My Top Ten Favorite Movies of the Decade...

WHY THESE MOVIES

For starters, I'm not a fan of animation, though I do appreciate the artistry in every Pixar film. I like performers in my movies, their mere presence brings a level of realness to every film. Also, comedies usually aren't my thing - 9 of the 10 films on here are dramas. And I despise plotless horror flicks. I'm annoyingly picky with what I watch and picking ten movies wasn't easy. In the end, I think I assembled a good list that exemplifies cinema in the 2000s.

My top three are probably my favorite three of all time. If you can, rent and watch these films. You'll be dazzled, shocked, and entertained all at once.

Enjoy.

10. Brick (2005)
Writer/Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emilie de Ravin

I'm a huge fan of the film noir genre, but in recent years the hard-boiled detective stories have seemingly gone extinct. Dead are the classics tales of loneliness and nostalgia such as Out of the Past or The Big Sleep. Even future noir like Blade Runner have vanished from the cinema. But in 2005, director Rian Johnson resuscitated the long dead stylish dramas with an unexpected twist.

In Brick, the story doesn't center around a detective roaming around the city to solve a murder but of a high school student city strolling through the hallways to do the same. What's most surprising about Brick, besides the great performance by star-in-the-making Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is that the change works exceedingly well. Named one of the 50 best high school movies of all time, this little film deserves to be in the 50 ever for the way it captures lonely and despair all while solving a murder. Brick works on many levels and I recommend it to anyone who likes intricate mysteries.

9. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Writer/Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones

This is not your childhood fairy tale; in fact, this proclaimed "parable" actually bears more resemblance to a horror flick than a children's movie. What makes Pan's Labyrinth really work, besides the visionary direction from del Toro, is the mash up of genres that brings forth something utterly unique and frightening. With material undoubtedly original, the audience is never quite sure where the story will take us next. And, boy, what a ride this film is.

With a cast of unknowns, del Toro lets the visuals, based on a mishmash of doodles from his notebooks, tell his tall tale. A truly remarkable and dark fairy tale, Pan's Labyrinth is the best thing to come out of Spain since seafood paella.

8. Borat (2006)
Director: Larry Charles
Written by: Sacha Baron Cohen
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Pamela Anderson

When Borat was first released, I heard what can best be described as mixed reviews. Either Borat was great or it was just plain stupid and disgusting. And I think that's the effect Sacha Baron Cohen hoped for. Obviously, I'm in the camp that thought Borat was a brilliant film that made me laugh until my sides hurt. I find that good comedies are difficult to come by, more so than dramas, but this mockumentary works in many ways, both as a satire of American culture and as a character study. Upon its release, "High five!" and "This suit is black, not" along with a couple other phrases instantly became regularly quoted phrases. Borat, whether you like it or not, was apart of the national consciousness.

As a journalist from Kazakstan learning the American culture, Borat is a singular character feared by several Arab countries for what he represents - a protagonist who is sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic. Despite those characteristics, the true culture being satired is the American way of life. With only four actual actors, the rest of the cast were actually unknowingly filmed by Cohen and his film crew. They reveal the darker side of the "U, S, and A" to a man they dubiously believed. But sometime through Cohen's American bashing, Borat becomes a real character and somebody the audience can relate to. That's why, in my humblest opinion, Borat is the best comedy of the decade, and maybe of all time. Plus, you got to love a movie that got sued a half million times.

7. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Director: Danny Boyle
Written by: Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Dev Patel, Frida Pinto

Wholly unrealistic and utterly out of this world, the story of a poor boy from India with the chance to win a million dollars on a game show and escape poverty is far fetched in any culture. But with Danny Boyle at the helm and inspired performances from a bunch of young actors, especially coming from the younger incarnations of the main characters, this film works both as a modern day fairy tale and as a look into the poverty of India's slums. With influences from Indian cinema, Slumdog Millionaire transcends any type of usual movie going by combining Bollywood style film making with the nuances from the British director, who subsequently won Best Director at the Oscars for his efforts.

In Slumdog, Jamal Malik's (Dev Patel) only goals in life is to be reunited with the love of his life, Latika (Frida Pinto), and live happily ever after. Complicated by several perils, their relationships just isn't meant to be, but Jamal never gives up hope that they are supposed to be together. Knowing that she watches the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Jamal gets on the game show because he knows she's somewhere watching. Playing on classic themes of fairy tales, Slumdog Millionaire may be farfetched, but it is also the most uplifting movie of the decade. Winning the Oscar for Best Picture, Slumdog wholly deserved the award as that year's best flick. An instant classic.

6. Kill Bill Vol. 1 + 2 (2003, 2004)

Writer/Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen

The most ridiculous films of the 2000s is also one of its best. Self-proclaimed film geek Quentin Tarantino shows why he is the most unique director of our age with his best effort since his early work. He once again demonstrates that nobody writes better dialouge than he does, scipting over four hours of fun interactions in the midst of a revenge thriller. Already having made his mark in the 90s with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Tarantino returns with a vengence in the new decade by paying homage to Hong Kong martial arts film, exploitation films, and spaghetti westerns while also bringing a whole new meaning to "here comes the bride".

In the opening sequence, the titular Bill (David Carradine, R.I.P.) shoots the pregnant Bride (Uma Thurman, Tarantino's g0-to gal) in the head, who remains unnamed until the end of the Volume 2. But he didn't kill her. Waking up four years later from a comma, the Bride makes a list of all the people who did her harm and hunts them down, including her former lover, Bill. What proceeds is plenty of head chopping, including an iconic scene where our troubled protagonist faces off against her one-eyed nemesis.

