my movies that really tied the 00's together

I've been mulling over someway to sum up my favorite movies from the last decade and I think I finally came up with the right criteria. In order to make my list I had to have seen the movie twice in the theater and ended up buying it for the home collection. This broke my heart in a way because it excluded a handfull of movies I fell in love with only having rented it. The two most notable that would have certainly been on the list were "Moulin Rouge" (2001) and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004). It probably speaks volumes that my top 2 are from the year 2000. Here's to hoping the teens rebound from the decade of yawn.

10. "Walk The Line" (2005)
Obsession. Addiction. Redemption. The true testament of this bio pic is that if you take out all the musical numbers, the movie still stands on its own with its dynamic performances and story that relies on the characters not the music. Plus, I have a sizable man crush on Johnny Cash.

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Luther- "That boy Elvis sure talks a lot of poon."

9. "Juno" (2007)

Movies about teenagers tend to come off fraudulent or purely for laughs. I love "Juno" because it recaptures the spirit of John Hughes with its wit and heart.
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Juno- "Oh, and she inexplicably mails me a cactus every Valentine's Day. And I'm like, 'Thanks a heap coyote ugly. This cactus-gram stings even worse than your abandonment."

8. "Casino Royale" (2006)

When I saw "Power of One" in 1992 I told everyone about this guy who played a Africana nazi youth with Paul Newman eyes and proclaimed this guy is going to be a movie star! Well, I was right. It just took 15 years for it to come true. Craig resurrected Bond from the depths of Denise Richards and her Christmas Jones and finally gave fans of Connery something to yearn for.
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Bond-" The job's done and the bitch is dead."

7. "Chicago" (2002)
The reason I loved "Moulin Rouge" was its surreal and over the top productions and sudden bursts into song. The reason I loved "Chicago" was the opposite way it transitioned into song by exposing the inner thoughts of the characters.

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Billy Flynn- "Cut out God. Stay where you're better acquainted."

6. "No Country for Old Men" (2007)

After "The Ladykillers", I desperately wanted the Coen brothers to return to their roots circa "Blood Simple" and restore my faith in all that is Coen. My wishes and dreams were fullfilled with "No Country."

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Ed Tom Bell- "Alright. What we circulate? Lookin' for a man who has recently drunk milk?"

5. "The Departed" (2006)

Does anyone do this genre any better than Scorcese? Anyone? No. Also, De Niro who?

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Dignam-

" My theory on Feds is that they're like mushrooms, feed 'em shit and keep 'em in the dark."

4. "300" (2007)

Beautiful. Violent. Masculine. Awesome.
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Leonidas- "Haven't you noticed? We've been sharing our culture with you all morning."

3. "The Dark Knight" (2008)

The story of man who uses fear and chaos to bring forth his sense of justice to the world around him. Does this describe the Dark Knight, The Joker, or Bush-Cheney? Proof that a blockbuster Hollywood movie can be smart, political, and bad ass entertainment.

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Alfred-"And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand."

2. "Gladiator" (2000)

If I was ever invited into the cockpit of a 747 by the pilot and asked, "Davey, do you like gladiator movies?" I would proudly say I do.
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Gracchus-"He will bring them death, and they will love him for it."

1. "Memento" (2000)

I think by far my favorite movie of the decade. I love small movies that think big, take chances, and make you think you have it all figured out and at the last minute punch you right in the weiner. Your thinking "how could I not see that coming!" What I remember most about seeing it the second time in the theater is how funny the movie actually is.