Favorite 50 in the 00's.... [Archive]

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PeruvianSkies

07-29-2010, 09:40 PM

Here is a list (in no particular order) of 50 films (English-speaking only) since the year 2000 that are good, great, or must-sees in one way, shape or form:

1. High Fidelity
2. Donnie Darko
3. Michael Clayton
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Ali
6. Ray
7. Cinderella Man
8. Master and Commander
9. Adaptation
10. The Hours
11. Far From Heaven
12. The Illusionist
13.Erin Brockovich
14. The Fountain
15. Encounters at the End of the World
16. The Book of Eli
17. District 9
18. Star Trek
19. Assassination of Jesse James
20. Windtalkers
21. Law Abiding Citizen
22. Curious Case of Benjamin Button
23. Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
24. Munich
25. Fahrenheit 9/11
26. Memento
27. Batman Begins
28. Lost in Translation
29. Bigger, Stronger, Faster
30. The Wrestler
31. Avatar
32. Gladiator
33. V For Vendetta
34. No Country for Old Men
35. Cars
36. Wall-E
37. Toy Story 3
38. The Departed
39. Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2
40. The Fog of War
41. Eastern Promises
42. Snatch
43. A History of Violence
44. Children of Men
45. Zombieland
47. Cold Mountain
48. From Hell
49. Kung Fu Panda
50. 300

Here is my top 10 since 2000 of Foreign titles:

1. In The Mood for Love
2. House of Flying Daggers
3. Gomorrah
4. Talk to Her
5. Malena
6. Downfall
7. Flight of the Red Balloon
8. Yi Yi
9. Let the Right One In
10. In Praise of Love

Anyone have thoughts???

poppachubby

07-30-2010, 04:37 AM

Here is my top 10 since 2000 of Foreign titles:

1. In The Mood for Love
2. House of Flying Daggers
3. Gomorrah
4. Talk to Her
5. Malena
6. Downfall
7. Flight of the Red Balloon
8. Yi Yi
9. Let the Right One In
10. In Praise of Love

Anyone have thoughts???

As a matter of opinion, fine I suppose. However, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon easily unseats this movie.

I would vouch that several others do as well. Cinematography was excellent in HoFD, but movies like Hero have much more depth in characters and story.

I am a kung fu and asian action freak. While it's cliche to offer Crouching Tiger, it indeed slayed all others. I can think of many other movies from the 00's that I enjoyed just as much, and were just as good.

I have shared it here before, but you should try out Versus and any other Ryuhei Kitamura offerings.

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr205/bicus324/versus.jpg

ForeverAutumn

07-30-2010, 05:11 AM

I don't think I've even seen 50 movies in the last decade. :(

Edit: On reviewing your list, I'm surprised at how many of those movies I've seen and forgotten that I've seen. It looks like a good list for me to print off and try to knock off a few more.

PeruvianSkies

07-30-2010, 08:05 AM

As a matter of opinion, fine I suppose. However, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon easily unseats this movie.

I would vouch that several others do as well. Cinematography was excellent in HoFD, but movies like Hero have much more depth in characters and story.

I am a kung fu and asian action freak. While it's cliche to offer Crouching Tiger, it indeed slayed all others. I can think of many other movies from the 00's that I enjoyed just as much, and were just as good.

I have shared it here before, but you should try out Versus and any other Ryuhei Kitamura offerings.

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr205/bicus324/versus.jpg

Well, again the list here is not the "best" movies of the 2000's, but merely my favorite....essentially these are movies that I frequent the most and have enjoyed the most in the past 10 years.

I'm not really an Ang Lee fan, I enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and have seen it a few times, but felt that House of Flying Daggers was more compelling, loved the cinematography and colors, reminded me more of the sweeping color films of Kurosawa in his later years like Kagemusha and Ran.

Hero was definitely a great film, I liked the touch of Rashomon in the story as well, overall it was a solid film, but as far as my favorites are concerned I feel that House of Flying Daggers was more entertaining.

Smokey

07-30-2010, 10:19 PM

I'm not really an Ang Lee fan, I enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and have seen it a few times, but felt that House of Flying Daggers was more compelling, loved the cinematography and colors, reminded me more of the sweeping color films of Kurosawa in his later years like Kagemusha and Ran.

I also found Flying Daggers much more entertaining than Crouching Tiger.

Troy

07-31-2010, 10:23 AM

PeruvianSkies

07-31-2010, 08:02 PM

I've seen about 45 or that 50. Overall, it's a pretty solid list.

Zombieland?
Windtalkers?
The Book of Eli?
Ali?
V For Vendetta?
Cinderella Man?
Those would be in my bottom 50. I didn't like any of those movies.

Replace them (and others like The Wrestler, Kung Fu Panda, Assassination of Jesse James, Ray and Hurt Locker) with:

Punch Drunk Love

Even as a P.T. Anderson fan, this film didn't work on ANY level.

