Best of the Decade: Honourable Mentions
In narrowing down our favourite movies of the decade to just 20, obviously there were plenty of amazing films that ended up getting ignored. Before posting our individual Top 50 lists, I thought it would be worth highlighting just a few more picks that barely missed making our consensus list for one reason or another. Most of these were still nominated by at least 3 of us, but may have had extenuating circumstances surrounding their exclusion.
The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007)
I’m surprised that more people haven’t complained about the lack of a Pixar presence on our Top 20 list, but I’m here to clear that up right now. Although we are not the biggest Pixar fanboys on the planet, I think we can all agree that they deserve to be acknowledged for their achievements in pushing animation forward and creating many of the biggest critical and commercial hits of the decade. The truth is, our votes were split between two different Pixar films in particular: The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Director Brad Bird would seem to be the common thread here.
City of God (2002)
There aren’t many movies that were as universally applauded this decade as Fernando Meirelles’ City of God, a gripping tale of life growing up in the crime-ridden slums of Rio De Janeiro. In addition to being one of the most successful foreign films ever, it arguably paved the way for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire to clean up at the Academy Awards seven years later. I know our Top 20 list was a little light on foreign films (alright, completely lacking), but I think this probably could have cracked our Top 20 if all of us had seen it at the time.
United 93 (2006)
It’s hard not to include a movie about 9/11 in any sort of recap of this decade. The tragic events of September 11th changed many facets of life in North America, and the aftershocks reverberated throughout the rest of the world as well. Paul Greengrass’ United 93 was found by some moviegoers to be dull, and others to be tasteless, but it remains a gut-wrenching tribute that is both accurate and absorbing. Although we didn’t all love this movie, I know we all agree that Paul Greengrass was one of the key directors of the decade. His work on this movie and on the Bourne series has had a major impact on how action movies are made, and as such, United 93 definitely deserves an honourable mention.
Borat (2006)
I’m not quite sure how Borat failed to make our combined Top 20 list, but I know we all loved it and that we are all still big fans of Sacha Baron Cohen. He brought a new kind of improvisational guerilla comedy to the world, and managed to make a statement while doing it. A few years later it seems that all the hype and controversy have caused him to lose some of his mainstream appeal, but he followed up with Bruno, proving that he could push the envelope even further. Both are comedy classics that will continue to be hailed for their outrageousness for many years to come.
The Staircase (2004)
In a certain sense, The Staircase doesn’t quite qualify for a “Best Films of the Decade” list because it is a 6-hour documentary divided up into 8 parts. It’s more of a mini-series than a film, and yet, I think it warrants recognition because it is such a fantastic courtroom thriller that you simply can’t stop watching. It’s been my experience that anyone who is introduced to this film is utterly blown away by it, as there are so many unbelievable twists and turns that you cannot possibly predict the outcome. Hopefully its inclusion as an honourable mention will inspire a few more people to seek out this gem.
Check out our complete list of the Top 20 Films of the ’00s.
Comments (19)
“I’m surprised that more people haven’t complained about the lack of a Pixar presence on our Top 20 list”.
Used to it.
Glad for the Brad Bird mention, though (honorable or not).
Posted by Falsk on December 31st, 2009Still no mentioned of:
The Aviator
Amélie
Napoleon Dynamite
In the Valley of Elah
Requiem for a Dream
In the Mood for Love
Hustle & Flow
The House of Sand and Fog
Michael Clayton
Memento
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
What is wrong with you people, DO YOU EVEN LIKE FILM???!!!!
Posted by rus in chicago on December 31st, 2009I’ll give you Amelie.
But… Hustle and Flow?
Posted by Falsk on December 31st, 2009Haha oh Rus.
I agree with you on Hustle & Flow, just watched that for the first time last night and loved it.
Posted by Sean on December 31st, 2009It’s a crying shame that City of god didn’t make it onto the top 20 list you guys put together. I would have booted off the Departed and replaced it with City of god. I feel it’s far more ambitious and memorable.
Posted by Marc on December 31st, 2009Believe or not, Borat would have made my top 10. I was even surprised on how much I liked it.
