Sven's Top 21+3 of the Decade

[Sven]

It's been a strange decade for me, moving from 17 to 26. Starting the 00s as a teenager, it should be expected that I spent ample time those first few years, up to about 2004, watching many contemporary films, both at the theaters as well as utilizing my position as a video store employee to screen as many films as possible. After that, I'm not quite sure what happened, but I began to notice a substantial wane in my interest in new pictures. Since, I've been married and back in school and meeting people and certainly much too occupied with non-cinema-related life endeavors to make sure that I squeeze in screenings of the latest mandatory film du jour, especially if that film looks uninteresting.

I’m actually surprised at the nature of my list. I have become, in the last year, extremely disinterested in rating or ranking things, and do so more out of habit or curiosity now than impulse. This list was requested by some and that's the main reason it exists, but it was useful to make, and I hope you like the results.

The list is imperfect, but what do you expect? I totally forgot about One Night at McCool's.

[chrisnu]

Looking forward to it.

[megladon8]

Awesome! Can't wait!

[Boner M]

The list is imperfect, but what do you expect? I totally forgot about One Night at McCool's.
That's my Svenosos.

Can't wait for the list.

[Sven]

21. Mirrormask

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/mirror-mask.jpg

It's interesting, and a shame, that the work in Mirrormask that most evokes the otherworldliness of McKean's graphic art is his construction of the “real world” of Helen’s circus life. Once she and the viewer tumble into Maskland or whatever that world is called, the movie loses some charm and becomes a, while sometimes awe-inspiring, fairly formulaic sequence of dreamlike strangeness. Think Alice in Wonderland. Helen's reality is captured wonderfully, though, and the cast at large acts beautifully, particularly the young woman playing Helen, whose face beams with humor and a sense of emotional truth. The effects and design are never less than witty and weird. I've always liked Alice-type stories, where the actuality of the hero/heroine's fantastic story, while still saying a ton about the character’s mental or emotional life, is up for question, peppered with clues that hint at both answers. And this one is more evocative of the frustrations and inner turmoil of a young woman (and in particular, her relationship with her parents) than any other I can think of that came out this decade (including Spirited Away, which is great in many ways, the ravishing but mopey Where the Wild Things Are, and the also-Gaiman-originated Coraline, which was fun).

[Sven]

20. Atanarjuat

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A tangled, some say "Shakespearean" supernatural family drama: love and generations and violence and spirits and all that, some say the film’s unexpected popularity is due to its being this big Inuit breakout. It definitely doesn’t seem like white America’s cup of tea: it looks like a PBS documentary sometimes, featuring a strange new language and an alien culture. Nowadays, people just blink when you talk about it. So despite the film's possession of qualities that have ensured films of lesser quality to remain popular, it has sadly become the victim of being a passing exotic fancy to the public. I implore us to not forget this movie. I am bowled over at the naturalism of its breadth. It is enormous, yet so unassuming. The straightforward nature of the digital footage gives everything a casual pall that makes more curious the spiritual dimensions and more involving the epic plotting. The nude chase sequence is one for the books.

[Sven]

19. CJ7

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/cj7.jpg

A film full of signals and fantasy, where boys are girls, death is life, where balls and dolls are alien dogs. It’s a kid film and works as such. The pre-K humor and cuteness factors are there, frequently executed in slightly off-kilter, witty ways as is expected from Chow. The film operates on Warner Brothers logic, where explosions will muss up a person’s hair and face and that’s it. Except that CJ7 is also punctuated with real pathos and real tragedy. There is much crying and dying and a spanking. Chow films the construction site at which his father character toils ominously, looming over edges to see the ground hundreds of feet below, gigantic mechanical steel arms swinging around, foreshadowing something dire. Still, it is a joyful film, made only stronger by its commitment to unflinchingly addressing the reality of life's fragility while boldly combining it with highly fantastic, cartoony catharsis. The look in CJ7's eyes as he determinedly works to save a life transforms the lifeless simulation of computer imagery into a mirror of pure, unconditional humanity that promises limitlessness. At the film's heart is a father selflessly working to construct a future where his son has more options than himself, abetting the audience by introducing the option of casting girls as boys and treating it as the non-issue that it is. Wherever the little girl is who plays the rich bully, I hope she's having the happiest life available to her, because she is amazing.

[megladon8]

HUGE props for including Atanarjuat.

That's the only decent movie that was included in the film studies course I took as an elective in college.

One of the best Canadian films ever.

[Sven]

18. Bamboozled

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/bamboozled.jpg

Don't get cocky now, Spike. You are also responsible for one of the worst movies of the decade: that loathsome, interminable Miracle at St. Anna's. If it weren't for slavery, I'd demand reparations from you for that one. Alright, alright, so we’ll always have Bamboozled: with Tommy Hilnigger and Da Bomb, baby (it makes me get my freak on!)! And the guy who sings about smacking his hoes. And Mos’ Def’ as Big Black Africa with his posse of Mau-Maus. It’s a hilariously imaginative alternate reality that Lee has constructed, even though I don’t think I’m sold on the plausibility of minstrel shows returning to popular favor anytime soon. This stretching and pulling and general distorting of reality compounds with its highly documentary-like digital (consumer-grade cameras) presentation to create an uncomfortable feeling of being stuck between two ideologies. This is the territory through which the best Spike Lee films navigate. I can't say I can explore too much in such little space the politics of blackface and the complicity of the black player in his own stereotyping. I can say that the film feels very volatile. Very alive. In a film about performance, everyone impresses with theirs. "I... be smackin' my hoes!"

[Sven]

I will pull together some more entries later.

[megladon8]

Bamboozled is one I've been recommended several times but just never got around to seeing.

I know several who consider it one of Spike Lee's greatest films.

[Sven]

I know several who consider it one of Spike Lee's greatest films.

I think it probably is. Either this or Summer of Sam.

[D_Davis]

Nice start with Mirrormask. A flawed but visually stunning film.

[megladon8]

I think it probably is. Either this or Summer of Sam.


I think that's so cool - I really love how your lists are always so very unique, so personal.

Ask just about anyone what their favorite work by Spike Lee is, and they'll name off Do the Right Thing, Clockers, 25th Hour, etc. You always have cool responses that don't feel forced or "contrarian" (something I know you've been accused of being in the past).

There are several people on MatchCut with unique tastes and outlooks on film, life and their connections, and that's a big part of why I keep coming back here every day.

[Raiders]

I would name When the Levees Broke as Lee's best film. Need to see Bamboozled, though.

[Derek]

I love that you chose Atanarjuat - a unique, beautiful film that has sort of gotten lost in the mix since it came out. I don't much care for Bamboozled, but it's a film I respect and understand those who love it.

I was going to ask if you were joking about McCool's, but I'm afraid to hear the answer.

[Watashi]

Norbit for #1?

[Ezee E]

Bamboozled has equal parts amazing to equal parts awful. Ambitious project though.

[Sven]

17. Signs

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/signs.jpg

Is there a more unjustly slandered filmmaker of note than Shyamalan? Like, look at all the cool shots (like the knife under the door) and funny parts (like the military recruitment dude) and quality performances (like Mel Gibson's) and sweet (Hermanny) music and freaky bits (the Brazilian birthday video is a classic talking point)… The religion angle is a bit heavy, but then I think about how it is placed correlative to UFOs and I am somehow okay with it. His writing can sometimes achieve sonorous emotional highs - like that dinner table scene... oof. And to weave laughter into the thriller has been done by no one so deftly since Hitchcock, probably, though I'm told that's a cliched comparison. Really, to justify my admiration for Shyamalan's craft would, given the fervor of opposition, take much longer than a paragraph. Whatever. This movie is awesome and Joaquin Phoenix should do more comedy...

