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So as I concentrated more on Theatre . . . film kinda vanished for me. There were certain directors I would always follow, and films of interest, but I watched fewer and fewer movies as the decade went on -- in the last three years I saw anywhere from 1 to 3 movies in a theater. During my NYU days, I would see up to 10 movies a WEEK in theaters, plus whatever I'd watch on video.
So I'd had a low opinion of Film in the '00s, but as I look over all of these "Best of the Decade" lists, I'm a bit stunned at how many good films there were, and how many I DID see (nothing compared to previous decades in my life, but better than I thought). So, looking the lists over, I decided to make up my own -- which first involved figuring out which films I actually saw during this time. After some research, I came up with a list of 228, and I ranked them all from most favorite to pond scum. I include the full list here for it's own odd purpose.
For years and years starting in 1971, first in Movietone News and then later in Film Comment magazine, which I grew up reading whenever I could get my hands on an issue, Richard T. Jameson and Kathleen Murphy would do a year-end wrap-up on Film called "Moments Out of Time," which I always looked forward to. They focused on those perfect moments in movies, which can occur in any and every film, even truly awful ones, where everything comes together in one of those especial transcendent moments unique to the medium -- my all-time favorite was when, in the midst of mentioning
The blog Parallax View has been reprinting the older pieces, and their 2009 list is online at MSN Entertainment. I recommend looking at them, they bring back lots of memories of some of the finer moments of those great years of film.
Today I'm going through several of my favorite 20 movies of the past 10 years, watching them either in their entirety, or in just fragments, reminding myself of those very same moments that make me still love movies.
Things to be watched for today:
Fragments of Mulholland Drive . . . the color of Diane Selwyn's kitchen . . . the amazing business Justin Theroux does with his cigarette as he hears the name of the actress he's been ordered to cast . . . the laugh of the suddenly-competent hit man when he is asked what his blue key unlocks . . . "The girl is still missing" leading to the sound of a telephone ring hanging endlessly in the air as poor doomed avatar Betty Elms is brought into Diane Selwyn's dream . . . and then the cruel way Betty is dispatched from the dream, removed from the frame (and existence) by a casual camera move, never to return . . . The Cowboy saying, "There's sometimes a buggy..." . . . the actual script supervisor of Lynch's film, as the keeper of the text, appears in it to close the book on Diane's pitiful life and get the last word . . . "Silencio."
In The New World . . . the opening, pre-credit ritual from Pocahontas that calls the film itself into being . . . the looks of discovery on both sides as they spot each other . . . the amazing final four minutes (almost to the second) as Pocahontas/Rebecca leaves her life by ducking playfully out of the frame as she plays with her child (the positive flip-side of what is done to Betty Elms), only to be reborn in Nature again with the appearance of a Native American spirit in her English home . . . the final moments, where the film joins with the endings of Apocalypse Now, Contempt, and Bad Timing in pulling away from all humanity to show how small and petty we and all our concerns are in the landscape of the natural world. There will always be the ocean, rivers, rain, trees.
INLAND EMPIRE . . . "BRUTAL fucking murder!" . . . Bucky Jay attempts to adjust a stage light . . . a woman (prostitute?) in a Poland hotel cries herself into the static of her TV, falling down the rabbit hole into a fantasy of herself as a beautiful blonde Hollywood actress, but still unable to escape her real life of murder and infidelity, as neither Laura Palmer, Fred Madison, nor Diane Selwyn could in their own dreams before her . . . "AXXoN N." . . . "Look at us and tell us if you've known us before" . . . Nikki Grace shrugging off the attentions of The Woman in White-figure who always represents peace and transcendence in Lynch films, as she still has unfinished business . . . The way the music and sound goes - counterintuitively - strangely and suddenly quiet and mournful during the terrifying finale around the appearance of the horrible face . . . And then Nikki, The Dreamself of the Heartbroken Woman, finally transcending into The Place Where All Stories Come From, a beautiful mansion filled with characters mentioned in this film, from past Lynch films (and maybe future ones?), and a man sawing logs, where there is always music in the air, and the women sing a pretty Nina Simone song.
