Best movies of the decade

5. “Almost Famous” (2000): Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age story about a teenage freelance reporter for Rolling Stone is a brilliant love letter to rock ‘n’ roll of the 1970s, in all its untamed glory. Featuring a killer soundtrack and one of the best movie scenes involving music to date (“Tiny Dancer”), one can feel Crowe’s own love of music reverberating right off the screen.



4. “The Departed” (2006): Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar for his intricate tale of undercover cops, the Irish mob and the blurred lines between good and evil. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg, Scorsese’s complicated morality tale never slows down and is always surprising, even after multiple viewings.



3. “Once” (2007): Deeply moving in its subtle storytelling and performances, “Once” is everything a great indie should be. This tiny $160,000 Irish import depicts an unnamed man and woman connecting through their love of music, proving more powerful than any big-budget production number. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s magnetic screen chemistry and phenomenal Oscar-winning music make “Once” an instant indie classic.



2. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004): Visually and emotionally beautiful, Charlie Kaufman’s best script to date tells the story of love outlasting memory. Set against the sci-fi backdrop of memory erasing procedures, the rocky relationship between Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) unfolds in unexpected ways that will resonate with audiences long after the credits stop rolling.



1. “The Dark Knight” (2008): Christopher Nolan’s epic sequel to “Batman Begins” completely changed the face of comic book movies. Rather than just another effects-driven blockbuster, Nolan’s adaptation is haunting, complex and deeply psychological. The flawed heroes of Nolan’s Batman universe make the story feel much more raw than other comic book flicks, and Heath Ledger’s Joker, rooted in anarchic chaos, is perhaps the decade’s most iconic performance.



Honorable mentions: “WALL-E” (2008), “Children of Men” (2006), “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), “No Country for Old Men” (2007), “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005), "Lord of the Rings" (2001-2003), "Memento" (2000), "Donnie Darko" (2001), "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007), "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008)