[Sven]

Bamboozled has equal parts amazing to equal parts awful. Ambitious project though.

Care to expound at all on what you think is awful about it?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Signs!? WTF.

[transmogrifier]

# of films in this list = 24
# of films I expect to actually like = 2 or 3
# of films I expect will have me shaking my head muttering "Oh, Svensos..." = 8 or 9

Signs belongs in the latter category, of course.

[Sven]

# of films in this list = 24
# of films I expect to actually like = 2 or 3
# of films I expect will have me shaking my head muttering "Oh, Svensos..." = 8 or 9

Signs belongs in the latter category, of course.

I pulled you back!

[Derek]

Is there a more unjustly slandered filmmaker of note than Shyamalan?

Yes, lots I imagine.

[Derek]

Care to expound at all on what you think is awful about it?

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/images/issue/420/bamboozled_420.jpg

=

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2008/09/10/sledging.jpg

[Sven]

16. Undisputed

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/undisputedb.jpg

Walter Hill continues his interest in exploring territory theory in this jolting prison boxing picture that injects a strain of sophisticated meta-commentary on the gladiatorial nature not just of boxing but of the cinema that projects such demonstrations of ego on ego combat. Peter Falk paces about, saying "fuck!" all over the place, crinkle-eyed, sputtering, looking like his head is about to explode. Wesley Snipes internalizes and rages with equal strength and grace, like the best performances by Toshiro Mifune. Ving Rhames, I like. He is strong and passionate and has a mean face that you believe could kill you and a radiant goddamn smile. This is the machismo of prime time TNT, but given its heightened visual schematic (of cages, pens, screens, windows and television sets, and a periodic rapid, commercialized editing style resembling fight advertisements), specific address of racial and political thematic intent (much of which dealing with media depiction of fighters, particularly black fighters), and an impressive array of performance styles, it exposes the nerves and gears subsumed beneath the formula. And hey, isn't it awesome that Fisher Stevens has an Oscar now!

[transmogrifier]

Yes, lots I imagine.

Indeed, he actually gets a bit of a pass from a lot of critics for the shoddiness of the rest of his films (one-note scenarios - let's take a genre and po-face it! - , atrocious one-note acting - that's great, but let's try it with more whispering and slacker jaws! - and silly individual conceits - let's put a blind girl in a forest!, let's savage a film critic!) through his ability in staging scenes and cutting tense sequences.

He has more of a reputation than he deserves, based on his final products, I wager.

[Sven]

http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2000_Bamboozled/michael_rapaport_bamboozled_00 1.jpg

=

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2008/09/10/sledging.jpg

I wouldn't think that E would have a problem with sledgehammer moralizing.

[Sven]

Indeed, he actually gets a bit of a pass from a lot of critics for the shoddiness of the rest of his films (one-note scenarios - let's take a genre and po-face it! - , atrocious one-note acting - that's great, but let's try it with more whispering and slacker jaws! - and silly individual conceits - let's put a blind girl in a forest!, let's savage a film critic!) through his ability in staging scenes and cutting tense sequences.

He has more of a reputation than he deserves, based on his final products, I wager.

You didn't come back just to bash Shyamalan some more, did you?

[Raiders]

Yeah, I'm not much on Shyamalan, but I do share Sven's admiration of Lady in the Water and was really hoping he was going to choose that one.

[Spinal]

Well, at least it wasn't Lady in the Water, I suppose.

[transmogrifier]

You didn't come back just to bash Shyamalan some more, did you?

You say "bash", I say objectively analyze.

You also say "come back", I say lapse.

[Spinal]

Yeah, I'm not much on Shyamalan, but I do share Sven's admiration of Lady in the Water and was really hoping he was going to choose that one.

Heh.

[Sven]

Yeah, I'm not much on Shyamalan, but I do share Sven's admiration of Lady in the Water and was really hoping he was going to choose that one.

It's pretty great, but Signs is the topper for me. I can't get over how funny it is. And the conceit is easier to swallow.

Anyway, I really am going to put a pause on this for a bit and compile more entries later tonite or tomorrow.

[Derek]

I wouldn't think that E would have a problem with sledgehammer moralizing.

Look, I love Spike as much as the next guy, unless that next guy is E, but Rappaport's character in Bamboozled is often the product of blunt, lazy commentary. Plus, it's one of Rappaport's worst performances and I'm not so hot on him in the first place.

EDIT: Woops, first photo of Rappaport didn't show up.


You didn't come back just to bash Shyamalan some more, did you?

I kinda hope he did...

Regardless, I will be checking out Undisputed, which sounds kind of awesome.

[Winston*]

Loved Mirrormask and The Fast Runner. Dug CJ7 also.

[Boner M]

Like Bamboozled, prolly more than anything else Spike's done last decade.

Signs is boring, but it has its moments.

[Watashi]

You know Svenny... as much as I give you crap for hating Pixar and most movies in general, I just have to pull you back in for your unabashed love for Shyamalan.

[Ivan Drago]

#1 has to be Crank. Right, Sven? RIGHT???

[B-side]

Awesome.

[Milky Joe]

It's pretty great, but Signs is the topper for me. I can't get over how funny it is. And the conceit is easier to swallow.

Totally, completely agree. I watched the movie again recently and was laughing pretty damned consistently. "Yeah... you got a pamphlet I could read or somethin?"

And yeah, that dinner scene is beautiful in every way. Gibson's best performance, question mark?

I love this film. The Happening... not so much. Did the guy just peak early or something? What's he doing next, The Last Airbender movie? Gag.

[Derek]

If I were to list active directors in order of their senses of humor, M. Knight Shyamalan would end up 1 or 2 spots below Michael Bay.

[Pop Trash]

I'm hoping Southland Tales will show up somewhere on here.

[Sven]

15. Phone Booth

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/phonebooth.jpg

Tense and tight, Schumacher demonstrates ample evidence for the argument that the surprising many who jerk their knees at him in dismissal (really, only for turning the Batman franchise into a cumbersome, laughable thing, a crime only dissimilar in color to what the series has become with Nolan) run the risk of eating crow. It does seem that in this Scott Free world, there is little room for the MTV bombast of Schumacher, who seems old hat by comparison. Still, when it comes to at least this movie, which outclasses any Tony Scott film in existence and any Ridley Scott film made post-1977, Schumacher demonstrates visual wit and surety to spare, crafting a tight film based on a tight script (that somehow doesn't feel quite pared down enough sometimes), perfectly incorporating the spirit of the film's location and hectic atmosphere. I'll give it up for Colin Farrell, whose performance I think is one of the best I've seen. It's not realistic, but it's immediate--he guides you along with his actorly machinations and he's charismatic enough to pull it off. His swagger is mysterious, because we want to know how much is faked. Perfect casting. The metaphor is solid; at least the film knows it needs to be short. The ending is kinda goofy, but then the camera does a zoom out thing into the clouds and out of a phone receiver or something and it's even goofier.

