Best Films of the Decade

I'm getting a little lazy, I suppose, but the prospect of writing out 50 reviews for what I feel are the 50 best films of the decade is a bit daunting. The large task has deterred me from working on the list further, so I'm just going to have to simplify it. I won't be writing full essays for each film on the list, but I will continue to do so for some of them. It's also worth mentioning that I have not completed the final list as I am waiting to see a few 2009 films before I can feel comfortable wrapping it up. I will, however, start with 50-45 right now.

50. THE DESCENT (see previous post)

49. 28 DAYS LATER (see previous post)

48. SHAUN OF THE DEAD - Directed by Edgar Wright (2004)


SHAUN OF THE DEAD reflects zombie-film culture with a lot of class. You could call it a parody, but it doesn't deride the genre, it actually takes the subject quite seriously while providing a lot of laughs. This film allowed for the emergence of acting talent Simon Pegg and now much-demanded director, Edgar Wright, who also worked together on the only-slightly inferior HOT FUZZ.

Awards: Winner - Saturn Award for Best Horror, Winner - Empire Award for Best British Film, currently on IMDB Top 250 list, 91% on Rotten Tomatoes

47. AMERICAN PSYCHO - Directed by Mary Harron (2000)

I'm not going to add a trailer for AMERICAN PSYCHO because the ones I have found don't really capture the film as it truly is. I remember not paying attention very well during my first viewing of this film and not caring for it all that much. My second viewing was much different. Patrick Bateman's final revelation really makes this film and changes it from being about a sick serial-killer into a commentary on superficiality and excess. AMERICAN PSYCHO stars Christian Bale is one of his best performances.

Awards: Winner - International Horror Guild for Best Picture, Nominated - Empire Award for Best British Actor (Bale), AV Club - Top 50

46. CAPOTE - Directed by Bennett Miller (2005



CAPOTE is beautifully shot and acted. The film is actually less about the man himself, but more about his experiences while writing "In Cold Blood", but arguably, we learn more about him from this experience than we would from watching a bio-pic. His relationship with Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) is both fascinating and disturbing. The film doesn't paint Truman Capote as a great human being, instead it shows him at a time when he's encountered with something very alien to him with which he struggles.

Awards: Winner - Academy Award/BAFTA/Golden Globe for Best Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Nominated - Academy Award for Best Directing (Miller), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Picture, 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

45. AMORES PERROS - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (2000)



I don't even know what I can say about this film. I rented AMORES PERROS on a whim in high school and I saw it again in a class on Mexican and Cuban filmmakers. I was equally amazed by both viewings. This film is intense, vibrant, violent, and heartbreaking. The three interconnected stories each offer something different, but are all equally well-crafted.

Awards: Winner - Cannes Film Festival Critics Week Grand Prize, Winner - BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film, Nominated - Golden Globes/Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Currently on IMDB Top 250 list, 92% on Rotten Tomatoes