So, you don't wanna talk about Spencer Tracy or James Brown? Okay, fine, be that way. I see now that the crew over at Time Out New York has posted its Top 50 Movies of the Aughts, so now's the time, as Charlie Parker would put it, when I might as well counter with my own list, and create what some call "added value" by citing 20 more than 50, because why the hell not.
I will try to be more aphoristic and less portentous than the TONY crew in my film assessment. I don't mean that as a slam against the TONY crew's summings-up. Believe me, I know what a drag it can be to write those 50-to-120 word capsules, particularly if you're trying to get across why the films "mattered" or were "important." It was, quite frankly, really tiresome to have to strike those poses back in the Premiere days. Now that I'm my own boss, my own capsules will be...well, whatever they will be. Another liberty I take is in not ranking—who am I tallying up ballots against, anyway?—but rather listing the films in possibly imperfect alphabetical order. Shine sweet freedom, etc...
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001): A heartbreakingly fractured fairy tale. If you think its final 20 minutes constitute a happy ending, watch, and think, again.
Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002): The Charlie Kaufman-scripted upending of Hollywood convention isn't quite the coup-de-grace it's meant to be, but it still delivers a potent viral load of satirical venom.
The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004): The maestro's sweeping Hughes biography is a much-misunderstood study in obsession, and how failure never stops haunting success. The color manipulation is brilliant too.
Burn After Reading (The Coen Brothers, 2008): A really superb live-action cartoon. Reviewed here.
Che (Steven Soderbergh, 2008): Pace, Steven, this was not a mistake. Not at all. Some thoughts on it here.
A Christmas Tale (Arnaud Desplechin, 2008, pictured): A superbly multi-faceted film that genuinely suggests where cinema can, and should, go in the next century.
The Circle (Jafar Panahi, 2000): Women's oppression in Iran. A beautiful new manifestation of the neo-realist ethos.
Colossal Youth (Pedro Costa, 2006): It took me a while to come around to this extraordinary film...and I'm glad I did. I walked out on it first...now I feel I could watch it three times a year, at least. The first key to appreciating it is to stop seeing Costa as some sort of, shall we say, "liberal." It's deeper, way deeper, than that...
The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007): Well, yes, it is about the plaints of white people who are visiting India. And your point is? My initial thoughts here.
Demonlover (Olivier Assayas, 2002, pictured): A perhaps alarmist portrait of capital in the cyber age. But a swift, effective kick in the balls in any event.
Éloge de l’amour (Jean-Luc Godard, 2001): Profoundly problematic Godard, yes. And no less great for that.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004): Another magnificent Kaufman script given preternaturally empathetic life by director Gondry.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009): Reviewed here.
Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat, 2001, pictured): An appropriately twisted vision about the catastrophe of erotic awakening.
The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006): "We rented that, and we saw they quoted you on the box cover," some friend of a friend told me at dinner recently, "and you said it was 'fascinating and amazing.' I'm amazed the stupid thing ever even got made!" I get this a lot. And still insist. Review here.
The Frontier of Dawn (Philippe Garrel, 2008): His ghost story, with effects straight out of Melies/Franju. An incomparable atmosphere.
Gangs of New York (Scorsese, 2002): Decidedly imperfect, with moments of epic greatness that is dares subsequent films to come near.
The Girlfriend Experience (Soderbergh, 2009): Yeah, The Girlfriend Experience. What about it?
Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003): I love all of this director's films, but really, this is his most haunted and haunting experience, a must-see for everyone.
The GoodTimes Kid (Azazel Jacobs, 2005): Another particularly sui generis thing, this from a genuinely adventurous American independent. Crazy, anguished, visually controlled and deft.
Good Morning, Night (Marco Bellocchio, 2003, pictured): A painfully nuanced film about the Red Army and Moro, from a politically and emotionally engaged director who's been in there pitching since well before the event depicted.
Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008): Reviewed here.
Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005): Reviewed here.
The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008) Reconsidered here.
A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2006): One of Cronenberg's slyest not-quite-pastiches. FULL of unnerving acting.
I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell, 2004): Improbably enough, my original review is still preserved here.
I’m Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007): I didn't entirely get this picture at first. And then, I got it much better. It's that kind of movie. I've seen it three times. Gets more interesting.
The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004): Is The Incredibles.
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009): Reviewed here. Tub-thumped further here.
L’Intrus (Claire Denis, 2004): One of the great Denis' most daring and transportive (in more ways than one) films.
