The Best Films of 2000-2009

So, just as my list of the best songs of the past decade revealed my musical preferences, so this list will indicate what films I prefer to watch. Basically, if it has zombies or a superhero in it, I'll watch it...

10: 28 Days Later

Ok, it is a massive rip off of The Day of the Triffids, but it is a well-written, well-acted and brilliantly directed zombie movie that manages to combine scares and horror with interesting, sympathetic characters. The sequel is almost as good. And it introduced the concept of the running zombie, that has changed the genre forever.

9: Garden State

I'm not a big fan of the romantic comedy. However this is a romantic comedy. But it is a romantic comedy involving fucked up people. No, wait, scratch that. It is a romantic comedy involving very human people. And it involves people being dumb in a very human way. As part of a genre that seems to represent the very definition of crap, Garden State tries to do something a bit different. And succeeds.

8: Dawn of the Dead

Obviously the remake. The original was released over 30 years ago. It manages to equal the brilliance of the original by adhering to the basic pattern but not slavishly following it. It also is one of those films where Anyone Can Die - even with the implication at the end that everyone is going to die. It also has one of the best introductions to a movie I have seen in ages. When the apparently lead couple go to sleep in the evening, everything appears to be Ok. When they wake up in the morning, there is hell on earth.

7: Shaun of the Dead

Proof positive that a British comedy doesn't have to be written by Richard Curtis, star Hugh Grant and be total crap. Sure, it is Spaced of the Dead, but so what? That's part of the reason why it is so great.

6: Anchorman

It is a moronic, idiotic comedy. Yet it is a moronic, idiotic comedy that absolutely works. It has become a genuinely iconic movie that has become more than just a film. If you have seen it, I can almost bet that you have a favourite quote from it. Or at least a scene that brings a smile to your face.

5: The Darjeeling Limited

On paper, this might not sound like the best material for a great film. A group of dysfunctional, wealthy brothers go on a train trip in India. But what materialises is a wonderfully funny and poignant film. The lead characters are flawed without being arseholes, the locations are wonderful and the soundtrack is awesome. Comes heartily recommended from me.

4: Rec

A Spanish zombie movie with a very short run time. Again, might not sound that promising. But this movie truly is like being hit in the face with a brick - when the nightmare starts, it does not let up. And the final scenes in the top apartment, when the rug is swept from under the viewers and there is am implication that there is a great evil at work, is staggering. The best horror movie in a decade where there had been no shortage of great horror movies.

The US remake is shit, mind.

3: Spiderman

X-Men launched the new superhero wave in cinema, and it was a great film in its own rights. However, Spiderman was a far more affecting and human film. Everything about it is, on some levels, genius. Tobey Macguire, with his wide-eyed innocence, was an exceptional Peter Parker. Willem Dafoe, as the Green Goblin, was compellingly unhinged. And Kirsten Dunst managed, in this film anyway, not to be completely annoying as Mary-Jane. The direction is outstanding, and the plot is the very definition of what a superhero movie should contain. There is a certain brilliance to Spiderman that has not been found in any of the sequels, or any of the superhero movies that have followed. Not even the one at Number One.

2: The Wrestler

When I first heard about Mickey Rourke playing a washed-up wrestler, I'll be honest with you: it sounded awful. It sounded like the sort of film that I would pay money not to watch. But I was not so much surprised by this movie as staggered by it. It is one of the most affecting movies I have ever seen, and Rourke's performance is sensitive, well observed and utterly convincing. This film should have swept the board at the Oscars. However, it isn't number one since it lacks the ambition of the film that is at the top...

1: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is far from flawless. Yet it is my movie of the decade for three reasons. Firstly, it gives us the definitive version of the Joker and one of the greatest screen villains in history. Also, it shows that a superhero movie can be more than its comic book origins might suggest. Which leads neatly onto the third reason - with its relentless paranoia, constant escalation and displays of meaningless, brutal violence, it sums up this decade perfectly. That's what I mean by the ambition of The Dark Knight. It is about a man who dresses as a bat, but so, so much more.