In January 2010, the film website They Shoot Pictures Don't They? released its top 250 films of the decade 2000 - 2009. This list was composed in a unique fashion: the site surveyed all the year-end top ten lists they could find, factored in some recent all-time best list that included recent movies, and calculated the films with the highest scores as "most acclaimed." Obviously, this method is far from foolproof but it does offer a semi-objective look at which movies were most acclaimed by critics over the past decade.
This was a period when I skipped a lot of new releases in order to explore the classics of the past. I don't regret this, but the list provided an opportunity for me to play catch-up in an interesting way. I was already renting and watching movies on the list which I hadn't seen (and reviewing some of these) so I decided to turn this exercise into a regular series. I would watch any films from the top 100 which I hadn't already seen, and review them.
intro updated in November 2010:
The series unfolded on the website Wonders in the Dark throughout 2010 (an earlier incarnation had produced a few entries late in 2009, but the new version of the series began with The Hurt Locker in February 2010). It ran through November 2010, when I concluded with a big write-up on #95, Let the Right One In (comparing it to the book and American remake), followed by a short visual tribute to #100, Silent Light.
Below is the TSPDT? list. Any films I have reviewed are linked; the ones in bold are those I reviewed specifically for this series in 2010.
Cross-posted on Wonders in the Dark, where you can read additional comments.
This list was originally linked on the other Lost in the Movies site and The Sun's Not Yellow.
1. In the Mood for Love (2000, Hong Kong/France), dir. Wong Kar-Wai
2. Mulholland Dr. (2001, USA/France), dir. David Lynch
3. Yi yi (2000, Taiwan/Japan), dir. Edward Yang
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, USA), dir. Michel Gondry
5. Lost in Translation (2003, USA/Japan), dir. Sofia Coppola
6. Spirited Away (2001, Japan), dir. Hayao Miyazaki
7. There Will Be Blood (2007, USA), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
8. Talk to Her (2002, Spain), dir. Pedro Almodóvar
9. A History of Violence (2005, Germany/USA), dir. David Cronenberg
10. Y tu mamá también (2001, Mexico), dir. Alfonso Cuarón
11. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, China/Taiwan/USA), dir. Ang Lee
12. Sideways (2004, USA), dir. Alexander Payne
13. The Hurt Locker (2009, USA), dir. Kathryn Bigelow
14. Far From Heaven (2002, USA/France), dir. Todd Haynes
15. Million Dollar Baby (2004, USA), dir. Clint Eastwood
16. No Country for Old Men (2004, USA), dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
17. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, USA), dir. Wes Anderson
18. Before Sunset (2004, USA), dir. Richard Linklater
19. Memento (2000, USA), dir. Christopher Nolan
20. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007, Romania/Netherlands/France/Germany), dir. Cristian Mungiu
21. Pan's Labyrinth (2006, Spain/Mexico/USA), dir. Guillermo del Toro
22. Zodiac (2007, USA), dir. David Fincher
23. Brokeback Mountain (2005, USA/Canada), dir. Ang Lee
24. Punch-Drunk Love (2002, USA), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
25. Caché (2005, France/Austria/Germany/Italy), dir. Michael Haneke
26. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001, USA), dir. Steven Spielberg
27. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003, New Zealand/USA/Germany), dir. Peter Jackson
28. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania), dir. Cristi Puiu
29. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, USA/New Zealand), dir. Peter Jackson
30. City of God (2002, France), dir. Fernando Meirelles
31. Adaptation (2002, USA), dir. Spike Jonze
32. The Departed (2006, USA), dir. Martin Scorsese
33. Grizzly Man (2005, USA), dir. Werner Herzog
34. Donnie Darko (2001, USA), dir. Richard Kelly
35. The Incredibles (2004, USA), dir. Brad Bird
36. Mystic River (2003, USA), dir. Clint Eastwood
37. Dogville (2003, Denmark/Sweden/France/UK/Germany/Finland/Italy/Netherlands/Norway), dir. Lars von Trier
38. Syndromes and a Century (2006, Thailand/France/Austria/Netherlands), dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
39. 2046 (2004, China/France/Germany/Hong Kong), dir. Wong Kar-Wai
40. Ghost World (2001, UK/USA/Germany), dir. Terry Zwigoff