Invictus (Clint Eastwood, 2009): I can't really talk about it yet, but yes, I think it's that good.
In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2001): An apotheosis. Reviewed here.
The Lady and the Duke (Eric Rohmer, 2001, pictured): Rohmer's experiment with digitally-created backdrops adds a daringly beautiful dimension to his mise-en-scene. The writing and acting are unusually sensitive.
The Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch, 2009): Too hip? Gotta go? Not by my lights. 100% beguiling.
Looney Tunes Back In Action (Joe Dante, 2003): A meta-movie that really knows its business. Reviewed here.
Lorna’s Silence (The Dardenne Brothers, 2008): A lot of critics thought this was more, and less, of the same from the filmmaking team, but its concentration, and discovery of the iconic Arta Dobroshi, make it my favorite Dardennes. First considered by me here. And again here.
Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006): A splendid cinematic intoxicant, and not stupid. Reviewed here.
Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004): A lot of people still enjoy trashing this picture, and truth to tell, a lot of its imperfections are legitimate chum for the breed of moviegoer Hitchcock called "the Plausibles." And for all that it still wrenches your gut when you actually watch it. Reviewed here.
Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002): A truly visionary work from a truly visionary director...who hasn't made a feature since. What the hell is wrong with the world? Reviewed here.
Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001): Ah, I'll never forget David Lynch at Premiere's party at Prego in Toronto, chomping on a Sicilian slice with Watts and Harring flanking him, and booming across the floor, "Thanks for the four-star review, Glenn! Great pizza!" From said review: "Roberto Rossellini once remarked of Chaplin's A King in New York, 'It is the film of a free man.' Mulholland Drive is the film of a slave — a slave to his own, undying obsessions. But that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Ne touchez pas le hache (Jacques Rivette, 2007): I prefer the evocative French title to the plainer The Duchess of Langeaise. A wonder, first reviewed here.
Night and Day (Hong Sang-soo, 2008): For my money the Korean director's funniest, most audacious work. Reviewed here.
Notre Musique (Jean-Luc Godard, pictured): War and provisional peace, enraged and enigmatic.
No Country For Old Men (The Coen Brothers, 2007): A lot of folks are already pissed that this was entirely snubbed by the Time Out New York panel. As in, didn't get a single vote. I reserve comment on the matter. I have written about the film here and here.
Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki, 2009): Simplicity and wonder. Considered here.
Red Cliff Parts 1 & 2 (John Woo, 2008): Epic moviemaking like you thought they didn't/couldn't do anymore. Considered here.
Regular Lovers (Philippe Garrel, 2005): You say you wanna revolution...Garrel's uncanny evocation of May '68 melds the political with the personal until the political becomes...something else.
The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001): Anderson really let fly with his baroque side here, to dazzling and heartbreaking result.
Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002): This one-take wonder is more than an amazing technical achievement, and more than an arty promo for The Hermitage. It's a restless treatise on art and intimations of immortality.
A Serious Man (The Coen Brothers, 2009): Reviewed here. Sorry about the critic-baiting therein, but what am I gonna do, pretend it never happened?
Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004): You don't have to be an alcoholic to love this picture...but it helps! But seriously. I compared it to Renoir when it first came out and I stand by that.
Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001): One of the master's most complex, enigmatic, and haunting works.
Star Spangled To Death (Ken Jacobs, 1957-2004): Jacobs' epic assembly, a jitter-and-laughter inducing anti-ode to the notion of American exceptionalism. Just because you're paranoid, etc. etc...
Still Life (Jia Zhangke, 2008): The most visually spectacular and mesmerizing work from the Chinese maverick yet.
The Story of Marie and Julian (Jacques Rivette, 2003): In a weird way, I feel as if I am somehow always writing about this film. See here. I consider it in an upcoming Salon mini-feature also.
Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008): Never trust a film critic who tells you he or she doesn't care for pictures about "rich" people.
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2005): Weirder and less on-the-nose than Oldboy. I didn't review, but I got into this online fracas about it, one of the most memorable in the genre.
Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2008): Beautiful, droll, difficult to summarize, one of the most specifically poetic films ever made.
Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008): I liked it so much, I was a DVD extra on it! More thoughts here.
Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002): A peak moment, a summation and an expansion of everything the filmmaker has stood for.
There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007): Damn. Further thoughts here and here. And here. This sure was a fun film to argue about.
