25. Mulholland Drive: What a trip this movie was. My journey
to get to the only theater that was playing this movie led me through a maze of
neighborhood streets for about 15 minutes until I came to a mall out of nowhere
that was playing the movie. And let me tell you, that was the least confusing
moment of the journey. The story is about an aspiring actress who comes to Los
Angeles with dreams of making it big and gets caught up in a dark noir mystery
with another woman who lost her memory in a car accident. And where it goes
from there you can’t even begin to imagine and that is what is so charming
about Mulholland Drive. Its story is one of labyrinthine complexity that takes
turns that will leave a casual movie viewer in a confused state, but let me
recommend giving it a second view and really take the time to give the movie’s
symbols a deeper glance, you will definitely be rewarded.
24. A.I. – Artificial Intelligence: This is a movie I love
hearing people talk about because it typically leaves people cold. The people
used to Spielberg films were put off by the dark themes and the cold aesthetic
of the story and Kubrick purists hate the emotionality and the showmanship of
the film’s style. Yet, I took it as both a tribute piece from one filmmaker
employing another filmmaker’s traits to his own as well as a wonderful story
that comes pretty close to defining what it means to love unconditionally by
asking some pretty difficult questions. The story is about the first robot that
was programmed to be able to love and goes in search of a way to regain his
adopted mother’s love. In the end, audiences seem to react to this movie much
like the human characters in the movie reacted to David and I respected
Spielberg’s boldness for telling the story the way it needed to be told.
There’s so much to respect about this movie, but two of the biggest joys I took
out of A.I. were the visual grandeur and the boldness of the story in its
attempt to define love.
23. The Hurt Locker: For anyone who has known people in the
armed services and know that what an addiction to getting adrenaline rush can
do to those around you, this is a movie that hit pretty close to home for me.
The movie is a portrayal of a Middle Eastern bomb diffusing squad and the new
hotshot that joins the company with a couple days left before his rotation is
over. However, the hotshot is someone who thrives on the tension that his job
creates, which becomes dangerous for the other people in his company. Intensely
constructed and fascinating to watch, The Hurt Locker is a movie that wisely
steps away from being a “what does war mean” war film and simply focuses on the
characters of the soldiers, which is a welcome change of pace from other movies
trying to define war. Sometimes, the story is simply in the people who are
there, not from outsiders.
22. Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2: I love Tarantino as do most
people who are passionate about movies. I love his endless references to other
movies, I love his soundtracks, I love his style, I love how he refuses to bow
to conventionality and with Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2, we get to see his love
letter to the kung fu films of the 60s and 70s. A bride is attacked by her
former crime circle and left for dead on her wedding day and she seeks revenge
on them. Simple story, but oh, what a fun ride it is. If it’s one thing
Tarantino does well, it’s create a universe and relish in every aspect of it
and you can tell that he really loves being in this nostalgic kung fu universe
he’s created. This is a wet dream of a kung fu film with flashy, pristine
camera work and stylized visual effects to embody the mythology it’s creating
for itself. And, of course, that Tarantino sense of humor and dialog, which
just helps make both Kill Bill movies so much damn fun to watch.
21. High Fidelity: Speaking of referencing, this is a movie
that I have a sentimental attachment to because of how it reminds me of hanging
out with my friends. Quoting movies, referencing music, endlessly making lists
(as you can definitely tell) because we think we need to do these things to
help us define and understand ourselves. The story is about a man who, after a
bad break-up with his girlfriend, relives his “top five most painful break-ups”
and realizes that there are things with himself that he hasn’t completely come
to terms with. I can’t begin to tell you how much I identify with this movie
and how, as I’ve gotten older, my identification with the movie has grown.
Cleverly written story about adult relationship angst and how pop culture cross
references help these characters to understand their angst.
