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Best films of the decade - Page 6

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

5. Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood hasn’t always hit the mark as a director but he did very well indeed with this Hilary Swank-starring tear-jerker. Clint himself offers fine support in a film which truly has everything including female boxing and paralysis.

4. Brokeback Mountain

Ang Lee charmed the Academy and audiences alike with this subtle, bittersweet cowboy romance starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Combining stunning natural settings and touching character relationships, Brokeback Mountain was certainly overhyped upon its release but that aside, it was still a lovely film by any standards.

3. No Country for Old Men

The Coen Brothers, one only has to look at their cinematic track record to find out, can do anything. This Western-like thriller may have some of the classic Coen motifs but you’d have to go back all the way to Blood Simple to find a film as dark and unforgiving as this one. Javier Bardem proves to be an inspired choice as one of the best movie serial killers ever (with one of the worst haircuts ever) and the whole thing is a tense game of cat and mouse (and ageing sheriff) which will have you biting your nails nervously from start to finish. A masterpiece.

2. Let The Right One In

With the Twilight films as popular as ever, this little Swedish film certainly came out at the right time. Its quietly unsettling atmosphere and ambiguous child/vampire romance however made this a far more interesting and mature film than Twilight. An essential vampire flick if only for that hilarious cat scene.

1. Rabbit Proof Fence

This little Australian gem sees Kenneth Branagh in perhaps the most dislikable role of his career as a man chasing three innocent children along the titular rabbit proof fence in order to essentially kidnap and train them to become domestic staff. A fascinating film.