Movies are a big part of my life. I devour them. I analyze them. I deconstruct them. But more than anything I enjoy them.

The end of any year is a joyous occasion for a film geek like me because that's when critics and fans alike start debating the year's best films. But a year ending in the number 9 is a super extravaganza of geekery because that means it's time to talk about an entire decade. In case you need a reminder, this is 2009, and a few Best Movies of the Decade lists have already rolled out, including ones from Paste magazine and The Times.

Ten years ago I compiled a Top Ten list of my own for the 1990s (see below), and I'm already planning one for the current decade ("The Oughts?"). The challenge is making sure I've seen enough of the decade's best films to give my list credibility. Unlike the film critics who usually write these lists, I've seen only a small percentage of what's been released in the last 10 years. While I'm certain Battlefield Earth and All About Steve shouldn't be on my list despite not having seen them, I can't be so glib about City of God and The Lives of Others. So I need to do some serious catching up before I'm comfortable publishing my selections.

That doesn't mean I haven't started compiling. From what I've seen this decade, here's my short list (in alphabetical order):

• Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)
• Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
• Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
• Che: Part One (Steven Soderbergh, 2008)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
• Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)
• Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
• Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
• Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
• Match Point (Woody Allen, 2005)
• Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
• No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
• Shattered Glass (Billy Ray, 2003)
• There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
• Traffic (Steven Sodernergh, 2000)

And here's my list of the films I haven't yet seen but which I feel I need to watch before creating a final top ten:

• Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
• American Splendor (Shari Springer-Berman and Robert Pulcini, 2003)
• Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000)
• Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
• Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
• City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2003)
• The Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003)
• George Washington (David Gordon Green, 2000)
• Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
• The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
• Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
• Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)
• The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)
• The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005)
• The Station Agent (Thomas McCarthy, 2003)
• United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)

Odds are I'll dislike a few of the movie on this list, but I suspect a few will sneak into the top ten. I'm probably missing some movies here and there that would be strong contenders if they were on my radar. Suggestions, dear reader?

I'm still comfortable with a little more than half of my selections for the 1990s:

1. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
2. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
   
3. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)
4. Life Is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni, 1997)
5. The Truman Show (Peter Weir, 1998)
6. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
7. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)
8. Lone Star (John Sayles, 1996)
9. The Player (Robert Altman, 1992)
10. Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999)

The biggest problem? A movie I now consider to be one of the 2 or 3 best films of the decade didn't even make my list back then: Heat (Michael Mann, 1995). David Fincher's Se7en (1995) or Fight Club (1999) should probably be somewhere in the mix, too. And Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998). I'd take Life Is Beautiful, Hoop Dreams, and Lone Star out to make room for them.