Three Times (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 2005): A remarkably delicate, ages-spanning anthology film. Every shot a beauty.
Tokyo Sonata (Kiroshi Kurosawa, 2008):A beautifully calibrated vision of dread. Reviewed here.
Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis, 2001): A sui generis splatter/art film. Harrowing, merciless, strangely tender.
25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002, pictured): A beautiful sprawl.
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, 2009): Reviewed here.
The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009): Funny; I'm still kind of on the fence about the content of this picture, but I'm so impressed by its formal excellence in every respect that it dogs me, and strikes me as a genuinely major work.
The World (Jia Zhangke, 2004): Life as a theme park. Not as funny as it sounds. But wonderful
Yi yi (Edward Yang, 2000): The Taiwanese pioneer's last film, alas, a snappy, beautifully detailed family saga, each scene as vivid and true as the last or the next.
Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007): Head-spinningly masterful, a redefinition of the policier, an obsessive film worth obsessing over. See here.
And there you have it. You?
A really nice list Glenn, though I feel I must give shout out to the delightful The Band's Visit, the epic The Best of Youth and the poetic Werckmeister Harmonies, all on my personal top 10 for the Decade.
Not to discount the eternal struggles of filmmakers to get quality on the screen, but I think your list (and other decade lists out there) prove that we DO live in an exciting time to be a lover of cinema, contrary to what many say.
Posted by: Robert | November 25, 2009 at 10:54 AM
A truly impressive list of truly impressive films. Some of the films others have maligned I'll second you on-- The Aviator and Gangs of New York are both terrific in my estimation, as is Marie Antoinette, while Inglourious Basterds is really the best film I've seen in a long long time-- and some left me cold but I'm going to give a second look on the strength of your endorsement-- A.I., The Fountain, The 25th Hour, Sideways.
Of those not on your list, my own would include Brad Bird's Ratatouille (of course), Spielberg's Munich (a return to form, I think, after too many sappy films), Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited and Life Aquatic (sadder, funnier, and more accomplished films, I think, than Royal Tennenbaums), Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (because that's just the kind of fanboy I am) and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (humour, sentiment, characterization, style, drama: classic Spider-Man for modern times), Andrew Bujalski's Mutual Appreciation (it's a film that rewards multiple viewings), Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (well, *I* think it's funny and sharp, and its longuers really let you soak in the characters)...
...and Tom and Mary Russell's Son of a Seahorse. Yes, Tom and Mary Russell's Son of a Seahorse-- what of it? :-)
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 10:59 AM
You had me up until LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION. I mean... seriously?
Posted by: Scottneumyer | November 25, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Yeah, seriously. You'd prefer maybe "The 40-Year-Old Virgin?" I note also that Manny Farber saw fit to include a Charlie Dog Looney Tune in his roundup of the best films of 1951.
One of the reasons one does these lists is to be reminded of the great stuff he's left out. "Munich," "Werckmeister," heck yeah. "The Band's Visit" is indeed estimable. More, more...
Posted by: Glenn Kenny | November 25, 2009 at 11:08 AM
I also owe AI another viewing. And, Glenn, I have to confess, I half-hoped to see Speed Racer on your list.
Posted by: Matt Miller | November 25, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Don't you just hate it when you think of something else five minutes after posting a comment?
-- David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees. Mercilessly funny, with wit and invention to spare.
-- Josh Bernhard's The Lionshare. A slender and rewarding gem of a 65-minute independent film, available for free online. In my review, I compared it to Forman's The Fireman's Ball, and I was not being facetious or cheeky.
-- Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. I really like that bathhouse fight scene especially. I've seen it enough times, what with Mrs. Russell rewatching it on an endless loop for hours on end.
-- Jeunet's Amelie. An effortlessly entertaining bauble, and proof that baubles are worth making.
-- P.T. Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love. A great romantic comedy that says even screwed-up people can find someone. See also: Secretary, Birthday Girl.
-- Yes, Birthday Girl. Actually a really great film.
-- Into Great Silence. Probably my favourite film of all, now that I think about it; it is an experience wholly unlike any other. My only regret is that I saw it on DVD and not projected. If you have a chance to see it in either form, then do so without hesitation.
(And I do want to stress that my list is just the films I didn't see on Glenn's; I don't see the need to simply parrot a huge chunk of his list, and this also allows me to paper over all the foreign language films I haven't gotten around to seeing yet.)
