The Top Ten Movies of the Decade: 2000s

Jeff brought the idea to me on New Years Eve. In the world of lists and rankings and debate, it seemed fitting to do some sort of grand list of the decade for the blog. Top 10 Movies became the clear and obvious choice almost instantly.
“We could do that and sound like we know what we are talking about,” Jeff and I thought. Right then he pulled out his rough on the go list of his top ten movies of the decade and I decided to rack off my own. After careful time and research and coming to the realization that we hadn’t seen nearly enough films to make a valid and impartial list, each person crafted their own, confident that it represented their best films of the decade.

Jeff’s younger brother Brian, another movie buff and winner of the 2008 Academy Awards Taco Bell Pool, contributed to the challenge and bestowed his own list. So we bring you three opinions of the Top 10 Movies of the Decade: 2000s, including 5 honorable mentions. Because come on, there are some movies you just have to mention

Feel free to share your thoughts on the lists. We want to know. What movies did we drop the ball on and not include. What did you like, what did you not like? Anyway here they are. Also pay attention to the following health warming: Do not read all at once, your eyes might fall out.


Jake Rainwater’s Top Movies of the Decade

Honorable Mentions

Boiler Room (Ben Younger, 2000) – A little gem that not everyone might be familiar with. A fast paced more modern Wall Street; the entire cast delivers through all of it. Everyone is a stand out in one of the coolest movies that came out at the beginning of the decade when the economy was doing a little better.

Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008)

I had originally chosen Mystic River but I decided to go with the better Sean Penn performance. And that is saying a lot. Milk is a triumph and a story as inspiring as ever features Sean Penn’s best performance of his career as Harvey Milk. Penn received his 2nd Academy Award for Best Actor, which I though he deserved over a well merited, and extremely touching performance from Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. One of the best biopic films I have seen. Milk features a great ensemble cast with a stand out performance from Josh Brolin

Up (Pete Docter, 2009)

Pixar seems to outdo itself every year. They can’t seem to make a bad movie. I could of chosen a lot of their films but I wanted to limit myself to one, and my favorite would be Up just edging Ratatouille. The first 5 minutes…movie making at its finest. A wonderful story that is more heart touching than anything Pixar has ever achieved.

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

I saw Miyazaki’s film Ponyo in 2009 and was very impressed. The second the credits rolled, I was dying to watch Spirited Away (I was also cringing from the Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas “rap” at the end of it.) Miyazaki takes the viewer on a magical journey into another world. A coming of age story of sorts, Miyazaki is a master storyteller and this is his crown jewel. Spirited Away features a fantastic soundtrack to go along with the visually stunning animation.

City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002) –

It kills me not to put this in the top 10. A one of a kind view of Rio’s favela’s and the struggle to grow up between poverty, police, violence and drugs. One of the coolest movies you will ever see. Meirelles captures the culture of violence and drugs perfectly.

Ok Countdown Time!

10. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)

I do not understand how this movie was ignored by the Academy. Clint Eastwood gets older and yet holds onto what makes him such a legend of cinema. Here he does double duty and shines as the disgruntled Korean War Veteran Walt Kowalski. Gran Torino is very powerful and intense at times while hilarious at others. Eastwood is phenomenal and carries the movie in every scene he is in with every line he delivers. The ending was perfect and who wasn’t shaken by Eastwood’s final confession. There is a message here in all the “f bombs” and racial slurs dropped by Kowalski but we can still laugh which makes this movie such a stand out. And we even get to hear Eastwood sing.

