If the '30s and '40s are considered the "Golden Age of Cinema," this decade should be dubbed the "Green Age."

While most of the country has suffered during the economic decline, the movie industry has proven to be recession-proof. From 2000 to 2009, box office records were broken time and time again. As a result, Hollywood keeps pumping out more and more movies.

The good thing about that is audiences get to see movies that otherwise never would have been given a chance, like "Paranormal Activity" or just about any documentary. The bad news is that terrible projects like "Disaster Movie" got the green light, too.

Ultimately, cinema of the '00s will be remembered for taking the bad with the good. Let's focus on the good.

SUPERHEROES MAKE GIGANTIC SPLASHES

The 1990s left comic book fans with a bad taste in their mouths ("Batman and Robin," anyone?), but when "X-Men" made more than $54 million in its opening weekend in 2000, movie studios knew it couldn't ignore the masses of fanboys and fangirls. So, the superheroes kept coming.

Today, the two largest opening weekends at the box office belong to "The Dark Knight" ($158 million) and "Spider-Man 3" ($151 million). Clearly, it wasn't just the geeks going to theaters to see the caped crusaders. These films appealed to almost everyone.

Unlike the superhero films of decades past, the content was mature rather than campy. The difference can be seen in comparing Jack Nicholson's Joker from 1989's "Batman" to Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning turn in "The Dark Knight."

Also, advancements in special effects made the crime-fighter's powers more realistic.

"If you compare the original 'Fantastic 4' movie to the two they made this decade, it's like going from a modern wheel to high-tech car," says Romie Payne, owner of Dragon's Lair Comics in St. Joseph.

HOLLYWOOD FALLS IN LOVE WITH FRANCHISES

Think of all the sequels that came out in 2009: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel." Hollywood didn't make its affection for franchises a secret.

"As long as (the studios) find an audience and keep on making money, they'll keep on doing it," says North Belt Blockbuster Video manager Jason Barrow.

The most successful franchises of the decade included "Pirates of the Caribbean," the "Star Wars" prequels and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Together, all nine films are part of the top 30 highest-grossing of all-time.

COMEDIES GET DOWN AND DIRTY

The '90s were chock-full of goofy but charming PG-13 comedies like "Tommy Boy" and "Happy Gilmore." At the turn of the millennium, however, the "American Pie" films showed studios that raunchy R-rated comedies could succeed, too. Many comedies that followed would combine the best of both worlds.

Most of those were the creations of writer/producer Judd Apatow, who can be credited for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up," "Superbad," "Pineapple Express," "Anchorman" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Meanwhile, R-rated laughers "The Hangover" and "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" became pop culture phenomenons that were met with outstanding critical acclaim.

PIXAR SHINES WITH KIDS AND CRITICS

There's no knock against DreamWorks here. The studio has made some great animated films like "Shrek" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." But Pixar's hot streak is absolutely remarkable.

In this decade, "WALL-E," "Ratatouille," "The Incredibles" and "Finding Nemo" all won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. "Monsters, Inc." and "Cars" also were nominees in the same category. And Pixar's "Up" is the favorite to win at the 2010 Oscars. It could even be nominated for Best Picture.

"(Pixar's) characters are completely timeless," says David Allison, manager of Plaza 8 Theaters in St. Joseph. "You feel more about that non-talking robot (WALL-E) than you do about almost any movie character."

MUSICALS MAKE A COMEBACK

Before the 2000s, most people thought of "The Sound of Music" and "The Wizard of Oz" when they heard the word "musical." However, recent films like "Chicago," "Enchanted" and "Mamma Mia" have changed all that.

"Musicals were dead for so long, but now they're being modernized," Barrow says. "A lot of the music you can hear on the radio now."

While "Moulin Rouge" and "Across the Universe" wowed audiences with stunning visuals and contemporary numbers, "Chicago" took home a Best Picture Oscar in 2002.

Other notable musicals of the decade include "Dreamgirls," "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "Hairspray," "Evita" and the recently released "Nine."

DOCUMENTARIES HIT THE MAINSTREAM

Love him or hate him, filmmaker Michael Moore is one of the biggest reasons documentary films are now released in theaters nationwide. Between his Oscar-winner "Bowling for Columbine" and the Bush-hunting "Fahrenheit 9/11," the in-your-face leftist stirred up controversy and tons of media coverage.

His films inspired others to send political and sociological messages. Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me" exposed the dangers of eating fast food. Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" revealed some of the natural dangers Earth will face in the future. Bill Maher examined flaws of religions in "Religilous."

And while some used documentaries for activism, other filmmakers found that true stories could hold more power than anything fictional. A few examples include "March of the Penguins," which depicted the arduous journey of the emperor penguins of Antarctica, "Grizzly Man," which chronicled the life of a passionate bear enthusiast who was killed by the animals he loved so dearly, and "Man on Wire," which told the story of a daredevil's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers.

"I think it's refreshing to see something that's real instead of that fantasy realm we'll never be in," Allison says.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PRODUCES VISUAL WONDERS

For decades, 3D movies were merely a gimmick. But James Cameron's "Avatar" might have made 3D the future of cinema. The technology gave the film awe-inspiring depth. The bright blues and glowing pinks and greens of the planet Pandora didn't look too bad either.

"Go see 'Avatar.' It's going to change the way movies are made," Barrow says.

Special-effects upgrades made it possible to create many of the decade's most memorable films. The artistic touches of color in the mostly black-and-white "Sin City" immediately come to mind. The grandiose battle scenes of "300" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy do too.

The '00s proved more than any decade that movie magic can make any vision a big-screen reality.