My Favorite Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

December 28, 2009

My Favorite Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

 

Now that the first decade of the 21^st century is coming to a close, maybe it’s a good time for me to return to one of my true loves in life:  the cinema.  I’ve neglected films for so long that I haven’t seen Inglorious Basterds yet – normally I’d be there on the first day, first screening.  It has also been ten years since I made my last film.  I wonder when (or what) I will direct next.

 

Perhaps to be inspired, I should immerse myself back into movies, and then who knows, I might be motivated enough to want to write/produce/direct again.  To start this re-immersion, I will look at the past decade and see which movies were my favorites.

 

In ascending order of my personal choices for the best films of 2000-2009:

 

1.  LORD OF WAR (2005) Directed by Andrew Niccol

 

 

 

This dark comedy stars Nicolas Cage, who plays an international arms dealer, supplying AK-47s, tanks, RPGs, and solid gold M60s (Rambo’s machine gun) to mad men in their quest for power, genocide, and thirst for blood.  Yes, it is a funny movie.  As Stanley Kubrick said about nuclear holocaust, the only way we can digest such a topic is through comedy.  Lord of War is the second film I’ve chosen by Niccol to be in my best of the decade list, the other being his beautiful sci-fi romance Gattaca (1997) in my favorite movies of the 1990s.

 

1. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007) Directed by Julie Taymor

 

 

 

This musical incorporated Beatles’s songs into the boy-meets-girl-boy-loses-girl-boy-gets-girl-back plot, and when “Hey, Jude” was sung in the film’s climax, the movie reached emotional perfection.  Director Julie Taymor is known for bringing The Lion King to Broadway, adding a new visual dimension on-stage to the animated Disney classic.  Here, she colors the already bright-spectrum of Lennon and McCartney tunes with her super-talented palette.

    

1. GLADIATOR (2000) Directed by Ridley Scott

 

 

 

“My name is Gladiator.”  Try saying that line and realize how great Russell Crowe’s performance was.  Just like how Sean Connery perfected “My name is Bond.  James Bond.”

 

1. BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001) Directed by Ridley Scott

 

 

 

British filmmaker Ridley Scott had a creative peak early this decade [much like when he followed Alien (1979) with Blade Runner (1982)].  With repeated viewings, Black Hawk Down transforms each time from a purely visceral action film, to a study of precise filmmaking (cinematography, editing, production design, and sound) to a powerful commentary on war, and finally back to a visceral movie drama.  He has always been a great visual trendsetter:  How many films have tried to copy the “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” or “Black Hawk Down” look?  Too many. 

 

1. MASTER AND COMMANDER:  THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003)  Directed by Peter Weir

 

 

 

This Napoleonic-era naval epic is not just one of the smartest action-adventure films of all time – it is one of the smartest movies period.  The details of seafaring during the 18^th-19^th century is so complete, and the plot of a British naval captain (Russell Crowe again showing his superb talent) playing a cat-and-mouse chess match in the high seas versus a far-superior French ship is never spoon-fed.  But above all, this movie demonstrates better than most the ideals of honor, teamwork, and true friendship.

 

5.         THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004)/THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007)

Directed by Paul Greengrass

 

 

 

Although each film can most certainly stand on their own, when seen together, they become ultimately supreme movies.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  I wanted my own film to be a Bourne film.  If only I had the great editing, the fantastic locations, the awesome car chase scenes, the kick-ass fight sequences, and Matt Damon (who above any actor, in my opinion, can elevate any movie he’s in to a better level…like Euro Trip.  I rest my case.)

  

1. BATMAN BEGINS (2005) Directed by Christopher Nolan

 

 

 

A Batman movie wouldn’t be a Batman movie without the batsuit and batmobile, and here we are introduced to what they are really supposed to look like.  Director Christopher Nolan insisted that any gadgetry would be based on reality.  But the most important reality in this film is why Bruce Wayne became Batman, and finally, his reason made sense to me.  This film started the trend of revisiting the origins of movie franchises (James Bond, Star Trek, etc.).  The best comic book movie until…but first…

      

1. LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003) Directed by Sofia Coppola

 

 

 

So far, my top films have been spectacles.  Movies are like that; they provide elements of another “world” – allowing us to escape then empathize with extraordinary persons and situations.  But when Bill Murray and Charlotte Johansson give us characters and situations that are so today and everyday yet transport us to what dreams are made of, then cinema has truly become art.  Sofia Coppola deserved her Oscar for original screenplay, but her great direction should have trounced any returning king or hobbit that year, or any other.

  

1. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) Directed by Christopher Nolan

 

 

 

Perhaps one reason I stopped going to movies is because I can’t imagine any film can top the excitement, enthusiasm, enjoyment, emotion, and energy I got the three times I watched this film in the theater (twice in IMAX).  No one will ever forget the performance of Heath Ledger as The Joker (which earned him 29 acting awards all over the world, including the Best Supporting Actor Oscar).  “Why so serious?”  Yup, they’re only movies, but we’re lucky to have ‘em.  And we are lucky to have been in the same generation as Mr. Ledger, who made The Dark Knight immortal.