Bonus: Rules to the Gran Torino Party
-Dress like Clint Eastwood or the Hmong gangsters
-Use racial slurs like slopes, swamp rats and zipperheads throughout the party
-Only drink Pabst’s
-Listen to Asian gangster music and the song Clint Eastwood sings

9. Remember the Titans (Boaz Yakin, 2000)

I have seen this movie enough times to quote almost every line. Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances (my personal favorite) as Coach Herman Boone. The film is based on the true story of the T.C. Williams High School football team in Alexandria Virginia in 1971 when the school integrates. These kinds of movies have tried to be duplicated (Glory Road etc) but all fail in comparison to Remember the Titans because of its outstanding cast. It features Wood Harris (true legend), Donald Faison (Petey Jones, running back THE running back), Ethan Suplee, Kip Pardue, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Hurst, a young Hayden Panettiere and an outstanding Will Patton as Coach Yoast (YOU BLITZ ALL NIGHT!) With all these great performances, the success of this movie still starts and ends with Denzel Washington. An uplifting movie with one of the best rock and roll soundtracks ever.

8. V for Vendetta (James McTeigue, 2005)

The Wachowski brothers claim to fame may be The Matrix but this movie is better on several levels. The action is brilliant of course but the story is even better. A futuristic look at England having become a totalitarian state and the mysterious “terrorist” only known as V who stands up to this fascist government with a plan to execute the gunpowder treason plot that failed in 1605. Hugo Weaving is fantastic under his Guy Fawkes mask and is accompanied by great performances from Natalie Portman, Tim Pigott-Smith, Stephen Rea and John Hurt. It’s a visually incredible spectacle and you will be hard pressed to find a movie character as cool as V. The dialogue is coy and elegant and the movie comes together at the end for a magnificent finish. The domino sequence to go along with the scene is extraordinary as well as the final fight scene between V and Creedy. Incredibly Rewatchable!

7. The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)

This will not be my only Christopher Nolan movie on the list. As cool as V for Vendetta was, this film tooks it a step further. A tale set in late nineteenth century London about two rival magicians that features Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale seeking the ultimate allusion. It’s one of those movies you need to watch again to catch all the great things packed into it. The twist at the end is one great element, but the whole movie is a thrill ride. The Prestige features one of my favorite actors Michael Caine in another superb performance and a stand out acting job by David Bowie. The dialogue in the movie is simply brilliant and the entire movie is awesome on so many levels. Jackman and Bale’s desperation and pain is evident throughout the movie. And come on, who doesn’t love magic.
As Bale says: “The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything.”

6. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)

Donnersmark’s individual debut as writer and director, the film deserved the award it won for Best Foreign Film and it was nice to see the Academy get something right. Set in the socialist state of East Germany in 1984, the film focuses on a couple, one a writer the other an actress who are seen as potentially disloyal to the state. The main character is Wiesler, an interrogator and agent for the East German Secret Police known as the Stasi who has been given the job to spy on the couple, listening and watching the couple. Ulrich Mühe is sensational and moving as Wiesler, the spy who gradually becomes absorbed and touched by the lives of the couple. We see the bleakness of his life and East Germany at the time. A truly remarkable and powerful film that will have you entrenched from the opening scene. The last 45 minutes of the film is where its true brilliance lies and will blow you away. The ending is better than perfect and you will sit silent as the credits role. I don’t care if you don’t like foreign films, they don’t make movies much better than this.

5. The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)

What a year for movies! I honestly do not know what to say about this movie as everyone has seen it and knows what I am talking about. Martin Scorsese finally gets his Best Director win which was well deserved in what I think is his best film. Leonardo DiCaprio gives the best performance of his career. You have the living legend himself Jack Nicholson as mob boss Frank Costello. Matt Damon plays the perfect rat. You have a nominated Mark Wahlberg who stole every scene he was in. The rest of the cast is worth praising as well. Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen were all tremendous. You ask any person from Boston about The Departed and they usually jizz themselves. And to think I picked Little Miss Sunshine to win that year. William Monahan does an extraordinary and award winning job of adopting the script from the film Infernal Affairs and Scorsese puts his magic touch on it. The twists and turns leave the viewer shocked and gasping for what is next and you can only walk away with your mouth wide open. The film features some of the best dialogue since Pulp Fiction and a great soundtrack to compensate the 2006 Best Picture. The opening scene to “Gimme Shelter” lets you know what you are in for as Nicholson famously says, “I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”

