Obviously not a final list with lots of 2009 titles still unseen. 2007 was by far the best year with 12 on the list. 2008 and 2004 each have 6. 2009 only has 4, but hopefully a couple more will reach greatness. And lots of names keep popping up - Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Charlie Kaufman, Pixar. We'll go 5 at a time.
75. Gangs of New York
Scorsese probably spent too much time developing this since it's all over the place and he tries to cover too much territory (Civil War, immigration, riots). But shot after shot is fascinating and there's an incredible and intense authenticity to the whole affair. And if we're talking best male performances of the decade, Daniel Day-Lewis has 2 of the top 5 and Leonardo DiCaprio has one - just not for this Scorsese film.
74. Little Children
A little formal and safe technically, but extremely well-acted and the Barry Lyndon-esque narration is right up my alley. Patrick Wilson has the tough job of choosing between Jennifer Connelly and Kate Winslet. Jackie Earl Haley is the comeback of the decade runner-up. If you don't know the winner, you slept through last year's awards season.
73. Intolerable Cruelty
Cedric the Entertainer's Gus Petch is a classic character and if you're into art direction and costumes, you could do a lot worse than the Coens' lone attempt at a romantic comedy. The first couple of scenes drag, but the directing duo is back on track at the 10 minute mark. This slot could have gone to the equally funny Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?, but that film's structure falters more toward the end. And Clooney is always better playing smarter.
72. No Direction Home
As a Bob Dylan fan(atic), I certainly find this 4 hour documentary assembled by Martin Scorsese more fascinating than most, but it seemingly encompasses the important events of not just Dylan's young life, but also the nation in the turbulent 60s. Great music, stranger than fiction events, and terrific stock footage are masterfully brought together.
71. In Bruges
Who knew Colin Farrell was a great actor? Obviously casting directors since he got a lot of work this decade, but not me until this small gem written and directed by esteemed playwright Martin McDonagh. Brendan Gleeson has always impressed and acts in perfect tandem with Farrell. Ralph Fiennes is effectively menacing as a mob boss. One of the funniest films of the past few years due to McDonagh's unpredictable, un-PC script.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Best Films of the Decade
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6 comments:
i'm excited to read your list and impressed by its apparent breadth. how often will you be posting?
I've started noodling on one also - until I do so, I can't really make intelligent comments on inclusion. The Cameron Diaz storyline and performance is what mars GONY - DDL's Bill is a tour de force.
LC gets worse for me with every viewing. Its a little too self-congratulatory on its condemnation of family values.
Intolerable won't be on my list, neither will No Direction Home, which was just interesting enough to hold my attention the first time.
Ideally, I'll post once a day for 15 days.
Self-congratulatory is a good way to describe Little Children, but it seemed to me that family values won out at the end. Noah Emmerich's character was too one-dimensional though.
True enough about LC, and I like the subtle hostility towards feminism.
I've got my list up to 67 (?), so I'll comment mine along with you from there.
Kate does have that great speech at the woman's book club. Maybe the best scene in the film.
I liked the whole lighting thing at the end - waking the adults up and forcing them to start acting like adults again. Though, I didn't buy Jackie Earl Haley's closing actions.
Or the overwrought sympathy toward the guy. The film almost equates the guy that has 'anonymous gay sex at rest stops' with Haley and implicitly argues that the distinction is merely a arbitrary choice made by society.
And, while I don't condone the actions of Emmerich's character, the film mocks the horror of the families when Haley swims in the pool. Guess what? Any good parent would have the same reaction.
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