It’s not easy to sum up a whole decade in cinema and television, but somebody’s got to do it. This is Part II in our round-up of the best trends of the 2000s (Part I is here). Plus don’t miss the “worst of the decade” section at the end - because who doesn’t enjoy a little schadenfreude to ring in the New Year?

And before you read our opinions, add yours: Click here to vote in the Jinni People’s Choice Awards! We’ll publish your picks of the best (and worst) movies, TV shows, directors and actors of the decade next week.

1. Comedy:

The 2000s were a very funny decade, thanks to an abundance of comedic talent:

Judd Apatow is the decade’s King of Comedy with his hilarious flicks that always carry a clever subtext (and almost always score at the box office).

When Ben Stiller writes and directs good things happen – Zoolander and Tropic Thunder being this decade’s examples.

Adam Sandler should return to his Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore days and do more silly comedies. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan might not have been a critics’ favorite, but I’m sure they all forgot to mention that they laughed more than once.

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the kings of anarchistic comedy. The fight scene in Anchorman where Brick throws a hand grenade; Will Ferrell running in his underwear in Talladega Nights while shouting prophets’ names from different religions; and of course, who can forget the balls on drum scene from Step Brothers?

Sacha Baron Cohen was definitely the decade’s most daring, courageous and biting comedian.

Christopher Guest continued to do the thing he does better than anyone else – hilarious, absurd mockumentaries.

Kevin Smith made his funniest movie to date with Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Wes Anderson redefined offbeat comedies with his Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

And finally, Ricky Gervais and Larry David are responsible for some of the most clever and hilarious moments on TV this decade.

2. Multiple and Nonlinear Stories:

The main objective of multiple and nonlinear stories, very popular this decade, is to confuse the audience. What’s the point? Maybe so the viewer feels smart, if s/he manages to understand the movie. Or maybe a difficult-to-understand puzzle creates discussion, i.e. buzz. Or maybe because Tarantino made it cool, and everyone want to be cool. These movies can be divided into a few main groups:

Stylized Action: Kill Bill 1 and 2 and Sin City. Not really puzzling or confusing, but the multiple/nonlinear structure adds to the overall stylized and cool feeling.

Emotional Dramas: Amores Perros, Crash, 21 Grams, Babel, Traffic. Not only do you have to try and keep yourself from crying, but you also have to try to understand what happened before what, how all the different stories connect, and why they couldn’t just tell the story from beginning to end. The lives of moviegoers got harder this decade.

Romance: Love Actually – How many love stories can you stuff into one movie? Too many, apparently. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A movie I still don’t understand. (500) Days of Summer – Zooey Deschanel is the villain in this movie?!

Memento: The first important nonlinear movie of the decade gets its own category. In the 90s it worked beautifully for Tarantino; in the 2000s for Christopher Nolan, who’s continued to create great movies in the 10 years since this movie (two Batmans, The Prestige, Insomnia).

3. 3D:

3D is this decade’s most significant contribution to filmmaking. And in the film industry’s struggles against TV, online viewing, and piracy, 3D seems like a pretty good answer. For now.

The Polar Express, The Nightmare before Christmas, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Bolt, Coraline, Beowulf, The Final Destination, Ice Age 3, Up and Avatar - more films are being released in both 2D and 3D formats.

More animated flicks gain 3D versions than live-action ones, but the success of Avatar might just change that. Time will tell whether 3D is here to stay, or just a passing trend as in the 80s (remember the masterpiece Jaws 3D?). Either way, the future holds more intriguing 3D projects: Spider-man 4, Toy Story 3 and Shrek 4…

4. Independent Cinema:

This was a great decade, critically and financially, for indies. My top 5 are:

5. Kabluey – Not a lot of people know this quirky black comedy, which takes a unique and charming look at wartime life in America. Unlike most tragicomedies, this one is actually hilarious – yet so sad at the same time.

4. Happy Accidents – Similar story to the better-known K-Pax, although it came first, and has 3 advantages over K-Pax: more humor, a love story, and Marisa Tomei.

3. (500) Days of Summer - I was expecting yet another nice indie love story, and got a fantastic, clever and witty story about love, that delivers its real, heartfelt insight about relationships and love in an original way.