[Sven]

14. The Good Thief

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/goodthief.jpg

After the sea of red herrings evaporates (and this is a very fishy plot indeed), the only thing in the film that in the end crystalizes is the presence, energy, face, voice, attitude—the style—of Nick Nolte. Nothing else matters: not the money, not the artwork nor the villain (Ralph Fiennes acted as the Fine Art Advisor to the film, punctuating the hilarity of his role--in one scene, he appraises a Picasso while holding a cigarette centimeters away from the canvas), not the girl, not his friendships (save maybe his amusing repartee with Tcheky Karyo, who plays a dogged detective looking to capture Nolte's "Bob le Flambeur" in the act), not his drug addiction, not the city (though Monte Carlo, especially in the perpetual dusk so important to the film’s mood, is nicely atmospheric), not even the heists (yes, there are several), which are labyrinthine and threaten to consume the casual viewer with their complex turnarounds, matter. For breezy, quasi-realistic, unpredictable Euro-glam criminal entertainment in the tradition of the masterful heist films of Jules Dassin (Topkapi & Rififi), the underrated Ocean's Twelve is respectable, but The Good Thief is tops.

[Derek]

15. Phone Booth

Schumacher demonstrates ample evidence for the argument that the surprising many who jerk their knees at him in dismissal (really, only for turning the Batman franchise into a cumbersome, laughable thing, a crime only dissimilar in color to what the series has become with Nolan) run the risk of eating crow.

Please stop reading Armond White.

[Grouchy]

Except for Signs, which I think is silly, I really like most of the films on this list.

I love MirrorMask (better Alice in Wonderland movie than Burton's), love CJ7, Phone Booth (Larry Cohen is an amazing writer), and I really really loved The Good Thief. It always surprised me how forgotten that movie is.

[Sven]

Please stop reading Armond White.

It's a fine sentence, one that accurately communicates my feelings.

Plus, just wait. :)

13. AI & The Terminal

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It seems like most Best Films of the 00s lists felt the need to include a 9/11 film, frequently either the overrated 25th Hour or the bombastic United 93. Props to Lee's film for dealing with the tragedy with immediacy (it was the first major film to address the attacks). Still, the sour mixture of Norton and Lee's respective self-absorption nerfs the resonance of Barry Pepper's pointed de-sexing, which echoes the loss of national virility. United 93 is simply pandering. Strangely, self-absorbed audience fodder is something that Steven Spielberg is often accused of making. What the 'berg brings with these two films that Lee and Greengrass don't is a strong sense of purpose and concise questioning (not to mention a much more interesting visual presentation). With The Terminal, it is true that consideration of terrorism is given awfully little screen time, which is a bit off since the film takes place in an airport terminal (post-9/11) and whose narrative impetus centers around civil unrest in developing countries. But the structured absence of topical weight allows for the film's admittedly heavy hand to fall on peripheral (or, in the present context, nonviolent) concerns. It is true that Zeta-Jones's character is horribly written and the actress certainly does the role no favors. But barring the cliched gooiness of that, The Terminal is a truly remarkable version of David and Goliath, both mythic in proportion and mundane at heart. AI is in a strange bind, being made right before the attacks on Manhattan, but prevalently featuring an eerie, water-submerged Mecca (mecha) known as "MAN"hattan (the puns are stacking). Made at a time right before the attack, AI projects New York into a future suggesting the irrelevancy of the human race. Chilling. AI is most certainly the better film of the two, from a technical point of view, but also offers a world of immediate pleasures, but enough words have been written of its merits that I will leave it to you to seek them out. But I will say that Jude Law has never surpassed his Gigolo Joe, which is one of my favorite performances.

[Derek]

It's a fine sentence, one that accurately communicates my feelings.

Communicating your feelings accurately has never been an issue for you. :) I take issue with the need to make broad statements about consensus views only to stand against them as if you're the little guy taking on the big, thoughtless majority only later to deny that you're a contrarian.

[B-side]

... which outclasses any Ridley Scott film made post-1977...

:rolleyes:

[Derek]

A.I.'s awesomeness overshadows The Terminal's lameness, so I can get behind #13.

[Grouchy]

Ugh, no. The Terminal is garbage.

[Sven]

Communicating your feelings accurately has never been an issue for you. :) I take issue with the need to make broad statements about consensus views only to stand against them as if you're the little guy taking on the big, thoughtless majority only later to deny that you're a contrarian.

You know my game too well. Honestly, at this point, I don't even know what the majority opinion about anything is. I don't follow anything or anybody with any regularity or frequency, nor do I have people with whom I chat about films. All I have on my side anymore is history. And I remember really not liking those Nolan Batman films, which, for all I know, could be suffering a major backlash and I'd have no idea.

I won't deny that I should tone down the snark. I think the biggest problem is that I'm no good at it.

[Winston*]

A.I.'s awesomeness overshadows The Terminal's lameness, so I can get behind #13.

I can get behind #13, to #14 where the actual awesome movie lives.

[Sven]

12. The Fall

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/fall.jpg

The mind in which The Fall takes place is all over the place. When fanciful, the film is projecting a story which is being projected by a man into the mind of a little girl: to whom do these images belong? Questions, questions, about looking and telling stories and projection and projection. Also: it's fun and quite nice to look at. As a work of cinema, rhythmic flow of image, compositional power, performative ambition, and aesthetic engagement of content, it is quite superior. Many complain about the girl's performance. They can go fuck themselves. She is a badass.

Alright, calling it a night on that one. More tomorrow.

[Ezee E]

Damn Sven, it's been so long that I can't think of individual scenes of what I hated about Bamboozled, I just remember it getting very stupid in the second half. It may have been the sledgehammer effect, but only it didn't work for me realistically.

Sorry I can't contribute to that.

[D_Davis]

Many complain about the girl's performance. They can go fuck themselves. She is a badass.


Really? They do? I'd say it's one of the most powerful and authentic performances of the decade. Easily the best acting from a child I've ever seen - probably because she wasn't acting. The filmmakers were constantly tricking her and keeping her in the dark about what was going on. Her performance feels totally natural because it is - complete unaffected.

[Ezee E]

Really? They do? I'd say it's one of the most powerful and authentic performances of the decade. Easily the best acting from a child I've ever seen - probably because she wasn't acting. The filmmakers were constantly tricking her and keeping her in the dark about what was going on. Her performance feels totally natural because it is - complete unaffected.
Yeah. Those complaints baffle me too.

[D_Davis]

Tense and tight, Schumacher demonstrates ample evidence for the argument that the surprising many who jerk their knees at him in dismissal (really, only for turning the Batman franchise into a cumbersome, laughable thing, a crime only dissimilar in color to what the series has become with Nolan) run the risk of eating crow.

Phone Booth is great, and I like the Schumacher's Batman films better than the Nolan ones. The Schumacher films feel and look like the comic books I remember reading growing up, and they aren't deathly serious and somewhat dull like Nolan's films. I love the use of color in Schumacher's Batman movies.

[Russ]

Big rep for The Fall. Don't understand the haters.

[Mara]

I love Signs. I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I find it endlessly entertaining, funny, and frightening.

[megladon8]

Sven have you seen Melville's Bob le Flambeur, upon which The Good Thief is based?

[BuffaloWilder]

15. Phone Booth

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/phonebooth.jpg


Stop that.

[BuffaloWilder]

Ugh, no. The Terminal is garbage.


I like a lot of it, but there's too much unintentional silliness for me to call it a good film.

[Sycophant]

I haven't seen Phonebooth since theaters. I loved it then. It's still the only Schumacher film I've seen.