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Okay, so, I've seen...some of these. I love that BURN AFTER READING is on there. The people who hate that film baffle me. Never crumble, Glenn!
I haven't seen SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY -- well, I watched some of it, but my attention span was failing me, I'd had it too long, so I mailed it back to Netflix -- but I did see TROPICAL MALADY, and I'm a bit surprised to see it left off your list. I thought it was stunning, and talk about specifically poetic. The last half hour (or so) is unlike anything else I've ever seen. Part of me feels like any attempt on my part to talk up the genre roots, or turn-towards-genre, of that last bit would be to horrible reduce what Weerasethakul pulls off there, but even so: the genre hound in me loved the pure otherworldly horror (yeah, you heard me!) poetry of that film.
Regarding MILLION DOLLAR BABY -- Look, you know I love Clint, and I'll back you up on GRAN TORINO any day of the week (CHANGELING, too), but at some point complaining about the "the Plausibles" only goes so far. At a cerain point, some films do cross a line beyond which, plot-wise, you can't buy what they're selling, and I don't think that those who take issue with MILLION DOLLAR BABY, moving as it is (and it is), are off-base. The film crumbles as a story, much as I wish it didn't.
For the record, I'm with you on NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, ZODIAC, THE DARJEELING LIMITED, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (and I would add THE LIFE AQUATIC), A SERIOUS MAN, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (the best of the lot, quite possibly...I don't know), SIDEWAYS, AI, GANGS OF NEW YORK, TROUBLE EVERY DAY (possibly - I don't know the film as well as you do), GRIZZLY MAN, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, and THE INCREDIBLES.
I would add GOSFORD PARK (your hatred for that movie truly baffles me) and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, KILL BILL, MUNICH, WAR OF THE WORLDS (for the parts that work, anyway -- which for me is most of it), SPIDER (I think...need to watch it again), SPARTAN, A MIGHTY WIND, TEAM AMERICA, PAN'S LABYRINTH, THE WRESTLER, UNITED 93, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, MASTER AND COMMANDER, LORD OF THE RINGS (throw them all in, though I really mean the first one), DOGVILLE, THE MIST, GONE BABY GONE, BUG (maybe), BROKEN FLOWERS, maybe GOMORRAH, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, maybe THE DESCENT...
Clearly, my grasp of contemporary foreign cinema is not at all what it should be. I'm working my way back to front in that regard, though I do own a copy of the Dardennes' THE CHILD, which I plan on watching over the holiday. So that's one...
Posted by: bill | November 25, 2009 at 11:19 AM
And ELEPHANT.
Posted by: bill | November 25, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Oh, and Shyamalan's Signs, and Whoever-That-Guy-Is's Freddy vs. Jason, and Leigh's Vera Drake, and Altman's The Company.
I *think* I'm done for a while.
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Hell yes "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." I'll stand in front of a packed, hostile house defending that film frame-for-frame until Doomsday takes us. Glad you love it too, Glenn. I'd forgotten you did.
Posted by: Keith Uhlich | November 25, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Thanks for the compelling list, Glenn. I commend your choice of alphabetical ranking over qualitative ranking - the numeric, for lists like this, always invites way more inane quibbling than even cinema obsessives should indulge in. Also, some very nice encapsulations - I think your description of Syndromes and Century (also one of my faves) is the pithiest and most precise that I've seen. More than anything, though, the list is further encouragement/insistence to see some of the films and directors that I've been putting off, like Garrel.
Now that we've passed the salad course, on to the beef: I don't get, won't get, your (and the legion of others) preference for recent Eastwood. As far as I care, he should have hung it up after Unforgiven, an indisputable masterpiece that he will never come close to matching, no matter how many heartstrings he yanks from now till he turns 135.
Somehow I missed out on the TWBB debates, which film will go down in my book as Most Frustrating of the Decade. As a true-blue Anderson fan, I was sorely disappointed, and damn it, and I will still rip off that scab and go toe to toe with anyone who thinks it's great! Please - take off the blinders and wake up to the fact that Punch Drunk Love beats it by a country mile.
And, finally - no Assassination of JJ by etc, etc.??? Are you taking Crazy Pills? I half-jest, though - I know this one is still controversial, which is just how I like it - which doesn't change the fact that it's the best American film of the decade, hands down, go home, over and out.
Oh, and to end on a high note: incisive, again, and right as rain, for comparing Sideways to Renoir.
