The Top Ten Movies of the Decade, So You Know

Since I would be hard pressed to find even five movies I liked this year, I will instead focus my energies on writing about movies that I love, which comprise a seemingly-mandatory and far grander list--The Best of the '00s.

The Double-Zeros might not have been as rich a decade as the 1990s, which, to refresh your memory, brought us Goodfellas (1990), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Terminator 2 (1991), The Player (1992), Unforgiven (1992), Husbands and Wives (1992), Dazed and Confused (1993), What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993), Red/White/Blue (1993/93/94), Clerks (1994), Natural Born Killers (1994), The Professional (1994), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Pulp Fiction (1994), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Braveheart (1995), The Usual Suspects (1995), Toy Story 1+2 (1995/99), Mars Attacks! (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Run Lola Run (1998), Rushmore (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), The Big Lebowski (1998), My Best Fiend (1999), Fight Club (1999), and The Matrix (1999), but it was still pretty good.

Don't believe me? Well, read through my list and then let me know what you think.

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are my top ten movies of the decade:


The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Wes Anderson didn't exactly have me at hello, as I am not a Bottle Rocket fan, but he wowed me with Rushmore and then topped that teenage-angst gem with easily the most quotable, humorous, beautiful, never-tire-of-watching-it movie of the decade--a true litmus test in terms of cinematic taste. Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson in particular shine as part of an ensemble cast most directors would never even dream of chasing, which just goes to show you that good material in clever hands will attract the right talent. This movie is not only hilarious, intelligent, emotional, unpredicatble, and entertaining, but will stand the test of time as one of the most enduringly beloved portraits of an American family.


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
In the richest year of the decade, the only awards this movie won were Longest Title and Most Ignored Film of the Year. Going one step further, I would say this movie is easily the most underappreciated movie of my entire lifetime; almost nobody I know has even seen this movie and it stars Brad Pitt. Why? How? Because it is the kind of movie Hollywood has either forgotten how to make or chooses to deprive us of. It is long and dreamy, a delectable character study about two complicated men that unfolds at a glacial pace, contains no love story, and relies on subtleties almost unheard of these days, especially in this country. It might as well be an Italian Western from the 1970s, were it not also gorgeously lush, replete with midnight-blue moonlit prairie landscapes and the gentle roar of endless flora heaving in the wind. The studio wanted to cut it, to change it, to make it more palatable to the Middle American who reads through the paper while he watches a movie and still expects to follow along. Luckily, Brad Pitt was in a position and of a mindset to stand by the director, Andrew Dominik, and the movie remains as it should be. Unluckily, the studio got pissed off and decided to dump the movie into a handful of theaters (only 301 at its peak), with little or no advertising. How did the market respond? A per-screen average of $29,562 in its first week of release; as a comparison, Avatar only averaged $22,313 per screen in its opening week. $3.9 million later, it was pulled from the box office and declared a failure due to its $30 million cost. This movie should have won Best Picture and it wasn’t even nominated; Brad Pitt wasn’t nominated for Best Actor and his performance was right up there with those of Daniel Day-Lewis and Casey Affleck (in Gone Baby Gone); Casey Affleck lost Best Supporting Actor to Javier Bardem for his bone-chilling turn as Robert Ford, in one of the lesser slights. The sad reality is that now there is 'proof' these movies will not work and there may never be one again, short of some kind of game-change that is hopefully on the horizon and will usher us into a modern-day auteur period similar to the 1970s. But I ain't holdin' my breath. In the meantime, see this movie if you haven't already.


The Incredibles (2004)
Pixar has put out some fantastic movies, but The Incredibles is the best because it truly had it all. It was a heartwarming family movie that still kept an edge to it, a successful comedy, and a riveting superhero movie all rolled-up into one lightning-fast, easy-to-swallow, computer-animated package. Brad Bird’s finest effort, although I also loved Iron Giant and portions of Ratatouille--especially the moment where the evil food critic flashes back to the kitchen of his provincial youth.


Gone Baby Gone (2007)
I hate Ben Affleck. Or so I thought until I saw his first directorial effort, which also featured one of the best performances of the year from his brother Casey, who rivaled only himself in Jesse James and Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood. The movie is a straightforward, intriguing Boston mystery with a likable sleuth in a very believable and sympathetic struggle to prove himself to those around him. A good movie is easy to make if you just let a handful of talented artists make it happen, without the meddling of nervous financial-types bungling things up at every turn--are you listening, studios?


