Nate Grefe's Top 10 Movies of the Decade

Ok so you think you have read it all....well you haven't. Nate Grefe is many things and to keep things PG rated, I won't mention any of them. He does posses a gigantic movie binder that holds an impressive collection of movies that I could really use right now in London. Anyway he has seen enough movies to make a list of his own and I must admit, it is quite good (for example, Michael Clayton is not the number 1 movie of the decade.

The thing lacking in all these lists is another type of opinion. I bring you four 18-21 year old male versions of the best movies of the decade. I would love a female opinion or someone who has graduated college. O well....enjoy



The idea for this list was spawned back in December when I read the A. V. Club’s “Best Films of the 00’s.” (http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-films-of-the-00s,35931/) I was confused as to how such a list could be so inaccurate and misguided. The first page alone, which lists the top 50-36 movies, has several movies that are clearly some of the best of the all time, much less the decade. As a movie fan (and admitted movie-snob), I took it as a personal affront and made the claim that I could make a much better list. Well, Jake “Chief” Rainwater took me up on that claim and so now I have tried to present a more realistic countdown of the best films of the decade. Just as I was offended by the A.V. Club’s list, I’m sure that people will have issues with my list. The question is how do you define the “best” or “greatest”? These movies are the ones that I enjoyed the most and was most impressed with. There are movies that may have been more visually thrilling, or funnier, or had better action… but these were the all-around top ten in film achievement.

I was going to do a top 50, but I started and realized that the A.V. Club has a paid staff to do those kind of things, and I, as one person don’t have the time. I have a list of the 50, but only write-ups for 10. So here are the top ten greatest movies of the decade. Ranking 50 movies is hard, and I’m not going to get them in perfect order. The top ten are the ones that I feel most strongly about and I am most certain of their ranking order. As I count through the 50 it gets harder (or impossible) to rank them perfectly. So think of the list as a “movies you have to see” countdown. Starting at number one and counting back, you should try to watch all of these movies as soon as possible.

10. Gladiator (2000)

Few directors can capture an audience like Ridley Scott, and Gladiator is his masterpiece. Alien and Blade Runner are classics and two of my favorites, but they simply don’t appeal to modern audiences in the same way. People nowadays want instant gratification and action, and Ridley Scott deliver just that in Gladiator. Russell Crowe plays Roman general Maximus, who is leading his armies against Germanic barbarians during the height of the Roman Empire. The power struggle leads to the death of his family and his enslavement as a gladiator: one who fights for sport. Maximus’ struggles to survive and avenge his wife and son take him from dilapidated Spanish cells to the glorious Roman Coliseum. This movie is filled with truly epic battles that attract bloodthirsty simpleton moviegoers much like gladiator battles attracted primal Roman citizens. What makes the film great (and earned it a Best Picture) are the incredible acting performances from Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, and Ridley Scott’s skillful portrayal of humanity in an inhumane profession.

Highlights: Joaquin Phoenix; opening battle scene; every other battle scene

9. In The Valley Of Elah (2007)

Tommy Lee Jones has made a living in the 2000’s by playing old men and he does another superb job In the Valley of Elah. It’s almost as though writer/director Paul Haggis prepared this film just for Jones. He gives one of the most powerful and moving performances I have ever seen on screen and it’s a shame he didn’t get the Oscar. But when you go up against Daniel Day Lewis that will happen. Jones plays Hank Deerfield, a war veteran who receives the news that his son has returned from Iraq and has gone AWOL. Suspecting something is wrong, Hank decides to investigate, and as he digs deeper into his son’s disappearance he encounters deception, sin, and sadness. The film doesn’t have an anti-war message, it simply tells the story of a determined man dealing with the changing times and unchanging primal effects that war has on men. Perfectly raw performances from Susan Sarandon and the always-amazing Charlize Theron perfectly compliment Tommy Lee Jones’ outstanding performance. In The Valley of Elah tells a story that keeps you riveted and emotionally invested about as well as any movie I’ve ever seen.