Dear god . . . Speed Racer . . . an entire MOVIE that looks like molten hard candies and marbles and is the biggest, glossiest art film about movement, editing, and color I've ever seen, continuing the experiments Lucas started with THX-1138 but got sidetracked from by being convinced he needed more "emotion" in his films (I'm sure he wishes his Star Wars prequels were more like this film) . . . an exploration of how to turn the Stargate sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey into a coherent storytelling system for narrative film, with car racing as metaphor for the artistic process.
Men (and a few women) doing their jobs in Zodiac -- writing, cartooning, codebreaking, investigating, fathering, editing, killing; the fascination of watching talented professionals do their jobs (compounded by the joy of watching highly skilled actors do their own perfectly modulated work) . . .
And so on . . . here's my top 20 for the decade, followed by a full ranked list of the remaining 208 films I saw these ten years:
I LOVED AND LOVE THESE MOVIES AND DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT, IF ANYTHING, MIGHT BE WRONG WITH THEM:
1. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch, U.S. 2001
2. Dogville - Lars von Trier, Denmark 2003
3. The New World - Terrence Malick, U.S. 2005
4. INLAND EMPIRE - David Lynch, U.S./France/Poland 2006
5. No Country for Old Men - Joel & Ethan Coen, U.S. 2007
6. Irreversible - Gaspar Noé, France 2002
7. Zodiac - David Fincher, U.S. 2007
8. I'm Not There - Todd Haynes, U.S./Germany 2007
9. Battle Royale - Kinji Fukasaku, Japan 2001
10. The Saddest Music in the World - Guy Maddin, Canada 2003
11. My Winnipeg - Guy Maddin, Canada 2007
12. The Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson, U.S. 2001
13. There Will Be Blood - P. T. Anderson, U.S. 2007
14. Sin City - Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez, U.S. 2005
15. Full Frontal - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2002
16. The Fog of War - Errol Morris, U.S. 2003
17. Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman, U.S. 2008
18. The Gleaners and I - Agnès Varda, France 2000
19. In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong 2000
20. Speed Racer - The Wachowski Brothers, U.S. 2008
I LOVED THESE MOVIES, BUT THEY'RE FLAWED, OR HAVE PROBLEMS, OR WHATEVER, I DON'T CARE, THEY'RE STILL GREAT:
21. Vanilla Sky - Cameron Crowe, U.S. 2001
22. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino, U.S. 2009
23. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Michel Gondry, U.S. 2004
24. Notre Musique - Jean-Luc Godard, France/Switzerland 2004
25. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 - Quentin Tarantino, U.S. 2003
26. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 - Quentin Tarantino, U.S. 2004
27. Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly, U.S. 2001
28. O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Joel & Ethan Coen, U.S. 2000
29. Collateral - Michael Mann, U.S. 2004
30. American Psycho - Mary Harron, U.S. 2000
31. Spider - David Cronenberg, U.K./Canada 2002
32. Memento - Christopher Nolan, U.S. 2000
33. Sexy Beast - Jonathan Glazer, U.K. 2000
34. Series 7: The Contenders - Daniel Minehan, U.S. 2001
35. Burn After Reading - Joel & Ethan Coen, U.S. 2008
36. Looney Tunes: Back in Action - Joe Dante, U.S. 2003
37. Adaptation - Spike Jonze, U.S. 2002
38. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - George Clooney, U.S. 2002
39. A Mighty Wind - Christopher Guest, U.S. 2003
40. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence - Steven Spielberg, U.S. 2001
41. The Five Obstructions - Jorgan Leth & Lars Von Trier, Denmark 2003
42. Ghosts of Mars - John Carpenter, U.S. 2001
43. Munich - Steven Spielberg, U.S. 2005