2. The Hurt Locker –The best Gulf War work of the decade (although Vietnam produced better ones). Its 10 awards, including at the Venice film festival, speak for themselves.

1. Little Miss Sunshine – This one is simply a perfect movie: feel-good, offbeat and very funny. Well deserved its 2 Oscars for screenplay and supporting actor (Alan Arkin).

Special mention goes to: Lost In Translation, Thank You For Smoking, Mulholland Drive, Adaptation, Monster, Juno, Donnie Darko, Half Nelson, The Believer, Elephant.

Not sure what all the fuss was about: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Napoleon Dynamite, Monster’s Ball, Little Children, Frozen River.

And now for the Worst of the Decade…

5. It Was a Bad Decade For:

Nicholas Cage wasn’t that bad till the second half of the decade, but then his choices became nothing less than shameful. Evidence: The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider, Next, Bangkok Dangerous, Knowing. Thank god it ended with the good Bad Lieutenant.

Richard Gere – It’s too embarrassing to mention all the bad movies he made during this decade. Let’s just say he’s done nothing worth watching apart from Chicago and The Hunting Party.

Al Pacino can’t ruin our good memories of him from The Godfather trilogy, Scent of a Woman and Dog Day Afternoon, but with 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill he’s really trying hard.

First I thought Eddie Murphy’s The Adventures of Pluto Nash was bad, then came Norbit, then came Meet Dave. The man is really stuck in the 80s.

Sharon Stone knew it was hard for women over 40 to get roles in Hollywood, but she never knew just how hard. Sadly I have to mention the following: Catwoman, Basic Instinct 2 and worst of all Streets of Blood with 50 Cent!

Close but saved from the top 5: Robert De Niro, Woody Allen, Oliver Stone and John Travolta. Better luck next decade.

This decade also marked a major revolution in how we watch movies and TV, with a shift to on-demand, multiple-screen, personalized and social viewing. Jinni was born out of these ongoing changes: See our reflections here.

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Or: Analyzing the Movie Personalities of the 2000s

A lot has been written in the past weeks about the best movies of the decade. From countless editorial lists (including The AV Club’s “best bad” movies of the 00s) to user-generated lists like IMDb’s and Flickchart’s. But setting aside specific titles, what are the themes, moods and styles that have captured the imaginations of filmmakers and audiences this decade?

Our Movie Genome offers a unique angle on the question, via the top genes of the decade. We analyzed the movies and TV shows of the 2000s, based on user ratings as well as the genes (semantic tags) we use to index all titles. The result is six gene clusters that show the most popular cinematic concerns and obsessions of the decade.

Here they are, the top Movie Personalities of the Decade - presented visually just like each user’s taste, or Movie Personality, on Jinni. The largest genes are the most important, and each cluster is illustrated by six sample movies and TV shows (generated based on how typical they are, rather than on quality or popularity).

1. Humorous Buddies (the title is just a shorthand)

This Personality reflects the prominence of comedic talent like Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Kevin Smith, who made us laugh (sometimes despite ourselves) with gross-out buddy movies.

2. Special Effects

This Personality reflects new technological capabilities (see Avatar) and movie-goers’ appetite for special-effects blowouts like this summer’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

3. Family Outing

This Personality necessarily indicates the decade’s addiction to Harry Potter, but also multi-level fantasy that appealed to both kids and adults.

4. Strong Violence

The movies and TV series we watch are getting more violent, as this Personality shows. Who would have thought, not many years ago, that a TV series like Dexter could exist at all? (Pretty soon, The Sopranos will be considered suitable for children…)

5. Mind Bending

These deeply psychological puzzlers are perhaps most associated with the first part of the decade, with Memento leading off.

6. Fast, Stylized

This is perhaps the least specifically typical of the 00s, as this Personality was equally noticeable in the 80s and 90s, providing perennially popular fast-paced, stylized action flicks.

Note: While cinema usually both creates and reflects overall cultural trends, social attitudes, and political currents, we’re sticking to the movies and TV shows, and letting you draw your own conclusions… Also - this post complements our editorial list of top trends, which you can read here.

And add your opinions too: Click here to vote in the Jinni People’s Choice Awards! We’ll publish your picks of the best (and worst) movies, TV shows, directors and actors of the decade next week.

