Music! I listen to it constantly. I’m listening to it right now. I listened to around 250 albums released in 2010 and I’ve decided upon my twenty-one favorites. Feel free to listen to a sample track beneath each one and make fun of me in the comments.

Honorable Mention. Two Birds – SEAMONSTER

Honorable mention only because it’s an EP and not a full-length, but it’s still one of the best pieces of music released in 2010.

20. Gemini – WILD NOTHING

Virginia represent! This hazy, sunny pop is the closest we got to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart this year and that’s exactly what I’m on the look out for. I’ve lived by the beach my whole life so driving with the windows down to songs like this is in my blood.

19. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – KANYE WEST

Might seem like a low placement for somebody who put 808s and Heartbreak at number one in 2008, but this one just doesn’t work 100% for me. When it hits, it kills but it’s a bit too inconsistent. I appreciate Kanye throwing every idea he’s got into one crazy stew, White Album style, but there’s no excuse for that weird Chris Rock bit.

18. Homeland – LAURIE ANDERSON

Laurie Anderson is kind of a psychopath. Her spoken word poetry over atmospheric instrumentation is not going to be for everyone, but I can not stop listening to it. Particularly one eleven minute track where she speaks in a digitally-altered man’s voice, given a face by her insane album cover. But the track below is just devastatingly beautiful.

17. Loveshines But the Moon is Shining Too – SUNSET

About a year and a half ago I became obsessed with a late 60′s record called “The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas” by Nick Garrie, which is commonly described as “baroque pop.” That’s as good a description as any for this stuff from Sunset, only with a more contemporary slant.

16. Astro Coast – SURFER BLOOD

The first great album I heard in 2010 and it’s still going strong. “Swim” is a contender for song of the year and this is the type of pop music that should be ruling the Billboard chart but is somehow still skirting the fringes. Aaron Katz knows what I’m talking about.

15. Innerspeaker – TAME IMPALA

The official website calls this psychedelic hypno-groove melodic rock music and who am I to argue? The key word is groove as the album coasts along gracefully, becoming one of the easiest listens and re-listens of the year.

14. Ring – GLASSER

It’s too bad not everybody has the chance to see Glasser live with a synchronized performance by the Body City dance troupe like I did, because that’s why I fell in love with her. Putting out a great record only cemented that love.

13. Clinging to a Scheme – THE RADIO DEPT.

Jessica Skinner hooked me up with the track below on a mix towards the end of 2009 and it was an instant stand-out. The rest of the album is equally warm and crisp, which is what you expect from Swedish bands at this point.

12. Ugly Side of Love – MALACHAI

British psych/rock as sinister and wild as the album cover suggests. I really got a kick out of the hard hitting stuff on this album, especially the track below, which was my official anthem before soccer games.

11. Before Today – ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI

“Round and Round” is a top notch song and these guys were one of my favorite live experiences of the year, but not every song really does it for me here. Hence a spot just outside the top 10. But seriously, “Round and Round” is song of the year.

10. Swung From the Branches – FOXES IN FICTION

There’s always room in my library for some ambient shoegaze and it was a toss-up between this or Infinite Body for my favorite. Foxes in Fiction gets the nod for being a bit more adventurous in their loops and arrangements. Achingly gorgeous stuff.

9. Teen Dream – BEACH HOUSE

Everybody likes this record. Nothing to say other than, if you haven’t heard it, you are dumb.

8. Halcyon Digest – DEERHUNTER

Despite the super weird album cover, this is easily Deerhunter’s most accessible work and is as easy a listen as you’re likely to get from them. Even still, their penchant for interesting songwriting and out-of-the-box melodies have not been sacrificed.

7. Crazy for You – BEST COAST

Beach. Swimming. Music. Beers. Friends. Love. Fireworks. Skin. Make outs. Yes, please.

6. In Evening Air – FUTURE ISLANDS

I saw these guys open for Dan Deacon in 2009 and liked them enough to buy their previous album, which didn’t really capture what I liked about them live. This new record, however, does and then some. If Morrissey and Tom Waits fucked and had a kid that only listened to New Order, you’d have this bad boy.

5. Cerulean – BATHS

I’m fairly new to the Low End Theory scene and not all of it is registering with me. For every Gonjasufi that sounds exciting and new, there’s a Nosaj Thing, which I can’t really get. But this album connects with me 100% and makes me feel things that no other record on this list can.

4. Big Echo – THE MORNING BENDERS

Keegan DeWitt had been talking these guys up and so we went and saw them at SXSW, but we were tired and wound up sitting on the grass near the back and talking with friends. When they started playing this song, I had to stop and pay attention. I’ve been hooked since. Anything that sounds remotely like The Beach Boys is a keeper in my book.

3. Libraries – THE LOVE LANGUAGE

The Love Language had my second favorite album of last year and if they can remain this prolific and consistent, it will make me very happy indeed. Again, this stuff is written specifically to please mass audiences and is begging to be a hit. Get on board, America!

2. Black City – MATTHEW DEAR

I’ve seen Matthew Dear play three times now and each experience is better and better. Mostly because his songs are getting better and better, experimenting with more unorthodox instruments, bleaker material and harsher arrangements. Somehow, it’s still danceable though.

1. The Wild Hunt – THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH

Even as my overall taste continues to drift towards fuzzy, layered, dense, psych, dance, shoegaze, etc., the album that stood out over any other was a Swedish dude and his guitar. I mean, who has the balls to sound so much like Bob Dylan and embrace it rather than downplay it? Nobody else understood the beauty of minimalism as much as Kristian Matsson this year and the fact that he released an equally as good EP as a companion is just the icing on the cake.

There it is. Not satisfied? How about twenty more hot tracks from albums that didn’t make the cut. I would feel terrible leaving them out entirely so why not post? Who cares if it makes this page impossibly slow to load? Not me. I serve the people.

I Really Need Love – THE BEES (Effortlessly retro. Could be from 1967)

Phew! Not a lot of hip hop did it for me this year. Am I getting old and whiter?

One more order of business, my favorite music video of the year. I made three of my own, which I’m super proud of, but didn’t watch a whole ton of others. Still, it doesn’t matter. This one’s the best. And you’ve probably already known that.

The point of this blog and this list is that at the end of every year, I like to look back and recap my favorite events or happenings as a way of motivating myself and focusing on the positive. It would be easy to stand back and look at where I am in my career and get depressed, but that would be overlooking the great fun of the journey. I have plenty of time to become super successful and if I ever do, it will because of these great memories along the way. Feel free to check out previous lists- 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005.

All in all, 2010 will be defined by my girlfriend of four years breaking up with me in March. It was a shocker, but I immediately tried to embrace the forced transition and moved back to Echo Park in an effort to get out and make new friends. Which is exactly what I did. In a way, getting my heart destroyed was the best thing that could have happened because of all the people it brought me to. In big ways or small, I want to thank Adelaida Ortiz Chiqués, Daniella Mendoza, Adele Romanski, James Laxton, Cherie Saulter, Taylor Feltner, Becca Weber, Brandon Bales, Laura Taylor, Carolyn Gates, Chad Matheny, Dixie Perkinson, Hallie Parker, Kayt Fitzmorris, Jennifer Maas, Jon Hill, Mike Karnell, Lena Dunham, Megan Garber, Sean Stenz, Neil Schield, Sven Hörnich, Taya Kenny and Whitney Blank for brightening up my 2010.

