Best Movies of the Decade

Ranking the ten best movie of the decade is a daunting task, especially if you’re going to actually review movies with a critical eye. So as not to overreach and exceed my actual reviewing capabilities, my list will be based solely on what I like, thought was original, had rewatchability and maybe spoke to me. If I start talking in artsy fartsy terms it would be an insult to you the reader and would ultimately leave a bad taste in my mouth from all the B.S. I would be spewing.
What you have as a result of this criteria is my top 9 movies of the decade. This is not a list you will see anywhere else, least of which is because most critics use round numbers. Well, I’m not a critic. I’m a reluctant adult who was given a forum to spout his stupid ideas.
(Editor’s Note: We concur with David’s assessment of his talent. As a result of this, we don’t edit his blog very well. And by very well, I mean we have a monkey that hits spell check and randomly decides whether to hit change, ignore or add to dictionary. The monkey has been dead for two weeks and there has been no difference. We mourn Jerry the Monkey)
10. Almost Famous (2000)/Sideways (2004) /Adventureland (2009) (tie)
• First of all, these movies did not make my list. They came close, but ultimately fell short because I didn’t feel like I could defend any of these choices. The knock against Almost Famous is that it is too long, Kate Hudson wears on me and I often fall asleep. Sideways didn’t make the list because I’m not familiar enough with it to be sure that I don’t like the idea of the movie better than the movie itself. As for Adventureland, well, it felt weird including a movie that wasn’t top four for the year.
On the plus side, all of these movies reverberate strongly with me. Almost Famous and Adventureland capture my youthful naïveté, desire for adventure and general isolation. Sideways is an exploration of the protagonists in Almost Famous and Adventureland if they never got any breaks and gave in to their lesser demons. I’m terrified that I will become Paul Giamatti in Sideways; an underachiever who is a snob with no reason to be a snob and loves to drunk dial the women who won’t have him.
Ok, they’re all in. I think my soft upbringing and living under No Child Left Behind has biased me against not including everyone. So c’mon boys, you’re all in.
9. Mean Girls (2004)
• You want to talk rewatchability? I once watched this movie twice in a row. I wasn’t the only one either, as my bother and Alex eagerly joined me on the second go around. So not only is this movie timeless, yeah I said timeless, it also crosses the gender gap. Any movie that is written by a woman and is about women deserves major props for appealing to men. It is appealing because it is funny. It is extremely quotable.
Oh, and in terms of its appeal to men, the cast is extremely hot. This is Lindsay Lohan in her prime, and that might even refer to her acting too. The sleeper pick of this movie is Lacey Chabert, who really brings it in the absence of a hot looking Rachel McAdams (let’s be honest, she sucks as a blond). But I digress, except to say that the greatest shame of this movie is how it presents Lizzy Caplan. She plays the dowdy friend, who in reality is super hot. If you watch True Blood you’ll remember her as Jason’s girlfriend that was addicted to V. Remember? Yeah, she was wicked hot.
Back to the movie, which presents a pretty accurate caricature of High Shool life. Tina Fey’s script walks a dangerous line, where it almost becomes a cliché, but ultimately it is refreshing and truthful. I mean let’s be honest, women are catty and guys secretly dig math nerds that look like Lindsay Lohan (uh duh).
8. Anchorman (2004)
• Ever wonder what a big screen adaptation of 30 Rock would look like? Well it would be a speedy joyride filled with inane and secretly high brow jokes. It would be Anchorman. Don’t believe me, well I’m not convinced either, but it makes some sense.
This is not a high concept think piece by any comedic standards. Essentially it is an SNL skit that works really well over 97 minutes. Will Ferrell has created a character in Ron Burgundy who is able to hold our attention throughout the movie, because he has such a strong supporting cast. The supporting cast includes Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in their breakout roles. They represent the strength of this movie, in that you’ve got All-Stars settling for role player roles and executing their parts perfectly. I mean c’mon, Tim Robbins is in this movie!!!! Seth Rogen is credited in this movie as “Eager Cameraman!” And Jerry Stiller played man in bar, in an unaccredited role. This is the LOVE ACTUALLY of comedies.
Anchorman has a high giggle level quotient, just in terms of 70’s lingo and dress, which makes everything better. This movie isn’t pretending to be anything other than funny, and I’m not mad. Frankly, I’m impressed.
7. Dark Knight (2008)
• What you have here is an exciting movie, which is visually stunning and contains one of the greatest performances I’ve ever had the pleasure to see.
The adrenaline rush of this movie is the result of a tight script that never rests on its laurels. From the opening bank heist our perceptions of what is possible in a superhero movie are challenged, as we see that they can be smart and inventive. Maybe it becomes too preachy at points, but that’s what keeps it grounded in comic book lore. To a certain extent we’re supposed to gag at Harvey Dent’s lofty dialogue or Commissioner Gordon’s hard-on for Batman. What makes this tolerable is that the rest of the Dark Knight is unconventional and grim.
