Category: decade

I started to notice unintended clusters of similar films in these chunks. While totally unintended, this cluster is comprised mostly of Asian and Asian-influenced cinema.

40) The Host (2006, dir. Joon-ho Bong)
Part-Korean twist on Japanese monster flicks, part-allegory for U.S. interference in Korea; The Host is a fun action flick that understands how to balance the big moments with the quiet. The problem occurs when a military operation in South Korea dumps some rather unsavory chemicals into the Han River. Months later a tentacled beast rises from the waters to terrorize and devour some Sunday afternoon river-goers. The action sequence that takes up a good chunk of the opening of this film is one of the best monster movie attacks I have ever seen. The scale of the attack is relatively small as the creature is about the size of a couple elephants. It’s the speed and ferocity of the monster that makes the difference. A young girl is abducted by the creature, taken back to its lair where she waits to be devoured at a later date. In the mean time, her family prepares to fight for her back which culminates in a bittersweet and contemplative finale.

39) Ichi the Killer (2001, dir. Takashi Miike)
You will never see a more transgressive film than a Takashi Miike film. This was my second foray into his cinematic territory, my first was Audition. Miike has no problems putting the most horrific acts of violence on the screen. Trust me, these are shockingly violent and intentionally over the top. The plot of this particular film focuses on Kakihara, a sadomasochistic Yakuza hit man whose boss and cadre of workers are brutally slaughtered. Kakihara investigates the continuing gangland murders and comes across Ichi, a mental disturbed young man brainwashed into killing his boss’ enemies. There is nothing comparable in American cinema to the blaring, offensive scenes presented film and because of that it is infused with a fresh life. Miike stands tall as one of the most senses-shattering directors working today.

38) The Ring (2004, dir. Gore Verbinski)
Starring Naomi Watts, Daveigh Chase, Amber Tamblyn
I wasn’t a fan of the overall surge of Japanese horror flicks being imported and remade in the States in the 2000s. I found so many of them to be repetitive and not frightening in the least, however the remake of Ringu definitely struck a nerve with me. The plot is typical urban legend fare: mysterious VHS tape that kills a person seven days after they watch it. Naomi Watts is a reporter whose life is directly affected by the tape and spurs her into investigating its origins. The two major elements of the film that make me a fan are its visual tone and its ambiguity. Verbinski captures the bleak, overcast nature of Washington State in the winter, infusing that gloomy, hopeless feeling into every scene with static blues and grays. Like all the horror films I rate highly, The Ring is full of delicious ambiguity. The origins of the tape are subtly hinted at but it is apparent they will never be revealed.

37) The Incredibles (2004, dir. Brad Bird)
Starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson
The same summer Marvel released the Fantastic Four movie, Pixar put out this picture. Hands down Pixar blew Marvel out of the water. The Incredibles perfectly captures the family dynamic Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s classic superhero team and presents a much more exciting adventure story than the comic adaptation. The story follows Mr. Incredible and his wife, Elasti-Girl who have settled down into life in suburbia. Mr. Incredible is restless with the boredom of being an insurance claims adjustor and secretly takes up superhero-ing again eventually becoming embroiled in a scheme put together by an old nemesis. The rest of the family is pulled into the adventure and an extremely entertaining classic comic book tale ensues. Brad Bird is one of the great animation geniuses of our time, creating such other works as The Iron Giant and Ratatouille. His imagination is such a powerful force and found wonderful support amongst Pixar who put meticulous research into developing their fictional worlds. Without a doubt, this is my favorite of the Pixar films.

36) Kung Fu Hustle (2004, dir. Stephen Chow)
Combining elements of classic kung fu pictures, American gangster films, musicals, westerns, Looney Toons, and Charlie Chaplin’s maudlin melodrama, Kung Fu Hustle is a unique film experience from a unique mind. Set in Shanghai during the 1940s, the film focuses on a tenement being harassed by the brutal Axe Gang. The tenement’s landlady is a force to be reckoned with and nicely defeats the gang. Their leader, Brother Sum is driven mad by this and vows revenge. Simultaneously, the beggars Sing and Bone come into the picture, trying to make their way up the gangland ladder. Eventually, Sing is convinced to join the side of good and takes on the Axe Gang in a hilarious comic battle. The wonderful thing about Chow (who stars as Sing) is his love of films that fall outside the traditional kung fu genre. It is very apparent, both in this flick and his follow up CJ-7, that he loves the sentimentality of Chaplin’s classic films, traditionally using a down on his luck pauper who wins the girl and comically defeats the villain.