And special thanks to Leah Ford and Stephanie Gonot for becoming my new family. Love those babes.

10. LA Film Festival

The New Year and Cold Weather both got accepted to the LA Film Fest this year so a large number of old NCSA friends blew into town. Aaron Katz stayed with me, we got to party on IFC’s dime, I met and became friends with cool filmmakers like Lena Dunham and Whit Stillman, Keegan DeWitt dragged me to El Prado every night and Brendan McFadden moved back to LA permanently.

9. Halloween

Halloween landed on a Sunday this year so we partied every single night of the weekend. My borderline offensive Hipster Hitler costume was the first time I had actually gotten dressed up as anything in probably seven years and it was (mostly) a hit. We had a warm-up party at our house on Friday, which turned out to be pretty epic. Further parties in downtown and Silver Lake revealed just how creative people can get with their costumes (The Silver Lake happy foot/sad foot!). I get it now, everyone. Dressing up is super fun.

8. Bro Downs

Tara broke up with me on a Tuesday and Jeff Ruggles took me out for drinks and commiseration the following night. The following Wednesday, we went out again, joined by Sean McElwee, and a series of Bro Downs were born that helped me immensely in getting back into the swing of things, post-relationship. These guys are the best and we haven’t been able to hang every Wednesday like we originally planned, but they’ve been there when I needed them. Thanks for the laughs, bros!

7. This is Martin Bonner Pre-Production/Casting & Location Scout

Last year in October, I went to Reno by myself to location scout and get a sense of whether or not I could shoot my new feature there. The goal was to do so by April of this year and that obviously didn’t happen. Great strides have been made though, and they include enlisting the amazing Cherie Saulter as a producer, casting the three lead roles and partnering with IFP for fiscal sponsorship. The goal now is to shoot in April 2011 and to that end I was in Reno again in October, only this time Cherie and cinematographer Sean McElwee came along as well. We scouted, took some meetings, gambled (I won $80), watched vaguely pornographic Spanish TV, drove around and spent time with my extended family.

6. FC Iron Maiden

I’ve been playing soccer on Friday nights in Glendale for almost three years now, but always with a group of strangers that I only see for soccer. Dan Riesser and I had talked about starting our own team for a while and this year it finally happened. FC Iron Maiden was a rag-tag group of video makers and misfits, including a one game stint from Barry Jenkins wearing rolled up newspaper as shinguards, and we were comprehensively beaten almost every game. The two games we won were both against the league leaders at the time, so we accomplished our own little Mighty Ducks moments. Come on guys, let’s get the team back together!

5. Jordan’s Wedding

My brother got married in August and I flew into DC to be there. I got to see my entire family, including one aunt and uncle from Ireland whom I hadn’t seen since 2005. I got drunk with Jordan and his friends, winged my best man speech, danced like an idiot to Katy Perry, saw my brother cry for the first time, heard my other brother sing opera like a boss and welcomed a terrific girl into my family. It was a brief visit, and ultimately doomed me to spending Christmas alone in LA, but it was worth it.

4. Birthday!

I turned 28 this year and I threw a party. I haven’t thrown a party in a long time, the last few years usually involving just a couple of friends meeting up at the Shortstop. In 2006, Tara and Brendan conspired to throw me a surprise one in Brooklyn and that was great, but this was an entirely different beast. The months between my break up and my party involved me getting out a lot more than I ever did when I was in a relationship and the result was some blossoming friendships among a number of different circles of friends. Most of these circles converged for this party and it was epic. It was a perfect storm of timing that I don’t think would ever happen again if I threw a party but this time it did. Everyone knew someone else at the party but there were plenty of new friends to be made. People hooked up, people danced (in Jon Hill’s case, like a maniac whenever that Bed Intruder song came on) and I felt really blessed to have all their company.

3. World Cup

There’s nothing better than the World Cup. 2006 was a great time, watching games at my house with Sean, Keegan, Ricky, Smokey and everyone, and it was extra special since I was falling madly in love with Tara at the same time. The U.S. embarrassed themselves that year and Ireland didn’t even make it. Ireland missed out again this year, but the U.S. gave us more than enough to cheer about. I watched every one of their games at the Village Idiot on Melrose with Sean and Ruggles and assorted other interlopers. The Algeria game, already infamous, was the undisputed highlight. Coinciding with the LA Film Festival, Keegan and Katz were able to come and the tension was unbearable for 91 minutes. I thought they had blown it when Landon Donovan scored and the place went absolutely batshit. Check this video out to see for yourself.

2. Dresden/Film Brunch

Thanks exclusively to Stefan Pautze and Sven Hörnich, I was able to go to Germany this summer and screen LUKE AND BRIE ARE ON A FIRST DATE at an event called Die Lange Nacht der Filmemacher. So much about this trip was amazing. It was my first time traveling somewhere completely on my own and I enjoyed wandering the city in solitude. I met an amazing group of fellow filmmakers, artists and musicians from all over the world. I learned a valuable lesson about visual filmmaking. And I got to go back to Europe for the first time since 2005 and remind myself of my home.

1. SXSW

Just like 2006, SXSW has to be number one. Being reunited with all of my best friends in the world, watching them launch successful films, meeting amazing new friends and collaborators, eating so much Mexican food, impulse buying an iPhone, watching great bands play, etc. Specific highlights include seeing Lankenau snub Jason Reitman, meeting Adele, James and Cherie, discussing Kindergarten Cop with David Green, a heated ping pong tournament with Jeff Deutchman and the one night when I was so drunk that the bartender came and took my drink away from me. I’ll be back to do it all again in March.

Thanks for reading. Let’s make some memories in 2011!

So, here is my top 10 of 2009.

10. Michael Jackson

Okay, so I don’t mean Michael Jackson dying was a highlight to my year. The man was the very first person I idolized as a kid and I was super bummed to hear that he had passed. But rediscovering how much I enjoy all of his music and his talent in the period after that was a real joy. Going to bars and everyone losing their shit when “Billie Jean” came on (well, more than they usually do). Seeing This is It in the Dome on opening night with a rowdy crowd of fellow fans. His work really did bring people together and it did so again in 2009.

9. Coop’s Corner

My friend Justin Cooper asked for some help making a web series and it wound up being the only set I was on all year. I don’t crew very often and it was fun to get back around movies (or any kind of product) being made, particularly by friends. Sean McElwee, Matt Goldberg and Tara were all involved as well so it never felt like hard work. The best sets never do. Still waiting on that finished product Coop!

8. Joshua Tree

Back in January, I took a day out for myself and drove to Joshua Tree. I took a still camera and a video camera and thought maybe inspiration might hit. Even though I didn’t come back with a music video, it was amazing being out there in the desert. A lot of things go through your mind and your eyes get a real workout trying to take in all the beauty. If you ever need to recharge your batteries, I recommend sitting on a rock out there for an hour or two.

7. The Confederations Cup

Basically a little cousin to the World Cup, the Confederations Cup is a tournament that happens every four years in the year before the big event. The host nation is the same and it serves as a warm-up to staging the grand event for them and only eight teams participate (the winner from each Confederation tournament plus the previous World Cup winner). The U.S. was representing North and Central America and despite seeming dead and buried after two games, rallied against impossible math and claimed second place. It was huge for the team and spectacular to watch. As if I needed any more reasons to get excited about the World Cup this year.

