LOST: The End.

The LOST finale was like a good chunk of the whole series. Characters: great. Powerful moments: ridiculously great. Throwback moments: deliriously enjoyable. Storyline: a little dicey.

I thought the finale was off-the-charts phenomenal until the last few minutes. The highs still greatly outweighed the ambiguity, and the episode still felt right and satisfied on the whole, with a slight aftertaste that wasn't bitter as much as perplexing. But I've always enjoyed LOST more for the characters than the Byzantine plot. If you wanted questions answered, I suspect you were severly disappointed, even angry.

In some ways, LOST reflects life. We don't always get answers, at least not ones we want, and I accept that.

Au revoir to LOST, my favorite television show ever.

Best Films of the 2000s: No. 3.

No. 3

Million Dollar Baby

Call this the Clint Eastwood representative in the Top Ten. If I expanded the list to 20, I might find room for four more of his films, but this is his best of the decade and thus the only one in the Top Ten.

I didn't know what to expect from Million Dollar Baby. At the time, I was just beginning to discover the greatness of Eastwood. I had loved the previous year's Mystic River, and I knew Baby had excellent reviews. But I still didn't know what I was in for.

Baby turned out to be the most enjoyable drama of the decade, filled with beautiful characters who are never perfect but always engaging. Eastwood is a flawless mix of tenderness and grumpiness as an aged boxing trainer and gym owner. Narrator Morgan Freeman plays the familiar role of wise and reliable friend. These two alone could have carried the movie; they are joy to watch, talking about anything from bleach to socks. As a young lady eager to learn boxing, Hilary Swank impressively meshes with these legends through her fierce determination. The story follows her boxing journey, and more importantly, the trio's various relationships, as they each deal with potent themes of loyalty, forgiveness, and love.

In the final act, Baby journeys to an unexpected moral marsh, one that could easily have overshadowed and swallowed up the preceding greatness. But Eastwood handles the situation delicately, and while a key decision may be overwhelmingly controversial on its own, it works within the film's context merely as a choice that was made.

Like much of Eastwood's directorial work, Baby possesses an elegant simplicity in every element from lighting to cinematography to music. The film plays like a visual symphony, with an engrossing assortment of crescendos and stillness. It's a ideal blend of character and story, guided confidently by the ever-steady hand of Clint Eastwood, who delivers yet another masterpiece.

Best Films of the 2000s
10. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9. Memento (2000)
8. Traffic (2000)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
6. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
5. The Dark knight (2001)
4. Cast Away (2000)
3. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
2. Coming soon...

Best Films of the 2000s: No 4.

No. 4

Cast Away

I can hear Ben screaming already. Too bad, buddy. I love Cast Away in so many ways.

Cast Away is a story of survival, both physical and mental. It's the story of a busy man who must adapt to being stranded on an island, then re-adapt to society once he escapes.

I was annoyed the first time I saw Cast Away, annoyed that the trailers revealed that Tom Hanks gets off the island, annoyed that not enough time was spent on how he re-adjusted, and annoyed at the nebulous ending. But that was a case of not getting what I wanted from the movie rather than understanding and relishing what the film provided.

Upon a second viewing, I fell in love. I fell in love with the beautiful yet terrifying tropical island, with the roller coaster of emotion that Hanks rode, with his undulating determination. No other actor could have or would have attempted what Hanks did (though Will Smith did an admirable imitation in I Am Legend). Not only did Hanks lose 50 pounds for the role, he spent the entire middle half of the film as the only human on screen, co-starring with rocks, trees, and a volleyball. His was one of the best performances I have ever seen. The only reason Russell Crowe won the Oscar was the Academy's ridiculous unwillingness to give Hanks a third statuette.

The filmmakers ultimately made the right decisions in the final act, allowing Hanks to react with appropriate bewilderment at life's simplicities as he re-enters society. Yes, more such scenes would have worked, but I admit they weren't entirely necessary. Their absence allows for one of the most heart-rending scenes of the decade, as Hanks and his former fiancee Helen Hunt figure out what should happen next. The closing scene is a perfect denouement, an ideal reflection of Hanks' mental state.

Cast Away is filled with nearly as much physical and emotional beauty as anything in the 2000s. The film was riveting, impossible to take your eyes off, lest you miss a priceless moment, of which there are plenty. Perhaps the 2000s had a few other films that were better made (The Dark Knight), but I loved Cast Away more.

Best Films of the 2000s
10. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9. Memento (2000)
8. Traffic (2000)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
6. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
5. The Dark knight (2001)
4. Cast Away
3. Coming soon...

