare quite as well at home for me). It provided me with one of the most flat out entertaining theater-going experiences of the past year. And although Woody Harrellson earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Messenger I actually prefer his performance in this one, as the wisecracking Tallahassee, who gave the movie some of it's best laughs, along with the surprise celebrity cameo (which I won't ruin for you).

87. Gomorrah

(2008) Matteo Garrone - Italy

Five different stories interweave in this film with one common bond: The Camorra, a Naples-based crime syndicate that controls the city and whose tentacles extend far beyond just the seedy criminal underworld. The stories are based on an exposé done by Roberto Saviano, who now lives under 24-hour government protection because of what he managed to expose about the Camorra's operations. If you're fond of films like The Godfather series or Scarface (which serves as the inspiration for the two young wanna-be gangsters at the center of one story), you may want to give this one a go.

86. The Magdalene Sisters

(2003) Peter Mullan - Ireland

The Magdalene Laundries in Ireland were a place where "wayward" girls were sent for punishment, forced to work mercilessly while enduring cruel abuse at the hands of the nuns that headed the laundries. This is the story of one group of girls sent to live there back in the 1960's, many of whom found themselves there for wrongs that would even be considered slight by 60's standards. I don't much care for the trailer (Miramax went through a period where they had to make all of their films look like "triumphs of the human spirit," and this is one example). It's a lot grittier than the trailer suggests.

85. Half Nelson

(2006) Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden - USA

As a devoted educator and teen basketball coach by day and a crack addict by night, Ryan Gosling deservingly garnered an Oscar nomination for his performance in this one. Matching him every step of the way was young Shareeka Epps, as a street smart young girl finding herself at a crossroads - she's clearly capable of so much more than what her surroundings offer her, yet in danger of becoming another statistic of those surroundings. An incredibly smart and insightful character study.

84. Together

(2001) Lukas Moodysson - Sweden

Set in the mid-70's, the story starts off with a young mother of two leaves her alcoholic abusive husband and takes her two kids with her to go and live with her brother, who lives in a hippie commune with a group of friends. And what follows is a film about a lot of things, really.

But, what I most took away from this film was how human each character is made to feel. The group of hippies might constantly espouse ideals that they don't always live up to; the concept of "free love" isn't without unintended consequences; the characters who might seem unfathomable aren't portrayed as saints, but aren't beyond redemption either. And what I think most impressed me about Moodysson's first two films (1998's Show Me Love being the other) was that he has a remarkable knack for depicting children. While I felt that there were a lot of great storylines here, the one that strikes the most resonant chord was that of the little girl forced to move in with this commune of people she doesn't understand and her blossoming friendship with the chubby kid from across the street whose ultra-conservative parents despise everything the commune represents.

83. Cocaine Cowboys

(2006) Billy Corben - USA

I've found that some of my favorite documentaries from the past decade aren't necessarily the most well-made films in the world in terms of filmmaking gifts, but the stories they tell are so compelling that I'm more than willing to overlook some of their shortcomings, and this would certainly be one of them. Cocaine Cowboys takes an uncompromising look at the cocaine trade that exploded in Miami in the 70s and 80s and the gruesome violence that came along with it. Some of the reenactments they use are kind of corny, but the stories presented were compelling enough to inspire a number of films and television shows, like Scarface and Miami Vice. Cocaine Cowboys takes a long hard look at the true stories of what went on, and it's horrifying but completely compelling.

82. Sideways

(2004) Alexander Payne - USA

I have to admit that my reaction to this one wasn't one of immediate adoration. Upon first viewing, it was one of those cases where the hype that built during limited release elevated my expectations to unrealistic levels, so I left a little disappointed. Thankfully, I gave it a second chance down the road, and I think it helped me revel in the nuances that I was unable to when burdened with lofty expectations. I found so many relatable characteristics in each of the four main characters, and I found Virginia Madsen's dialogue with Paul Giamatti in the scene paralleling wine with life to be one of the more sly and fascinating insights on life articulated on screen during the past decade.