20. Synecdoche, New York: I really think I need to see this
movie again. I’ve only seen it once and I already knew that this was one of the
most intricately constructed movies that I’ve ever seen and it almost demands a
second viewing. A playwright is granted an exclusive fellowship award, which
would allow him to pursue his latest artistic endeavor, which he decides to
make something that is truly honest to mirror his own life. What follows is
something that truly blurs the lines of where the story begins and the main
character’s life ends. The movie weaves in and out of reality and fiction in
such a richly nuanced manner that has never been done before to allow the
viewer into the mindset of the main character. Much like Mulholland Drive, this
is a complexly structured movie that demands a high degree of attention to be
paid to it, but the payoff is so poignant that the trip is worth it as well as
the lengthy discussion you may have about it afterwards.
19. Finding Nemo: Simple premise, father embarks on a
journey to find missing son (well, not so simple as the film’s main characters
are all fish and the entire journey takes place in the ocean), but in the hands
of Pixar, the movie becomes a touching and wholly entertaining movie that can
be re-watched again and again. Endlessly quotable, beautiful to look at in
every frame, filled with some of the most creative cast of characters in a
movie, live action or animated, Nemo began the moment where audiences looked at
Pixar films and began to see that they were making more than just excellent
family movies, they were making excellent movies period. This is a perfect
example of great writing that can be enjoyed across generations.
18. Batman Begins: Okay, let me summarize my experience
seeing this for the first time: I had been in the New York Film Academy for
three weeks, the man who made Memento was making his first large budget feature
and the Batman franchise was considered dead by this point (thank you, Joel
Schumacher). So, when I sat down to watch this film about the retelling of
Batman’s origins, I saw a movie that wasn’t the brooding anti-hero Tim Burton
versions or the campy and cartoony Joel Schumacher versions. This was a movie
that treated its character and setting with a mature realism that had never
been approached in a comic book hero film. The origin was so much closer to the
comic books, the characters were well thought out and complex and the action
was top notch. Batman and Gotham had been reborn in a glorious street light
sepia glow. As I left the theater in New York City, I stepped out into the
night and saw the exact same type of setting surrounding me and all I wanted at
that point was a base jumping outfit to soar off of the skylines.
17. Sideways: Sideways was one of the first times that I
watched a movie and saw how the subject of a film could be used to be symbolic
of the story and characters themselves. Two middle aged men go on a bachelor
party in California’s wine country and have their own respective relationship
situations. In the hands of lesser talented filmmakers, this could have easily
been a low brow drinking sex comedy. Thankfully, it turns out to be a wonderful
reflective piece about two men at stages of their life that have to come to terms
with the fact that their lives haven’t turned out the way they wanted. Sound
sad? It is. Sound funny? It is. It’s a wonderful hybrid of both genres that
never feels forced. Also, watching this movie one of the earliest experiences I
can remember of actually seeing how symbolism can be perfectly worked into a
story. The way the characters treat their tastes in wine is very representative
of their personalities. One person enjoys drinking it simply to get drunk, the
other scrutinizes it to an exhaustively high standard. Watching it stirred the
writer in me and taught me so much about how to use symbols in stories.
16. Requiem for a Dream: Sound sad? That’s putting it
lightly. Sound funny? …only if you’re severely clinically depressed. This is a
movie that is one of the most unsettling experiences you’ll ever go through,
but it is one of the most innovative and probably the most hauntingly realistic
portrayals of drug addiction in movies. Four people have their own stories of
addiction to both drugs as well as addictions to their own dreams. At the time,
the movie was slapped with an NC-17 rating because of...well, the ending...,
but it was released unrated so it could be released in some theatrical chains.
The end result was a movie that forever influenced the way movies were shot and
the way that movies were edited. This was the first movie that left me feeling
drained and exhausted by the time it was over because of how much I wanted the
characters to recover and get better, but then I realized that was the movie
world I was used to. We’re used to seeing things work out in the end for the
characters in the movies, but this time, the realism of what happens to people
afflicted with addiction. So while the filmmaking techniques are revolutionary,
the subject matter and resolution make it so difficult to revisit for me.
15. Spider-Man 2: I’ve always said that I think it’s a more
remarkable achievement for a large budget studio film to become a profoundly
well made movie than it is for an independent film because there is so much
less red tape and focus groups that independent films have to go through.