6. Zero Film Festival in Santa Ana

The good folks at the Zero Film Festival picked Luke and Brie Are on a First Date to play as part of its West Coast Tour and hooked it up with screenings in Portland and Orange County. George Ducker, Meg Webster, Matt Boese and I all went down to Santa Ana and supported the film. The venue was more for bands and there was a steady stream of people piling in during the last fifteen minutes who were just waiting to see the live show after us, but it was a good time. It’s always nice to see the thing with different crowds and my friend from high school Heather Comstock even made it out, which was lovely of her.

5. Aaron Katz and Cris Lankenau visit

The best part about Katz being semi-famous is that he has to stop in to Los Angeles every once in a while and it’s great to see him. Coincidentally, Lankenau came out during the same short period to audition for a big movie and we hung out, ate Mexican food, played name that tune and generally did nothing. Which is what Aaron and I do best.

4. Thanksgiving

This was the first year that I didn’t spend Christmas with my family (who all live in Virginia), but I did spend Thanksgiving there instead. It was great to see my brothers and my parents, as well as my soon to be sister-in-law and my new nephew, Oakley the dog. It was also great to see some old high school buddies and get a nostalgic taste of Virginia Beach, which is etching itself further and further back in my memory.

3. Bicycle Lane and the Zero Film Festival

This entry is like three in one. I was very happy to become friends with Jeff Ruggles during 2009 and watch his film slowly get out into the public. Hanging out with him and Don Black at the Zero launch party and at their premiere, as well as their cast/crew screening at SpaceFiftyTwenty were all good times. With George Ducker packing up and heading to greener pastures, it’s nice to make new L.A. friends and not feel like my group is slowly dwindling. Also at Zero, I got to see Modern Love is Automatic on the big screen and hang out with Zach Clark for the first time since SXSW 2006, so that’s a big bonus.

2. Location Scouting in Reno

I finished the screenplay for the film I want to make next and enlisted the help of Jeff Ruggles and Matt Godlberg to help try and make it happen in 2010. One early step was traveling to Reno and scouting out all the locations I want to film in. My Mom’s family all lives there so I got to see Grandma, aunts and cousins, which is always nice, but the feeling of planting a seed that could and should grow into a major part of my life is what felt so special. If I haven’t shot this thing by the time I’m making this list next year, I’ll be very disappointed.

1. Oxford Film Festival/Nashville Visit

George Ducker, Sean McElwee, Keegan DeWitt, Tara and I all went to Oxford to represent Luke and Brie Are on a First Date at the great film festival they hold there. We started the trip in Nashville, meeting up with Keegan and seeing a fantastic Roman Candle show at The Basement. We road tripped it to Oxford and spent four days there hanging out, seeing movies and causing trouble. I love all those guys and it meant a lot that they all came.

You can start at the beginning with part one here and part two here and part three here and part four here. Otherwise….

20.

4 LUNI, 3 SAPTAMÂNI SI 2 ZILE (2007)
Cristian Mungiu

Head of the new Romanian cinema class and another film that showcases breathtaking economy with the shot selection (something I’m a sucker for). Perfectly scripted and performed and a great example of a film that knows exactly what it wants to be and can be without reaching for an inch too far. Anamaria Marinca got a lot of good ink for her performance in this but for my money, the movie belongs to Vlad Ivanov, who owns the screen every second he’s on it.

19.

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002)
George Clooney

Everyone knows that actors really want to be directors but rarely do they possess the visual imagination, storytelling ingenuity or playful sense of timing that George Clooney showcased here. Any Charlie Kaufman script is a daunting piece of material to conceptualize, but Clooney owns this story from the first beautiful, stylized frame to the last. Utilizing camera tricks from the olden days of live television is just one of the genius (and appropriate) ways he makes the movie sing.

18.

NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS (2008)
Greta Gerwig, Joe Swanberg

As a veteran of not one, but two long distance relationships as well as a cripplingly difficult to navigate transition period towards friendship after a breakup, I felt like I was watching something a little too close to home. The performances of Swanberg and Gerwig are so natural that I honestly felt like I was seeing things I didn’t believe were possible to capture on screen. Just as James Cameron may have proved that no special effect is too outrageous to put on screen, these guys proved that no moment was so intimate that it couldn’t be captured as well.

17.

SUPERBAD (2007)
Greg Mottola

The only thing with Judd Apatow’s name attached to it that came out like a diamond, in my mind. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are pitch-perfect and only once with the period blood does the film feel like it’s reaching a little for a laugh. Otherwise, it’s purely from the characters interacting and reacting to the situation. The story of two friends realizing how hard it will be to live without each other was also refreshingly played out. And of course, there’s McLovin’. Is there a better film introduction to a nerd than him walking in the classroom throwing up the West Coast sign and saying, “Gangstas”?

16.

PARANOID PARK (2007)
Gus Van Sant

When a film like this comes along, and a filmmaker shows you how the tools that are inherently exclusive to cinema can be used so perfectly to illicit the feelings and emotions of a character, I really rediscover my passion for the art. In particular, the sound design goes leaps and bounds beyond what other filmmakers even consider doing. But the cinematography, editing and music selections are also flirting with insanity. Yet somehow it all forms a perfect whole and a telling portrait of one teenager’s struggle to deal with his mistakes.

15.

DOGVILLE (2003)
Lars Von Trier

A story goes that Von Trier picked up Paul Bettany from the airport when he arrived in Denmark but stopped to buy six or seven porn magazines from an airport shop. No explanation. They then drove to the hotel and Von Trier got Bettany settled in his room, leaving the porn on the bed while doing so. He then went and got Nicole Kidman to introduce the two and when he brought her in, the first thing he said was, “Nicole, look at Paul’s enormous stack of porn.” This movie is as good as that story.

14.

I ♥ HUCKABEES (2004)
David O. Russell

Not many comedies stand up over repeat viewings, let alone demand them. Russell’s existential detective farce is the exception. Brilliantly cast and brimming with ideas and energy, there were few films that were as joyous to watch. Mark Wahlberg, in particular, has never been better and with Three Kings as well, proves that he should work with Russell every chance he gets.

13.

BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN (2006)
Larry Charles

I saw this at a test screening, nine months before it opened and I hadn’t seen a frame or heard a thing. No buzz, no hype and I hated Ali G Indahouse so expectations were extremely low. Two hours later, I thought I had witnessed the birth of a new type of film comedy. I don’t know how it holds up because I have no interest in seeing it again for fear of spoiling the amazing experience I had watching it. My friend Keegan described it as Breaking the Waves meets Bowling for Columbine meets Jackass and he nailed it. Social commentary, excruciating truth and toilet humor all rolled into one melting point held together by a remarkable performance by Sacha Baron Cohen.

12.

GERRY (2002)
Gus Van Sant

A movie about two friends getting lost in the desert has no right to be exciting and Van Sant agrees. Quiet, patient and breathtakingly beautiful, his interest lies in capturing the experience of his characters as honestly as possible and the result is unlike any other moviegoing experience. I feel like I know what it’s like to be lost in the desert simply because I watched this film. If you think a movie can’t be boring and brilliant at the same time, then this one may not be for you.

