Film: Best Movies of the Decade (Honorable Mentions)

No time to explain these. Just trust me that they're also fantastic, but not quite good enough to make my shortlist.

• 21 Grams (2003, Alejandro González Iñárritu)
• The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005, Judd Apatow)
• About a Boy (2002, Paul Weitz)
• About Schmidt (2002, Alexander Payne)
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004, Adam McKay)
• Away from Her (2007, Sarah Polley)
• Bandits (2001, Barry Levinson)
• A Beautiful Mind (2001, Ron Howard)
• Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007, Sidney Lumet)
• Bella (2007, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde)
• Borat (2006, Larry Charles)
• Casino Royale (2006, Martin Campbell)
• Charlie Wilson’s War (2007, Mike Nichols)
• Collateral (2004, Michael Mann)
• The Fall (2008, Tarsem)
• Finding Forrester (2000, Gus Van Sant)
• For Your Consideration (2006, Christopher Guest)
• A History of Violence (2005, David Cronenberg)
• The Hurt Locker (2009, Kathryn Bigelow)
• I’m Not There. (2007, Todd Haynes)
• Idiocracy (2006, Mike Judge)
• Iron Man (2008, Jon Favreau)
• Keeping the Faith (2000, Edward Norton)
• The Kingdom (2007, Peter Berg)
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, Shane Black)
• Layer Cake (2004, Matthew Vaughn)
• The Lives of Others (2006, Florian Hinkel von Donnersmarck)
• Lost in Translation (2003, Sofia Coppola)
• Mean Girls (2004, Mark Waters)
• Minority Report (2002, Steven Spielberg)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006, J.J. Abrams)
• The Mist (2007, Frank Darabont)
• Mondays in the Sun (2003, Fernando León de Aranoa)
• Monster House (2006, Gil Kenan)
• Mysterious Skin (2005, Gregg Araki)
• Ocean’s Eleven (2001, Steven Soderbergh)
• Once (2007, John Carney)
• The Patriot (2000, Roland Emmerich)
• Red Dragon (2002, Brett Ratner)
• Saved! (2004, Brian Dannelly)
• Shattered Glass (2003, Billy Ray)
• Signs (2002, M. Night Shyamalan)
• The Simpsons Movie (2007, David Silverman)
• Sin City (2005, Robert Rodriguez)
• Snatch. (2000, Guy Ritchie)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004, Sam Raimi)
• Superbad (2007, Greg Mottola)
• Team America: World Police (2004, Trey Parker and Matt Stone)
• Waitress (2007, Adrienne Shelly)
• Waltz with Bashir (2008, Ari Folman)

Film: Best Movies of the Decade, Part 2

Michael Clayton
(2007, Tony Gilroy)
At first, it's just another legal thriller. Nothing more special than a pretty good John Grisham adaptation. But upon further viewings, this is a deeply complex picture, where good and evil get blurred, often in the same people. Tilda Swinton won the Oscar (over a much more deserving Cate Blanchett), but it's Clooney and Wilkinson who shine here--as the titular bankrupt (morally and monitarily) attorney and his deranged but compassionate mentor. This is a film that will blow you away (pun partially intended).


Moulin Rouge!
(2001, Baz Luhrmann)
Perhaps the most flawed film on this list. Yet it's also perhaps the most entertaining. Baz Luhrmann's wild, kaleidoscopic musical is unabashedly romantic, and completely engrossing. It would make this list for the "Elephant Love Medley" alone.


Mystic River
(2003, Clint Eastwood)
A Shakespearean tragedy in Boston. Often depressing, but occasionally humorous and always revealing, the movie has much to say about manhood. And how ignoring problems don't make them go away. But at the end of the day, this is still a mystery told exceptionally well.
Further Viewing: Million Dollar Baby (2004), Gran Torino (2008)


No Country for Old Men
(2007, Joel and Ethan Coen)
When I first saw this Coen Brothers masterpiece (of which there are many), I thought there was something missing. I thought they had kind of missed the point of Cormac McCarthy's novel. But that was all in my interpretation. It turns out it wasn't their fault that their cat-and-mouse game is so engrossing, the subtext of the difficulty of living in a dark and fallen world can be missed. But it was right there all the time. This is a richly rewarding experience.
Further Viewing: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Burn After Reading (2008)


Rachel Getting Married
(2008, Jonathan Demme)
Now this is what you call a return to form. Having essentially made just OK films after The Silence of the Lambs (1991), this was the first movie to make any kind of waves. The same things that made that Oscar-winner so great apply here: an impeccable, believable cast (led by a brave female lead--here it's Anne Hathaway, showing unexpected maturity), a script filled with tension and of course Demme's subtle touch. It's less about the wedding and more about family secrets that try to remain buried but can't help but be uncovered.


