This is the third installment in my Best 40 Movies of the Decade series of posts. The feedback so far has been pretty positive, but I wonder if that is because readers think I’m going to put their favorite films in the last 20! I decided last night that after the final post, I’ll include a list of other films that didn’t make the top 40 cut, but are five stars nonetheless. So let’s get going and start with #20, about a family of superheroes…

#20 The Incredibles

Pixar’s first “people” movie was a great combo of the superhero and super-spy genres – the movie feels like Casino Royale meets Spiderman. Funny throughout, The Incredibles was one of two nearly perfect movies that Brad Bird made in the decade.

#20 The Incredibles

Pixar’s first “people” movie was a great combo of the superhero and super-spy genres – the movie feels like Casino Royale meets Spiderman meets Toy Story. Funny throughout, The Incredibles was one of two nearly perfect animated movies that Brad Bird make this decade.

#19 Borat

“That’s a nice!” is perhaps the best movie line of the decade. As it stormed into theaters catching an unsuspecting American audience almost completely off-guard, Borat provided us with something that we haven’t had in a long time at the movies – a great comedic talent completely owning both the movie and the audience. I just hope that Borat’s prostitute sister appreciates how great a talent her brother is. (p.s. the extra scenes on the DVD are amazing as well – “What’s this?”)

#18 Gran Torino

For any other director, Gran Torino would be enough to put them on a list of the best directors of the decade, but for Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino solidifies one of the best runs of any director in any decade (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Changling, and probably the upcoming Invictus are all spectacular films). What makes this one special, however, is that in addition to directing, Eastwood turns in the best performance of his career. If it hadn’t been for Sean Penn also turning in the best of his career in Milk the same year, I believe Eastwood would have finally won a best acting Oscar.

#17 The Aviator

Although I assume most people would probably say that The Departed was Scorsese’s best movie this decade, as I’ve already said, I consider Infernal Affairs a tic better than The Departed, and The Aviator well beyond both. The Aviator is a different kind of Scorsese movie – it almost has a Spielberg feel to it – but that also makes it one of his freshest films. DiCaprio (who certainly was the best actor of the decade that didn’t win any kind of major awards) and Blanchett as Kate Hepburn are very enjoyable to watch, the flight scenes are done with such skill that it makes you wonder what else Scorsese is capable of.

#16 Hustle & Flow

Without a doubt the coolest movie of the decade was Hustle & Flow. Cool as in Dr. Dre cool. It’s a movie that needs to be heard as much as seen, one that you need to watch with your DVD player hooked up to a surround system – turned up to full blast.

#15 Maria Full of Grace

With all due respect to City of God, I felt Maria Full of Grace was the best movie to come out of South America this decade (with The Motorcycle Diaries, my #30 movie, the second best). This movie felt so real without banging us over the head, with themes that are central to understanding the entire Western Hemisphere, while showcasing a great new acting talent in Catalina Sandino Moreno.

#14 Serenity

The best science fiction movie of the decade (though honestly, there wasn’t a ton of competition), Serenity is probably also the best TV to film adaptation ever (although The Brady Bunch Movie was pretty good too). Part western, part sci-fi epic, Joss Whedon’s Serenity fills lots of holes left from the TV series Firefly while standing firmly on its own merits.

#13 American Splendor

The most droll film of the decade was also Paul Giamatti’s best work – funny, sad, depressing and inspirational all at once. A technical marvel of a film as well, with great integration of the comic into the film. Also, American Splendor is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen that breaks the 4th Wall rule.

#12 Lost in Translation

Bill Murray is one funny dude. He’s also an underrated actor – at least he was until this role, one he should have won an Oscar for. Scarlet Johansson also launched her career with in this movie about what about how being in a place so foreign can help us find out new things about ourselves.

#11 United 93

The best film to date about 9/11, and probably the best simulated documentary ever made. Not for the faint of heart (I know people who simply won’t watch it), but an entirely compelling film.

The rest of the movies on the list:

#1-10

#21-30

#31-40

This is the second post in my countdown of my 40 best movies of the decade. You can read #31-40 here. Let’s start with #30, The Motorcycle Diaries:

#30 The Motorcycle Diaries

Probably the best road trip movie of the decade (sorry Little Miss Sunshine), The Motorcycle Diaries is a different kind of autobiography, one that gives great insight into how Che became Che, and was based on his book of the same name. The film has a great gritty feel to it while still using the vibrant colors of the South American continent.

#29 Volver

Pedro Almodóvar turns in a gripping although not too gripping film about family and loss in Volver. It is one of those films that catches you a little off guard and just seems so right for where it was made and is one of the best European films I saw this decade.

#28 Milk

Sean Penn turns in what is certainly his best performance (he was good in Dead Man Walking and Mystic River, but nothing like this). It takes about two minutes to forget that you are watching Sean Penn – after that you are watching Harvey Milk. An uplifting and still very relevant story and Gus Van Sant’s best movie in a long time.

#27 A History of Violence

There is a lot to “A History of Violence”. There are great and quick action scenes, solid acting, a great Middle America setting, and a tight script. This is a movie that – if you can stomach a few gory scenes – that can be watched over and over again.

