Honorable Mentions and Final Thoughts

Maybe it's anticlimactic to have another post, but there were just too many movies that didn't make my list. Some that didn't even cross my mind until after I had already decided on my top 10. While I am sticking to my original decisions, these are some movies that just missed the cut.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has humored me by reading this page and dealing with its occasional snobby style. I am certainly done for a while(at least months) but if I get a non-sarcastic suggestion that I should work on this site again I will take it to heart.

Ok, here are ten runner-ups. To avoid any interpretation that this is in any order of favorites, I'll list them in alphabetical order:

Almost Famous- I expected this movie to be about how awesome it would be to follow a rock band in the 70's. And it is. I didn't expect it to show the importance of having a home to go back to. There are so many memorable scenes, such as "I am a golden god" and singing "Tiny Dancer" in the bus.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan-Yes, "Da Ali G Show" is still superior. I also don't believe that Borat is far better than Bruno, as many critics do. But if you're making a list of the biggest movies of the decade, this is definitely one that was one of the funniest as well having one of the biggest cultural effects. Remember how long people were doing Borat impressions for? Hopefully, Sacha Baron Cohen will move on from those characters and put his talent somewhere else in this new decade.

The Departed- I remember seeing Matt Damon sending information via text message without looking at his phone and thinking "This is what a 21st century gangster movie is." And even with the legendary Jack Nicholson, as well as Mark Wahlberg's Oscar nominated performance, I was wowed the most by Leonardo DiCaprio. For me, he became an incredible actor and stopped being a pretty boy the day I saw this movie.

Kill Bill: Volume 2- Yes, I am considering this a separate movie from Kill Bill Vol. 1 even though I considered Grindhouse one movie. It doesn't matter what Tarantino intended; if you release it in theaters as two movies, it's two movies. Deal with it. This is definitely the better part of the saga with its superior dialog and plot( Vol. 1 was fun but sillier with its anime and the Crazy 88's). I made myself a "no director twice" rule for my top ten list, which prevented this and Aronofsky's The Wrestler from making this list. Actually, if I did a top 25 list and I didn't have my ridiculous rule, I'd probably also put Inglorious Basterds down. The 00's may have even been better for Tarantino than the 90's. He just can't make a movie that's less than excellent, can he?

Minority Report- When people think of Spielberg they probably don't think of Minority Report, but they probably should. This is one of the greatest sci-fi as well as suspense movies of the decade. You think that the entire movie is about one event, but around halfway through it turns it around. Many futuristic movies use the invented technology for show, but the plot of Minority Report is designed around it.

Pixar movies- Fine, call it a cop-out. I felt as though I needed to mention the greatest film studio of the last decade, but I couldn't single out any specific movie for this list. But my favorites of the decade, in order of their release, are Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up. The first half-hour of both WALL-E and Up specifically stick out as some of the greatest storytelling I've ever seen in animation.

Sideways- A perfect example of a mature love story. All of the performances are excellent and you can't help but root for Giamatti even though his character is probably not what you might call a good person. Also, it's just a great movie about wine and wine country.

Slumdog Millionaire- I cannot recall a movie this decade that had more of a public consensus of its right to be called Best Picture of the Year than Slumdog Millionaire. It was the one that everyone got behind, because no one could make a case for anything against it. Even with its corny dance ending, Slumdog was one of those inspirational movies that swept up the world and could not be stopped.

Spiderman- I know that many people prefer Spiderman 2. And I know that X-Men and Blade came before it. But this was the movie that started the genre of the decade. Superhero movies. It was the first one that I can recall which started the obsession with having the biggest opening weekend. An entire Entourage episode(which also referenced the aforementioned Almost Famous) was about the fake James Cameron version of Aquaman "beating Spidey". And it still holds up as one of the better comic book movies out there, despite the patriotic post-911 changed ending.

There Will Be Blood- Daniel Day-Lewis's role as Daniel Plainview might be the most acclaimed performance of the decade. But P.T. Anderson's film-making skills should not be forgotten, nor should the score, the setting, or Paul Dano's performance as Eli Sunday. The "I'll drink your milkshake" line became a meme, but there are so many other memorable quotes like "I am a false prophet! God is a superstition!" and "A bastard from a basket." Its slow pace may be why it never had commercial success, but it's definitely one of the greatest movies of the decade.