25-23.

Without further ado, the first installment of my top 25 films of the decade...

25. Up (2009)- I'll be honest, I came into this film with somewhat low expectations (for Pixar standards at least). The trailer didn't really draw me at all, but the promise of a new Pixar movie along with their track record for not producing crap drew me back to the theater. What once looked like a post-WALL-E "breather" quickly became one of my favorite Pixar films. Rich characters, beautifully rendered visuals, fantastic story..."Up" drew me in (or Up, if you will) and never let me go. The 3D was pretty nice too.

24. 21 Grams (2003)- The second in a "trilogy" of sorts by director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga, "21 Grams" drew big name talent and a wide domestic release due to the success of "Amores Perros" (which you will find in my 26-40 list). While the film boasts great performances from Benecio Del Toro and Sean Penn (and arguably Naomi Watts--a fantastic overacter and one of the greatest "movie sobbers" of all time), it is the writing that will blow you away. All three films in the so-called Trilogy--which have no immediate connection except by theme and structure--juggle multiple (usually three) intertwining plot-lines that also jump around in time, but "21 Grams" is the most well-rounded and dynamic of the three. It is also the smallest in scale, which is perhaps not a coincidence. Despite being sometimes slow and maybe a little bit too heavy-handed, "21 Grams" is just one of those movies that makes your mind spin when the closing credits start to roll. Truly one of the most underrated--and one of the best--films of the decade.

23. Kill Bill 1 and 2 (2003/4)- OK, so this is kind of cheating, but since they were originally conceived and shot as a single film and I often view them as so, I can't see any other way to put them on this list (to be honest, separate I don't think either of them make the top 25). Anyway, my qualms with Tarantino aside, he's a fucking good director and--as he's proven time and time again--an even better writer. Kill Bill 1 is certainly the more fun of the two parts, boasting some of the greatest fight sequences of the decade along with a killer soundtrack provided in part by RZA. The second one is slower and more inconsistent but also much more substantial. Really though, what catapulted the two-parter into my top 25 was the last act (30-45 minutes) of each. Taratino knows how to fucking close a film. He works story arcs perhaps better than any director of the last 20 years, always bringing ridiculously satisfying conclusions. As slow as the second part was, this was no exception. From the moment Beatrix Kiddo arrives at Bill's Hacienda begins one of my all time favorite film sequences--not just of the 00's.

***Note: I was too exhausted last night to write/post this, so I will still be posting the next three films on the list later today.