Luke Eddy’s Top 25 Films of the Decade (It will be Epic)
January 22, 2010
Well, here it finally is: my ‘Top 25 Films of the Decade.’ Now, this list is inherently subjective. In the first place, I certainly haven’t seen every single film that’s come out in the last ten years, for the most part I’ve seen films that looked good to me, so my sampling pool for this list is already skewed. So really, this is my top 25 films, my favorites of the decade. Treat this list as my recommendations to you. Now obviously not all of these films are appropriate for everyone, but if a film on this list sounds interesting to you, then check it out. But before I start counting down films, I thought I’d briefly explain what I looked for in the films that I chose to include in this list. Here, summarized in four points, is what I looked for:
Stunning Visuals: I like films that surprise me with how good they look, whether that means the special and visual effects, like V for Vendetta, the cinematography, like in Mongol, or simply how the scenes are shot and edited, such as in Hot Fuzz.
Exceptional Acting: This should be a given, and I don’t mean above average acting, I mean exceptional acting. I mean acting that really stands out, such as Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, or that connects you emotionally to the character, like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable, or that leaves you in stitches, just like George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, or in the case of an antagonist, such as Christopher Lee in The Lord of the Rings, acting that gives you a villain that you love to hate.
Something Meaningful to Say: Not all films need to have a complicated message, sometimes the simplest messages are the best. But a film with an interesting premise, like Sunshine, or an inspiring story, like The Lord of the Rings, have a lot more going for them. Now, not all of the films on my list are particularly strong in this area, at both ends of the spectrum in fact (X2 and Hot Fuzz namely), but they make up for it by being remarkable in one or more of the other areas.
Entertaining: A film has to be entertaining. Duh. But really, that’s the point of a movie. If I didn’t enjoy watching it, it’s not on this list. And conversely, if a film was lacking in a couple of the other areas, but was nonetheless extremely enjoyable, it can still find itself in my top 25. I wouldn’t call Death at a Funeral ‘visually stunning’ nor does it have anything particularly meaningful to say, but it was so much fun to watch that I couldn’t help but include it.
So, all that said, I hope you enjoy my ‘Top 25 Films of the Decade.’
Tagged: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 28 days later, aaron eckhart, alan moore, alan tudyk, all the president's men, andy serkis, anton yelchin, apocalypto, batman, ben burtt, bill milner, billy crystal, black comedy, braveheart, brian cox, british comedy, bruce willis, bryan singer, charles durning, chris pine, christian bale, christopher lee, christopher nolan, cillian murphy, coen brothers, danny boyle, david fincher, death at a funeral, devotchka, dirty rotten scoundrels, edgar wright, emily mortimer, fellowship of the ring, fight club, first blood, frank miller, frank oz, gary oldman, George Clooney, gladiator, guy fawkes, guy ritchie, heath ledger, hot fuzz, hugo weaving, ian mckellen, indiana jones, j.j. abrams, j.r.r. tolkien, jake gyllenhaal, james coburn, john cho, john goodman, john turturro, jude law, karl urban, lars and the real girl, little miss sunshine, little shop of horrors, lock stock and two smoking barrels, m night shyamalan, mark addy, mark ruffalo, mark strong, matthew macfadyen, mel gibson, michael cain, midwest, mongol, monsters inc., nick frost, o brother where art thou, parody, patrick stewart, paul bettany, peter dinklage, peter jackson, pixar, robert downey jr, ryan gosling, samuel l. jackson, science fiction, se7en, sean astin, seven samurai, shaun of the dead, sherlock homes, signs, simon pegg, snatch, son of rambow, star trek, star wars, steve buscemi, sufjan stevens, sunshine, superhero, the core, the dark knight, the dark knight returns, the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, the lord of the rings, the matrix, the odyssey, The Passion of the Christ, the return of the king, the two towers, the voyage home, the wrath of kahn, tim blake, unbreakable, v for vendetta, viggo mortensen, wachowski brothers, wall-e, we will rock you, what about bob, will poulter, x-men, x2, zachary quinto, zodiac, zoe saldana, zombie