The 100 best -- and the 98 worst -- of the '00s

As the decade comes to a close, I decided to retrieve my Top 10 lists for each year -- both the best and the worst. Unfortunately for people who like nice round numbers, I didn't see a whole lot of bad movies this year (intentionally, I may add), so I only have eight titles on my 2009 Worst list. So we're left with a grand total of 100 terrific pictures and 98 terrible time-waters instead of an even 200. But let's not quibble over those details.

Here they are, the classics and the clunkers of the past 10 years...


2000 Best:
1. "Chicken Run"
2. "Gladiator"
3. "You Can Count on Me"
4. "The Virgin Suicides"
5. "Almost Famous"
6. "Dancer in the Dark"
7. "The Gift"
8. "Best In Show"
9. "Beyond the Mat"
10. "Erin Brockovich"


2000 Worst:
1. "Battlefield Earth"
2. "Get Carter"
3. "Highlander: Endgame"
4. "The In Crowd"
5. "Bait"
6. "Beautiful"
7. "Supernova"
8. "Bored Silly"
9. "The Skulls"
10. "Down to You"


2001 Best:
1. "In the Bedroom"
2. "Shrek"
3. "The Dish"
4. "Panic"
5. "Monsters, Inc."
6. "Amores Perros"
7. "Memento"
8. "Ghost World"
9. "Amelie"
10. "The Royal Tenenbaums"

2001 Worst:
1. "Tomcats"
2. "The Wash"
3. "Riding in Cars with Boys"
4. "Joe Dirt"
5. "Dr. Dolittle 2"
6. "Head Over Heels"
7. "3000 Miles to Graceland"
8. "Sweet November"
9. "15 Minutes"
10. "Domestic Disturbance"


2002 Best:
1. "Chicago"
2. "The Hours"
3. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
4. "Spirited Away"
5. "Bowling for Columbine"
6. "Adaptation"
7. "Insomnia"
8. "Tribute"
9. "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing"
10. "Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)"

2002 Worst:
1. "Rollerball"
2. "Crossroads"
3. "The Master of Disguise"
4. "Frank McKlusky, C.I."
5. "Femme Fatale"
6. "The Adventures of Pluto Nash"
7. "Bad Company"
8. "Sorority Boys"
9. "Dragonfly"
10. "Half Past Dead"

2003 Best:
1. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
2. "American Splendor"
3. "Big Fish"
4. "Spellbound"
5. "Pieces of April"
6. "Winged Migration"
7. "Whale Rider"
8. "Finding Nemo"
9. "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
10. "Capturing the Friedmans"

2003 Worst:
1. "Boat Trip"
2. "Bad Boys II"
3. "Gigli"
4. "My Boss's Daughter"
5. "From Justin to Kelly"
6. "Cold Creek Manor"
7. "Kangaroo Jack"
8. "Basic"
9. "The Life of David Gale"
10. "Hollywood Homicide"

2004 Best:
1. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
2. "Kinsey"
3. "Sideways"
4. "Hero"
5. "Kill Bill, Vol. 2"
6. "The Incredibles"
7. "Spider-Man 2"
8. "Million Dollar Baby"
9. "Maria Full of Grace"
10. "The Polar Express"

2004 Worst:
1. "Surviving Christmas"
2. "The Whole Ten Yards"
3. "New York Minute"
4. "Paparazzi"
5. "SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2"
6. "Godsend"
7. "Little Black Book"
8. "Catwoman"
9. "My Baby's Daddy"
10. "Darkness"

2005 Best:
1. "Brokeback Mountain"
2. "March of the Penguins"
3. "Murderball"
4. "The Constant Gardener"
5. "Capote"
6. "Batman Begins"
7. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
8. "Rent"
9. "A History of Violence"
10. "The Squid and the Whale"

2005 Worst:
1. "Mindhunters"
2. "Aeon Flux"
3. "Hide and Seek"
4. "Boogeyman"
5. "The Fog"
6. "Undiscovered"
7. "King's Ransom"
8. "Must Love Dogs"
9. "In the Mix"
10. "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous"

2006 Best:
1. "The Queen"
2. "Little Children"
3. "Volver"
4. "The Departed"
5. "Little Miss Sunshine"
6. "Half Nelson"
7. "United 93"
8. "Jesus Camp"
9. "Slither"
10. "Dreamgirls"

2006 Worst:
1. "Material Girls"
2. "Date Movie"
3. "BloodRayne"
4. "Ultraviolet"
5. "When a Stranger Calls"
6. "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector"
7. "Little Man"
8. "Tristan and Isolde"
9. "Stick It"
10. "Basic Instinct 2"

2007 Best:
1. "There Will Be Blood"
2. "Control"
3. "Juno"
4. "Lust, Caution"
5. "Into the Wild"
6. "Atonement"
7. "Hot Fuzz"
8. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
9. "No Country for Old Men"
10. "Lars and the Real Girl"

2007 Worst:
1. "I Know Who Killed Me"
2. "License to Wed"
3. "Are We Done Yet?"
4. "Thr3e"
5. "Primeval"
6. "Redline"
7. "P.S. I Love You"
8. "The Reaping"
9. "The Number 23"
10. "Premonition"