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Can you find common threads running through an actor’s work? And what about an actor like Brittany Murphy, who played in diverse (and seemingly disparate) roles, from her break-out in the teen comedy Clueless (1995) to her top-grossing movies Happy Feet (2006, where she was the voice of Gloria the singing penguin) and 8 Mile (2002, where she played a desperate wannabe model). By revealing shared - and absent - genes across an actor’s film career, our Movie Genome offers insight into characterizing an actor’s work.

Comedy vs. Drama

At first glance, Brittany’s Murphy’s genes reflect versatility. Her roles are split between Comedy and Drama, with a few overlaps and a significant number of Indies (click the topics highlighted in red to see movie results for these different slices on Jinni).

Don’t Think, Feel

While the most prominent moods in Brittany Murphy movies are Humorous and Feel Good, these are closely followed by Suspenseful and Rough (such as the upcoming Expendables). By contrast, few of her movies are characterized as Contemplative or Thought-Provoking.

The Here and Now

Whatever the mood, most of Brittany’s Murphy’s work is solidly grounded in the here and now. Nearly all her movies are Realistic, with just a few exceptions in the realm of Fantastic or Semi-Fantastic (like Happy Feet and Neverwas). Nearly all have a Contemporary setting, too. Most strike a serious note, with just a handful described as entirely Not Serious (including Clueless and Just Married).

You and Me

Thematically, Brittany Murphy’s work usually touches on relationships - Couples as well as Gays and Lesbians, Friends, and Parents and Children. Youth is also prominent in themes like Teen Life, Coming of Age and High School settings. These themes span moods, genres, and settings.

So even though Brittany Murphy tackled a variety of roles, we can see a few threads running through - like realism, relationships, humor and grit - that must have tapped into her skills or interests as an actor, and characterize the movies we’ll remember her for.

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It’s not easy to sum up a decade. Ten years of record-breaking blockbusters, colossal failures, rising and falling stars, new technologies that affected cinema and TV - and a whole lot more. We’ve decided to focus on the best trends of the decade - here’s Part I. (You can read Part II here.)

And before you read our opinions, add yours: Click here to vote in the Jinni People’s Choice Awards! We’ll publish results on the best (and worst) movies, TV shows, directors and actors of the decade in the coming weeks.

The 00s were a great decade for…

1. Heroes:

Two types of heroes in particular:

Superheroes: Batman’s revival, the Spider-Man franchise, X-Men franchise, Iron Man, The Hulk and The Incredible Hulk, Hancock, Hellboy 1 and 2, and even Superman Returns. Christian Bale, Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman, Edward Norton, Will Smith – There is no chance in the world you’re going to get an Oscar for a superhero movie, but I guess the big salaries make up nicely for the lost honor.

Aging Heroes: Rocky Balboa, Rambo, Die Hard 4, Gran Torino, Harry Brown, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Terminator 3. Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Michael Caine, Harrison Ford, Arnie – Aren’t there younger guys out there that can take your place in the action movies? Actually, some of you made good movies this decade, so we wouldn’t mind one more… (not you Harrison, your movie sucked).

Looking at the success of these two groups, I think I have the formula for the top-grossing movie in history: a really aging superhero (Christopher Reeve dug from the grave to play Superman one last time?) fights vampires (riding on Twilight’s success). People will sleep near the ticket offices for this upcoming (?) movie.

2. Crime:

It was a great decade for Crime, in three main categories:

Humorous: The fastest and one of the funniest movies ever made – Shoot ’Em Up. The dark humored In Bruges, Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and the less superior RocknRolla, and Soderbergh’s all-star Ocean movies.

Twists and Turns: Inside Man – The clue in the title didn’t spoil the twist. Lucky Number Slevin – Suspect the person you would never suspect. Running Scared – great underrated movie. Training Day – The first movie Ethan Hawk was any good in. A History of Violence – Not the last we hear of Cronenberg under Crime.

