Top 10 films of the decade

MARGARET AGNEW

Top 10 films of the decade

As we speed rapidly towards 2010 and debate whether to pronounce it twenty-ten or two-thousand-and-ten, it's time to reflect on the first decade of the millennium.

The noughties have been a decade of thrilling highs and deep dark lows for fans of celluloid.

Hobbits reigned supreme, running amok in Wellywood, and shining a spotlight on New Zealand talent, however, we also saw the invention of a genre called torture-porn, thanks largely to the blood-splattering franchise holders of Saw and Hostel.

Here we prefer to look on the bright side, with the 10 best films of 2000-2009.
You can almost guarantee that my top 10 will be vastly different from yours. So, without further ado, let the arguments begin!

(In alphabetical order)

Amelie (2001)
Launching the lovely French star Audrey Tautou onto the world stage, Amelie is a sweet little French charmer, full of gorgeous, genuinely romantic, quirky  touches that couldn't fail to melt the hardest heart.

Atonement (2007)
A beautiful yet tragic book made into a beautiful yet tragic film, Atonement is a visual joy, contrasting the gorgeous English countryside and glorious 1930s outfits with the bleak chaotic beaches of war-torn Dunkirk. The two leads, James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, are well matched, while the pivotal character of Briony is brilliantly, seamlessly played by three actresses: firstly as a naive child by Saoirse Ronan (currently starring in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones), then as an older, somewhat wiser 18-year-old by Romola Garai, and, finally, by a quietly magnificent Vanessa Redgrave, still atoning for what she did. Complex, fragile and devastating in its impact, this spellbinding film is a love story for mature adults.

Donnie Darko (2001)
Mind-bending stuff which introduced the world to the talents of Jake Gyllenhaal and his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal who also play siblings in the film. The best use of an '80s soundtrack since Breakfast Club.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
I loved this film so much I want to pick it up and give it a big hug. An utterly original take on the romantic drama, starring the quirky but dazzling pairing of Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey.

Gladiator (2000)Are you not entertained? Well, are you ... not? It was the film that launched Russell Crowe's star into orbit, so it's up to you whether you look back on it fondly. Whatever you think of the revisionist sword-and-sandal epic, it's exhilarating to watch, with our Russ battling tigers, various warriors and a demented Roman emperor.

Gran Torino (2008)
Clint Eastwood, at the age of 79, has turned out to be an even greater director than he is an actor, forging incredible film after incredible film. In Gran Torino, he takes on both jobs in what he has declared will be his last acting role. And it's a doozy of a film, far outshining his Angelina Jolie vehicle, Changeling, of the same year. It's hard to pick a favourite noughties Eastwood movie with the brilliant Japanese-perspective World War 2 film Letters from Iwo Jima (companion piece to his 2006 film shot from the American perspective, Flags of our Fathers), the surprising, tear-jerking Million Dollar Baby, and the darkly moving Mystic River also made this decade, but Gran Torino shows off Eastwood's talents in myriad marvellous ways with its Dirty Harry subverting story in a domestic setting. Simply stunning. 

The Incredibles (2004)
Animated family-friendly adventure doesn't come any better than this. With a cool design ethic that recalls the future as envisioned by 1950s designers and with real heart alongside real action, The Incredibles does it all, incredibly well.

In Bruges (2008)
Two British hitmen are sent to the beautiful medieval town of Bruges because bad things have happened. Bad things continue to happen, but in amusing and even lyrically allegorical ways. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes are at their foul-mouthed profound best as three gangsters at odds in a ludicrously scenic city, contemplating the big issues of life and death and the smaller issues of midgets and beer.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002 and 2003)
My precioussss! This surely counts as one veeeeery long movie, but, if I'm not allowed to pick all three, I'll choose the third film, The Return of the King, for finishing off the epic trilogy with almost 100 percent pay-off after all the build-up of the first two. A towering achievement, and not just because it was filmed in lil' ol' Nuzild and won a squillion Oscars. While the top 10 list is alphabetical, this is obviously the one to rule them all.

Memento (2000)
It's hard to think back to how groundbreakingly mind-boggling the backwards timeline of Memento was. The plot, in which a man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife, seems simple enough, but it's all in the telling. These days it seems like every second film serves up a freaky non-linear storyline, just to add interest. It's a shame that Guy Pearce seems to have disappeared of late. Director Christopher Nolan went on to successfully resuscitate the Batman franchise with gravelly-voiced Christian Bale.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
This wondrous, chilling, R16 fairytale is definitely not for children. Set in the post-civil-war Spain of 1944, Pan's Labyrinth is the tale of a young girl who escapes her disturbing life into an eerie, but captivating fantasy world. This beautiful film is a work of art that blends the best parts of fable with harsh historical reality and a child's struggle to escape her horrific circumstances. The juxtaposition of childlike fantasy and the horrors of the real world may be disturbing, but it perfectly supports the film's raison d'etre: that innocence has a power evil cannot resist. Director Guillermo del Toro has worked out that an evil stepfather is far more terrifying than any fairytale stepmother could ever be, and reality is scarier still. The results are marvellous and frightening at the same time.

Sunshine (2007)
Every few years there is a film so effective it makes you gasp. It may not be perfect, but it reminds you why you love movies. For me, Sunshine is one of those films. Set in 2057, Sunshine is about a fantastic journey to restart the sun. Thrilling, awe-inspiring, tense, claustrophobic, a little bloody and emotional, with fabulous visual effects, and a magnificent soundtrack, Sunshine is worth seeing, even if you're not a huge fan of the sci-fi genre. As well as exploring the bigger questions of life and the universe, it's a drama about how people react under extreme circumstances. (For best effect, it really needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.) Not everyone's cup of tea, but in my opinion, Sunshine was even better than Danny Boyle's more widely acclaimed, popular 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire.

If we could go over 10, I'd also include: Letters from Iwo Jima (2007), City of God (2003), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Children of Men (2006), WALL-E (2008), No Country for Old Men (2007), Ratatouille (2007), Moulin Rouge! (2001), The Dark Knight (2008), Almost Famous (2000), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Lost in Translation (2003) and Shaun of the Dead (2004).

What are your top films of the noughties (200-2009)? Let us know below.