81. The Aura

(2006) Fabián Belinsky - Argentina

Belinsky only got a chance to make two films before his untimely death, and both of them are worth the watch. While Nine Queens got a little more ink upon its release, I prefer his later film. The story centers on an epileptic whose otherwise a relatively simple, normal man, but he often fantasizes about pulling off heists. He has no intention of actually carrying them out, but simply enjoys thinking about the various angles and formulating the plans. However, an ill-fated camping trip sets off a chain of events that lands him right in the middle of a heist in the works. While there are a lot of coincidences you need to suspend belief for, somehow Belinsky makes it all work.

80-71 coming this weekend...

Top 100 Films Of The Decade: 80-71

80. Katyn
(2009) Andrzej Wajda - Poland

Andrzej Wajda’s epic tale surrounding the massacre of 20,000 Poles in the Katyn Forest was one of the nominations they got right in the 2007 foreign film race at the Oscars. While it seems to have come and gone on these shores during 2009 with little notice, it’s an incredible tale, looking at the everything that led to the massacre and what was left in its wake. Wajda makes some smart moves in letting the tale unfold and I found it to be one of the more interesting epics of the past few years by focusing less on the war itself and more on it’s aftermath.


79. Jesus' Son
(2000) Alison Maclean - USA

This is a strange little film, but one that managed to stick with me over the course of the decade. It's based on a compilation of short stories written by Denis Johnson that follows a character referred to only as Fuckhead (or "FH" for polite company) as he hits the ups and downs of heroin addiction and recovery. It has sort of a strange beatnik quality about the whole thing, and it's a bit rough around the edges. But somehow, it managed to get lodged in the brain and hasn't left since.



78. Ratatouille
(2007) Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava - USA

While many folks I know love the crap out of the Pixar movies, I don't really have the same enthusiasm (I thought Wall-E and The Incredibles were also really good. Up and Finding Nemo, not so much). Even though it might just be the foodie in me saying this, I did really like this one a lot. The animation was perfect (not to mention how difficult it would be to make Paris look bad), and I just found myself wrapped up in this one just like I was a kid again.

77. Battle Royale

(2001) Kinji Fukasaku - Japan

This is probably better described as a guilty pleasure than a "great" film, but damn if it isn't a lot of fun. Set in the not-too-distant future, a class of Japanese students take a class trip where they discover that they've been selected for a special competition. One where they have three days to kill off the rest of their classmates until there is one student left standing.

76. Brokeback Mountain

(2005) Ang Lee - USA

I don't think I need to give you much of a synopsis with this one since it was a pretty big touchstone of pop culture, and I think it will always be looked upon as such. Although I may not hold it in quite the same esteem as many do, I still think it's a damn fine movie with great performances from Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams (who'd have thunk the girl from "Dawson's Creek" would emerge as one of the most interesting actresses of the latter half of the decade?), beautiful cinematography, and a really solid story.

75. The Strangers

(2008) Bryan Bertino - USA

While this decade saw the birth of "torture porn" where anything and everything went, I much prefer a film like this, which is a lot more like a throwback to the horror films I grew up with. A pretty simple story really, but one executed quite well and with surprisingly good performances (and a pretty great one from Liv Tyler of all people... go figure!) I think as far as this genre is concerned, less is usually more.

74. Offside

(2007) Jafar Panahi - Iran

Since women are forbidden from attending sporting events in Iran, a group of young girls who want to see the game dress up like boys and sneak in. While it's implied that many did get through, this one focuses on the girls who didn't, detained and held within a tiny area within the stadium. It's a small film that makes as big of a political statement as one could possibly hope to make under such a strict regime. Sadly, Jafar Panahi, who has been a pretty outspoken detractor of the Iranian government and their policies, was arrested along with his family and houseguests earlier this month amid a sweeping crackdown of the opposition, and few details have emerged since. I hope he is still alive and will someday be able to make some additional contributions to world cinema.