Posted by Tommy on December 31st, 2009Sean – if you were include miniseries in this.
Looking forward to the clip show.
Posted by BigHungry on December 31st, 2009I would have to go with “Band of Brothers” 2001 which I would include also the very last part of this series… where they talk with the actual people who were apart of the real group. Only couple movies made me tear up… “Rudy” and “Band of Brothers”… and “star wars episode one” for the wrong reasons
City of God isn’t on the list because Jay had not seen it until about a week or so ago.
rus you’re being a bit harsh, There are literally over a hundred or so movies I’d be just as happy to see in an honorable mention, countless I didn’t put in my own top 50, etc.
Posted by Goon on December 31st, 2009I totally forgot about City of God and Amelie. At least one would be in my top 10 for sure.
Posted by The Man on December 31st, 2009surprised that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind didn’t make it. i know that Sean loves it, but the other guys aren’t huge fans of it. thought it would at least break the top twenty. at least one Kaufman film should have.
Posted by brad on December 31st, 2009I love Eternal Sunshine, it made my top 50
Posted by Goon on December 31st, 2009I think it’s interesting that Slumdog Millionaire hardly gets any attention any more. A year ago it was all over the place, and now it seems like no one particularly cares about it anymore. Maybe all those oscars that were thrown at the film are seen as enough of a reward, and people are more likely to remember the underdogs like Wrestler, Children of Men, Pans Labyrinth etc.
Posted by Sven on December 31st, 2009I was gladly surprised that Eternal Sunshine didn’t make it.
I was even more gladly surprised to find no bullshit Pixar movies on the list. Awesome!
Posted by Henrik on December 31st, 2009Well I have already added my 2 cents as to what should be on the list…but it is over now and all I want to say is thanks for the fun Junkateers!
What no year end video show?
Posted by xego on January 1st, 2010No need to boot off The Departed when you’ve got District 9 in there (interesting premise devolves into pretty generic actoin movie with one-note bad guy). I am certainly saddened, if not shocked, not to see some of my favourites not even get a mention: Pan’s Labyrinth, 28 Days Later, The Lives of Others, The Return (2003, Russian). Light on foreign films indeed.
Still, all in all we got quite a good list, particularly as a mix of the art-house (Let the Right One In), the popcorn (Spider-Man) and the undefinable (Basterds).
Posted by AlexG on January 1st, 2010Just finished The Staircase a couple of days ago and it is amazing! One of the most gripping documentaries I have seen in a while and really opens up a lot of debate about the American justice system and it’s just a fascinating case overall. Definitely worthy of an honourable mention at least.
Posted by KeithTalent on January 2nd, 2010Sean I’m suprised after all you guy’s have talked about it that Napoleon Dynamite didn’t make it at least on to the runner up list. It was one of the most original comedies ever made.
Posted by jackson on January 2nd, 2010I saw The Staircase recently too and agree on it’s greatness, even though I learned later that there was a lot of the trial that we don’t get to see that might change our perception. It is interesting how the filmmaker picked the subject at the very beginning of the legal battle, and had to make decisions on the fly. As the case changed direction, and as they were allowed different amounts of access, they had to constantly re-examine what kind of movie they wanted to make. They did a great job.
I think Slumdog Millionaire will always be remembered because it won the Oscar- and deservedly so. I do agree right now that City of God paved the way and is more influential. I like them both, but CoG is more depressing. SM more feel-good in the end. Depends what you are in the mood for. Danny Boyle is definitely one of the directors of the decade. While he won the Oscar for SM, his defining film of the decade is 28 Days Later.
I’m not sure Napoleon Dynamite is standing up to the test of time. It made me laugh for a few years after it came out, but thinking back now it doesn’t resonate so much. I think my favorite comedies of the 00’s are The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Hot Fuzz.
Posted by Mason on January 2nd, 2010I think Mason, that a lot of stuff that got left out really did have a lot to do with access, that the defense team was open to the cameras and eventually the offense was not.
As for Slumdog, while I wasn’t as big a fan as many, I’m grateful that it got rescued, because at one point Warner Independent Pictures wanted to send it straight to video.
Posted by Goon on January 2nd, 2010Leave a Reply