[Rowland]

I've had many engaging arguments over the merits of Signs and its interpretive possibilities, so I don't consider it anywhere near a wreck along the lines of Lady in the Water and The Happening, but my most recent viewing wasn't kind to it. In particular, Shyamalan has a mega-lame sense of humor that leaves me cringing every few minutes, and the climax is more interesting on paper than it is coherent on film. Still, it's more aesthetically proficient than most studio dross, and Gibson gives maybe his last performance of genuine merit in it. As far as critically lambasted Shyamalans are concerned however, I'm partial to his underrated The Village.

Otherwise, The Good Thief is my favorite of the bunch so far, followed closely by Undisputed, A.I., and Phone Booth. I also like MirrorMask and CJ7 a lot, I haven't seen Atanarjuat or Bamboozled, and I don't care for either The Fall or (especially) The Terminal.

[Rowland]

I haven't seen Phonebooth since theaters. I loved it then. It's still the only Schumacher film I've seen.It's the only movie of his I've liked much at all, though it does have a notably different feel from the remainder of his work. I've heard good things about Tigerland, another collaboration of his with Colin Farrell, so maybe that actor brings the best out of him.

[Raiders]

Tigerland more or less sucks, all Dogme-inspired insipid filmmaking and lame caricactures (the rebel, the dreamer, the sociopath) cut from better films (namely Full Metal Jacket). Farrell is admittedly terrific and charismatic, but the film still stinks.

[Sven]

Tigerland more or less sucks, all Dogme-inspired insipid filmmaking and lame caricactures (the rebel, the dreamer, the sociopath) cut from better films (namely Full Metal Jacket). Farrell is admittedly terrific and charismatic, but the film still stinks.

The only good scene is Clifton James's torture scene. That guy is great.

[megladon8]

Do you mean Clifton Collins Jr.?

[Spaceman Spiff]

A.I. is totally rockin'. Glad to see you like it so much (it'd probably be a top 10er for me though).

[Sven]

Do you mean Clifton Collins Jr.?

Ha. Yes. Anyway, will do more tomorrow. Started job today and trying to finish this jigsaw.

[Sven]

Let's get some more done!

11. Revolver

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/revolver.jpg

There's this scene at the end where Jason Statham has a very long, complicated moment with himself in an elevator and it is as grand a moment as any I've seen this decade. I guess I still like Guy Ritchie (pretending that Swept Away was a bad dream), even with my better sense telling me to rethink it. This is easily his best, transcending his cherished labyrinthine-gangster-heist formula with some real groovy performances, including a Ray Liotta who reminds me in this, somehow, of a rabid mummified orangutan, yet still landing a few emotional sucker punches. The twisty plot things that it does are less interesting. We get it. But the psychology they explore is, if not really real or sound, at least in the same exciting, unpredictably cinematic spirit as Caligari.

[dreamdead]

This is the one Ritchie that I do want to see.

[Sven]

Now for the top 10, I guess, though I suppose it is more like a top 12. Plus, I haven't seen a million movies, so "top" is pretty presumptuous.

10. The Pledge

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/pledge.jpg

I like the barn full of turkeys, and the red and blue flashing lights, flashing all the time. And the crows. And the despair. Sean Penn can direct.

Note: watching this again, it is just as good if not better. Revisit highly advised.

[Sven]

9. Hot Fuzz

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/hotfuzz.jpg

Yeah, I guess beating up old people for a laugh was a bit of a cliche even at the time of the film's release. And in truth, and even though I did respond rather heartily to the violence inflicted on the elderly in Hot Fuzz, it's not the comedy that makes the film a keeper. If that were the case, may as well choose the less ambitious though more gag-filled Shaun of the Dead, a funny film that doesn't quite equal Hot Fuzz's expert control of theme and structure, nor are its purely cinematic moments so high. The throwback to Point Blank, where Nick Frost fires his gun up in the air and screams "Aaaaargh!" is a truly special moment, exquisitely (with great excitement and humor) demonstrating the depth to which we permit movies to seep into our everyday emotional lives. Also ending the stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet with an arrangement of the Cardigans song from the film is another sprinkling of wittiness about the ubiquity (and inevitability) of reprocessed goods. Every single bit is hilarious, and Simon Pegg's performance is impressively straight, and thus all the more pleasurable to watch synchronize to the oddity surrounding him. Also, steeples, both full-sized and miniature, are scary now.

Note: watching this again, it is just as good if not better. Revisit highly advised. Such was the case, too, since I'm noticing a trend, with Revolver.

[chrisnu]

I've only seen Mickey Rourke's performance from The Pledge on YouTube, but it's amazing. That one's another on my "to see" list.

[Thirdmango]

Good to see someone else puts Hot Fuzz so high. It's easily in my top 3.

[Spaceman Spiff]

O.V.E.R.R.A.T.E.D.

Seriously dig The Pledge, though. Very cool pick.

[Sven]

8. The Ladykillers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/ladykillers.jpg

I suppose if I want to deflect accusations of contrarianism, I would choose the equally good No Country for Old Men as my requisite Coen Brothers pick. But I can't help it: this movie is so funny. It's so silly and so twisted. It's made great by the fact that it's visually immaculate. Gorgeous sets and exaggerated cinematography, even more than usual, taking place in a Looney Tunes universe as this film does, complete with its own mustachioed Foghorn Legorn in Tom Hanks's professor character (and so nice to see him doing comedy! I feel like I can't stress that enough), are punctuated by an O Brother-like soundtrack, focusing a bit more on gospel. There's even a short spastic choir leader, with a snazzy suit and massive hair. I cannot fathom this film's negative reputation.

Note: also great upon revisit.

[Raiders]

Revolver is batshit insane and awesome, The Pledge is very solid and features a great change of pace for Jack, and Hot Fuzz is damn funny.

Keep it up!

[Sven]

Keep it up!

You were too slow.

[Raiders]

You were too slow.

I actually haven't seen it, and I did actually quite like Intolerable Cruelty (their other Aughts supposed "misfire") so we can hold out hope!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yeah, I like the movie a lot more than most it would seem (and Hanks really deserved some consideration from the academy), but if you're picking this ahead of any of No Country/Burn After Reading/A Serious Man.

Well... c'mon.

[Sven]

I actually haven't seen it, and I did actually quite like Intolerable Cruelty (their other Aughts supposed "misfire") so we can hold out hope!

Awesome!

[Sven]

Yeah, I like the movie a lot more than most it would seem (and Hanks really deserved some consideration from the academy), but if you're picking this ahead of any of No Country/Burn After Reading/A Serious Man.

Well... c'mon.

I hate pulling out the shrug, but what can I say but: I like it. It's got good themes and acting and cinematography and resonance and lulz.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I hate pulling out the shrug, but what can I say but: I like it. It's got good themes and acting and cinematography and resonance and lulz.

I like it too, but I almost feel like their other 3 films are objectively better, as far as these sorts of things go. But carry on, I suppose.

[Glass Co.]

I completely forgot about The Pledge. Great choice.

[Sven]

I like it too, but I almost feel like their other 3 films are objectively better, as far as these sorts of things go. But carry on, I suppose.

"Better"? See, this is why I can't rate or rank movies anymore. I cannot equate heavy or serious with "better." Levity is a virtue, and a great accomplishment if successful.