The Royal Tenenbaums
(2001, Wes Anderson)
Thanks to Anderson and Owen Wilson's screenplay, the film succeeds with every style of humor: sight gags (the falcon, Ben Stiller's kids), sex (Margot's secret file), drugs (Owen Wilson's entire performance), racial ("What are you gonna do about it, Coltrane?), etc. But it's the heart of the story--Gene Hackman's desire to piece back his family--that makes it so memorable.
Further Viewing: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)


Shaun of the Dead
(2004, Edgar Wright)
Is it wrong that a movie wants to be more romantic comedy than zombie splatterfest? Nope. And this is the rare movie that can pull off both. And I hate to use this word, but it's an effective "bromance" as well.
Further Viewing: Hot Fuzz (2007)


Shrek
(2001, Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson)
Momentarily proved that Pixar didn't have a strangehold on great animated filmmaking. Unlike past masterpieces of animation, not every detail serves or accentuates the story. This is more about telling Disney to suck it, and the creative team does so with gusto. Future versions would rely more and more on pop culture references (though part 2's COPS parody still brings the laughter), but the first film struck the perfect balance of fairy tale, anachronism and inner-beauty message.


Slumdog Millionaire
(2008, Danny Boyle)
Did the illiterate slum kid cheat on Who Wants to be Millionaire? Is he just lucky? Or is it his destiny? The game-show plot device here actually serves the story. It never feels like a gimmick. In fact, everything in this film feels realistic, right down to the glorious Bollywood number at the end. Jai ho!
Further Viewing: 28 Days Later (2003), Millions (2005)


State and Main
(2000, David Mamet)
As brutally funny and well-acted (and ad-libbed) as any of Christopher Guest's pictures, but tailor-made especially for film geeks. The behind-the-scenes of The Old Mill will resonate with anyone who's ever worked on a project where no one was a team player. Alec Baldwin (as a leading man with an appetite for teenage girls) and William H. Macy (as the stressed director) are just two standouts in an impeccable cast.
Further Viewing: Heist (2001), Spartan (2004)


There Will Be Blood
(2007, P.T. Anderson)
Easily the weirdest movie to be nominated for Best Picture, at least this decade. A period piece/capitalist horror flick/anti-religion propaganda. In other words, a masterpiece. The two leads (Daniel Day-Lewis--in what may be the finest bit of acting this decade--and a completely overwhelmed Paul Dano) are both men completely full of it, but also masters of manipulation. Their battle of wills carries the movie until it reaches its violent end.
Further Viewing: Punch-Drunk Love (2002)


This Film is Not Yet Rated
(2006, Kirby Dick)
OK, so it's not the most hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism. But Kirby Dick has a reasonable ax to grind. The MPAA, which rates the movies you watch, has a history of being incredibly hypocritical and overly accommodating to big studios. Is there a guidebook for the reasons behind its ratings? Nope. Can you write the members? Nuh-uh. He raises lots of good questions. And hopefully we'll eventually get the answers.


Touching the Void
(2004, Kevin MacDonald)
Re-enactments are usually reserved for Maury and Unsolved Mysteries. But this docudrama actually worked, mainly because it was so realistic. In 1985, Joe Simpson broke his climbing in the Andes with his partner Simon Yates. Since they were tethered together, both would likely die, unless Yates cut Simpson free. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. It simply has to be seen to be believed.