11.

PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002)
Paul Thomas Anderson

Anderson has apparently never seen a romantic comedy before. How else can you explain his approach to one bearing not one single hallmark of the genre. Wildly original in both its characters and its execution, Adam Sandler will never have a better part and he nails it. The camerawork, lighting, editing, score and costumes are also absolutely top-notch. What other mad genius would think to use a Shelley Duvall song from Popeye as the centerpiece to his soundtrack?

10.

HUNGER (2008)
Steve McQueen

A seriously unpleasant moviegoing experience, why would anybody want to watch a film like this? To be startled by fearless direction and fierce originality. McQueen creates some of the most indelible images of the decade with cinematographer Sean Bobbitt and it’s a good thing too since pure visual storytelling makes up roughly 80% of the runtime. The only dialogue, more or less, all comes from one, genius 17 minute static shot. Structured in a completely unique way where the protagonist switches from reel to reel before settling on a spectacular Michael Fassbender who carries us through a gutting finale.

9.

A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001)
Steven Spielberg

No other big budget Hollywood film came within miles of the artistic risks that Spielberg takes here. Of course, Stanley Kubrick’s indelible fingerprints are all over the place, but I honestly believe that the film needed the melding of his cold calculation with Spielberg’s overt sentimentality to truly work. Haley Joel Osment is a wonder as a robot Pinocchio and his transformation through the wildly different three acts is a master class of subtlety. Janusz Kaminski, John Williams, Michael Kahn and the rest of Sir Stevie’s crew are reliably excellent as well.

8.

Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (2001)
Alfonso Cuarón

A small, Mexican film made international stars out of Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, earned its director a job with the Harry Potter franchise and probably influenced American cinema more than any other foreign film this decade. A bluntly sexual tale of children becoming men during a road trip is the stuff that National Lampoon executives blow loads over but is handled with delicate sincerity here in rapturous long takes from Emmanuel Lubezki, who would take these ideas one step further with Cuarón in Children of Men.

7.

BEFORE SUNSET (2004)
Richard Linklater

Less than a handful of sequels not only improve on their predecessor but actually improve their predecessor by existing and this is one of them. Nothing but conversation for 90 minutes and you learn everything you could possibly need to know about these characters, about regret, about getting old and about the human need for connection. If the first film was romance as a balloon being slowly blown up, then this one is a look at all the broken pieces on the ground after it popped.

6.

ALL THE REAL GIRLS (2003)
David Gordon Green

Still just scratching the surface of the independent film world in 2003, I had never seen anything like what Green accomplished in this film. Falling in love actually captured on screen, not just alluded to with slow motion, string swells and montages. More than that, a broken heart captured with equal realism. Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel and Danny McBride are all movie stars now but they felt like me and my friends then and all of a sudden I had deeper standards for what I needed to see in movies.

5.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007)
Paul Thomas Anderson

The highest ranked of only three Best Picture nominees on my list, I can’t believe the Academy actually saw fit to nominate Anderson’s magnificent opus. Incidentally, it lost to the only Best Picture winner this decade that I didn’t think was a total waste, but No Country for Old Men just missed my top 100. Anyway, you all know the drill (pun intended!)- Daniel Day-Lewis is epic, Anderson is just getting better and better as he goes along, and just when you think his camerawork couldn’t be more confident, he pulls out shit like this. If ever there was a film that felt like a classic as you were watching it, this was it.

4.

UNITED 93 (2006)
Paul Greengrass

I never thought Hollywood would be able to make a film about 9/11 that wasn’t awful. I just didn’t think they had enough grace, taste or smarts to pull it off but Universal proved me wrong with the hiring of Greengrass. Completely non-judgmental, unsensational and specific, the movie works both as a harrowing thriller and a look at how multiple systems failed during that fateful day and why. Possibly the best last shot of the decade as well. If it hadn’t ended right there, it wouldn’t have made the list.

3.

DANCER IN THE DARK (2000)
Lars Von Trier

Bjork gives the performance of a lifetime and has vowed to never act again after the experience of giving it. The similarities between her and Marie Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc don’t end there, as Von Trier glues his camera to the singer’s face as she experiences horrible injustice after horrible injustice. Cleverly combining his Dogme aesthetic with old Hollywood musical conventions and with a terrific song score by Bjork herself, a harsher juxtaposition didn’t hit the screen all decade.

2.

YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000)
Kenneth Lonergan

The fact that this movie is stamped so indelibly with Lonergan’s voice probably has much more to do with his writing than directing, but he sure didn’t get in the way of the material or his actors. And what actors! Mark Ruffalo gives perhaps my favorite performance of the decade and Laura Linney has never been better. The direction is simplicity itself but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Notice the way he stages scenes, often beginning them just after the moment that every other filmmaker would consider the meat (a marriage proposal being one example). It’s a movie brimming with honesty, heart, and brains, and I have stolen from it in every script I’ve written.

1.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)
Michel Gondry

Movie of the decade. First off, an ingenious sci-fi concept treated as it should be- as background. Second, inventive direction in every scene with wonderful practical effects and a sense of playfulness rarely seen in the genre. Third, and most importantly, a beautiful relationship brought to life by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey in career-best work. Watching them fall out and back in love was one of the biggest thrills the screen offered in the past ten years. This was the film I saw with my girlfriend on the day we broke up after four years together and it couldn’t have been more fitting or more of a slap in the face. But that’s its beauty. It’s any and every part of a relationship all rolled into one, cinematic mesh.

You can start at the beginning with part one here and part two here and part three here. Otherwise….

40.

GEORGE WASHINGTON (2000)
David Gordon Green

Poetic, deliberate and spiritual, the story is… not the point. Completely devoid of stereotypes, Green painted a picture of a very different South than Hollywood was doling out and he did it with brazen confidence, mostly non-professional child actors and gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Tim Orr.

39.

ALMOST FAMOUS (2000)
Cameron Crowe

Authenticity drips out of every line and frame of Almost Famous. Capturing a time, a place and an essence, Crowe manages to be semi-autobiographical without being cynical or sentimental and is aided by wonderful performances across the board, but particularly Frances McDormand and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

38.

FINDING NEMO (2003)
Andrew Stanton

Sharp screenwriting is matched with Pixar’s most eye-popping visuals in this story of a father learning to let go of his son. Mixing humor and heart is Pixar’s bread and butter, but it could hardly have been more successful here, with Ellen DeGeneres providing the vocal performance of the decade as Dory.

37.

ONCE (2006)
John Carney

One word that can describe fewer and fewer independent films these days is “unassuming”, and it may be difficult to assign it in hindsight to an Oscar winning success story like this, but Carney’s ode to music and romance certainly fits the bill. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova make one of the decade’s more adorable couples and the film’s dedication to the music and the role it plays in their relationship is extremely admirable.

36.

SÅNGER FRÅN ANDRA VÅNINGEN (2000)
Roy Andersson

If you happen to know a thing or two about the political infrastructure of Sweden, you’ll probably get an added kick out of Andersson’s satire. If not, don’t worry, you can still enjoy his impeccable visual humor and his ode to the lonely hearted. If I can get my next film off the ground, you can expect a number of things to be stolen from this film.

35.

