Picspam: Best of the Decade
The Decade Picspam:
Best of the Franchise Films
Disclaimer/Note:
These are totally based on my personal preferences, not on like significance to cinema or profit made. The tidbits on box office and awards are just FYI for fun facts cause I'm an Oscar whore. And for those that have sequels, I'm choosing just one film that I felt was the best of that franchise. You'll probably notice the glaring omission of any Lord of the Rings films, which were great contributions to cinema by any objective measure but is not a franchise I could really get in to. I think they're incredibly well-done and I admire Peter Jackson for it, but just not my thing. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the Spiderman or X-Men films either so while the second installments of both series were quite good, they still didn't really capture my interest.
Anyways, the reason why I'm doing an entire picspam on just franchise films is their overall prominence this decade. To be honest, franchises/blockbusters aren't really my favorite film genre (that's why I could only really think of 7 of these for this list) but they've really dominated this decade's box office. More and more, the studios will only risk big budgets for these franchises that have a built-in fanbase. In the 90s, the big money-making films were epic dramas like Titanic and Forrest Gump or one-shots like Independence Day and The Sixth Sense. There were some franchises like Jurassic Park or Home Alone that really made their mark in the 90s, but it wasn't until 1999 that The Phantom Menace and The Matrix really took that trend by storm. In the 2000s, the only non-franchise and non-Pixar movie that grossed that kind of crazy money is The Passion of the Christ (and one could argue that's not entirely free of a franchise label; after all, it has a built-in fan base and religions are kind of like really really old franchises).
Honorable Mentions: Any of the Lord of the Rings films, Shrek (2001), Ocean's Eleven (2001), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Sex and the City (2008)-- don't judge me, I love the show...
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 78%
Personal Rating: 8/10
Domestic Gross: $305 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: Nominated for Best Actor (Johnny Depp), Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Makeup, and Visual Effects
The success of this film came as a shock to a lot of people. I mean, it's big-budget pirate movie based on an incredibly obnoxious ride at Disneyland (almost as irritating as It's a Small World). That should've spelled disaster yet somehow, this first installment worked. The reason? Mr. Johnny Depp. His performance as Captain Jack Sparrow brought life to this otherwise adequate summer popcorn flick. The character was just so different from what we were used to seeing in these blockbuster films. He was odd, a little crazy maybe but you'd still trust him to know what he was doing. It turned Depp, who was previously known for his off-beat and indie work, into a bonafide box office star. Keira Knightley also performs very admirably as the feisty Elizabeth Swann and Geoffrey Rush is great as the pirate villain. Unfortunately, the sequels fell off the wagon. The plots became too murky, the melodrama excessive and the characters exaggerated and overstaying their welcome. But this first installment was a great summer blockbuster led by a charismatic Depp.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%
Personal Rating: 8/10
Domestic Gross: $249 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: Nominated for Best Original Score and Visual Effects
While the Harry Potter film series has generally been a nice and consistent franchise, none of the films truly stood out except for Cuaron's adapation of Prisoner of Azkaban. The films are all quite enjoyable but this was really the only one that could stand alone as a great movie and didn't feel like a play-by-play of the novel. Goblet of Fire is probably a close second (but I think I subconsciously avoid it cause I'm sick of seeing Robert Pattinson's face these days), but the creativity and vision of Alfonso Cuaron has not been matched yet. While some fans were understandably upset at parts of the book that were left out, in my opinion, the cuts only served to make the film flow with a connecting thread. Still, it's hard to complain about the faithfulness of this after seeing what happened to Half-Blood Prince. Watching Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall together in the climatic scenes was truly a joy.
Casino Royale (2006)
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Personal Rating: 8.5/10
Domestic Gross: $167 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: None
After the rather mediocre series of Bond movies after Goldfinger, the franchise got the inevitable reboot treatment in this grittier version of the famous British spy's adventures. The casting of the new Bond received a huge amount of media attention and many people were underwhelmed with the choice of Daniel Craig initially. However, whether you agree or disagree with his interpretation of Bond, this movie certainly brought the franchise back to quality filmmaking. Interestingly, a growing trend with franchise heroes in the 2000s is how they've turned away from the swaggering, humorous type of Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise's iconic heroes or even Pierce Brosnan's Bond. Instead, they've become colder, more emotionally distant, brooding and just looking to get the job done at any cost. Craig's Bond doesn't give a crap about how you make his Martini; he's there to carry out his mission. Eva Green plays the most interesting Bond girl with elegance and fire. While its sequel was somewhat disappointing, Casino Royale proved to be an intense and fun action movie with a very different kind of James Bond.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Matt Damon, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles, David Stathairn, Albert Finney
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
Personal Rating: 9.5/10
Domestic Gross: $227 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: Won for Best Film Editing, Sound and Sound Editing
The Bourne series somehow managed to avoid the curse of the crappy threequel. It's hard to believe but back when the first Bourne film was release, people weren't sure about Matt Damon as an action star. He wasn't tall and bulky, but his Jason Bourne was a hero that the 21st century could embrace. Crazy shit was going on in the U.S. and around the world, and we wanted a hero who could be one step ahead of the game. His physical abilities are powerful and elegant, but he was the embodiment of the intelligent action star. A cold-as-ice but deeply troubled hero. And they're not afraid to kill off love interests/girlfriends for these guys either. This third installment was probably the most sophisticated action thriller of the decade with the franchise's trademark shaky camera motions and intense metropolitan car chases. The Bourne franchise has probably been the most consistent in terms of quality and I would not mind seeing a fourth, even if it's called The Bourne Redundancy...
