Developing a “Best of” list seems like the height of arrogance to me.  Even my greatest effort to maintain an objective mind in selecting the ten best films of the decade will necessarily be sabotaged by what I have seen.  For me, this means documentary, Sci-fi, and horror films will receive short shrift.

Why then develop such a list?  Truthfully, because I was flabbergasted by a similar list produced by John Serba, film critic for The Grand Rapids Press.   You can read his top ten choices here.  For someone who reports seeing thousands of films throughout the course of the decade, Mr. Serba’s list is surprisingly narrow.  Clearly he has a bent toward fantasy films and Pixar movies.  He has been bedazzled by visuals equating the unique and quirky with the best.  With the films selected below, I attempt to balance Mr. Serba’s leanings with character-driven stories.

Of course, the films any reviewer selects for such a list will say much more about that person than he or she would likely care to admit.  I’m not sure this is a bad thing.  The wonderful thing about film, and the arts in general, is that our taste for certain images and stories is a reflection of our souls and thereby immeasurably helpful in raising our self-awareness and in revealing ourselves to those around us.  That said, I wonder what the following best films of the decade say about me?

#1
Film: Slumdog Millionaire
Director: Danny Boyle
Year: 2008
Country: United Kingdom

#2
Film: The Departed
Director: Martin Scorsese
Year: 2006
Country: United States of America

#3
Film: Brokeback Mountain
Director: Ang Lee
Year: 2005
Country: United States of America

#4
Film: Amelie (Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain)
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Year: 2001
Country: France

#5
Film: Wall-E
Director: Andrew Stanton
Year: 2008
Country: United States of America

#6
Film: The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Year: 2006
Country: Germany

#7
Film: The Pianist
Director: Roman Polanski
Year: 2002
Country: Poland, France, Germany, and the the United Kingdom

#8
Film: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Director: Peter Jackson
Year: 2001
Country: United States of America

#9
Film: Tsotsi
Director: Gavin Hood
Year: 2005
Country: South Africa

#10
Film: Lars and the Real Girl
Director: Craig Gillespie
Year: 2007
Country: United States of America

Honorable Mention (In alphabetical order)

Film: Billy Elliot (2000)
Director: Stephen Daldry

Film: The Chorus [Les Choristes] (2004)
Director: Christophe Barratier

Film: Cinderella Man (2005)
Director: Ron Howard

Film: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Director: Michel Gondry

Film: Finding Neverland (2004)
Director: Marc Forster

Film: In the Bedroom (2001)
Director: Todd Field

Film: Joyeux Noël (2005)
Director: Christian Carion

Film: Ratatouille (2007)
Director: Brad Bird

Film: Seabiscuit (2003)
Director: Gary Ross

Film: Stranger than Fiction (2006)
Director: Marc Forster

Paramount just provided IR with this still from “Shutter Island” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo (“Zodiac”) and directed by Martin Scorsese (“The Departed”), as part of their 2010 preview. The movie thrills its way onto screens February 19th, 2010.

I’m taking a look at the top 25 films of the decade, and I’m taking into consideration IMDB ratings, academy awards, and all that jazz, but in the end the most important opinion is my own. I was going to start writing a screenplay today but I got a massive  caffeine withdrawal headache and I lost all spark of creativity. I decided for 25 cuz in my favorite page everything is top 25, so I had to follow my own guidelines. I decided to avoid any Best picture winners, so The Departed is out (although it should probably be in) but I think that Oscar Best Picture already had their time at the spotlight. Tomorrow I will post the top 12, and then I will post my favorite films not on the list (Superbad, Grizzly Man, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall are on that list).

Stranger than fiction

25. Stranger than fiction – Talk about post-modernism and existentialism. This movie explores destiny and our impacts on others in a way rarely seen in movies: through the voice of the author. Will Ferell also gives his first performance differing from his usual annoying persona. The most interesting part of the film is the end, when siding with the protagonist might not be a good decision for the supporting characters – or us.

24. Notes on a Scandal - A study of pedophilia and love, but more importantly, a study about loneliness. Judi Dench is outstanding, and she should have won the best actress Oscar, and so is Cate Blanchett. This movie tweaks with our expectations and character solidarities (we don’t know who we should like and the more we learn, the less we like), and that probably was the reason why this movie is already forgotten. The point is that we are not supposed to side with A or B, we are supposed to judge them and then try and comprehend them as humans, searching for companionship, something not a lot of movies dare to do. I recommend it to everyone as an experience.

23. Hotel Rwanda – The story is fascinating, and more importantly, it brought to mainstream cinema a genocide that still a lot of people don’t know about, or simply take for granted. Don Cheadle is amazing, and the pace of the film also makes you grasp the edge of your seat.

Priests and love - a big no no

22. El crimen del padre Amaro (father Amaro’s crime) – A mexican film about a priest falling in love with a young woman and having an affair. Yet you can’t cheat God cuz he will get pissed and fuck up your life. Or will he? The film explores, from a very critical point, of view the role of priests in the catholic church and how old doctrines have no meaning in today’s world. Catholics pissed = me happy.

21. The Downfall - Hitler is not portrayed as a caricature, but as a man. And the film does something that many have not dared to try before: to make you feel pity for what has become synonym of evil. The ultimate anti-war film because it shows us that the evil comes from within.

20. Milk/Oldboy – A tie? Between a movie about gay right activism and another about incest and revenge? Say what again? There may appear to be no themes tying these both films, but they both deserve to be on this list, and I can’t decide which is better. One has Sean Penn in his best role yet, fighting for gay rights in the midst of Prop 8, the other has a man fighting for revenge against a man he thinks he has never hurt, he is isolated and lonely, in a world he can’t comprehend. Both films explore love from daring angles, and while Oldboy’s might be weird, it is still human at its core, the same effect that Van Sant tried to do when showing Franco and Penn. Both great films, completely different, but right in the spot they deserve. Both strong leads fight for change, and while one uses politics the other uses force. Which works better?

Brotherhood of war

19. Taegukgi: Brotherhood of war – A war film that explores both the horrors of war and the reasons for fighting for one side of the other. It’s exploration of brain wash in the army resonates everywhere, and its touching, tragic and worst of all forlorn. In a time when people in North Korea and South Korea want peace between the two states, this movie hit a home run and touched everyone’s hearts along the way.

18. Princesas (Princesses): The least known film on this list is also one of the most humane explorations of street life. The story follows two prostitutes in Spain as they deal with family, their job, and love in a city where stigma doesn’t even begin to describe their status. Sexuality is not explored because it is not important – it’s keeping the dream of a better life alive. Will make you cry and be hopeful of a better tomorrow.

17. Borat: Hilarious. Obscene. Crude. Yet satirizes people in a way that has never been done before. Sasha Baron Cohen portrays people as racist, xenophobic and homophobic in an extremely comical manner. In comparison to Bruno, it has more of a plot and it came out of nowhere to shake the world. Proof that there is no such thing as bad publicity (proof #2: Antichrist… although publicity made people watch it, which should not have happened because the film sucked)

Sexy time

16. The barbarian Invasions – A french Canadian film that is both touching and beautifully shot. The dialogue is quick and witty, the movie never loses its pace, but more importantly it makes us realize how family and death can change a person into something he (or she) never imagined – and neither did we. The story sounds familiar, but it’s not. Arcand presents his character’s actions under scrutinizing light so we judge them, and in the process comprehend and like them.  Also judges the whole socialized medical system in Canada – making a bigger impact in Sicko in their respective countries. And you thought Michael Moore knew how to criticize people, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Also recommend Jesus of Montreal.

Al gore and his world

15. An inconvenient truth – A documentary that impacted people and reached millions. After this film people started actually worrying about global warming, and began turning off their lights and driving hybrid cars. Publicity for “green” products became an asset, and Al Gore won more respect than when he was running for president. Smart, sophisticated, and it shows the impact that a film can have on people. Many films like it followed (the 11th hour), but this was the predecessor and the best. It even won Gore a Nobel prize. A well deserved one in contrast to the last one given…. cough cough.

14. Inglorious Basterds – Tarantino kills Hitler, makes us fall in love with movies again, and doubt history books. Simply put: this movie is Awesome. If you’ve seen it, you know why. If you haven’t, you’re missing out.

13. Almost famous – I almost forgot about this movie because it came out in the year 2000. Nostalgic yet not, this movie makes us appreciate our own time and makes us realize how rock and roll came to be through the eyes of a young journalist falling for a peace and love pseudo hippie called Kate Hudson in her best role (which is sad, not a good thing). Perfect tone and pace, the performances make this movie worthwhile and a ride to remember. Viva rock and roll.

Come back tomorrow for the full list

A buzz began to generate late yesterday evening… proceeded only by a press release from Goldenboy’s LA highrise, News surfaced that issues arose at the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiation table.  Not surprising, considering never before in the history of boxing (even in the era of Don King & Ali) has there ever been a fight that featured the participation of so many “bosses” (the Mayweather crew aka “The Unbeatables,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum, “The Coach” Freddy Roach, ”The Monopoly” that is Goldenboy Promotions… and of course “King” Pacquioa).  It cannot go unmentioned however that up until yesterday, all of the crews managed to be civil… there was no trespassing on enemy turf, and the only bullets dislodged were from a collar microphone on HBO’s “Joe Buck Live“.  Dallas stadium was forced to withdraw its bid to host the event, reservation books along the strip began to fill-up, and MGM was quietly celebrating the anticipation of cash & dividends that could be mistaken for another Obama stimulus!  All of this of course, was before yesterday… as ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported late last night and later update  this morning on Sports Center….THE FIGHT IS OFF….. for now.