United 93
(2006, Paul Greengrass)
In a fragmented political climate, Greengrass made a completely apolitical movie based on the most harrowing event of the last decade. Here, he simply shows heroism--not hero worship. It's an incredibly subtle touch at a time when it was needed the most.
Further Viewing: The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)


Up
(2009, Pete Docter)
As adventurous as Indiana Jones and as touching as Forrest Gump, yet balances the two unbelievably well. If the first 10 minutes don't make you tear up, there's probably something wrong with you.
Further Viewing: Monsters, Inc. (2001)


Up in the Air
(2009, Jason Reitman)
So rarely does a movie perfectly embody the era in which it was made, but Reitman's third film (and his best--a feat in and of itself) gets everything about 2009: the layoffs, the culture of isolation and the growing anti-marriage sentiment. And then it reveals the hollowness of each of those things.
Further Viewing: Thank You for Smoking (2006), Juno (2007)


V for Vendetta
(2006, James McTiegue)
Is V for Vendetta as good as Network or A Clockwork Orange? Well, no, but it does belong in the same league as those '70s masterpieces. Like both of those unsettling works that all but predicted the future, the Wachowski Brothers' best film grows more relevant everyday. A pitch-black political thriller that's closer to happening than anyone would like to admit. ¡Viva la revolución!


WALL•E
(2008, Andrew Stanton)
Pixar's best movie? Maybe. The first half-hour is Chaplinesque beauty. After that, it becomes a scathing indictment of a lazy humanity. Both work. Another scary but realistic vision of the future.
Further Viewing: Finding Nemo (2003)


Where the Wild Things Are
(2009, Spike Jonze)
Recently surpassed The NeverEnding Story as my all-time favorite live-action kids movie. But calling it a kids movie sells it far short. I doubt many kids enjoyed this. Like all of Spike Jonze's films, this is an endeavor far more interested in identity than plot, but it all works. A challenging movie that never got the respect or audience it deserved.
Further Viewing: Adaptation. (2002)


Zodiac
(2007, David Fincher)
Unlike any other crime thriller because it's less about who did it and catching him and more about the obsession of finding out who did it and catching him. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. and particularly Anthony Edwards shine as the stakeholders in solving the Zodiac killings. But it's Brian Cox and John Carroll Lynch who stand out the most. This is as intelligent as filmmaking gets.

Film: Best Movies of the Decade

How fitting that my 100th post on this blog brings me back to my first love: film. It's been nearly three years since I started it, and--save a couple semesters--I've done my best to maintain it. I hope you enjoy this list, which is hardly complete. I'll follow this up with a post of 50 honorable mentions.

Here goes:

25th Hour
(2002, Spike Lee)
The definitive guy movie of the decade. On the eve of his prison sentence, Monty Brogan (Ed Norton) reflects on his friendships and poor decisions over the years and in the process reveals the devastation his drug dealing has brought on his family. Featuring great supporting performances from an insecure Philip Seymour Hoffman, an overly confident Barry Pepper and a stoic but strong Brian Cox. Oh, and it manages to say more about our "post-9/11" world in a few minutes than most movies did in their entire run time.
Further Viewing: Bamboozled (2000), Inside Man (2006), Miracle at St. Anna (2008)


500 Days of Summer
(2009, Marc Webb)
A romantic comedy that's not terrible is a miracle in and of itself, but one that includes realistic dialogue and scenarios? That's unheard of. Music video director Marc Webb makes a remarkable debut, one that's totally honest with its audience, even when it has a few tricks up its sleeve.


Almost Famous
(2000, Cameron Crowe)
Perfectly captures teenage innocence, the '70s, rock 'n' roll, the pressures of your first big job, falling in love, and anything else ya got. This is Crowe's masterpiece.


Amélie
(2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Has there ever been a more likable protagonist than Amélie? She's a person so unwaveringly nice and generous person, she has to be a work of fiction. But none of this would work if Audrey Tautou weren't so genuine.


American Gangster
(2007, Ridley Scott)
Another appropriate title would have been the title of the article it's based upon: "The Return of Superfly." After the commercial failures of his last three projects, Scott teamed up with his ol' buddy Russell Crowe, attached a perfectly cast Denzel (clearly relishing his bad guy role) and much, like The Departed, emphasized the psyche--not the firepower--of the two leads.
Further Viewing: Black Hawk Down (2001), Matchstick Men (2003), Kingdom of Heaven (2005)


Audition
(2001, Takashi Miike)
The first half flawlessly blends mystery and romance, the second is a terrifying trip into obsession. A movie with a palpable sense of dread. Seek it out immediately.


