100 Favorite Films of the Decade - A Good Chunk of the Top 50
You know, looking back over this list...2004 was a helluva year for film. Not quite 1982 in terms of sheer awe-inspiring greatness, but I'd argue it's close.
50) Super Troopers (2001)
It's unrepentantly silly, endless quotable, and has Brian Cox making a total ass of himself (and loving every minute of it). Seriously, what else could you want from a comedy about Highway Patrolmen who kill their boredom by pranking their motorists - and each other? Seriously funny stuff, and easily the best thing Broken Lizard has done.
49) Sin City (2005)
The good thing is, Robert Rodriguez manages to bring everything you love about Frank Miller's hypernoir masterpiece - the amazing Chiaroscuro visuals, the ultraviolence, the fittingly over-the-top dialogue - and pairs it with a cast cherry-picked to deliver the material with precision and excellence. The bad thing is, the experience led Miller to believe he could direct THE SPIRIT.
48) Zoolander (2001)
ZOOLANDER captured the zeitgeist of what was funny at the end of the 21st century. Will Ferrel and Owen Wilson were starting to come into their own as comedians, and Ben Stiller could still carry a film on his own charisma. It plays broad and ridiculous and a little bit stupid - everything that comedy was as we closed out the 90's. And the jokes still hold up - retail stores are still carrying Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good shirts even today.
47) Sunshine (2007)
The last couple of years have seen a wonderful resurgence in genre filmmaking, and an argument could be made that it started here. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (the creative team behind the zombie thriller 28 DAYS LATER) team up once again to tell the story of an Earth whose sun is dying, and the team of astronauts who are charged with a nuclear payload to re-ignite it. The third act heads a little in EVENT HORIZON territory, but don't hold that against it - it's a smart, well-played sci-fier from ship to stern.
46) Freddy Vs Jason (2003)
While I dont think anyone will mistake this for a classic anytime soon, FREDDY VS JASON is one of those rare films that delivers exactly on its promise - a movie that combines the mythologies of both movie monsters in a way that doesn't strain the backstory of either franchise, then has the two baddies kick the crap out of each other. I also hold this up as the best theatrical experience I've ever had - first day of release, first showing, every audience member rooting for one monster or the other. We laughed at all the jokes (and the more inventive kills), we gasped at the surprises, and we cheered at the end. For me, that was what going to a movie like this should be about.
"Man, that goalie was pissed about something." Hell yeah.
45) Team America: World Police (2004)
Raunchy. Disturbing. Biting. Sharp. And that's the theatrical version. TEAM AMERICA tore up political discourse in 2004, with both sides of the political aisle claiming the flick espoused their particular views. Which is where the brilliance of this film actually lies - Trey Parker and Matt Stone take on everyone, skewering all beliefs (not to mention most standards of good taste and decency) with equal joy and abandon. One of the most perfectly controversial - and controversially perfect - films of the new millennium.
44) Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Zach Snyder's best movie, and the movie that guarantees that no matter what he does, I'll be there to check it out in the hope that it's as gripping and unique as this one. Working off the template that Romero established with his film of the same name in the 70s, Snyder turns in a ball-busting Zombie adventure film that's light on social commentary but heavy on badass, zombie-slaughtering action. Sarah Polley carries the film, being both the emotional core of the narrative and the unofficial leader of the survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Great stuff, and endless re-watchable, even if Snyder does have a fetish for bullet casings.
43) Devil's Rejects (2005)
Speaking of director's magnum opuses, Rob Zombie hasn't (and probably won't) make a better movie than this. It's a dirty, angry, violent film, a film that revels in mankind's worst impulses - and it's brilliant for that. In the proud tradition of THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, Zombie manages to reveal horror without reveling in it, to show excess without being excessive. Shockingly good, I doubt we see its like again in our lifetime - even from Zombie himself.
42/41) Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)
Quentin Tarantino wrote a 500 page love letter to Uma Thurman after PULP FICTION, and we are better for it.
40) Night Watch (2004)
Okay, this one's a bit of a cheat, because it only hit a few theaters here stateside, and even then it only lasted a couple of weeks. But it deserves a mention because it's a tremendous fantasy/horror flick, slickly directed by WANTED's Timur Bekmambetov. Weirdly, the best part is something only foreign audiences really get to enjoy - the subtitles play visually with what's happening on screen. Vampire's dialogue is blood red, and runs offscreen; shouted words shake with the violence of their delivery. A real treat from an astonishing film.
39) Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
One of the best romance stories I've ever witnessed, and it stars Adam Sandler. Give credit to Paul Thomas Anderson for taking a chance on the man, who turns in a virtuoso performance as Barry, a quietly shy and self deprecating small business owner who meets a girl, grows a pair, and decides to take on the world. The uniquely beautiful Emily Watson co-stars, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman puts in a short but pretty hilarious scene as well. It's not Anderson's best film, but it's probably his most accessible.
38) Ginger Snaps (2000)
A scrappy little werewolf film from Canada that puts a really unique spin on the genre. Also, Katherine Isabelle is my secret pretend girlfriend. A must watch for any horror fan.
37) A History of Violence (2005)
I actually had zero interest in this film until the trailer ran the line "from director David Cronenberg"...at which point the film launched to the top of my "to see" list. Cronenberg consistently delivers powerful films, and this one is no exception - its a meditation on violence and the lasting effects of doing harm, not just to the people hurt but to the innocents surrounding you as well. This is the film that FUNNY GAMES desperately wanted to be. Ed Harris is phenomenal here, and William Hurt brings an awesome weight in a surprise appearance in the third act. And Maria Bello takes more risks here than an actress of her caliber has too, to her credit. A real accomplishment.
36) X-2: X-Men United (2003)
Where X-MEN was a solid double, X2 is a home run. Singer really nailed it this time, incorporating everything there is to love about Marvel's Merry Mutants: the persecution subtext, great action sequences involving people with kickass superpowers, sympathetic villains, blue-skinned dudes, an overabundance of Wolverine, a crippling underutilization of Cyclops - it's all here. Truly, a comic come to life.
35) Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Beautiful, aching, sorrowful fairy tale from the master of modern gothic romance, Guillermo del Toro. Doug Jones is stunning, as always, and the visuals are creepily perfect - I'm especially found of The Thin Man, with his vaguely Satanic overtones. And the wraparound narrative, set in the Spanish Civil War, gives real world weight to the fantasy world del Toro develops.
34) Ghost World (2001)
I really, really love how low-key Scarlett Johanssen plays this film - I know it's one of her earliest (is it her earliest?) supporting/lead roles, but she's shows a lot of her true potential here. And Thora Birch has an amazing depth of character here, as well. One of my very favorite non-superhero comic book films.
33) Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)
Not only did del Toro take a good long look at the first HELLBOY and cut out what didn't work, he took everything that was right and turned it up to eleven. This one actually felt like Mignola's HELLBOY, with its mix of action, mythology, monsters, and science fiction comic together to tell a truly exceptional story.
32) Charlie Bartlett (2007)
Anton Yelchin is a wunderkind. The future Chekov/Kyle Reese got his big screen start here, with a teen comedy that miraculously has nothing to do with a road trip and very, very little to do with sex; instead, it takes a look at real-world social issues through the hyper-reality lens of a rich kid with big ideas and a blank prescription pad from his therapist. But the real shocker here is Robert Downey, Jr., back from exile and gearing up to kick the kind of ass it would take to get him in Tony Stark's alter-ego armor. Two titanic performances in a polished, well-made film.
31) Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Cribbing from my own work here, but what makes WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE so special is the little things - the details that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Like the fact that Max runs - everywhere. I remember being ten. I remember, if I really think about it, having that much energy, moving all the time, running whenever I could. I remember piecing together stories out of whole cloth, and I honestly wish my mother had thought to write them down. I remember starting snowball fights that were supposed to be fun and ended in disaster.
That's why the film made this list - more than seeing Maurice Sendak's iconic monsters come to life, more than seeing a children's classic given the proper film treatment - it was being reminded, on a genuine and personal level, that childhood is a wonderful, terrible, trying, beautiful thing.
30) Clerks 2 (2006)
I've written a couple times about my love for this flick. I'll just mention again that I think it's the best work Kevin Smith has done to date, and a real joy to re-visit over and over. Check it out, if you haven't.