#26 Fahrenheit 9/11

This remains the most entertaining documentary I’ve ever seen (and yes, it’s a documentary). Lots of people don’t like Michael Moore or his politics (lots of people like Jack-in-the-Box too, so no accounting for taste) but when it comes to making entertaining documentaries about the most important issues in America, he’s simply the best.

#25 Billy Elliot

A joy of a movie, with an amazing debut performance by Jamie Bell as the title character. The film really focusing on turning youthful anger into inspiration, and some of the dance scenes (along with the great soundtrack) are unforgettable, especially the Rocky-ish dancing up the streets.

#24 Tie – Batman Begins & The Dark Knight

It’s very hard for me to separate these two films. I think that overall, Batman Begins is the better movie, with a better overall cast effort, especially from Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. However, The Dark Knight has Heath Ledger, and his Joker is without a doubt the best superhero film villain ever. So they are a tie. Here’s hoping there is a third leg of the series and that it doesn’t take a Spiderman 3 tumble.

#23 House of Sand and Fog

This is one of the most underrated movies of the decade. Both Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly turn in devastating performances in what is a pretty depressing movie – but sometimes depressing can be really good too.

#22 Casino Royale

Not since From Russia With Love has James Bond kicked this much ass. Great reboot (again, this was the decade of the reboot) and while not flawless (the poker playing goes on too long and well, the sequel wasn’t all that special) Casino Royale had one of the best Bond Girls ever, and was one of the most entertaining movies of the decade.

#21 Infernal Affairs

Although I really like The Departed as well, the movie it was based on – Infernal Affairs – was just a tick better, if for no other reason than it has a better ending. Infernal Affairs is a great example of how life with cell phones changes everything (even crime dramas), especially in Asia.

The other movies on the list:

#1-10

#11-20

#31-40

This is the first of four posts on the Top 40 movies of the decade (2000-2009). I’ve only included the top 40 movies that I personally saw (either in the theater or on DVD) – I am sure that if I had seen every film that came out in the last 10 years that this list would be drastically different. That said, I have seen well over 500 films from this decade. When making this list, I took into account the films that had the most impact on me, the ones that had the best acting, writing and directing, and the ones that I simply liked the most. Although the majority of films on this list are in English, a number of other languages are represented as well. I made an initial list of around 60 films with the initial intent of having simply a top 25 – however, I couldn’t bear to keep off other 15 films. Go to after the break for numbers 31-40:

#40 – Star Trek

The 2000’s may go down as the film decade of reboots, with a number of franchises getting a new and improved look this decade (and more than one of these making my list). Perhaps the most unlikely franchise to get a successful makeover, JJ Abram’s Star Trek – with numerous TV series and movies already – was a stunning success. The characters were fresh again, the action was crisp, the casting was near perfect, and above all, it was funny. The best time at the movies in 2009.

#39 – Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle had a great decade. In addition to getting the Best Picture Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, he directed the wonderful “Millions” and the highly underrated “Sunshine”. Slumdog Millionaire was a beautifully shot and acted movie, with a killer soundtrack and some very funny moments. It was the feel good version of “City of God”, and in my opinion, a better movie for it.

#38 – The Proposition

Brutal. There really isn’t any other way to describe the best western of the decade. Guy Pierce was haunting, Ray Winstone was amazing, and this Aussie film make other (good) westerns of recent years like “3.10 to Yuma” look tame in comparison.

#37 – Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2

Tarantino’s best movie since Jackie Brown showed him at his technical best, and made Uma Thurman the most kick-ass heroine in years. David Carradine (who will be missed) was near perfection, and the movie produced the only role that I have ever liked Lucy Liu in.

#36 – Pan’s Labyrinth

Weird and haunting, Pan’s Labyrinth makes me want “The Hobbit” (which Guillermo Del Toro will also direct) to come out tomorrow.

#35 – Night Watch

We don’t get to see a lot of Russian movies here in the US, and that is too bad, because I have a suspicion that there are a lot of great movies being made over there. “Night Watch” was one that did make it out, and it was a great snapshot of a changing and chaotic Russia – and of course vampires.

#34 – Spiderman

Sam Raimi made Spiderman into about as entertaining a movie as one could imagine. It was funny, vibrant, exciting and stayed true to the spirit of the comics. Many people seem to think that Spiderman 2 was the better movie, but I recently watched Spiderman again, and if for no other reason, the closing scene in the cemetery makes it one of the best comic book movies ever.

#33 – Venus

Somebody please try to explain to me how anyone can take the Oscars seriously when Peter O’Toole has never won one? His fire made Venus the best romance of the decade, if not one of the most unlikely. Let’s hope someone sees fit to give him one more role like this so he can grab one of those statues.

#32 – Waitress

This one even surprised me. I had forgotten this gem, but as I was going through movies I’ve seen, I saw it and remembered how much it affected my wife who watched it with me, and I have to say that it is an amazing movie. Of course it was also a tragic one, as its director was senselessly murdered after the movie was complete. Even so, this is an uplifting movie.

#31 – The Pianist

Another really brutal movie, but the subject matter dictated it. Roman Polanski (whatever you think about him as a person) showed why many consider him one of the great all-time directors, and Adrien Brody turned in a (probably) once-in-a-lifetime performance. Not a movie that is easy to sit through twice, but great nonetheless.

The rest of the list:

#1-10

#11-20

#21-30