[Sven]

7. The Darjeeling Limited

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/darjeeling.jpg

If push ever came right down to shove, I would have to admit that I’m prone to prejudice when it comes to independent cinema, in particular the brand popularized by W. Anderson, full of sensitive indie rock like Elliot Smith or oldie-but-goodies like The Kinks, colorful art design, oddball characters strongly identified by the ways in which they go about trying to act like they're not in a Conventional Hollywood Movie™, and a selfish if not hermetic sentimentalism, relying mostly on the principle that most people are apathetic jerks. It is a testament, then, to the strength of the genre's truths, however annoying or seemingly affected, that one of its progenitors, if not he that popularized many of the current trends, fails consistently to produce such intolerable product (or rather: succeeds in slicing through my curmudgeounliness). I don't like the prologue: Hotel Chevalier, which gave me indigestion. But the film proper's exploration of familial ties, a common Anderson trope, is strong, as are its sense of humor and (expectedly) killer art direction. I love the flashback to the garage especially.

Note: I saw within the past few days The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is if not his best, his second best. Consider this interchangeable with that one.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Wow, you must really like The Ladykillers. :P

[Sven]

6. Mulholland Drive

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/mulholland.jpg

I'll never forget the slow stretch of time where my cocky surety about the proceedings of Mulholland Drive gradually slipped from sound to completely imploded as all that I had taken for granted curved backwards in a pulse of light and bit me in the ass with teeth like jagged piano keys. Naomi Watts gives what has to be one of the best performances, on or off screen, ever. As with Eric Bana, I'm continually disappointed that she neglects to choose projects that allow her to showcase her clearly evident talent. Nobody has mastered the power of dream-logic more thoroughly than Lynch, whose movies are forever vague, despite their graphic strength. It's difficult, frequently, to find purchase, but if one readies for even just the pure experiential nature of Lynch's audio-visual flow, divorced from its complicated but engaging text, the fear, a profound, electric fear, will still slip in. The craft is so tactile, the content so elusive... how can this be?

[Sven]

Top 5 will either be tonite, or tomorrow.

[Raiders]

Top 5 will either be tonite, or tomorrow.

Will The Ladykillers make yet another appearance?

[Sven]

Oh now I get it.

[Watashi]

Wait... Mulholland Dr. is not a contrarian pick. What happened to the Sven I loved so dearly? WHAT HAPPENED?!

Also... I wonder which Altman film will show up. I'm guessing Dr. T.

[Watashi]

The Ladykillers is so amazing and your capsule captures why perfectly. Hanks best performance since.... ever?

[Raiders]

Wait... Mulholland Dr. is not a contrarian pick. What happened to the Sven I loved so dearly? WHAT HAPPENED?!

Also... I wonder which Altman film will show up. I'm guessing Dr. T.

Does Sven love The Company? If not, he should.

[Sven]

Fact about my list: no Altman, no Verhoeven, no De Palma.

I know, right?

I love Dr. T and The Company equally.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm guessing A Mighty Wind shows up? You smell like a Guest fan.

Yeah, I can smell from over here.

[monolith94]

So far, the only film on this list which stinks is The Terminal. Ugh.

[Spinal]

Mulholland Dr is the only film thus far I can really get behind as a best-the-decade contender. Hot Fuzz is a pale shadow of the hilarity of Shaun of the Dead and The Ladykillers is quite easily the Coens' worst film unless you find Irritable Bowel Syndrome uproariously funny.

[Sycophant]

O.V.E.R.R.A.T.E.D.

Excellent point.

There are times I think that, formally, conceptually, everythingly, Hot Fuzz is a perfect movie. Its structure is almost perfectly symmetrical in the most fantastically Hollywood way. I love it.

[Sycophant]

8. The Ladykillers

I cannot fathom this film's negative reputation.

A. Men.

[Watashi]

I want to see Sven post a movie that Syco dislikes.

[Ezee E]

I swear, I read posts about how much The Ladykillers sucks, and now, all of a sudden, people love it. I don't get it.

It's pretty good.

[Derek]

Mulholland Dr is the only film thus far I can really get behind as a best-the-decade contender...and The Ladykillers is quite easily the Coens' worst film unless you find Irritable Bowel Syndrome uproariously funny.

I heartily agree with this. Ladykillers is pretty lame for the most part, at least by Coen standards. Personally, I don't consider it a lesser film because it's not serious, but rather, it's a comedy that's not particularly funny or clever. That scene at the gas station between Bardem and the old-timer who "married into it" is 10 times funnier than anything in Ladykillers.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see Mulholland Dr. and The Pledge and Darjeeling are solid enough.

[Sven]

5. Monsters, Inc.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/monster.jpg

Only does Monster House, if we're talking about the decade's CG escapades, come close to capturing the pitch between glee and horror that is so essential to the emotional life of a child that this film does so effortlessly. It's a funny, heart-warming, exciting tale that is successful in all the ways its publicity would have you believe it is. I often see it at the bottom of Pixar favorites lists, and I’ve seen it more than a handful of times, each time after seeing the latest Pixar at the time and, each time, more assured than the last that Monsters Inc is something special. So that confuses me. Its plotting (and plot in general) is very imaginative, to a degree that I don’t often see. And infused in its plot is an inescapable moral or two (about friendship and fear and comedy and things), blooming organically rather than tasting like aspartame. It is a wonderful and, given how well it communicates the spectrum of childhood feelings, resonant movie.

[Sven]

4. Punch-Drunk Love

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/pdl.jpg

God help me, I'm a sucker for this film. The last shot is a bit on-the-nosy for me, always leaving me with a slightly disappointed feeling as opposed to the clearly intended shiver of excitement. But the rest of the film, from shot one to the second-to-last shot, offers a surfeit of pleasures, more than enough to keep me, as a bobbing buoy in an expanse of ever-rowing water, afloat in an ether of ebullient cheer, far more terrific and lasting than the sliver of hope proposed by the film's end. The film's immediacy--its present tense--is so replete with tension and warmth and color and fear and light and love that watching it is, firstly, a purely sensational physical experience. The shock of the car and harmonium at the beginning lingers for the rest of the film, exacerbating that foundation of violent strangeness with romance and vice versa. And the pleasure of the dance of blue and pink on our eyes is real. Thankfully, the performances do the visual emotions justice, and it’s tight and a little peculiar. Even more than just in the borrowing of a song does Anderson have a debt to pay to Altman's Popeye, whose mumbling, awkward hero suffers severe blows to his humility, yet retains his optimism, inspired by love, in the face of the blunt violence of a senselessly evil oaf.

[Sven]

Now if you will all excuse me, I must go prepare. I'm having an old friend for dinner.

[Grouchy]

I swear, I read posts about how much The Ladykillers sucks, and now, all of a sudden, people love it. I don't get it.

It's pretty good.
Eh, I still hate it.

Bottom of the Coen Brothers barrel for me.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yes! Mage rap!

[monolith94]

and The Ladykillers is quite easily the Coens' worst film unless you find Irritable Bowel Syndrome uproariously funny.

No way man, Intolerable Cruelty was so, so much worse. Yes, IC had less gross-out moments, but it was also lacking in the laughs department which is obviously deadly for a supposed comedy.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Really enjoying this list - while I, like many, wasn't able to enjoy The Ladykillers as much as you (Marlon Wayans and J. K. Simmons killed a lot of goodwill), you're right that Hanks is terrific, and the film is shot with precision and a very gradual heightening. It's a mixed bag, but since it's a mixed bag by the Coens, it's more watchable than most films.

Hate to join the proletariat, but I was much more impressed with A Serious Man and No Country.

And I love your line about "jagged piano keys." Is that a reference I'm unaware of, or a bubble emergent from the foam of your mind?