29) The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The more I think about it, the more I get the feeling that Wes Anderson was tired of making Wes Anderson movies. How else to explain why this film feels more vital, more alive, than THE LIFE AQUATIC and THE DARJEELING LIMITED combined? Anderson is at the top of his game here, and the voice talent backing him up - including Anderson staples Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson, along with newbies like George Clooney and Meryl Streep - deliver unprecedented awesomeness to this instantly classic children's fairy tale. Indisputably Anderson's best film since RUSHMORE. Roald Dahl would be proud.
28) Spider-Man 2 (2004)
I'll level with you - as a long-time Spider-fan, I was honestly disappointed with Raimi's first wall-crawling effort. He tried to cram 17 years of Spidey comics - Pete being bitten by the spider in high school through the Goblin throwing his girlfriend off a bridge - into a two hour movie; not to mention a couple of pretty decent-size plot holes that bug me to this day (if Gobby had Pete unconscious on a rooftop, why didn't he take a peak at his identity then, and save himself the trouble later?). So imagine my surprise and delight that SPIDER-MAN 2 was so freakin' good. Alfred Molina's Doc Ock was (at that point) the best comic book villain on the silver screen, and lo and behold, Spidey's cracking jokes while they fight. Even Kristen Dunst couldn't take away from the sheer joy of watching these two go at it - the train fight is one of the best committed to celluloid.
27) Snatch. (2000)
Not only does Brad Pitt's Mickey the Gypsy make everyone else in a movie that year look like pikers, this was also the first time Jason Statham really nutted up and showed what he could do onscreen as well. Sure, it's really just a clone of LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, but it holds together better than that flick, and besides - does LOCK, STOCK have Franky fucking Four-Fingers? I don't think so.
26) Coraline (2009)
Henry Selick is a god of stop-motion, and Neil Gaiman has that rare talent of telling scary stories to children that won't deter them from the genre. The two teamed up to adapt Gaiman's book to the screen, and the results are spectacular. Fascinating, edgy, and astonishingly beautiful, CORALINE is a film with genuine all-ages appeal. You couldn't ask for a better outcome from two such creative juggernauts.
25) Batman Begins (2005)
Batman Done Right. There's really no other way to catagorize this. After five feature films (including one starring Adam west and Burt Ward), two or three movie serials, countless animated attempts (including possibly the best Bat-aptation ever), we finally - finally! - got the Batman film we deserved. And make no mistake, this is a film. From script to casting to the A-list director, Warner Bros. went out of their way to make a truly spectacular work of art. Thankfully, they succeeded, paving the way for a sequel that puts even this masterpiece in its place.
24) Zodiac (2007)
A David Fincher film is a rare and beautiful thing, something to be treasured when, and if, it is found. Such is the case with ZODIAC, Fincher's thoughtfully deliberate take on Robert Graysmith's book. Though it is occasionally very violent, it never celebrates that violence. Instead, it focuses on the methodic, occasionally frustrating debut that is the detective work that went into the case, which remains unsolved. Some audiences were unhappy with the lack of a conclusive ending, but that is the unfortunate truth of this real-life story; besides, Greysmith (and the film) draws his own conclusions pretty strongly.
23) Wall-E (2008)
God, I love how far animation has come this millennium. And it's really no surprise that Pixar has been leading the charge. With it's silent-film inspired characters and surprisingly bleeding-edge social commentary, WALL-E skates the fine line between relevant entertainment as preachy propaganda that lesser fair (think HAPPY FEET) weren't able to avoid.
22) V For Vendetta (2005)
And they said Alan Moore could't be adapted. Taking the 25-year-old diatribe against Thatcher's Britain and fine-tuning it into a scathing critique of the modern Bush-era political climate is no simple task, but the Wachowskis and James McTeigue navigate that mine field with finesse. Brilliant casting in both Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, not to mention defying Hollywood standards by never letting V remove his mask and a startlingly sharp script, lead to a modern classic..."bullet-time" knife-throwing notwithstanding. The best direct comics adaption to hit the silver screen.
21) Devil's Backbone (2001)
Really, in my mind, the best film Guillermo del Toro has constructed. BACKBONE plays to del Toro's strengths, mixing supernatural horror with the tropes of gothic romance and real life history. It doesn't have the amazing spectacle of his later work, but it doesn't need it, either; BACKBONE relies on the creepiness of the unknown and the superstitions of children to create its fear. Masterful work.
