Best Movies of the Decade

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This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on December 28, 2009). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Three lists follow, all yoinked from Slashfilm: first and second, the best-reviewed movies of the decade (10 from Metacritic and 20 from Rotten Tomatoes), third, the IMDb top 25 movies of the decade. For each list, I’ve italicized the films I’ve seen, and bold italicized the films we have in our movie collection at home (in other words, both seen and enjoyed enough to keep). I’ve also tossed in links to searches on my blog to mentions or reviews of the films I’ve seen, when possible.

Metacritic’s Top 10 Best-Reviewed Movies of the Decade

  1. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

  2. Ratatouille (2007) (Cute, but has the usual Pixar problem.)

  3. Spirited Away (2002)

  4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (As with the entire LotR series, TRotK gets quite a few mentions.)

  5. Sideways (2004)

  6. WALL-E (2008) (Once again, the Pixar problem.)

  7. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

  8. There Will Be Blood (2007)

  9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (Many mentions of TFotR have appeared over the years.)

  10. The Queen (2006)

Rotten Tomatoes: Top 20 Best Reviewed Films of the Decade (minimum 100 reviews)

  1. Man On Wire

  2. Up (Cute at times, but on the whole, we didn’t like it.)

  3. The Wrestler

  4. Finding Nemo (My original review stands, but…well, by now, you know what the “but” is.)

  5. The Hurt Locker

  6. Let the Right One In

  7. Spellbound

  8. Chicken Run

  9. Murderball

  10. The Fog of War

  11. Anvil! The Story of Anvil

  12. The Band’s Visit

  13. The Incredibles (I love the film, but…am I beating a dead horse yet?)

  14. Sideways

  15. The Queen

  16. Spirited Away

  17. Once

  18. Capturing the Friedmans

  19. Maria Full of Grace

  20. Winged Migration

IMDb’s Top 25 Movies of the Decade

  1. The Dark Knight (2008)

  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

  3. City of God (2002)

  4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

  5. Avatar (2009)

  6. Memento (2000) (One brief, rambling review from when I fist saw it. Used to own this one, would like to again.)

  7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (Once again, many mentions.)

  8. WALL·E (2008)

  9. Amélie (2001)

  10. The Departed (2006)

  11. The Pianist (2002)

  12. Spirited Away (2001)

  13. The Lives of Others (2006)

  14. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (One very brief blurb.)

  15. Requiem for a Dream (2000) (A brief mention from when I bought the DVD. Don’t have the DVD anymore, but this is another I’d like to have in my collection again.)

  16. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

  17. Up (2009)

  18. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

  19. The Prestige (2006)

  20. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

  21. Downfall (2004)

  22. Gran Torino (2008)

  23. Sin City (2005)

  24. District 9 (2009)

  25. Batman Begins (2005)

I haven’t been keeping up with my movie watching, have I?

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