Last night, I began posting reports & updates indicating that Team Mayweather was requesting Olympic style testing for their upcoming fight, which would subject both fighters to “24/7″ urine and blood sampling.  Floyd Mayweather’s camp suggested this level of enhanced testing, so as expected he’s accepting to these terms; and to be perfectly honest, I think the sport should implement a stronger, international, ”cross-commission” anti-doping policy as opposed to a “state-to-state” policy, considering the developments we’ve seen in Major League Baseball, the NFL, Olympic Track & Field, and Cycling.  Perhaps the testing request is a bit of gamesmanship, and maybe its even a  bit arrogant to force this upon the 7-division, pound-for-pound “Boss” of boxing.  But with so much money on the line, where $10 Million (yes, $10 Million) is reportedly per-pound fee for coming in over the 147 pound weight limit… it seems a bit silly that a fighter would object to a few pricks in the arm.

Just to be clear, I can understand PacMan’s issue with “24/7″ testing, which could even be conducted in the middle of the night the day before the fight (if necessary).  He’s agreed to testing prior to training camp, and immediately following the fight.  Also, it should be highlighted that although there have been some doping allegations against Manny Pacquioa (primarily from Floyd Mayweather Sr., who finds Manny’s ability to come up in weight and maintain his power, speed, and strength an impossible feat without the assistance of performance enhancers), Pacquiao has never failed a drug test.  And so to be proclaimed the King of Welterweights, and to now have an unfamiliar testing system forced upon you,  is a bit unreasonable.

But, that’s their issue…  The fans don’t care about Manny being superstitious, nor do they care about Mayweather Sr.’s suspicions.  In an era of sports where we’ve seen athletes test positive for all sorts of performance enhancers (from Manny’s name-sake who now plays ball with the Dodgers, to Alex Rodriguez who was celebrated this past fall for his post-season swing); it doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask for more stringent testing.  Furthermore, in a sport as violent as boxing (where battery and blood is what ‘draws’ fans to the arena) a simple ‘blood-draw’ every few weeks over the course of 4 months doesn’t seem like a big deal!!

But of course, “why change the rules now!?”  PacMan is willing to comply, but not within the 30-window where training & prep-work are intensified; an understandable considering it would become a distraction for a fighter with a superstitious phobia of needles.  Fact is, these are Mayweather’s rules, and not the Nevada State Athletic Commissions’.

…But for a Boss who has built is reputation of invincibility on the basis that he has no physical weakness, could this inhibition be the first sign of a mental leak; that he would permit a $35-40 Million payday and perhaps the biggest fight in the history of boxing to sink because of a needle?  Can his fans legitimately believe that there isn’t some sort of underlying issue, and that the same fighter who has made a career out of draining “B-positive” from his opponents is just suffering from a mental phobia of pre-fight puncture wounds?  In a recession, can folks believe that anyone in their right mind would be willing to walk away from that kind of bank-roll because of a medical superstition?  When guys like Lance, Lebron, Kobe, & Michael Phelps have all gone through this type of testing, is it that terribly unreasonable to suggest both guys subject themselves to what ’should be’ the standard in terms of testing in all sports?

For now, we’ll all just have to wait and see wha the bosses decide… Where’s Jack Nicholson when u need ‘em.

To be continued…
  
T.J. Breeden
www.iblmedia.com
 

 I’ve always enjoyed making lists, so this is the first of many to come.  I’ve hardly seen all of the films I would like to that were released over the last ten years, but as of now this is where my top 10 stands.  Feel free to comment with your own list.

1.  THERE WILL BE BLOOD

2.  SPIRITED AWAY

3.  THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY

4.  THE BEST OF YOUTH

 5.  AMELIE

6.  DANCER IN THE DARK

7.  THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE

8.  THE DEPARTED

9.  THE DARK KNIGHT

10.  4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS

Honorable mention:  The Room (One of the most enjoyably bad movies I’ve ever seen)

Starting today and continuing through New Year’s Eve, Something Offensive will be unveiling its official TOP 50 MOVIES OF THE DECADE list.  (Referring to the 2000s here, McFly.)  We’ll provide our brief, individual explanations for each selection as they’re posted.  Readers are encouraged to comment on the films, ask questions about why we chose what we did or ask questions about the films themselves, and finally, to offer up their own suggestions for great films released these last 10 years.  And once we’ve revealed our five favorite stories of The Oughts, we’ll post the entire list for your perusal.

The list was composed by way of an overly complex voting process not even Taos or I comprehend.  All we know for sure is that these are movies we endorse  with hooker moneys.

Before we break any cineastes’ hearts, know it skews more toward populist fare.  Also:  all foreign films require subtitles + the original language audio track. Don’t even bother if you’re unwilling to go this route.  We’re linking a trailer with each entry; be forgiving of the non-American ones as their international trailers are often terrible.  One final caveat:  the list was conceived and completed prior to Avatar.  Cameron’s pic is a stunning experience that should be seen by everyone, but it simply couldn’t be included at this time.  But fret not.  After the holiday cheer begins to subside, there’ll be a subsequent list featuring the 3-D Na’vi and other excellent works that didn’t make this first cut for whichever of a variety of mysterious reasons.

So then, let us begin…

—

(trailer)

David: I think what makes Assassination so powerful is all that it suggests.  Poetry in pictures and song, of menace and tragedy.  Grueling suspense wrapped up tightly in the hungry stares of its distressingly rummaging actors.  Though its pace and narration may seem double-edged, the presentation nevertheless lingers cautiously, treading through a memory haunted and forgotten.

Taos: A delectable character study. Enhanced significantly by Nick Cave’s enchanting soundtrack. Do I need to mention Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt too???

—

(trailer)

Taos: Probably more symbolic of a younger psyche. Still, its impact on my quarter-life self is more than enough to receive a nod. One of my favorite non-scored soundtracks.

David: I think Taos and I are in agreement here. While the film has and continues to endure a not fully warranted backlash (I’m guessing thanks to the pandering, middling tide of Searchlight-esque labels arguably setting back the American independent movement), it has its obvious limitations. But placing all the bullshit aside, Garden State spoke to me at just the right moment in my life.  It sent me looking for better movies and considering a career making them, too.  I am left grateful.  Also:  Natalie Portman!  Natalie Portman, Natalie Portman, Natalie Portman.
…
Natalie Portman.

—

(trailer)

David: The discovery of Park Chan-wook, transitioning here from a skilled filmmaker into a full-blown artist.  (Does that sound cheap?  Forgive me.)  The frame is knicked in spots; a regrettable flaw fleetingly mars its end.  But Park finds, or more accurately, shares with us for the first time his voice beyond an EP.  Shocking to most, the director excavates something primal, both within us and in our classical literary roots.  And yet something new protrudes.  Old versus new, East/West, comedy/tragedy, right & wrong–therein lies Park’s cunning: the tension of conflicts.

Taos: Just your straight-up revenge fare here. Severely overshadowed by Oldboy, and I find that good.

—

(trailer)

Taos: This is what Scorsese won on? Aside from Jack’s overacting, it was good, but Aviator was so much more deserving.

David: Scorcese and writer William Monahan make fresh an already exciting concept in redrawing The Departed’s appreciable if less knowing predecessor (Infernal Affairs; but let’s not distract ourselves with a trite Venn diagram dispute).  I do think its irreverence ultimately gets in the way of its staying power, but Scorcese and crew’s execution is formidable.  More movies should feature Vera Farmiga.

—

(trailer)

David: My second Hirokazu (following the delightful After Life), the director approaches his material with honest restraint while still finding wonder in life’s most overlooked of places.  Along with the effort of a terrific child cast, more immediately, Nobody Knows conveys a human quality often forgotten in the politics of adulthood, something that will deeply affect those with little ones close to their hearts.

Taos: I too do not know. Have not seen it.

—

Be sure to come back tomorrow to check out part 2!

Yeah, I have actually seen some of the flicks on this ‘Top 10′ list!

Adventureland.  See this. Very good.  And not just for the view of KStew’s white bikini-clad butt (although the Frug would beg to differ – see it JUST for that! lol he was duly impressed and is now a big fan! of her butt  lol) Seriously a good movie. See it for the 80s fest that it is.  And the Stew is very good…

500 Days of Summer.  Actually made Joseph Gordan-Levitt looks appealing! (I find him very simian-like but he is ADORABLE in this) and Zooey Deschanel is always gorgeous and fresh and all the good things that go with that.  The Frug thought it was another painful rom-com but I liked it.

I Love You, Man.  I love YOU, Paul Rudd.

Want to See:

Up in the Air. Clooney, I still dig your old ass. And I love that you aren’t starring in another love-fest w/your Rat Pack/Ocean’s buddies.  AND, that you are paired with an age-appropriate love interest)…Vera Farmiga…from Leo Di’s The Departed…gorgeous. And, Anna Kendrick (Jessica from Twilight!) is in this AND got great reviews and is nominated for a Golden Globe and a SAG award. OMG!

The Girlfriend Experience.  Looks like slutty goodness.

Can’t See:

Inglorious Basterds. A) the spelling of the word bastErd irritates me. B) Brad Pitt. He irritates me.

Food Inc. I do NOT want to know…I just don’t.

Adventureland, Jesse Eisenberg, … | 10 Best Films of 2009: Owen Gleiberman’s Picks | Photo 1 of 16 | EW.com.

I can’t believe it is the end of the 2000’s.  In fact, it didn’t really hit me until I started seeing all sorts of lists posted online– “Best Books of the Decade,” “Most Influential Leaders of the Decade,” “Worst Hair Styles of the Decade,” “Biggest Celebrity Nudity Scandals of the Decade,” you know.

So, to honor this fabulous decade, I’ve decided to compile a list of the Top 10 Films of the Decade… but since I’m so indecisive, it ended up being the Top 10 Films of the Decade……. With 12 Honorable Mentions.

