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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