20) Up (2009)
Just an amazing emotional roller-coaster of a film. It makes me think of an old episode of The Simpsons - Grandpa is sitting in the kitchen, saying "I'm old! No one listens to me!" Lisa, sitting there as well, says "I'm young! No one listens to me!" And it's true - both these groups get very little respectable screen time. So leave it to Pixar to make a whole film about the trials and tribulations of a senior citizen and his pre-adolescent sidekick. Throw in some gorgeous visuals and a touching story, and you have one of the best animated films of the last ten years.
19) The Prestige (2006)
Holy crap, Chris Nolan can direct the hell out a movie. And I adore the casting on this one - nowhere else are you going to find Batman fighting Wolverine with the Scarlet Witch caught in the middle. I honestly thought the surprise cameo Nikola Tesla was going to be either Toby Maguire or Brandon Routh, just to keep the theme going - not that I was at all disappointed by David Bowie, of course.
18) The Hurt Locker (2009)
Just a powerful film with a tremendous gut-punch ending. I've ranted about this one for a while now, so I won't bore you further, but it just hit DVD - check it out.
17) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
You know, for a while there it seemed like Tim Burton had lost his touch. And Burton doesn't have a great track record with adapting other people's work - I know his BATMAN was well received, btu I honestly find it a tepid, and his PLANET OF THE APES really kind of sucks. So imagine my surprise when SWEENEY TODD turned out to be my favorite movie of 2007. It's like the guy made a movie just for me - a dark comedy horror-musical that is at once terrifying and twistedly gorgeous. Say what you want about Johnny Depp's voice, his duet with Alan Rickman is a high point of the film. And it's nice to see Timothy Spall getting more work since HARRY POTTER.
16) The Dark Knight (2008)
I think I've slobbered all over this film enough before - here's the review of the blu-ray, if you missed it.
15) No Country For Old Men (2007)
I love the Coens; and yes, this is their best film to date; and yeah, the brothers deserved an Oscar long before this one; but I STILL think there was a better film to come out that year that deserved the Best Picture statue more. But that's neither here nor there. NO COUNRTY is an astonishing modern western, packed to the gills with fantastic performances - everyone went apeshit for Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh, but I think Josh Brolin was sold a little short - his Llewelyn Moss is a rough, surprisingly kind, last-of-a-dying breed cowboy that really just wants to do right by his girl. And of course, Tommy Lee Jones is a revelation here. This is also one of those films where the score just really hits me - I very rarely notice the music in a movie (I am trying to get better about that) - but this one is so singular that it refuses to be ignored. This is also the film that made me stop taking potshots at Cormac McCarthy.
14) Iron Man (2008)
Probably going to take at least a little shit for this, but IRON MAN is the best superhero movie on record so far. While THE DARK KNIGHT brought Batman and his rogues into the real world, IRON MAN embraced the comic book nature of the franchise - Tony Stark is the smartest man in the world, and the film goes to great pains to show you just exactly what that encompasses. Robert Downey, Jr. reminds us why we were all blow away by CHAPLIN all those years ago as the lead character, and "The guy that wasn't Vince Vaughn in SWINGERS" proves he's got directing chops beyond anything we've expected from him. The tech is, while not "real", something in the realm of possibility, which adds a weight to the film. And there's not an ounce of fat on the thing - IRON MAN barrels through its 126 minutes like a repulser-powered freight train, never letting up on the action, the drama, and the laughs. It was a big win for newly formed Marvel Studios, and an even bigger win for fanboys.
13) Let The Right One In (2008)
The best vampire film I've ever seen. Really a touching look at pre-adolescent romance, with some of the smartest cinematography I've seen in a while. As my friend Kyanne said, "I've never seen a decapitated head fall into a swimming pool and think, 'Awwww...that's so sweet.'"
12) Star Trek (2009)
You don't really want me to pontificate on how great this flick is again, do you?
11) (500) Days of Summer (2009)
Okay, I'll say it - this is the film that made my play worthless. Mostly because it's my play, done roughly a million times more competently. So why do I love it so much? Because I really do identify with Gordon-Levitt's Tom, and I'm still in love with Zooey Deschanel from back when she was in HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. It was recently confirmed that director Mark Webb is taking over the SPIDER-MAN re-boot - I'm certain his particular sensibilities will be a perfect fit for the revamped wallcraller's newest exploits. Until then, I'll just bask in admiration at his feature film debut.