Posted by: Zach | November 25, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Thanks for this list - some great rental ideas.
I'm going to agree with Robert about "Werckmeister Harmonies" - the first (and still the only) Bela Tarr I've seen. Not like any other movie I know of - no doubt a function of the limits of my viewing experience, but no movie made in this decade affected me so profoundly as "Werckmeister." I have yet to take the plunge on "Satantango." I have the impression you are a Tarr man, Glenn. Was the omission of "Werckmeister" an oversight or deliberate? If the latter, I would be highly interested to read whatever reservations you have about the film, should you ever have occasion to address the subject.
I loved "A Christmas Tale," and loved "Kings and Queen" as well - another interesting omission on your list.
If I was compiling a list like this, I'd probably try to find room for Rivette's "Va Savior" and Rohmer's wry "Triple Agent." And Haneke's "Cache" as well.
I'm encouraged by your inclusion of "Invictus" - I was thinking the trailer was maybe not so hot, so your hint is really welcome.
Posted by: Eric Stanton | November 25, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Oh, Pan's Labyrinth and Dogville! Thanks, Bill! I'd also back you up on Gosford Park. (Also: Dancer in the Dark. That and Dogville are the only two Von Trier I can stand.)
I also tried to get through Syndromes and found that I could not, despite my best efforts. And since it was so heartedly recommended by some of my twitter posse, I was extremely disheartened. Another film that I might give a second chance due to your esteem, Glenn.
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 11:33 AM
"Spider"!!!! Yes!!!! "Assassination of JJ"!!!! Yes!!!!
I may have to post an addendum.
Posted by: Glenn Kenny | November 25, 2009 at 11:34 AM
A few that would make my top 70 that haven't been mentioned: BRICK, WAKING LIFE, and ANCHORMAN (which comes as close to capturing the anarchic Marx Brothers spirit as any movie of the last 30 years).
Posted by: Matt Miller | November 25, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Oh, and THE NEW WORLD. Hello.
Also - as good as THREE TIMES is, FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON is better.
Posted by: Zach | November 25, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Seconding Bill on Master and Commander. Also: Cinderella Man. Oh, and don't forget Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers (Letters From Iwo Jima left me pretty darn cold). And... jeez, once you get going on this, it's really hard to stop, and so I better. It is, indeed, a great time to be a cinephile.
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Tom, I can't stand DANCER IN THE DARK. I liked ANTICHRIST, though! But yes, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, too...
Posted by: bill | November 25, 2009 at 11:46 AM
I'm removing that "maybe" from in front of GOMORRAH. I don't know what that was doing there to begin with. It's a great film.
Posted by: bill | November 25, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Oh, and Bamboozled. Masterpiece.
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 11:51 AM
And I see how my juxtaposition of "back you up on Gosford Park" and "(Also: Dancer in the Dark)" left something to be desired. I should have tied my Dancer remark to the Dogville part of the sentence instead of waiting until after Gosford. My apologies for any confusion.
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Thank you thank you thank you for recognizing Yi Yi, which is easily my top film of the new century. It's too bad more of Yang's work isn't available on DVD.
Posted by: Daniel L. | November 25, 2009 at 12:07 PM
@ Daniel: Yi Yi is a great movie. Rumor has it that Criterion is bringing out A Brighter Summer Day - possibly in 2010.
Posted by: Eric Stanton | November 25, 2009 at 12:25 PM
This is it for now:
BLACK HAWK DOWN
24 PARTY PEOPLE (except that goddamn "Che Geuvara" line really sticks in my craw, but that's me)
TRISTRAM SHANDY (not sure about the ending, but getting there was great)
SWEENEY TODD
THE PRESTIGE (probably the blackest, most unnerving, and most deeply intriguing big summer movie of the whole decade)
DOWNFALL
UNBREAKABLE
I'm also tempted to add BIRTH, but I REALLY need to see that one again.
Posted by: bill | November 25, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Love the list, Glenn. I'm with you on a ton of these, most notably (and recently) "The GoodTimesKid". Holy shit. What a film. I watched it based on your recommendation way back, so thanks! Huge call on "Goodbye, Dragon Inn", too.
But seriously, I can't believe you left all those classic Swanberg movies off the list....(obvs JK, though I might legitimately consider "Mutual Appreciation"...).
Other thoughts:
-No love for Reichardt? "Old Joy" and "Wendy & Lucy" were damn good, no?
