Best Filmmakers of the Decade

Near the end of the year I compiled a 100 Best Films of the Decade List that I posted online. After discussing the list with several close friends and coming across some of my DVDs, I realized I left off several key films including a few foreign films and documentaries I really love. It just goes to prove how difficult it is to really compile a best decade list. There are really too many options even for the most diligent writers and researchers to compile an accurate list.

Hopefully I have done a better job with this list. After careful thought and consideration I wanted to celebrate ten filmmakers who made the 2000s amazing. Originally I wanted to just do The Top Ten Directors of the Decade, but felt several key writers, directors and producers would be left off, thus its filmmakers instead.

But before I announce my favorite filmmakers of the decade, there are a few who just didn't quite make it. The way I compiled this list was by the overall body of work and rated each of their films. If someone made a great film, but also made a lackluster mainstream film then that was considered a wash. All these filmmakers are great in their own right, but they just made a few too many "bad" films in order to really be Top 10 Worthy. Every filmmaker needed to make at least three films to be considered.

Steven Spielberg
Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
The Terminal (2004)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Munich (2006)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

If Spielberg just made Munich and maybe a couple of the films mentioned then it wouldn't be bad, but he helped ruin an iconic character/series so its hard to forgive him. No one, not even Indiana Jones should have to deal with aliens. Thanks George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for ruining Indiana Jones! Also War of the Worlds is probably one of the worst remakes ever and is one of the few movies I can sleep throughout. My rule is simple: If I try to watch a movie, legitimately try and watch a film, three times and can't make it all the way through in one sitting then the movie really sucks. War of the Worlds falls into that category.

The Coen Brothers
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
The Ladykillers (2004)
Paris, je t'aime (2006)-Segment
No Country For Old Men (2007)
To Each His Own Cinema (2007)-Segment
Burn After Reading (2008)
A Serious Man (2009)

You either love them or hate them. They are just part of those select few you either enjoy their movies or you don't. You can literally say that about all the Coen Bros.' films, they are either good or really bad. They started and ended the decade off good, but every feature film in between with the exception of No Country For Old Men was pure "intolerable cruelty."

Woody Allen
Small Time Crooks (2000)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
Anything Else (2003)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Match Point (2005)
Scoop (2006)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Whatever Works (2009)

Small Time Crooks is the first Woody Allen film I ever saw and thought it was hilarious. Ever since I have been following his career and literally rushed out to see every one of his films. Like the Coen Bros., you either like or dislike Woody Allen. The quality of his films are mixed with everything from great (Match Point), really good (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), solid (Melinda and Melinda) to bad (Anything Else and Hollywood Ending). It's hard to really judge him for an erratic decade, but Woody Allen will always be one of the best in my mind.

Clint Eastwood
Space Cowboys (2000)
Blood Work (2002)
Mystic River (2003)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
Changeling (2008)
Gran Torino (2008)
Invictus (2009)

Clint Eastwood is the only director on my list that I saw every one of his films in theaters with the exception of Gran Torino. My mom loves Clint Eastwood and as a matter of fact, my Dad and I really like his films too. He is a great actor and director, but the overall quality of his films are something you can debate. Flags and Letters are two films I absolutely hated this past decade and I wasn't the only one. Its the only time, for both films, that the majority of the audience hated and discussed how much they loathed the movie while walking out of the theater. I have never seen that kind of reaction before and I have seen over 3,000 films in my lifetime.

Peter Jackson
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
LOTR: The Two Towers (2002)
LOTR: Return of the King (2003)
King Kong (2005)
The Lovely Bones (2009)

LOTR was a well made trilogy, but I am not into fantasy movies at all. Clerks 2 (2006) probably best explains the trilogy. Also explain to me why King Kong needed to take 2 hours to get to the island? If you can really explain that then I will change my mind on this selection.

I just realized that all of these directors have at least one BEST DIRECTOR OSCAR, a couple have multiple BEST DIRECTOR OSCARS, and are all multiple ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS. Still it's hard to defend some of the movies they made this past decade and as a result, didn't quite make it on my list. It just shows once you got an OSCAR it doesn't matter what you do, just ask Cuba Gooding Jr.

Now my Top 10 Filmmakers of the Decade:

#10
Hayo Miyazaki
Spirited Away (2001)
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Ponyo (2009)

He is just one of the best filmmakers around and has made some of the best animated films ever. One of my best friends insisted I watch Spirited Away and actually lent me the movie, literally the day after Christmas when he got it. I held onto it for three years before finally watching it. The first time I saw Spirited Away, my mind was blown away by how amazing it was and it turned me on to animated films again as a teenager. Spirited Away made my Top 100 Films of the 2000s.

#9
Catherine Breillat
Fat Girl (2001)
Brief Crossing (2001)
Sex is Comedy (2002)
Anatomy of Hell (2004)
The Last Mistress (2007)
Bluebeard (2009)

Catherine Breillat has become one of my favorite directors and has directed some of the most beautiful French films I have ever seen. Her films are usually exotic and erotically themed, but deal with taboo subject matter in a unique way that captivates you. Her films are brilliant and some of the best films I have ever seen. They are engaging, entertaining and emotionally charged films that stimulate your mind. This is what you want from a good filmmaker. Go see her films!

#8
Danny Boyle
The Beach (2000)
28 Days Later (2002)
Millions (2004)
Sunshine (2007)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Talk about variety, Danny Boyle has done it all and that is one reason why he is on this list. Danny Boyle is one of the few directors who has successfully transitioned between various genres and created some of the best films over the past two decades. The other day I was watching Slumdog and completely forgot how good a film it is. His entire body of work is great and truly one of the best directors out there.

