Best movies of the decade
Ray Gustini counts down the best movies of the last 10 years Ray Gustini
As the decade draws to a close, it’s time to look back on the defining films, books and songs of the 2000s. Today, the Daily Jolt looks at the 10 American movies that — for whatever reason — soared above all others.
Tea Leoni.
10. “Ghost Town” (2008). David Koepp is known primarily for scripting popcorn pictures (“Jurassic Park,” “Panic Room,” “War of the Worlds”), but here, pulling double duty as writer and director, his work brings to mind the best of Billy Wilder. This movie sparkles. Ricky Gervais is an appropriately unlikely leading man, Tea Leoni is perfect as The Girl, and New York in late spring has never looked better, courtesy of cinematographer Fred Murphy. And that last scene…
9. “Insomnia” (2002). Fanboy catnip aside, “Insomnia” is probably director Chris Nolan’s most complete movie — more human than either of the “Batman” pictures and free from the structural switchbacks of “Memento” and “The Prestige.” Those are good movies, but “Insomnia” is the clear winner. As an L.A. cop dispatched to Alaska to solve a brutal homicide, Al Pacino has never been better, either. The role of detective Will Dormer is the summation of every rumpled, redemption-seeking professional the actor has ever played. This time, he finds it.
8. “The Ice Harvest” (2005). Some movies you immediately recognize as brilliant; others build over time. “The Ice Harvest” is a movie that falls into the latter category. When I first saw it in 2005, it struck me as a well-done Christmastime film noir. But it stuck with me. A lengthy run on cable revealed the nuances of the meditative script by old pros Robert Benton (“Kramer vs. Kramer”) and novelist Richard Russo (“The Risk Pool”). Harold Ramis — a better director than he gets credit for — cuts the comedic scenes with his typically precise style. And John Cusack excels in the role of the boozy anti-hero who would have been played by Robert Mitchum 50 years ago. The obvious dark horse on this list, but one I’m proud to include.
7. “Wall-E” (2008). Quite possibly the “Citizen Kane” of animated robot movies. Again, that’s just one man’s opinion.
6. “No Country for Old Men” (2007). What’s interesting about this selection is that I was never particularly impressed with Javier Bardem’s much-lauded turn as contract killer Anton Chigurh. For me, his solo scenes are the least interesting parts of the movie. It’s Tommy Lee Jones who drives the movie as a West Texas sheriff learning some hard lessons about what it means to be a part of this world.
5. “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005). There’s a warmth and empathy to Judd Apatow’s movies that I think we’ve all just started to take for granted. Stereo salesman Andy Stitzer is probably the most accessible of Apatow’s cinematic man-children – a good guy who just needs a chance to come out of his shell. The director uses a mixture of high and low (mostly low) gags to create far and away the best comedy of the decade.
4. “25th Hour” (2002). Still the only meaningful cinematic exploration of Sept. 11, which is all the more impressive when you consider director Spike Lee’s film was released only 15 months after the tragedy. The performances are all first-rate, but special credit goes to Brian Cox, one of my favorite character actors, whose closing monologue is one of the most powerful speeches in the history of movies.
Matt Damon.
3. “The Good Shepherd” (2006). I’m starting to realize I may never convince people that Bob DeNiro’s CIA epic is every bit as good as “The Godfather.” It’s funny how different people react to certain movies. Lead actor Matt Damon was almost universally blasted for not emoting enough as fictional spook Edward Wilson, but I felt an almost palpable agony in every one of his scenes. He’s like a Cornell Woolrich character wrapped in a J. Press trench coat.
2. “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001). I’m not going to try and sell you on director Wes Anderson. I love the guy, but I can see why he frustrates the hell out of people. This is undeniably his best work. The film is modeled on J.D. Salinger’s short stories but says more about the human condition than the reclusive author ever did. The credit goes to Gene Hackman as the disgraced family patriarch in what may be the performance of the decade (naturally, he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.)
1. “Sideways” (2003). What can you say? There wasn’t a more enjoyable film this decade. And it’s aging like a fine wine (although not a merlot).
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Comments
Add a CommentThanks Ray. I loved WALL-E and thought I was crazy.
Insomnia?
My wife and I have a running inside joke about how corny that movie was. "Don't lose your path" has become short-hand in our house for a dramatic moment that is supposed to be critical, but turns out feeling like soap opera shtick.