4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

What, the folks at IMDB didn’t convince you that this was the greatest movie of all time. Seriously though, all the elements come together in this one. I remember going opening night at midnight and being blown away after the opening scene. While Batman Begins was terrific and often overlooked because of this movie, The Dark Knight excels in almost every aspect. Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is one of the greatest if not the greatest villain of all time.
“This city deserves a better class of criminal. And I'm gonna give it to them!”
Every scene with Ledger is chilling yet mesmerizing at the same time, while his voice raises the hairs on your neck. The audience waits for him to be on the screen. Anyone who thinks he won Best Supporting Actor only because of his death is just ignorant. There is another amazing performance from Michael Caine who delivers all of his lines with a dark sophisticated tone. Gary Oldman also deserves praise as one of the standouts in this great cast. The score by Hans Zimmer and company really enhances the dark elements that dominate the film. While there are flaws, as far as superhero movies go, this one is the best. Christopher Nolan is one of the finest directors of our generation. How he has never been nominated for Best Director is mind-boggling. As one of the most hyped up movies of all time, The Dark Knight lived up to all that AND a bag of chips. (Haha remember that phrase.)

3. Cinderella Man (Ron Howard, 2005)

I feel like I can’t do this movie justice in what I write here. Just go see it for yourself. The incredible true story of James J. Braddock, (I swear this is better than Million Dollar Baby) the washed up boxer in one of the best comeback stories ever. Ron Howard once again teams up with Russell Crowe and delivers an incredibly emotion filled and uplifting movie. Crowe is at his best as the downtrodden boxer who is literally fighting to save his family from the horrors of the Great Depression. The film tugs at your heart ranging from triumphant moments (the Corn Griffin fight) to heartbreaking and tragic ones (Crowe begging for money to get his children back.) Emotions run deep in what is one of the best sports movies of all time. While the story is beyond wonderful, the boxing scenes are incredibly authentic. Crowe actually suffered several concussions and cracked teeth during filming. And while Crowe is at the top of his game, Paul Giamatti is even better as Crowe’s trainer and manager. His character is one of my favorites and his performance is sensational, especially during the boxing matches. I find Renee Zellweger somewhat annoying as Crowe’s wife but still does an outstanding job with the part. And you can’t have a great movie like this without an amazing soundtrack, essential to any great film. This is my go to film.

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001)

This ranking really represents the whole trilogy but for the sake of the list, my favorite is the first film. While Return of the King won all the awards in 2003, it really represented the accomplishments and achievements of all three movies. Peter Jackson does the impossible and brings Middle Earth to life. Every detail is taken care of, every scene is breathtaking and the cast does a marvelous job in almost every aspect. The visuals are stunning from the scenes in the Shire and Rivendell to Moria. Filmed in New Zealand, Jackson’s vision is something that no one else could have conceived. The fight scenes are riveting, my favorite being the battle in Moria with the troll. All the actors are exceptional with special props to Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. I had never been so excited to see the next installment when the credits began to roll. The music in the film is perfect as Howard Shore captures Best Original Score for this film as well as the third installment of the trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring is the definition of an epic movie and hands down Lord of the Rings is the greatest trilogy of all time. Sorry Back to the Future. (Number 1 in my heart)

1. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)

Del Toro’s masterpiece! Spellbinding, mesmerizing, enchanting, and magical! I can’t say enough things (or words that mean the same thing) about the world that Del Toro creates. Roger Ebert describes it best as a fairy tale for grownups. Del Toro known for his captivating visuals, brings us the evocative tale of a girl trapped in a magical world like no other. Ensnared in a fascist Spain in 1944 by the sadistic Captain Vidal played hauntingly by Sergi López, Ofelia escapes from the evils around her into a fantasy world full of mystical and monstrous creatures. The Pale-Man scene is downright terrifying. Ofeila, played brilliantly by the young Ivana Baquero, must complete 3 tasks while saving her mother from harm and Vidal, one of the most evil characters in any film you will see. Every scene is crafted with artistic perfection. It is sadistically beautiful and breathtaking. Doug Jones does a fantastic job in this movie, learning all the Spanish for his lines. The balance between innocence and evil is always present and Del Toro’s vision and storytelling is awe-inspiring. I left the theater speechless, feeling entranced in Del Toro’s world not having returned to my own.