It’s the way this vision is conveyed, through the artful hand of Director Christopher Nolan, which ultimately explains why the story is so compelling (I’ll make this part quick). The Gotham he creates feels very real, yet at the same time exudes the dirty underbelly and grandness that only exists in this fictional city. In addition, the sweeping shots that characterize the movie allow you to swallow it all up.
What sets this movie above something like Heat, which it looks similar to stylistically, is the performance of Heath Ledger. I’ve seen this movie probably five times all the way through. On three separate occasions I’ve sat down and just watched the scenes with the Joker. The makeup probably helps, but the way Ledger sinks into that role and becomes the character is transcendent. I for one think he should have been nominated in the Best Actor category, since he carries the movie on his shoulders as the real lead. Other actors might have done good things with this role, in fact I want Joseph Gordon Levitt to take it over, but only he was able to create the awe inspiring villain that made this one of the best movies of the decade.
6. Old School (2003)
• If I told you that Animal House is one of my favorite movies of all time, would you be surprised? Old School represents an adaptation of Animal House, which might not be as funny, but does strike many of the same notes.
This was the breakout movie for Will Ferell and Vince Vaughn, with both actors carving out niches they would recreate for the rest of the decade. Ferell, as the loose cannon who becomes a destructive Atomic-Bomb, is made from the same mold as John Belushi’s “Bluto.” In creating his character, Ferell captures Belushi’s likeability, but offers his catch-phrase laden verbiage instead of Belushi’s facial tics and physical humor. As for Vaughn, he is the 21st century version of Tim Matheson, regardless of what Van Wilder tried to be with Ryan Reynolds. As a reluctant family man who found refuge in a fraternity of misfits, Vaughn created a persona that continued to make me laugh in subsequent films. Director Todd Phillips deserves massive credit for bringing out these two performances in Old School (He also got a great performance from Elisha Cuthbert’s ass and made me not hate Ellen Pompeo for most of the movie).
As for Luke Wilson, he adequately plays the straight man in the movie. Wilson could have made things worse by fighting for laughs, but by not striving for the spotlight he kills it with lines like this gem from the wedding: “True love is hard to find, sometimes you think you have true love and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a goddamn magic show ready to double team your girlfriend...“
This is not some dumb movie that should just be written off as a worthless collection of guy jokes. Exhibit A would be the fact this movie has political strategist James Carville and Exhibit B would be the line “I’m here for the gang bang.”
5. Superbad (2007)
• This movie is perfect because of its combination of realism and escapism (Editor’s Note: Dave is about to go off on an English Lit binge here, please humor him. He has deluded himself into thinking he is smart because he owns glasses). In terms of the former, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill verbalize my own views and experience about sex in High School. In addition, there fear of separation heading into college mirrors my own anxiety about making new friends and testing the bonds of old ones. As far as the escapism, the adventures of McLovin are the realization of every geek’s (me) wildest fantasies about the possibilities they were denied in High School. Add these two plots together and you have a story that is heartwarming (yup, I said that) and laugh out loud hilarious. I doubt any movie will capture my generation’s high school experience better than this movie. It is the Dazed and Confused or American Graffiti for the kids that graduated High School between ’98 and ’09.
As far as rewatchability, Alex argues that this movie gets worse every time. I disagree with that assertion to the point that the movie gains new meaning every time I see it as I distance myself from High School. The out and out jokes aren’t funnier, but I laugh harder when I see our protagonists’ attempts to get alcohol, laid and capture the idea of High School.
My only problem with this movie is the idea that Jonah Hill could ever get with Emma Stone’s character. Sure she was nice, and I remember girls who were hot and cool in High School, but they don’t entertain the idea of a hookup with guys that are uglier and fatter than me, like Jonah Hill.

4. In The Loop (2009)
• I’m not tired of talking about this movie, which made the list for the decade after only one viewing. I’ve decided that the best description of this movie is THE WEST WING on crack with British accents and no lofty sense of duty. Sounds depressing right? Well wakeup, it’s hilarious and it is the world we live in!
I’m not sure who my favorite actor was in this movie, since all the British and no-name American actors killed it. I guess the one thing I found refreshing was the fact that James Gandolfini was able to escape the shadow of Tony Soprano. Gandolfini plays a timid American General who masquerades as a liberal with a conscience, while really just being concerned with his political survival.
And while I’m at it, I want to acknowledge Zach Woods for his portrayal of Chad. Chad is an aide who could climb any ladder and will ultimately be the kind of unworthy bureaucrat with actual power someday. I guess you would characterize that as dark humor. Oh well, we’re all screwed, so why not just sit back and enjoy the documentation of our downfall as we outside the loop get a chance to look in.
