Now that Bigelow has put Cameron in his rightful place and the rest of the world is moving on with the year and decade that was, I've decided that it's high time I post this and get it over with. As some may remember, I'd hoped to make a semi-big thing about this, going in depth on each title and counting down to number one, drumrolls and all. Life, as it so often does, got in the way, but I don't mind so much. I'm happier with my list now, having poured over, shuffled and expanded it a bit more. Time and reflection has shown me where my true allegiances lie.
Why
Bear in mind that this isn't my attempt at any sort of objectivity, not that (1) true objectivity is actually possible or (2) that it would look that much different if I did attempt objectivity; quality and enjoyment are usually synonymous in my mind. If I did attempt such an endeavor, I could only see it possibly affecting the order of my top three, all of which are works of rapturous artistic perfection to these eyes and could easily fall into any of those spots depending on everything from the last thing I ate to the day of the week. I don't want to split hairs. #3 and #24 are cheats if you do, but I'm not about to dismiss profundity just because it originally played on a different sized screen and in episodes instead of a single feature length. Enjoy.
BEST OF THE AUGHTS
36. Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)
35. The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006)
34. Cast Away (Robert Zemeckis, 2000)
33. Revolver [American release] (Guy Ritchie, 2005)
32. Death Proof [Grindhouse and extended cuts] (Quentin Tarantino, 2007)
31. Die große Stille/Into Great Silence (Philip Gröning, 2005)
30. Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
29. Bad Santa [R-rated theatrical cut] (Terry Zwigoff, 2003)
28. Der Untergang/Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
27. 35 Rhums/35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis, 2008)
26. Inland Empire (David Lynch, 2006)
25. Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2004)
24. Curb Your Enthusiasm (Larry David, 2000-present)
23. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Extended cut] (Peter Jackson, 2002)
22. The Wild Blue Yonder (Werner Herzog, 2005)
21. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
20. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Mike Hodges, 2004)
19. A Prairie Home Companion (Robert Altman, 2006)
18. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002)
17. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
16. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
15. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
14. Speed Racer (Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski, 2008)
13. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
12. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters (Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, 2007)
11. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
10. Two Lovers (James Gray, 2009)
9. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
8. Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, 2008)
7. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)
6. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
4. Fa yeung nin wa/In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
3. Deadwood (David Milch, 2004-2006)
2. The New World [Theatrical and extended cuts] (Terrence Malick, 2005/2008)
1. Miami Vice [R-rated theatrical cut] (Michael Mann, 2006)
Great list, but can you explain your love for Cast Away?
ReplyDeleteI see you switched MIAMI VICE with IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE...Interesting switch. but I can see how that film may come to be more representative of this past decade. And thank you for specifying which cuts you prefer Rob! I hate that unrated cut of VICE as well, and it's unfortunately the only version you can get on bluray at the moment. Also, thank you for mentioning Tv miniseries that deserve cinematic attention!
ReplyDeletekeep the posts comin regularly Mr. Humanick!
insequential: Thanks! Cast Away is a film that puts me in an interesting position right now. I haven't seen it in a number of years - probably five or six - but it was an experience that had a tremendous impact on me when I first saw it, and for a list meant to represent what meant the most to me over the stated time period, it simply had to make an appearance. I wish I'd have had time to rewatch it-- it might've been higher as a result. To keep it short, I find the manner in which Zemeckis and Hanks evoke the steadfastness of the human spirit to be incredibly penetrating (and at the time, I didn't even "get" the 2001 nod, by way of a makeshift sail).
ReplyDeleteTobias: When I placed In the Mood for Love atop my initial "ballot", it was indeed my favorite, and remains among the most soul-stirring viewing experiences I've had watching movies (there's a shot late in the film of the hallway leading to 2046, with curtains fluttering, during which I realized I had literally stopped breathing for a significant stretch of time). Rewatching the film for my Slant capsule purposes didn't lessen my love for it in any way, but it did make me realize that a few other experiences had proven more significant in the time since. The ordering of that top 3 was incredibly difficult, and I almost wish I'd simply called it a three-way tie.
@Tobias: This comes kind of late in the game, but I recall someone at The House Next Door (I unfortunately forget who) pointed out that you actually can buy the theatrical cut of "Miami Vice" on Blu-ray. The link is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miami-Vice-Blu-ray-Naomie-Harris/dp/B001DD0DCI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1269863990&sr=1-2. It's the British Blu-ray. It's HD (obviously), so you don't have to worry about PAL/NTSC differences and it's all regions. I live in Canada and I've bought a copy myself and tried it on the Blu-ray player in my computer and on another Blu-ray player hooked up to an HDTV and it worked fine. I can't comment on the picture and sound quality as I don't have the best set up but it seemed fine to me. Hope this helps.
ReplyDelete