Paste

50. The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Writer/Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline

49. High Fidelity (2000)
Director: Stephen Frears
Writer: Nick Hornby (novel)
Stars: John Cusack, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Todd Louiso

48. Flight of the Red Balloon (Le voyage du ballon rouge) (2008)
Writer/Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Stars: Juliette Binoche, Hippolyte Giradot

47. Grizzly Man (2005)
Writer/Director: Werner Herzog
Stars: Timothy Treadwell, Werner Herzog

46. Iraq in Fragments (2006)
Director: James Longley

45. Whale Rider (2002)
Director: Niki Caro
Writers: Witi Ihimaera (novele), Niki Caro (screenplay)
Stars: Keisha Castle-Huges, Rawiri Paratene

44. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Director: Terry George
Writers: Keir Pearson, Terry George
Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix

43. In America (2004)
Director: Jim Sheridan
Writers: Jim, Naomi and Kristen Sheridan
Stars: Paddy Considine, Dijmon Hounsou

42. The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writers: Giles Foden (novel), Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock (screenplay)
Stars: Forrest Whitaker, James McAvoy

41. L’Enfant (2006)
Writer/Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Stars: Jérémie Renier, Déborah François

40. The Departed (2006)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: William Monahan, Felix Chong, Alan Mak
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Whalberg, Alec Baldwin

39. Spirited Away (2001)
Writer/Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars (U.S.): Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Suzanne Pleshette

38. Donnie Darko (2001)
Writer/Director: Richard Kelly
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, James Duvall, Mary McDonnell

37. Billy Elliot (2000)
Director: Stephen Daldry
Writer: Lee Hall
Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis

36. Millions (2004)
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Stars: Alexander Nathan Etel, Lewis McGibbon

35. Junebug (2005)
Director: Phil Morrison
Writer: Angus MacLachlan
Stars: Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Celia Weston

34. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Michael Arndt
Stars: Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin

33. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003, 2004)
Writer/Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine

32. Ratatouille (2007)
Writer/Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Stars: Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Peter Sohn, Brad Garrett, Ian Holm

31. Gosford Park (2001)
Director: Robert Altman
Writer: Julian Fellowes
Stars: Michael Gambon, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Hellen Mirren, Kristin Scott Thomas, Bob Balaban, Clive Owen

30. Once (2007)
Writer/Director: John Carney
Stars: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová

29. Man on Wire
Director: James Marsh
Starring: Philippe Petit

28. A History of Violence (2005)
Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: John Wagner, Vince Locke (graphic novel), Josh Olson (screenplay)
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt

27. Caché (Hidden) (2005)
Writer/Director: Michael Haneke
Stars: Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Maurice Bénichou

26. Ghost Dog (2000)
Writer/Director: Jim Jarmusch
Star: Forest Whitaker

25. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Writer/Director: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López i Ayats

24. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Writer/Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Stars: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter

23. Traffic (2000)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones

22. Dogville (2003)
Writer/Director: Lars von Trier
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny, Paul Bettany, James Caan

21. In the Loop (2009)
Writer/Director: Armando Iannucci
Writers: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche
Stars: Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Peter Capaldi, Steve Coogan

20. Elephant (2003)
Writer/Director: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson

19. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007)
Writer/Director: Cristian Mungui
Stars: Adi Carauleanu, Luminita Gheorghiu, Madalina Ghitescu

18. Syndromes and a Century (2006)
Writer/Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Stars: Nantarat Sawaddikul, Jaruchai Iamaram, Sophon Pukanok, Jenjira Pongpas

17. Memento (2000)
Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Jonathan Nolan (short story)
Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

16. Half Nelson (2006)
Writer/Director: Ryan Fleck
Writer/Producer: Anna Boden
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie

15. Juno (2007)
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Diablo Cody
Stars: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirby

14. Up (2009)
Writer/Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Stars: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai

13. Mulholland Drive (2001)
Writer/Director: David Lynch
Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux

12. There Will Be Blood (2007)
Writer/Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Upton Sinclair (novel)
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano

11. The Dark Knight (2008)
Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, David S. Goyer, Bob Kane, Bill Finger
Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Aaron Ekhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman

10. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Writer/Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Owen Wilson
Stars: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Andrew Wilson, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray

9. No Country For Old Men (2007)
Writer/Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Writer: Cormac McCarthy (novel)
Stars: Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly Macdonald, Woody Harrelson

8. The Son (Le fils) (2002)
Writer/Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Stars: Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Isabella Soupart

7. Lost In Translation (2003)
Writer/Director: Sofia Coppola
Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris

6. Beau Travail (2000)
Writer/Director: Claire Denis
Stars: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Writer/Director: Michel Gondry
Writers: Charlie Kaufman, Pierre Bismuth
Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkenson

4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)
Writer/Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: J.R.R. Tolkein (novels), Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair
Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies

3. Almost Famous (2000)
Writer/Director: Cameron Crowe
Stars: Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Philip Seymour Hoffman

2. Amélie (2001)
Writer/Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer: Guillaume Laurant
Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Claire Maurier

1. City of God (2003)
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Writers: Paulo Lins (novel), Bráulio Mantovani
Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Alice Braga, Leandro Firmino, Douglas Silva, Seu Jorge, Philipe Haagensen

memento and there will be blood are among my favorite movies ever

Man on Wire at 29 is a great pick!

All of the movies on this list that I've seen are excellent; (I've seen about 90%).

I don't agree with all these picks. There are a few movies I'd consider below par, and certainly not among the top 50 for the decade.

High Fidelity. To me this movie was full of unlikeable characters. Could be I'm definitely not a fan of the main men here. The story is less than exciting too.

The Departed. Not a bad movie by any means, but not close to a top 50 list for the decade. The Oscar was given Scorsese because his earlier merits, not the work on this one. The original is better anyway.

Traffic. The story is too big, and it's not all that interesting either. It doesn't age very well either (though not as bad as Erin Brockovich).

Elephant. Why the hell did this win the Golden Palm in Cannes? They must have been drunk. Slow and long (at least it feels long), lacking of drama, replays of the same scenes (fancy, but dull). Nice project, bad movie.

Memento. Again, not a bad movie, but overhyped in every single way. Uncharismatic main character, unbelievable story. The story's twist is the only reason for its existance.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I won't say anything about these films.

The top three is good, but they are too high on the list. City of God isn't the best movie of the decade.

Then the good ones:
Grizzly Man. Too good to be a documentary.

Donnie Darko. This is possibly the best movie of the decade.

Once. Best movie soundtrack ever made. Very likeable movie too. But the music is the main star.

A History of Violence. Cronenberg doing what he does best, better than before.

Cache. Haneke is Europe's best movie maker.

Ghost Dog. Jim Jarmusch always makes interesting movies. No exception here.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Coen brothers' funniest.

No Country For Old Men. Coen brothers gets serious (but not very).

More good ones, and some I haven't seen. But that sums it up.