Clever Magazine, Winter '10 " Top 10 films of the decade " (www.clevermag.com)

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Clever Magazine's Top 10 Movies
of the Decade

Dueling Reviews by:
The Phantom,
Clever's resident film reviewer

and Karen Dale,
Clever's occasional film reviewer

It's that time of year for lists, and since we're changing decades, it's also time to think about the last ten years. None of us really want to spend much time reminiscing about the last ten years in terms of jobs, housing or the economy, right? Decidedly not! (Pa-tooey!)

So that leaves cultural stuff, like movies, for example. Clever goes to the movies quite often and we have archived hundreds of movie reviews. So without further ado, here are the Phantom and Karen Dale's dueling reviews. We even agree on some titles.

The Phantom's Top 10 Movies of the Decade:

10. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill '03: this low budget documentary about nurturing wild parrots in San Francisco says something about our humanity.

9. Constant Gardener '05 & Blood Diamond '06 (honorable mention): the despair and desperation of Africa, told brilliantly in both of these engrossing films

8. Chicago, '02: the movie musical is back and we loved every frame of this one

7. Before Sunset '04: the second in what we hope will be a series, a smart romantic affair between two people who capture our hearts as they wander through Paris.

6. Adaptation '02: this quirky film about two brothers trying to write a screenplay from a book on growing orchids is brilliant.

5. In Bruges '08: an amusing hit man film set in a beautiful European city

4. Sicko '07 & Bowling for Columbine '03 (honorable mention): two documentaries by that lovably controversial Michael Moore cannot be forgotten when thinking back over the decade.

3. Brokeback Mountain '05: a heart true heart stopper

2. The Pianist '02: why is it that WWII films still mesmerize us? This was an unforgettable masterpiece about the tragedy of war.

1. Finding Nemo, '03: the animated movie truly comes of age in this under the sea comedy adventure.

Karen Dale's Top 10 Movies of the Decade:

1. Brokeback Mountain—The most emotionally intense and powerful love story ever.

2. Love Actually—The perfect movie.

3. Lars and the Real Girl—A faith-in-humanity lifter if there ever was one.

4. A Beautiful Mind—Shocking, surprising, and credible—really well done.

5. Before Sunset—The second installation in a heartfelt and thought-provoking series.

6. Milk—A touching and inspirational story honoring someone who really deserves it.

7. Cast Away—What if this happened to you??

8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—Stop comparing it to the first one and admire it on its own merits.

9. Sicko—If you don't get it about health care, this will do the trick.

10. 50 First Dates—Best comedy, complete suspension of disbelief, great use of The Beach Boys.

Honorable mentions:

-Million Dollar Baby

-Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Harry Potter series were monumental in the decade (some people liked 'em)

-Finding Nemo

-Chicago

On Movie nights

As you can see from these lists, movies speak to people in different ways. Nearly everybody loves the movies. Gazillions are watched everyday, on the big screen, in airplanes, and of course, in our homes on our TVs -- they are so much a part of our lives that it's impossible to contemplate their impact on us.

They are more than just mere entertainment, they inform us about everything and I would argue that movies hold within them a special transformative power to make us better people for having watched them.

What would life be like without the movies!