(Editor’s Note: Let’s not encourage these “smart” wrap-ups. Dave is already so full of himself that he created a fictitious commenter named Steve to have a conversation with. In fact, Alex is really just a man hooker he pays to watch television with him and introduce him to female hookers)
3. Brick (2005)
• Ever wonder what Sam Spade was like in High School? Well his name was Brendan and before he was played by Humphrey Bogart, Joseph Gordon Levitt captured his aura in Brick. Not much else I can say about this whodunit set in a modern High School in the vein of classic film noir. In fact, I like this movie better than anything from 60 or 70 years ago because it is more accessible. That is the ultimate credit to this film, which is that it captures the best of one era and adapts it seamlessly to this era.
What brings this all together is the dynamic performances littered throughout the movie. This movie features a whole host of cool cucumbers, most notably lead Joseph Gordon Levitt. We learned in Ten Things I Hate About You that he could act, but with Brick we recognized the depth of his ability. Levitt introduces himself to the world as possibly one of the best leading men of the next 40 years.
This movie is just cool. It represents a break from reality, but is a fantasy world that many young people can share. Teenagers want to grow up and become adults, and in Brick they get to do that in a familiar context. The real fantasy is that this movie allows smarts to overcome all odds. It beats brawns. It woos beauty. It ultimately has the last say. As a geek with an imagination I love all of this.
2. The Departed (2006)
• I like a good drama, but specifically I like popcorn drama. These are dramatic adult films with at least some mainstream appeal. It’s a combination of blockbuster and art house, which ultimately leads to the best of both worlds. In this decade that movie was The Departed (in the 90s it was L.A. Confidential).
All of these parts add up to make this a great movie…
1. The combination of Marty and Leo. This team gets together and they make magic. I don’t care what the subject is, they complete each other (and I mean that in a totally gay way).
2. Martin Sheen playing Jeb Bartlet as a cop. If his character had lived, I would have voted for him for president. His death scene makes me cry every time I see it. Oh yeah, spoiler alert.
3. Amazing soundtrack, highlighted by The Dropkick Murphy’s “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.”
4. Vera Farmiga. More accurately, Vera Farmiga in heat.
5. Alec Baldwin’s comic relief. His rants steal every scene he is in. It was a sign of things to come with his career.
6. Matt Damon is the perfect weasel in this movie. We never delude ourselves into feeling compassion for this scumbag, even after he is betrayed. I think that’s a good thing, especially since Damon seems so likeable. ACTING!
7. The crazy twists at the end. (Spoiler Alert) As Grandpa Lombardo puts it, “everybody dies.”

1. 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
• This movie has three things going for it: original and creative story, hilarious one-liners and the appropriate amount of sentimentality.
(Editor’s Note: We of Entertainment Daily wouldn’t begrudge you if this was the last post you ever read. Maybe tomorrow we’ll learn that this was a joke post or that it has been secretly written by a 12 year old boy, and not just someone with the sensibilities and sexual experiences of one)
I still remember when I heard that this story was the plot of a movie. I assumed it would be some Jim Carrey vehicle that would be mildly amusing, with his zany facial expressions and physical humor (I hope he never does another comedy). That movie would have been semi-successful. Thank god it never happened.
Instead, what you get is a story that pulls on your heart strings while taking a baseball bat to your funny bone. This is a combination of Judd Apatow’s writing and the performance of Steve Carell. Carell doesn’t make you feel sorry for his character or make you want to laugh at him, rather you become his champion during the movie. He instills in you the same romantic proclivities that make him such a great guy, while hampering his sex life. All of this is possible because of Apatow’s script, which makes Carell into a real guy and not some strange aberration (aside from that 40 year old virgin thing…). More than the humanity he gives to Carell, is the real world Apatow creates and the real life twists he throws in with the regularity of the obstacles that emerge in life. He masterfully highlights two contrasting worlds, showing us the guy life and the domesticated reality of Catherine Keener’s family. The realization of the different atmospheres is key to the grounding of the movie, in terms of the comedy and the heart.
The one-liners are mostly the product of the hilarious cast, who were given the freedom to do what worked best. The improvisation results in an adlibbed song in Portuguese by Jane Lynch, a series of laughs while Carell gets his chest waxed and allowed us to recognize the evolving bromance between Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen. Besides making us laugh, this improvisation format just added another layer of reality.

So what separates this movie from other creative joke fests, like Starsky and Hutch (deserved a shout out), is that this is a more complete movie. It’s a comedy, yeah, but it’s comedy plus. This is the brand of humor Apatow began exploring with Freaks and Geeks. What you get is Comedy +. The plus represents the human element in this case. I mean you have a gross out comedy with a ridiculous concept, which ultimately deals with real life in a real way. You’ve got adult dating, teenage contraception and the perils of drunk driving (ok, so they make light of that).
Maybe I’m making too much about the movie, and even if I am, it can still rest on the fact that it was funnier than anything else this decade. Except it’s more than a series of laughs and its witty plot. Essentially it is a hilarious coming of age story that was delayed about 20 years ago. That’s funny and touching. That’s the number one movie of the decade.