44. Traffic - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2000
45. Primer - Shane Carruth, U.S. 2004
46. Bubble - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2005
THE VAST MAJORITY OF REALLY GREAT TO JUST PRETTY OKAY MOVIES THAT I'M GLAD I SAW AND GAVE ME A DAMNED GOOD TIME:
47. Angels in America - Mike Nichols, U.S. 2003
48. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Peter Jackson, U.S./New Zealand 2001
49. Minority Report - Steven Spielberg, U.S. 2002
50. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - Adam McKay, U.S. 2004
51. Cigarette Burns - John Carpenter, U.S. 2005
52. 2046 - Wong Kar Wai, China/Hong Kong/France 2005
53. The Departed - Martin Scorsese, U.S./Hong Kong 2006
54. The Filth and the Fury - Julien Temple, U.K. 2000
55. Bubba Ho-Tep - Don Coscarelli, U.S. 2002
56. Rembrandt’s J’Accuse - Peter Greenaway, Netherlands 2007
57. Downfall - Oliver Hirschbiegel, Germany 2004
58. Cloverfield - Matt Reeves, U.S. 2008
59. The Prestige - Christopher Nolan, U.S. 2006
60. The Man Who Wasn’t There - Joel Coen, U.S. 2001
61. Shaun of the Dead- Edgar Wright, U.S. 2004
62. Southland Tales - Richard Kelly, U.S. 2006
63. Good Night, and Good Luck - George Clooney, U.S. 2005
64. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters - Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis, U.S. 2007
65. The Dark Knight - Christopher Nolan, U.S. 2008
66. A Prairie Home Companion - Robert Altman, U.S. 2006
67. Songs from the Second Floor - Roy Andersson, Sweden 2000
68. Femme Fatale - Brian De Palma, U.S./France 2002
69. American Splendor - Sheri Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, U.S. 2003
70. The Incredibles - Brad Bird, U.S. 2004
71. I Heart Huckabees - David O. Russell, U.S. 2004
72. Death Proof - Quentin Tarantino, U.S. 2007
73. Solaris - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2002
74. Flags of Our Fathers - Clint Eastwood, U.S. 2006
75. Dancer in the Dark - Lars von Trier, Denmark 2000
76. The Others - Alejandro Amenabar, U.S./Spain, 2001
77. Secretary - Steven Shainberg, U.S. 2002
78. Kitchen Stories - Bent Hamer, Norway 2003
79. Far From Heaven - Todd Haynes, U.S./France 2002
80. Letters from Iwo Jima - Clint Eastwood, U.S. 2006
81. Charlie’s Angels - McG, U.S. 2000
82. How to Draw a Bunny - John W. Walter, U.S. 2002
83. Wonder Boys - Curtis Hanson, U.S. 2000
84. Identity - James Mangold, U.S. 2003
85. Drawing Restraint 9 - Matthew Barney, U.S. 2005
86. Bug - William Friedkin, U.S. 2006
87. The Triplets of Belleville - Sylvain Chomet, France 2003
88. Serenity - Joss Whedon, U.S. 2005
89. Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny - Liam Lynch, U.S. 2006
90. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Peter Jackson, U.S./New Zealand 2002
91. Slither - James Gunn, U.S. 2006
92. Hamlet - Michael Almereyda, U.S. 2000
93. Homecoming - Joe Dante, U.S. 2005
94. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Kevin Smith, U.S. 2001
95. The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra - Larry Blamire, U.S. 2001
96. Masked and Anonymous - Larry Charles, U.S. 2003
97. The Tulse Luper Suitcases Part 1: The Moab Story - Peter Greenaway, U.K./Netherlands 2003
98. 25th Hour - Spike Lee, U.S. 2002
99. Punch-Drunk Love - P.T. Anderson, U.S. 2002
100. Best in Show - Christopher Guest, U.S. 2000
101. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 - Joe Berlinger, U.S. 2000
102. Cecil B. Demented - John Waters, U.S. 2000
103. The Cat’s Meow - Peter Bogdanovich, U.S. 2001
104. Hero - Zhang Yimou, China 2002
105. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - Kerry Conran, U.S. 2004
106. Match Point - Woody Allen, U.S. 2005
107. Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez, U.S. 2007
108. The American Astronaut - Cory McAbee, U.S. 2001
