1. There Will Be Blood (2007)
When it comes down to it, P.T. Anderson’s masterful fifth film is about three things: 1) the alliance of big business and religion that comprises the modern American right wing, 2) the brutal birth of the oil industry, and 3) a slow-motion closeup of a man whose ambition gives way to greed and whose greed gives way to madness. While these don’t necessarily seem like subjects that lend themselves easily to exciting, edge of your seat filmmaking, Anderson’s extraordinary control of his craft paired with Robert Elswit’s mesmerizing cinematography, Jonny Greenwood’s spellbinding score, and especially Daniel Day-Lewis’ monumental lead performance make Blood an unparalleled moviegoing experience that elevates ho-hum events like the drilling of an oil well into a full-scale coming of the apocalypse. Like most great films, it feels timeless but reflects the turbulent decade in which it was made, and along with 2002’s enthralling candy-colored love story Punch-Drunk Love, established Anderson as the premier filmmaker of his generation. – Scott Howard

2. Children of Men (2006)
Out of all the post-apocalyptic movies released in the last decade, Children of Men remains both the most human and, coincidentally, the best. It’s not the story of a band of heroes trying to save humanity in its last days. Few people in the film are worthy of admiring: it’s essentially about a politically self-serving fringe group, a selfish jerk who decides to help them, and the confused and malicious government that tries to kill them both. And at the last scene, it’s about the sad truth that you might not succeed at all, even with the fate of humanity in your hands. It sounds downright depressing, but with a great director at the helm and a great cast at his disposal (including the underrated Chiwetel Ejiofor), a story that seems dark and depressing on the surface becomes a tale of – if not hope – then the power of sheer will and, sure, love. – Zoe Holmes

3. Zodiac (2007)
After the good but not great Hitchcock riffing of Panic Room, David Fincher went into hibernation and emerged five years later to announce that his next film would be about the Bay Area’s notorious Zodiac Killer. It sounded like a step back, an attempt by a gifted but creatively stilted artist who perfected the serial killer movie with Seven to return to a genre that treated him well in the past. Boy was I wrong. Zodiac is a sweeping epic about the good guys – the greatest police procedural ever made, really – far more interested in the pencil-pushing do-gooding of All The President’s Men than exploitative torture porn. Some complain about its length, but for my money Zodiac is the most tightly-composed movie of the decade, with each and every scene a compelling little short film of its own. – SH

4. WALL-E (2008)
As animated features go, WALL-E may just be the perfect family movie. It starts out with a glimpse of a future in which Earth has long been polluted and used beyond repair, but as bleak as that may sound, there’s an underlying optimism as we follow our robot across the galaxy on his quest. Between saving his newfound love, saving the the last vestige of Earth and saving humanity itself, there’s something to be said for being able to successfully bottle all of WALL-E’s emotional range in such a small package. This timeless tale of a quirky little trash-bot that finds love, adventure and ultimately a higher purpose is probably the widest-appealing Pixar effort to date and for that WALL-E is our top animated film of the decade. – Robert Cortez

5. Memento (2000)
If you want to seriously impress a 14 year old, show them Memento. When I saw this movie shortly after its release I couldn’t believe that such a thing had been made. It’s not that I had been subsisting on a diet of rom coms and bad teen movies until then, it’s just that I had never seen something that had the power to blow my mind. In assembling this list, a lot of Nolan movies were thrown into the mix, but Memento clearly leads the pack because of innovative storytelling, sheer watchability, the charm of its deeply flawed characters, and the genuine twist at the end/beginning that pretty much single-handedly launched Nolan’s career. – ZH

6. Lost In Translation (2003)
This was the decade that technology and globalization were supposed to bring us together, so why do we still feel so lonely? Sofia Coppola’s note-perfect rendering of two strangers in a Tokyo hotel who find comfort in each other resonates far beyond its shimmering shots of alienating urban landscapes and bizarre warrens of commerce. And how satisfying it is that after years of re-watching, the rapport of Bob and Charlotte still retains that essential mystery which good films promise and great deliver. – Ellen Wernecke

7. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 – 2003)
They said it couldn’t be filmed. J. R .R. Tolkien’s trio of novels spanning over a thousand pages and more than half a million words contained some of the most immensely detailed narratives in all of fantasy literature, but Peter Jackson’s conviction to bring it all to the silver screen matched it in terms of scope and magnificence. Filmed and produced over the course of five years, Jackson brought Middle-earth to life like no one could have imagined. Employing every trick known (and inventing a few new ones), the Lord of the Rings trilogy—over 11 hours of film in its extended entirety—brought the fifty year old saga striding into the 21st century, proving its commentary on war and the struggle between good and evil is still as relevant as the day it was first published. – RC

8. Michael Clayton (2007)
Tony Gilroy’s films as a writer and director are all about work and how far consummate professionals are willing to go for the company. In an era when we’re all working harder and longer for less and less, he’s arguably the most important artist working in film today. His core motivations are stripped down to the bone in the quiet, intense Michael Clayton, a slow-burning character study about people whose devotion to work allows them to do terrible things. In my favorite scene of the decade, a Peter Finch-channeling Tom Wilkinson recites classified memos detailing his corporate client’s lethal business practices for the microphones in his bugged apartment as the soothing electronic music of the client’s TV commercial blips and beeps in the background. In a film that recalls the masterpieces of the 1970’s, it’s a modern day “mad as hell” monologue. – SH

9. I Heart Huckabees (2004)
A mopey conservationist enlists the help of two screwball detectives in what was unforgettably billed as an “existential comedy.” Director David O. Russell barely manages to control the tide of chaos threatening to explode from every frame of this suburban intrigue, as self-aware in its speechifying as it is earnest, demanding great performances from his ensemble cast. (Also, the second Jason Schwartzman-est role Schwartzman took on in this decade, after Ash in Fantastic Mr. Fox.) – EW

10. Amelie (2001)
The heroine of this fractured fairy tale directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet is the antithesis to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl who crept into so many rom coms this decade. An impish do-gooder whose unconventional view of the world is rendered in gorgeous detail, she ushered a new generation into appreciation of foreign film and gave couples everywhere a great date movie. Audrey Tautou has never been has charming, nor have the streets of Paris eve seemed more magical than through her eyes. – EW

Individual ballots are on page 2.