Captivating (or: everybody want to be Coppola/Scorsese): American Gangster (Ridley Scott is the new Coppola/Scorsese?), Eastern Promises (Cronenberg is the new Coppola/Scorsese?), Road To Perdition, The Departed (Scorsese is the new Coppola/Scorsese?), Infernal Affairs and the TV series The Sopranos – You can’t take your eyes off the screen when you watch these. Your dog miraculously wants to talk to you, your wife wants a divorce and you hear someone shouting for help – all these will have to wait.

3. Animation:

The 00s were an astounding decade for animation. At the start of the decade, few animation features were produced each year. The genre developed into one of the most popular, with blockbuster franchises like Shrek, Madagascar and Ice Age. More than fifty features are released each year, and the number of animation studios has grown significantly. The techniques are constantly evolving and improving, and films in stop motion, motion capture and puppets are more common than ever. The major trends are -

The Pixar Conquest and CGI Domination: After modern classics like Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Wall-E, even the Disney Studios realized, “If you can’t beat them – buy them.” The success encouraged other studios, and today a summer without a least one animated blockbuster seems impossible.

The Death and Rebirth of Traditional Animation: In 2004, Disney decided to surrender to the success of CGI animation and close their traditional animation department. Surprisingly, the 2006 Pixar deal reversed that decision – so far validated by the rather successful The Princess and the Frog.

Anime: This decade marked the western acknowledgement of anime. Creators like Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon became known to the general audience and won important awards, including an Oscar for Spirited Away.

Animation for Grown-ups: Considered a children’s genre for decades, animation is finally being seen in a new light. High profile animation movies depicted war and coming-of-age (Waltz With Bashir and Persepolis), tender friendship and love (Mary & Max, The Triplets of Belleville) and creepy post-apocalyptic allegory (9). On TV, The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park ruled.

4. Sci-Fi:

The 2000s were good for sci-fi: developments in special effects and CGI techniques enabled filmmakers to achieve their visual visions. Still, there wasn’t a single sci-fi film that matched the influence and popularity of the end-of-the-90s’ The Matrix. Sci-fi in the 2000s was characterized by three trends:

The fall of old series and rise of new ones: Anticipation of The Matrix sequels was great - and so was the disappointment. Neither was groundbreaking or even good. Same with the prequels of Star Wars: fans were enthusiastic and George Lucas disappointed, with three soulless, boring movies offering nothing more than not-so-impressive special effects. The Terminator Franchise also disappointed, with a less impressive third installment and an embarrassing fourth one. However, successful new franchises took their place: Spider-man, X-Men, Transformers, Iron Man (all expecting additional installments), and hopefully the reboot of Star Trek too.

Based on Comics: Comics continued to be a great source of inspiration for sci-fi films. Besides the well-known characters mentioned above, it was a good decade for smaller, lesser-known characters and stories like V for Vendetta, The Chronicles of Riddick and Watchmen.

Post Apocalyptic Themes: After nothing happened in the new millennium, we had to find new reasons and prophecies for destruction – and post-apocalypse was a common theme in sci-fi. We got: The Day After Tomorrow, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Children of Men, The Road, A. I: Artificial Intelligence, Knowing, 2012 and many more. Is there any type of mass destruction we haven’t thought of yet…?

5. TV:

We can divide the greatest TV shows of the decade into five groups:

Mindbenders: Lost (WTF is going on over there?) and Life on Mars - the British version (we already know WTF went over there).

Death-Related: Breaking Bad – he’s got cancer, Six Feet Under – they run a funeral home, House – he saves people from dying, Generation Kill and Band of Brothers – they are always in great danger, death is always lurking;

Showbiz/Workplace Comedies: 30 Rock (Alec Baldwin rocks!), Curb Your Enthusiasm (Larry David is a genius), The Office and Extras (Ricky Gervais is second only to the Queen in England).

State Affairs and Leaders: Rome – although I knew what was going to happen to Julius Caesar, I was upset when he was murdered in the final episode of season one. Conclusion: The fact that you know that death is coming doesn’t necessarily prepare you for it. The West Wing – Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is the greatest American president who ever lived alongside 24’s David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert);

The protagonist you don’t want your kid to mimic: Dexter – check your kid’s bag for sharp tools, The Shield – don’t let your kid shave his head, The Sopranos – When your kid says he’s going to a friend’s to study, what he really means is that he’s going to the Bada Bing!

Watch out for Part II - coming next week!

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