Movies of the Decade, Part 2

Check out yesterday's post for the first part of the list.  Here are some honorable mentions that just missed out before we get into the Top 10.  In alphabetical order:  Adaptation, Batman Begins, Black Hawk Down, Bowling for Columbine, The Day After Tomorrow, Gladiator, Gosford Park, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Meet the Parents, Old School, Sideways, Traffic, Wedding Crashers, and X2: X-Men United.  No films released in 2005 made the top 20.  By year, the tally was:

2000: 4 movies
2001: 2
2002: 5
2003: 5
2004: 4
2005:  0

Read on for the best films of the decade.  If you don't like Hobbits, you're probably going to disagree.

10. The Bourne Identity (Matt Damon, Franka Potente). 2002.  One of the best suspense thrillers ever made.  Directed by Doug Liman, of Swingers fame, this film based on the best-selling Robert Ludlum novel has a perfect setup and a near-perfect execution.  A man with amnesia is in mortal danger and forced to run for his life, before realizing that he has the advanced training of an international spy, and must rely on his instincts to survive long enough to find out what is happening to him, and who he really is.  The action is brilliant and intense.  The acting is top-notch.  And there are really no wasted moments in the script.  Sure, it's a little far-fetched, but much less so than in a James Bond or Mission: Impossible movie, and even the less well-received sequel from 2004 was very enjoyable.  A third film is due in 2007, again based on a Robert Ludlum novel, and if I read, I might want to pick up a copy.  I'll probably just wait for the movie.

9. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd). 2004.  Here's the perfect example of a film that requires multiple viewings to truly appreciate.  I liked it very much on my first viewing, but I was never a big Will Ferrell fan, my expectations were low, and I was surprised that I'd enjoyed it.  But this is really becoming a quotable movie classic, with just so many hidden treasures buried inside that I can't help but watch it anytime it shows up on cable.  It's also the only pure comedy on this entire top 20, which probably means something, although I'm not sure what.  A great, great film.

    "Take it easy, Champ.  Why don't you stop talking for a while."

8. Signs (Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix). 2002.  I know this is going to be one of my most controversial selections, as some people didn't much care for this film, especially when compared to The Sixth Sense.  But I would argue that this was a better movie -- much scarier, more tense, better characterized, and more interesting than the director's smash hit.  It didn't have the surprise ending - in fact, I'm not sure what the big "twist" was in this movie, but it didn't take away from the movie at all.  I loved the story, I loved the acting, the setup was wonderful, and the look of the film was just great.  The ending was certainly a bit of a cop-out, but it still worked in my opinion.  Of course, I also liked The Village, so maybe I'm just M. Night's bitch.

7. The Patriot (Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger). 2001.  I love a good historical epic, and this picture has epic written all over it.  I'm also a fan of American history, and this story of life in the South during the American Revolution was quite interesting and engaging.  It's also just a thrill ride of violence, revenge, and redemption.  It was the first movie I ever bought on DVD, and listening to it in surround sound with a crystal clear picture of all the battle scenes was just wonderful.  That and the T-Rex scene from Jurassic Park were what I showed everybody who came over for weeks.  Anyway, I just loved this movie.

6. LOTR: The Return of the King (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen). 2003.  The last act of the incredible trilogy was my least favorite, mostly due to the overlong ending.  But that doesn't mean it wasn't a great picture.  It's tough to discuss the movies independently, but there was a lot to like about this picture, especially the engulfing war in Gondor contrasting with Frodo and Sam's entrance into Mordor at the same time.  Again, if you don't like Hobbits, you're probably not going to like this list, but I would say that this 3-film epic was every bit as wonderful as the Star Wars trilogy from my youth, and with much better acting.  I'm pretty sure Mortensen's going to get more roles in the coming years than Mark Hamill did.

5. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen).  2001.  A perfect introduction into the word of Lord of the Rings, for someone who never read any of the books.  The opening half hour in the Shire was a little boring and underwhelming, but once the hobbits got on their way, the movie really takes off.  The Wraiths chasing them.  Aragorn/Ranger saving them.  The majestic elven city whose name I don't remember.  Even Liv Tyler isn't horrible.  Ian McKellen should have won an Oscar, the cinematography is the most wonderful I'd ever seen on screen, and the entire sequence in the Mines of Moria was some of the best action/adventure scenes in the history of film.  My only problem with the movie when I first viewed it was that it ended without anything being resolved, but that's because I didn't know that the whole "One Ring" stuff was what united the three books.  Oh well, great stuff regardless.

4. Memento (Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano). 2000.  A film that was very dependent upon the way it was directed, much like the next movie on the list, this movie was incredibly interesting, thrilling, and provocative because the scenes are presented backwards, with the first scenes chronologically being shown last, and vice versa.  It certainly can be confusing and was at times, but it just worked brilliantly and all becomes clear at the end (and on repeated viewings).  A small, surprising, wonderful movie.

