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Top 100 films of the decade

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Posted: Saturday, January 16, 2010 12:00 am

Top 100 films of the decade 30 comments

The end of the decade coincides with the 10-year anniversary of this column, and what better way to mark the occasion than with an obsessive ranking of the decade's best films?

I've seen around 1,500 new releases during my time here at the News-Sentinel (with a couple hundred more to still catch up on — mostly documentaries and obscure foreign films), and out of what I saw, these were the ones that mattered.

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Posted in on Saturday, January 16, 2010 12:00 am.

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30 comments:

  • posted at 3:37 pm on Sun, Jan 24, 2010.

    Posts:

    Sam, LOL, "Face Off" is in my bottom 10 movies of all time. I guess the action scenes, and the entire premise of the movie were so far fetched, they couldn't keep my focus away from criticizing the whole thing from start to finish. The funniest part was what amazing marksmen Cage and Travolta were until they started shooting at one another. Then they couldn't hit squat! I think the most impressive thing I've seen in a movie for some time, was the scene at the end of "There Will Be Blood". The scene in the mansion bowling alley. D.D, Lewis is on screen for what seems like an eternity without a single edit. The man is an incredible talent. Nick Cage is lucky to consider himself in the same profession.

     

  • posted at 6:33 pm on Sat, Jan 23, 2010.

    Posts:

    I always liked Dean Koontz better that Steven King. Unfortunately they have destroyed the books they tried to turn into movies.

     

  • posted at 10:39 am on Sat, Jan 23, 2010.

    Posts:

    wujek, I gave "300" 5 stars (out of 5). I have seen it several times and my rating has not changed. I love it.As for "The Mist", what can I say, I am a Stephen King freak.

     

  • posted at 2:43 am on Sat, Jan 23, 2010.

    Posts:

    Sam, I enjoyed Apocalypto, thought it was a fasinating Hollywood view into an mostly untouched by the silver screen culture (Road to El Dorado was fun for the kids).The Mist on the other hand was just okay until it got to the end which just ruined the whole movie for me (avoiding too much of a spoiler here).For me, probably 75% of the enjoyment of a movie is the conclusion of the conflict. Most recent movie which I enjoyed the conclusion was 300. Just gave me goosebumps with a somebody is in trouble grin, which is my favorite kind of ending for a movie.

     

  • posted at 1:37 pm on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    To me a great movie makes me say "wow". You love to anaylze them more than I do.I love "Face Off". I do have to admit that I loved The Whale Rider too.You also reminded me that I have to watch "Panic Room" , "Memento", "The Mist", and "Apocalypto" AGAIN. All great films.Jason, in our household many a good heated arguement about your "picks" has been settled by renting or re-renting a dvd with a group view to settle the matter.Write on.

     

  • posted at 11:37 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    Sam: Glad to see some of the "Gone Baby Gone" love being spread around. I do believe it may be the most under-rated movie since... well, ever. "Training Day" gets my seal of approval as well (along with the "Sister Christian" scene from "Boogie Nights," that kitchen table scene is one of the most deliciously suspenseful sequences in contemporary cinema). As for "Face/Off," I liked it a lot, but must admit to being generally under-whelmed by John Woo's American work, after stunning us with titles like "Hard Boiled" and, especially, "The Killer" while he was working out of Hong Kong. Shoot me an e-mail sometime, man. We'll speak of things.

     

  • posted at 11:10 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    Jason, what did you think of the 1997 movie "Faceoff" ?

     

  • posted at 11:05 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    Dude, I have to admit I loved Training Day too. The twists were great.

     

  • posted at 11:01 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    Thanks for asking Jason. I did not love the movie "No Country For Old Men". I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. FYI... I really liked Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill (I did not like Kill Bill 2). In fact I own both of them.Glad you loved "Sin City"... I loved it. I also loved "The Bucket List", "Crash", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" . "Gone Baby, Gone" and "The Notebook"...... "7 pounds"... "Gran Torino".I love movies. I could go on and on. I always look forward to your recommendations. I may not always agree with you, but anything you recommend ... I will watch. THANK YOU Jason !!!!

     

  • posted at 7:29 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    For such a tough guy, Dude, you've sure got some thin skin. In any case, no worries: You and Gator have quickly become my favorite posters.

