Best of Decade: Ann Hornaday on top movie moments; Films

There Will Be Blood: "I drink your milkshake"
Move Down
2]
Hunger: The scene with Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham talking across a table
Move Down Move Up
3]
25th Hour: The scene where there's a reveal in the background of Ground Zero
Move Down Move Up
4]
The Hurt Locker: Jeremy Renner in the supermarket
Move Down Move Up
5]
Junebug: Amy Adams doing Embeth Davidtz's nails
Move Down Move Up
6]
Children of Men: The ping-pong ball scene in the car
Move Down Move Up
7]
Moulin Rouge: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" number
Move Down Move Up
8]
Once: The shot of Marketa Irglova singing in her bedroom slippers walking down the street
Move Down Move Up
9]
Tropic Thunder: Robert Downey Jr.'s "I'm the dude playing the dude" speech
Move Down Move Up
10]
WALL*E: opening sequence
Best of the Decade: Ann Hornaday on top movie moments - washingtonpost.com (29 December 2009)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/12/16/DI2009121601465.html
http://snipurl.com/twiel

By Ann Hornaday
Sunday, December 27, 2009

I'm arguing with myself already. "What, 'Y Tu Mamá También' and no 'Children of Men'? 'The Lives of Others' and no 'Diving Bell and the Butterfly' ?
This Story

*
Best of the decade: Film
*
The 10 most important blockbusters of the decade
*
Best of the decade: Television
*
Best of the decade: Theater
*
Best of the decade: Pop music
*
Best of the decade: Dance
*
Best of the decade: Art
*
Best of the decade: Architecture
*
Best of the decade: Classical music
*
Best of the decade: fashion

View All Items in This Story
View Only Top Items in This Story

"And really, Ann? Finding Freaking Nemo?!"

Actually, on that last one, I stand firm. I fly the little clown-fish flag proudly, on the grounds that one of the organizing principles of Top 10 lists is not only tolerating but wanting to watch something over and over and over again. "Finding Nemo" fits that description, which I discovered firsthand five years ago, when we brought our then 3-year-old daughter home. It wasn't long before "Finding Nemo" was on heavy rotation in the DVD player. And I never tired of the movie, from its gorgeous visuals and fabulous voice work by Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres, to its message of loving by letting go.

But "Finding Nemo" also deserves the decade's No. 1 slot because it so aptly symbolizes how important animated family features have become in the movie business -- along with toy and book franchises, they're the last of the reliables in prying people off their couches -- and the leaps they've taken aesthetically. This was a decade, after all, that included such masterworks as "Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle," "WALL E" and, this year alone, "Up," "Ponyo," "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Princess and the Frog." All are movies I could happily watch over and over again.

But the one I reach for first will always be the little clown fish.

The best

1. "Finding Nemo" (2003)

2. "You Can Count on Me" (2000)

3. "The Lives of Others" (2006)

4. "The Hurt Locker" (2009)

5. "Y Tu Mamá También" (2001)

6. "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)

7. "The Edge of Heaven" (2007)

8. "A Mighty Wind" (2003)

9. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004)

10. "There Will Be Blood" (2007)

The worst

"Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2008)

If "Finding Nemo" represents the best of the animation decade, this misfire represents the very worst, punctuating a decline in the "Star Wars" franchise that began in 1999 with "The Phantom Menace" and continued its downward spiral through "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith." Sad.