SOMERS TOWN (2008)
Shane Meadows

Some people may call this film too “slight”, but that word was never a pejorative to me in film. A young runaway makes friends with a poor, Polish immigrant in a working class British town, shot exquisitely in black and white. What more do you need?

34.

CACHÉ (2005)
Michael Haneke

Not your typical thriller. A couple receives strange and threatening videotapes and try to figure out what it means. Amazingly, the thrills in the film come more from analyzing how the couple reacts and how it strains their relationship than anything else. Imaginatively filmed and presented to avoid any cheap suspense and the result is all the more eerie for it.

33.

ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (2005)
Miranda July

As someone who typically finds the word “quirky” to be a glaring red flag when it comes to movies, I was quite surprised by how taken I was with this. Quirky doesn’t even begin to describe it but the key is that as a filmmaker, July genuinely seems to both love and belong with each and every one of these characters. Bonus points for realistic children characters, not just mini-adults played by children. ))((

32.

MUNYURANGABO (2007)
Lee Isaac Chung

Midway through watching this film, I pinpointed why I liked it so much. For films from Africa to make it to the U.S., they usually have to be about some sort of political strife or have some lesson for us Westerners to glean. This film felt like a regular movie from a different region that had little or no interest in appealing to other audiences. Which is why I was so shocked to find out it was made by a Korean dude from Arkansas.

31.

MONSTERS, INC. (2001)
Pete Docter

The cream of Pixar’s crop. Billy Crystal and John Goodman bring their characters to vivid life and no animated film features better action sequences or a more emotional climax. Not to mention I think it’s their most creative idea and as funny as anything they’ve ever produced. All in all, a top drawer production.

30.

WENDY AND LUCY (2008)
Kelly Reichardt

Heartbreaking portrait of life on the poverty line without really being a portrait of life on the poverty line. Literally, it’s a movie about a girl losing her dog and her car breaking down, but anybody who lives their life from check to check will find themselves uncomfortably familiar with the hopelessness that often comes along with life’s curveballs. Michelle Williams is completely natural and subdued, carrying the film with the ease of a movie star but none of the self-consciousness.

29.

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000)
Darren Aronofsky

18 year old Chad would have told you that this is one of the best movies ever. Period! Now, I think Aronofsky maybe uses his sledgehammer sometimes when he could have used a chisel, but I still find his whole approach kind of admirable. Tackling addiction with the fury of a hapless addict, he throws everything but the kitchen sink into selling his characters’ plight and it’s nothing if not effective.

28.

ELEPHANT (2003)
Gus Van Sant

Van Sant harnessed his inner Béla Tarr for a detached view of high school shootings. I wish the Hitler and gay shit wasn’t in there but everything else sings and I can forgive those few moments. Deeply unsettling and only Van Sant can make something so simultaneously mundane and ethereal.

27.

DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT (2006)
Julia Loktev

A suicide bomber prepares to blow up Times Square. Who is she? Why does she want to do that? Who cares? Loktev refuses to give us an inch more than the immediate facts and the camera constantly prods Luisa Williams’s face looking for clues, but our own projections are all you’ll see. Bold, experimental, topical filmmaking at its finest and least patronizing.

26.

WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (2001)
David Wain

Forget Judd Apatow. David Wain and “The State” is what’s really responsible for all the best emerging comedy talent this decade. This irreverent spoof of camp comedies from the 80′s is pure madcap insanity. We’re talking about a movie with a talking can of vegetables. See!. And why didn’t this scene win Paul Rudd an Oscar?

25.

MURDER ON A SUNDAY MORNING (2001)
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

HBO produced, Oscar winning documentary follows the case of a 15 year old put on trial for murder and the court-appointed attorney who desperately works to prove his innocence. It’s the exact opposite of the flashy graphics and montage-obsessed aesthetic that most popular documentaries took to this decade and it’s one of the most riveting and frustrating movies I’ve ever seen.

24.

SUGAR (2008)
Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

A monumental leap forward for the directing duo behind Half Nelson, there’s not a false note to be found in this wonderfully original story about a Dominican baseball player attempting to adjust to life in America and the minor leagues. More than once, I thought I had the story pegged only to discover that I wasn’t even close and the filmmakers were taking a much more challenging road and the final shot is heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.

23.

LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003)
Sofia Coppola

I only saw this movie once, when it came out, and I thought it was pretty great but not exceptional. My memories of it are not very specific but the overall feeling of the film is so vivid that thinking back on it is almost no different than thinking back on some actual trips to other countries I’ve taken. That’s how perfectly Coppola nailed an emotional state.

22.

ZIDANE, UN PORTRAIT DU 21e SIÉCLE (2006)
Douglas Gordon, Philippe Parreno

If you love both soccer and experimental filmmaking (and I do), then there is no better film for you. An uninterrupted look at one player playing an entire soccer game with minimal narration and an epic soundtrack by Mogwai. I waited two years to see this movie and it lived up to all expectations.

21.

MAN ON WIRE (2008)
James Marsh

I read about this film playing at Tribeca and I thought, “Oh, he walks on a wire between the two towers, that’s cool”. When I finally saw it and it got to the part where he actually walks, I was weeping. Marsh makes you understand what that walk really is, which is an expression of art. A dream realized. A limit undone. The real gold comes from the subject himself, in both the manic energy he brings to his recollections and the wonderful archive footage he had taken during the planning stages.

You can start at the beginning with part one here and part two here. Otherwise….

60.

A MIGHTY HEART (2007)
Michael Winterbottom

Angelina Jolie gives a ferocious performance in what seems to me to be an unfairly maligned drama. Winterbottom keeps things taut and realistic, without resorting to cheap theatrics to amp the stakes. The overall effect is tense, heartbreaking and chilling.

59.

LOL (2006)
Joe Swanberg

Swanberg’s look at the way technology improves and impedes our ability to communicate is immediately dated but only because it captures a specific time and culture so perfectly. Raw and cheap but hardly amateur, it contains truths about my generation that Hollywood still has no clue about.

58.

THE NEW WORLD (2005)
Terrence Malick

Malick proved he still has the goods, seven years after The Thin Red Line. Some of the most arresting visuals put on screen in the 2000′s, matched with a fine performance from Q’orianka Kilcher and a fascinating new perspective on an age old story.

57.

KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON (2006)
AJ Schnack

I would consider myself merely a casual Nirvana fan and admirer so this in-depth look at Cobain was nearly all new information to me. Taking hours of personal interview tapes, Schnack ingeniously uses no actual footage of the man or his band but instead fills the frame with gorgeous images from his childhood, formative years and anything else he may be talking about. It’s hypnotic.

56.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Christopher Nolan

Far from perfect, Nolan’s blockbuster gets so much right that it’s a rare time where I can forgive the grievances and just sit back and marvel. From the unconventional score to the reliance on practical effects and stunt work to the well-publicized performances, I was consistently impressed and this is coming from someone bored to tears by Batman Begins.

55.

LA SCIENCE DES RÊVES (2006)
Michel Gondry

A rumination on dreams sounds like a nightmare to watch, and Gondry does allow himself to go overboard with the imagery for sometimes no reason, but it’s all grounded by a marvelous Gael García Bernal performance and his budding relationship with Charlotte Gainsbourg. Their dynamic never quite goes the way you expect and as it plows along, Gondry’s indulgences become more and more poignant.