73. The New World

(2005) Terrence Malick - USA

I put this one off for a few years... I think it was because of Malick's dreadfully dull previous film, The Thin Red Line. It's a shame that I waited as long as I did to finally sit down and watch it, but I'm glad I did. It's a great retelling of the tale of John Smith and Pocahontas and hands down one of the most beautifully shot films of the decade. The pacing may be a bit slow, but it never bothered me and it's a shame that Q'orianka Kilcher hasn't graced the screen since. She was quite a find and carried the film on her shoulders admirably for her first film.

72. Volver

(2006) Pedro Almodóvar - Spain

Almodóvar's films are always somewhat of an event for me, especially with his last five films. He's become a master at jumping from one genre to the next and even blending multiple genres into a great experience, and Volver is certainly no exception. There is a very fine line between saying too much or too little about this one, so I'll err on the side of vagueness, but it's a partly tragic/partly comic tale about two sisters who are revisited by their long dead mother who returns to fix the things she couldn't necessarily do the first time around.

71. Inglourious Basterds

(2009) Quentin Tarantino - USA

Leave it to old Quentin to make WWII exciting to watch on screen again. Not to sound callous about such a hugely tragic event, but I don't think any historical event has generated more films than WWII and the Holocaust, and I'm progressively finding that it's getting more and more difficult to find something new to say about it. So, in that regard alone I found Tarantino's revisionist take on the war pretty refreshing. But even beyond that, Tarantino brings his usual verve to the film, making a nearly two and a half hour film go by in a flash, and I loved that he used he was able to bring a little more exposure to some consistently reliable foreign actors like Daniel Brühl while introducing me to a few like Christoph Waltz and Mélanie Laurent. And if I'm being totally honest, I kind of love the fact that he was able to lure a lot of people into the theater who wouldn't ordinarily give a subtitled film a chance.

Top 100 Films Of The Decade: 70-61

70. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(2005) Shane Black - USA

One of the decade's most overlooked comedies. This one tanked hard when it opened and it was in and out of theaters very quickly, so it never quite found an audience. A shame, because it's quite a bit funnier than what passes as comedy these days. Written and directed by the same guy who wrote Lethal Weapon, Black kind of toys with all of the cliches he created 20 years earlier. Robert Downey, Jr.'s bumbling idiot con man and Val Kilmer's wisecracking gay detective made for one of the best comedic teams this decade.


69. Dogville
(2003) Lars Von Trier - Denmark

For the uninitiated, I would have to say that Von Trier's works are not the easiest to get into but they're certainly ones that you won't walk away from with a feeling of indifference. He's very much a provocateur in every sense and his films can be nihilistic (as an aside, if you've not seen The Onion spoofing his works, it's an absolute must see) but I find them pretty fascinating, at least in most cases. In Dogville, he assembles a stellar cast including Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Patricia Clarkson and this one plays unlike any other film I'd seen before. The best way to describe it is that it looks like watching the dress rehearsal to a stage production, with chalk outlines on the floor taking the place of structures. It's an absolutely uncompromising film, and while I think I think he's made his points a little more effectively in the past, his condemnation on xenophobia here is quite compelling.

68. Memento
(2001) Christopher Nolan - USA

Earlier this decade, I might've told you that this one would go down as one of the decade's classics. While I still think it's a well made and inventive thriller, it hasn't held up quite as well as I thought it might. But, I think that once you move past the timeplay gimmick, there is a pretty interesting revenge thriller underneath it all.


67. You Can Count On Me
(2000) Kenneth Lonergan - USA

At the outset, we learn that two siblings are orphaned at an early age, but we get to know them as adults. The brother, played by Mark Ruffalo in his breakthrough performance, comes home to stay with the sister, Laura Linney in the role that singlehandedly reversed my opinion of her as an actress. They're both screwups in their own ways... he's been in and out of trouble his whole life while she's a single mother who puts on the facade of having things figured out, but isn't any better. It's a fascinating take on sibling relationships that has some interesting insights.

