Top 10 Movies of the Decade

1. Crash (2005)
Many critics lament Crash as one of the worst film's ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. I couldn't disagree more. It's one of the few times the Academy actually got it right. Paul Haggis' directorial debut is simultaneously exhilarating, depressing, and disturbing. It's a rare film that will cause you to think and question your own behavior.

2. United 93 (2006)
The decade's hardest movie to watch was one of its best. Paul Greengrass' examination of the doomed United flight 93 plays like an impeccable documentary. I've never had a more powerful reaction to a film than I did to United 93. Sure, the subject matter had something to do with the raging emotions, but the superb way in which Greengrass examines human nature will stir even the most stone-faced movie-goer.

3. Big Fish (2003)
The best movies are the ones that make you feel. They're not the films with splashy performances, the impeccable one-liners, or the out-of-this-world special effects. They're the movies that "speak to you." Maybe they're not critically-acclaimed, but that's no what matters. For me, that movie is Big Fish. Often overlooked by many when discussing Tim Burton's best work, Big Fish is an imaginative experience full of heart.

4. In America (2003)
It's impossible not to love this story about an Irish family immigrating to America. The story brims with sadness, but director Jim Sheridan's subtle sense of humor makes the experience joyous. Real-life sisters, Emma and Sarah Bolger, steal the show with their d0e-eyed innocence and insatiable exuberance. In America is a film about what truly matters in America -- family.

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Michael Gondry's one-of-a-kind style paired with unforgettable performances from Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey made Eternal Sunshine 2004's most original and best flick. Eternal Sunshine is a movie about the true meaning of love, and it's love's flaws that will leave you enamored with this quirky and tragic story of fate, hope, and adoration.

6. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 - 2003)
It's quite difficult to make adaptations of famous literature. Audiences and critics usually agree, "the book was better than the movie." That can't be said of Peter Jackson's take on J.R. Tolkien's famous fantasy adventures. As Gollem would say, Jackson's masterpiece is our precioussss.

7. Slumdog Millionaire / The Dark Knight (2008)
The timing of a film's release can determine its success and how its viewed critically. That's true of both Slumdog Millionaire and The Dark Knight. They're two movies that perfectly capture the mood of society at a specific point in time. Not only are both movies impeccably made, acted, and directed, but they're perfect descriptors of life in 2008.

8. Up (2009)
Pixar had a great decade. Each of the studio's films was practically better than the last. That must be why Up makes this list. Up is the best animated movie to hit the big screen since The Beauty and the Beast. It's full of pathos, humor, and sentiment. During Up, children watch their wildest imaginations play out on the big screen, and adults simply remember the joy of being young while celebrating the beauty in growing old.

9. Chicago (2002)
The musical is cool again, thanks to Chicago. Rob Marshall's glitz-filled musical is elevated by career-best performances from Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, and Renée Zellweger. The movie helped inspire a bevy of stage-to-screen adaptations -- from Rent and Sweeney Todd to Dreamgirls and Phantom of the Opera. However, one of the decade's first musical was its best. Thanks to Chicago, the silver screen now has a little more razzle dazzle.

10. Million Dollar Baby / Letters From Iwo Jima (2004 / 2006)
Clint Eastwood had an amazing decade, and his work couldn't go unrecognized. I couldn't choose just one. Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima are two of the best of their respective "film genres," sports and war. Each takes its genre's respective clichés, throws them out the window, and focuses on good, old-fashioned storytelling. Now going on 79-years-old, Mr. Eastwood keeps getting better with age.