#7
Michael Moore
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Sicko (2007)
Slacker Uprising (2008)
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Whether you like him or hate him he is a very talented documentary filmmaker. It's a shame he only has one OSCAR, but his documentaries are some of the best out there. Almost all his films listed here have made my yearly Top 10 Lists or barely missed out. They are all really good and worth checking out if you haven't already seen them. Whether or not you like his politics, he makes solid films.

#6
Quentin Tarantino
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
Death Proof (2007)
Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Jackie Brown (1997) is probably his weakest film and that says a lot about Tarantino as a director. You can argue Four Rooms (1995) where he directed one section, but that really doesn't count as a Quentin Tarantino film, much like Sin City (2005) because he was only a guest director. I have loved every film that he has made this past decade and I really don't consider myself a huge Tarantino fan, but he is one of the best writers/directors. He truly respects and appreciates all cinema-that's why he rules!

#5
Christopher Nolan
Memento (2000)
Insomnia (2002)
Batman Begins (2005)
The Prestige (2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)

Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors to have come out in the past decade along with Darren Aronofsky. He has created two of the best movies ever with Memento and The Dark Knight. It's undeniable the talent he has and only seems to get better with age. Nolan's films get better with age and I now appreciate his early films even more.

#4
Wes Anderson
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Wes Anderson is another great director out there that is vastly underrated. His films are some of my favorites and are always great. The visual style and story he brings to life are what filmmaking is all about.

#3
Steven Soderbergh
Erin Brokovich (2000)
Traffic (2000)
Ocean's Eleven (2002)
Solaris (2002)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Bubble (2005)
The Good German (2006)
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
Che (2008)
The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
The Informant! (2009)

One of the best filmmakers ever!

#2
Martin Scorsese
Gangs of New York (2002)
Feel Like Going Home (2003)
The Aviator (2004)
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)
The Departed (2006)
Shine a Light (2008)

Two of my favorite directors of all time are Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese. Both make violent movies, but also make passionate films that are pretty relatable. Scorsese finally won his Oscar with The Departed and just solidified his reputation as one of the BEST DIRECTORS ever. If Scorsese just made Gangs, The Aviator and The Departed then that would have been fine, but he also made three great documentaries as well. Tarantino is the younger version of Scorsese- someone who truly appreciates all art and cinema. That's one of the things I admire most about Scorsese is that you can see his passion in ALL his films. Scorsese = Quality

And the BEST FILMMAKER of the DECADE GOES TO: Three Guys who are most deserving of this recognition- Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, and Michel Gondry. Undoubtedly these three are the most talented of the bunch producing some of the most mind-numbing, spectacular films of the past decade. It's unbelievable that they made so many great films in such a short period. Unlike everyone else on the list I have decided to list their particular films in chronological order with comments after each film.

Human Nature (2001)
A very under appreciated film written by Charlie Kaufman that stars Patricia Arquette and Rhys Ifans. Michel Gondry directed this film with Spike Jonze producing and just marked the beginning of a great collaboration of the three men. This film came out after Being John Malkovich and preceded Adaptation, which is one reason why it's often overlooked.

Adaptation (2002)
Charlie Kaufman wrote and executive produced this mind numbing metafilm that is a film within a film making a movie about a book within the film starring "Charlie Kaufman." This ambitious cerebral masterpiece was directed by Spike Jonze and is one of the best films ever made!

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Charlie Kaufman only wrote this Chuck Barris story and was very displeased with how George Clooney handled his film, but it is still a well made film starring Sam Rockwell.

Jackass (2002)
Did you know that Spike Jonze is one of the co-creators of the hit TV series with Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine ? He also produced and performed in the movie.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
One of the greatest films ever! Yes, I know I said that earlier with Adaptation, but this film is also one of the best. Of course it should be no surprise it was written by Charlie Kaufman with Michel Gondry collaborating on the story. Kaufman also executive produced with Gondry directing Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in two of the best performances ever captured on screen!

Jackass 2 (2006)
Spike Jonze did it again producing and performing in another fun movie.

The Science of Sleep (2006)
Michel Gondry wrote and directed this absurd film that blends English, French, and Spanish into an absurd film that captivates you from beginning to end. This film introduced me to Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg, which in turn opened my mind to appreciate European cinema.

Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Michel Gondry wrote and directed this fun film starring Jack Black, Mos Def, and Danny Glover. It's a great concept and is a film that grows on you.

Synecdoche, New York (2008)
This was in my top ten movies of 2008 and one of my favorite films to have come out in the past decade. Charlie Kaufman initially wrote this film in mine with Spike Jonze directing it, but had to pass since he was working on Where The Wild Things Are and instead helped produce it. This was Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut and talk about a vivid and visual film. It's one of those films that is a meta-fiction and a complex cerebral film that is filled with layers that just blows your mind away. I once described this film as, "My mind being raped and I liked it." Very stimulating and not for your average person.

Tokyo! (2008)
Like Paris je t'aime, New York I Love You, and other ensemble films composed of several vignettes, Tokyo! is one of the best ever made. Michel Gondry wrote and directed the segment "Interior Design" and definitely worth checking out. I was surprised how well balanced the overall film was considering it was only composed of three "short films."

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Spike Jonze co-wrote and directed this film, which I still can't believe a studio let him make this movie. Visually and musically one of the best to come out in recent years.

So there you go, my BEST FILMMAKERS OF THE DECADE. I hope you enjoyed. I know I did.