66. Juno
(2007) Jason Reitman - USA

While I'm aware that this one elicited just as many groans from people over the too-snappy dialogue and it's annoying soundtrack (on that point, I'll agree), I still think this movie happens to be funny as hell and filled with a lot of great moments. Sure, it may have a "trying-too-hard" feel about it for the first 20 minutes or so, but I think once it finds its groove, it's pretty great and has just the right amount of heart.

65. Tell No One
(2008) Guillaume Canet - France

A couple are attacked at their isolated vacation home, leaving him severely injured and her dead. Though he cleared his name in the matter, the police have their suspicions, especially when eight years later, two more bodies are discovered on the property. Meanwhile, he begins to receive e-mails from an unknown sender showing clips of what appears to be his wife... still alive. It's a pretty great thriller filled with twists and turns and it's one of those films that hooks you in pretty easily and never gets dull.

64. The White Ribbon
(2009) Michael Haneke - Germany

Along with Von Trier, who I discussed earlier, Haneke is another of modern cinema's great provocateurs, but I think his films manage to provoke in a different way. He's a little less "in your face" and takes a bit more of a cerebral approach. He seems to love nothing more than to toy with his audience and not give you the easy answers that you've come to expect from most films. Instead of hand delivering you quick resolutions, he's much more content to let you come up with those on your own and allow you to walk away interpreting the film in your own way and that might be entirely different from what the person next to you thought. And while that seems to be maddening to many, it's precisely what I love about Haneke.

This one takes place in a small German village just before the first world war, and strange things are afoot. Misdeeds committed against neighbors and we don't know who and we don't know why. A lot of carrots get dangled in your face, but just far enough out of reach to not grasp them immediately. For my fellow Tampa residents, this one is playing over at the Tampa Theater as we speak, so if you want a break from the norm and want a film that you could sit down and discuss with an intelligent friend afterward, this should be a priority.

63. Oasis

(2004) Chang-dong Lee - South Korea

Probably the most unconventional romantic relationship of the decade plays out here between a complete social misfit and a woman stricken with cerebral palsy. He's a complete mess, but takes a shine to her... maybe it's because she's a fellow outcast or his only option, but it seems horrifying at first and then in time becomes completely endearing. And mostly because of the high-wire act that Moon So-ri pulls off here. Until the fantasy sequences begin, you would have no idea that the actress in the role is not afflicted with the condition. She plays it so authentically it's almost scary.

62. The Descent
(2006) Neil Marshall - UK

Horror is a genre I totally grew up on and love, but it just seems to be a genre that nowadays doesn't really get it right for me, outside of a few instances, and this would be one of those instances that did get it right. It's about a group of women who are adventure sport enthusiasts who decide to take a spelunking trip. And right off the bat, I should tell you that if you have even the slightest claustrophobia, it's only going to heighten the terror for you. They get caved in and are desperate to find a way out. Soon enough though, they realize that their fear isn't so much that they are trapped in, but what they are trapped in with.

61. Elegy
(2008) Isabel Coixet - USA/Spain

There's so much I love about this film. First off, to take a novel from an author (Phillip Roth) who is most often associated with misogyny and make it seem like a more balanced take takes a special gift, but she could never pull it off without coaxing some great performances out of her main characters. Under Coixet's direction, Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, and Patricia Clarkson all gave their finest performances of the decade here in a tale about a womanizing college professor who goes after his young female students for a quick bang until he meets Consuela, a Cuban grad student who invokes feelings he never bothered to feel before. It's a very smart film about commitment and accepting it or running away from it.

Top 100 Films Of The Decade: 60-51

60. Lorna's Silence
(2009) Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardenne - Belgium

This is one of those films that I wish had actually been longer. Not because I thought it was missing anything, per se. It's just that I could have easily spent another hour with this story. It's about an Armenian immigrant who marries a junkie for Belgian citizenship, with everyone suspecting that he'll probably just overdose and the marriage will simply be a quick formality. But when Lorna begins to find herself caring enough to try and help her husband get off heroin, it throws the carefully laid plans, and Lorna's well-being, in jeopardy.