Tomorrow (if all goes well) - the Top Ten!
50) Super Troopers (2001)
It's unrepentantly silly, endless quotable, and has Brian Cox making a total ass of himself (and loving every minute of it). Seriously, what else could you want from a comedy about Highway Patrolmen who kill their boredom by pranking their motorists - and each other? Seriously funny stuff, and easily the best thing Broken Lizard has done.
49) Sin City (2005)
The good thing is, Robert Rodriguez manages to bring everything you love about Frank Miller's hypernoir masterpiece - the amazing Chiaroscuro visuals, the ultraviolence, the fittingly over-the-top dialogue - and pairs it with a cast cherry-picked to deliver the material with precision and excellence. The bad thing is, the experience led Miller to believe he could direct THE SPIRIT.
48) Zoolander (2001)
ZOOLANDER captured the zeitgeist of what was funny at the end of the 21st century. Will Ferrel and Owen Wilson were starting to come into their own as comedians, and Ben Stiller could still carry a film on his own charisma. It plays broad and ridiculous and a little bit stupid - everything that comedy was as we closed out the 90's. And the jokes still hold up - retail stores are still carrying Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good shirts even today.
47) Sunshine (2007)
The last couple of years have seen a wonderful resurgence in genre filmmaking, and an argument could be made that it started here. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (the creative team behind the zombie thriller 28 DAYS LATER) team up once again to tell the story of an Earth whose sun is dying, and the team of astronauts who are charged with a nuclear payload to re-ignite it. The third act heads a little in EVENT HORIZON territory, but don't hold that against it - it's a smart, well-played sci-fier from ship to stern.
46) Freddy Vs Jason (2003)
While I dont think anyone will mistake this for a classic anytime soon, FREDDY VS JASON is one of those rare films that delivers exactly on its promise - a movie that combines the mythologies of both movie monsters in a way that doesn't strain the backstory of either franchise, then has the two baddies kick the crap out of each other. I also hold this up as the best theatrical experience I've ever had - first day of release, first showing, every audience member rooting for one monster or the other. We laughed at all the jokes (and the more inventive kills), we gasped at the surprises, and we cheered at the end. For me, that was what going to a movie like this should be about.
"Man, that goalie was pissed about something." Hell yeah.
45) Team America: World Police (2004)
Raunchy. Disturbing. Biting. Sharp. And that's the theatrical version. TEAM AMERICA tore up political discourse in 2004, with both sides of the political aisle claiming the flick espoused their particular views. Which is where the brilliance of this film actually lies - Trey Parker and Matt Stone take on everyone, skewering all beliefs (not to mention most standards of good taste and decency) with equal joy and abandon. One of the most perfectly controversial - and controversially perfect - films of the new millennium.
44) Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Zach Snyder's best movie, and the movie that guarantees that no matter what he does, I'll be there to check it out in the hope that it's as gripping and unique as this one. Working off the template that Romero established with his film of the same name in the 70s, Snyder turns in a ball-busting Zombie adventure film that's light on social commentary but heavy on badass, zombie-slaughtering action. Sarah Polley carries the film, being both the emotional core of the narrative and the unofficial leader of the survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Great stuff, and endless re-watchable, even if Snyder does have a fetish for bullet casings.
43) Devil's Rejects (2005)
Speaking of director's magnum opuses, Rob Zombie hasn't (and probably won't) make a better movie than this. It's a dirty, angry, violent film, a film that revels in mankind's worst impulses - and it's brilliant for that. In the proud tradition of THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, Zombie manages to reveal horror without reveling in it, to show excess without being excessive. Shockingly good, I doubt we see its like again in our lifetime - even from Zombie himself.
42/41) Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)
Quentin Tarantino wrote a 500 page love letter to Uma Thurman after PULP FICTION, and we are better for it.
40) Night Watch (2004)
Okay, this one's a bit of a cheat, because it only hit a few theaters here stateside, and even then it only lasted a couple of weeks. But it deserves a mention because it's a tremendous fantasy/horror flick, slickly directed by WANTED's Timur Bekmambetov. Weirdly, the best part is something only foreign audiences really get to enjoy - the subtitles play visually with what's happening on screen. Vampire's dialogue is blood red, and runs offscreen; shouted words shake with the violence of their delivery. A real treat from an astonishing film.
39) Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
One of the best romance stories I've ever witnessed, and it stars Adam Sandler. Give credit to Paul Thomas Anderson for taking a chance on the man, who turns in a virtuoso performance as Barry, a quietly shy and self deprecating small business owner who meets a girl, grows a pair, and decides to take on the world. The uniquely beautiful Emily Watson co-stars, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman puts in a short but pretty hilarious scene as well. It's not Anderson's best film, but it's probably his most accessible.
38) Ginger Snaps (2000)
A scrappy little werewolf film from Canada that puts a really unique spin on the genre. Also, Katherine Isabelle is my secret pretend girlfriend. A must watch for any horror fan.
37) A History of Violence (2005)
I actually had zero interest in this film until the trailer ran the line "from director David Cronenberg"...at which point the film launched to the top of my "to see" list. Cronenberg consistently delivers powerful films, and this one is no exception - its a meditation on violence and the lasting effects of doing harm, not just to the people hurt but to the innocents surrounding you as well. This is the film that FUNNY GAMES desperately wanted to be. Ed Harris is phenomenal here, and William Hurt brings an awesome weight in a surprise appearance in the third act. And Maria Bello takes more risks here than an actress of her caliber has too, to her credit. A real accomplishment.
36) X-2: X-Men United (2003)
Where X-MEN was a solid double, X2 is a home run. Singer really nailed it this time, incorporating everything there is to love about Marvel's Merry Mutants: the persecution subtext, great action sequences involving people with kickass superpowers, sympathetic villains, blue-skinned dudes, an overabundance of Wolverine, a crippling underutilization of Cyclops - it's all here. Truly, a comic come to life.
35) Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Beautiful, aching, sorrowful fairy tale from the master of modern gothic romance, Guillermo del Toro. Doug Jones is stunning, as always, and the visuals are creepily perfect - I'm especially found of The Thin Man, with his vaguely Satanic overtones. And the wraparound narrative, set in the Spanish Civil War, gives real world weight to the fantasy world del Toro develops.
34) Ghost World (2001)
I really, really love how low-key Scarlett Johanssen plays this film - I know it's one of her earliest (is it her earliest?) supporting/lead roles, but she's shows a lot of her true potential here. And Thora Birch has an amazing depth of character here, as well. One of my very favorite non-superhero comic book films.
33) Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)
Not only did del Toro take a good long look at the first HELLBOY and cut out what didn't work, he took everything that was right and turned it up to eleven. This one actually felt like Mignola's HELLBOY, with its mix of action, mythology, monsters, and science fiction comic together to tell a truly exceptional story.
32) Charlie Bartlett (2007)
Anton Yelchin is a wunderkind. The future Chekov/Kyle Reese got his big screen start here, with a teen comedy that miraculously has nothing to do with a road trip and very, very little to do with sex; instead, it takes a look at real-world social issues through the hyper-reality lens of a rich kid with big ideas and a blank prescription pad from his therapist. But the real shocker here is Robert Downey, Jr., back from exile and gearing up to kick the kind of ass it would take to get him in Tony Stark's alter-ego armor. Two titanic performances in a polished, well-made film.
31) Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Cribbing from my own work here, but what makes WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE so special is the little things - the details that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Like the fact that Max runs - everywhere. I remember being ten. I remember, if I really think about it, having that much energy, moving all the time, running whenever I could. I remember piecing together stories out of whole cloth, and I honestly wish my mother had thought to write them down. I remember starting snowball fights that were supposed to be fun and ended in disaster.
That's why the film made this list - more than seeing Maurice Sendak's iconic monsters come to life, more than seeing a children's classic given the proper film treatment - it was being reminded, on a genuine and personal level, that childhood is a wonderful, terrible, trying, beautiful thing.
30) Clerks 2 (2006)
I've written a couple times about my love for this flick. I'll just mention again that I think it's the best work Kevin Smith has done to date, and a real joy to re-visit over and over. Check it out, if you haven't.
29) The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The more I think about it, the more I get the feeling that Wes Anderson was tired of making Wes Anderson movies. How else to explain why this film feels more vital, more alive, than THE LIFE AQUATIC and THE DARJEELING LIMITED combined? Anderson is at the top of his game here, and the voice talent backing him up - including Anderson staples Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson, along with newbies like George Clooney and Meryl Streep - deliver unprecedented awesomeness to this instantly classic children's fairy tale. Indisputably Anderson's best film since RUSHMORE. Roald Dahl would be proud.