The ranking is a combination of how influential the film was and also how much I like it.  Really, all of them deserve to be #1, but for the sake of this blog, I’ve ranked them… Here we go:

10.  Shrek

2001, Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

9.  No Country For Old Men

2007, Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Winner of 4 Academy Awards: Best Directing, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem), Best Adapted Screenplay

8.  Crash

2004, Directed by Paul Haggis, Winner of 3 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay

7.  WALL-E

2008, Directed by Andrew Stanton, Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

6.  Love Actually

2003, Directed by Richard Curtis, Nominated for 2 Golden Globes

5.  Hotel Rwanda

2004, Directed by Terry George, Nominated for 3 Academy Awards

4.  Ocean’s Eleven

2001, Directed by Steven Soderbergh

3.  Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

2003, Directed by Gore Verbinski, Nominated for 5 Academy Awards

2.  Slumdog Millionaire

2008, Directed by Danny Boyle, Winner of 8 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song and Best Adapted Screenplay; Also nominated for another Best Original Song and Best Sound Editing

1.  Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Won 4 Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Make Up, Best Original Score; Nominated for 13 Academy Awards in total

The Two Towers (2002), Won 2 Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects, Nominated for 6 Academy Awards in total

The Return of the King (2003), Won 11 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Make Up, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing

In total: Won 17 Academy Awards & Nominated for 19 More

Directed by Peter Jackson

Unfortunately, WordPress requires that more than a certain number of pictures be put in a gallery… so I can’t post them after each title.  But you get the idea.

Honorable Mentions (Alphabetically)

Atonement, 2007

Children of Men, 2006

The Constant Gardener, 2005

The Dark Knight, 2008

The Departed, 2006

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004

The Fountain, 2006

El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth), 2006

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), 2006

The Prestige, 2006

Signs, 2002

Y Tú Mamá También, 2001

So…………  If I hosted an award show for the decade, these would be the winners, based on how many times they appear in the 22 Aforementioned Films:

Best Director: Peter Jackson (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, Return of the King)

Runner-Up Best Directors: [Tie] Christopher Nolan (The Prestige and The Dark Knight) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men and Y Tú Mamá También)

Best Cinematographer: [Tie] Roger Deakins (No Country for Old Men and WALL-E) and Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men and Y Tú Mamá También)

Best Actor: Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Ocean’s Eleven, Crash)

Runner-Up Best Actor: Michael Caine (The Prestige, Children of Men, The Dark Knight)

Best Actress: Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually, Atonement)

Runner-Up Best Actress: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Fountain)

Of course… this isn’t necessarily who I would pick… it is just based on the Top 10/12 Lists.

That’s all for now…. check back later this week for more “Best _____ of the Decade Lists!”

This past decade in film was kind of underwhelming, but through all the fat, I’ve managed to pick my 20 favorite.  I have to admit, most of the selections here I picked from my DVD collection, but that only makes sense, because why else would I buy them?  So, this isn’t Ebert’s list, or the ghost of Siskel’s….this is mine.  Who the hell am I?  Thanks for asking…

I’d also like to point out that you won’t see one selection from 2009.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been to the movies much this year, so I have failed to see some “possible choices” like Inglorious Basterds or District 9. I did see Star Trek however, and thought it was actually kind of awesome…

Like my 20 Favorite Albums… post, I’m using the one film per director rule.  I was very close to including Grindhouse on the list, but at the last minute remembered Kill Bill.  I also chose not to put Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny on the list since Tenacious D got the # 1 spot on albums.  It is one my favorites though.

So, without further distraction, here’s the list of my 20 favorites films that came out between 2000-2009: (SPOILERS AHEAD)

20.  Land of the Dead (2005)

Land of the Dead is living dead mastermind George A. Romero’s big budget zombie-fest.  There were a few problems with the film, and one was the story, which just wasn’t as interesting as the survival tales of Romero’s previous three Dead films (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead in case you were living under a rock pillow).  Why does it make my top 20?  Because it’s a big budget Romero zombie flick!  Slightly better than his 2007 effort Diary of the Dead (which got lost in its editing), Land…brings to the table smarter zombies, a nefarious villain in Dennis Hopper, and Dead Reckoning, a military transport turned weapon.  It also had the courtesy of not being too cheesy or over the top (well, for a zombie film), unlike this decade’s other zombie contenders, Dawn of the Dead (Remake) and Zombieland.  Land also featured Romero’s trademark satire; this time a take on the zombie apocalypse in a post 911-world.

19.  Rescue Dawn (2006)

Rescue Dawn kind of came out of nowhere;  a war film with a big star (Christian Bale) that didn’t really have a large budget or release.  It’s not so much a war film as it is survival, taking place in the jungles of a war-torn Vietnam.  Then, there are the camp scenes, where regular comedic-actor Steve Zahn steals the show as a frantic POW.

The movie is elevated by its cinematography; its natural force pulls you into the setting.  The characters do the rest.  And, when the film ends and the main character is rescued, it makes it that much better, because you were along for the experience.  And that makes it kind of uplifting.

18.  The School of Rock (2003)

Quite possibly Jack Black’s finest moment in film, The School of Rock is a funny and touching movie that celebrates the best of three worlds:  the children’s film, comedy and rock and roll.  All of the characters shine (especially the kids) and Jack Black is a force to be reckoned with as the maestro; teacher by day, slacker by night.  Ultimately, the children change him, and he changes the children, and it’s a big, fat, sappy hug at the end.  Oh, but what a hug!

17. Kill Bill Vol. 1/2 (2003/2004)

Ok, I know I’m cheating here (and I will later on, too – spoiler alert), but I’m going to count the Kill Bill films as one selection.  One cannot exist without the other.  If Kill Bill Vol. 1 was a standalone film, then there would be many questions left unanswered.  If Kill Bill Vol. 2 was standalone, there would be many questions…

Quentin Tarantino’s revenge-epic is many different things; an homage to 1970’s Asian and grindhouse cinema, a mash-up of styles (split screen, animation, music, violence, color, etc.) and a weird sense of feminism.  Ok, so maybe Tarantino isn’t a feminist the same Joss Whedon is, but  it would be remiss to deny that aspect.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 kicked ass both times I saw it in theaters and is just an explosive, exciting picture.  Kill Bill Vol. 2 is a little more low-key, a little more laid-back, but full of intense scenes (coffin, anyone?) that lead up to Kiddo killing Bill.  (SPOILER ALERT:  She kills Bill.  But, it’s kind of underwhelming).

16.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Eternal Sunshine…is the kind of film that sticks with you for days after watching.  It also deserves multiple viewings.  It’s brilliantly written by Charlie Kaufman, and directed by Michel Gondry, and their talent together is worthy of the Kaufman/Jonez team (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation).  Kaufman and Gondry also worked on Human Nature together, another amazing slice of cinema.

Everything is top notch here, from Gondry’s directing style, to the soundtrack selection and most of all, the acting.  Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson and Kirsten Dunst all make the story come to life and emerge as believable.

Eternal Sunshine…isn’t worth explaining, it’s worth seeing.  Go see it now, if you haven’t.  You won’t forget it.  Your mind won’t let you.

15.  Casino Royale (2006)

Casino Royale pumped new blood into the struggling Bond franchise and woke it up like a shot of adrenalin to the heart.  Daniel Craig’s Bond was a different kind of Bond, a more vulnerable Bond.  This made for an interesting story.  There was also the romantic tension, the tension of the card game, and the stunning set pieces.  Also, the explosive action sequences.  The opening chase scene has to be one of the best action sequences of the last ten years, if not more.  Some short-changed this movie, but that’s because they’re afraid of change.  Open your mind and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

14.  The Dark Knight (2008)

There’s not much to say about The Dark Knight that hasn’t been said already.  Heath Ledger’s performance is worth the price of admission.  There’s also Aaron Eckhart, who was overshadowed by Ledger, but still pulled off a worthy performance, full of sadness and tragedy.  The story and theme are equally interesting, and the set pieces make Gotham come alive.  Batman Begins changed what a superhero movie could be in terms of story and structure, but The Dark Knight changed them in terms of moral ambiguity and character.  I hope Nolan and co. do make another Batman film, but where can they go from here?

Of course the backlash is, we’ve now got legions of fanboys asking “Why so serious?”.  Well, if there’s one thing I never do, it’s let the fans get in the way of the product (I’m looking at you Star Trek franchise).  I also read comic books.  Do the 40-year-old virgins of the world turn me away from comic books?  Hm….excellent segue into # 13…

13.  The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

The 40 Year Old Virgin jump started the careers of three major forces in modern comedy:  Steve Carrell, Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow, turning them from cult status (Freaks and Geeks, The Daily Show) to box office champions.  The movie’s also hilarious; and even with all of the dick jokes, there’s an underlying theme of love.  Who does Steve Carell’s character ultimately lose his virginity to?  Not the drunk chick or the skank, but the lady he loves.

12.  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

In my opinion, the best Western to come out this past decade was The Assassination…  Not to say it was the only good one – The Proposition was decent (Nick Cave wrote that one, he did the score to Assassination), Appaloosa had its moments, and the remake of 3:10 to Yuma was actually a pretty good film, but The Assassination had everything going for it:  brilliant script, score, cinematography, direction, set pieces and acting.  And I refer not only to Brad Pitt (Jesse James), but also to Casey Affleck (Robert Ford) who proves he has the acting chops in the Affleck family.  It’s a tragic tale about envy and legacy, and Jesus Christ!…what a beautiful film!

11.  No Country For Old Men (2007)

This was a Coen brothers film?  Where are the Coen trademarks like quirky characters and dialogue, or larger-than-life situations?  No Country was a change of pace for the Coens (probably most similar to their debut film – the thriller Blood Simple) in more than one way.  It was the first of their films to be based on a novel (yeah O Brother, Where Art Thou was based on Homer, but really more inspired than based).  There wasn’t an emphasis on score (a minimal score reminiscent of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “The Body”).  It was also mindblowingly intense…a real thriller with a truly evil villain.  Some of the film seemed a bit confusing (like Josh Brolin’s offscreen demise), but what it lacked in coherency, it made up for in suspense.