[Sven]

DaMU: product of mind foam

3. Takeshis'

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/takeshis.jpg

I guess I take to movie puzzles that shift and color one's perspective in ways both thrilling and subtle, particularly through editing. Kitano's penchant for set pieces and his love of theater are twisted into a maze of dreams, fantasies, films, and some form of "Kitano reality" that, for the sake of this film and some of his others, is generally highly questionable in the first place. The second time I saw it, I was able to piece together more of the puzzle, but found some of my answers gave rise to more hidden questions. The best part about Takeshis is that even with its headiness, it is, from moment to moment, always exhilarating. Kitano is prone to peer, ponderously, frequently, static camera, still faces, and there is some of that here, but never as "purely" photographic moments or to allow the viewer a break for contemplation: under each moment of quiet, there is a train of mental energy, propelled by a mysterious emotional life as a suicide by personae deconstruction. Look out for crazy cool dance numbers.

Note: this movie is, on a rewatch, utterly impressive (then, I tend towards structural fascination). Could be #1.

[B-side]

You've got my attention with this one.

[Sven]

2. The White Diamond & The Wild Blue Yonder

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/herzog.jpg

Most of these decade lists featured Grizzly Man, if not pairing it in this same cheaty way with The White Diamond, a rapturous film which features a moment where a young 3rd world man pays tribute to Michael Jackson on the edge of a waterfall. In The Wild Blue Yonder there is a moment where a diver is swimming upward to resurface and the oxygen mask's decompression bubbles combined with the sun filtering into the water through the hole carved into the ice above create the illusion of the diver being transformed into pure light energy. That moment alone makes it one of the worthiest films, better in many ways to the equally recommendable Grizzly Man. But with this one, the viewer is also given ample time to spend with Brad Dourif’s despairing alien, whose ranting offers a similar form of pressure release--that of Herzog finding a mad muse on par with Kinski, capable of making us laugh and gasp at the audacity of his intensity of expression. The footage in the film (both of these films) is also jaw-droppingly impressive. Beautiful, evocative, and with trademark bone-rattling choral classical chamber chant fusion soundtrack. The films work together the way sky and water do. And their ambition is similar: maneuvering the physical through the ether.

[B-side]

Oooh. I rather enjoyed The Wild Blue Yonder. I should really get on seeing more of Herzog's docs.

[Watashi]

So Crank is #1 then.

[Rowland]

Between The Ladykillers and The Pledge, I opted to pick up the latter at the rental store tonight, given that it has a stronger reputation and I've only seen one other movie directed by Penn (Into the Wild), which I kinda loved.

[Sven]

Between The Ladykillers and The Pledge, I opted to pick up the latter at the rental store tonight, given that it has a stronger reputation and I've only seen one other movie directed by Penn (Into the Wild), which I kinda loved.

My prediction is that you'll really like it. Seems like your kind of thing.

[B-side]

This list has been all manner of awesome so far.

[Robby P]

The White Diamond just might be my favorite Herzog doc. Fantastic movie.

[Ezee E]

Added The Pledge to my queue.

[Sven]

1. Crank & Crank 2: High Voltage

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/crank.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/movie%20pictures/blog/cranker.jpg

Seemingly entropic, much more than the violently one-tracked trajectory of the first film, the brazen High Voltage escalates Chev Chelios's existential plight by graduating his fuel from the personal (adrenaline) to the inter-personal (electricity). This model was likely not developed by writer/directors Neveldine/Taylor to consciously inspect the human condition--I'm not sure that consciousness has much to do with it at all. The Crank films explore existence as pure physical form. They are indirectly about the ways in which we choose to live amongst each other, physically. Latent racism, deviant sex, homophobia, the ghettos-to-Beverley-Hills, the breadth of Crank's vision of the civic practices, not theories, of a multi-cultural Metropolis is inspiring. When I see Crank, I am seeing not just a depiction of the tensions of kaleidoscopic American citizenry in action, but also a production that incorporates and invigorates and defines this tapestry. It does so frequently in troubling terms (Bai Ling is very difficult to get used to--just in general, but especially in High Voltage), but those terms can be empowering. That is a defense to mount in depth elsewhere, but I think it wouldn't be a stretch to say, whether you love the films or not, whether they offend you or not, that they are a unique take on cultural eclecticism that encourage the exploration of symbiotic dynamics within the hectic world they channel hectically.

[Sven]

Thanks, all, for reading! Or at least following along.

[Winston*]

I liked Crank 1 but man did I hate Crank 2.

The White Diamond's great.

[Rowland]

21. Mirrormask (***)
20. Atanarjuat (n/a)
19. CJ7 (***)
18. Bamboozled (n/a)
17. Signs (**½)
16. Undisputed (***½)
15. Phone Booth (***½)
14. The Good Thief (***½)
13a. A.I. (***½)
13b. The Terminal (*½)
12. The Fall (**)
11. Revolver (**½)
10. The Pledge (n/a)
9. Hot Fuzz (***)
8. The Ladykillers (n/a)
7. The Darjeeling Limited (**½)
6. Mulholland Drive (****)
5. Monsters Inc. (n/a)
4. Punch Drunk Love (****)
3. Takeshis' (n/a)
2a. The Wild Blue Yonder (n/a)
2b. The White Diamond (n/a)
1a. Crank 2: High Voltage (***)
1b. Crank (***½)

[Derek]

21. Mirrormask (N/A)
20. Atanarjuat ****
19. CJ7 *½
18. Bamboozled **
17. Signs **
16. Undisputed (N/A)
15. Phone Booth (N/A)
14. The Good Thief (N/A)
13a. A.I. ****
13b. The Terminal *
12. The Fall *
11. Revolver (N/A)
10. The Pledge ***
9. Hot Fuzz **½
8. The Ladykillers **
7. The Darjeeling Limited ***
6. Mulholland Drive ****
5. Monsters Inc. ***½
4. Punch Drunk Love ****
3. Takeshis' (N/A)
2a. The Wild Blue Yonder **
2b. The White Diamond (N/A)
1a. Crank 2: High Voltage **
1b. Crank *½

The Fall and The Terminal are the only ones I strongly dislike. A few genuinely great films which was a surprise and I found it interesting that you can look just at the pics Sven posted and get a pretty good idea of what kind of films tickle his fancy.

[Ivan Drago]

I WAS RIGHT! ;)

13a. A.I. 10
9. Hot Fuzz 9
6. Mulholland Drive 8.5
5. Monsters Inc. 7
4. Punch Drunk Love 9.5
1a. Crank 2: High Voltage OMFG teh AWSUM!!!!1
1b. Crank @LS0 AWSUM!!!1 :head explodes:

I really need to see more of what's on your list, but what I have seen has all been great.

[transmogrifier]

# of films in this list = 24
# of films I expect to actually like = 2 or 3
# of films I expect will have me shaking my head muttering "Oh, Svensos..." = 8 or 9

Signs belongs in the latter category, of course.

