Playing favorites with ten years of cinema? Not an easy task. I could finesse this list indefinitely and still feel that I've left something out. The movies included on this list have left an indelible impression on me. I remember watching Wong Kar-Wai's
In the Mood for Love when it was first released by Criterion; watching Maggie Cheung slowly walk up and down that beautifully lit stairway to buy noodles. I remember the frisson that went through me as I watched Naomi Watts collapse in on herself in David Lynch's masterful fever dream
Mulholland Drive. I remember Samantha Morton as the title character in 2002's
Morvern Callar, tentatively running her fingers along a door-frame as she waits for her friend to answer. (Not since Greta Garbo has an actor or actress been able to express so much with their hands.) And I will never forget the devastating and near-wordless opening scene of
There Will Be Blood, as Daniel Day-Lewis damages his body and his psyche with his repetitive and lonely trade.
This list is presented chronologically.
I tried ranking these titles, but I just can't be that mercenary.
In the Mood for Love (2000)
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The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
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Mulholland Drive (2001)
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Morvern Callar (2002)
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Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
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Oldboy (2003)
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Brand Upon the Brain!: A Remembrance in 12 Chapters (2006)
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Zodiac (2007)
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No Country for Old Men (2007)
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There Will Be Blood (2007)
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