Wednesday 30 December 2009

My Top 25 Faves of the Decade


Some people were upset that I didn't rank the films on my Best of the Decade list. So here are my top 25 -- in order. Are these the best? To me they are the best of the best and my personal faves - movies I'm happy to watch again and again, movies that served as cultural or filmmaking reference points or ones that are just fun and great examples of successful moviemaking.

  1. A History of Violence
  2. Almost Famous
  3. Lost in Translation
  4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
  5. Adaptation
  6. High Fidelity
  7. The Devil’s Backbone
  8. Y Tu Mama Tambien
  9. Motorcycle Diaries
  10. Knocked Up
  11. The Royal Tenenbaums
  12. Kill Bill Vol 2
  13. O’ Brother Where Art Thou?
  14. In the Cut
  15. Inland Empire
  16. Cache
  17. Children of Men
  18. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
  19. Ghost Dog
  20. Good Night and Good Luck
  21. In Bruges
  22. Into the Wild
  23. The Pledge
  24. The Squid and the Whale
  25. Wall-E

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Good choices - My verdict is still out but yes on History Of Violence
perhaps not my Number 1 but fine piece of storytelling, film, work in all cases!

E. Amato said...

I think it's been my #1 since I saw it. Waited for something to knock it off the top, but nothing did.

scn said...

Told you I'd show up...officially off work for the long, easy weekend.

So, here are the films I would pluck from the longer list if I had to recommend powerful films to someone with only enough cash for a dozen DVDs:

Bloody Sunday (2002), dir. Paul Greengrass

Cache (2006), dir. Michael Haneke

*City Of God (2002), dir. Fernando Meirelles

In The Mood For Love (2000), dir. Wong Kar-wai

*Inglourious Basterds (2009), dir. Quentin Tarantino

*PTU (2003), dir. Johnnie To

*Sexy Beast (2001), dir. Jonathan Glazer

Sorry, Haters (2006), dir. Jeff Stanzler

The Fog Of War (2003), dir. Errol Morris

*There Will Be Blood (2007), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

Werckmeister Harmonies (2001), dir. Bela Tarr

Zodiac (2007), dir. David Fincher

(* indicates personal favorites)

Let the discussion (and smashing) begin!