# of films I actually like
7. The Darjeeling Limited
6. Mulholland Drive
4. Punch Drunk Love
5. Monsters Inc.

# of films that have me shaking my head muttering "Oh, Svensos..."
17. Signs
13b. The Terminal
8. The Ladykillers
2a. The Wild Blue Yonder
1b. Crank

I was too cynical

[Adam]

* haven't seen Mirrormask, CJ7, Bamboozled, Undisputed, The Good Thief, The Terminal, Takeshi's, The White Diamond, The Wild Blue Yonder and I've only caught about half of Crank 2 with the ZMF commentary (http://www.avclub.com/articles/crank-2-downloadable-audio-commentary-by-zmf,33203/))

Atanarjuat Sequence where Atanarjuat runs is an all-time movie-watching experience. There are actually many things that blew me away in this film but, as a whole, it's only a quasi-epic and a vaguely unsatisfying one

Signs Shyamalan's most interesting film by far. You can forgive its occasional hokum because it's always very slick and tense and funny. You can only barely forgive the tremendous misstep of showing the goofy-looking CGI alien full-on at the end, though, because that nonsense almost retroactively taints a movie-full of Polanski-esque playful twistage

Phone Booth The only real groaner. Just instantly forgettable, hacky stuff that's found its rightful home stuffed into a two hour commercial block airing three times a month on FX and TBS. Colin Farrell's performance is one of the best you've ever seen?! What?!

AI I'm there with you on its eerie prescience and visual dynamism, but AI always rang a little hollow for me. Coulda been great, maybe, but ultimately too much ChrisRock-bot

The Fall Disappointing, though I can get behind the praise for the little girl's performance. The Fall also has the most devastating death scene of a monkey ever committed to celluloid, so there's that. Eat it, King Kong

Revolver Not for me, but it's whacked-out enough that I can understand its admirers

The Pledge Nicholson's last great gasp. Need to watch this again, because I remember liking it a lot

Hot Fuzz Pretty great. You're not giving Shaun of the Dead enough credit, though, especially concerning structure. As gag-heavy as it is, the best laughs are the ones you only get on repeat viewings. SotD is slightly superior in every way, really. Not only is it funnier, but it's got more of a soul to it and the affection towards the genre it's spoofing is more genuine

Ladykillers Agreed with some of the others who've said The Ladykillers is too dumb for its own good, but on the other hand, I also find this movie totally charming and I feel like I owe it another viewing. Wholeheartedly endorse Hanks doing comedy, but more generally I'd just like him to go back to not doing things that take themselves too seriously. Make another Joe vs the Volcano, Hanks!

The Darjeeling Limited "Look at these assholes." All of Wes Anderson's movies fill me with such a joy. Darjeeling drags a bit in spots, but it also has some of his absolute best moments ever. I dig the fact that before Wes' print went lame, he decided to start setting films in more and more exotic locations (the sea, india, stop-motion england). And now he's talking about making a movie in space (!!!) Hotel Chevalier is perfect, by the by

Mulholland Drive Lynch doesn't do much for me, but at least you picked this instead of Inland Empire

Monster's Inc. Ya, the best PIXAR's made yet for a number of reasons, but I especially love what you wrote about how it captures early childhood being all switching off between discovery and horror. I really appreciate it when films intended for children earn their sentimentality

Punch-Drunk Love Tops of the decade for me and possibly also my favorite from the past ten or fifteen decades. Nervio (http://www.lizettegreco.com/roberto/nervio.html), baby

Crank Cool, but winds up turning way mean-spirited and tiring. I don't see any of the honesty you see; it seems like you're projecting too much that really isn't there. I'm pretty positive it's just a more-fun Shoot 'Em Up

Good stuff, overall, and interesting taste. I also have a similar problem making lists/rating films - not because I don't believe in reducing a movie to a number or anything silly like that - more because I'm never happy with my ratings/rankings and I always regret them immediately afterward

[BuffaloWilder]

Crank and Crank 2 tying for number one spot

http://fi.somethingawful.com/customtitles/title-afrogunsou.gif

[Sven]

Thanks for responding all! Adam, thanks for your kind words. I object to:


Colin Farrell's performance is one of the best you've ever seen?! What?

I believe I adequately explained my fascination.


Hot Fuzz Pretty great. You're not giving Shaun of the Dead enough credit, though, especially concerning structure. As gag-heavy as it is, the best laughs are the ones you only get on repeat viewings. SotD is slightly superior in every way, really. Not only is it funnier, but it's got more of a soul to it and the affection towards the genre it's spoofing is more genuine

I don't really like comparing them anyway, but "soul" is not quantifiable (it is only conceded upon amongst those who agree in the first place), and genre affection has nothing to do with why I would appreciate either film. I have seen Shaun more than once, but I've seen Hot Fuzz more too, and I'm pretty sure it is better.


The Ladykillers is too dumb for its own good

Nobody else put it like this, which is good, because this is a confusing way to put it. One of those empty things that people say just to fill up space with words. Why not just leave it at "it's dumb"?


Hotel Chevalier is perfect, by the by

Oh. Cool.


Crank Cool, but winds up turning way mean-spirited and tiring. I don't see any of the honesty you see; it seems like you're projecting too much that really isn't there.

Tiring I understand, but I heartily believe that accusations of mean-spiritedness are coming at it entirely wrong. Why do you think it is mean? The violence? The sexism? The xenophobia? I contend that it simply makes explicit what is implicit in accepted convention. The formula, the system, the media is corrupt, and people adapt to the systems through which they careen. If anything, its brazen open-faced id is downright gracious. But the best part about it is another thing that you get wrong when you say I'm projecting: it's inherent to the picture itself. It's an organic outcrop of the film's story and style as opposed to feeling like a thematic or advertising addendum, the way sex scenes or the F word feel in a PG13 film. Crank 2 is less successful in this regard, like the picketing porn stars, which is mostly a groaner.

Anyway, thanks again for the response.

[Thirdmango]

Yeah, it was bandied about but I agree with this list because it's a likes and not a it's good list. Ladykillers may not technically be better then No Country in terms of Cinemtography, sound, all that stuff, but as for liking he likes it better. Purely based on like and not on better in the technical sense. That's why I like this list. If I were to ever do a top 100 movies list Dragnet with Tom Hanks would be in the top 10 because of the value it had on my childhood and how much I enjoy it. Technically best? No. But enjoyment factor a 10.

[Sven]

Purely based on like and not on better in the technical sense.

Even in a technical sense, I think that The Ladykillers is right up there. If anything, as I said in the blurb, it's the technical qualities that put it on the list. But yes, you are right in that I hope only to convey that this list is my list because I am me and that my brain, that is my very own, tells my list, which is mine, how to be ordered.

[Adam]

I believe I adequately explained my fascination.

"...he guides you along with his actorly machinations..."

Ha! I dunno. I think, like the rest of the film, he's unspectacular. The guy's a one-sided sleazeball, not a character that needs much unraveling to get the full picture on



I don't really like comparing them anyway, but "soul" is not quantifiable (it is only conceded upon amongst those who agree in the first place), and genre affection has nothing to do with why I would appreciate either film. I have seen Shaun more than once, but I've seen Hot Fuzz more too, and I'm pretty sure it is better.

They're both great, anyway, so whatever. I mention affection towards the genre, because it seems the best spoofs are always the ones where the makers clearly love the things they're lampooning. And of course "soul" isn't quantifiable, but if you start going there, then what is quantifiable when you're talking about lists of a person's favorite movies


Nobody else put it like this, which is good, because this is a confusing way to put it. One of those empty things that people say just to fill up space with words. Why not just leave it at "it's dumb"?

Well what I mean is that there are dumb things in The Ladykillers that certainly work, but then there are even more dumb things that don't. So I wouldn't want it to not be dumb, but I do feel like it's too dumb for its own good


Oh. Cool.