10.  Shaun of the Dead (2004)

When I first saw Shaun of the Dead during its inital U.S.-theater run, I have to admit I was pretty let down.  I had read some over-hyped reviews on a film forum I frequented (try saying that one, three times fast:  Film Forum I Frequented) and I guess I was expecting a different kind of zombie-comedy; one that I think could be compared to Zombieland. I wasn’t expecting a great movie…just a gory film with jokes.  During that first viewing, I didn’t see the greatness of it…it just all felt mediocre.

A year or so later, K.’s mother lent us Spaced (British comedy series featuring writer/actor Simon Pegg, actor Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead), and after falling in love with that show, I first saw the genius of Shaun of the Dead.   I re-watched it, and saw a completely different film.  The creators (Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright) love their zombie films (and their action films according to 2007’s Hot Fuzz), but they also love a good story with real emotion.  It wasn’t just a “romantic-comedy-zombie-flick”, it was a film that had zombies in it but also characters going through emotional turmoil; and not only because of the zombie apocalypse, but because of their “real world” despair such as relationship trouble.  Oh, and the zombies don’t run…always a plus in my hypothetical book.

9.  The Departed (2005)

More than just a long “Gimme Shelter” music video, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is a moving web of lies, that wraps you in with its deceit and depravity.  Most of the characters are first class scumbags only in it for themselves, and only a minimal few prove otherwise by the end of the film.  But, these liars and con artists (not literally) pull us into their world and we can’t help but watch.  What will Frank Costello aka Jack Nicholson (played by Jack Nicholson) do next?  How deep will Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) go?  Where does Colin Sullivan’s (Matt Damon) loyalty belong?  What the fuck is up with Dignam (Mark Wahlberg)?  The actors bring the characters to life and into the Boston P.D., and the Boston mob, and the city itself.  It’s a Scorsese classic (already) and earned the filmmaker the Oscar he so rightfully deserved (in the past for better films).  But, did he really need the Oscar?  Of course not.  No award (at least in the entertainment business) can vindicate a filmmaker’s talent.  The filmmaker has to prove this with their movie, which Scorsese has done countless times.  Who cares if he gets a shiny, naked man statue?

8.  Mulholland Dr. (2001)

David Lynch is a rare sort of filmmaker.  He seems to only make movies for himself (self-indulgent?), but they always end up connecting with an audience (some more than others).  No matter how strange or bizarre the ride may get, you usually want to stay and see it out until the end.  Something in his work resonates, and stays buried inside your subconscious.  They’re like paintings.

Mulholland Dr. is like a bright, neon-lit painting, but scattered about are very dark and mysterious blotches.  It’s up to us, the viewer to connect the dots, to scratch at the surface and understand ourselves what the film means.  As stated before, like a painting.  There’s no dictation of what the film means.  To some people, this is an experience; to others, a  chore.

On the surface, Mulholland Dr. is about a young actress-to-be moving to Hollywood, who coincidentally meets a strange woman with amnesia.  It takes a dive into a dark world with hitmen, strange cowboys, freaky midnight magic shows, dumpster monsters and two star-crossed lovers in tangle.  About 3/4 into the movie, it makes a sudden and drastic shift, and plays with our senses, as characters turn to be not who we thought they were.  It’s a weird, wild ride, but in the end, worth for the viewing experience alone.  It’s also worth multiple re-watchs, so you can figure your own theory in your head.  It’s not homework, it’s thinking, and that’s just as important as diet and exercise.

7.  Wall-E (2008)

Who else but Pixar could make you feel for a trash compactor?  Fuckin’ no one else is the correct answer.  Since Toy Story (another brilliant film!), Pixar has been on the forefront of modern animation – but not just in terms of style, technique and presentation, but story!  They know how to tell a good story.  They don’t make “children’s films”, but films for people…we can all relate to the trash-compactor robot.  It displays human emotion:  loneliness, sadness and then love, and finally triumph.  If for some reason you’re not watching Pixar films because you think they’re “for kids”, then you, sir or ma’am, are an idiot (as Dwight would say)!  Do yourself a favor and pick one up (Toy Story or Wall-E will do just fine).

6.  Children of Men (2006)

Children of Men took the “dystopian-future” Sci-Fi subgenre and turned it on its head, creating a future so bleak, mankind was well on its way to extinction.  The cinematography takes you there, which make the intense “action sequences”  seem too real.  There’s also that extended single shot at the end which raises the level of fiction authenticity to downright terrifying.  In the end, however, a glimmer of hope is revealed and all could be right in the world again.  Like many films on this list, it’s full of despair, but there’s that guiding light of hope.  And isn’t that part of human nature? Times are hard, economically and ecologically, but we hang on to hope, for a better day, better month, better year.

5.  Zodiac (2007)

David Fincher’s Zodiac is an intense thriller full of intrigue, but there’s no real ending, no killer caught, no problem solved…and this is how it is in real life.  The Zodiac was never caught.  There were suspects, but nothing ever proven.  The movie doesn’t try to answer the question of “who was the Zodiac” (although it points a stiff finger at one particular suspect), but instead gives us a glimpse inside the frantic world of ambitious journalists and misconstrued cops.  There’s also the cartoonist working for the paper who would become one of the leading Zodiac experts.  We see how the Zodiac Killer ruined his life, without ever laying a finger.  The movie exists within its own universe and story, and us, the audience, are in for the ride.  It’s one that’s not necessarily satisfying, at first, anyway, but look further, and you’ll see Fincher hit all of the chords:  cinematography, score, writing, directing…all constructed in such a classy way, that Zodiac rises above all other “serial killer flicks” and becomes a masterpiece.  The viewer gets sucked into the warped story and lives there, probably their whole life.

4.  Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Like any good fantasy, Pan’s Labyrinth is escapism at its core; a little girl lost in a fairytale that brings her purpose and joy because her real life is too painful to bear without it.  Her mother is sick, she has a wicked stepfather (in the form of a brutal Spanish military captain), and so the world of the labyrinth she escapes to is a world worth living, where she is important; a princess in fact.  And even though the “fantasy world” has its share of danger (she has to go through many deadly obstacles to prove she is the princess), it’s still a welcome alternative to the terrible truth.

The movie ends with Ofelia, our princess, dying at the hands of her stepfather, but we see her in her after-life, claiming the throne of princess along with her biological father and mother (who passed on earlier in the film).  Did this really happen in the world of the movie, or were the labyrinth, the faun, the pale man all figments of her imagination?  It’s up in the air.  Was it just her death that brought her happiness, or was she truly reunited with her parents as the royal family of the underworld?  A great fantasy, Pan’s Labyrinth plays with our emotions and never lets up.

3.  Serenity (2005)

So, when Joss Whedon’s Sci-Fi/Western series Firefly got cancelled by Fox, the world pretty much died.  Okay, sorry for the dramatics…I meant the world in Firefly died.  A vast world that should have been explored throughly through many seasons.  It only got one.  It’s like it didn’t even have a chance.  Whedon went back to Buffy and Angel (casting Firefly alumni in these shows) and I can only guess forgot about Firefly for the time being.  This was in 2002.  Three years later, a film would come out – Serenity – the big budget, epic Firefly movie!

Serenity is everything you could possibly want in a Firefly movie, and more.  Obviously, all of the great actors/characters are back, but there are also reavers (seen for the first time), River finally finding her full potential, and unexpected Whedon-y deaths.  It all comes in a nice glossy package reminiscent of a summer blockbuster.

Serenity, this time around more sci-fi opera than space western, was a mighty feat in its own right.  Based on the facts above, cancellation and all, Whedon and Co. managed to make a big-budget action/adventure flick.  With help from DVD sales, an Emmy (for Outstanding Visual Effects) and fan support, Serenity came to be, and damn, was it all so worth it.

2.  Almost Famous (2000)

Almost Famous is great for a lot of reasons:  it’s a testament to its time (early 70’s), featuring a classic rock soundtrack and the Led Zeppelinesque fictitious band Stillwater.  There’s also an oddball love triangle-thingy between a 15-year-old rock journalist, a groupie, and Stillwater’s guitarist.  The film is full of memorable scenes such as the impromptu sing-along of “Tiny Dancer” on the tour bus or the unbosoming near-death experience on the airplane between the members of Stillwater.  At the center of it all, the 15-year-old journalist, based on writer/director Cameron Crowe’s own experience as a young journalist for Rolling Stone.  It’s kind of feel-good film, a comedy/drama, but it really shouldn’t be classified.  It’s simply a story with heart that transcends any need for genre labeling.

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King) (2001-2003)

Remember when I said I’d cheat again?  Well, I saved it for # 1.  However, counting The Lord of the Rings trilogy as one pick seemed logical.  Yes, they are three separate films, but all part of the same story.  That’s why it’s acceptable, for me at least, to condense all three down to the same selection.

The Lord of the Rings were to the 00’s as Star Wars were to the 70’s; powerhouses in the fantasy genre.  They were both epic trilogies that struck gold at the box office.  Additionally, there’s the “quest” or “hero’s journey”, Luke Skywalker and his quest to become a Jedi and defeat the Galactic Empire, or Frodo and his quest to rid the ring and save Middle-earth.

There’s no denying the technical skill put into LOTR, such as the set pieces, costumes and action sequences.  It’s no wonder why Peter Jackson monopolized the 2003 Academy Awards.  Yet, there’s a wonderful journey as well, based  on the books written by J. R. R. Tolkien.  Sidebar:  Led Zeppelin used to sing about LOTR.

LOTR also has a slew of great characters; from wizards, elves, hobbits, orcs, humans and all.  Peter Jackson assembled the ultimate cast (and crew for CGI) to bring Tolkien’s characters to life.

LOTR gets my pick for favorite film of the past decade because it happens to surpass my expectation of what a movie can be.  There’s an epic journey at the heart, massive action and battle scenes, and the revelation that this is larger-than-life.  LOTR reminds me of why movies were made in the first place…to escape.  LOTR is among the best when it comes to storytelling as escapism.  It’s also an achievement in film, and rightfully so, for all of the heart and soul obviously put into this “labor of love”.  Maybe that’s why audiences responded to it.  Or maybe it was only the “fight scenes”?