54.

LES GLANEURS ET LA GLANEUSE (2000)
Agnès Varda

A look at the world of modern day gleaners, living off the land and waste of others would have made a fine documentary on its own. But this is a Varda film and she can’t help but throw herself in the mix, contemplating her own life as a gleaner of images. I always admire films that could only possibly be made by one person and this is one of those.

53.

CLOSER (2004)
Mike Nichols

Everyone I know whose opinion I respect hates this movie and I’d be lying if it didn’t make me second guess my feelings toward it. I get it, Patrick Marber’s hyper-realistic dialogue either rubs you the wrong way or it doesn’t and it hooked me from the start. Strong work from the four actors as well.

52.

STELLET LICHT (2007)
Carlos Reygadas

A film about Mexican Mennonites with a six minute opening shot of the sun rising is certainly not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for patient viewers, few experiences could be as rewarding. Hints of Dreyer and Bergman but undeniably modern as well, the questions of love, family, fidelity, life and death are all explored.

51.

LÅT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN (2008)
Tomas Alfredson

Horror movies are kind of like rap music, in that when they are done right, there are few things more visceral or exciting. Unfortunately, they are rarely done right. But here, Tomas Alfredson seems totally uninterested in scaring the audience and much more concerned with the story of a budding young romance, achieving success on both counts in the process. Has snow ever seemed more menacing?

50.

WONDER BOYS (2000)
Curtis Hanson

I haven’t revisited this one in a long time but if memory serves me, it’s a real joy. Michael Douglas wears existential crisis well and Tobey Maguire was still doing his doe-eyed innocent thing but doing it well. A smart script by Steve Kloves kept me on my toes and may have wrapped things up a bit too nicely in the end but the time spent with all the wonderful characters was worth it.

49.

LA NANA (2009)
Sebastián Silva

Catalina Saavedra towers over any other female performance this year as the titular maid. The plot is standard character redemption stuff but Silva’s handling of her transformation from raging bitch to tolerable human being should be studied for its subtlety and realism.

48.

HUMPDAY (2009)
Lynn Shelton

Again, Hollywood needs to study what is being done here. Humpday proves that no high-concept conceit is too ridiculous to buy as long as the reactions by the characters are honest and realistic. I didn’t see a funnier film all year and it goes places with “bromance” that films like I Love You, Man wouldn’t even consider. They are too busy throwing in things like “bad man-date montage”.

47.

MOARTEA DOMNULUI LAZARESCU (2005)
Cristi Puiu

When arguing that other countries have much better health care programs than the U.S., this film makes a case for excluding Romania. Patience is required as it takes a good hour to really get a grasp on what you’re watching with Puiu taking his sweet time showing the way bureaucracy fails one old, sick man, but by the end it lands a sucker punch that few other films can match.

46.

JACKASS NUMBER TWO (2006)
Jeff Tremaine

Allow me to reprint an excerpt from an essay I wrote after the release of this gem: “It’s no coincidence that the final image in the film is a direct homage to Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr.. Just like Keaton, the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges and Monty Python before them, Johnny Knoxville and co. prove that comedy is a celebration of anarchy. Chaos and misfortune are what truly make us laugh as long as there are no innocent victims and we empathize with the characters. In Sherlock Jr. and The General, the person on the end of all the 2×4′s to the neck and the gallons of water dumped on the head was always Keaton himself. What are these guys doing that the great clowns of the past aren’t but taking out the extraneous plots that tie the gags together?” Further reading- “And let’s not lowball these guys as filmmakers either. You could study this film and easily learn a lot about selling a gag. Set-up, revealing the stakes, payoff; the execution is nearly flawless in every bit. Just because there is poop and farts and a guy chugging an entire beer through his asshole doesn’t mean that there isn’t craft and a story isn’t being told.”

45.

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (2004)
Trey Parker

Alright, these two films back to back make me look like a dickhead member of Alpha Beta Douchebaga. But again, I don’t understand why milquetoast assembly-line comedies like The 40-Year Old Virgin get acclaim while daring humor like this doesn’t. Action movies, musicals, American foreign policy, Hollywood, Broadway, nothing is safe. And it’s marionettes for Christ sake!

44.

FROWNLAND (2007)
Ronald Bronstein

No distributor wanted to touch this with a ten foot pole and if you’ve seen the film, you know why and it has nothing to do with quality. Bronstein’s uncompromising portrait of an outcast has you ready to cry uncle after the first five minutes spent with him. But the more the film progresses, the more we come to understand and identify with the character and his struggle to connect. It’s a movie that absolutely could not have been made by anybody but Bronstein and his refusal to judge or comment on that character is what makes it work.

43.

PRIMER (2004)
Shane Carruth

A lot of people dismiss this movie for being too confusing. Good! I don’t understand what it takes to invent time travel and Carruth has no interest in dumbing down his dialogue so that I can keep up. Maybe it doesn’t even make sense to him but his conviction in the storytelling comes through loud and clear. As does the feeling of events spiraling helplessly out of your control.

42.

MOULIN ROUGE! (2001)
Baz Luhrmann

The first fifteen minutes of this thing are a mess. Luhrmann maybe thought he needed to ratchet it up to 11 so that you’ve adapted to the style by the time the story really kicks in and that’s exactly the case. Inventive doesn’t even describe the conception and execution here, completely revitalizing an entire genre in the process. But it would all be bells and whistles without Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman nailing their doomed romance.

41.

DANCE PARTY USA (2006)
Aaron Katz

Okay, okay, so I’m in this movie. If that invalidates my entire list for you, so be it. But Katz made a film about high schoolers that has no interest in bullies, the prom, sexual hijinks or anything else regularly associated with the subject. Instead he focuses on one prick and the girl who may or may not help speed up his maturation. Slice-of-life, coming-of-age, whatever you want to call it, Katz nails the defining moments that turn us into who we eventually become.

You can start at the beginning with part one here. Otherwise….

80.

CONTROL ROOM (2004)
Jehane Noujaim

Any political documentary from the mid-part of the decade is probably worthless. So much junk just infiltrated the market that anything with a thought-out perspective and focused narrative stood out like a sore thumb. Interestingly, the subjects of this film form a parallel, taking a look at the reporters of Al-Jazeera trying to present unbiased reports on the Iraq War.

79.

IN AMERICA (2002)
Jim Sheridan

The magical negro stuff with Djimon Hounsou is unfortunate but if you eliminate that, you’re left with pure magic. Sarah and Emma Bolger give two of the finest child performances I’ve ever seen and the sequence with the E.T. doll is more riveting than anything in any summer blockbuster could hope to be.

78.

THE BROWN BUNNY (2003)
Vincent Gallo

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Vincent Gallo is a narcissist beyond what filmmaking has seen in a very long time. Which is exactly why he’s so valuable. He’s also got great ideas about loneliness, isolation and regret that are all explored in this drowsy, melancholy anti-road movie.

77.

WEDDING CRASHERS (2005)
David Dobkin

There’s a lot that’s wrong with this movie. Cardboard villain, transparent structure and the dreaded foul mouthed grandparent. Still, it gets one major thing right, and more right than any other Hollywood film this decade. The pairing of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson created the type of chemistry that I thought went out with the Marx Brothers. I would watch them do anything, so long as it was together, and the main romance between Wilson and Rachel McAdams was also strongly handled.

