Top Films of the Double-Aughts

My only rule is no repeat directors. I have a separate honorable mention category for runner-up films by directors in the top 10 and other movies that just barely missed the cut.

1. There Will Be Blood - Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Driven by Daniel Day Lewis, in a performance for the ages, this movie will remain supremely captivating for many decades to come.

2. The Squid and The Whale - Directed by Noah Bombach
A most unlikely comedy with consistently spectacular performances, beautifully composed by Bombach from events in his own childhood.

3. Children of Men - Directed by Aflonso Cuaron
A bold futuristic portrait of mankind at its lowest point that somehow manages to grasp some hope. Breathtaking direction and photography.

4. Inglourious Basterds - Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino raises the bar for World War II films to astounding new heights. It crackles and pops from beginning to end. Christoph Waltz is brilliant.

5. Traffic - Directed by Steven Soderbergh
An extremely innovative and riveting portrait of drugs, family, and crime in America. A great story with a unique visual flare.

6. Matchpoint - Directed by Woody Allen
A grand tragedy with little of Allen's characteristic humor yet all of his wit. Scarlett Johansen sizzles and the story is a classic that Shakespeare would envy.

7. Sexy Beast - Directed by Jonathan Glazer
A more personal crime thriller that doesn't sacrifice any exhilaration. Ben Kingsley will floor you and leave you chuckling as well.

8. A Christmas Tale - Directed by Arnaud Desplechin
A beautiful portrait of a fascinatingly unique family that touches on the intricacies of any family tree. The characters' relationship drive the narrative with their gravitational pulls.

9. Lost in Translation - Directed by Sophia Coppola
Post-modern bliss.

10. In the Bedroom - Directed by Todd Field
Tragically beautiful performances by Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek.

Honorable mentions: City of God, Memento, Idiocracy, Sideways, I (Heart) Huckabees, Closer, Brokeback Mountain, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Pianist, Babel, Pan's Labyrinth, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country For Old Men, Punch Drunk Love, Kill Bill, Little Children, The Constant Gardner, Apocalypto, Bad Santa, Adaptation, The Door In The Floor, Y Tu Mama Tambien, The New World, The 25th Hour, 21 Grams