A big thanks to the always-delightful Jenni for requesting this movie! And letting me borrow the special edition on DVD! And for being so generous with her time! Thanks for just being Jenni!

Martin Scorcese has made an entire mainstream career out of the crime drama. The life of the criminal is something that has taken a firm grip in his imagination for the past 40 years in the business. From Italian mobsters to turn of the century Irish gang members to Italian mobsters to psychotic rapists to Italian mobsters, Scorcese has examined the ne’er-do-well and put his methods into the public consciousness for generations to come.  Scorcese’s most recent crime film, The Departed, is another classic that deserves to live atop the glittering, gleaming mountain of public adoration that his other movies inhabit. It’s an intense, intricate examination of identity in a cat-and-mouse struggle that does not let up for more than a moment.

Basically a remake of Infernal Affairs, a blazing Asian crime film made in ‘02, The Departed changes the setting from Hong Kong to Boston and adds a few Scorcesian twists. Colin Sullivan, growing up in the mean streets of Boston, was always protected by local mob boss Frank Costello. Costello treated him like a father, the way he did with many young men in the neighborhood, grooming them for service in his syndicate. Costello placed so much faith in him that he trained Sullivan to be his mole in the police, so that he would keep tabs on all the cops poking in on his business. Sullivan has done all that has been asked of him by Costello, who he sees as something of a father figure, and it has been easy for him to play both sides. Unfortunately for him, the police have begun to suspect a mole is in their midst, so they send out one of their own. William Costigan, a young cop from a poor Irish Catholic family, is asked to pose as a criminal, gain entry into Costello’s inner circle, and help bring him down. Both of them infiltrate into their assigned organizations, but they both end up arousing suspicions about spies, so they are essentially sent on missions looking for themselves (!!!). Someone has to sniff out someone, though, so it becomes a battle between the two moles to reveal each other before it’s too late. Who will prevail? And how many lives will be lost in the process?

What a captivating concept!!! The Departed takes the innate suspence of lies and recrimination and uses it against us as we are helpless against the drama of it all. Scorcese keeps us rapt in attention as we mysteriously cheer for the sustaining of a lie. Costigan’s situation is such a lose-lose. Much like Nick Nolte’s character from Mother Night, his identity is basically in the hands of one man. Nobody else knows he is undercover, so he has every possibility of being arrested, which would be bad because Sullivan is a police officer!!! It’s very intense, but we are also taken in a bit by the family-man nature of Sullivan. Besides dropping some info here and there to Costello, he’s not a serial killer or some kind of madman. He’s just a man with ties who is trying to cover his ass and his buddy Costello’s ass while he works his sweet desk job. It’s incredibly well-written, and I found myself really involved with these characters and their confusing lives.

Scorcese did not make a shot-for-shot remake by any means. He adds the flair of a director still wanting to try something new. He and his constant cinematographer, Michael Ballhaus, creates a Boston that is dirty, frightening, and hopeless. It’s also the most intriguing portrait of the city I have ever seen, so what does that say for the city itself, I wonder… Either way, these characters live in a rough and tumble city, so everybody in this town seems to be as tough as nails. The way they’re shot, the way they talk, and the way they seem to constantly skirt death, all seem to suggest an outward toughness that is only equaled by their hidden, vulnerable interiors. Scorcese really outdid himself here, and while there’s not much to mull over, it doesn’t seem to give us much time to think anyway, so it makes for a good, quality drama that has a lot of stylistic tones to keep us invested.

The cast is superb, as far as big-name Hollywood goes. Jack Nicholson, although somewhat of a Red Herring as far as the story goes, steals the show as Frank Costello. He chews so much scenery I’m surprised he didn’t rip a hole in Boston’s side! His character is so crass and loud and, at times, ridiculous, that it’s like he’s from a different movie. Costello is that character who doesn’t give a fuck anymore because he’s old, but he’d rather die than let anyone disrespect him, so he randomly becomes super-serious and rather scary on a dime, which I suppose is Jack Nicholson’s specialty. What an exceptional character! I love the two moles, though, as well, Sullivan and Costigan, who are played by Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio respectively. These two are intense! They both play essentially the same character under different circumstances, but it’s really interesting how much more you care about DiCaprio’s Costigan despite their similarities. Costigan has it rough, having to pretend to be a street tough and not having much means of fighting back against Sullivan’s trickery. But Sullivan does have the mental anguish to contend with, the nagging sensation that what he’s doing is wrong and that Costello is just using him. Both actors do a fine job, and I’m glad they received the attention they did at the Academy Awards. There are a few good cameos, but my favorite two are Vera Farmiga, whose small role as a psychiatrist who is romantically linked to both moles is the emotional rock of this rough-and-tumble crime saga. She again impresses, just like she did in the shameful horror film Orphan, and makes me connect to this story even more. Mark Wahlberg plays Dignam, one of the only cops aware of Costigan’s identity, and a real bad-ass. No more Mr. Nice Guy here! Marky Mark is willing to fuck some stuff up to get the info he needs and the respect he deserves. Any in-fighting between the cops usually involves him being one step away from pounding someone. He’s great, and I particularly enjoyed his fateful exchange with an FBI goon asking about his contacts, who happens to be his brother, Robert Wahlberg:

Agent Lazio: Do you have anyone in with Costello presently?

Dignam: Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself.

Great stuff!!!!!!

The Departed is a great crime flick about secrets, and how they can be used as a weapon. There are some great performances, some amazing camera work, a decent soundtrack, and some of the best (and at times funniest) dialog in mainstream Hollywood of the decade. In time, it will be a classic, in the vein of Scorcese’s other gems. But for now, it’s a movie that needs to be watched again and again for its amazing quality and succinct storyline. I give The Departed 9 1/2 blind moles out of 10. A high recommendation!

Stay with me, folks, as I continue to write through the night! Later on, I’ll have a review of The Royal Tenenbaums for you! Until then!!!

I don’t watch that much TV, and I don’t get out to too many movies (being somewhere just between destitute and surviving), but I do have fingers on the pulse of pop culture and some keen intuition. Here’s my guesses as to how the SAG Awards 2010 are going to go, based on reading the list at the link.

Why Are Award Men Always Nude...

• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for Television: I’ve heard wonderful things about both Mad Men and of Breaking Bad, but as Bryan Cranston’s show doesn’t get nearly the hype of the Jon Hamm one, and he didn’t win it  last year or the year before or the year before that(though nominated thrice). My guess is Jon Hamm, for ignoring him this long.
  
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for Television: I don’t watch any of these shows, but apparently Kyra Sedgwick, Holly Hunter, and Glenn Close are back in the nominations after not winning the year before last. I don’t think they’ll win though, mostly because they’ve only waited two years. My guess is Julianna Margulies, in continuing re-opening the trend (after Sally Field won last year for Brothers and Sisters): doctors and mobsters won the two years before the family drama interruption -  the next logical progression is bringing it back with lawyers.
• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Television: This one, in my book, goes to Dexter for bringing John Lithgow onto the cast. Though I haven’t watched this season, I know that Lithgow brings awesomeness to any cast he’s in.
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for Television: This one goes to Christina Applegate, mostly for the cancer thing and because Tina Fey won the last two years. 
  
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Television: I’m thinking Tony Shaloub because Monk has had its series finale and Alec Baldwin took it for the past three years.
• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Television: 30 Rock took it last year and The Office won for two years in a row before that. In my head they’ll give it to 30 Rock to continue the trend and for snubbing them in the other awards.
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Jeremy Irons and Kevin Kline are both back on the list, each taking one in the past three years (Paul Giamati is sorely missing). In my mind this only leaves Tom Wilkinson, because I think the running’s slim for Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Kevin Bacon.
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Sigourney Weaver is my best guess, considering I never even heard of any of these movies/miniseries and she’s only been up for one once before. Drew Barrymore hasn’t seen any noms from SAG, and this should tide her over for a while yet.
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Last year it was Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) before that, and the year before that Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls), so no theme to draw from. Christopher Plummer has been nominated twice before, and he’s not getting any younger, so I think it’s going to him – a decision based on not seeing any of the movies on the list.
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Kate Winslet, Ruby Dee, and Jennifer Hudson won the past three years. If they keep to the trend it’d be Mo’Nique, but something in my gut says they won’t. Nominated previously for The Departed, Vera Farmiga has a good chance, I think.
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Sean Penn, Daniel-Day Lewis and Forest Whitaker took it these three years past; I think it’s up in the air here between George Clooney and Morgan Freeman.
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Years past saw Meryl Streep, Julie Christie, and Helen Mirren getting the award. This year, I think it’s Meryl Streep, because everyone loves her and because (with 77 miscellaneous awards over her career) she hasn’t won enough yet.
• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: This one went to Slumdog Millionaire, No Country for Old Men, and Little Miss Sunshine in the past years. This year, I say it’s heading for Nine, because it’s artsy-fartsy, has singing and dancing, and because it’s not in a single other category, and sometimes you gotta mess with people’s perceptions.

Wow, we made it through this together. Think I’m way off? If you’ve got your own guesses tell me down in the comments, and be sure to include why you think that award’s going where. Tune in to TNT or TBS 8pm on January 23rd, 2010 to find out who, if any of us, are right.

Also, for your perusal, linkage to my sources for past award winners: 2009 , 2008 , 2007

I think I might have a trace of OCD.   I get on these weird kicks sometimes, where I do the same thing at the same time every day for a curiously long period of time.

Usually these kicks are food-related.  For instance, I’ll have the same random burrito from Burrito Brothers– spinach with pinto beans, no sour cream, add cheese– every day for three straight months until someone I work with gets weirded out and forces me to reevaluate.  I can’t help it.  If I try to order something else, I just feel like I’m missing out on what I really wanted.

Other people do that too, right?