41. WALL-E (2008, USA), dir. Andrew Stanton
42. United 93 (2006, USA/UK/Franc), dir. Paul Greengrass
43. Moulin Rouge! (2001, USA/Australia), dir. Baz Luhrmann
44. Children of Men (2006, USA/UK/Japan), dir. Alfonso Cuaron
45. The Squid and the Whale (2005, USA), dir. Noah Baumbach
46. The Flight of the Red Balloon (2007, France/Taiwan), dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
47. Still Life (2006, Hong Kong/China), dir. Zhang Ke Jia
48. Summer Hours (2008, France), dir. Olivier Assayas
49. Requiem for a Dream (2000, USA), dir. Darren Aronofsky
50. The Queen (2006, UK/France/Italy/USA), dir. Stephen Frears
51. Elephant (2003, USA), dir. Gus Van Sant
52. Finding Nemo (2003, USA), dir. Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich
53. You Can Count on Me (2000, USA), dir. Kenneth Lonnergan
54. Capturing the Friedmans (2003, USA), dir. Andrew Jarecki
55. Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand/France/Germany/Italy/Switzerland), dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
56. Dancer in the Dark (2000, Denmark/France/Sweden/Italy/Germany/Norway/Netherlands/Iceland/Finland/UK/USA), dir. Lars von Trier
57. L'Enfant (2005, Belgium/France), dir. Jean Pierre & Luc Dardenne
58. Russian Ark (2002, Russia/Germany/Japan/Canada/Finland/Denmark), dir. Aleksandr Sokurov
59. The Gleaners & I (2000, France), dir. Agnès Varda
60. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002 USA/New Zealand/Germany), dir. Peter Jackson
61. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006, USA), dir. Clint Eastwood
62. The Pianist (2002, UK/France/Poland/Germany/Netherlands), dir. Roman Polanski
63. American Splendor (2003, USA), dir. Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman
64. Kings & Queen (2004, France), dir. Arnaud Desplechin
65. Inglourious Basterds (2009, USA/Germany), dir. Quentin Tarantino
66. The Lives of Others (2006, USA/Germany), dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
67. A Serious Man (2009, USA/UK/France), dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
68. I'm Not There (2007, USA/Germany), dir. Todd Haynes
69. Oldboy (2003, South Korea), dir. Park Chan-wook
70. The World (2004, China/Japan/France), dir. Zhang Ke Jia
71. A Christmas Tale (2008, France), dir. Arnaud Desplechin
72. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009, USA), dir. Wes Anderson
73. Waking Life (2001, USA), dir. Richard Linklater
74. Platform (2000, Hong Kong/Japan/France/Netherlands/Sweden), dir. Zhang Ke Jia
75. Almost Famous (2000, USA), dir. Cameron Crowe
76. Amores perros (2000, Mexico), dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu
77. The House of Mirth (2000, UK), dir. Terence Davies
78. In the Bedroom (2001, USA), dir. Todd Field
79. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007, USA/Canada), dir. Andrew Dominik
80. Synecdoche, New York (2008, USA), dir. Charlie Kaufman
81. The New World (2005, USA), dir. Terrence Malick
82. Wendy and Lucy (2008, USA), dir. Kelly Reichardt
83. Moolaadé (2004, Senegal/Burkina Faso, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Switzerland, Germany), dir. Ousmane Sembene
84. About Schmidt (2002, USA), dir. Alexander Payne
85. The Son (2002, Belgium/France), dir. Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
86. Traffic (2000, Germany/USA), dir. Steven Soderbergh
87. Waltz with Bashir, (2008, Israel/France/Germany/USA/Japan/Finland/Switzerland/Belgium/Australia)
88. My Winnipeg (2007, Canada/USA), dir. Guy Maddin
89. Gosford Park (2001, USA/UK), dir. Robert Altman
90. The Headless Woman (2008, Argentina/France/Italy/Spain), dir. Lucrecia Martel
91. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006, USA/UK), dir. Larry Charles
92. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003, USA), dir. Quentin Tarantino
93. Atanarjuat (2000, Canada), dir. Zacahrias Kunuk
94. In Praise of Love (2001, France), dir. Jean-Luc Godard
95. Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden/Norway), dir. Tomas Alfredson
96. Inland Empire (2006, USA/France/Poland), dir. David Lynch
97. Amélie (2001, France/Germany), dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
98. Shrek (2001, USA), dir. Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
99. The Aviator (2004, USA/Germany), dir. Martin Scorsese
100. Silent Light (2007, Mexico/France/Netherlands), dir. Carlos Reygadas
__________________________
That's it for the series - here's the rest of the list, with links to previous reviews.
