Best Movies of the Decade

As the decade winds down, it’s necessary to look back on all ten years to see just what exactly we got out of that jarbled mess we call the film industry. Luckily, there are some pretty good films to choose from that will make the list. Lets get to it.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Although all three Lord of the Rings movies were awesome, it only makes sense that the final film, which also holds the most action and drama, makes the list. If you like watching giant trolls, elves fighting, sword fights, magic and green, magical sword-wielding ghosts, then this is your flick.

Casino Royale

Featuring an updated, more serious and realistic James Bond, this film took the franchise in a much better direction, following the lead of Batman Begins with less b.s. and more butt kicking.

Batman Begins/The Dark Knight

Since both films helped pave the way for the feel of the decade, they both deserve to be here. Director Christopher Nolan, who did Memento, has a lot of gems on his list, but these two take the cake, considering how they not only revitalized a dying franchise, but easily made superhero movies less about comic books and more about real life.

Shrek

It’s not everyday that an animated film both takes a technical leap forward and a mature leap forward. Shrek was the kind of film that both kids and adults could watch and get lots of laughs and moral lessons from without either group becoming bored.

The Departed

Martin Scorsese is a legend. Regardless of how many classics he’s already made, this one easily lands on that list and ours as one of the best. Great performances from Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Leo DiCaprio would be fine but the story itself just keeps spinning you around until it explodes.

Borat

Hilarious, over-the-top, but brilliant in its execution, this film came out of nowhere to surprise audiences with its gross-out humor mixed with societal lessons that made Sacha Baron Cohen a household name.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Winning the best screenplay at the oscars isn’t easy, unless you’re Charlie Kaufman, who’s been nominated before for “Adaptation” and “Being John Malkovich.” Filled with outlandish characters, creative scene transitions and an overall dreamlike quality, this relationship dramedy is as creative as it gets when it comes to how men and women relate to each other.

Star Trek

One of the biggest blockbusters of 2009, this modern-day update is more of a Star Wars/Star Trek hybrid that incorporates big budget special effects with the human qualities that made the original series and its films so relatable.

Avatar

Packed with special effects that are sure to blow your mind, this film has been in the works for such a long time that there were many who doubted it would live up to the hype. But it has, and may very well go on to be the biggest movie of all time, beating out James Cameron’s previous mega-hit, Titanic.

Donnie Darko

Is it a comedy? A horror? A comic book story? A political satire? How about all of the above? This outlandish and creative film about a teenager communicating with an inter-dimensional guy in a rabbit suit really hit the mark and became a cult classic in 2001.