Spider-Man 2 is such a film that succeeds in having a strongly complex in the
main character and raises some very serious stakes for him. Spider-Man 2 is a
brilliantly made superhero movie that has thrilling action scenes, state of the
art special effects and an actual story that relies on the interaction of the
characters and their choices. In fact, that is the biggest special effect in
this film is its attention to its characters and story instead of relying on
the effects to be the center point of the film. Not only that, but watching it,
I was juggling two jobs, working on sets for the first time and…a pretty
tumultuous relationship time. So the movie hit pretty close to home, though
having those cool spider powers would have been a pretty sweet compensation.
14. There will be Blood: You ever see a movie with a main
character that is just so engaging to watch, you don’t care how evil he is?
There will be Blood is just such a movie and a large part of what makes this
movie work is the sheer magnetism that Daniel Day-Lewis exudes throughout the
entire movie. We see him start his from humble beginnings and quickly spiral
into a narcissistic sociopath. Or was he always that way to begin with? At the
center, that is the main appeal to this movie is watching the character of
Daniel Plainview (played to perfection by Day-Lewis) to see what he does next. With
writer director Paul Thomas Anderson’s uncanny gift for stunning visual imagery
and a towering performance by Daniel Day Lewis, this is one volcanic movie that
is hard to shake when it’s over and also contains one of the best leading
performances in recent history. Day-Lewis’ performance is so powerful and so
magnetic that he takes a great movie and makes it unforgettable.
13. Children of Men: My love for this film goes beyond
simply appreciating it on a filmmaking level: it is one that I love on a deeply
emotional level. Set in a dystopian future where no new children have been born
for 18 years, a former political radical is sought out to help his former
wife’s cause, which is to help a pregnant woman get to a safe haven and avoid
all of the groups that would use her for their own selfish political gain. What
Children of Men does with this story is nothing short of perfection. For
starters, this is one of the greatest achievements of Cinematography of all
time with its gorgeously choreographed long takes and its fantastic use of
monochromatic lighting. But what really puts this film above being merely a
technical achievement are the emotional turns it takes. There is one moment in
the film, which I don’t want to spoil, but was one of the most emotionally
stirring moments I’ve ever seen in a film. It comes seemingly out of nowhere,
but feels like it was building up to it the entire film. To put it simply, this
is one of the most perfectly constructed movies that I’ve ever seen. I can’t
recommend Children of Men enough.
12. United 93: Where Requiem for a Dream is one of those
movies that is hard to watch more than once, the same can be said for United
93. A real-time, documentary-style recreation of the events that took place on
September 11, 2001 from the point of view from Air Traffic Control Centers, Air
Force Control Office and from the flight itself. Casting some of the real
people that went through the events helps to add to the effect of the movie’s
realism, where the true power of the film lies. Watching the movie was honestly
like reliving the events all over again, which is what makes this movie so
difficult to watch again. Having missed the movie in the theater, I watched it
on TV, making the documentary look feel all the more familiar. Then came the
ending, where the passengers of flight United 93 band together to fight back
against the hijackers, which had me completely on edge, even knowing full well
how it was going to end. The movie reveals itself to be the perfect kind of
tribute a film could make to people who lost their lives in a tragedy.
Unflinching, reverent and endlessly powerful, United 93 is as rewarding as it
is difficult to watch, but it remains an incredibly important film to watch,
even if you do only see it once.
11. Spirited Away: Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki weaves a
tale that can only be described as pure magic, the way that Walt Disney himself
used to make them and few other films are made today. A young girl gets trapped
in the spirit world and makes her way by working in a bath house for the gods
and spirits of the other side. Through the journey, the girl goes from being a
self-absorbed adolescent to mature young woman, all the while, inhabiting a
world of unique creatures whose intentions are anyone’s guess. Watching this
movie rekindled that feeling when I was a kid and movies really felt like
watching magic wash over me. From the hauntingly beautiful music in the opening
scene to the stunning images of the spirit world, the movie plays out like pure
magic that is a welcome place to revisit many times over.
