Friday, January 8, 2010

Movies That Rocked My Decade


I decided to go with a top 20. Ten was not a sufficient number of movies to encapsulate an entire decade. I even had a squeeze a few movie in together to get to a top 20. I think those movies organically go together though, so I am pretty happy with my list. Emphasis on the fact that this is MY list by the way. I am not trying to say that these are necessarily the best movies made in the first decade of the 2000's. These are simply the movies that resonated with me the most. What was my number one you ask? Well I just look Up! What tops your list as best movies of the aughts?

On a side note, I got major grief from the boy friend for trying to combine movies on the list. He seems to think it is blasphemous and should never be done. I'm still going to do it though, I just thought you should know there are purer purists among us.

Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro brings the magic so real you can almost touch it and mixes it together with a dark war story adding weight and realism to the fantastical.

Mulholland Drive - Dark, Haunting, and Erotic. Just how I like 'em. Perhaps the movie that most attached itself to my psyche this decade, David Lynch knows what he's doing.

Donnie Darko (and the Director's Cut) - Richard Kelly's dark yet beautify and optimistic masterpiece about the possible end of the world hits every note for me. Never has such a complicated premise been so flawless. I think for the record that watching the original and then the directors cut is the best experience.

Kill Bill Vol. 2 - The second volume of the Kill Bill movies was far superior to my liking. It had more heart and more of a sense of adventure than it's predecessor, dare I say slightly better music also.

American Splendor - Paul Giamatti's turn as Harvey Pekar is sheer brilliance. Seeing the real life characters that make up the movie's landscape appear in the film itself? A joy almost unmatched in any other film this decade.

Almost Famous - Cameron Crow started the decade off right with this semi-autobiographical work about his time as a Rolling Stones reporter. This film hit me at the peak of my classic rock addiction and has burrowed deep into my heart.

Amelie - Pure pixie like joy, shoved into movie form. It makes me want to eat ice cream on a bike on a peer. Also responsible for the birth of the Roaming Gnome.

City of God - Hard hitting gritty real life in the slums of Brazil. It is a testament to this movie that it is about hardships, brutality and violence yet all I remember is the beauty of it all.

The Royal Tenenbaums - Has there ever been a movie with more perfect comedic timing that Wes Anderson's Royal Tenenbaums? I enjoy the light in the movie much more than the dark, but it's paced so well you can't look away.

The Darjeeling Limited - Not as much of a fan favorite as The Royal Tenenbaums, but struck a chord with me on a very personal level. The search for spirituality is true to the hearts of many, and the cinematography is a love letter to the majesty of India, somewhere I have always wanted to travel.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Containing my favorite role for not only Jim Carrey but also Kate Winslet (They always give her such stogy roles!). Joel and Clementine explores the cracks in our minds and relationships and perhaps come to a better understanding of just who We are.

Ghost Town - I have only watched this movie once, and it demands more viewing. From just one watch it was easy to mark this one of the decade's best in Romantic Comedy, but it offers so much more. Honestly this pick is about my love of Ricky Gervais more than anything else, this movie might have gotten bumped for Children of Men if it wasn't for him.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch/ Short Bus - John Cameron Mitchell is one of my heroes. A Fearless film maker, whose films could easily fill two separate spots. The thing that sticks with me the most about this movies is the sense that one must carve out their own family in life to find true happiness. And orgasms don't hurt either.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Grossly misrepresented in end of the decade lists, Peter Jackson did us nerdly Tolkien fans proud in my opinion. He proved that it was possibly to adapt something of enormous scale to film and one-upped the entire industry. For me it was Ian McKellens masterful work as Gandalf that set the tone of the films and gave them the depth and heart that kept them true to the text.

Smiley Face/Pineapple Express - Insanely enjoyable films that also could have each had their own place on the list. I could watch them both on repeat. They get grouped together here because they are my pick for the classic stoner movies of the decade. One for girls (mostly in that is stars a girl finally), one for boys (in that is it sort of a mash up of an action movie and a stoner movie), both to be enjoyed by either gender. Watch them, see if I'm wrong!

Up - Oh Up. I've loved other Pixar movies before... but no one has taken my heart and ran with it until I met you. I am honestly getting choked up right now just thinking about the damn movie. Happens every time!

High Fidelity - Seeing that this movie was made in 2000 made the decade seem very long. It seems like I have been watching this movie forever, every time it's on. I don't see that stopping any time soon. It still inspires me, every time I make a list.

Y Tu Mamá También - I am always a sucker for a road movie, especially one featuring copious amounts of sexventure. This spicy little number also represents the fact that I was more interested in foreign films this decade, or at least better educated about them.

Spirited Away - Miyazaki is a modern master to the world of art. His hand drawn animation is hypnotic and breathtakingly beautiful as it chronicles the adventures of a young girl through the land of ghosts. So much more than a simple coming of age film.

Iron Man - This movie rules the land of kick-ass super hero movies that ruled the land of movies in general in the aughts. The acting is phenomenal, the pacing and plot are tight as a thriller, and it certainly doesn't come up short on the BOOM factor either. I don't think anyone could possibly have been disappointed by this film. It made Iron Man an even cooler comic book character, not something you can say for most super hero movies this decade.