SHARE THIS

FACEBOOK

  DELICIOUS

  STUMBLEUPON

  REDDIT

10. Superbad

Was there a better coming-of-age teen comedy that wasn’t Superbad released this decade? Superbad was the unofficial breakout directing role of Greg Mottola, who later went on to direct the marvelous Adventureland and the upcoming Simon Pegg/Nick Frost-penned Paul. Before August 2007, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were simply known as “the guys from Knocked Up”. Now Rogen is the go-to guy in Hollywood when you want a crude yet lovable oaf.  Although Superbad was so much more than just a drop-off point for up-and-coming stars. Underneath its filthy ideas and even filthier executions, Superbad left me with an oddly warm feeling inside. It wasn’t from its genius character developments or rollicking slow-motion sequences (the scene where they get off of the bus is still one of my favorite scenes ever filmed), but somewhere along the line you actually felt for the freaks and geeks that Rogen and Goldberg created. They slowly turned into actual people that you cared about and welcomed into your heart. And if you’re able to do all that and get away with calling one of your characters “McLovin”, then you know you made one hell of a great movie.

9. O Brother Where Art Thou

You can’t make a “best of” movie list without somehow mentioning the names Joel and Ethan Coen. I’ve loved every Coen brothers movie ever established (even the poorly-reviewed The Ladykillers, which I still don’t see what was wrong with), and O Brother Where Art Thou was easily their best this decade. (Of all time? Fargo, hands-down.) I first saw the posters for this movie in 2000; however I never officially saw the movie until earlier this year. And God, what a ride it was. One of George Clooney’s best performances ever, as well as John Goodman’s best role since, quite frankly, Dan Conner on Roseanne. Wonderfully enlightening yet deliciously dark, O Brother Where Art Thou was a homerun for the Coens.

8. The Dark Knight

If this was a list of my favorite movies of all time rather than just of the decade, you can bet that The Dark Knight would still be in my top ten. I didn’t know what the hell to expect from this movie, given the then-recent death of the Joker himself Heath Ledger in 2008. But man, when I saw this, I was simply blown away. I could go on and on about the teachings of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, however I feel that’s not the type of movie that Nolan was aiming to make. It’s the darkness of the film that really bowled me over. It served as a final bravo for Heath Ledger, yet at the same time so much more than that. The Dark Knight is a tragic story of love and ruin, of romance and tragedy. If I wasn’t a person who loved movies as much as I do, this would probably be my #1 pick for best of the decade.

7. Thank You For Smoking

Without looking like an absolute douche bag, I put Thank You For Smoking at #7 on my list. Is it better than Juno? Yeah, it is. While Juno rocked in its own way, Jason Reitman’s take on political satire had such rich characters and storyline. About a tobacco company spokesman trying to pedal cigarettes while still trying to be seen a role model in his son’s eyes, Smoking offered phenomenal performances from Aaron Eckhart, J.K. Simmons, and William H. Macy. It sucks that this was never nominated for any bigger awards than two Golden Globes. In this case, Diablo Cody had nothing on Michael Buckley’s novel. Still love ya, Cody.

6. The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Oh, where to even begin. How about with Judd Apatow is a goddamn genius? His 2005 directorial debut The 40-Year-Old Virgin only proved this tenfold. Apatow co-write Virgin with Steve Carell, who also made a permanent mark in Hollywood. Would you believe that before 2005, he was only in Anchorman and a correspondent on The Daily Show? The lewd comedy starred a plethora of some of the funniest people today: Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch, Catherine Keener, and Apatow’s wife Leslie Mann, in one of her best roles ever. The movie basically exploded when it was released that summer. (For any young readers out there who don’t understand just how big this was, think of The Hangover-sized madness.) After 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow went on to direct two even better-made films called Knocked Up and Funny People, the movie that America should be ashamed for shunning so harshly. Still, I keep coming back to Virgin. It brought light to the cinema when the only other thing playing involved an exorcism.