10. The Departed: Make
no mistake: this is probably the lightest of all of Scorsese’s films. It’s not
as rough to digest as Taxi Driver or Raging Bull or as brilliantly fun as
Goodfellas or Hugo. What The Departed turns out to be is a mix of all of
Scorsese’s abilities as a director thrown into one tale of what it takes to go
as far deep undercover as possible, on both the sides of the law and crime. And
it is one hell of a ride. Here, you get a wonderful cast of characters, snappy
dialog and Scorsese’s trademark brilliant camerawork to help pepper this tale
of hidden identities. Some may argue that this isn’t the best work Scorsese’s
ever done and…they’re right, but even when he isn’t at his best, Scorsese is
still light years ahead of most filmmakers and that is what The Departed is
proof of. Besides, I was getting tired of his period Oscar bait films that just
felt too bloated (Gangs of New York and The Aviator, I’m looking at you), so
when this came out, I was happy Scorsese decided to return to his world of
underground crime and intrigue. Why, because it’s the world he’s most
comfortable in and his films don’t seem like they’re out of place. Here,
Scorsese is back doing what he does best: giving us a world where nobody’s
hands are clean and everybody is so much fun to watch.
9. Inglorious Basterds: Speaking of wonderful cast of
characters, snappy dialog and brilliant camerawork, Quentin Tarantino rounded
out the decade with his most ambitious piece of filmmaking, the World War II
set Inglorious Basterds. Now, when I heard that Tarantino was taking on a
period film, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. Yes, Pulp Fiction and
Kill Bill are masterpieces, but he has never done a film that wasn’t modern. I
wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. By the time the movie was over, I
realized just how wrong I went about it. I went in expecting Tarantino to make
a period film, but this turns out to be a film where Tarantino re-writes the
period. Now, if you’re one of those people who enjoy going to period films for
accuracy, this is not your movie because this is so far from being historically
accurate and therein lays the charm. If you’re somebody who loves incredibly
witty dialog and crazy characters, then this is your film. Tarantino, with this
film, proves that he isn’t just a flash in the pan fanboy; he is a true auteur
in his medium. If you want proof, just look at the opening scene, which shows
you that he can not only hold an audience’s attention for a scene that’s
primarily over six minutes long of primarily dialog, but that he can create
some incredible tension out of it also. That is the sign of a writer/director
who is at the top of his game.
8. Munich: Munich is a movie that came out at a time when the
subject matter may have been too much to digest, but also it came out at a time
when it was necessary. Taking place after the Palestinians attacked the Israeli
Olympians in the 1970s, the Israeli community dispatches a group of underground
soldiers to seek retribution for the attacks. The group is given a list of men
to kill and, as the story unfolds, becomes a story that transcends being simply
a portrayal of a time period. Watching this movie at the end of 2005, four
years after the September 11th tragedy, the movie rings so close to
home, wanting to extract revenge on the people who attacked us and what would
the fallout for such revenge be. Would it really bring us justice or would it
simply create more people that are worse than the people we attack? There are
few answers Munich gives us and the answers that is does aren’t easy to take
and that’s exactly the way it should be. Violence is something that has to be
dealt with in a thoughtful manner and not a simply “We cannot appear weak”
mindset because who knows what new monsters would be created. Powerful,
intense, timely and transcendent, Munich is a movie that I highly recommend, if
only to help make sense of the times we’re living in by seeing the events of
the past.
