Ok, I had so much fun doing the Best 9 of ’09 I figured why not do every other year in the Aughts (2000-2009) and then the best of those best! Best of the WHOLE decade! So I’ve done that. It got harder and harder as the years went back, especially considering I was pretty young in the year 2000. But I think I’ve come up with a pretty good list of my favorites (and least favorites!) from the past ten years. Again, maybe Avatar or some other such movie will blow my brains out all over the place before the end of 2009 and force me to amend my lists, but we’ll see. Ok, I’ll start with the shakiest years and move forward ending with my best 9 of the decade:

Worst of 2000:
Battlefield Earth

Best of 2000:
9- Battle Royale
8- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
7- Shadow of the Vampire
6- The Emperor’s New Groove
5- Memento
4- American Psycho
3- Gladiator
2- Requiem for a Dream
1- Best in Show

Worst of 2001:
Jurassic Park III, Monkeybone, Planet of the Apes

Best of 2001:
9- Amélie
8- Zoolander
7- Ocean’s Eleven
6- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
5- Wet Hot American Summer
4- Shrek
3- Mulholland Drive
2- Monsters, Inc.
1- The Royal Tenenbaums

Worst of 2002:
Queen of the Damned, Signs

Best of 2002:
9- The Salton Sea
8- Solaris (2002)
7- Secretary
6- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
5- The Bourne Identity
4- Punch-Drunk Love
3- 28 Days Later
2- City of God
1- Adaptation

Worst of 2003:
Cold Mountain, The Hulk, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Best of 2003:
9- Lost in Translation
8- Bad Santa
7- 21 Grams
6- Kill Bill Vol. 1
5- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
4- The Cooler
3- Coffee and Cigarettes
2- Swimming Pool
1- Finding Nemo

Worst of 2004:
Alexander, The Village

Best of 2004:
9- Undertow
8- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7- The Aviator
6- Kill Bill Vol. 2
5- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4- Primer
3- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2- Shaun of the Dead
1- The Incredibles

Worst of 2005:
The Jacket, The Devil’s Rejects, The Island

Best of 2005:
9- The Three Burials of Malquides Estrada
8- A History of Violence
7- Batman Begins
6- Oldboy
5- Capote
4- Grizzly Man
3- Paradise Now
2- Good Night, and Good Luck
1- Cache (Hidden)

Worst of 2006:
Ultraviolet, Thank You for Smoking, The Da Vinci Code, Superman Returns, The Wicker Man, The Black Dahlia

Best of 2006:
9- The Proposition
8- Inside Man
7- Stranger Than Fiction
6- Brick
5- Pan’s Labyrinth
4- Inland Empire
3- The Fountain
2- Casino Royale
1- Children of Men

Worst of 2007:
Transformers, Across the Universe

Best of 2007:
9- 3:10 to Yuma
8- The Bourne Ultimatum
7- The Darjeeling Limited
6- Michael Clayton
5- Superbad
4- Eastern Promises
3- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2- There Will Be Blood
1- No Country for Old Men

Worst of 2008 (and among some of the worst movies ever made):
The Happening, Wanted, Chapter 27, The Life Before Her Eyes, Choke, Repo! the Genetic Opera

Best of 2008:
9- The Fall
8- Iron Man
7- The Dark Knight
6- Young@Heart
5- Tell No One
4- The Wrestler
3- Slumdog Millionaire
2- WALL-E
1- Let the Right One In

I’ll post 2009 here again, just so your life is easier!

Worst of 2009:
The International, Watchmen, Adventureland, Surveillance, Public Enemies, Where the Wild Things Are

Best of 2009:
9- The Brothers Bloom
8- Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
7- Inglourious Basterds
6- Zombieland
5- The Road
4- A Serious Man
3- Star Trek
2- Up
1- Moon

And here it is… the moment of truth…

My favorite 9 films of the Aughts!!!
9- Best in Show
8- Star Trek
7- WALL-E
6- Up
5- There Will Be Blood
4- Moon
3- Cache (Hidden)
2- Let the Right One In
1- No Country for Old Men

Well there you have it! My favorite and least favorite movies of the past ten years. Maybe not all technically the best movies ever made, but my favorite. Agree? Disagree? Think I’m crazy? Maybe I am. Why don’t you tell me about it, or better yet offer up your lists in the comments I’d love to hear them!!

December 17th, 2009 Chicago [IAN]