Jeff Feldman's Top Movies of the Decade

10. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)

Is Alfonso Cuaron's dystopian vision of the future a plausible scenario? Sure, why not. But it's the carefully crafted aesthetic, not so much the plausibility, that makes Children of Men such an engrossing film. Cuaron's world shifts between unsettling futuristic dreariness (Clive Owen's trip to visit his cousin's ministry, to the tune of "In the Court of the Crimson King") and gritty, barbaric brutality (the prison camp that plays host to one of the decades most riveting escape sequences.) Owen and Michael Caine put on excellent performances, but it's Cuaron's terrifyingly detailed setting that takes center stage.

9. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)

On the strength of Tony Gilroy's clever script and Doug Liman's restrained directing, The Bourne Identity dissected both the spy and the spy film. Matt Damon, in his best performance since School Ties, perfectly combines confused amnesiac and calculating killer, creating a secret agent that's exciting without being extravagant. And while the Paul Greengrass-directed sequels may have been more action-packed, there are few scenes more satisfying than watching Damon jump down a flight of stairs with another body as a cushion.

8. The Dish (Rob Stitch, 2000)

Loosely based on the true story of the Australian satellite dish that received the video signal for the Apollo 11 moonwalk, The Dish doesn't seem to have a premise ripe for comedy. Yet director Rob Stitch, working with a quick-witted cast, managed to put together one of the finest comedies of the decade. The Dish is hilarious without being crude, emotional without being ironic, and after at least a dozen viewings it's still as funny and affecting as ever. It's a feel-good movie in the best possible sense.

7. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

Even after a decade and three or four Pixar masterpieces, Spirited Away still stands as the 00s' best animated movie, and may well be the greatest animated film of all time. A coming of age story with several varied but coherent diversions, the plot is abstract enough to appeal to viewers young an old, without losing any meaning. Miyazaki's spirit world is visually stunning, and Joe Hisaishi's brilliant soundtrack stands as one of the decade's best.

6. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

It seems pretty obvious that Daniel Day-Lewis as oilman Daniel Plainview was the single best performance of the decade, so let's focus on other elements that made There Will Be Blood one of the best films in recent memory. Paul Dano's turn as a insistent preacher was both extremely creepy and unexpectedly powerful, with the young actor holding his own against Day-Lewis in the film's most memorable scenes. Johnny Greenwood's urgent (though not independently listenable) soundtrack superbly complements Plainview's descent into lunacy. Though it's easy to forget, There Will Be Blood really is more than just three hours of Day-Lewis acting crazy. But even if it had been just him, it would still be incredible.

5. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

Let's be honest, The Dark Knight is not a perfect movie. Christian Bale's Batman voice is fairly ridiculous, Morgan Freeman gets a little too preachy, and there are even a couple frustrating plot holes. But despite his film's flaws, Christopher Nolan proved that summer blockbusters can also be instant classics. The Dark Knight succeeded in ways that no other superhero movie ever has because Nolan took the time to craft actual compelling characters: Bale's conflicted Bruce Wayne, Aaron Eckhart's tragic Harvey Dent, Michael Caine's darkly insightful Alfred. But of course, Heath Ledger steals the show as the greatest movie villain of the decade. Watching the Joker in The Dark Knight is similar to watching Marlo Stanfield on The Wire: Surrounded by characters of ambiguous moral standing, we expect him to show some sort of internal conflict to explain his motives, or to reveal some small hint of a conscience, but he never does. His resoluteness is his most impressive and most terrifying trait.