Highlights: every second that Tommy Lee Jones is onscreen

8. Gangs of New York (2002)

Daniel Day-Lewis is the greatest living actor. And if you question or doubt this, just watch his multiple films on the list, starting with the amazing Gangs of New York. From the opening scene of Gangs you will be hooked for the entire 2 hours and 47 minutes of it and never experience a dull moment. Loosely based on the true story of the gang wars in New York City around the turn of the 20th century, the film opens with a reenactment of the Battle of Five Points. When Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, perfected by Daniel Day-Lewis, kills a rival gang leader Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson) in battle, Vallon’s son escapes and survives to grow up in an orphanage and ultimately return to Five Points to avenge his father. Leonardo DiCaprio’s role as the son Amsterdam Vallon began his onscreen love affair with director Martin Scorcese, and with the energy that he brings to Scorcese’s seedy New York sets it is easy to see why. Despite good acting from DiCaprio, Brendan Gleeson, and Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis steals the show and makes the movie an unforgettable experience. Lewis’ “Butcher” is one of the greatest movie villains of all time and his ferocious humor and bloodthirsty intensity are as horrifying-yet-fascinating to those around him as they are to viewers. Scorcese’s historical epic has aspects of introspection into politics and the nature of democracy and liberty but it is violence that rules on the mean streets of New York. Violence is a necessary part (if not a way) of life for all the characters in Gangs of New York, and Scorcese puts his cameras inches from the gratuitous violence to draw the audience into his bloody world. In a time where Saw VI and Hostel II draw audiences it’s nice to see that America’s greatest director can still produce a violent masterpiece of operatic proportions.

Highlights: Daniel Day-Fucking-Lewis; The Butcher’s knife throwing performance; when Lewis uses a pig carcass to explain to DiCaprio how to kill a man

7. The Departed (2006)

The Departed is probably the most riveting mob thriller I’ve seen, and as Jake Rainwater says, it is Scorcese’s best film. I haven’t seen the Chinese Internal Affairs that The Departed is based on but it deserves a shout-out simply for coming up with a unique and intriguing story.The dialogue is vicious and funny at the same time, and the wonderful actors all excel in their deliveries. Jack Nicholson is superbly demented as paranoid mob boss Frank Costello, giving one of the best performances of his illustrious career. Leonardo DiCaprio has grown on me over the years and he absolutely kills as the tormented undercover cop Billy Costigan. Matt Damon is fantastic, Mark Whalberg is perfect… the list of great acting performances in this movie goes on and on. This collection of incredible performances is what makes this film Scorcese’s best. In the past, masterpieces like The Aviator, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver had been carried by incredible solo performances. This is not at all a criticism, and I believe that those films are some of the greatest of all time, but the sheer number of characters in The Departed allows for more plot twists and opportunities. In the end, Martin Scorcese directs this film in a way that gives it intensity and an air of cockiness that guarantees to captivate audiences. The Departed has it all suspense, action, humor, thrills. And if that’s not enough the fiery performances and mind-blowing plot twists will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Highlights: DiCaprio’s first meeting with his shrink (Vera Farmiga); Alec Baldwin; intro voice-over with Nicholson

6. No Country for Old Men (2007)

In my opinion, hands-down the best movie the Coen brothers have ever made. I’m usually skeptical as to whether movies can be better than the books that they are based on, but this is one clear exception. Cormac McCarthy’s great novel is brought to life on the screen through the Coen brothers’ unique direction and exceptional screenplay. I just re-watched the movie and I cannot recall any character in the movie raising their voice. So how could No Country for Old Men possibly be described as an exciting thriller? The trick is how mundane everything seems in the film, from the bleak Texas highways to the lazy interactions between small-town locals. In presenting the story in an un-sensational style, the Coen brothers have made extraordinary events seem relevant, enthralling, and even plausible in their viewers’ lives. The calm of film does nothing to extinguish the fiery performances from Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem. Brolin’s savvy cowboy Llewelyn Moss is methodically pursued by the truly terrifying Anton Chigurh (Bardem), one of the greatest screen villains of all time. What you will remember from the movie is Bardem’s chilling smile and his calculating, bloody murders. What really makes the film great is Tommy Lee Jones’ performance and his narration as Sheriff Ed Bell. Bell’s narration serves as a backdrop to the conflict between Chigurh and Moss while Bell himself attempts to piece together a string of mysterious murders and eventually protect Moss. No Country for Old Men presents a very dreary view of our modern desensitized and impassionate society where things are worse but people care less. Bell’s bleak narration doesn’t speak to the present, but instead tells stories of the older, better days and muses on human nature. Jones’ drawling deadpan mesmerizes the audience and there is no way that you will walk away from this movie without asking questions or discussing it: always a great sign.