3. Elephant (dir. by Gus Van Sant).  2003.  Certainly the most obscure film on this list, I'm not sure how many people have ever heard of this movie, let alone seen it.  It was director Van Sant's experimental cinema-verite look at a fictional shooting at a suburban high school, a la Columbine.  And it is certainly different than any film I've ever watched.  And more powerful.  There is virtually no dialogue in the entire movie.  There is no soundtrack or backing music.  And all the shots are from an angle behind the characters, watching the events unfold as the character sees them, without necessarily seeing his or her reaction.  All the actors were merely high school students, not professional actors, and supposedly none of the dialogue was scripted - what little dialogue there is.  And for the first half of the movie, very little happens besides watching these kids walk around during an otherwise ordinary day of school.  So I could see why people might get bored or annoyed by it.  But when John, who is the first character we follow, sees his two classmates walking into school with guns and told not to go back in there and goes racing around the school to warn people, my heart was racing.  The spector of what was about to happen hangs over every scene in this movie, and then the horrible, violent, disturbing way in which the two killers carry out their act is just spellbinding.  It's never fully clear what Van Sant was trying to say here, and certainly no explanation for why the kids committed these murders, but I think that was entirely his point.  Some of the kids we follow around live, and some of them die.  The killers are clearly disturbed and troubled, but no more noticeably so to outsiders than any other outcast high school students.  So in the end, it simply observes a horrific event, through an unconventional but gripping directorial method, and lets the viewer decide how to feel.

2. 28 Days Later (Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, dir. by Danny Boyle). 2003. I was torn between this film and the next over which was the best movie of the decade to date, and I almost called it a tie, because this is one of my favorite movies of all time.  It is the story of a British man who wakes up from a coma to discover that in the past 28 days, a virus called "Rage" has spread across the country killing nearly everyone and/or turning them into mutant rabid zombies.  Much like Memento or The Bourne Identity, this film does not let the audience or characters in on the full reality of what is happening, which I think is a technique that certainly heightens the suspense and drives forward the dramatic action.  And boy is there action.  The protaganist - Jim - and his companions survive on their wits in some of the most exhilirating scenes ever filmed, especially impressive in that this was an independent film on a small budget that somehow portrayed the rapid-fire zombie attacks in realistically horrifying fashion.  By the time they escaped the city, I welcomed the "A.M. 180" (a song by Grandaddy) - fueled trip to an abandoned supermarket and the subsequent country picnic almost as much as the characters.  The film does fall apart a bit in the final act, with some rather unrealistic human frailties coming into play when Jim and his companions happen upon an army outpost, but in the end it still works for me.  The music is incredible (scored by John Murphy), the scenery breathtaking, the direction flawless (from the amazing scene where Jim walks out into an abandoned London to the rats in the tunnel part), and the acting is wonderful, led by both Murphy (who was this year's villain in Batman Begins) and Harris, as well as Brendan Gleeson's standout job as the father figure of the group. Truly great filmmaking.

1. LOTR: The Two Towers (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, dir. by Peter Jackson). 2002.  My favorite film of the trilogy, this one packed the most action and moved the story forward the most, and the battle for Helm's Deep is the best war sequence ever filmed in my opinion, surpassing even Braveheart's famous battle scene.  If Fellowship was the setup and Return of the King was the conclusion, this part was the full-out meaty action, an unadulterated war movie of heroic proportions.  And while the epic battle sequences, loaded with special effects, are the highlights of the film, much of the rest of the movie helps advance the plot, especially the scenes between Frodo, Sam, and Gollum - a CGI marvel that starts to become a central character in this chapter.  There is really little that went wrong here, or in the entire trilogy, and it is a testament to Jackson's direction that this movie more than lived up to the hype and anticipation created by the massive success of the first chapter.  Certainly in my top 10 favorite films of all time. 

Comments

[LegFuJohnson]

Good list, other than the fact that you are wrong.

But I thought the two towers was the meaningless part of the saga. The battle scenes were excellent, but so what? The movie starting where the first left off... the hobbits have to take the ring to destroy it. The movie ended... the hobbits have to take the ring to destroy it.

It's like the whole movie was just a side plot.

But since you like the historical epic stuff... did you see "The Last Samarai?" Excellent.

[Bill]

I never saw it, partially because I have an aversion to Tom Cruise. Maybe I'll put it on my Netflix list.

[anal switsky]

you must see The Last Samarai. I went into it wanting to hate it, I even watched on a plane trip so I would have nothing else to do..It was fantastic. fight scenes and the story were excellent. Me and Legfu see eye to eye on movies. How scary is that.

Best movie ever was Let it Ride. I know not of this decade but still the best movie ever.

I know you nuts when you put a movie like the day after tomorrow as a honarable mention. I was yelling at the screen half the movie because they are in a library with wood all over the place and they are buring the books cant some PA figure that that they should burn a chair or table even.

Did not agree with alot of your top movies, but who the hell am I right?

as always F Lenny and GO HAWKS!!!!!

[LegFuJohnson]

I brought up the Samarai, because I saw it the day before LOTR III, and it was a better movie, and not nearly as drawn out at the end.

And who is this Lenny guy, and why do you want to F him so much?

[Hasselbeck]

Bill hated KB Vol 1. when I saw it with him in the theatre. now it's in his top 20 of the decade? Something is wrong here.

GO HAWKS!!!

[Bill]

No, I hated Vol. 2 when we saw it. I liked Vol. 1.

[Garri Azz]

As the de facto administrator of the Security Fix blog, I've spent many an hour deleting spammy links left in the comments section -
- comments that usually lead back to the same kinds of Web sites you most commonly see advertised in junk e-mail.

[Garri Azz]

As the de facto administrator of the Security Fix blog, I've spent many an hour deleting spammy links left in the comments section -
- comments that usually lead back to the same kinds of Web sites you most commonly see advertised in junk e-mail.