I was listening to
Bill Simmons' (ESPN's The Sports Guy) podcast the other day and he mentioned to his guest that nobody seems to realize that the end of the decade is just around the corner. He postulates that this is perhaps because we never actually settled on a name for the decade (the double zeroes? the naughts? the 2000s?).
He then asked his guest what he thought the definitive movie of the decade was. This I found intriguing and figured I'd ask the same question of my fine fine mancouchanarnians.
They used the criteria of quality, originality, and re-watchability as a basis for the movie that would be bestowed this title. I think those are pretty good parameters for discussing this. If you want, you can add in cultural impact and reflection of the decade on a whole, but anything beyond those categories is out of bounds.
The Sports Guy originally put forward
Almost Famous as his choice, but as he talked about it he began to shift to
The Dark Knight.
My first thought when I heard the question was actually The Dark Knight. I think that's a good choice, but we still need a few years to know if it will be lasting enough and and have the re-watchability of a movie deserving of the title.
I started looking through the highest grossing movies of each year and the oscar nominees each year of the decade to try and find other contenders. I came up with
Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind.
Certain elements here at the mancouch headquarters think
Borat is the answer.
The podcast named
Lost In Translation,
The Departed,
Brokeback Mountain,
Gladiator,
No Country For Old Men,
Little Miss Sunshine,
Sideways and
Slumdog Millionaire as possibilities. They also talked about the
Lord of the Rings movies, but decided that you wouldn't want to watch those movies over and over again.
But in the end I have to ask you, my mancouchimuggles, what is the definitive movie of this past decade?
nprospect
Comments (27)
BRUNO
...
... just kidding lol.
I'd have to say either The Departed or The Dark Knight
Dark Knight, Little Miss Sunshine, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Death Note (live action movie). Not sure about the last one - do they mean American only? Or forieign too? Definitely last X-men installment (might be just me).
This decade sucked
It would have to be a movie that's so humongously popular. For the 1990s, maybe I'd pick Titanic or Fight Club. For the 1980s, maybe Back to the Future.
Movie of this decade? Great question. I would like it to be The Departed but it isn't popular enough (yeah it's well-known, but it isn't like Gladiator, Titanic or Fight Club). Maybe Slumdog Millionaire, Gladiator, Lord of the Rings (hey, I watch it over and over again) or The Dark Knight. I know I'm missing some good contenders.
this decade did suck. it doesn't even have a name...
In all seriousness, I'd have to say SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2. The character development was nothing short of brilliant and the ending made me shed a manly tear. Bravo, Genius Babies. Bravo!
LOTR trilogy, is up there, definitely. ROTK go like 10 oscars didn't it? Also the movie "cinderella man" is largely forgotten now, but it will stand the test of time in a powerful way.
I don't think it will be the Dark Knight, though? As a 2nd movie, it's really great, and probably the best superhero movie, but... yeah. I dunno.
What about 300? People are still going around saying "This is Sparta!"
Moulin Rouge!, Pineapple Express, Spiderman, tons of others to consider here. The decade started in 200 you know.
Dark Knight, Pineapple Express, Across the Universe... but what would i know about movies :\
Napoleon Dynamite
Anchorman
Office Space
40-year Old Virgin
Van Wilder
Love Actually
Matrix series
SpiderMan series
Dark Knight ( batman series)
Harry potter series
Bourne series
new James Bond with Daniel Craig
Knocked Up
Juno
Transformers series
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
@thedystopiandweller@xanga - I would actually have to disagree and go with "The Breakfast Club" for definitive 80's movie. Good choices for 90's, all for it and leaning towards fight club.
@J4y_J4Y@xanga - haha those weren't my final choices, just possibe suggestions without taking the time to remember. Breakfast Club would work just as well for the '80s, i agree. For the '90s, i'd also put Pulp Fiction up there. But you folks get my drift hopefully: iconic and hugely known films.
@TheUnbearableLightnessofPeeing@xanga - Office Space is a good one.
The Dark Knight because there were so many freak incidents that occured with its production and release such as Ledger's death, Morgan Freeman getting into a car accident (right?) and Christian Bale's arrest....other than that, it was a great movie also :)
Yeah, the Lord of the Rings series as a whole is the perfect choice for this decade. One of the reasons is BECAUSE you don't want to watch it over and over again - like this decade. Also, because it started out pretty good, then quickly plummeted down into something abysmal. Or because it was something that SHOULD have been good, but went horribly awry. Any and all of those reasons work.
the dark knight was awesome. But I can't really imagine watching it more than 2 times, action movie is still action movie no matter how genius it is and after awhile it gets old.
i would have to say sunshine of the spotless mind
Did anybody name Transformers? :O
I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, but I gotta say, it defines this decade pretty well...
I agree on Dark Knight, The Departed, and Slumdog Millionaire. Those were amazing movies! :)
@babyymiichhh@xanga - Love Transformers! :)
@mrpokefan81@xanga - Moulin Rouge! is amazing! :)
The Lord of the Rings movies are just in a separate category from anything else that has ever existed. Nothing can be compared to them; they're just...incredible. And what do you mean you wouldn't want to watch them more than once? Most people I know watch each of them several times a month and have them memorized. I'd definitely say they define our culture.
300, Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, Almost Famous, The Departed.
I think you could take any of those 5.
im just gonna be stupid and say it
i loved UP
hahahaha
but i have to say;
dark knight was pretty out there and so was transformers (the first one)
i have to say though i liked spider man a lot