The best of the best.

Check out numbers 11-51 in part one of this Best Movies of the 2000s list. By now you’ve read a thousand of these articles. At least mine originally published on Christmas Day, so it’s not like I’m that late to the party.

And yes, this Top 10 contains 13 movies.  It’s not cheating. Really.

10. Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007)

I’m cheating, but how can I choose one of these   brilliant  comedies from British director Edgar Wright? 

"Shaun" successfully mashes the romantic-comedy with a zombie film and does so with a stylistic flare unseen on our side of the Atlantic. "Hot Fuzz," meanwhile, eviscerates most  buddy cop clichés in the book, and the film’s final act is the most expertly edited action sequence of all-time. No joke.

9. United 93 (2006)

An exhilarating, real-time depiction of one of four planes hijacked on 9/11, Paul Greengrass’ "United 93" respectfully dramatizes the actions of the flight’s heroic passengers, as well as the air traffic controllers who had to make sense of the tragedy unfolding before them. It’s a movie that left me frozen in my seat long after the credits rolled.

8. 25th Hour (2002)

One of the first films to study post 9/11 New York City, Spike Lee’s "25th Hour" is firstly a bravura acting  vehicle for Edward Norton as a convict enjoying his last hours as a free man.

Two scenes are of particular note: One in which Norton stares at himself in a bathroom mirror and rails against every cultural group and ethnicity he can stereotype. The other is the final sequence, in which his remorseful father visualizes a hypothetical happily-ever-after. Stunning, original filmmaking through and through.

7. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Every Wes Anderson film exists in its own colorful, slightly off-center world. Some would accuse the filmmaker of being too quirky or even pretentious, but in each film there lies a profound perspective on loneliness and human despair.

"Tenenbaums" is probably Anderson’s funniest film, but a standout central performance by Gene Hackman also makes it Anderson’s most potent dramatic offering.

6. Minority Report (2002)

Steven Spielberg’s thrilling science-fiction noir is full of jaw-dropping camera moves and special effects, but it also touches on confounding themes of justice and personal security. In a world where crime can be predicted before it happens, is it right to prosecute a man for his apparent intentions?

Spielberg made several great films this decade ("A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Munich"), but "Minority Report" is a technical achievement that most speaks to the unsettling tendencies of human nature.

5. Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan’s "backwards" thriller is more than slick stylistic gimmickry. Guy Pearce’s memory-impaired protagonist has such a powerful backstory that a movie with a conventional timeline could work just as well.

The reverse-order only makes the twists and turns more exciting.

4. Finding Nemo (2003)

Pixar Animation Studios has spent the last 10 years making one masterpiece after another. Looking back,  "Finding Nemo" feels like the best representative of their unprecedented winning streak. 

Aside from the gorgeous animation and stellar voice casting, "Nemo" is the Pixar film that tugs the heartstrings the fastest. The opening scene, which convincingly depicts the sudden loss of a loved one, leads the film on an emotional journey that most live-action filmmakers can only dream to establish.

3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

"Return of the King" won all the Oscars, but it’s too difficult for me to distinguish one installment above the others. Peter Jackson’s epic interpretation of the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy is easily the biggest spectacle of the 2000s and a shining example of thoughtful, auteur-driven blockbuster filmmaking.

2. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Most Paul Thomas Anderson fans would rank his 2007 effort "There Will Be Blood" above this strange Adam Sandler romance. But "Punch-Drunk Love" is much more personal and, dare I say, revolutionary.

For one, it obliterates the romantic comedy formula. It takes an unconventional protagonist in Barry Egan, an angry, insecure man with an eye for amazing pudding sales, and makes him a believable candidate for true love.

Anderson’s visual mastery is obvious, and the film’s eccentric soundtrack by Jon Brion is as unique and essential as Jonny Greenwood’s much-publicized work on "There Will Be Blood."

Most of all, it reveals the serious side to Adam Sandler. He’s got so much more to offer as an actor than the idiot man-child of "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan."

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

No other film this decade connected with me quite like Michel Gondry’s quirky fantasy about a heartbroken man who decides to undergo a medical procedure to erase all memories of his ex-girlfriend. As the memories slip away, he revisits the relationship’s early days, which only makes him regret the procedure.

Jim Carrey is quietly brilliant in the leading role, and Kate Winslet plays Clementine as the oddball typically expected from Carrey’s repertoire.

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (see also "Adaptation," "Synecdoche, New York") won an Oscar for this brilliant script, and Gondry uses a number old-school camera tricks to believably travel through our hero’s memories and subconscious. "Eternal Sunshine" is whimsical and funny, tragic and uplifting, and the easiest choice I made when compiling this list.