• • •
101. 35 Shots of Rum (2008, France/Germany), dir. Claire Denis102. Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003, Taiwan), dir. Tsai Ming-Liang
103. Saraband (2003, Sweden/Denmark/Norway/Italy/Finland/Germany/Austria), dir. Ingmar Bergman
104. Together (2000, Sweden/Denmark/Italy), dir. Lukas Moodysson
105. Holy Girl (2004, Argentina/Spain/Italy/Netherlands/Switzerland)
106. Vera Drake (2004, UK/France), dir. Mike Leigh
107. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000, Hungary/Germany/France/Switzerland/Italy), dir. Béla Tarr
108. The Fog of War (2003, USA), dir. Errol Morris
109. Munich (2005, USA/Canada), dir. Steven Spielberg
110. Up (2009, USA), dir. Pete Docter
111. The Piano Teacher (2001, Austria/France/Germany), dir. Michael Haneke
112. Colossal Youth (2006, Portugal/France/Switzerland), dir. Pedro Costa
113. The Man Without a Past (2002, Finland/Germany/France), dir. Aki Kaurismäki
114. The Dark Knight (2008, USA/UK), dir. Christopher Nolan
115. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003, USA), dir. Peter Weir
116. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005, USA/France/UK/Japan), dir. George Clooney
117. Time Out (2001, France), dir. Laurent Cantet
118. Paranoid Park (2007, USA/France), dir. Gus Van Sant
119. Regular Lovers (2004, France/Italy), dir. Philippe Garrel
120. Hunger (2008, UK/Ireland), dir. Steve McQueen
121. Police, Adjective (2009, Romania), dir. Corneliu Porumboiu
122. The White Ribbon (2009, Austria/Germany/France/Italy), dir. Michael Haneke
123. The Circle (2000, Iran/Italy/Switzerland), dir. Jafar Panahi
124. School of Rock (2003, USA/Germany), dir. Richard Linklater
125. Little Miss Sunshine (2006, USA), dir. Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
126. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008, UK/USA), dir. Mike Leigh
127. Volver (2006, Spain), dir. Pedro Almodóvar
128. Half Nelson (2006, USA), dir. Ryan Fleck
129. Bad Education (2004, Spain), dir. Pedro Almodóvar
130. The Wrestler (2008, USA), dir. Darren Aronofsky
131. The Best of Youth (2003, Italy), dir. Marco Tullio
132. House of Flying Daggers (2004, Hong Kong/China), dir. Zhang Yimou
133. Capote (2005, USA/Canada), dir. Bennett Miller
134. Sexy Beast (2000, UK/Spain), dir. Jonathan Glazer
135. Bowling for Columbine (2002, USA), dir. Michael Moore
136. The Intruder (2004, France/South Korea), dir. Claire Denis
137. What Time is It There? (2001, France/Taiwan/Italy), dir. Tsai Ming-Liang
138. Black Book (2006, Netherlands/Germany/UK/Belgium), dir. Paul Verhoeven
139. Café Lumière (2003, Japan/Taiwan), dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
140. Once (2007, Ireland/USA), dir. John Carney
141. I'm Going Home (2000, Portugal/France), dir. Manoel de Oliveira
142. Gladiator (2000, USA), dir. Ridley Scott
143. Wonder Boys (2000, USA), dir. Curtis Hanson
144. Head-On (2003, Germany), dir. Fatih Akin
145. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004, USA), dir. Michael Moore
146. 25th Hour (2002, USA), dir. Spike Lee
147. Gangs of New York (2002, USA), dir. Martin Scorsese
148. Notre musique (2004, France/Switzerland), dir. Jean-Luc Godard
149. Demonlover (2002, France/Japan/Mexico/USA), dir. Olivier Assayas
150. To Be and to Have (2002, France), dir. Nicolas Philibert