Before Sunset
(2004, Richard Linklater)
Nine years after their brief encounter, Jesse and Celine reconnect in Paris and their real-time conversation about all their how their lives didn't turn out the way they planned carries significant heft. But it's more than just the dialogue that resonates: each gesture carefully adds another detail of the regret they both feel. One of the most affecting and rewarding movies you'll ever see.
Further Viewing: Waking Life (2001)


Big Fish
(2003, Tim Burton)
After the dark dreck of the despicable Planet of the Apes remake, many wondered what one of the most gifted directors would do next. He turned his sights on Daniel Wallace's magical novel, a father-son tale that never once feels trite. Albert Finney is terrific as the larger-than-life patriarch, whose tall tales don't sit well with his son (Billy Crudup). The ensuing conversations and stories paint a picture of a man whose big dreams and full life had to be filled with big stories. The more fantastic sequences--with Ewan McGregor--are a delight to behold, but the intimate scenes with Crudup and Finney are touching.
Further Viewing: Sweeney Todd (2007)


Brick
(2006, Rian Johnson)
A gripping detective thriller set in the shifty world of high school. The seedy clubs are backstage of theater productions, the dark alleys are rows of lockers, but the hard-boiled dialogue remains consistent. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is marvelous as a Phillip Marlowe in sneakers, with Matt O'Leary as his trusty sidekick. Tremendously well-written, especially for a film with a budget of under $500,000.
Further Viewing: The Brothers Bloom (2009)


Children of Men
(2006, Alfonso Cuarón)
From the opening scene--a bomb goes off in a crowded café, sending a disoriented man scrambling to find his arm--sets up the alarming sense of certainty viewers feel throughout this rough-edged masterpiece. It's pretty hopeless until the ending, which leaves the viewer to decide whether hope is fulfilled or destroyed. A terrifying vision of the future, filled with realism, masterful camera tricks and honest performances.
Further Viewing: Y Tu Mamá También (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)


City of God
(2003, Fernando Meirelles)
Think of it as the Brazilian GoodFellas: a comprehensive, engrossing mob tale from its violent origins to its devastating end. This is the work of a startling visionary who knows exactly what he's talking about.


Cold Mountain
(2003, Anthony Minghella)
A movie that grows richer as time goes on. This isn't your father's Civil War movie: there are no winners in the final months of the conflict, only losers. This Deep South Odyssey works only because you believe the love between Jude Law and Nicole Kidman is that strong. It also helps that the gritty realism of deserters and devastated victims of war fill in the rest of the film, eliminating any Hollywood shine.


Crash
(2005, Paul Haggis)
Is it well-acted and well-written? Yeah. Is it brutally honest? Yeah. Is it preachy? Yeah, that too. But Haggis' directorial debut is the kind of movie that comes around so rarely: a movie that holds up a mirror to America (and humanity) and shows it its own hideous reflection.
Further Viewing: In the Valley of Elah (2007)


The Dark Knight
(2008, Christopher Nolan)
I could write pages and pages about this game-changing movie, which pretty much redefined everything that came before it. It inspires. ethical debates. It has an impeccable cast, from the shortest supporting performance of David Dastmalchian to the piece-de-resistance of the late Heath Ledger. Its story has more and more layers upon each viewing. In short, this is about as good as it gets.
Further Viewing: Memento (2000), The Prestige (2006)


Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
(2008, Kurt Kuenne)
More compelling and tear-jerking than just about any movie you'll ever see. One half is a gripping true-crime story, the other is filled with righteous indignation over a corrupt Canadian justice system. This is a documentary made to shake you with nothing but the truth.


The Departed
(2006, Martin Scorsese)
A crime epic like nothing you've ever seen. Leave it to Scorsese to add context to a mob saga. There's plenty of shootouts, but also lots of deeper themes about true identity and cultural heritage. Plus, the cast (including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson--all at the top of their games) is one of the best ever assembled.
Further Viewing: The Aviator (2004)


The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(2007, Julian Schnabel)
Most biopics are as flat and uninteresting as West Texas. But every once in a while, a true storyteller comes along to inject some life into someone's life story. Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of French Vogue had a stroke in his 30s, paralyzing all but his left eye. But his spirit could not be contained. He blinked his memoirs with the help of his longsuffering nurse. If this sounds a bit boring, trust me it's not. This is about as riveting as they come.


