Best Of The Decade - 15 - 6

Continuing the Best of The Decade list. For the first part go here.

15. BLACK HAWK DOWN - Before Hollywood started showcasing our troops as crazy, stupid, unstable, and even rapists, they were shown in a brighter light in Ridley Scott's amazing film about soldiers being trapped in Somalia while trying to arrest two warlords. Based on the true events from 1993 the film captures both the horrors of war and the bravery of our soldiers. It is a very tense and honorable film and one that unfortunately hasn't been made since 2001.

14. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - What haven't I already said about Quentin Tarantino's marvelous film? His historic fiction is told with such mastery that it proves he is one of our greatest filmmakers today. A master storyteller. My favorite film of 2009 and one of the best films from the last decade.

13. SPIDER-MAN 2 - Sam Raimi was able to breath new life into the super hero genre with the first film. But he blew the lid off when he took it to another level in the second. I still say no one was better suited for this screen adaptation of Spider-Man as well as Raimi and this film specifically proves it. All the pieces fit together perfectly. The film stands on its own.

12. OLDBOY - Talk about offering something different. What at first appears as a revenge story with a slight twist turns into a revenge story with s huge twist. The ending can be perceived as either sweet or extremely sick but this is definitely a film unlike many others from the last ten years.

11. MAY - At some point, if not most of the time, a lot of us feel like outsiders. Something about us that makes us different. An awkward thing that in some ways helps makes us unique. Although that one thing can also separate us from the "norm" and this is perfectly captured in the character of May played to perfection by Angela Bettis. I know a lot of horror fans, both male and female, relate to the film (outside of its horror elements) because as horror fans we tend to feel like outcasts. Very few films can capture this better than 'May' and it easily makes it one of the best films I've seen over the decade.

10. SHAUN OF THE DEAD - Once again a horror comedy that knows how to blend the two worlds perfectly. This is just an outstanding film that is funny and even has some scares in it. It's also a romance and a buddy picture. The fact that it takes place during a zombie apocalypse is just icing on the cake.

9. KILL BILL - Quentin Tarantino's fourth film is quite a film. Although it was divided into two parts because it's running time was pushing four hours it works both as two films or as one big whole. A revenge story (how I love 'em) about a woman on search for the people that tried to kill her. No need to trying to explain it but this film offers two things. It shows Tarantino's increasing sense of visual artistry and his command of the craft of storytelling. A completely mind boggling tale which makes this two of this man's films to appear on my list. Keep it up Quentin. I am lovin' it!

8. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - For those that know me or have been reading the blog for awhile then you know my love for this film. Part of the beauty of it is that I saw it fairly blindly in that I knew almost nothing about it. I knew of it sort of but nothing specific. In fact, it fell on a day when I was going to see 'My Name Is Bruce' with Bruce Campbell in person so that was the highlight. This was sort of the film we were seeing to kill time. Needless to say I walked away with a different highlight from that day. A different take on vampires only from a child's perspective and told with such a tenderness and so much emotion that I was and continue to be amazed by this film. An absolute masterpiece. I will champion this film as long as I am able because I think it is just that good. There was no doubt this was going on this list. The question was how high.

7. SIN CITY - Robert Rodriguez translated Frank Miller's book onto the screen and created an amazing experience. Shot digitally and mainly on green screens the entire world was created in the computer. This allowed the world to be exactly as it is in Miller's books. With stark black and white and the occasional use of color makes these sordid tales all the more powerful. One of the few times in the last few years when a film ended and all I could say was,"Wow."

6. ZODIAC - David Fincher was stepping back into the serial killer world for a second time only from a different perspective. The telling of the mysterious case of the Zodiac killer that traumatized parts of California for a decade unfolds as if you've never heard it before. The genius of the film is that the first half is basically the Zodiac's killings and the police trying to figure out who it is. The second half is about the pure obsession that a comic strip artist goes through to figure it out long after the rest of the world has moved on from it. Granted I have an inkling for films regarding obsession. I think I can be a bit obsessive so I tend to relate to it. Despite its three hour running time the film moves and is completely engrossing. This film has also inspired me in several ways between my last film and the new one I will be making this summer. The inspiration alone makes it worthy of one of my favorites but the fact that it is an incredible film makes it easily one of the top films for me over the last several years.


Onto the top five which you can see here.