Well it is. You learn everything you need to know about these two people and the entire history of their relationship in the span of ten minutes. In and of itself, it's my second favorite Wes Anderson film after Rushmore


Tiring I understand, but I heartily believe that accusations of mean-spiritedness are coming at it entirely wrong. Why do you think it is mean? The violence? The sexism? The xenophobia? I contend that it simply makes explicit what is implicit in accepted convention. The formula, the system, the media is corrupt, and people adapt to the systems through which they careen. If anything, its brazen open-faced id is downright gracious. But the best part about it is another thing that you get wrong when you say I'm projecting: it's inherent to the picture itself. It's an organic outcrop of the film's story and style as opposed to feeling like a thematic or advertising addendum, the way sex scenes or the F word feel in a PG13 film. Crank 2 is less successful in this regard, like the picketing porn stars, which is mostly a groaner.

Mmmm, but all that's stuff you can observe in any number of over-the-top action movie. Why does Crank get the credit for finally putting it all out there? I just think it tries too hard

[Sven]

Well what I mean is that there are dumb things in The Ladykillers that certainly work, but then there are even more dumb things that don't. So I wouldn't want it to not be dumb, but I do feel like it's too dumb for its own good

This is like a poem. I love it.


You learn everything you need to know about these two people and the entire history of their relationship in the span of ten minutes.

Hmm... everything? Entire history?


Mmmm, but all that's stuff you can observe in any number of over-the-top action movie. Why does Crank get the credit for finally putting it all out there? I just think it tries too hard

It does not finally get the credit. I have historically complimented many action films similarly. It gets the credit for doing that with a certain recipe of stylishness, narrative whip, and subtextual fascination that is too good to eat just one.

[BuffaloWilder]

Hey Sven, remember when you and Qrazy were talking about the vomit scene in the second film, and you were all like "I was shaken by the implications of this scene more than I have been by any other scene in any other film intended to convey the complete randomness of existence. I find it very humanistic."

[Winston*]

iosos, I am very curious about what you like about One Night at McCools. Aside from that one scene.

[Sven]

Hey Sven, remember when you and Qrazy were...

Nope.

[Sven]

iosos, I am very curious about what you like about One Night at McCools. Aside from that one scene.

It was funny and I liked the colors and Michael Douglas had funny hair. Basically.

[Boner M]

Takeshis' is such a great choice, it made my decade's top 100 but I think it could easily rise upon reflection and more familiarity with the tropes of Kitano's filmography.

[Russ]

It was funny and I liked the colors and Michael Douglas had funny hair. Basically.

Keith Carradine thinks you should check out former Altman protégé Alan Rudolph's futuristic noir, Trouble in Mind, and then get back to us.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j4twdnk8ZvI/SJp8gcMBrWI/AAAAAAAABCU/lUhbMnHVbT8/s400/trouble_in_mind_xl_01--film-A.jpg

Where else are you gonna see Keith's big bouffant, Geneviève Bujold, and Divine (as a mob kingpin, no less) all in the same film?

[balmakboor]

Keith Carradine thinks you should check out former Altman protégé Alan Rudolph's futuristic noir, Trouble in Mind, and then get back to us.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j4twdnk8ZvI/SJp8gcMBrWI/AAAAAAAABCU/lUhbMnHVbT8/s400/trouble_in_mind_xl_01--film-A.jpg

Where else are you gonna see Keith's big bouffant, Geneviève Bujold, and Divine (as a mob kingpin, no less) all in the same film?

I remember loving the look of the film and its use of music as well.

[ledfloyd]

19. CJ7 **
18. Bamboozled **
17. Signs **
15. Phone Booth **
13a. A.I. ****
13b. The Terminal **
12. The Fall **
9. Hot Fuzz ***
8. The Ladykillers **1/2
7. The Darjeeling Limited ***
6. Mulholland Drive ****
5. Monsters Inc. ***
4. Punch Drunk Love ****
1b. Crank *1/2

[Russ]

I remember loving the look of the film and its use of music as well.

Another plus for Sven: the role of the alternative futuristic "Rain City" was played by...Seattle (with some creative design motifs courtesy of members of Seattle's art scene at the time of shooting). And any time you can feature Marianne Faithfull on your soundtrack, you're doing pretty good.

I got a Region 2 DVD copy of this recently, and there's a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes info accompanying the film.

[Sven]

Russ, Alan Rudolph is one of my favorites, and Trouble in Mind has always eluded me. And I've been on a Carradine kick of late, because I'm watching the second season of Dexter, in which he is an FBI guy. I love him. I will have to prioritize this somehow.

[Russ]

...and so you shall!...


http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1626/fairygodmother300.gif

[Sven]

I have reposted the list on my blog: http://ijustknowit.blogspot.com

I have made lots of edits to the blurbs and stuff.

Just if you're interested.

[Spinal]

Had a feeling we might see The Wild Blue Yonder. Glad I was right. Excellent film.

[Bosco B Thug]

I really want to see Atanarjuat. I inadvertently caught 5 minutes of it way back when it first came to DVD... it seemed really low-fi, if I recall correctly.

I'm mixed on Bamboozled.

I haven't seen the Herzogs!

Hot Fuzz > Shaun of the Dead. Hot Fuzz is more uneven, but I don't really take anything away from SotD besides the immediate enjoyment. Hot Fuzz's premise just suggests more.

You picked the right 2000s Wes Anderson.

I do not feel impressed whenever I think of Monster's Inc., I don't know why.

I have seen Crank. I gave it an ass-deep pat on the back, and then walked away.

[baby doll]

It's definitely different from my list (or any other list I've seen, for that matter), but then, I'm generally not that turned on by genre fare. Being a vulgar auteurist, my favorites are predictably Punk-Drunk Love, Mulholland Dr., The Darjeeling Limited, The Fall, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Atanarjuat. One notable exception is Takeshis', which I hated, but I suppose I'll have to give it another look one of these days. And while I prefer The White Diamond to Grizzly Man, both are far from Herzog's best work, like Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Stroszek, and more recently, Invincible and The Bad Lieutenant—Port of Call: New Orleans.

I'm more sympathetic to Joel Schumacher than most folks, and Phonebooth (and 8mm and Tigerland) strikes me as a tight little B-film. And The Pledge is a similarly strong, modest thriller. But neither one is really all that ambitious or memorable. (Likewise, I found it difficult to recall The Good Thief even an hour after seeing it, and Signs is pretty much mediocrity personified.) Also, I seem to be the one person on earth who isn't head over heels for Pixar. Their films are cute enough, but far from the most exciting animation work being done today. (In the last few years alone, we've had Fantastic Mr. Fox, Persepolis, Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea, and Waltz With Bashir, which all far surpass anything I've seen by Pixar.)

Along with Takeshis', the other films on your list that I disliked most were Hot Fuzz (a lame parody of lame Michael Bay movies) and The Terminal, which has to be the worst Spielberg movie since the last one he made with Tom Hanks.

[Raiders]

Yay! for The White Diamond; a lesser yay for Wild Blue Yonder.

[Rowland]

Finally watched The Pledge, and my feelings are overly quite positive, though I have assorted quibbles, most related to the scripting as well as a casting choice or two, that are holding my enthusiasm back. Maybe another viewing would clarify, or at the very least mitigate, these issues, because that ending, for all its contrivance, absolutely kills, and I wonder how the film would play upon a repeat viewing, knowing in advance where it's heading.

[Chac Mool]

A few comments:

Atanarjuat - Good movie, unique even, but I can't pretend that it held my attention over its entire running time.

The Good Thief - Awesome mention. This is a terrific, underrated film, with one of Nolte's best performances and very pretty craftsmanship.

A.I. - Another great mention.

The Pledge - My pick for most underrated movie of the decade. Haunting.