KMDB's Top 50 of the 2000s

Now that we are safely into the new decade, it's time to present -- drumroll, please -- KMDB's top 50 movies of the 2000s! But first, some clarification. This is not quite a "best of the decade" list. I'll freely admit to some personal bias in the following choices. I realize that Mullholland Dr., City of God and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are all much more thought-provoking and nuanced films than Anchorman and Mean Girls, but it just felt wrong making a best of list that my heart wasn't really in. So consider this more of a favorites list than a definitive best of list, but please don't discredit it! I've spent far too much time perfecting the choices, all of which come at my highest recommendation. Since 50 pictures and/or trailers would be a tad bit overwhelming (and exhausting to assemble), I've included either some keywords or a key quote from the movie to give you an idea if you're unfamiliar. The films are unranked, as I love them all too much to pick and choose slots. You'll just find them in the preferred organizational scheme of the OCD-afflicted: alphabetization.

And here we go....

28 Days Later (2002)

Keywords: infected chimpanzees, zombies, radio broadcast, sorta skeevy soldiers

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Key quote: "Just because she likes the same bizarro crap as you doesn't mean she's your soulmate."

Almost Famous (2000)

Key quote: "And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were...I'm on drugs!"

American Psycho (2000)

Keywords: yuppies, ax, chainsaw, murder, mayhem, disturbing use of Huey Lewis and the News

Anchorman (2004)

Key quote: "They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time."

The Aviator (2004)

Keywords: glamour, airplanes, movie stars, OCD, q-u-a-r-a-n-t-i-n-e

Before Sunset (2004)

Key quote: "I guess when you're young, you believe there'll be many people whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times."

Big Fish (2003)

Keywords: circus, daffodils, singing Siamese twins, tall tales, father-son relations

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

Keywords: misdirected bullet, CIA, ass kicking, European cities, sly phone conversations

Brick (2005)

Key quote: "Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night. That puts me six up on the lot of you."

Bright Star (2009)

Keywords: poetry, tuberculosis, old-timey fashionista, tartan trousers, doomed romance

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Key quote: "You count the damn few times we have been together in nearly twenty years and you measure the short fucking leash you keep me on and then you ask me about Mexico and tell me you'll kill me for needing somethin' I don't hardly never get...I wish I knew how to quit you."

Casino Royale (2006)

Keywords: poker, espionage, sexually charged banter, fast cars, loose women, stock market manipulation

Children of Men (2006)

Keywords: dystopia, sterility, old hippie, dangerous mission, sweet tracking shots

Collateral (2004)

Key quote: "What? I should only kill people after I get to know them?"

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Keywords: flying kicks to the head, waterfall, treetops, swords, character named Shining Phoenix Mountain Gou

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Key quote: "I love you, too, but I'm going to mace you in the face."

The Departed (2006)

Key quote: "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

Donnie Darko (2001)

Keywords: time travel, vandalism, crackpot philosophy, tall evil rabbit

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Key quote: "Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?"

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Keywords: kidnapping, druggie mom, inner city, conflicted cops

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

Key quote: "Cassius was right. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves. Good night, and good luck."

Hard Candy (2005)

Keywords: Internet predator, red hoodie, mind games, Goldfrapp

High Fidelity (2000)

Key quote: "Which came first, the music or the misery?"

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Keywords: Iraq, bomb diffusion, daredevil sergeant, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man-esque outfit, a boy named Beckham

Inside Man (2006)

Keywords: bank heist, hostages, riddles, decoys, dirty little secret, surgical masks

Into the Wild (2007)

Key quote: "The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences."

Iron Man (2008)

Keywords: arms dealing, eccentric superhero, comical test trials, comical press conferences, flashy iron alloy suits

Juno (2007)

Key quote: "And apparently she was supposed to be super beautiful, but really mean, like Diana Ross."

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Key quote: "Anyway, by now you may wonder how I wound up here. Or maybe not. Maybe you wonder how silly putty picks shit up from comic books. The point is I don't see another goddamn narrator, so pipe down."

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Keywords: blow-up doll, small town, sweet but intensely shy main character, awkward family dinners

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Key quote: "I am tired of hatred, Doctor Garrigan. This country is drowning in it. We deserve better."

Little Children (2006)

Keywords: suburbia, extramarital affair, the sex offender next door, jester hat, seductive bathing suit, skateboards

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Key quote: "You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work...fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest."

Mean Girls (2004)

Key quote: "If you're from Africa, why are you white?"

Memento (2000)

Keywords: Polaroids, significant tattoos, messed up memory, nonlinear storyline like whoa

Milk (2008)

Key quote: "All men are created equal. No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words."

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Key quote: "This is going to sound sick, but something in me felt entitled. You know, I've been good all my adult life. I've been a decent wife, a dutiful mother coping with Ben. The voice inside me kept saying, 'Why shouldn't you be bad? Why shouldn't you transgress? I mean, you've earned the right.'"

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Keywords: fairy tales, anti-fascist resistance, creeptastic creatures, three tasks, difficult pregnancy, knife to the mouth

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Key quote: "Well! I'm actually feeling rather good about this. I think we have all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically."

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Key quote: "Did I just agree to dance with Mr. Darcy? It would be most inconvenient, since I have sworn to loathe him for all eternity."

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Keywords: fighting couple, broken dreams, fedoras, cigarettes, big skirts, soul-draining '50s suburbia

Road to Perdition (2002)

Keywords: gangsters, father-son relations, photographer moonlighting as assassin, Great Depression, showdown in the rain

The Savages (2007)

Key quote: "People are dying, Wendy! Right inside that beautiful building right now, it's a fucking horror show! And all this wellness propaganda and the landscaping, it's just there to obscure the miserable fact that people die! And death is gaseous and gruesome and it's filled with shit and piss and rotten stink!"

Sideways (2004)

Keywords: shy writer, broken nose, crashed car, cheating bastard, wedding, wine

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Keywords: quiz show, flashbacks, Indian slums, destiny, orphans, crime lords, chai tea

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Key quote: "Odd as it may seem, I've just ruled out half of Greek literature, seven fairy tales, ten Chinese fables and determined conclusively that you are not King Hamlet, Scout Finch, Miss Marple, Frankenstein's Monster or a golem. Aren't you relieved to know you're not a golem?"

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Key quote: "Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent."

Up (2009)

Keywords: balloons, curmudgeonly old man, exploration, talking dogs, Boy Scout, bird named Kevin

Up in the Air (2009)

Key quote: "The slower we move, the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living."