Anyway, this latest kick is not a food kick– it’s a YouTube kick.  Every night after work I have to sit down and watch the Uma Thurman/John Travolta twist scene from Pulp Fiction. I watch it two, maybe three times a night.

That Chuck Berry song is perpetually stuck in my head, but if you’re gonna have any song in your head, it might as well be that one.  It’s perfection.

And speaking of perfection, I have another top 5 list for you guys:

Top 5 Crime Movies of All Time

1. Pulp Fiction

2. The Godfather, Part II (the only sequel in history that was better than the original.)

3. Goodfellas

4. The Departed

5. The Usual Suspects

Did I miss any? What’s in your top 5?

This is adapted from an email.

Recently Aram asked a bunch of us to conjure up our “top movies of the decade” list. There was some talk as this project started about whether we were to rank our “Top 10” movies of the decade by the “amount we liked them” criteria or the “how good they were” criteria. Any such list being subjective, I see fleeting differences, but insofar as they exist I’ll leave the second one to Ebert. These are the brain droppings straight from my mind about the movies I liked over the last decade for the reasons I liked them. As you’ll soon understand, the movies are neither in order nor are there only 10 of them, nor are they only movies I like, nor did I list Love, Actually, which I do like. Let’s rock.

1.    Ocean’s Eleven/Casino Royale

Both the first film in a series, both eminently rewatchable, but for almost completely different reasons. I’ve probably seen Ocean’s Eleven more than any other movie this decade; its narcotic qualities have landed it on HBO and TNT, and roped me in, too many times to count. (I mean, we could have counted, but I was probably high a bunch of those times and would have forgotten.) The movie’s long but doesn’t feel that way: it’s like a Clipse album, devoid of excess material to stay on its crackling, stylish pulse. As one set piece flows into another, you (or “I”) flow with it, losing time completely to grasp the narrative with an ending that’s satisfying because it’s known ahead of time. It’s also got the best last shot of a movie in the last 10 years, with a wordless guitar jam playing the heroes off into the sunset… a jam that usually gets pre-empted by TNT flashing right back to the first minute for its second, third, or fourth showing of the day. Some routines are cumbersome; the Ocean’s Eleven recursive loop is wonderful.

Casino Royale is equally narcotic, but in a different way. As Sasha Frere-Jones (yes, I’m really doing this) initially contrasted the Clipse’s terse, waste-not style with Ghostface’s EVERYTHING MUST GO approach in a 2006 review, I’ll do the same here. Casino Royale is long, feels long, and has dizzying highs and painfully monotonous lows. But it works but as a re-invention of the Bond franchise in the Bourne vein, even if its follow-ups are sure to disappoint in comparison. (In our lifetimes, the Bond franchise has had a very running back-like career path with its stars: great first movies, with diminishing results. You can say I wasn’t all that down with Quantum of Solace, maybe because it felt like a tacked-on addendum to CR rather than its own film.) Tapping into Bourne’s badassness, the poker craze (even if it’s peak has passed), insider Bond shit (with the title) and pulling off the Bond-Eva Green combo makes the good times obscure the dull ones. A movie like Star Trek did a great job of combining the strengths of both these films, but I sort of like the tipping to either side that they did, because if I wanted to watch something in the middle, I would never choose Star Trek over…

2.    The Bourne Ultimatum/Supremacy/United 93

The Bourne Ultimatum is the real headliner here, and I think it’s my favorite movie of the decade, by far. (I can hear Marc now: “MATT DAMON!”) I only have one minor quibble with the movie, which I remember every time I watch it but can’t recall now because it concerns a plot point so minor that my attention to it probably reveals the extent of my devotion. Actually, I also think the ending is kind of blah, and it’s still easily my favorite film of the decade.

Here’s where the “it’s a better movie” vs. “I liked it” thing rears its head, because I actually think The Bourne Supremacy might be a better movie. Ultimatum has the payoff, but Supremacy moves the Bourne story from Point A to Point B in such a compelling, brutal, and honest way that it’s the spiritual successor to the brooding The Empire Strikes Back. The difference between the films is that Empire led straight into the weakest of the Star Wars films, whereas the Supremacy moves from the weakest (and I’m grading on a Flozell Adams-sized curve) into the most satisfying. What do the Supremacy and Ultimatum have in common that the Identity does not? They were directed by Paul Greengrass, and it would be pointless to talk about these films without throwing United 93 in here as well. United 93 was the case of a movie that could have so easily been maudlin, disastrous, poorly-executed or you-name-it and wasn’t. The plot known from the very beginning to absolutely everyone (and for that same reason, the movie probably avoided by many people), the movie is pretty damn near a masterpiece. I still prefer the Bourne films, but I’d rank any Greengrass film above pretty much anything anyone does in the action genre—and most other genres.

3.    The Science of Sleep/Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind/Synecdoche, New York*

I don’t need to spill any more virtual ink on Eternal Sunshine. Either you like it or you don’t, and that’s okay. I do. A lot. But I remember when I left The Science of Sleep, I told Ryan, to his surprise, that I preferred it to Eternal Sunshine, and I still do. Everything that Eternal Sunshine does, The Science of Sleep does better. Eternal Sunshine’s effects are impressive and thought-provoking, whereas The Science of Sleep’s are even more bare-knuckled and continuously more visually stunning. Eternal Sunshine is, at heart, about its plot, its metaphysical ruminations, whatever… The Science of Sleep is about grabbing the viewer by the lapels and forcing them to pay attention to the sheer power of the visual medium. If Eternal Sunshine is Gondry making a great film (and it is), The Science of Sleep is Gondry making the best Gondry film. I have no problem with that.

* A late edition on the Charlie Kaufman tip. Thought provoking, epic, utterly terrifying. If I can absorb the lessons of this movie without ever thinking of the movie again, that would make me happy.

4.    There Will Be Blood/No Country For Old Men

These two films are almost impossible to separate. They’re dark, atmospheric Westerns that came out in the same year, both to heaps of critical acclaim and one or two pricklebushes trying to take them down. Those who discount No Country do so at their peril; whether it’s a great film or not, it is certainly an iconic one. To get too heavily into nitpicking, in this case, is to miss the point. Having just seen Once Upon a Time in the West for the first time, No Country is the only other movie I can think of that sets an idea of place so firmly and so consistently—with wide, beautiful tracking shots devoid of talk—that what happens there is almost of secondary importance. If the idea of the Western is the human folly/inevitability of setting up shop in an inhospitable, ultimately unsustainable environment (is it? I’m just guessing), I think No Country nails it.

There Will Be Blood turns the Western on its head, to a degree, by focusing on the villain—the man who feeds off the barren land, rather than succumbing to it. In fact, having eventually raped the land of its natural resources through good-old-fashioned American evil, Daniel Plainview eventually escapes to a mansion, living off servants and booze having alienated or killed anyone he ever knew or loved. It’s a perverse meditation on the American Dream and that’s both bizarre and wonderful on each viewing, especially the final scene, which gets more baffling and amazing every time and is well worth every minute of its lead-in. Taken together, There Will Be Blood shows how Americans have the opportunity to transcend these unforgiving landscapes through the perverse, peculiar, and often corrupting power of capitalism. I guess.

5.    The Royal Tenenbaums/The Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is the most recent addition to this list; I saw it two weeks ago. I would say it was a pleasant return to the Wes Anderson filmmaking I liked the most, except the only movie I really liked before now was The Royal Tenenbaums. I think even a gentle misapplication of his style ruined other movies for me, including Rushmore, which I found too mean-spirited to thoroughly enjoy. Tenenbaums, however, dealt with serious and silly subjects in a way that was basically a romp, and I like romps. Maybe there’s some sort of inverse correlation to the number of minutes Bill Murray’s hangdog mug appears onscreen and how much I like the movie, but all I know is that by the time The Life Aquatic came around I was done with it. Mr. Fox changed all that: This was the perfect medium for Anderson to express his “dandy” self, as Charlie Rose called him, in a compelling high-tech/low-tech way. You can choose to heed the lessons of the film if you want, but you can’t say it isn’t a good time, thanks largely to its Royal Tenenbaum-esque protagonist. I think having a mischievous, childish adult in charge perfectly showcases Anderson’s highfalutin sensibilities without pushing the movies too much into the realm of human droopiness, which isn’t all that fascinating or memorable.

6.    Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby/Wedding Crashers
- and -
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby/Team America: World Police/Idiocracy
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Zoolander

I think Talladega Nights is the best “Will Ferrell movie” of the decade for a few reasons, which is not to say I hate Anchorman or anything. As far as “Comedies that are phenomenal at the beginning and have some laugh-out-loud jokes in the middle and chaotically wrap up the plot with no real regard for the audience” go, I’d cast my lot with Talladega Nights and Wedding Crashers over, say, Anchorman and Old School. The end of Wedding Crashers may in fact be a complete mess, but it’s such a mess that I actually find it funny, as if it was banged out in 10 minutes at a bad improv show and everyone’s just trying to get to the next movie that’s funny at the beginning. Don’t forget: The start of Wedding Crashers is fucking hilarious in a confident “We know how good we are at this gimmick” way that only loses its floor when the gimmick becomes unsustainable. But that doesn’t undermine the gimmick. Similarly, the first 30 minutes of Talladega Nights happen so fast and the jokes fly so quickly that I’m almost ready for things to slow down by mid-movie.

It’s also worth pointing out that Talladega Nights does more to satirize and undermine the George W. Bush Administration than any of the dozens of documentaries and hit-piece liberal-bent fictions that we were served at the time.* Ferrell is quite literally playing Bobby as Bush, and his journey from lucky asshole to king to down-and-out loser realizing how everything he knew was based on very simple lies and misunderstandings gave hope that Bush’s reign of stupidity was an isolated incident from a man who hit the jackpot of life to the benefit of no one. Team America: World Police satirized Bush some, but it also gave, via a very simple, scatological analogy, the only honest and possibly convincing explanation I’ve heard for the Iraq War, and managed to skewer the Bush-hating left without drawing its ire. Say it with me now: MATT DAMON!