     

  • posted at 6:35 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    Dude is sure there's a very large collection of comic books in Wallis' closet or maybe under his bed also......Ahahahaha, What!?Guaranteed!!

     

  • posted at 6:32 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    Jason Wallis said "Whale Rider" made me bawl like a little girl. Ahahahaha, what!?Chick Flicks and sci-fi.....time to move out of your parents basement and sound off like you got a pair...Trekkie.

     

  • posted at 4:44 am on Fri, Jan 22, 2010.

    Posts:

    "This Wallis guy is into sci-fi and chick flicks." Ahahahaha, what?

     

  • posted at 4:39 pm on Thu, Jan 21, 2010.

    Posts:

    Boy, of this list I have only seen 15 of them, some on FX because I would never rent them but they were fine for some nothing better on tv. Com'on, Kung Fu huste? Seriously? Others were free movie weekends Dark knight was good, I'll give you that.At least none of the Scary movie series was in there.My favorites not mentioned?Tears of the Sun (2003)Remember the Titans (2000)we are marshall 2006O.K. I'll admit it, the underworld movies but twords the bottom.King Arthur 2004How about them Star wars flicks?

     

  • Rich Hanner posted at 12:19 pm on Wed, Jan 20, 2010.

    Richard Hanner Posts: 10 Staff

    Just checking in to say I enjoyed the article -and the comments. Jason and I often have chats about movies. We agree on some and agree to disagree on others. (Such as "No Country For Old men" missing the list.) That's good, right? Who wants to read someone who simply mirrors their own opinions. I've come to believe that Tarantino is a generational taste. I'm not the biggest fan, but I respect Jason's take on QT's work. He lets me sees things from a different view. OK, over and out. Rich Hanner, editor.

     

  • posted at 4:04 am on Wed, Jan 20, 2010.

    Posts:

    I have to agree with Jason on "Pineapple Express". Some things don't have to be highbrow to be entertaining. I would watch it again. "Kill Bill".......no.

     

  • posted at 10:02 am on Tue, Jan 19, 2010.

    Posts:

    On a more friendly note, Gator, I agree that "Black Hawk Down" was an impressive film. Some more character definition might have landed it on my list, but it's certainly an example of why Scott is one of our best action filmmakers.

     

  • posted at 9:56 am on Tue, Jan 19, 2010.

    Posts:

    The fact that "Avatar" has made so much money doesn't necessarily speak to its quality as a film ("Transformers 2" and "Spider-Man 3" both did similarly big business, after all), but rather serves as a testament to mainstream audiences' willingness to sacrifice story, characters and style in favor of cool 3-D effects. And while I agree that "Legends of the Fall" is awful (yet still fascinating to watch in a train-wreck sort of way), Brad Pitt has made several great films, including "Se7en," "Fight Club," "12 Monkeys," "Kalifornia" and I'm sure several others that escape me at the moment. (Just FYI.) And for the record, my "defense" of "Troy" was only a factual statement on its box office numbers -- personally, I hated the film. And as for "Kill Bill," I thought it worked brilliantly as both an engaging piece of pop entertainment, and as a trippy riff on the images and mise-en-scene techniques of filmmakers like the Shaw Bros., Brian DePalma, Jean-Luc Godard, Tsiu Hark and Sergio Leone. As an impassioned tribute to cinema, it has no equal.

     

  • posted at 9:10 am on Tue, Jan 19, 2010.

    Posts:

    Jason as you love to expound on the money making capacity of a film, Avatar kind ofrained on your parade.. The third largest grossing movie of all times and as reportedSoon to be number two.. One movie that has out grossed all of Pitts movies combined. Pitt has made at least one good movie “ A River Runs Through it”. Outside of Troy hisworst was Legends of the Fall.. Wooden to the 9th degree. Tarantino’s movies run onBloody Violence the more the better and in that venue Scorsese has his number.. The Goodfellas is head and shoulders above “Kill Bill” There is a clear difference between The two, Bill is a bloody fantasy while you know the Goodfellas has happened and continues to happen. As the say it’s a way of life.. Kill Bill is like a Bloody Video Gamenothing more…

     

  • posted at 7:54 am on Tue, Jan 19, 2010.

