Top 25 Movies of the Decade (2000-2010)

1. Master and Commander
2. Hero
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Borat
5. Dogtown and Z-Boys
6. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
7. The Hangover
8. There Will Be Blood 
9. Y Tu Mama Tambien
10. The Bourne Ultimatum
11. Million Dollar Baby
12. Almost Famous
13. Avatar (3D/IMAX version) 
14. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
15. 25th Hour
16. No Country for Old Men
17. The Proposition
18. The Wrestler
19. Lost in Translation
20. Old School
21. Inglourious Basterds
22. Brokeback Mountain
23. Superbad
24. City of God
25. Mulholland Drive

Top Ten Explained

1. Master and Commander has everything you want in a movie; action, suspense, drama, intelligent writing (smart dialogue), wonderful cinematography, top-notch acting, and an undefined magical quality. We get a real sense of what it would have been like on board the English ship, HMS surprise, back in the early 1800's, while it advances against its far superior French adversary off the coast of South America. Not one scene is wasted. Arguably Russell Crowe's best. My only regret is that I didn't get to see it in the theater.

2. Hero is pure genius. The way the story taps into Chinese culture/Eastern philosophy and the way it articulates how China became one nation is truly extraordinary. The use of color and music from scene to scene is an aesthetic feast for the eyes and ears. Great drama, great action sequences. Jet Li's masterpiece.

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind blew me away when I first saw it. Directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman, it's an absolute original from start to finish. It gets to the heart of relationships, the good, the bad, the truth about love and loss. At times funny, at times sad, it is everything a story about relationships should be and more. It won best original screenplay and totally deserved it. Great acting by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Simply put: an excellent example of film-making art.

4. Okay, Borat was absolutely ridiculous. But I can't remember ever laughing that much in the theater before, and I wasn't the only one. I've talked to some people who were completely turned off by this movie and I understand why. Yes it's offensive. Yes it's in your face. Some of the scenes are difficult to watch. But imagine: an actor, Sasha Baron Cohen, an English Jew, creates a character, a lanky buffoon anti-Semite from Kazakhstan, goes on a trip to the States in search of his infatuation, Pamela Anderson, and throughout this journey, the character, completely levels and one-ups its citizens who have no idea that this is actually a character; the joke is on them; the film uncovers many underlying truths about America. And if you don't laugh at the naked wrestling scene there's something wrong with you!

5. Dogtown and Z-boys started with a quote: "200 years of American technology has unwittingly created a massive cement playground of unlimited potential. But it was the minds of 11 year olds that could see that potential." – Craig Stecyk, 1975. A documentary about the re-birth of skateboarding by a misfit group of surfers located in the Santa Monica/Venice Beach area of Southern California in the mid 70's. Narrated by Sean Penn, it goes into the particulars of the individuals that helped change the paradigm of the sport; does a great job of commenting on the aesthetic, the feel, and of what would eventually be the seed of modern day boarding (skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing). The film has a visceral quality that makes me want to get on my snowboard and ride a steep run in Whistler. Like right now!

6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly hits you at a gut level. Based on a true story and adapted from a novel, it explores the art of cinematography, helping the viewer get an understanding of "locked-in syndrome", the debilitating syndrome Jean Dominique Bauby, editor of Elle magazine, got in his early 40's after a sudden stroke. There is tenderness about this movie; it's sad, but ultimately it's a celebration of life, love, and our ability to care. More than any other movie on this list, it makes you realize how delicate life really is. A brilliant film.

7. The Hangover is another movie (like Borat) that made me laugh from start to finish. Set in Las Vegas, it is the ultimate comedy, the ultimate 30-something male comedy because, unlike most comedies, it gets to the root of what men are really like (sad, perhaps. But true). Director Todd Phillips, also of Old School (another great comedy of the decade), accomplished the perfect length for a comedy - only 90 minutes long, an hour and a half of pure hilarity. Great casting all around. You get a sense that there was a lot of ad-lib by comedians Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms, the former being virtually unknown before the movie was released. The film moves at a perfect pace and leaves the viewer satisfied with the end result. Plus, you get to see Mike Tyson play air drums. Who doesn't want to see that?

8. There Will Be Blood may be the least accessible and most misunderstood film on this list (save for Mulholland Drive), but it is an excellent film nonetheless. The film is basically an allegory, depicting American capitalism in the early 1900's; personified by the lead character Daniel Plainview we are privy to the main artery of capitalism: the individual's relentless desire to gain wealth and power. Plainview is like a coked-up version of this ultimate capitalist: "I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people". These words roll off Daniel Day Lewis' tongue like venom. Arguably the best acting performance I've ever seen. Destined to be an American classic alongside Citizen Cane.

9. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a completely original film, with original directing techniques and an original screenplay. Two teenaged boys from different social classes following their high school graduation, and in the midst of their sexual discovery, meet an older woman who is dealing with a broken marriage and something else important (though, we don't find out about this right away). They are all joined together on a road adventure throughout Mexico in search of a beach. This movie is much deeper than what is on the surface: underneath it is a political and cultural realization of Mexico, and a celebration of life. The music, the cinematography, the voice-over's, the acting, all great. The film-making is superb. Well worth the trip.

10. The Bourne Ultimatum is simply a kickass action movie. Directed by Paul Greengrass, it's the best in the Bourne trilogy, tweaking the shortcomings of the first two (though I liked them as well). The action is of the highest caliber, mixing various chase scenes, fighting scenes, and interspersing the dialogue and movement in all the right places. There is a likeable character, the unknown assassin, Jason Bourne, played fittingly by Matt Damon, trying to outrun those that created him and we are pulled along for the adventure across the globe. This is better than any James Bond movie I've ever seen. The American James Bond as it were.