4. The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)

In Randy "The Ram" Robinson, Mickey Rourke developed an impeccably believable character, one with a heartbreaking story that never once becomes larger than life. In this restraint lies the secret to The Wrestler's success. When we finally forget the Mickey Rourke comeback buzz, it becomes apparent that there's not a trace of Hollywood in The Wrestler; there's only New Jersey, and a self-destructive entertainer trying and failing to change himself for the better. His surrender is both tremendously sad and quietly triumphant, a credit to both Robert D. Siegel's script and Darren Aronofsky's precise vision.

3. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Andersen, 2001)

The world of The Royal Tenenbaums is rich and detailed, and so many elements of the film are worthy of praise. But Wes Andersen's greatest success is taking gimmicky personas--and, in more than a couple cases, gimmicky actors--and slowly transforming them into deeply affecting characters. Luke Wilson and Ben Stiller's performances are especially notable, with Stiller's emotional breaking point towards the end standing as one of the film's many small emotional triumphs. Rushmore was funnier, but The Royal Tenenbaums leaves a far more lasting impression.

2. The Departed (Martin Scorcese, 2006)

The Departed was not a remake but a full-on transformation. Infernal Affairs was the source material, but William Monahan's immensely quotable and often hilarious script made The Departed a bona fide Martin Scorcese mob film before the director even read it. And on the strength of its acting, The Departed is one of Scorcese's best. Leonardo DiCaprio, robbed of an Oscar nomination by himself, deserves immense praise for the best performance of his career thus far. But the whole ensemble is what truly makes the film: Matt Damon's paranoia, Jack Nicholson's eccentrics, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin's quick wit and flawless delivery. Plus, anyone who says the ending wasn't awesome is clearly full of shit. Jaw-dropping at first viewing and infinitely rewatchable, The Departed is the decade's most fun movie.

1. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007)

Tony Gilroy, in his directorial debut, proves to be not only the most exciting screenwriter of the decade but also its most promising new director. But, admittedly, he had a lot of help making Michael Clayton a masterpiece. Tilda Swinton, in an Oscar-winning roll, puts on an amazing, understated performance as an insecure but ambitious executive getting in over her head to protect her company and herself. Sydney Pollack, as the pragmatic head of Clayton's law firm, steals every scene he's in, with a bluntness that's both sage and disconcerting. Tom Wilkinson, in one of the best supporting performances of all time, delivers equal measures of brilliance and madness with frantic passion. And at the center of it all, George Clooney's Clayton struggles to regain and maintain his ethics as he realizes morality is deteriorating around him. It's a gripping film with incredible performances, so if you haven't seen it, see it now. If you didn't like it the first time, watch it again.

Honorable Mentions:

25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)

Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)

Ocean's Eleven (Steven Soderbergh, 2001)




Brian Feldman's Top Movies of the Decade

10. Superbad (Greg Mottola, 2007)

Probably the most contentious movie on my list, I think Superbad just came along at exactly the right time in my high school career. In my opinion, no other movie this decade has come close to finding as many jokes, and more importantly, truthful observations about teenage culture in the new millenium. Plus, a lot of people say I remind them of McLovin. I have no idea why.

9. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

The 00s was populated with a crapload of superhero movies, but The Dark Knight just edged out Iron Man as the best superhero movie of the decade. Director Christopher Nolan made a pledge to use as little CG as possible, which makes the action all the more exciting. That truck flip? Real. When Bale gets snagged by an airliner? Real. The origin stories of Batman and Harvey Dent are also equally enthralling. The real standout though (yes, I'm beating a dead horse) is Heath Ledger's Joker, simultaneously terrifying and mesmerizing. Ever time he tells a different story about how he got those scars, I get chills. I just realized my "dead horse" remark might be seen as a crude joke. Fuck it, it's staying there.

8. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, 2003)

In making this list, I chose to limit my choices to only one Pixar movie, and if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Finding Nemo. I've seen it more times than I care to admit, and it never gets old. The characters, especially Dory, are always hilarious, and the lush, vibrant visuals set it apart from the Pixar movies that had come before it. On a broader scope, however, Finding Nemo represents a real maturation of the Pixar formula. All of the pre-Nemo films could be classified as kid's fare, but as soon as the devastation of Finding Nemo's opening scene passed, the studio began to deftly explore the more emotionally complex themes that we see in films like The Incredibles or Up.

7. Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002)

I was struggling to choose between Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for this list. Both are great, but I have a personal preference for Adaptation, mostly because it's so "meta". It is probably one of the most brilliant concepts of all-time, with a self-referential screenplay like no other. The characters actions within the film affect the tone of the story in what seem like spontaneous, organic ways. Props to Nicolas Cage for a great performance as Charlie Kauffman and his twin brother Donald in what has been an otherwise abysmal decade for the actor.

6. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)

Alfonso Cuarón crafted a depressing, grungy, and scarily plausible dystopia in Children of Men. While much of the movie is great, the real highlight is a 10-minute-long, single shot sequence winding and turning through a group of rundown apartment buildings. Halfway through, blood spatters onto the camera and it just lingers there, as the handheld camera breaks away from its subjects and then winds down an alternate route to converge with them again. It's a testament to the quality of that sequence that I didn't notice it was a single long take until after it was over. It's probably the most incredible cinematic moment of the decade and an incredible film overall.

5 The Departed. (Martin Scorsese, 2006)

Some people think that The Departed won Best Picture and Best Director out of pity for Martin Scorsese. Those people are dead wrong. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time as Matt Daon and Leonardo DiCaprio played a riveting game of cat and mouse. Jack Nicholson returns to form with a great supporting turn as an egotistic mob boss. Mark Wahlberg is a total scene-stealer as a police officer with a toilet for a mouth. The screenplay is immensely quotable, and I'm not the only one who spent the next six months learning to type "no phones" into my cell phone without looking.

4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece is that rare story with no real villain, all of the characters are understandable, and there is an inexplicable glee from just watching the characters interact. But more than the unique take on the standard "child growing up" story, Spirited Away is a visual feast, with wonderfully detailed, creative character art and animation, and sometimes photorealistic backgrounds. I'm not a fan of anime, but I will watch anything that Miyazaki puts out, and this is his best. On a side note, special credit should be given to the localization team at Disney for going above and beyond the standard "plug-n-chug" Babelfish translation and dubbing. Also, the Radish Spirit.

3. Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005)

Brick takes a relatively novel concept and executes it flawlessly. It takes the classic film noir style from way back in the 30s and transposes it onto a modern California high school. For the most part, the script could have been used in 30s. It has all of the necessary character archetypes (hard-boiled detective, femme fatale, etc.), a well-crafted mystery, and the canted film angles, lighting, shadows, and visual aesthetic of a genre that is unfortunately almost extinct.

2. The Dish (Rob Sitch, 2000)

The Dish is nothing short of an absolute joy to watch. It’s a fascinating (mostly) true story of radio telescope technicians working in the middle of a sheep paddock during the 1969 moon landing. Every single character in the film is genuinely funny: The mayor and his entire family, Glenn, Al, Mitch, Cliff, Rudy. The list goes on. Plus, Patrick Warburton proves that he can actually act in this movie. If I could pick out one great scene, I would. But I can’t, since every scene has great jokes in it. Literally every. Single. Scene.

1. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007)

Michael Clayton is, without a doubt, the best and most criminally overlooked film of the decade. Despite being nominated for Best Picture and Tilda Swinton's Best Supporting Actress win, American film culture seems to have collectively left this one behind. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy (of the Bourne trilogy), the dialogue crackles with tension, as do the pauses in between. I will concede that Michael Clayton may take more than one viewing to fully appreciate, by nature of its story, but that second time through is one of the most rewarding experiences that I've ever had watching a film. Clooney gives the best performance of his career (and yes, I have seen Up in the Air) wrestling with his own ambitions and morals, and reevaluating his purpose in his job and in life. Topping all of that is a career-defining performance by Tom Wilkinson, walking the line between insanity and sanity without a hint of melodrama. His opening monologue is one of the best beginnings to a film that I've ever seen.

Honorable mentions:

Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)

The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009),

WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2004)