As for Zoolander, it’s a masterpiece, and the best comedy of the 00’s. Not a hair out of place, literally or figuratively, and it’s the best work of everyone involved. One tremendously long night in college, Ravi and I were in search of a friend and we ended up at house where a bunch of stoned-ass kids were watching the badass end sequence of Unforgiven. When the credits started to roll, the overbearing, obnoxious kid who put the movie on immediately broke the silence with a declarative statement: “Flawless film. FLAWLESS film.” You disagreed with him at your own risk (Ravi and I just left), much like you disagree with me about Zoolander at your own risk. Flawless film.

* Idiocracy does a great job, too, and I forgot it until was about to send out the email.

7.    Borat/The Hangover

I put these two movies together not because I thought they were gut-bustingly hilarious—I’m uncomfortable with the meaner aspects of comedy verite, and much of The Hangover was too silly to care about—but because they were both moviegoing experiences unlike anything I’ve ever experience. They both flipped conventions on their head. My whole office was talking like Borat for a full three months before the movie came out, and we gobbled down every second of leaked footage like it was free beer. When the movie did finally open, we all left work at noon and headed over to the theater, still in our bad faux-Kazakh accents. Once the movie was consumed, we left, and no one did a Borat impression any more. Having finally seen the movie, the obsession was completely over for every one of us when it normally would have just begun, but it would be impossible to ignore how charged everyone was for those few months ahead of time. As far a movie release “events” go, I think it’s the bigget one I participated in since The Phantom Menace. Yeah, I know.

As for how The Hangover got here: I’ve never seen a movie where the first 98 percent of it was a setup for the last two minutes. I laughed at times during the movie, but during the final camera-discovery scene I laughed as hard as I ever have for the duration. That counts for something.

8.    The Class/Wall•E

Kids have to learn. That’s a given. The Class takes a reality-show-type look at a French classroom. The movie is written by and stars a former teacher who cast his former students as students, and many of the goings-on are improvised. It’s a cousin of the 1990s film La Haine, which I just saw, which is basically Kids in Paris, only better and darker. Yes, darker.

Wall•E does everything it does so well that it’s hard to believe the animated short that preceded it was just as good. I’m not a big fan of animated movies, but this one is good maybe because of the long stretches of silence, and maybe because Pixar wrecks shit.

9.    Once

Pretty much the most honest movie you’ll see about love or music. Definitely the second one.

10.    Donnie Darko/Crash

Let me say this straight off to fend off the torch-wielding trolls: I don’t actually like Crash, but I don’t hate it either. Yes, it’s an overwrought racially-motivated fantasy that doesn’t deserve to be within a freeway-length of any Best Picture discussions. No, its very existence doesn’t throw my world off-kilter. Most people I’ve talked to, though, fall into the category of loving or hating it (mostly the latter), and it’s got one of the most curious stories of success: Somehow winning the Academy Award, then becoming the most-rented movie on Netflix for the next three years and counting. It’s the Netflix reason alone that I eventually watched it and earned the wrath of one particularly angry friend, who wrote me virtual reams of vitriolic prose against its perceived racially and Scientologically tinged lunacy. It was a great email, and I agreed with almost all of it. But mostly, I was happy just to be talking about movies on a supercritical level, and Crash’s text is so ready to be ripped apart at a moment’s notice that I’m happy it exists.

Donnie Darko offers the same opportunity, but on a different level. With its themes of determinism and time-travel, it was Lost before Lost was invented, leastwise before it “became” Lost. I was surprised that it was from this decade, because it seems older than that: Lost and other media have done a good enough job of expanding on the themes contained in DD that I don’t see the need to go back, but ignoring the effect it had on me at the time—and the discussions it provoked—wouldn’t be doing it justice.

Honorable Mentions

•   Blood Diamond

Expected to hate this but really, really liked it. Sounds strange to say it, but great accent work by Leo, and I’m dizzily in love with Jennifer Connolly in this movie.

•   Rocky Balboa

Another one that was surprisingly good. Some real touching stuff, and the way they inserted a new female lead without going all the way and pushing it romantic with Rocky lent the whole thing an air of restraint that may or may not have been missing in, say, Rocky IV.

•   A Walk to Beautiful

A “shit is real” film about Ethiopia. Shit is real.

•   Gone Baby Gone

A Boston cop drama like The Departed or Mystic River, but really, really good. You think Leo and Sean Penn are badasses? Watch Casey Affleck (yes, Casey Affleck) in this movie. He will ruin. Your. Shit.

•   Burn After Reading

Another Coen brothers movie that I was told I had to see multiple times before appreciating. Well I put it on my iPod and have watched it twice on planes, and now I appreciate it.

•   Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Forgot this until Moacir scolded me in the comments but it is added out of joy, not out of guilt.

•   Infernal Affairses

Thought these were in the 90s until Marc put them on his list. Amazing.

Dishonorable Mentions

1.    Cloverfield

A great idea with trash execution. The characters are loathsome people, and not in the It’s Always Sunny vein, where we like them when we’re not supposed to. I want these people to be the first people to die, and when it happens after a scant 80 or so minutes, it’s not soon enough. Apparently they’re planning a sequel; I hope it’s a mulligan and not a follow-up.

2.   Transformers

You already know what I think.

3.   The Departed/Mystic River

The Departed is a travesty that I liked enough to see twice in the theater but gets worse with every viewing. Oscar-begging aside, Alec Baldwin and Marky Mark carry the movie, and they’re about six deep on the star list (Okay, Leo’s pretty good too). Also, if you’re going to remake one of the best movies of all time you might as well have the best part of the original, which is the tapping-on-the-window in the warehouse meeting scene. And I haven’t heard worse Boston accents in any movie, ever. Not even Mystic River, which is another Eastwood piece of crap. You can tell when outsiders make movies about Boston. They’re the bad ones.

4. Batman Begins/TDK

They suffer from the exact same problem: Both are two movies in one, and I love the first half of both of them. The Batman-in-China shit is awesome, and the Batman/Joker shit is also great. But the second acts seem so tacked on that they simply drag along to the point I don’t care anymore far before they’re over. And that fucking voice.

5. The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions

After The Phanthom Menace, I had no real hopes for the following two Star Wars movies, so I’m leaving them off. Before The Matrix Reloaded, I told friends that I had never been as excited to see a movie. I didn’t watch Revolutions until long after it had entered the cable rotation. That’s probably all you need to know.

If this Christmas Day in the UK you find yourself in the unfortunate predicament of spending it alone. Try and find a spare £10 hidden deep within your pockets amongst the lint and moths, then head on down to your local cinema for the feel good film of the year, Up In The Air! Released on almost everyone’s favourite time of the year, Up In The Air, directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) stars the ever charming, George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven, Good Night and Good Luck, Michael Clayton) and co-starring, Vera Farmiga (Down To The Bone, The Departed, The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas) and the lovely Anna Kendrick (Camp, Rocket Science, Twilight Saga). Heck, we’re so lucky we even get to see a bit of the quirky Jason Bateman (The Kingdom, Juno, Hancock).

Being critically acclaimed and widely anticipated, the fly in the sky comedy drama follows an isolated, socially segregated corporate downsizer which focuses on his life and the individuals he co-insides with throughout it. Reitman, after reading the novel of the same name by Walter Kirn, decided to spearhead the project with co-writer Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, X-men Origins: Magneto (yes, it’s happening!)), and decided to write the parts specifically for the actors he imagined would portray the characters (which they are), revolving around their personalities for a more successful performance on-screen.

A performance which is bound to be memorable may I add by a top of the line cast selection indeed. Said performance went down extremely well at several major film festivals across the world, including the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, London Film Festival, and the International Rome Film Festival amongst many more. Up In The Air’s North American release was set at Mann’s Village Theater, Los Angeles, California on Monday, November 30, 2009 and as previously stated, the world-wide release will occur on Christmas Day. I know I will be going to see it. How about you?

This list wasn’t as hard to compile as I thought it would be.  When I go to the movies, after I’m sitting there watching the credit, I decide then and there whether I’m going to buy it when it comes out on DVD. I don’t know if anyone shares the same sensation but after I see a movie I absolutely love, I look forward to owning.  Not necessarily to watch again (although that’s part of it) but to be able to share the movie with friends who haven’t seen it so they can love the movie too and we’ll have that in common (or they can hate it and it will always be a blemish on their permanent friendship record). So I looked at all the movies that came out in the 2000s and looked for the ones I owned and that made it easy*.  I also tried to put them in order of best to least best.  Honestly, the only numbers that matter is 1-15. After that it gets pretty interchangeable.

If I ever wrote anything on my blog about the movie, there’s a link to it.

50. The Fountain
49. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
48. Away From Her
47. Casino Royale
46. Up
45. Tropic Thunder
44. The Hangover
43. Little Miss Sunshine
42. The Way of the Gun
41. The Prestige
40. American Psycho
39. The Bourne Ultimatum
38. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
37. 28 Days Later
36. Raising Victor Vargas
35. Thank You For Smoking
34. Snatch
33. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
32. Lars & The Real Girl
31. The Constant Gardener
30. Old School
29. Shaun of the Dead
28. The Departed
27. Spider-Man 2
26. Best In Show
25. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
24. Finding Nemo
23. Love & Basketball
22. In the Mood for Love
21. X2: X-Men United
20. The Incredibles
19. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
18. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
17. Spirited Away
16. The Royal Tenenbaums
15. Kill Bill Vol. 1
14. Almost Famous
13. Once
12. Oldboy
11. High Fidelity
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
9. Love Actually
8. Brokeback Mountain
7. Pan’s Labyrinth
6. The Dark Knight
5. WALL-E
4. Memento
3. Children of Men
2. Before Sunset
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Leonardo DiCaprio

By  Mike Fleming – Variety.com

Mel Gibson will direct and Leonardo DiCaprio will star in an untitled period drama set in the world of Viking culture. William Monahan is writing the script.