109. Dawn of the Dead - Zack Snyder, U.S. 2004
110. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Peter Jackson, U.S./New Zealand 2003
111. The Aviator - Martin Scorcese, U.S. 2004
112. Waking the Dead - Keith Gordon, U.S. 2000
GETTING MUCH MORE PROBLEMATIC, BUT STILL ACCEPTABLE AND REALLY ENJOYABLE:
113. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle - Des McAnuff, U.S. 2000
114. The Ladykillers - Joel & Ethan Coen, U.S. 2004
115. Eastern Promises - David Cronenberg, Canada/U.K. 2007
116. Idiocracy - Mike Judge, U.S. 2006
117. The Aristocrats - Paul Provenza, U.S. 2005
118. Timecode - Mike Figgis, U.S. 2000
119. Decasia - Bill Morrison, U.S. 2002
120. Shine a Light - Martin Scorcese, U.S. 2008
121. A Tale of Two Sisters - Kim Ji-Woon, South Korea 2003
122. Unbreakable - M. Night Shyamalan, U.S. 2000
123. In Praise of Love - Jean-Luc Godard France/Switzerland 2001
124. Ocean’s Eleven - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2001
125. X2 - Bryan Singer, U.S. 2003
126. Mission to Mars - Brian DePalma, U.S. 2000
127. Waking Life - Richard Linklater, U.S. 2001
128. Casino Royale - Martin Campbell, U.K./U.S. 2006
129. Stranger Than Fiction - Marc Forster, U.S. 2006
130. The Cell - Tarsem Singh, U.S. 2000
131. High Fidelity - Stephen Frears, U.S. 2000
132. Russian Ark - Alexander Sokurov, Russia/Germany 2002
133. The Ring - Gore Verbinski, U.S. 2002
134. Supernova - Walter Hill, U.S. 2000
135. X-Men - Bryan Singer, U.S. 2000
136. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations - Bruce Sinofsky, U.S. 2000
MOVIES I LIKED PROBABLY MORE THAN THEY DESERVED:
137. Intolerable Cruelty - Joel & Ethan Coen, U.S. 2003
138. Moulin Rouge! - Baz Luhrmann, U.S./Australia 2001
139. War of the Worlds - Steven Spielberg, U.S. 2005
140. Manderlay - Lars Von Trier, Denmark 2005
141. Josie and the Pussycats - Harry Elfont, U.S. 2001
142. No Such Thing - Hal Hartley, U.S. 2001
143. Gosford Park - Robert Altman, U.K./U.S./Italy 2001
144. Death to Smoochy - Danny DeVito, U.S. 2002
145. Y Tu Mamá También - Alfonso Cuarón, Mexico 2001
146. Requiem for a Dream - Darren Aronofsky, U.S. 2000
147. Monkeybone - Henry Selick, U.S. 2001
148. Citizen Havel Goes on Vacation - Jan Novak, Czech Republic 2006
149. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - Jonathan Mostow, U.S. 2003
150. The Hebrew Hammer - Adam Goldberg, U.S. 2003
151. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - David Yates, U.K./U.S. 2007
152. Dreams in the Witch-House - Stuart Gordon, U.S. 2005
153. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith - George Lucas, U.S. 2005
154. Frida - Julie Taymor, U.S. 2002
155. Cabin Fever - Eli Roth, U.S. 2002
156. 28 Days Later - Danny Boyle, U.K. 2002
157. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Gore Verbinski, U.S. 2003
OKAY, BUT I WANTED THEM TO BE BETTER:
158. Naqoyqatsi - Godfrey Reggio, U.S. 2002
159. Batman Begins - Christopher Nolan, U.S. 2005
160. Insomnia - Christopher Nolan, U.S. 2002
161. State and Main - David Mamet, U.S. 2000
162. Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki, Japan 2001
163. Session 9 - Brad Anderson, U.S. 2001
164. Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns - A.J. Schnack, U.S. 2002
165. Erin Brockovich - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2000
166. Hollywood Ending - Woody Allen, U.S. 2004
REAL DISAPPOINTMENTS WITH ENOUGH GOOD STUFF TO MAKE ME WISH THEY'D PULLED THE WHOLE THING OFF:
167. King Kong - Peter Jackson, U.S./New Zealand 2005
168. Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic - Liam Lynch, U.S. 2005
169. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Mark Newell, U.S./U.K. 2005
170. Clerks II - Kevin Smith, U.S. 2006
171. The Singing Detective - Keith Gordon, U.S. 2003