Best Films of the 2000s: No. 5.

After creating one of the best origin stories ever with Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan somehow raised the superhero movie to an entirely new level with The Dark Knight. He crafted a film that transcended the genre. It wasn't just a great comic book movie; it was a great film.

Heath Ledger's requiem performormance as the Joker gets all the accolades, and deservingly so. He embodies the villainous role is a possessive way rarely seen on screen, commanding attention with a breath-taking presence. But Christian Bale's titular character should not be overlooked, for he matches Ledger's intensity throughout. As they engage in a raging physical and emotional battle, each rises to meet the other, forming as great a pair of on-screen rivals as I've ever seen. A strong supporting cast adds significant depth, and the brilliantly dark art design holds everything together perfectly.

The Dark Knight is the Godfather of its kind, a sweeping epic that envelopes the viewer in an dramatic new world. As much psychological crime drama as superhero movie, the film is a vivid cinematic display of good versus evil, surpassing even its own mountain-high expectations.

Best Films of the 2000s
10. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9. Memento (2000)
8. Traffic (2000)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
6. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
5. The Dark Knight
4. Coming soon...

Best Films of the 2000s: No. 6.

No. 6

Ocean's Eleven

This is the second movie in my Top Ten featuring Steven Soderburgh as director and cinematographer. Ocean's Eleven couldn't be much different than Traffic. Both are beautifully photographed, and the similarities end there.

Ocean's Eleven was pure fun, and no movie in the 2000s was more rewatchable. Clooney, Pitt, Roberts, and all the actors clearly enjoyed making the movie. More importantly, their experiences translate perfectly to the screen, propelling a story that crackles along at a pace that matches the twinkles in their eyes. The star-studded film is superficially a great heist movie, but is laced with sneaky humor, brilliant writing and beautiful underrated images that elevate the film beyond mere popcorn status.

I've seen Ocean's Eleven dozens of times, and nearly every time I notice something different. Perhaps a glance or a throwaway line, a subtle gesture or a breathtaking camera angle. Piling all of these layers on top of a good piece of entertainment makes for a great film that should be regarded as a classic.

Best Films of the 2000s
10. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9. Memento (2000)
8. Traffic (2000)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
6. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
5. Coming soon...

Best Films of the 2000s: No. 7.

No. 7

The Incredibles

Call this the Pixar representative on the list, as both Wall-E and Finding Nemo were both strong candidates as well. But ultimately, Incredibles won me over the most with a deft combination of action and humor. It's a superhero movie with a Pixar twist, adding clever family dynamics to familiar comic-book action and characters.

The whole film takes known superhero stereotypes and churns them into into a delicious blend of characters that form the foundation of the movie's superb and often subtle comedy. Everyone knows about the practically impervious superhero (Mr. Incredible), but making him a married father of three turns convention on its head. Like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the entire film seems to be winking at the audience, simultaneously paying homage and parodying the superhero genre through all elements, ranging from a witty script containing terms like "monologing" to the wailing horns of the Bond-ian score. For fans of both comic-book movies and animated features (like me), this film hits all the right notes, clearly understanding and utilizing the possibilities of both genres to the fullest extent.

Like all Pixar films, The Incredibles entertains kids with its basic story, but its true achievement extends to all ages, as the film's youthful exuberance and wry sense of humor make it a classic.

Best Films of the 2000s
10. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9. Memento (2000)
8. Traffic(2000)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
6. Coming soon...

Best Films of the 2000s: No. 8.

No. 8

Traffic

Traffic was the first "grown-up" movie I remember seeing in a theater. You know...one of those serious and dramatic Oscar-nominated films that teenagers never see. Well, I saw it because it had a good cast and an interesting trailer that promised multiple intertwined storylines.

I walked out wowed by the way that a film could balance three different storylines in a manner effective enough to produce gripping drama without much action. Doing that with one story is difficult, but each of Traffic's layers could easily have been its own movie. With their powers combined, they make ensuing films like Crash or Babel seem like mere wannabes.

Director/cinematographer Steven Soderburgh executed a clinic on how color palettes can play a supporting role, as each arc was imbued with a unique look that enhanced the narrative and functioned as a scene-setter. In telling these three frighteningly realistic stories, Soderburgh also expressed the multi-faceted bleakness that the illegal drug industry spawns at so many levels. Most impressively he did so without preaching or resorting to melodrama. Instead he simply told good, complex stories and told them exceptionally well.

Best Films of the 2000s
10. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
9. Memento (2000)
8. Traffic (2000)
7. Coming soon...