Graham King will produce with Gibson and Tim Headington in a co-production between King’s GK Films and Gibson’s Icon Productions. Shooting is expected to begin fall, 2010, meaning that if everything falls into place, it would be the next directing effort for Gibson.

There is no distributor at the moment, but Gibson and King often make their films outside the studio system and secure distribution later.

The principals confirmed the project but would not divulge many details. DiCaprio, who has long been fascinated by Viking culture, will play one in a storyline that will be as unsparing as Gibson’s other period directing efforts “Braveheart,” “The Passion of the Christ” and “Apocalypto.”

The connective tissue is King.

The producer teamed with DiCaprio and Monahan in the Oscar-winning drama “The Departed,” and just worked with Gibson and Monahan in the Martin Campbell-directed drama “Edge of Darkness.” King also just produced Monahan’s directorial debut, “London Boulevard,” the Monahan-scripted adaptation of the Ken Bruen novel, with Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley starring. 

The Viking film will be DiCaprio’s first picture with Gibson.

“This will be an awe-inspiring story, created with some of the industry’s finest cinematic talent and I am just over the moon to be making this film with Mel, Leo and Bill,” King said in a statement after the principals confirmed the project to Daily Variety. 

Aside from “London Boulevard,” King and his GK Films just completed “The Rum Diary” with Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart and the Emily Blunt-starrer “The Young Victoria,” latter of which is being released this month by Bob Berney’s Apparition.

DiCaprio will likely take a film before putting on the Viking horns. He just completed the Christopher Nolan-directed “Inception” for Warner Bros., and will next be seen in the Martin Scorsese-directed “Shutter Island,” which Paramount releases February 19. Gibson just completed the Jodie Foster-directed “The Beaver.”

With the 00’s coming to an end, I think it’s good to reflect on some of the best films that came out this decade. I feel it was a good decade for film, the best since the 70’s. Below is my personal top 10 list from the 00’s, it will certainly differ from many critic’s lists, but these are the ones I enjoyed most and that’s what film is all about. Wasn’t easy to narrow down my original list of 26, but here it is:

1. Gladiator (2000)- I don’t think anybody can say anything negative about this film. It has everything, action, drama, Rome, and incestuous lust, what’s there not be entertained by? The Academy got it right by awarding “Gladiator” Best Picture. Almost makes up for “Shakespeare In Love” winning over “Saving Private Ryan” two years prior, almost.

2. The Departed (2006)- The film that finally gave Martin Scorsese his Oscar. Who cares that this was a remake of a Japanese film that came out 4 years before? Not me. This film is one of the best works of Scorsese. Like Gladiator, this film has everything. Incredible casting too.

3. City of God (2002)- The DVD is labeled as “The best film you’ve never seen,” and it’s a real shame if you have never seen this film. Based on the true story about the gangs and violence in the slums of Rio, this flick is truly extraordinary. The movie is in Portuguese, but the film is so good you’ll barley notice your reading subtitles.

4. The Pianist (2002)- The best and most haunting portrayal of the holocaust I’ve seen yet on the silver screen. The scene when Nazis bust into a dining room of Jewish people eating and kill them, is one of the most disturbing scenes and it sticks in your mind. If there was a best actor of the decade award, Adrien Brody deserves it.

5. 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)- Definitely the funniest of the comedies that came out this decade. A special props to “Old School” for really making the rated-R comedy popular this decade. So many memorable lines from this movie, I can still watch this over and over again.

6. The Hangover (2009)- I love this movie. The entire film is comedic genius. Alan Garner (Zack Galifianakis) might be my favorite mentally disturbed character in comedic history (slightly beating out Brick from “Anchorman”). If my future wife divorces me for naming our first-born son “Carlos,” this film will be why.

7. Gangs of New York (2002)- A truly great and underrated Scorsese film in my book. A very entertaining and violent film about how New York was in the 1800’s, which was never really shown before in cinema. Plus, has there ever been a better villain than “Bill The Butcher?”

8. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004)- The best film for movie night with a girl in my estimation. It appeals to both genders and has a very interesting plot. My favorite Jim Carey movie ever and Kate Winslet is awesome in it too. Plus, this is a romantic movie that won’t make you (guys) feel as if your brain is melting.

9. Training Day (2001)- Easily one of the coolest movies ever. Denzel Washington makes this film so entertaining and a little scared thinking that there may cops out there like him. This film also introduced us to Eva Mendes, need I say more?

10. Taken (2008)- Yes, this is a basically mindless action film, so what? It is probably the best action film since “Die Hard.” The action is constant and awesome, Liam Neeson makes you believe you should never fuck with him. The “I have a special set of skills,” line he uses on the phone with the kidnappers is as classic as Dirty Harry’s, “Do you feel lucky?” line.

My favorite films from the years not listed above:

2003: Old School

2007: Knocked Up

Honorable Mentions: Anchorman (2004), American Psycho (2000), Downfall (2004), Inglorious Basterds (2009), Almost Famous (2000)

I have only used YouTube to watch movies twice – and both of those were only to finish a movie.

I watched the end of “The Departed” at school because I couldn’t finish it on TiVo before I had to leave.

I watched the end of “The Graduate” because my computer destroyed the DVD (which belonged to the Houston Public Library) and rendered it unwatchable.

By Alexa  Milan

5. “Almost Famous” (2000): Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age story about a teenage freelance reporter for Rolling Stone is a brilliant love letter to rock ‘n’ roll of the 1970s, in all its untamed glory. Featuring a killer soundtrack and one of the best movie scenes involving music to date (“Tiny Dancer”), one can feel Crowe’s own love of music reverberating right off the screen.

4. “The Departed” (2006): Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar for his intricate tale of undercover cops, the Irish mob and the blurred lines between good and evil. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg, Scorsese’s complicated morality tale never slows down and is always surprising, even after multiple viewings.

3. “Once” (2007): Deeply moving in its subtle storytelling and performances, “Once” is everything a great indie should be. This tiny $160,000 Irish import depicts an unnamed man and woman connecting through their love of music, proving more powerful than any big-budget production number. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s magnetic screen chemistry and phenomenal Oscar-winning music make “Once” an instant indie classic.

2. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004): Visually and emotionally beautiful, Charlie Kaufman’s best script to date tells the story of love outlasting memory. Set against the sci-fi backdrop of memory erasing procedures, the rocky relationship between Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) unfolds in unexpected ways that will resonate with audiences long after the credits stop rolling.

1. “The Dark Knight” (2008): Christopher Nolan’s epic sequel to “Batman Begins” completely changed the face of comic book movies. Rather than just another effects-driven blockbuster, Nolan’s adaptation is haunting, complex and deeply psychological. The flawed heroes of Nolan’s Batman universe make the story feel much more raw than other comic book flicks, and Heath Ledger’s Joker, rooted in anarchic chaos, is perhaps the decade’s most iconic performance.

Honorable mentions: “WALL-E” (2008), “Children of Men” (2006), “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), “No Country for Old Men” (2007), “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005), “Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003), “Memento” (2000), “Donnie Darko” (2001), “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008)

Overture Films has debuted a trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Wesley ‘Capone’ Snipes. The film looks interesting; certainly one worth keeping an eye on. I must warn you, this trailer might contain a few spoilers; if your the type who doesn’t like a taster- then I suggest you give this one a miss. Anyway, the film is a multi-strand of three stories: Gere is the cop with seven days left before retirement (stay with me), who gets saddled with the newest recruit in his last week. Hawke is the financially crippled husband and father; who considers pinching drug money to ease the troubles. Cheadle is the deep undercover cop assigned the task of taking down head thug (Snipes) with whom he has history. The three stories meet in a climactic event with hilarious consequences (okay, scrap the last part). The film definitely looks like the bastard child of Fuqua’s previous work Training Day and Scorsese’s The Departed: two solid flicks- hopefully this one will be too.

Here the trailer; Wire fans can look out for Mr Omar:

Dré

This blog was really inspired because of the unfair death of my cousin, a 17-year-old boy who for his entire life has fought a war with thalassemia. His illness was discovered when he was only a kid, an innocent age of  2. Since then, he and his mom have gone from hospital to hospital, prayed, bowed and grovelled themselves before God to hope for a miracle.

The way I am related to him is a long chain. And most of you out there who are Pakistani’s would understand that this is just how we work as families. My maternal grandfather’s brother got his son married to his wife’s sister’s (who was also his cousin as well) daughter. Now that brother’s own one daughter is given away at this aunts house. Yes i know it can be complicated.

Anyways, after the kid was born, the grandfather or the mother of the groom were monsters, they beated her up, cursed her and treated her in the most inhumane manner. But bless the Pakistani wife of 20 years ago, she kept quite and beared all of this as her kismet, maybe, i don’t know what went through her head.

They never once spent a dime on that kid after he was born, although there were pretty well off, but the way this grandfather’s bro thought was that this would be a bad investment, and thus on his own grandson, he never spend a single dime. But fate was not yet in the mood to be ironic. And the kid grew slowly and steadily, with the support of that Godly women, that was his mother, and although his blood needed to be changed every 15 days, they didnt let go of hope. And it was a result of this hope that the kid got 17 and then got the highest ranks in the matric board and got scholarships to the best collages.

During these eid holidays, he was sick and the father of the kid didnt take him to the hospital, the excuse being :The hospitals would be closed due to the eid holiday. A LIE! That kids cousins and that mothers brothers rushed from here to Rawalpindi, where they lived, took him to the hospital only to get back a death certificate.

At the kids funeral, the body was taken to his village to be buried, where 400 people would be served with food, a request the kid’s grandfather made, and the expenses would be beared by his daughter-in-laws family.

I really get surprised when i hear these stories. Have the love and the value of relationships all gone down the drain. Have nothing been left of the morality that we have been so furiously taught when we were kids.

I prayers and wishes are for the mother and her family. And God, if you are there, let now there be justice for this kid.