151. Shaun of the Dead (2004, UK/USA/France), dir. Edgar Wright
152. La Commune (Paris 1871) (2000, France), dir. Peter Watkins
153. Eureka (2000, Japan/France), dir. Shinji Aoyama
154. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004, USA/China), dir. Quentin Tarantino
155. Three Times (2005, France/Taiwan), dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
156. The Triplets of Belleville (2003, France/Canada/Belgium/UK), dir. Sylvain Chomet
157. In the City of Sylvia (2007, Spain/France), dir. José Luis Guerín
158. In America (2003, USA/Ireland/UK), dir. Jim Sheridan
159. Songs from the Second Floor (2000, Sweden/France/Denmark/Norway/Germany), dir. Roy Andersson
160. Eastern Promises (2007, USA/Canada/UK), dir. David Cronenberg
161. Last Days (2004, USA), dir. Gus Van Sant
162. Milk (2008, USA), dir. Gus Van Sant
163. Erin Brockavich (2000, USA), dir. Steven Soderbergh
164. Ten (2002, Iran/France), dir. Abbas Kiarostami
165. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, France/USA), dir. Julian Schnabel
166. A ma soeur! (2001, France/Italy), dir. Catherine Breillat
167. Spider (2002, Canada/UK/Japan/France), dir. David Cronenberg
168. I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (2006, Taiwan/France/Austria), dir. Tsai Ming-Liang
169. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000, USA), dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
170. The Hours (2002, USA), dir. Stephen Daldry
171. The Host (2006, South Korea/Japan), dir. Bong Joon-ho
172. Man on Wire (2007, UK), dir. James Marsh
173. Spellbound (2002, USA), dir. Jeffrey Blitz
174. Bloody Sunday (2001, UK/Ireland), dir. Paul Greengrass
175. Distant (2002, Turkey/Netherlands), dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
176. Kinsey (2004, USA/UK/Germany), dir. Bill Condon
177. Ratatouille (2007, USA), dir. Brad Bird
178. George Washington (2000, USA), dir. David Gordon Green
179. Irréversible (2002, France), dir. Gaspar Noé
180. Hotel Rwanda (2004, USA/UK/South Africa/Italy), dir. Terry George
181. Two Lovers (2008, USA/France), dir. James Gray
182. Up in the Air (2009, USA), dir. Jason Reitman
183. Minority Report (2002, USA), dir. Steven Spielberg
184. 21 Grams (2003, USA/Germany), dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu
185. 24 Hour Party People (2001, UK), dir. Michael Winterbottom
186. Offside (2006, Iran), dir. Jafar Panahi
187. Hero (2002, China/Hong Kong), dir. Zhang Yimou
188. Chicago (2002, USA), dir. Rob Marshall
189. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2003, China), dir. Wang Bing
190. Nobody Knows (2003, Japan), dir. Hirokazu Koreeda
191. In the Loop (2009, UK/Cayman Islands), dir. Armando Iannucci
192. Tarnation (2003, USA), dir. Jonathan Caouette
193. A Prairie Home Companion (2006, USA), dir. Robert Altman
194. Downfall (2004, Germany/Austria/Italy), dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
195. The Sun (2005, Russia/Italy/France/Switzerland), dir. Aleksandr Sokurov
196. Black Hawk Down (2001, USA), dir. Ridley Scott
197. Rachel Getting Married (2008, USA), dir. Jonathan Demme
198. Maria Full of Grace (2003, Colombia/Ecuador/USA), dir. Joshua Marston
199. Crash (2004, USA/Germany/Australia), dir. Paul Haggis
200. Flags of Our Fathers (2006, USA), dir. Clint Eastwood