-"Elephant" was mentioned above, but I think GVS might deserve something in there, specifically "Paranoid Park" if only for the Chris Doyle shit going on.
-What about "24 Hour Party People"? Or is it too much Brits/not enough Pere Ubu for you?
-Any love for the recent Romanians? I found "Death of Mr. Lazerescu" and "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days" particularly good.
-"Werkmeister Harmonies" broke my heart, and that's not just b/c Tarr broke down crying before the screening I went to in Chicago. Unbelievable.
There's probably a million others. But yeah, great work. Look forward to seeing the many I've yet to see.
Posted by: Marsh | November 25, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Neil Burger's The Illusionist, a truly great and romantic film, exploding with beauty and mystery. I especially love Paul Giamatti's look at the film's conclusion; compare with the similar scene in The Usual Suspects and you can see how much more fun it is to be joyful than cynical.
Posted by: Tom Russell | November 25, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Wow -- it's surprising to realize how many great films were released this century. Right now I'm just besotted by the titles so many of you mention, I'll wait to add some of my own when the fever's down. Then again...
* George Washington, anyone? It is largely an over-staurated digi-remake of Killer of Sheep, but still felt mighty distinctive at the time it came out.
* Two of which made it onto the TONY list, but no love for nothing outta Romania, consistently (for three or so years there, I guess...) releasing some of the best cinema in the world with Four Months &c., Death of Mr. L., 12:08 East of Bucharest? Nyet, nyet, y nyet, Glennya?
* Y Tu Mama Tambien -- its late-capitalist (hi, Bill!) focused narration transcends the ready potential for the film degenerating into the arthouse Losin' It in Mexico condition it could easily have teetered into. It's stayed with me these many years and not exclusively for the torch I will carry eternally for Maribel Verdú.
* 2046 -- I saw In the Mood for Love just prior to getting a root canal and agonizingly pain is not the condition under which I'd recommend seeing any Wong Kar Wai film. That said, I far prefer this stranger, more oblique, more melancholy sorta-sequel, and not exclusively for the torch I will carry eternally for Zhang Ziyi. Or Li Gong. Or Cheung Maggie.
* Half-Nelson -- was just thinking about this film yesterday. Rack it up as a two-fer with The Believer (the most Sam Fuller-esque film made since the mighty Amerindie auteur's death) as a reminder of the hopes we had/may still have for the considerable promise of Ryan Gosling as an actor, delivered on at least twice in these uncomfortably memorable films.
* Frozen River -- maybe the least of my list, and the most conventional, but brilliantly performed (see above in re: non-exclusive in re: torch in re: Melissa Leo) and ever-so timely in its socio-economic agon during Depression 2.0.
Lastly, Mystic River -- overrated performances (esp. Tim and Sean and not at all including the absurdly underrated Kevin Bacon) but whose indelibly dark-toned narrative and cinematographic palette lingers long in the memory. In this wise, let me note how much I actually dig late Eastwood as well, and here a good bit more than Unforgiven, easily Clint's most overrated film, and whose status as a masterpiece I will happily dispute, Zach. Or not... :}
Posted by: James Keepnews | November 25, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Werckmeister or no Werckmeister, a fine list. Seen exactly 40 of the 70. I would've probably gone with Oldboy over Lady Vengeance, but that might just be because the former has the distinction of rocking my adolescent world when my film-love was still in a larval stage rather than because it's actually a better movie. I think Kings and Queen, 2046, INLAND EMPIRE, and Kill Bill are about as great as A Christmas Tale, In The Mood For Love, Mulholland Drive, and Inglourious Basterds. Agreed w/Tom re: Mutual Appreciation. And I don't know if it qualifies as it hasn't gotten a US release yet, but I know that Love Exposure is going on my eventual list. I'm only being slightly hyperbolic when I say that it might be the real-world equivalent of the lethally entertaining movie from Infinite Jest.
Posted by: JF | November 25, 2009 at 12:47 PM
No Memento? Actually, no Christopher Nolan of any kind? Not sure how I feel about that...
Posted by: Sonny Bunch | November 25, 2009 at 01:09 PM
I do not like HALF NELSON at all...hi, James!
Also, Chabrol's FLOWER OF EVIL. I feel like, at this point, I'm just mentioning every film from the last decade that I liked, but if I were to construct my own, well-considered list, other films I've listed here would be cut before FLOWER OF EVIL.
Posted by: bill | November 25, 2009 at 01:17 PM