7. The Passion of the Christ: Let’s address the white
elephant that gets brought into the room whenever this movie is brought up: Mel
Gibson is probably as crazy as he’s portrayed in the media, I’m not going to
dance around that. If he’s homophobic/anti-sematic/abusive, I can’t say, but
what I can say is this: there probably wasn’t a more personal and more moving
film that I’ve seen in the past decade than The Passion of the Christ. Being
raised Catholic and being a Christian probably makes me see it more profoundly
than others do, but this movie did for the crucifixion of Jesus what Saving
Private Ryan did for World War II and that is take away the filtered images
many people had. As for the arguments that it’s anti-sematic, I can’t begin to
say what the intentions of the filmmaker were. Even if they were, all I can say
is what I got out of it and that was a very intense portrayal of faith and
courage and that, as a Christian, I should be mindful to accept and love others
(which is what I believe to be the real foundation of Christianity to be). Jim
Caveizel gives a strong performance and the cinematography is one of the best
jobs in recent years. So, controversy aside, I really admired this film on a
spiritual level as well as a technical level and didn’t get any sense of
theological superiority from it.
6. Wall-E: You know how some movies are just pure poetry on
every level? Well, that’s Wall-E. I can’t think of a single moment in this
movie that isn’t incredibly moving or profound and the real magic of it is that
it’s done with the slightest amount of dialog. The movie starts out as a cute
tale about the last robot on earth left to clean up the mess the humans left
before taking off to space which becomes a heartfelt love story which then
becomes cautionary tale of what happens when we humans get too comfortable with
our lives. There wasn’t a single moment of this movie that didn’t either tug at
your heartstrings or make you self-aware from the satirical fate of the evolved
humans and that is what brilliant moviemaking should do. On top of that, it was
a movie that was intended for kids and families, which is even more of a
miracle. Wall-E is probably one of the best examples in recent years in how to
make a big budget movie: never lose heart, always have something to say and
relish in the beauty that exists in the world you created.
5. Memento: Much like Pulp Fiction when it first came out,
Memento takes the concept of linear storytelling and gave it a complete
remodeling. How so? Well, how many movies do you know that are told backwards?
And that’s where the fun of the movie is for the audience is in discovering
every scene new much like the main protagonist of the story who himself can’t
make any new memories. What better way to put the audience in that mindset than
to tell the story backwards. This was the movie that introduced the world to
Christopher Nolan and his unique style of storytelling and, from this movie
alone, no career is more deserved. Nolan enjoys telling high concept stories
and in the independent film world, he gave us a doozy of a tale. Memento
demands repeat viewings because there is so much to take in that can’t be
recognized the first time around. Sometimes, even watching it the umpteenth
time, you still see something new and that is the sign of a truly gifted filmmaker.
4. No Country for Old Men: Like most movies lovers, I dig
Coen Brothers movies. I dig their stories, I dig their style of dialog, I dig
how they let their characters (and actors) be as odd and natural as the story
needs, I dig how they can completely embody a setting as if they were natives
of that area their entire lives and I dig their artistic sense of aesthetics in
their directing. Pretty soon, like with all great artists, you begin to sense a
pattern in their themes. With the Coen Brothers, they enjoy telling stories
about people who try to steal their way into the American dream only end up on
the tragic end (see Fargo, Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski, etc.) With No
Country for Old Men, they have made what could very well be their opus magnus,
their Watership Down, the apex movie that could be used by any master class to
define their style and influence as filmmakers. Stellar performances from the
entire cast, including one of the best screen villains of all time in Javier
Bardem’s methodical hitman, Anton. And that ending. Most people hate the
ambiguous ending of it, but to me, it encapsulated the entire story of what it
means to be an older generation watching the growing evils of the world and not
being able to keep up with the absurdity of it all. Plus, it ends the same way
the book ends too, so quit complaining! No Country is truly a flawless piece of
filmmaking that any ambitious filmmaker needs to see before they even start
thinking about making movies.