Continuing my list of favorite films to come out in the 2000s. Wishing I had seen Where the Wild Things Are and The Road before 2010, have a feeling they would have been on this list.

45) In the Bedroom (2001, directed Todd Phillips)
Starring Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Marisa Tomei, Nick Stahl

Based on the short story, “Killings” by Andre Dubus, this film shows the first time director’s natural aptitude when it comes to subverting audience expectations. About twice during the film, what the audience assumes it is about switches tracks and by the end we come to the realization that it is about something much deeper and darker than we thought. The story, set in Maine, follows Frank Fowler (Stahl) who is dating recent divorcee Natalie (Tomei). Their relationship is plagued by the presence of Natalie’s obsessive ex, whom Frank’s parents, Matt and Ruth (Wilkinson and Spacek) continuously warm their son about. Tragic events begin to unfold, and they force Matt and Ruth into traveling down some dark paths, which uncovers a lot of deep-seeded animosity in their marriage that has festered for decades.

44) George Washington (2000, dir. David Gordon Green)
Starring Paul Schneider

One of the great film debuts of a future master filmmaker. Director Green (All the Real Girls, Undertow, Pineapple Express) emerged from the American South as an artist with a profound visual and storytelling sense. Though his work may not suit every film goer’s palette, he is unarguably a distinct voice in the film world. This debut picture chronicles, in a lazy dream-like fashion, 12-year old Nasia, a girl growing up in a destitute North Carolina town. Her friend, the eponymous boy of the title, never had his skull fully harden as a baby and lives life being obsessively careful. Events transpire and one of their group of friends is killed by accident, forcing the children into a pact of silence. George responds by styling himself as a superhero and attempting to save lives to make up for the one he is partly responsible for taking. If ever you could film a poem, that would be this film.

43) Spirited Away (2001, 2003, dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

Though released in Japan in 2001, this animated masterpiece didn’t reach general American audiences until 2003. John Lasseter, the driving force behind Pixar, has been the most vocal Miyazaki fan and is responsible for that director’s exposure in the States this decade. Miyazaki possess that rare talent to create contemporary fairy tales, something Disney seems to have lost of the magic of in the late 1990s. This particular film takes the Alice in Wonderland archetype and gives it a twist thanks to Japanese culture. In the same way that Akira Kurosawa took MacBeth and made Ran, so too does Miyazaki make the story his own. Young Chihiro and her parents are moving to a new town when they are sidetracked by a mysterious tunnel. They emerge on the other side in a mysterious spirit world, where Chihiro must work for a witch whom runs a spa for ghosts. A beautiful work of art that will have you gasping about the impossibility of such a gorgeous film being able to exist.

42) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001, dir. Steven Spielberg)
Starring Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, William Hurt

This is a film that I assume will not end up on most critics top of the decade lists. However, it affected me in an incredible strong, emotional way for multiple viewings. Though it was directed by Spielberg, it was originally in development under the late Stanley Kubrick, and its still possible to see his faint brushstrokes show through the more fantastical and superficially allegorical nature of Spielberg’s aesthetics. The story, adapted from Brian Aldiss’ short “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long”, is derived more from the Pinocchio tale. Some time at an undisclosed point in the future, a young couple adopts a robot boy (Osment) as a replacement for their comatose son. Once the son is cured, David, the robot, is tossed aside and begins an odyssey to become a real boy which he believes will make his “mother” love him. The film was a box office disaster but I like to think that was because of the expectations movie goers have for summer pics and in particular Spielberg movies. This film contains such a profound sadness to it, it is not meant to provide escape but rather reflection.

41) Primer (2004, dir. Shane Carruth)

Probably the cheapest budget of any film on this list, Primer was made for an astonishing $7,000. Written, directed, and starring a group of friends in Dallas, Texas, Primer is the most realistic time travel story I have ever seen. Director Carruth proudly explained in interviews at the time that an effort was made not to dumb things down for the audience but present a system of time travel that was as close of scientifically sound as possible. The film can be mind boggling during the first viewing, but after successive viewings all of the time jumping becomes a lot easier to understand. The look of the film is more akin to a documentary than a big budget film and the story is as well. If you are looking for a challenging picture that doesn’t feel the need to spoon feed you story then you would love this film.

