Top 10 movies of the 2000s

Yes, that time has come when lists are made, scores are tallied and moments are remembered. The cinema world shook, rattled and rolled as movies evolved within their increasingly globalized and technologically diverse sphere over the first decade of the new millennium. Here, for your reading pleasure, is my list of the top ten reel-to-real marvels of the past ten years.

10) Pulse (2001, dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) -- A ghost story with a message? Who wudda thunk it? This J-horror primer of chills does not only deliver the tension, it serves up an allegory in the context of a mystery, following a group of college students who uncover an otherworldly conspiracy spilling out from a web site into our world. Dark and eerie, Kurosawa's gem is a cautionary tale of isolation amid the very tools that are supposed to be bringing us together.

9) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, dir. Julian Schnabel) -- When Jean-Dominique Bauby's words and Julian Schnabel's vision collide, life becomes art. After suffering a stroke at the age of 42, Bauby awoke in hospital to find himself afflicted by locked-in syndrome, leaving his body completely paralyzed and his mental state intact. Blinking sentences letter by letter, he wrote the memoir upon which the film is based; by losing himself in his rich fantasy world, he found himself all over again. The film's unique first-person perspective is the only way to tell Bauby's story. This study of the human spirit, as conceived and conveyed through a study of human creativity, gives a new meaning to the concept of legacy.

8) Brokeback Mountain (2005, dir. Ang Lee) -- Once upon a time, two cowboys fell in love. Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar live their lives in 1960s and 1970s America longing and yearning for one another, aware that the society stigmatizes their relationship. The map of this mountain charts the course of the human heart on an exquisitely passionate journey, while it is the chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger that gives the story it soulful character, inevitably reminding us of the loss of a great talent that occurred on January 22, 2008.

7) Whale Rider (2002, dir. Niki Caro) -- A Maori girl believes that she is a direct descendant of her tribe's original ancestor, a lineage that would render her the next chief. However, since the chief has always been a male, her strict grandfather refuses to break tradition and the girl has to stand up to the old ways. A fascinating peek inside an ancient culture that many may never have learned about, the story delves into themes of family, feminism, patriarchy and, most importantly, preserving and adapting tradition within the context of the contemporary era.

6) Little Miss Sunshine (2006, dirs. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) -- Seven-year-old Olive Hoover dreams of winning the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Once she has a chance to compete, her goal takes her entire dysfunctional family on the road, where individual frustrations emerge; however, it is on this rather symbolic journey that the family affirm their set of values. The honesty of the screenplay and the endearing performances make this movie a refreshing look at that which is truly skin deep.

5) Amélie (2001, dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet) -- Amélie Poulain is a cheerful young woman whose one and only religion is altruism. As she helps those around her and as she deals with all the strange and wonderful quirks of this world, she finds true love. The beauty of the film lies in its details and extraordinary characterizations; the beauty of Paris adds a rustic quality to the film's charm. Optimism? Humor? Love? Amélie has it all in delightful spades.

4) The Dark Knight (2008, dir. Christopher Nolan) -- The most intriguing and the least cartoonish comic book adaptation ever made, a hybrid of fantasy and crime drama elements with a morality tale at its core, this Christopher Nolan piece was sorely overlooked in the 2008 Best Picture race. Come on, Academy, vote without prejudice!

3) Wall-E (2008, dir. Andrew Stanton) -- Part timeless love story (whoever knew that robots could be the epitome of romantic?), part rumination on our often misguided present, part postmodern ode to Earth, this film surprises and amazes at every turn. Wall-E and Eve might be two of the most whimsical characters created in the last decade. Yes, I know that it won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Maybe "animated" was merely a superfluous adjective.

2) Pan's Labyrinth (2006, dir. Guillermo del Toro) -- A dark fairytale that envelops you and does not let go, this is filmmaking at its most imaginative and moving. Guillermo del Toro blends fantasy with nightmares in his sophisticated examination of childhood amid the horrors of fascism. Do not miss getting lost in this labyrinth.

And the winner, by a not-so-narrow margin, is:






1) Mulholland Dr. (2001, dir. David Lynch) -- This gorgeous puzzler is a wonder to ponder and divine to look at. A murder mystery woven into the colorful tapestry of Hollywood, the story follows a wide-eyed ingenue, a femme fatale, a director and a cowboy. That is all you need to know; this is the point where you run out and see it. Lynch's film is so deliriously creative that nothing except watching, thinking and breathing it can do the narrative justice. It is dark, witty, sad, thrilling, sexy, frenzied and absurd. Simply put, Mulholland Dr. is a masterpiece that defines and defies the past cinematic decade.