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Best films of the decade - Page 5

Written by Adam Ezagouri
Thursday, 31 December 2009 07:30

10. Erin Brockovich

One of the rare films which made us take Julia Roberts seriously as an actress, Erin Brockovich was a nice break from the endless streak of half-baked rom-coms the actress had shamelessly put us all through before that. Notting Hill anyone? Yuck.

9. The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Ken Loach’s film won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and boasted a very good performance from Cillian Murphy as well as a beautifully told, bittersweet story.

8. The Last King of Scotland

Forest Whitaker finally made us forget he even was in Battlefield Earth with a towering performance in The Last King of Scotland, one of the finest British films of the decade. It also stars James MacAvoy as the young Scottish doctor who travels to Uganda and meets Whitaker’s harsh dictator. Impressive.

7. City of God

This Brazil-made film showed Hollywood how to make a compelling, great-looking thriller without the need for Matt Damon or big bucks. City of God plays a bit like a Brazilian Goodfellas but feels completely unique and has enough twists to keep anyone glued to the screen from start to finish.

6. Gladiator

Ridley Scott brings us arguably the first big blockbuster of the noughties, and he does so with style and confidence. Russell Crowe’s revenge-thirsty Maximus faces off against Joaquin Phoenix’s delightfully evil Commodus in this good old-fashioned epic which has been much imitated since but never surpassed. Great entertainment.

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