This is an important list for me, largely because I spent my teens in this decade, so all of the films you see here represent a strange kind of cinematic coming-of-age in my head. I’m well aware that Hollywood is not what it used to be, but the films on this list will definitely go down in the great Book of Cinema as flat-out masterpieces.



10. Away We Go (2009)

I truly believe that this flick will go down as one of the great love stories ever told, not because of its complexity or its scope, but because of its utter honesty.



9. Juno (2007)

This is one of those unclassifiable bits of brilliance in which careers are made, namely the careers of writer Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman and star Ellen Page. It’s just one of those films that makes you smile for nearly two hours straight, sometimes with tears streaming down your face.



8. Adaptation (2002)

One of the oddest film experiments conducted ever, the true story of a screenwriter (Charlie Kaufman) failing to adapt a bestselling book to film, and instead writing a fanciful screenplay about said failure. Pair that with one of the most daring directors alive (Spike Jonze), and it’s bound to be compelling.



7. Mystic River (2003)

This was the decade when Clint Eastwood became an American master, and several of his films could have easily made the list. This heartbreaking crime drama with one of the best casts ever assembled just happens to be my favorite.



6. The Dark Knight (2008)

I have said just about everything I could in print about how much I love this film already. It’s easily the best of the Batman franchise, and Heath Ledger’s performance will certainly become legendary.



5. There Will Be Blood (2007)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark and vivid look at an oil prospector’s life and times in the 1800s. Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano turn in mesmerizing performances, and on top of all that, it’s a film that just plain haunts you.



4. Monsters Inc. (2001)

I could have easily put any Pixar flick on this list, but again, this imaginative tale of scary creatures and how they get into our closets was my favorite of the bunch.



3. The Departed (2006)

Though Martin Scorsese deserved the Oscar several times over by the time he won it for this film, “The Departed” may very well go down as the best thing he ever did.



2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

OK, so it’s three films, but it’s one experience, the most epic experience ever put on screen.



1. No Country for Old Men

I didn’t place at number one because of the performances or the writing or the cinematography, though all of those are great. I placed it at the top because this film truly reminded us all how powerful and inventive movies can be – something we all need to remember now and then.