As we wind down the first 10 years of the century, I decided, like many other blogs, to generate a list of my top films. This decade was truly my time of becoming a true film fan. I watched around a 1000 films and basically gave myself an education on film essentials. Over the next few weeks I will be posting pieces of this list, looking back on those films that I remember with fondness and why.

50) The Orphanage (2007, dir. Juan Antonio Bayona)

In the latter half of the decade, I developed a strong appreciation of Spanish language cinema. This film, produced by Guillermo del Toro (who will appear later on the list), is an excellent entry into the horror genre. The plot borrows elements from some classic haunted house stories, particularly The Turn of the Screw. Bayona, an unknown in the States, presents a finely crafted, slow burning picture. Laura moves her family into the orphanage where she was raised with plans to re-open it. Instead, her young son vanishes on the day of the open house and she begins to see a mysterious child wearing a burlap sack over their head appearing all over the estate. Bayona knows how to restrain himself and when to let loose to create maximum fright in his audience.

49) Anchorman (2004, dir. Adam McKay)
Starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, David Koechner

These days, Will Ferrell feels that he has worn out his welcome, his comedy seems to be one note and it seems to be restrained as his career continues. But back in 2004, this was a fresh, absurd style that I ate up and still do. The insanely pompous Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) anchors the Channel 4 News in San Diego and is threatened by the addition of female co-anchor, Veronica Corningstone (Applegate). Burgundy and his fellow newsmen embark on a campaign to force Corningstone out which typically ends in their utter comeuppance. The film has a very loose narrative and that is completely fine with me, as the best moments of humor come from the more improvisational work of Ferrell and his co-stars. Also, check out the straight to DVD sequel, Wake Up Ron Burgundy, cobbled together from extra footage and actually containing an entirely original plot of its own.

48) Paradise Now (2005, dir. Hany Abu-Assad)

Paradise Now is a quiet but affecting film. It was an ambitious project to film in Palestine and the filmmakers had to deal with land mines going off a few yards from the set and an attack by Israeli helicopter gunships launching missiles at neighborhoods where filming was going on. Despite this, the film came out as one of the major cinematic achievements in foreign language film of the decade. The plot follows Said and Khaled, two young men who have volunteered to be suicide bombers in Tel Aviv. Before they embark on their mission, Said befriends and falls in love with Suha, a woman who tries to argue him out of what she sees as insanity. The picture is very quiet and contemplative, much in the same way the young men who perform these tasks must be in the moments leading up to the climax. The final shot of the film in particular is one of the most powerful I have viewed.

47) Zodiac (2007, dir. David Fincher)
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Chloe Sevigny

My expectations of this film were non-existent. I had found the majority of David Fincher’s films to lose their luster with the passage of time (Alien 3, The Game, Fight Club) and so Zodiac never even registered on my radar until six months after its release. Of his filmography, this feels like the strongest entry that will be watched decades from now. Character development is not necessarily the most important element thought. The focus seems to be on simple, quality storytelling and the best moments of the film are the meticulous recreations of the Zodiac Killer’s murders which are infused with an epic creepiness. Fincher also uses computer-generated effects in one of the best ways I have ever seen. Unlike the overblown pomposity of CG in the Star Wars prequel or comparable films, Fincher is so subtle with the technology many times you don’t realize it is being used.

46) The Grey Zone (2001, dir. Tim Blake Nelson)
Starring David Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi

This Holocaust film was completely invisible to me until my friend Chris Ewing (who was working at the Regal Green Hills 16 at the time) suggested we go see it. This true story concerns a group of Jews planning a rebellion in Auschwitz, specifically to blow up one of the gas chambers and crematoria. These Jews have also been put in charge of giving orders to their fellow people that eventually sends them into these chambers. Needless to say, they are devoured by a level of guilt unimaginable to the majority of us. The arrival of a group of Hungarian Jews brings with it a mute adolescent girl, whom one of the Jewish men develops a protectiveness over. She was meant to die in the gas chamber but survived at a the bottom of a pile of the dead. For the rest of film, the young Jewish convinces his comrades to hide the girl but the Nazis become more and more suspicious culminating in a final scene that is one of the most devastating pieces of cinema I have ever seen.