3. The Dark Knight: Okay, by the time this movie came out, I
loved Christopher Nolan and I loved Batman. I loved what he did with Batman
Begins and how he portrayed Batman. Now I was excited to see how he would
portray The Joker…and I can safely say that I was not prepared for what is
probably one of the best movie villains I have ever seen. Previously, the other
Jokers we’d seen (Jack Nicholson, Caeser Romero, even Mark Hamill) were Jokers
that you could tell had malicious jokes planned in advance. But Ledger’s Joker
was just so unhinged and had no loyalty to anyone or anything other than the
notion of chaos. If he has any plans, it’s to destroy plans. He is the
embodiment of terrorism, a person who wants to create nothing but chaos…and he
gleefully revels in it. When you first see this character, he’s so
unrelentingly terrifying, but on repeat viewings, you begin to see the
motivations behind his actions…then you start to get scared because he’s making
sense. But a movie has to be more than one character alone, right? Well, The
Dark Knight is no exception as its story centers around what it takes to defeat
men like The Joker. Do we keep playing by the rules? Do we bend them? If so,
how far? This came out right after the time that government wiretaps and
Guantanamo Bay methods were coming into question, so The Dark Knight exceeds
being a mere comic book movie. It is a dark reflection on the world we were
living in at the time and it even ends on a morally ambiguous note about what
it takes to be a hero in such a dark world. Blockbuster movies have never been
this complex or morally philosophical and, frankly, The Dark Knight also asks
the question: Why haven’t they been?
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: How can I begin to
describe my love for this movie? Well, it combines two of my biggest passions:
art house films and martial arts. Set against the backdrop of ancient China,
the movie centers around two love stories, one between two seasoned warriors
who cannot allow themselves to express their feelings towards each other and
the other about two young lovers that can’t be together because of their place
in society. Their stories connect through society’s standards of expressing
love and their longing to be true to their feelings. Besides being a flawless
piece of filmmaking, this movie is also an embodiment of my id: Swift and fluid
martial arts action scenes, people soaring through the air with a single leap
and a yearning to express one’s deep passions. I left the theater wanting to
jump off of everything around me, hoping to catch some air time to feel that
breezy sensation of freedom that is gloriously portrayed. This movie inspires
me in so many ways, both as a filmmaker that appreciates the complexity of
every frame of this movie and as someone who wants to exist in a word of
realistic fantasy. To summarize: this movie is the closest expression of my
innermost dreamscapes.
1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy: Okay, let me be clear, I
didn’t grow up reading the Tolkien books. In fact, I didn’t start reading them
until I heard this movie was being released and all of my friends said I should
read it because it was going to be the most impossible thing to adapt. You know
what, as the books stand alone, I imagine they would be impossible to compress
into a script because there are so many storylines, so many characters, so many
events that to try and even make the first part a seven hour film, you’d still
be leaving stuff out. However, Peter Jackson and his co-writers Fran Walsh and
Phillip Boyens did what any good loyal fan adapter should do: keep the themes,
keep the major events and make everything else cinematic. And the result was a
cinematic experience that forever changed the way that movies were made. This
is probably the last great epic movie ever made. What Star Wars was to people
my age growing up, I imagine Lord of the Rings is to this generation. It is
grand scale storytelling with state of the art visual effects, a game changing
cinematography job and re-defined what made for big screen entertainment. It
has a strong philosophical sensibility about itself while never losing its
audience accessible entertainment and, to me, that is the true accomplishment
of filmmaking, when you can create something that can be enjoyed across the
board from the film scholars to the popcorn crowd. Not only that, but it helped
to show the industry that fantasy movies can be taken seriously while remaining
fun. I can’t sing enough praises about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and how it
opened my eyes to different possibilities of filmmaking and storytelling. I went
to see each movie about four times at least and, yes, I know that calculates to
about 36 hours sitting in the theater (maybe more), but I for one don’t think a
single second was wasted time. Peter Jackson has created the series of movies
that is the single movie this decade that changed practically everything we
know about filmmaking and there isn’t a single movie being made today that
doesn’t have some influence of the Lord of the Rings movies in them. But why
lump them all together as one? Why not let each individual one stand out on its
own? Well, because they were all shot together over a 14 month stretch, so in
my book, Jackson made one 11 and a half hour movie that was able to be broken
up (and edited down) into three equally fulfilling chapters. They topped my
list each year they came out as the best of that year and they remain the most
fulfilling movie I saw the entire decade. In fact, just thinking about it makes
me want to go watch it again.
