The Daily Helping is proud to present our personal favorites for the past ten years.  Now please note that this in no way implies that these are the best artistic efforts for the decade. That’s a bit pretentious.  Instead these are personal favorites that speak to a particular taste.

If you’ve taken the time to put together a list of your own, please feel free to let us know via the comments page.

5)  Alfonso Cuarón’s film, “Children of Men” (2006).  This has been an excellent decade for Clive Owen.  There are more than a few of his movies that could be on this list.  (“The Inside Man”,  “Gosford Park“) Clive is a resistance fighter protecting what may very well be the last pregnant woman on Earth. It’s  edgy science fiction  that drew an audience primarily by word of mouth. It’s likely to be a timeless film. (Look for the wonderful cameo by the great Michael Cain).

4)” The Departed” (2006). Martin Scorsese can put together any cast he wants to and he started with Jack Nicholson to headline his American version of a twisty Hong Kong mob film called, “Infernal Affairs”.  Scorsese called on his muse,  Leonardo DiCaprio to play a deep under cover cop and the always remarkable,  Matt Damon as a spy for the mob, placed highly with the Boston mob task force. Cat and mouse doesn’t do the tension justice. This was a fantasic movie and the best Scorsese picture since” Goodfellas”.

3) “The Dark Knight”, (2008) arrived with great expectations before the untimely death of it’s co-star, Heath Ledger.  Re-tooled over the past ten years and helmed by the very gifted, Christopher Nolan (“Momento”, “Batman Begins”, “The Prestige”), “The Dark Knight” set a new standard for comic book blockbusters. The energy and special effects didn’t hide the story.  Nolan showed that a big budget summer picture can also have depth, character development and a story that refuses to let go from the opening scene.  Christian Bale wears the gear well, and will for as long as he wants to.

The movie will forever be known for Heath Ledger’s remarkable turn as the Joker.  He  joins Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter as  one of the most most memorable film villains of all time.

2) “A History of Violence” (2005) and “Eastern Promises” (2007) paired versatile actor, Viggo Mortensen with David Cronenberg, a director known for his independent spirit and taste for the grotesque.  Because these films are equally compelling and razor sharp in their construction; it’s hard to separate the two.

1) “No Country For Old Men” was a 2007 screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s tight little novel of bounty hunters, unrelenting killers, a lot of drug money and a few good people fighting for their lives.  The affection that the Daily Helping has for The Brothers Coen is well documented here on this site.  As gifted as Joel and Ethan happen to be, it was this film that took them to the next level in both box office and critical appeal.  The film was honored with numerous awards, garnering three British Academy of Film awareds, two Golden Globes, and four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Joel and Ethan Coen), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem, in a truly memorable Moe-like hairstyle).