    Posts:

    Gator: So a film's financial success or failure should be gauged not by widely reported industry figures, but rather by how it happens to do at your local theater, because obviously there's a mass conspiracy to inflate box office numbers for Brad Pitt? Please, Gator, don't ever change. (BTW, budgets for all films between $70 and $100 million, with "Troy" and "Button" being $175 and $150 million, respectively. Not a bad investment.) And for further explanation as to how and why "Pineapple Express" (and Tarantino, actually) is so awesome, I refer you to rogerebert.com editor Jim Emerson: http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2008/08/rogen_franco_pineapple_taranti.html.I'm guessing that if you hate these films that much, you're simply not very familiar with the history of cinema and the art of intertextual citation. Not a crime, but it is, unfortunately, your loss if that is the case.

     

  • posted at 3:40 am on Tue, Jan 19, 2010.

    Posts:

    Well Jason I go by what I see. I live close to a 14 screen theater and Bastards was goneIn less than 10 days. The rest are in the same category. As for Troy It was panned bymost critics and was fodder for the Late night comedians. As for the figures here andworld wide one would never be so brash as to guess they were inflated. The Last 2years have been good for the industry but before that they were in the toilet financially.The Aviator could well be put in #1 over that crap “Kill Bill”, Gladiator, higher, The Hurt Locker, much,much higher and as I said Blackhawk Down and We were Soldierscould have replaced 90% of the others.. You shot your self in the foot with the Pineapple Express truly movie making at it’s worst…. As for the Oceans movies PittWas just riding on the coat tails of the other cast members And Jason what was the cost of The aforementioned movies…

     

  • posted at 7:31 pm on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    Quick question for Gator: Considering that last year's "Basterds" and 2008's "Benjamin Button" each made over $120 million domestic and more than $300 million worldwide theatrically (and let's not even get into the huge individual numbers for the recent "Ocean's" movies and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Troy," which worldwide culminated in about $2 billion), whatever do you mean by Brad Pitt movies "tanking"?

     

  • posted at 4:57 pm on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    i would have liked to see "the blind side" on the list. oh wait...maybe you should do a "bottom 100 films" with House of Wax leading the way.

     

  • posted at 4:22 pm on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    Haha, thanks, Sam. What would be some of your other favorites that I missed? There are a lot of good ones ("No Country for Old Men" and "Brokeback Mountain" being the two I've been asked about most) that would have made great material for a top 200.And to the rest of you guys: What would you have liked to have seen on the list? (Warning: First person who says something like "The Blind Side" is opening themselves up to ridicule, fair and square.)

     

  • posted at 2:41 pm on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    Jason. great picks. Thanks !!!! I do not agree with them all, but you named quite a few of my favorites.

     

  • posted at 2:30 pm on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    This list is a prime example of why I consider watching a movie "2 wasted hours of your life that you can't get back". "Kill Bill?". Seriously?

     

  • posted at 7:44 am on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    Like any "Top X" list, it's just one person's/organization's opinion. Appropriately located just above the Obituaries.

     

  • posted at 2:36 am on Mon, Jan 18, 2010.

    Posts:

    Ummm, the decade isn't even over yet. We still have the rest of the tear to go. If Tarantino has anything to do with a film this year, even if he's just a grip, I'm sure it will find it's way into the top 10.

     

  • posted at 4:28 am on Sun, Jan 17, 2010.

    Posts:

    This is the best list that could be compiled out of the last DECADE? I agree with Gator, about 90% of these are easily replaceable. I mean seriously, Pineapple Express? One of the "best" films of the decade?

     

  • posted at 2:09 am on Sat, Jan 16, 2010.

    Posts:

    Looking at this list I found 4 or 5 worthy films and the rest just a bloody waste of timeand money.. Going to the theater and paying 10.00 a pop and 4 or 5 for crappy pop-cornto see some of the garbage on the list makes PPV or a DVD a good choice. Question, will Brad Pitt ever make a movie that doesn’t Tank.. Glad to see you put the Hurt Locker on the list but it was to far down.. Also Blackhawk Down and We were SoldiersCould have replaced about 90% of the remainder with out a problem….

     
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