Movies Of The Decade

Unfortunately, this post is rather disappointing. The 00's, in retrospect, have been lacking in spectacular movies. Compared to the previous decade, the 00's seems to me to be an amalgam of mediocrity, blockbusters that fell short, and the occassional film that would stand out above the others.

Let's compare one man's opinion of some of the great films of the 00's to the great films of the 90's. In this decade, there haven't been many that come close to the best the 1990's produced. So many wonderful films came from the 1990's that it makes the 200's look like a lineup of 'B' movies. For example:

I consider the best five movies of the 1990's to be (in no particular order): Shawshank Redemption, Saving Private Ryan, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and Silence of the Lambs. Choosing this list is nearly impossible and, depending on the person, many of these films could be replaced with other great films of the decade and receive no argument. Consider the films that have been left off this list. Amazing films like Schindler's List, The Matrix, Jurassic Park, Usual Suspects, Se7en and Fargo among others are not on the list. But since this is solely based on opinion, I would have no problem with changing any of the aforementioned films for one of these or a few others.

Now, consider what have been some of the best films of the oo's. Gladiator has to be on the list. I would also include The Departed, but everyone should see the film it based on, Infernal Affairs. It is a Hong Kong crime thriller directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is a wonderful film as well. Personally, I love The 25th Hour. Edward Norton is fantastic and has one of the best monologues I have ever seen on film. There are a few others as well like Lord of the Rings, Almost Famous, The Reader and Revolutionary Road. However, as good as these films are, there is only one film from the 2000's that I would include among the best of the 1990's. That film is Pan's Labyrinth. It is a foreign film, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Visually, the world created by Del Toro is like nothing I have ever seen. It is absolutely amazing. This is the only movie, in my opinion, of the 2000's that deserves to be listed among the best of the 1990's.

Side note-You will notice the omission of two very popular films, Forrest Gump and Slumdog Millionaire. From this point forward, I refuse to acknowledge that these movies are in any way good because I believe both are WAY too overrated. I believe that Forrest Gump is good once, but I don't want to watch it again, and Slumdog Millionaire, well, that movie wasn't even the best movie of the year, much less one of the best of the decade.