Dogville (2003)
What a performance by Nicole Kidman--one of the best of the decade. I generally find her unlikable, but the mixture of glamour and vulnerability she brings to the rich character of Grace is captivating. Lars von Trier's conceit in this movie--no real sets, just white lines on a black floor in a huge soundstage--succeeds on the strength of the acting and the writing and is as good a tale as any of the hypocrisy that forever weighs down the otherwise lofty American dream. Essentially, what he says in Dogville is that a large part of why the country is where it is today is because we just can't help ourselves, we become our own worst enemies, despite our fervent claims of goodness and morality (sound familiar, Republicans?). When I left the theater afterwards, I had one of those heady evenings where anything was possible and everything was beautiful in its tragedy. If only Nicole Kidman hadn't spent the entire marketing budget on her hair/make-up/food/hotel in Cannes, maybe others would have been able to share that magical feeling...


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Easily my favorite of Charlie Kaufman’s unique and complex scripts (although I did have a soft spot for Synecdoche, New York), directed beautifully by Michel Gondry. The story is interesting--a woman erases her ex-boyfriend from her mind without telling him and he has to figure this out for himself since she no longer knows who he is--and its unique structure and occasional dreamlike quality keep you on your toes as the blanks are only gradually filled in. Jim Carrey shines in a serious role, proving he’s got chops, and Kate Winslet is her usual Best-Actress self. Proves that a romance can be compelling, visually interesting, emotional, funny, and hip. And that Mark Ruffalo and David Cross are still great.


There Will Be Blood (2007)
I’m a huge fan of P.T. Anderson and even thought of placing Punch-Drunk Love on this list, but while I enjoyed that movie considerably, it didn't have the lasting impact of There Will Be Blood. There is something fascinating and attractive about a tale of unfettered American greed played out on the rough-and-tumble vast frontier, the rise and fall of a flawed dreamer who isn’t afraid to lie and cheat to get what he wants, to build a good life for him and his son at any cost. Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance is one of his best (up there with My Left Foot) in large part because the role had meat, baby--meat. Add to that a fine portrayal of the lip-service business pays to religion, in order to peacefully rape the people, and you've got yourself a goddamn epic.


Che, Part One: The Argentine (2008)
I watched the two-part, traveling-roadshow version of Che and was very impressed. A long time in the making, its future forever in doubt, I wasn’t sure what to expect and was therefore doubly impressed by Steven Soderbergh and Benicio Del Toro’s understated character study of an indelible figure I knew little about. Soderbergh’s decision to end Part 1 before the revolution rolled into Havana for a victory lap was bold, but commendable because while it withholds that moment of exultation from the audience, it reminds you that this is not a movie about the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, or war--it is a movie about Che and he was a man who cared more about the actual cause, improving the fate of the impoverished and abused everyman, than he did about wealth and glory, pomp and circumstance. Part 2 was not as enjoyable as the first mostly because it is a darker, colder movie about Che’s failure to perform the same miracle in Bolivia, about the deluded Bolivian peasants unwilling to risk anything for a better life, about how and why The Man stays in power; it is far more depressing than the triumphant opening half and grew almost excruciating to watch, although that is more due to the subject matter than any filmmaking choices.


Lost in Translation (2003)
As formless as this movie is, as annoying as it is to try to identify with a main character who seems to do little but sit on windowsills in her underwear and think about her future, the undeniable truth about this movie is that I always enjoy watching it and will continue to enjoy watching it every so often for the rest of my life. A big reason for that, of course, is the career performance from Bill Murray, but another is the crafty direction by Sofia Coppola that matches the formless, adventurous exploration of everyday Tokyo with the formlessness of Charlotte's (Scarlett Johansson) life. Ultimately, all we really know about her is that she is a smart young girl in Tokyo with her absent boyfriend, unsure of what to do with her life, with herself, and befriends Bill Murray, who is in a similar boat. Together they wander through an enchanting foreign city falling into an impossible, unspoken love. As frustrating as it is to not know what Mr. Murray whispers to Scarlett at the end, I think it’s better that way, since I believe the message of the movie is that we shouldn’t be so concerned about how our lives measure up against our dreams--we should simply take the time to enjoy everything the world throws at us and carry on with a smile. Sometimes you don’t get to hear what other people whisper to each other and sometimes you don’t get your movie tied up with a bow at the end--that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an enthralling experience you should savor.