59. Shortbus
(2006) John Cameron Mitchell - USA

I wouldn't hesitate to call this the most sexually explicit film to get any sort of release this past decade, with pretty much everything you could imagine depicted on screen, I found this one took an interesting approach; it pretty much inundates you with sex right off the bat in a way to address the taboo and move past it so that it can address the entanglements of sex and relationships without it overwhelming the stories that unfold. May be a bit extreme for most tastes, but I found it to be a bittersweet look at sex, love, and relationships.

58. Il Divo
(2009) Paolo Sorrentino - Italy

It’s rare, but every so often, I’ll sit down and watch a movie and just know instantly that I’m in for a treat of a film. This is how I felt when I popped Il Divo in and those opening credits rolled with such energy to a kickass soundtrack, and I just knew I was going to adore the film. Toni Servillo is excellent as Giullio Andreotti and along with 2008’s Gomorrah (also starring Servillo), they make excellent companion pieces showing a darker side of Italy’s past and present.


57. XXY
(2008) Lucia Puenzo - Argentina

Alex was born as a hermaphrodite, and while her parents opted to raise her as a girl, they never surgically altered her, as they felt it would be better to let Alex make that decision when she gets old enough to make that decision. As a young teenager now, she is grappling with those decisions, while going through all of the identity crises and growing pains that most kids endure during that tumultuous time in their lives. I thought this was a pretty interesting, mature, and sincere story about a topic that is typically played for laughs and just one of many interesting films to come out of Argentina over the past decade.

56. Brick

(2006) Rian Johnson - USA

This one feels like watching an old 50's film noir but places it into modern day among a group of high school students, and makes it all feel fresh again. The characters speak their own vernacular and the tale twists and turns in a fun and involving way. In the private eye role, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (probably best known as the little kid from Third Rock From The Sun) is fantastic and it's one of several movies he's chosen that shows that he has great promise as an actor.

55. The Son

(2003) Jean-Luc & Pierre Dardenne - Belgium

I found this to be a rather intriguing film and mostly because you don't know exactly what's going on for most of the film, and for that reason, you're not going to get a word out of me concerning the plot. But the way the film unfolds makes it one of the most tense films I can recall seeing in ages and keeps you completely glued to the screen.

54. Time of the Wolf

(2004) Michael Haneke - France

While Haneke's films often provoke discussion, this one seems to have gone under the radar for the most part. Not sure whether it's just been underseen or not as well regarded, but I think his post-apocalyptic tale is an exceptional film that should be considered among his better works. Starring the always reliable Isabelle Huppert, this one focuses on a family thrust into survival mode after the world around them suddenly goes to hell.

53 Ghost World

(2001) Terry Zwigoff - USA

I love a good smartass, and Enid and Rebecca (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson) are two of the decade's best, whether ridiculing their oblivious classmates or the odd assortment of goofballs that they see at their local diner. It's smart, snarky and snarly, and I love the hell out of it.

52. Almost Famous

(2000) Cameron Crowe - USA

It's kind of fitting that this semiautobiographical tale about the young protagonist's adventures on the road and the first love that ensues was the first film that I loved out of the decade. Not perfect, but I enjoyed the ride immensely and the entire ensemble is aces here, especially Frances McDormand as the neurotic mother. And man oh man, how I wish Kate Hudson would have followed up the promise of this role with something interesting instead of becoming the queen of dipshit romantic comedies.

51. A Very Long Engagement
(2004) Jean-Pierre Jeunet - France

A young couple set to be married are interrupted when he gets sent off to the trenches of World War I and doesn't return. Although he is believed to have perished in the war, she sets off to find him, or at least to find out what happened to him, tracking down the men who served on the front lines with him. She learns that he became trapped in the no man's land between the French and German trenches, but from there, the accounts of what became of him vary. However, her quest to learn the truth runs into problems when it turns out that she isn't the only one seeing out his fellow soldiers. Someone else is also seeking them out, but with very different intentions in mind. Jeunet's films always have a distinct look to them, but his look has never seemed quite as stunning as it appears here.

Coming soon... the top 50!