28) Spider-Man 2 (2004)
I'll level with you - as a long-time Spider-fan, I was honestly disappointed with Raimi's first wall-crawling effort. He tried to cram 17 years of Spidey comics - Pete being bitten by the spider in high school through the Goblin throwing his girlfriend off a bridge - into a two hour movie; not to mention a couple of pretty decent-size plot holes that bug me to this day (if Gobby had Pete unconscious on a rooftop, why didn't he take a peak at his identity then, and save himself the trouble later?). So imagine my surprise and delight that SPIDER-MAN 2 was so freakin' good. Alfred Molina's Doc Ock was (at that point) the best comic book villain on the silver screen, and lo and behold, Spidey's cracking jokes while they fight. Even Kristen Dunst couldn't take away from the sheer joy of watching these two go at it - the train fight is one of the best committed to celluloid.
27) Snatch. (2000)
Not only does Brad Pitt's Mickey the Gypsy make everyone else in a movie that year look like pikers, this was also the first time Jason Statham really nutted up and showed what he could do onscreen as well. Sure, it's really just a clone of LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, but it holds together better than that flick, and besides - does LOCK, STOCK have Franky fucking Four-Fingers? I don't think so.
26) Coraline (2009)
Henry Selick is a god of stop-motion, and Neil Gaiman has that rare talent of telling scary stories to children that won't deter them from the genre. The two teamed up to adapt Gaiman's book to the screen, and the results are spectacular. Fascinating, edgy, and astonishingly beautiful, CORALINE is a film with genuine all-ages appeal. You couldn't ask for a better outcome from two such creative juggernauts.
25) Batman Begins (2005)
Batman Done Right. There's really no other way to catagorize this. After five feature films (including one starring Adam west and Burt Ward), two or three movie serials, countless animated attempts (including possibly the best Bat-aptation ever), we finally - finally! - got the Batman film we deserved. And make no mistake, this is a film. From script to casting to the A-list director, Warner Bros. went out of their way to make a truly spectacular work of art. Thankfully, they succeeded, paving the way for a sequel that puts even this masterpiece in its place.
24) Zodiac (2007)
A David Fincher film is a rare and beautiful thing, something to be treasured when, and if, it is found. Such is the case with ZODIAC, Fincher's thoughtfully deliberate take on Robert Graysmith's book. Though it is occasionally very violent, it never celebrates that violence. Instead, it focuses on the methodic, occasionally frustrating debut that is the detective work that went into the case, which remains unsolved. Some audiences were unhappy with the lack of a conclusive ending, but that is the unfortunate truth of this real-life story; besides, Greysmith (and the film) draws his own conclusions pretty strongly.
23) Wall-E (2008)
God, I love how far animation has come this millennium. And it's really no surprise that Pixar has been leading the charge. With it's silent-film inspired characters and surprisingly bleeding-edge social commentary, WALL-E skates the fine line between relevant entertainment as preachy propaganda that lesser fair (think HAPPY FEET) weren't able to avoid.
22) V For Vendetta (2005)
And they said Alan Moore could't be adapted. Taking the 25-year-old diatribe against Thatcher's Britain and fine-tuning it into a scathing critique of the modern Bush-era political climate is no simple task, but the Wachowskis and James McTeigue navigate that mine field with finesse. Brilliant casting in both Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, not to mention defying Hollywood standards by never letting V remove his mask and a startlingly sharp script, lead to a modern classic..."bullet-time" knife-throwing notwithstanding. The best direct comics adaption to hit the silver screen.
21) Devil's Backbone (2001)
Really, in my mind, the best film Guillermo del Toro has constructed. BACKBONE plays to del Toro's strengths, mixing supernatural horror with the tropes of gothic romance and real life history. It doesn't have the amazing spectacle of his later work, but it doesn't need it, either; BACKBONE relies on the creepiness of the unknown and the superstitions of children to create its fear. Masterful work.