76.

TREELESS MOUNTAIN (2008)
So Yong Kim

Most of the good stuff from In America, without Djimon Hounsou. Two more unbelievable child performances in a story about child abandonment that doesn’t go looking for cheap sympathy. Instead it shows you the power of spirit and the bonds of family.

75.

SPELLBOUND (2002)
Jeffrey Blitz

This unassuming charmer effectively started the “competition documentary” that has spawned countless imitators. Blitz merely found the inherent drama where others hadn’t thought to look and crafted a story about American idealism through the eyes of some of its brightest children. But it’s the parents who provide much of the emotional backbone to the story through everything from comic relief to harsh juxtaposition of opportunity.

74.

LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)
Richard Curtis

Curtis essentially took the climactic moment from every romantic comedy and distilled it into one delectable stew and somehow came up with a product that works. In a way, by focusing solely on the crowd-pleasing moments it almost becomes experimental. Not every story hits but enough does to ensure that I felt warm and gooey from literally the first frame to the last.

73.

DU LEVANDE (2007)
Roy Andersson

Andersson calls this “a film about the grandeur of existing” and it may well be as pretentious as that makes it sound. Finding humor in tragedy and loneliness is really one of the only things that ties the series of vignettes together but it’s so watchable because of the aesthetics. Beautiful static frames and very deliberate blocking that can get a laugh out of someone just appearing in a doorway. The sound design, the editing, the timing of the dialogue is all slightly surreal and it’s not for everyone but I could watch it all day.

72.

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005)
Noah Baumbach

Baumbach’s personal screenplay rings much truer to me than Kicking and Screaming or Margot at the Wedding and Jeff Daniels turns in a career best performance. Jesse Eisenberg does his thing, which he does well, but the fact that Baumbach managed to get as much truth out of this crumbling family based on his own, when he’s so emotionally close to, but chronologically removed from the material, is what’s truly amazing.

71.

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2007)
Werner Herzog

Exactly what I never knew I always wanted a documentary on Antarctica to be. Inherently fascinating, Herzog doesn’t shy away from the scientific aspects of why the continent is unique but is definitely more interested in the philosophical questions that arise when confonted with the “edge of the world”. Throw in lovingly humorous looks at the locals and you have everything that a documentary should be.

70.

POOTIE TANG (2001)
Louis C.K.

If you’re wondering why Chris Rock can be so funny in standup but never translate that to movies, then you haven’t seen Pootie Tang. Wicked sharp and undeniably stupid at the same time, sending up blaxploitation movies, celebrity culture and capitalism, I don’t understand why this hasn’t become a cult classic on DVD. Watch this and if you don’t laugh, I can’t help you.

69.

IN A DREAM (2008)
Jeremiah Zagar

I can’t speak highly enough of this documentary. Zagar initially begins making it about his father and his art but it quickly turns into something else when the elder Zagar admits to cheating on his wife with his assistant. The camera continues to capture the family trying to save itself from that fissure and continues to asses the artist’s relationship to his art. The beauty of the elder Zagar’s work is matched by the beauty of the cinematography, editing and music.

68.

ROGER DODGER (2002)
Dylan Kidd

Kidd took one of the oldest stories in the book — two people with opposite worldviews form an improbable connection and teach each other lessons about life — and made it fresh through restraint, focus and wonderful characterization. Campbell Scott gives a fantastic (pre-Don Draper) performance as a lonely lothario earning his living in the advertising business. Jesse Eisenberg, as his innocent nephew, debuted the screen persona that he still carries to this day and has never been better.

67.

CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERHERO (2007)
Matthew Ogens

There’s nothing particularly ambitious or unique about this documentary but something about it struck my core. Following the lives of four actors getting by dressing up as superheros and taking pictures with tourists on Hollywood Boulevard, it’s beautifully made and as it moves forward, goes deeper into the lives of the people than I ever expected to get and revealing some startling stuff. I watched it twice in two days.

66.

THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)
Shane Meadows

Young Thomas Turgoose explodes off the screen in this semi-autobiographical tale of a British youth falling into the ska/skinhead scene in the early 80′s. We watch through his eyes as the innocence of the movement falls into the wrong hands and turns violent. The ending feels a bit forced to me, but Turgoose’s wide-eyed performance more than makes up for it, as does the feeling of 100% authenticity throughout.

65.

UNBREAKABLE (2000)
M. Night Shyamalan

Shyamalan’s reputation as being a bit of a joke began here and while he’s certainly earned it now, I think any ties with Unbreakable are a bit unfair. Unlike his following films, this one is impeccably thought out, staged and performed, with some of the most interesting camera direction you’re likely to find in a huge budget Hollywood film. His obvious creative freedom let him explore sound design, editing and lighting with fascinating results. Even the “twist”, which is really just a new bit of information at the end, not anything that forces repeat viewings, goes down fine with me.

64.

ARUITEMO ARUITEMO (2008)
Hirokazu Koreeda

Still Walking is a family drama with very little drama and a whole lot of family. Every relationship is given the screen time and breathing space to form something interesting and unlike a day spent with your real family, it felt like the time zoomed by enjoyably.

63.

UNDERTOW (2004)
David Gordon Green

Another film that grew on me with a second viewing. Green maybe tries to get a little too Malick-y on this Malick produced effort, but his poetic dilly-dallying mixed with murders, robbery and deep woods chases really works for me. Hopefully this isn’t his last truly adventurous film, although it appears to be for now.

62.

TARNATION (2003)
Jonathan Caouette

I thought for sure that I would hate this movie. I wanted to hate it. I think Caouette has terrible taste as a filmmaker and I hesitate to even call him a filmmaker. He’s annoying, egotistical and possibly even a big phoney. But the film got me, and as a portrait of someone who is all of those things, it’s a perfect success.

61.

MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (2008)
Barry Jenkins

A simple story about two people trying to get to know each other after a one night stand is given added depth by a look at the gentrification and racial divisions of San Francisco. Beautifully shot on HD by James Laxton and featuring strong performances and pitch-perfect music selections, Jenkins has crafted something strong and unique, both in the context of the mumblecore movement and in African American cinema in general.

For the most part, it’s 27 year old Chad who this list represents, although a few films probably slipped through the cracks from previous incarnations. Some of the films I haven’t seen in years and have to trust my initial feelings on and some are recent additions that may sour in time. All of the films mean a great deal to me and are worth checking out if you haven’t seen. So without further ado….

100.

LA PIANISTE (2001)
Michael Haneke

A dynamite, international star-making performance from Isabelle Hupppert makes this romantic tragedy what it is. Taking a decidedly unlikeable character and forming someone unmistakably human, she and Haneke turn in a fascinating and indicting look at sexual repression.

99.

WERCKMEISTER HARMÓNIÁK (2000)
Béla Tarr

Ambitious, bold, boring, beautiful, pretentious. All of these things can describe this one film, and Tarr has a way of making even those adjectives with negative connotations seem perfect. I’ve since seen his earlier, more naturalistic work and much prefer that, but as far as existential, Hungarian poetry on screen goes, you can’t do much better than this.

98.