Highlights: Jones’ speech to end the film; Bardem’s quarter-flipping scene in the gas station; the Brolin-Bardem hotel shootout

5. Mystic River (2003)

Clint Eastwood has been a staple of Hollywood for 50 years and now in the 2000’s he has finally perfected the art of film. While he does more directing now, his appearances in Million Dollar Baby and Gran Turino reassured everyone that he had only gotten better with time. It’s a bold claim to say that directorially Mystic River is his best film, but I think I’m ok with it. The movie would not be the same without amazing performances from Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and good work from Marcia Gay Harden and Kevin Bacon. The film opens with three boys playing aimlessly on the streets of Boston when a man (John Doman) comes up and takes Dave away. It turns out that the man is pedophile and Dave is emotionally physically abused, leaving him in a fragile mental state. Tim Robbins plays Dave Boyle to perfection as a quiet, haunted man who is implicated in the murder of daughter of the powerful and mysterious Jimmy Markum. Markum is played with shocking passion and intensity by the always-fantastic Sean Penn. I would say that Penn’s performance, if not his best, is probably his most memorable. The energy and raw emotion that emanates from his Markum when his daughter’s death is confirmed is chilling and moving at the same time. All the performances are spot-on, but Penn and Robbins really do steal the show. Mystic River is one of my all-time favorites and I could go on for pages praising every aspect of it, but that’s because every aspect is great: writing, directing, acting are all flawless.

Trivia: Brendan Harris is played by Tom Guiry who also played Smalls in The Sandlot

Highlights: Robbins-Harden “vampire” conversation; Penn being held by police in the park; Penn-Robbins confrontation by the Mystic

4. The Dark Knight (2008)

It’s hard to describe what makes this movie so universally appealing and great at the same time (people are dumb and these two characteristics rarely align this successfully). How do you take a movie quite simply about Batman versus the Joker and make it a masterpiece? Well, the answer is the blossoming director Christopher Nolan and the unforgettable generational icon Heath Ledger. Chris Nolan burst onto the scene in 2000 with Memento and has continued to make some of the most exciting and best movies of the decade. Christian Bale “stars” as Bruce Wayne, the Batman, putting Bale’s unparalleled talent for portraying bottled emotion on display. I put “stars” in quotations because while Bale headlines the film, it is Heath Ledger as the Joker who steals the show. Ledger’s Joker is one of the greatest characters of all time and sadly, the last in a long line of amazing performances from Heath Ledger. The smeared makeup and the grimy hair give an unforgettable image to Ledger’s riveting performance as a disillusioned psychotic. The Joker systematically begins to tear the city apart with no regard for law or reason simply to produce an anarchical, disorderly society, claiming: “I’m an agent of chaos.” Batman struggles to foil the Joker’s twisted plots with some help from Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two Face) and Gary Oldman, reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon. It’s hard to imagine a film where Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are overshadowed, but Bale and Ledger outdo themselves. Nolan builds on Batman’s film noir roots to make his characters tormented and ultimately: human. The first time we see Bale without his mask he’s not doing anything heroic, he stitching up his bruised and dog-bitten body. But after all Batman has never been the typical comic book hero and in postmodern Gotham Batman’s humanity and inherent goodness are the ultimate weapons against the Joker’s cynical reign of terror: “Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”

Highlights: Opening heist; Joker’s pencil trick; Hans Zimmer’s score; Batman’s “interrogation” of the Joker

3. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

One of the most controversial films of all-time and certainly of the decade, Brokeback Mountain fearlessly faced controversy and a somewhat limited release. Don’t forget that this movie was released under the conservative Bush administration and in the midst of gay rights controversy (the film was not released at malls near my Southern Virginia town). The screenplay was written by Larry McMurtry, an excellent Western author, based on the tragic short story by Annie Proulx. Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two poor cowboys who meet in 1963 while traversing the Wyoming wilderness herding sheep. Their friendship blossoms into a romance that would be forbidden and despised by their friends and families were it ever to become public. When the summer ends, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) part ways, not see each other for years until both are married. They maintain their romance on post-marriage “fishing trips” which slowly tear their families apart. Gyllenhaal and Ledger both deliver powerful and emotional performances, the best of their careers. Ang Lee directs a masterpiece of a film that has beautiful scenery, beautiful music, and an attention to feeling that allows the audience to become invested in Ledger and Gyllenhaal. Every change in demeanor, every shift in position, and every twitch of the eyes is captured in Lee’s close camerawork and long takes. This is not some “gay cowboy movie.” From a moving and emotional screenplay and incredible acting performances comes a movie that is unashamedly romantic movie. One of the greatest romantic tragedies I’ve ever seen.