Tarantino chose to break up the film into two parts, being released on separate dates. The films, however, work best as one. While the first carries much of the action, Volume 2 is more of a plot-driven climax, foregoing many head chopping in exchange for dialouge and story. Its debatable which part of the two was better, but it's undeniable that Tarantino remains on top of his game.

5. Catch Me if You Can (2002)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Written by: Jeff Nathanson, based on a novel written by Frank Abagnale

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Amy Adams

Distraught children unhappy about their parents' divorce aren't supposed to run off and become the greatest con man who ever lived. But that's exactly what Frank Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) does in this fun and true story of crime.

Director Steven Spielberg, who dropped out of Big Fish and Memoirs of a Geisha to film this movie, is at his best here, outstandingly depicting the innocent time of the 60s. Check forgery has never been so much fun as it is in this film. Abagnale poses as a PanAm pilot, a doctor, and a Georgia attorney, all before his 19th birthday. The real Frank Abagnale gave the film high praise, despite various changes from what actually happened. He even said that Spielberg was the only director that "could do this film justice".

But what really separates this movie is the unique relationship developed between Abagnale and the man chasing him, Carl Handratty (Tom Hanks). The two somehow bond and form a surprisingly close relationship.

The performances and the direction make Catch Me if You Can one of the best films of the decade.

4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)

Writer/Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan

Not since Star Wars has a film captured our imagination like Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings did earlier this decade. With dazzling visual effects and beautiful shooting locations, the images on screen are stunning. Every shot is like an individual canvas piece painted by Jackson's imagination. This fantasy epic is unrelenting in both its special effects and story. By the final act of the trilogy, the film clocks in at over 9 hours of footage. Though the one complaint about the films is the length, every second is as entertaining and gorgeous as the last.

The story follows the adventures of the film's petit heroes, the Hobbits. Amongst them are the blue-eyed Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and the pudgy Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin). Along with elderly wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan, in a role he was born to play), disgraced Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and several others, they form the Fellowship of the Ring, who's mission it is to destroy the ring and bring peace to Middle-earth.

Each released a year apart, the films get better and better until the final chapter ends the series on a high note. Though long, the films serve as a spectacular festival of what cinema is capable of.

3. Oldboy (2003)

Writer/Director: Chan-wook Park

Starring: Choi Min-sik, Yu Ji-tae Kan, Hye-jeong

Beautiful, operatic, stunning, shocking, those are just some of the adjectives to describe this revenge thriller directed by visionary director Chan-wook Park. Good word of mouth spread news of this film, and sure enough word of this film got to the states. Even the badass motherfucker himself, Samuel L. Jackson, said Oldboy was "the best Asian movie of all time".

Oldboy follows Oh Dae-su as he is trapped in a room for 15 years and than suddenly released one day, just as he was preparing to make his escape. Our hero struggles to unravel the mystery of who locked him in that room for all those years and, more importantly, why. As he discovers, the reasons go far beyond what he could ever imagined.

A shocking look into what one man would do for vengeance ends tragically for our hero. The film climaxes with a bloody showdown with reveals both shocking and disgusting. Oldboy is memorable for both its mindbending finale and the road it took to get there.

This film put Korea in the center of the filmmaking industry and made its director a respected artist of imagery.

2. City of God (2002)

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Written by: Paulo Lins, Braulio Mantovani

Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Fermin0 da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen

Chosen by many as the best film of the decade, City of God ranks high on this list as well. Depicting the slums of Rio de Janeiro in the 70s during the midst of a drug war, the film digs deep into the struggles of growing up where you're lucky to live until you're 20.

The protagonist of the film, Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), is an aspiring photographer. Growing up in the middle of the worse slum in Brazil, City of God, he watches as several hoodlums die, including his brother. Then later, the slum is taken over by the remorseless Lil 'Ze (Leandro Fermino da Hora) and his partner in crime, the friendly Benny (Phellipe Haagensen). Caught between a turf war, Rocket tries to escape but instead ends up being the eyes that witness the corruption feeding the shootouts.

City of God goes where no film has gone before. Children battle alongside the older hoodlums -joyously killing their enemies. There's some hope by the end but the film hints at more wars to come even after the film's events.

A truly remarkable tale, its easy to see why City of God is one of the most celebrated films of all time.

1. Memento (2000)

Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Quite easily the best movie ever made was "filmed backwards". One of the most memorable aspects about my favorite film is that the events are presented in a non-linear fashion, in reverse chronological order. Each scene begins in an unknown space of time and ends right where the previous scene started. We follow our hero, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce, in his best role), as he, along with us, tries to understand the confusion and attempts to solve the mystery of who raped and killed his wife. All of this would be much easier, much less interesting, if not for Leonard's condition, he can't remember any of the clues.

This thriller from the director of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, travels along with our hero as we try, however unsuccessfully, to put the piece together of this complicated mystery.

Leonard suffers from a rare condition where he can't form any new memories, adding difficulty to solving the mystery he has devoted his life to solve. He keeps mementos to remind himself of the clues, but he remains unsure whether someone tampered with them or not. Leonard wouldn't know, he can't remember. By tattoeing the facts about John G., the killer, on his body and writing himself various notes, he keeps himself reminded of what to know and where to go next.

Along for the ride are two Matrix alums as the mysterious Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and the equally mystifying Nathalie (Carrie Anne-Moss). Leonard's not sure whether they're friends, enemies, or the very person he's hunting down, there's no way of telling.

The questions raised in Memento get answered but never in the expected fashion. And as Leonard's confusion grows as does ours. Because of the way Memento is filmed, it allows us to be like Leonard, puzzled but always ready for what's next. The idea in another director's hands doesn't work, but in Christopher Nolan's possession it flourishes. There's no mystery that Memento is the best movie of the 2000s, and that Christopher Nolan is the decade's best director.