Kill Bill (2003/04)

I hesitated about putting this on the list for two reasons:

1. They are two separate movies that I think should have remained one long one, as written

2. Regardless of that, I'm still not sure if it is good enough, but I can't think of anything else I would rather put here

Pulp Fiction is one of my all-time favorites, but other than that, I’m not the biggest fan of QT. Here's why: Reservoir Dogs ain’t my cup of tea, Jackie Brown bored me, Inglorious Basterds was tremendously flawed and tremendously borrowed (with a particularly great debt to Leone)...and I have read some rather compelling evidence that much of the writing of Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, and Pulp Fiction was actually that of his former writing partner, Roger Avary, who was often uncredited or under-credited and never allowed to share the stage or accolades with Tarantino. After Pulp Fiction, he finally told Tarantino to go fuck himself and now has a complex about talking to people about anything at parties, in case they steal his thoughts. Avary went on to write and direct The Rules of Attraction and Glitterati (both adapted from Bret Easton Ellis books), and did a pretty damn good job, so it seems unlikely that he is some lightweight whining about credit where it isn't due. Is this dissolved partnership the reason why Tarantino's movies aren’t that good anymore? Probably. The same could be said for Wes Anderson post-Owen Wilson collaboration (they co-wrote Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums), since his movies now lack a lot of the humor Wilson clearly brought to the table. All that aside, Kill Bill was pretty enjoyable. I love Uma Thurman and she shines in the role of an ass-kicking jilted bride out for revenge. There's just enough comedy, action, tongue-in-cheek excess, and crudeness to hold my attention and make me smile. My favorite parts are probably the training she undergoes with Pai Mei in Vol.2 and the two lush versions of the wedding in the remote chapel. And the part in the beginning where she discovers a male nurse has been selling her pussy while she was in a coma.


Okay, and now for the Honorable Mentions:

Mulholland Drive (2001)

The first half of this movie--when it was a compelling mystery involving an amnesiac victim and an impossibly sexy actress-cum-detective (Naomi Watts, in her finest performance)--should have won Best Picture that year. However, once the characters flip-flopped for the third time and the story scattered in the air like so many dandelion seeds, I stopped giving a shit and just wanted it to end. That is why it did not win, was not even nominated, and why I do not care for David Lynch.

V for Vendetta (2005)

A bit heavy-handed, yes, but that's kinda how dystopias work, wouldn't you agree? I enjoyed this movie both times I watched it and I think it deserves more credit than it gets--especially in these hard times when the middle finger of The Man has never been more apparent and because of the really cool posters that owe a great debt to communists. Hugo Weaving (in a mask the whole time) and Natalie Portman are both great in their roles as subversives fighting a 1984ish regime in England and the ending is supremely satisfying. Check it out on Netflix!

Zoolander (2001) + Superbad (2007)

Ah, the oft-ignored comedy. Always overlooked by Oscar, but never by audiences. These two are my two favorite comedies of the decade but, alas, neither was good enough to make the top ten of the decade (we're not talking about The Big Lebowski here, are we?). Superbad is thus far the only movie to take full advantage of the supremely-talented, if a bit one-dimensional, Michael Cera (aka George Michael, may he rest in peace for the timebeing) and uses co-writer Seth Rogen the way he should be used--as a fat guy in a supporting role whose only job is to deliver some laughs, not carry the emotional weight of the movie. Jonah Hill is also good, if way-too-unbelievable as a boyfriend to the sexy girl in the end, and I enjoyed supporting turns from Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio, as well; the McLovin dude can go to hell, if you ask me. Zoolander, meanwhile, is a brilliant send-up of the fashion world featuring perfect performances from Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jon Voight, Jerry Stiller, and, yes, Ben Stiller. The orange mocha frappuccino scene is one of my favorites.

Hancock (2008) + Iron Man (2008)

My two favorite blockbusters of the decade. In fact, 2008 was the year of “the blockbuster that was worth a damn,” as far as I’m concerned (in this decade, anyway--neither of them can hold a candle to Back to the Future, the best blockbuster of all time). Why? Because they focused on interesting characters that were played by charming, talented actors well-suited for the roles. Iron Man would not have worked without Robert Downey Jr, just as Hancock wouldn’t have worked without Will Smith, as much as I generally loath that guy post-Fresh Prince. [Notice neither of these films employed hacks like Shia LeDoof] The effects, the action, the predictable plots...whatever--the movies held my attention, made me laugh, had me rooting for the characters, and I enjoyed the ride. Wish I could say the same for the other several dozen bloated blockbuster bags of shit...

Thoughts?

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