Highlights: Ennis’ visit to Jack’s family; Gustavo Santaolalla’s soundtrack; Ledger and Gyllenhaal together and apart give utterly incredible performances

2. There Will Be Blood (2007)

In the opening scene of the There Will Be Blood we are introduced to Daniel Plainview attempting to mine for silver and ending up lying in the mud and the dark, alone and injured. Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece follows Plainview’s quest for the American dream of wealth in the oil boom of the 1890’s. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the insatiable and demonic Plainview, a man who will stop at nothing to dominate all around him whether they stand in his way or not. It would be hard to pick one but an argument could certainly be made that this is Lewis’ best performance. You spend every moment Plainview is onscreen holding your breath waiting to hear what he will say next. Naturally the fantastic direction and script from Anderson provide an excellent base to work from but Lewis (again) steals the show with some help from Paul Dano. Dano plays Eli Sunday, a small-town preacher whose religious fervor almost matches Plainview’s passion for power; almost. Filmed in the same bleak area of Texas as No Country For Old Men, Blood primarily takes place in a poor and desolate village that uncomfortably welcomes Plainview’s derricks and his jobs, but primarily his money. Plainview seduces the townsfolk with talk of bread and wealth with his adopted son H.W. Plainview at his side. H.W.’s father was killed in one of the frequent accidents surrounding the oil business, and his son nearly goes the same way when pressure builds and an enormous spout of fire nearly destroys Plainview’s primary derrick. An oil-soaked leaves his injured son to watch mesmerized as the well burns late into the night. Lewis’ cold, calculating, and nearly inhuman behavior keeps him free of attachment or close relationships. When a long-lost brother (Kevin J. O’Connor) turns up Plainview is uncertain how to act and just when he begins to relax he discovers O’Connor is an imposter. Lewis delivers a titan of a performance and his passion and ferocity are enthralling and terrifying at the same time. His vindictive final explosion of rage in his mansion at the end of the film produces one of the greatest scenes in movie history. There Will Be Blood is the ultimate tale of “reach exceeding grasp” and Plainview’s ascension to wealth and fame go hand in hand with his spiral into alcoholism, rage, and depression. A slow-moving but intense American epic about the limits of man’s limits and sins, There will Be Blood is a mesmerizing and timeless instant classic.

Highlights: bowling alley scene; Plainview’s exorcism in Sunday’s church; really just every time Lewis is on screen

1. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

First of all, let me say that without the other two movies included included, this film is not really the best of the decade. So this ranking is really for the trilogy as a whole, which I feel is unquestionably the greatest film event of our generation and Return of the King is simply the greatest film of the three and of the decade. The Helm’s Deep scene in The Two Towers is amazing, but the battle for Minas Tirith is the most epic conflict ever seen in film. The special effects are flawless and the audience has no problem slipping into director Peter Jackson’s fantasy world of Middle Earth. From J.R.R. Tolkein’s literary genius, Peter Jackson created a world unlike any other in the mountains and fields of New Zealand. But what really makes the movie more than the average visual effects-driven action-fantasy flick is the humanity of the characters, whether they are actually human or not. Every actor gives it their all in the final film (actually I’m not convinced Orlando Bloom can act) and while Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian McKellan give their usual good performances, it’s the Sam-Frodo dynamic that captures the hearts of audiences. Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Sean Astin (Samwise) are tasked with destroying the ring of the dark lord Sauron by casting it into the fires of Mount Doom deep in the dark lord’s territory. Sauron unleashes his vast and fearsome armies on the world of men just as Sam and Frodo reach the sinister land of Mordor. The film crescendos not when the two armies clash, but when Frodo and Sam reach the interior of the volcano. Mortensen leads the remnants of the armies of men to the Sauron’s gates in a desperate effort to give Frodo more time and their efforts come just in time for Frodo to complete his monumental task. The film does not have too many endings, no matter what idiots say, and Frodo’s goodbye may be the most touching moment of the entire saga. While other films in the decade have produced better individual acting performances or more insightful messages, Peter Jackson’s epic masterpiece has humor, intensity, action, sadness, and suspense all bundled together in perfect harmony. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the greatest film event of the 2000’s and The Return of the King is the grandest and most satisfying of the trilogy.

Highlights: Frodo and Sam’s encounter with Shelob (the giant spider); Riders of Rohan’s charge into the Orcs and the battle with the Oliphants; Frodo’s goodbye