Donnie Darko
(2001, Richard Kelly)
I'm not going to pretend like I know everything that's going on in this movie. But that's part of what's so rewarding about repeat viewings of this spiritual-supernatural-completely unreal coming-of-age story.


Doubt
(2008, John Patrick Shanley)
Here's a movie you can dissect and discuss for days on end, thanks to a script filled with clues and misinterpretations. No two people will have the exact same theory on what happened. But that's not the point. It's more of how misconceptions and assumptions tear apart people's lives. It's a shame more people haven't seen it.


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(2004, Michel Gondry)
A romantic comedy that defies convention or boundaries. A stunning piece of technical genius, but also filled with powerful but realistic performances. In short, this is a movie that gets everything right.


Forgetting Sarah Marshall
(2008, Nicholas Stoller)
Smarter and more resonant than a dozen romantic comedies, Jason Segel's screenwriting debut is more honest and funny than anything with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey.


Grindhouse
(2007, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino)
A filmgoing experience like no other: a Z-grade double feature done with grade-A talent. Rodriguez's Planet Terror is the more entertaining zombie-infestation gross-out and Tarantino's Death Proof is a talky revenge thriller. But the best part is the fake trailers that connect the two films: each a surprisingly well done parody of a subgenre of horror.


High Fidelity
(2000, Stephen Frears)
Here's a guy movie that actually doesn't insult men--or women. The characters are complex, but not overly so. Yes, we like to make top 5 lists and obsess over records, but that doesn't mean we don't regret some things or feel cheated or wish our lives could be better.
Further Viewing: The Queen (2006)


In America
(2003, Jim Sheridan)
An immigrant tale that doesn't feel like it's been told 1,000 times. Based on director Jim Sheridan's own life experience, the movie feels authentic because it is. It's also unpredictable. Nothing in the film feels methodical. It unfolds realistically.


In Bruges
(2008, Martin McDonagh)
Most movies find their protagonists trapped in an idyllic small town. But the twist here is that they're trapped in a hellhole in Belgium. There's a little bit of underlying sadness in the conversation of two men who have devoted their lives to the business of killing, but the movie is still ferociously funny and delightfully off-kilter.


The Incredibles
(2004, Brad Bird)
Just a superhero movie? Think again. This is less about the family's superpowers and more about how society has made those superpowers something to be ashamed of because it distinguishes them from the rest of the average population. Like Dash says, "Everyone's special, which means no one is." Biting satire in a kids' movie? You bet your Hai Karate.
Further Viewing: Ratatouille (2007)


Inglourious Basterds
(2009, Quentin Tarantino)
After you see a movie six times, you start to notice things. Like how every performance is richly detailed, how intense each scene is, and how detailed each setpiece is. You also notice how aggressively, well, awesome this movie is. A well-crafted piece of historical pulp fiction, this multi-layered revenge fantasy is as elaborate and entertaining as they come.
Further Viewing: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)


Let the Right One In
(2008, Tomas Alfredson)
Twilight, schmilight. This is the ultimate teen vampire romance. Relationships don't get more complicated than the one between Oskar and Eli, the bullied boy and his vampire pal. Plus, it's not exactly clear if Eli wants to give up the blood-sucking life. A complex love story that feels real, even with its fantastic elements.


Little Miss Sunshine
(2006, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)
A dysfunctional family tale that's authentic because none of the revelations feel out-of-the-ordinary. For the most part, anything that the Hoovers experience, your family could just as easily go through. Oh, but it's still hilarious.


The Lord of the Rings trilogy
(2001-03, Peter Jackson)
No one knows the definition of painstaking better than Peter Jackson (except maybe James Cameron). A years-in-the-making epic that made sure every minute detail (from how many soldiers in a battle scene to the proportions of a treehouse to height of each character) is perfected. In a way, it's almost too perfect, and definitely too long, but incredibly entertaining nonetheless.