201. Persepolis (2007, France/USA), dir. Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi
202. High Fidelity (2000, USA/UK), dir. Stephen Frears
203. Femme Fatale (2002, France), dir. Brian De Palma
204. Chicken Run (2000, UK/USA), dir. Peter Lord & Nick Park
205. Monsoon Wedding (2001, France/Italy/Germany), dir. Mira Nair
206. Collateral (2004, USA), dir. Michael Mann
207. Morvern Callar (2002, UK/Canada), dir. Lynne Ramsay
208. I Heart Huckabees (2004, USA/Germany/UK), dir. David O. Russell
209. Casino Royale (2006, UK/USA/Czech Republic/Germany), dir. Martin Campbell
210. Howl's Moving Castle (2004, Japan), dir. Hayao Miyazaki
211. East of Bucharest (2006, Romania/France), dir. Corneliu Porumboiu
212. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005, UK/USA), dir. Nick Park & Steve Box
213. The Duchess of Langeais (2007, France/Italy), dir. Jacques Rivette
214. Before Night Falls (2000, USA), dir. Julian Schnabel
215. Match Point (2005, UK/USA/Luxembourg), dir. Woody Allen
216. Keane (2004, USA), dir. Lodge Kerrigan
217. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001, USA/UK), dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
218. Unknown Pleasures (2002, Japan/France/South Korea/China), dir. Jia Zhangke
219. Crimson Gold (2003, Iran), dir. Jafar Panahi
220. Bright Star (2009, UK/Australia/France), dir. Jane Campion
221. Slumdog Millionaire (2008, UK), dir. Danny Boyle
222. The Beaches of Agnès (2008, France), dir. Agnès Varda
223. Gerry (2001, USA), dir. Gus Van Sant
224. Gomorrah (2008, Italy), dir. Matteo Garrone
225. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005, UK), dir. Michael Winterbottom
226. The Edge of Heaven (2007, Turkey/Germany/Italy), dir. Fatih Akin
227. Into the Wild (2007, USA), dir. Sean Penn
228. King Kong (2005, USA/New Zealand/Germany), dir. Peter Jackson
229. Woman on the Beach (2006, South Korea), dir. Hong Sang-soo
230. 28 Days Later... (2002, UK), dir. Danny Boyle
231. Monsters, Inc. (2001, USA), dir. Peter Decter, David Silverman & Lee Unkrich
232. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003, USA), dir. Thom Andersen
233. Old Joy (2005, USA), dir. Kelly Reichardt
234. Late Marriage (2001, Israel/France), dir. Dover Kosashvili
235. Still Walking (2008, Japan), dir. Hirokazu Koreeda
236. Blissfully Yours (2002, Thailand/France), dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
237. Coraline (2009, USA), dir. Henry Selick
238. Kung Fu Hustle (2004, Hong Kong/China), dir. Stephen Chow
239. Code Unknown (2000, France/Germany/Romania), dir. Michael Haneke
240. Paradise Now (2005, Israel/Netherlands/Germany/France), dir. Hany Abu-Assad
241. Of Time and the City (2008, UK), dir. Terence Davies
242. Billy Elliot (2000, UK), dir. Stephen Daldry
243. A Time for Drunken Horses (2000, Iran), dir. Bahman Ghobadi
244. Ballast (2008, USA), dir. Lance Hammer
245. Where the Wild Things Are (2009, USA), dir. Spike Jonze
246. Under the Sand (2000, France/Japan), dir. François Ozon
247. Iraq in Fragments (2006, USA), dir. James Longley
248. Private Fears in Public Places (2006, France/Italy), dir. Alain Resnais
249. Bamako (2006, Mali/France/USA), dir. Abderrahmane Sissako
250. Climates (2006, Turkey/France/Netherlands), dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
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