Better Late Than Never: My End of the Year/End of the Decade Wrap Up

Before I begin, a caveat: even though I try to see as many as possible, I haven’t seen every film. Many films, even some great films, absence on this list can be attributed to this.

The 00s were a strange time for me. Maybe this isn’t the right thing to put in this type of review, but it’s hard for me to believe that when the decade started I was only 13. I’m not sure if that means anything particularly deep or meaningful, but it did mean that I got to grow up among these films; they all had an incredibly strong role in shaping me into the sort of film viewer that I am today. Strange to think how much has changed in 10 years.

Most of these films are available through the Pop Culture Beast Store.

Click the Rawr! for the best films of the 00s!


10. Children of Men
9. 25th Hour
8. Gerry
7. Memento
6. I'm Not There
5. City of God
4. The Lives of Others
3. Sideways
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Honorable mention goes to: High Fidelity, Big Fish, Monsters Inc., Millions and In Bruges.

As for 2009, I know that I am coming out with my end of the year wrap-up later than many other people. My reasoning is simple, I wanted to wait and see as many of 2009’s films as I could. Had I made this list earlier I wouldn’t have been able to include some of the most lauded movies of the year.

I think that 2009 was an unusually disappointing year for movies. There were probably just as many really great movies as there are every year (which is to say, not many), the problem was more that the quality of the middle rung movies seems to have slipped. However, amid all the Transformers 2s and the GI Joes there were a couple of films that were able to transcend that disappointment and prove themselves to be truly great. I have been disappointed by many of the more critically-praised entries this year, while in past years, as recently as 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire I have rooted for these films, this year they are disappointingly formulaic and tired. The Hurt Locker and Precious come to mind; they aren’t really bad movies, they are just too over-hyped and too unoriginal.

But I digress. I was able, with some difficulty, to come up with a top 10 of 2009.

1. Up
Very few movies have half as much heart in their entire running lengths as this one does in the first twenty minutes. This movie has set a new standard for family entertainment, it truly is an experience the whole family will enjoy. Not only is it the best movie of the year, but it is probably the greatest animated film of all time.

2. Adventureland
Jesse Eisenberg brilliantly plays an amusement park employee with high ambitious and few options. Set in the 80s, but belonging to anybody that has ever felt stuck, this movie is a really beautiful portrait of what it feels like to be young, confused and stuck.

3. Up In The Air
Rarely does a movie so perfectly grasp the spirit of its time. Jason Reitman’s third film is the blending of the perfect script and the perfect socio-economic timing. George Clooney proves again that he is such a capable and brilliant actor.

4. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
I’ve always believed that a film doesn’t need to be concise, some of the best movies are the ones that are able to inspire more questions than they provide answers. This is one such film. Terry Gilliam proves, once again, that he is a master of ambiguity.

5. A Serious Man
One of those films that sticks with you. Several days after seeing it I found myself still thinking about it, replaying scenes in my head. And, though it is a polarizing film, certainly not for all tastes, I found it to be a deeply affecting portrait of the helplessness of life.

6. The Hangover
Funny movie.

7. Watchmen
I admire what Watchmen tried to do. While I know that some people (notably among them PCB’s own, Garon) did not care for this film I found it to be a brave film. Not the greatest superhero movie of all time, but all the proof that I need that a large-scale movie can be more about ideas then about explosions.

8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Stop motion animation is alive and well as evidenced by Wes Anderson’s brilliant, beautiful film.

9. Moon
Sam Rockwell gives what is, arguably, this year's best performance in what is one of the greatest science fiction films of all time.

10. The Limits of Control
Minimalism at its finest. I have always been a fan of Jim Jarmusch’s films, he scores again with this one.