The 100 Best Movies Of The Complex Decade

The finest films that have hit screens during our existence, because greatness deserves greatness.

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Complex Original

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Complaining about the film world’s lack of originality and daringness would feel shameful if it wasn’t so damn easy to find reasons to grumble. And the last 10 years, which have seen a multitude of trends come and go, A-list movie stars continually fail to open non-franchise movies, and the box office dominance of one Harry Potter, have given us plenty reasons to criticize. For instance, we’d need at least four hands to count the number of lifeless and inept horror remakes that genre fans have been assaulted with, and you know it’s slow creatively in Hollywood when Spider-Man gets completely rebooted (with this summer’s The Amazing Spider-Man) a mere five years after a $337-million-earning sequel (2007’s Spider-Man 3).

As you can tell, though, it’s a celebration around the Complex offices these days, after 10 years doin' it, and doin' it well, and when it came time to reflect upon the films that best represent our brand’s decade-long run, one fact became clear: For all of the whining movie purists do these days, those of us who painstakingly seek out quality over instant accessibility have more cause for elation than bitching.

Thanks to names like Judd Apatow, David Fincher, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Joel and Ethan Coen, as well as sick genre purveyors from countries such as France and Spain, the last 10 years have collectively been catnip for us reel folks. See for yourselves as we count down The 100 Best Movies Of The Complex Decade.

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100. Sin City (2005)

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99. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

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98. The Squid And The Whale (2005)

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97. Talk To Me (2007)

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96. Tropic Thunder (2008)

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95. The Ring (2002)

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94. Grandma's Boy (2006)

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93. Attack The Block (2011)

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92. Saw (2004)

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91. Team America: World Police (2004)

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90. Mean Girls (2004)

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89. Collateral (2004)

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88. Elf (2003)

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87. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

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86. Drag Me To Hell (2009)

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85. Taken (2008)

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84. 25th Hour (2002)

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83. Cloverfield (2008)

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82. Insidious (2011)

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81. Casino Royale (2006)

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80. The Incredibles (2004)

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79. X2: X-Men United (2003)

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78. Murderball (2005

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77. The Strangers (2008)

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76. (500) Days Of Summer (2009)

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75. 300 (2007)

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74. The Hangover (2009)

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73. Lost In Translation (2003)

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72. Old School (2003)

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71. Paranormal Activity (2009)

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70. Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle (2004)

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69. Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

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68. Wedding Crashers (2005)

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67. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

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66. 8 Mile (2002)

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65. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)

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64. Gangs Of New York (2002)

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63. Star Trek (2009)

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62. High Tension (2004)

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61. Borat (2006)

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60. Raising Victor Vargas (2002)

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59. Iron Man (2008)

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58. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

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57. Cocaine Cowboys (2006)

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56. City Of God (2002)

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55. Half Nelson (2006)

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54. Step Brothers (2008)

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53. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

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52. Martyrs (2008)

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51. The Mist (2007)

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50. Sin Nombre (2009)

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49. Let The Right One In (2008)

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48. Eastern Promises (2007)

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47. Primer (2004)

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46. The Lives Of Others (2006)

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45. Grindhouse (2007)

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44. King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters (2007)

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43. A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)

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42. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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41. Milk (2008)

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40. A Serious Man (2009)

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39. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

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38. Oldboy (2003)

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37. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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36. Munich (2005)

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35. Maria Full Of Grace (2004)

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34. Up (2009)

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33. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

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32. Sideways (2004)

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31. Inception (2010)

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30. I Saw The Devil (2011)

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29. The Departed (2006)

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28. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (2007)

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27. The Hurt Locker (2009)

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26. The Dark Knight (2008)

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25. Michael Clayton (2007)

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24. Hugo (2011)

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23. 28 Days Later (2002)

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22. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

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21. Drive (2011)

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20. Toy Story 3

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19. District 9 (2009)

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18. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

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17. Black Swan (2010)

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16. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

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15. The Wrestler (2008)

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14. Knocked Up (2007)

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13. The Descent (2005)

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12. Superbad (2007)

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11. [REC] (2007)

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10. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

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9. The Social Network (2010)

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8. Inside (2007)

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7. Children Of Men (2006)

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6. Zodiac (2007)

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5. No Country For Old Men (2007)

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4. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)

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3. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)

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2. Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)

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1. There Will Be Blood (2007)

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