My top 5 favorite films of the decade.

It seems every movie geeks out there who has a site or blog is putting out his or her favorite films of the decade, so I figured I would put mine out to the web, too, but I only chose five movies I think are the best from this decade.

These are my top favorite five films of 2000’s. There were so many good films that came out in this decade that it was hard picking only five of them, but in my opinion these are the best ones.

1. Traffic (2000) Cast: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Plot: A modern day look at America’s war on drugs told through four separate stories that are connected in one way or another. A conservative politician who’s just been appointed as the US drug czar learns that his daughter is a drug addict. A trophy wife struggles to save her husband’s drug business, while two DEA agents protect a witness with inside knowledge of the spouse’s business. In Mexico, a corrupt, yet dedicated, cop struggles with his conscience when he learns that his new boss may not be the anti-drug official he made himself out to be.

This is probably Soderbergh’s best film. He hasn’t done anything that has come close to this, although I enjoyed the first “Ocean’s” film quite a bit. This film should’ve won the Oscar for best picture of that year—, instead a much inferior but enjoyable Gladiator won.



2. Minority Report (2002) Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow and Samantha Morton. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Plot: In the year 2054 A.D. crime is virtually eliminated from Washington D.C. thanks to an elite law enforcing squad “Precrime”. They use three genetically-altered humans (called “Pre-Cogs”) with special powers to see into the future and predict crimes before they happen. John Anderton heads Precrime and believes zealously in the system’s infallibility. However one day the Pre-Cogs predict that Anderton himself will commit a murder in the next 36 hours. Even worse, Anderton doesn’t even know the victim. He decides to get to the mystery’s core by finding out the ‘minority report', which is the prediction of the female Pre-Cog Agatha that “might” tell a different story and prove Anderton innocent.

The film was based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick and Spielberg and his writers did such a wonderful job of expanding the story from a 100-page book into an almost 2 and a half hours of film. He called the film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” meets “The Maltese Falcon,” and I couldn’t disagree with him since Raiders and Maltese are two of my favorite films. One minor issue I have with the film is the ending: I wish Spielberg had gone with the book’s darker ending thus making this an instant sci-fi classic.

I love the teaser trailer:



3. The Lives of Others (2006) Cast: Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch and Martina Gedeck. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Plot: The horrifying, sometimes unintentionally, funny system of observation in the former East Germany. In the early 1980s, the successful dramatist Georg Dreyman and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland, a popular actress, are big intellectual stars in the socialist state, although they secretly don’t always think according to the party line. One day, the Minister of Culture becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service agent Wiesler is instructed to observe and sound out the couple. Their life fascinates him more and more.

I wanted to see this film when it first came out in theater but didn’t get to see it till late last year, and I was blown away by it. I’ve watched it three times already. The performance by the main actors was just amazing and the direction by Florian was pitch perfect. I hope he gets to do the next James Bond film because the man knows how to make a spy flick.



4. Batman Begins (2005) Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes and Gary Oldman. Directed by Christopher Nolan.

Plot: Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight’s emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents’ murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.

Now some will argue that the sequel, “ The Dark Knight,” is a much superior film, and I won’t disagree with that. But in my opinion “Batman Begins” has a more of a complete storyline. In The Dark Knight Nolan tried to cramp three story lines into one film. Had The Dark Knight focused on just Batman and the Joker, I believe it would have been a much better film. I also love “The Dark Knight,” but because the Harvey Dent story line in the film was sort of out place, I couldn’t include it on my top five list.

I do think though that “The Dark Knight's" trailer was much superior to the really bad trailer of for Batman Begins. When I first saw this trailer, I almost didn’t want to see the film.



Now here's the much better trailer of The Dark Knight:



5. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) Cast: Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. Directed Peter Weir.

Plot: During the Napoleonic Wars, a British frigate, HMS Surprise, and a much larger French warship with greater fire power, the Acheron, stalk each other off of the coast of South America. Russell Crowe brings great intensity to the role of Captain Jack Aubrey. Lucky Jack, as he is referred to by his crew, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain. While the naval battle sequences are quite fantastic, the film is successful because director Weir chose to build the story around getting to know the men who are locked aboard the tight quarters of a small ship and how they interact everyday. The officers and the mates are well-known by the time the final battle comes. Paul Bettany offers a strong performance as the surgeon and naturalist who balances the violence of his chosen life with the quiet demeanor of the scientist. He is the captain’s friend and confidant, the two frequently playing violin and cello duets together. The horrors of the injuries from the war are frequently implied, but vividly depicted in the reactions of the characters.

Again this film should’ve won best picture of that year, but I guess the Academy voters wanted to give Lord of the Rings some love by awarding the statue to the weakest of the trilogy “The Return of The King” (in my opinion “Fellowship of the Rings” is the best one). In “Master and Commander,” the performances by Crowe and Bettany were just incredible. I have seen this movie several times now and still can’t believe it didn’t win best picture. Of course it didn’t help that the film under-performed at the box office, it cost close to 150 million to make and only earned about 90 million domestically.



Well, those are my top five favorite films from this decade. Please feel free to list your top 5 five favorite films in the comments section. I know it’s difficult to choose only five movies, but that’s the challenge. Have fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing your top five faves of the decade.