2008 Best:
1. "Slumdog Millionaire"
2. "Revolutionary Road"
3. "The Wrestler"
4. "The Dark Knight"
5. "WALL*E"
6. "In Bruges"
7. "Young@Heart"
8. "Happy-Go-Lucky"
9. "Man on Wire"
10. "The Vistor"

2008 Worst:
1. "The Hottie and the Nottie"
2. "The Love Guru"
3. "Made of Honor"
4. "Witless Protection"
5. "88 Minutes"
6. "One Missed Call"
7. "Beer For My Horses"
8. "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale"
9. "Four Christmases"
10. "Repo! The Genetic Opera"

2009 Best:
1. "Stilyagi (Hipsters)"
2. "Up in the Air"
3. "An Education"
4. "The Hurt Locker"
5. "Up"
6. "A Single Man"
7. "(500) Days of Summer"
8. "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
9. "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire"
10. "In the Loop"

2009 Worst:
1. "Transylmania"
2. "Fired Up"
3. "Confessions of a Shopaholic"
4. "New in Town"
5. "Knowing"
6. "The Informers"
7. "Fanboys"
8. "Paranormal Activity"

Detroit Film Critics Society Awards announced

The Detroit Film Critics Society is pleased to announce the BEST OF 2009 nominees in eight categories. The society was founded in Spring 2007 and consists of a group of 21 Michigan film critics who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan.
Each critic submitted their top 5 picks in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Ensemble, and Best Breakthrough Performance. From these submissions, each entry was given a point value and the top 5 in each category were put on the final ballot. The final ballots were then given to each critic to rank in order. The results were once again tabulated and the winners were decided.


THE NOMINATIONS FOR 2009 PICKED BY THE DETROIT FILM CRITICS SOCIETY (in alphabetical order)

1. BEST FILM
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
UP
UP IN THE AIR


2. BEST DIRECTOR
KATHRYN BIGELOW– THE HURT LOCKER
PETE DOCTER - UP
JASON REITMAN – UP IN THE AIR
QUENTIN TARANTINO – INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
MARC WEBB – (500) DAYS OF SUMMER


3. BEST ACTOR
GEORGE CLOONEY – UP IN THE AIR
MATT DAMON – THE INFORMANT
COLIN FIRTH – A SINGLE MAN
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT – (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
SAM ROCKWELL - MOON


4. BEST ACTRESS
ALISON LOHMAN – DRAG ME TO HELL
CAREY MULLIGAN – AN EDUCATION
SAOIRSE RONAN – THE LOVELY BONES
GABOUREY “GABBY” SIDIBE – PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
MERYL STREEP – JULIE & JULIA

5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WOODY HARRELSON – THE MESSENGER
WOODY HARRELSON - ZOMBIELAND
CHRISTIAN MCKAY – ME & ORSON WELLES
STANLEY TUCCI – THE LOVELY BONES
CHRISTOPH WALTZ – INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

6. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MARION COTILLARD - NINE
VERA FARMIGA – UP IN THE AIR
ANNA KENDRICK – UP IN THE AIR
MELANIE LAURENT – INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
MO’NIQUE - PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE


7. BEST ENSEMBLE
THE HANGOVER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
STAR TREK
ZOMBIELAND

8. BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
ANNA KENDRICK – UP IN THE AIR
CHRISTIAN MCKAY – ME & ORSON WELLES
CAREY MULLIGAN – AN EDUCATION
CHRIS PINE – STAR TREK
GABOUREY “GABBY” SIDIBE – PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
CHRISTOPH WALTZ – INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

The Detroit Film Critics Society members for the 2009-2010 season in alphabetical order are Kirk Baird – The Toledo Blade, Jason Buchanan – allmovieguide.com, Colette Evangelista – Capital Area Women’s Lifestyle Magazine, Jim Fordyce – www.MIentertainment.biz, Adam Graham – The Detroit News, Corey Hall – The Metro Times, Tom Long – The Detroit News, Jeff Meyers – The Metro Times, Robin Miner-Swartz – The Lansing State Journal, Chad Mitchell – The Chad Show, John Monaghan – The Detroit Free Press, Warren Pierce – WJR Radio, Greg Russell – WMYD-TV, James Sanford – The Kalamazoo Gazette, Debbie Schlussel – Sirius Patriot Channel 144’s Mike Church Show, Perry Seibert – allmovieguide.com, John Serba – The Grand Rapids Press, Lee Thomas – Fox 2, Kirk Vanderbeek – Real Detroit Weekly, Greg Walton – WIOG/KRSP, and Chris Williams – Advisor & Source Newspapers.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: RUTH DANIELS, DETROIT FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AT
(248) 703-0997 or ruthd@emagine-entertainment.com
More information is available on the website at detroitfilmcritics.com

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Like many teenage girls, Claireece "Precious" Jones dreams of being a model and dancing in hip-hop videos. But she has other fantasies, too. "I wanna be normal, and pay attention and sit in the front of the class," she confides. That seems equally far-fetched, considering Precious is practically illiterate, woefully overweight and growing up in 1987 Harlem, where getting an education is seen as a luxury few can afford. When Precious gazes in the mirror, she sees herself not as obese and African-American, but as a beautiful, slender blonde who might be headed for the beach in Malibu; when Precious looks at the squalid apartment she shares with her caustic, cynical mother, Mary, she realizes she's very far away from La La Land. Crackhead neighbors may push the buzzer, but opportunity never seems to knock.

Read full review here.