20) Up (2009)
Just an amazing emotional roller-coaster of a film. It makes me think of an old episode of The Simpsons - Grandpa is sitting in the kitchen, saying "I'm old! No one listens to me!" Lisa, sitting there as well, says "I'm young! No one listens to me!" And it's true - both these groups get very little respectable screen time. So leave it to Pixar to make a whole film about the trials and tribulations of a senior citizen and his pre-adolescent sidekick. Throw in some gorgeous visuals and a touching story, and you have one of the best animated films of the last ten years.
19) The Prestige (2006)
Holy crap, Chris Nolan can direct the hell out a movie. And I adore the casting on this one - nowhere else are you going to find Batman fighting Wolverine with the Scarlet Witch caught in the middle. I honestly thought the surprise cameo Nikola Tesla was going to be either Toby Maguire or Brandon Routh, just to keep the theme going - not that I was at all disappointed by David Bowie, of course.
18) The Hurt Locker (2009)
Just a powerful film with a tremendous gut-punch ending. I've ranted about this one for a while now, so I won't bore you further, but it just hit DVD - check it out.
17) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
You know, for a while there it seemed like Tim Burton had lost his touch. And Burton doesn't have a great track record with adapting other people's work - I know his BATMAN was well received, btu I honestly find it a tepid, and his PLANET OF THE APES really kind of sucks. So imagine my surprise when SWEENEY TODD turned out to be my favorite movie of 2007. It's like the guy made a movie just for me - a dark comedy horror-musical that is at once terrifying and twistedly gorgeous. Say what you want about Johnny Depp's voice, his duet with Alan Rickman is a high point of the film. And it's nice to see Timothy Spall getting more work since HARRY POTTER.
16) The Dark Knight (2008)
I think I've slobbered all over this film enough before - here's the review of the blu-ray, if you missed it.
15) No Country For Old Men (2007)
I love the Coens; and yes, this is their best film to date; and yeah, the brothers deserved an Oscar long before this one; but I STILL think there was a better film to come out that year that deserved the Best Picture statue more. But that's neither here nor there. NO COUNRTY is an astonishing modern western, packed to the gills with fantastic performances - everyone went apeshit for Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh, but I think Josh Brolin was sold a little short - his Llewelyn Moss is a rough, surprisingly kind, last-of-a-dying breed cowboy that really just wants to do right by his girl. And of course, Tommy Lee Jones is a revelation here. This is also one of those films where the score just really hits me - I very rarely notice the music in a movie (I am trying to get better about that) - but this one is so singular that it refuses to be ignored. This is also the film that made me stop taking potshots at Cormac McCarthy.
14) Iron Man (2008)
Probably going to take at least a little shit for this, but IRON MAN is the best superhero movie on record so far. While THE DARK KNIGHT brought Batman and his rogues into the real world, IRON MAN embraced the comic book nature of the franchise - Tony Stark is the smartest man in the world, and the film goes to great pains to show you just exactly what that encompasses. Robert Downey, Jr. reminds us why we were all blow away by CHAPLIN all those years ago as the lead character, and "The guy that wasn't Vince Vaughn in SWINGERS" proves he's got directing chops beyond anything we've expected from him. The tech is, while not "real", something in the realm of possibility, which adds a weight to the film. And there's not an ounce of fat on the thing - IRON MAN barrels through its 126 minutes like a repulser-powered freight train, never letting up on the action, the drama, and the laughs. It was a big win for newly formed Marvel Studios, and an even bigger win for fanboys.
13) Let The Right One In (2008)
The best vampire film I've ever seen. Really a touching look at pre-adolescent romance, with some of the smartest cinematography I've seen in a while. As my friend Kyanne said, "I've never seen a decapitated head fall into a swimming pool and think, 'Awwww...that's so sweet.'"
12) Star Trek (2009)
You don't really want me to pontificate on how great this flick is again, do you?
11) (500) Days of Summer (2009)
Okay, I'll say it - this is the film that made my play worthless. Mostly because it's my play, done roughly a million times more competently. So why do I love it so much? Because I really do identify with Gordon-Levitt's Tom, and I'm still in love with Zooey Deschanel from back when she was in HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. It was recently confirmed that director Mark Webb is taking over the SPIDER-MAN re-boot - I'm certain his particular sensibilities will be a perfect fit for the revamped wallcraller's newest exploits. Until then, I'll just bask in admiration at his feature film debut.
Tomorrow (if all goes well) - the Top Ten!