No particular order:
Little Miss sunshine
Dark Knight
The Wrestler
Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
Babel
Memento
Hotel Rwanda
Shortbus
The Lives of others
Slumdog millionaire
Three Will Be Blood
Sicko
Throw in some others like
Lost In Translation
Pan's Labyrinth
In the Bedroom
Million Dollar Baby
Little Children
Letters from Iwo Jima
My wife and I first watched Wall-E on PPV and then again on DVD with our kids and we are still trying to determine the appeal of this! Obviously too many heard it was a great movie and so therefore it must be; we found it a boring, predictable, "outcast boy meets girl; loses girl when he believes she thinks he is a nerd, boy meets up again with girl and proves his manliness and all is happy ever after", puerile garbage trying to pass itself off as "adult".
Oh come on, Blaise! How can it be a "predictable" boy meets girl movie... when it's about a robotic garbage collector from the future!?
Purile... pshaw!
Yeah, it's your typical plot of "robotic trash compactor watches a discarded copy of "Hello Dolly" over and over again, discovers the nature and value of beauty through a slow grind of hundreds of monotonous years of garbage clean-up, then finds himself yearning for someone with whom he can share real interaction, meets biological survey robot, and together they save humanity from itself while finding true love." I mean, I can see why you're so bored, that plot's just been done to death! You were probably like "ANOTHER movie about a futuristic robotic garbage compactor finding a sense of beauty and redeeming the planet while finding true love with a biological survey robot?? Doesn't Hollywood ever come up with anything NEW??"
The scene of WALL-E and EVE "dancing" in space is the greatest scene in any animated film ever. It makes me stop and watch every time. And the music was top-notch throughout (including the wonderful closing tune by Peter Gabriel).
I bought the movie for my 2-year old and I fell in love with it. I've seen it literally dozens of time (that's what happens with a 2-year old) and it never grows old. We get into giggling fits over saying things like "Rogue Robots" and "MUTINY!".
The joke between us is he likes Cars better, but I like WALL-E but we take turns watching the others favorites.
I might disagree with some of your other selections Ray (mark me up as no fan of "Insomnia"), but thank you for acknowledging the best animated film of all time, bar none.
"...puerile garbage trying to pass itself off as "adult".
Maybe this will help, I think they meant "grown-up".
I love the inclusion of "WALL-E," which has more thematic depth than almost any film of the decade, plus had the added degree of difficulty of having to appeal to children too. Definitely in my top 5.
Can't say the same for "The Ice Harvest," which I mostly hated and was redeemed only by Oliver Platt's comic relief.
And, as much as I enjoyed "Sideways" (it would be an honorable mention on mine) two other films from its year deserve to be on this list. "Tenenbaums" would be an honorable mention, although I think "Rushmore" is Anderson's best.
My take (excluding foreign, given the American requirement):
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
"Adaptation"
"United 93"
"Before Sunset"
"WALL-E"
"Memento"
"Ghost World"
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
"You Can Count on Me"
"Lord of the Rings: Return of the King"
As you can imagine, this was an incredibly fun/tough list to put together. One mistake on my part I'm kicking myself for is not including Brad Andersen's "Session 9"--had it when I made list on legal pad, it somehow got replaced by "Insomnia" in translation. Also, something I didn't mention was that I limited criteria to English-language, feature films that debuted in theaters--otherwise, "Fog of War," "Angels in America," "Y Tu Mama..." would have been strong contenders.
Others in the mix
"The Weather Man" (most underrated movie of the decade)
"High Fidelity"
"Wonder Boys"
"Memento"
"Almost Famous"
"Adaptation"
"Punch-Drunk Love"
"Eternal Sunshine..."
"Closer"
"In Good Company" (a sentimental favorite)
"Bourne Identity" (best pure thriller)
"Minority Report" (best popcorn movie)
"The Terminal" (another sentimental favorite, also vastly underrated)
"Friday Night Lights"
"Michael Clayton"
"You Can Count On Me"
"In Bruges"
"Bad Santa"
"Virgin Suicides"
"Mystic River" (held back only by Tim Robbins' awful performance.)
"Auto Focus"
"All The Real Girls"
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12:25 PM
Just to head this off at the pass, yes I realize Giamatti is holding an Emmy in that pic, but it was the only picture of him in the database that fit, and I'll be damned if I'll lead w/ Thomas Haden Church.