CAST AWAY (2000)
Robert Zemeckis

Zemeckis and Tarr right next to each other might not happen on very many lists. I haven’t seen this film since 2001, but I remember being surprised at how well handled the stuff on the island was done. No score, fantastic sound design, a phenomenal Tom Hanks performance and a dedication to chronicling the minutia. Even when he’s back in America, I thought the scene with Helen Hunt was terrifically thought out and played. Hollywood entertainment has rarely been this adventurous since.

97.

BALLAST (2008)
Lance Hammer

A film drenched in its Mississippi roots without feeling like a Southern caricature, Lance Hammer’s debut is a remarkable tale of family resilience and bonding through grief. Non-actors turn in stilted, yet emotionally powerful performances in one of many late decade titles to poignantly look at the economic troubles faced by Americans.

96.

SANG SATTAWAT (2006)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul

I’m not going to lie and say that I understand everything that’s going on in Syndromes and a Century. Beautiful vignettes that sometimes repeat with different actors or sometimes play out in slightly different forms all lend to the theme of distorted memories. A singing dentist is the highlight.

95.

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2003)
Andrew Jarecki

All I really want in a documentary is an interesting story told and if there are two sides to the story, I don’t want to know which side the filmmaker falls on. Jarecki unfolds the story of the Friedmans in such a way that we are always second-guessing the subjects, the film and ourselves.

94.

BIKUR HA-TIZMORET (2007)
Eran Kolirin

It seems that the only movies that make it to America from the Middle East have something to do with the political conflict there, either directly or thematically. The Band’s Visit falls into the latter category and thankfully, keeps the preaching to a minimum. Instead, you have a gorgeously shot story of a group of men stranded in a strange land just passing the time.

93.

MINORITY REPORT (2002)
Steven Spielberg

Can we please just pretend that the last three minutes of this movie don’t exist? If so, it’s a big-budget science fiction spectacle as best as you can hope to find. Spielberg and Kaminski do wonders visually, Cruise is pitch-perfect and a handful of sequences can be studied in film classes for decades (the mall chase, the spiders, etc.)

92.

CHOP SHOP (2007)
Rahmin Bahrani

An anti-Slumdog Millionaire focusing on the day to day life of a poor orphan in Queens working at a car repair lot and trying to save money for a taco truck he can run with his sister. Director Bahrani clearly loves his characters and treats his audience with respect by showing hardships but not worst case scenarios to drum up instant sympathy.

91.

ZOOLANDER (2001)
Ben Stiller

A satire of male models seems like a black hole of comedy but Stiller manages to find enough material to more than sustain the runtime. Will Ferrell isn’t annoying, Owen Wilson is Owen Wilson and David Duchonvy has never been better. One of the most quotable films of the decade and one of the last times Stiller managed to be endearing.

90.

GEGEN DIE WAND (2004)
Fatih Akin

A film about identity from a German-Turkish filmmaker that focuses on the connection and relationship between two desperate characters. Phenomenal acting from the two leads and a story that never quite goes where you expect add up to a wonderful and hopeful journey in the end.

89.

THE PUFFY CHAIR (2005)
Jay Duplass

After seeing this movie for the first time, I thought it had a lot of great moments but was brought down by the brother character and his quirky bullshit. The second time, he didn’t bother me at all. Few American films dare to deal with a doomed relationship with this type of fine toothed comb, painting both characters as neither right nor wrong. Just wrong for each other.

88.

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (2002)
Stephen Frears

The first movie I ever saw in Los Angeles and I haven’t seen it since. People I trust tell me that it’s not actually good but I remember being riveted from starting frame to finish. Chiwetel Ejiofor was brilliant and the script kept to a satisfying Hollywood structure but still managed to surprise me. It did everything a thriller should, and not cheaply, I thought.

87.

THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE (2000)
Mark Dindal

The closest any animated title has come in the new decade to capturing the madcap insanity of Chuck Jones and Bugs Bunny. Wonderful humor coming from great characters and spot-on voice work, including the one and only time anyone has harnessed David Spade’s smarm for good and not evil. It’s a delirious cartoon in the greatest sense of both words.

86.

FA YEUNG NIN WA (2000)
Wong Kar Wai

Wong Kar Wai’s impeccable style doesn’t always work for me and has a nasty habit of distracting from his substance when it’s at its worst. That’s not an issue here, as Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung give beautiful performances in a rare look at adults with a little bit of self control.

85.

TROUBLE THE WATER (2008)
Carl Deal, Tia Lessin

Deal and Lessin should thank their lucky stars that they ran into Kimberly Roberts because her first hand footage of Hurricane Katrina is leaps and bounds more visceral, interesting and emotional than anything they could have hoped to capture. Never reducing itself to over politcizing or an overkill of news clips, the film wisely focuses on just one family’s story and tells us everything we need to know.

84.

ÊTRE ET AVOIR (2002)
Nicolas Philibert

Charming French documentary about a tiny schoolhouse in the countryside and an amazing teacher who still teaches with compassion, love and attention to each student. The subject is matched by the filmmakers, who opt for a laid-back, direct cinema approach that never gets in the way and never calls attention away from what’s important.

83.

LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE (2003)
Sylvain Chomet

Wall-E got acres of credit for having about twenty minutes of dialogue-free storytelling but The Triplets of Belleville goes the distance. Gorgeously designed and executed, and featuring a host of interesting characters, it’s probably even better when you see it stoned.

82.

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGANDY (2004)
Adam McKay

There was enough deleted footage to make an entire other movie, which leads me to believe that Adam McKay had no idea what he was doing. But he cast this film to perfection and the resulting anarchic lunacy creates one of the most vibrant comedies of the decade. Will Ferrell’s persona never again matched a character or circumstance so well, while Paul Rudd and Steve Carell stand out from the supporting cast.

81.

THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE (2001)
Joel Coen

The Coen Brothers have had quite a decade but this is the only title to make my list. While always getting technicians to hit the top of their game, this really is career best work from Roger Deakins and Carter Burwell, and Billy Bob Thornton fits seamlessly into the classic noir tropes. Probably the only time a Coen Brothers film has actually managed to move me.

Now we are becoming fast friends and even collaborators. Ruggles has come on board as a producer for This is Martin Bonner and we are trying to get pre-production on that sucker moving along. He also celebrated the first Los Angeles screening of Bicycle Lane last week and his birthday a few days later so it’s been a Ruggles-centric month for me so far. Which is totally cool. Have a peek at the pictures below and become a friend to Bicycle Lane on facebook so you can find out if it’ll ever play near you.

Hollywood.

The lovely Anne Walls.

George Ducker and John Singleton mingle.

Josh Locy may tell you he got in a brutal fight, but he actually got poked in the eye playing basketball. Rec basketball at that.

Don Black, the star of the movie works the crowd like he’s George Clooney or something.

Space 15Twenty- the only place where you can eat a chicken sandwich and watch indie film at the same time. Also, those are Josh’s custom made slippers from Colombia.

“Yeah, yeah, I made this movie and it’s awesome. What of it? Any questions?”

Ruggles and I after party it up at the after party.

Ruggles’s birthday involved boiling crawfish alive and then sucking out their brains. George obliged, I did not.

This man is 30.

The good people at Cinetic Media and Amazon Video on Demand have made the film available to rent or purchase online starting now! What are you waiting for? Go-

Amazon Video On Demand

And here’s the trailer one last time-