172. Halloween - Rob Zombie, U.S. 2007
173. V for Vendetta - James McTeigue, U.S. 2006
174. Run Ronnie Run! - Troy Miller, U.S. 2002
175. Sleuth - Kenneth Branagh, U.K. 2007
176. Scary Movie 2 - Kennan Ivory Wayans, U.S 2001
177. The Black Dahlia - Brian DePalma, U.S. 2006
178. Reindeer Games - John Frankenheimer, U.S. 2000
179. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones - George Lucas, U.S. 2002
180. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Woody Allen, U.S. 2001
181. In the Cut - Jane Campion, U.S./Australia 2003
182. The Good German - Steven Soderbergh, U.S. 2006
183. Syriana - Stephen Gaghan, U.S. 2005
184. Die Another Day - Lee Tamahori, U.K. 2002
185. Hollow Man - Paul Verhoeven, U.S. 2000
186. Spider-Man - Sam Raimi, U.S. 2002
DIDN'T REALLY LIKE 'EM, BUT THERE WERE GOOD ELEMENTS HERE AND THERE THAT MADE THEM BEARABLE:
187. Final Destination - James Wong, U.S. 2000
188. Gangs of New York - Martin Scorcese, U.S. 2002
189. A Beautiful Mind - Ron Howard, U.S. 2001
190. Scary Movie 3 - David Zucker, U.S. 2003
191. Rated X - Emilio Estevez, U.S. 2000
192. Scary Movie - Keenan Ivory Wayans, U.S. 2000
193. 300 - Zack Snyder, U.S. 2007
194. Scooby-Doo - Raja Gosnell, U.S. 2002
195. The Matrix Reloaded - The Wachowski Brothers, U.S. 2003
196. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee, China 2000
197. Amelie - Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France 2001
198. The Hours - Stephen Daldry, U.S. 2002
199. The Stepford Wives - Frank Oz, U.S. 2004
200. The Matrix Revolutions - The Wachowski Brothers, U.S. 2003
201. The Manchurian Candidate - Jonathan Demme, U.S. 2004
202. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Tim Burton, U.S. 2005
203. Scary Movie 4 - David Zucker, U.S. 2006
AWFUL AND/OR BORING AND/OR OFFENSIVE AND/OR INCOMPETENT, WITH JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH TALENT TO BE OUTRIGHT WORTHLESS:
204. From Hell - Albert & Allen Hughes, U.S. 2001
205. Quills - Philip Kaufman, U.S. 2000
206. A History of Violence - David Cronenberg, U.S./Canada 2005
207. 9 Songs - Michael Winterbottom, U.K. 2004
208. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Tim Burton, U.S. 2007
209. Austin Powers in Goldmember - Jay Roach, U.S. 2002
210. Hannibal - Ridley Scott, U.S. 2001
211. FeardotCom - William Malone, U.S. 2002
212. The Mothman Prophesies - Mark Pellington, U.S. 2002
213. Battle Royale II: Requiem - Kinji Fukasaku, Japan 2003
214. Star Trek: Nemesis - Stuart Baird, U.S. 2002
215. Halloween: Resurrection - Rick Rosenthal, U.S. 2002
216. Red Dragon - Brett Ratner, U.S. 2002
217. The Truth About Charlie - Jonathan Demme, U.S. 2002
218. Romance & Cigarettes - John Turturro, U.S. 2005
219. Across the Universe - Julie Taymor, U.S. 2007
HIDEOUS, WITH ENOUGH CHARMING ACTING MOMENTS TO GET ME THROUGH:
220. The Mummy Returns - Stephen Sommers, U.S. 2001
221. Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle - McG, U.S. 2003
222. Planet of the Apes - Tim Burton, U.S. 2001
WORTHLESS:
223. Jurassic Park III - Joe Johnston, U.S. 2001
224. Basic Instinct 2 - Michael Caton-Jones, U.S. 2006
225. Gladiator - Ridley Scott, U.S. 2000
SO BORING I CAN BARELY JUDGE THEM AND DON'T CARE:
226. Mission Impossible 2 - John Woo, U.S. 2000
227. Shadow of the Vampire - E. Elias Merhage, U.S. 2000
SCUM:
228. Baise-Moi - Virginie Despentes, France 2000
We are staying in tonight, and avoiding the craziness and unpleasant travel of New Year's Eve. We've watched Dogville, INLAND EMPIRE and Speed Racer in their entirety, and Zodiac is almost over. What next? I'm Not There? The Saddest Music in the World? Synecdoche, New York is also on the pile but, uh, I'm not so sure that's appropriate for what supposed to be a more happy evening.
And a happy new year to you and yours, friends.