Iron Man (2008)
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
Personal Rating: 8.5/10
Domestic Gross: $318 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: Nominated for Best Visual Effects and Sound Editing
2008 was the year of Robert Downey Jr. His performance as the morally ambiguous billionaire-turned-superhero Tony Stark carried this movie and his playful chemistry with co-star Gwyneth Paltrow made Tony and Pepper a couple to root for. Of course, add in another one of my favorite actors, Jeff Bridges, and it's a recipe for success. This was a hugely entertaining and fun summer blockbuster with cool gadgets, effects and action scenes. Who knows what the upcoming 2010 sequel will bring-- it could disappoint just as easily as any other franchise sequel. But here's hoping that they'll keep doing what they got right.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Personal Rating: 9.5/10
Domestic Gross: $533 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: Won Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) and Sound Editing. Also nominated for Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Makeup and Film Editing.
Oh, you knew this was coming. The blockbuster that all future blockbusters will be judged against, this sequel to another reboot, Batman Begins, became the second-highest grossing film of all time in part due to the tragic death of Ledger prior to the film's release. It's almost a disservice to call it a mere superhero movie. It's truly a crime thriller at heart-- the criminals and heroes just happen to wear somewhat silly masks and outfits. Heath Ledger's Joker is seriously freaky and brilliant all at once. Never does the film actually explain how this criminal mastermind came about or executes his plans; he just does it and that is a scary thing. Yet another rebooted hero takes a darker and less campy turn as Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is quite humorless and cold compared to Tim Burton/Michael Keaton's version. The only weak aspect of Nolan's Batman series is the female love interest, Rachel Dawes played by both Holmes and Gyllenhaal, which I guess they won't have to worry about in the next one... if they ever make it.
Star Trek (2009)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
Personal Rating: 8.5/10
Domestic Gross: $257 million
Oscar Nominations/Wins: TBA
The surprise critical hit of the year, this is yet another rebooted franchise film. Oddly, at the start of the decade, this franchise seemed pretty much dead and irrelevant. Now, it's ending the decade as a hot commodity with one of the most anticipated sequels in the works at the moment. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it considering at the start of the year, this was the blockbuster that interested me the least (never seen anything Star Trek before this). But even a non-fan like myself was won over by the smart dialogue, cool action scenes and hot young cast. This movie has everything and does everything rather well-- action, story, conflict, romance, comedy, and drama. Interestingly, it seems Chris Pine's Captain Kirk is a true throwback to the fun swaggering action heroes of the past while Quinto's Spock is more a continuation of the cold and brooding hero (although, let's hope they don't kill off the girlfriend like they did to the other heroes of this mold). Perhaps that's why their epic bromance will be so fun to watch in the sequels, if they don't screw it up...
Thoughts/Comments/Opinions?
Other Previous Picspams:
Tom and Summer, (500) Days of Summer HERE
Spock and Uhura, Star Trek HERE
Victoria and Albert, The Young Victoria HERE
Carl and Ellie, Up HERE
Memorable Dress in Film HERE
The Cast of Rob Marshall's 'Nine' HERE
Grey's Anatomy: Derek-Meredith-Addison Triangle HERE
Inglourious Basterds: The Dresses of Operation Kino HERE
Inglourious Basterds: Christoph Waltz as Col. Landa HERE
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Fashion HERE
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg HERE
My Personal Oscar Ballot (as of November 2009) HERE
Cruel Intentions vs. Dangerous Liaisons Comparison HERE
The 2007 Oscars in FYC Ads HERE
Cast My Life HERE
Other Decade Picspam:
My Top 15 Films of the Decade
And I'm planning on doing a 'Stars of the Decade' picspam and one on TV finales...