What's the best movie you saw this decade?

The Prestige really sticks with me.

 

I've seen a bunch of "decade" lists and one movie I keep coming back to - even though I don't think it was even my favorite the year it came out - was Pan's Labyrinth.
One of those movies that had no "stars," twisted genres, introduced a new director to a wider audience (not to mention helped bring other directors from Mexico some attention) and showed that special effects could actually be used in an emotionally affecting way. Throw in that it was an independent foreign language film and it's even more amazing it has stayed with me.

 

HC, as always, nails it. That's why I love her.

My choices--off the top of my head would be "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Dark Knight", and both because of the unworldly performances of Heath Ledger.

Brokeback is even more amazing because the adaptation from source material completely captured the emotional charge of the Annie Proulx short story.

And you will be hard pressed to find a better piece of acting than Ledger as The Joker. Truly astonishing.

And in terms of sheer visceral thrill, I loved the Bourne Trilogy---maybe because one of my sons gave the set to me for Xmas and although I had seen 2 of the 3 at the movies, I enjoyed my marathon viewing while HC was winning second prize in the Sound of Music.

 

Children of Men, No Country For Old Men, Traffic

 

1. The Lives of Others
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Man on Wire
4. Avatar
5. Paris Je T'aime
6. Rescue Dawn
7. The Prestige
8. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
9. Almost Famous
10. Diving Bell and the Butterfly

 

I'll raise you Danny Boyle

28 Days Later
Millions
Slumdog Millionaire

 

My top scripted comedies of the decade

1. Anchorman
2. Tropic Thunder
3. 40-YO-Virgin
4. The Hangover
5. Wedding Crashers

 

I really liked KB, Vol. 2. I was completely bored with Vol. 1.

 

--Brokeback Mountain: No way it was gonna match the outrageous hype. In the same way Titanic was a $200 million chick flick (as Cameron called it), Brokeback was an art house-scale film of emotional wreckage and a bit of rebuilding that became a phenomenon. Ledger was outstanding; how he came to terms with his daughter in the end is hopeful yet heartbreaking. Gyllenhaal was little more than temptation, and I have a feeling has wasn't supposed to be much more, anyway.
--Across the Universe: It was a big distraction naming characters after people in Beatles songs. I kept waiting...and waiting...till someone finally sang Hey Jude to...well, Jude. That said, the movie captured the many different spirits of the Beatles songbook in very fresh ways (making I Want to Hold Your Hand a teen lesbian's statement of unrequited longing was particularly inspired). And the ending when Jude and his true love will clearly reunite was about as special an ending as I've ever seen.

 

Great call, if you like that kind of humor -- as I do.