Zodiac

As a Fincher fan, I enjoyed it, but didn't love it enough to call it a fav.

Inglorious Basterds

It was ok, nothing great.

Unbreakable

The only M. Night film I can actually tolerate.

Sideways

Not my glass of wine.

Amelie

Blech.

Minority Report

Liked it better when it was called Logans Run. Horribly flawed Spielberg nightmare, which would easily be his worst film had he not made A.I., which is the worst film of all time.

Bad Santa

Liked this.

Up

Loved it, but not in the top 50.

The Incredibles

Nah.

There Will Be Blood

More like...There Will Be Boredom.

I added my responses to your selections...

PeruvianSkies

07-31-2010, 08:44 PM

I've seen about 45 or that 50. Overall, it's a pretty solid list.

Zombieland?
Windtalkers?
The Book of Eli?
Ali?
V For Vendetta?
Cinderella Man?

I found ZOMBIELAND to be quite enjoyable, and I am a big fan of zombie films to begin with, though have found most of the ones in recent years to be more miss than hit, but this one combined all the elements of humor, horror, drama, love, etc that I have enjoyed in other similar films in the past like Romero's films for example.

WINDTALKERS is a highly underrated gem that I found refreshing in many respects. In some ways it's a film that follows many of the typical trends of war flicks, but I liked the story here and thought John Woo did a fine job of presenting an interesting facet of WWII.

ALI is also along that same vein, I loved Will Smith in this film, thought he did fantastic and loved the artful direction that Michael Mann took with the film.

V FOR VENDETTA was a wonderful comic-based film that I thought had all the right elements of politics, action, drama, and a cool style to really make for a memorable experience.

CINDERELLA MAN is yet another underrated gem and one of Russel Crowes finest moments (save for MASTER AND COMMANDER) and a film that takes a seldom seen look at that era, also happens to be Ron Howards best film by far.

bobsticks

08-01-2010, 07:18 PM

PeruvianSkies

08-01-2010, 07:32 PM

I agree that it's a pretty solid list with maybe a few that for reasons of simple personal preference I might avoid...just as an example, I was never a fan of Windtalkers...

I don't mind the cheese factor of Zombieland either that was a fun little film. In the same sense I liked 2003's Tears of the Sun if only because I thought the largely B-level cast acted above their expectations.
I completely agree on TEARS OF THE SUN, it would make my top 100 for sure.

Here is my original review of WINDTALKERS as a 3-disc DVD set, although the sound was not great, I ordered a Region 2 DVD instead, which featured a full-bit rate DTS soundtrack that was insanely great and worth getting:

Windtalkers (2001) is a brilliant film that went heavily overlooked, overanalyzed, with criticism hitting the film long before it even was released due to its delay because of the events of 9-11. Windtalkers does carry the formula that has been used again and again. It has the platoon made up of your typically optimist, pessimist, city boy, country boy, etc., etc. The film is also staged like a shoot-em-up type of game where bodies come from everywhere and are shot over and over. The enemy is never given a face. Although this may be the case, what is important is that the film never claims to be original. It understands visual language and it understands that if a story is good enough that it can tell that story just by showing it. <o>
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Some may question this films realism and historical significance. Others may wonder what the significance is or what the purpose was. Comparing this film to something like Steven Spielberg’s grossly overrated Saving Private Ryan is a shear mistake and insult. If you notice the way that the storyline is Saving Private Ryan is constantly motivated throughout. Each scene must carry something that allows the next scene to take place. Windtalkers lets us sit back and watch the story unfold before us. We are not informed about everything that is going on. Certain details that might seem important are never really taken into full consideration. We do not delve deep into its characters, which was perhaps the problem that some had with this film. This is not a character study film! Our interactions with the characters are as with most relationships between men and war…short and tragic. <o>
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While watching Windtalkers it is easy to become involved by the magnitude and vastness of the war scenes. Yes, it has many major battle scenes that do go on and on, but war is not something that has a planned time limit. This was certainly a film that needed to be seen in a large theater, but unfortunately very few people had that opportunity since the film did not do so hot at the box office. Especially after being pushed back from a December release date to a late summer release.<o>
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The film was it had low predictability and played out very well. The pacing was not too fast or too slow. It kept you interested. The characters were not studied, but you began to feel like you knew them in a way. Since there have been numerous war films made its hard to say that this film was original, but in many ways it was. The battle scenes seemed different because when it comes to WWII films we mostly see U.S. vs. Germany. This time we get a different perspective as the U.S. soldiers are invading Japan. Windtalkers was also slightly overshadowed by some of the success of the overrated Randall Wallace picture starring Mel Gibson entitled We Were Soldiers, which plays out more like a John Wayne war picture with the hero always saving the day. <o></o>
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Windtalkers’ main character Joe Enders is played magnificently by Nicolas Cage and unlike the typical ‘hero’ character that is all too often personified during these war pictures it was not about winning or losing. It was not about saving or not saving, but it was about just doing something. Cage’s character is wounded during the beginning of the film and while Sgt. Enders is being treated for in a hospital he can only think about getting back out to war. This notion seems ludicrous. Who would want to go back out there? Well, there is a certain amount of valor, honor, and dignity that is carried with his character and it is important that he does his duty despite a beautiful nurse that bats her eyes at Joe only to have her hopes crushed as he returns to battle. A below average clichéd war picture would have had these two end up together. <o></o>
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Our storyline is never that complicated as we have Sgt. Joe Enders being assigned the task of taking the Navajo Indians into enemy territory and bringing back intelligence that they can by using the their code talk. Since the Navajo are valuable soldiers they must not let the enemy take any captives or else the code becomes no use. <o></o>
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M-G-M delivers to us another version of Windtalkers onto DVD as this edition is the 3-Disc Director’s Edition of the film, which is far more respectable than their bare-bones October 2002 DVD release of this film! The transfer is identical in terms of audio and visual quality, but all the extras here make for a whole new experience of this film. Not only that, but the added material takes the film was 134 minutes to 153 minutes. <o>
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The film itself is located on Disc One with three optional audio commentaries for the film. The first commentary is director John Woo and the producer Terence Chang. Woo was a great choice for this type of film, especially coming off a slightly disappointing Mission Impossible 2. On this track we receive more of the technically involved aspects to the film from the director’s standpoint as well as how this project came about.<o>
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The second audio commentary features Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater. Some may have their reservations about Nicolas Cage as an actor and that is understandable, but Cage is starting to become affiliated with better projects and starting to do work that accommodates him better. Woo and Cage team up together after the fairly successful Face/Off (1997). This commentary track is sporadic, but interesting to hear these two actors talk about this film. <o></o>
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The third and least entertaining of the three commentaries is by actor Roger Willie and consultant Albert Smith. This track, while not as entertaining, is more information rich as we are walked through the film with more of the historical significances covered. The combination of all three of these commentaries really provides some in depth coverage that hits all bases.<o></o>
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There is also an introduction to the film provided by John Woo, in which he briefly explains why he felt that this director’s cut was more necessary and what makes this a more ‘complete’ version of the film. The fun does not stop here as there are two more discs full of material to acquaint anyone with the story of the film as well as the true story from which it derives. On the bonus discs are get a documentary on the code of the Navajo’s what was used in order to surpass the Japanese as they tried to break the codes of the U.S. This is also followed up by a tribute piece to the Navajo’s, which is a very nice and appropriate touch since these individuals are hardly recognized. <o></o>
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The music of the film is also discussed during a section that involves the compositions for the film and what certain selections were used for the film. James Horner was responsible for the music of this film and although Horner tends to repeat himself, which is why we hear the bagpipes from Braveheart in the middle of Bicentennial Man, he does a terrific job here of trying to steer away from the typical sweeping, overly clichéd, bittersweet scores that have been attached to so many war pictures in the past few years. <o></o>
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You can also access multi-angle options during four selected action sequences from the film. This is a good segment that allows for consumers to appreciate the decisions that are made in order to give the best perspective of a certain scene and how placement can completely change the disposition of the viewer. On top of all these supplements there are also diaries as well as segments from the actor’s boot camp training. All of these extras compliment the film well for giving the viewer a complete package of this film with all the historical information that can be given. While some of this may not be the most entertaining it is equally rewarding with its content for individuals more interested in learning something from this experience. <o></o>
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M-G-M decided to recycle the same transfer for this film as they used on the previous DVD, which was to some degree a mistake. The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio and has been anamorphically enhanced. The film was shot using Panavision cameras and lenses, but used Super 35mm film shooting (with less frame area than real scope) with Kodak 320T 5277 film stock. Certain sections of this film were also shot digital as well and then transferred onto film. <o></o>
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The biggest problem with this transfer when compared to the theatrical viewing is that the colors, especially the reds (blood), are way off! The blood during certain scenes looks too fake, and this DVD diminishes some of the authenticity of the film by making this blood look too bright and paint-like. This entire film had a drabber look to it that was captured by cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball, who has worked in the past on films such as Top Gun (1986), True Romance (1993), and again with Woo on Mission Impossible 2 (2000). Kimball would also provide the very dark look of the latest Star Trek installment Star Trek Nemesis.

Kimball’s take on the war scenes is much different than the scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), which captured the beauty that still existed despite the chaos. His camera work also stayed clear of the overused sepia tone that was present in Saving Private Ryan. More importantly he did not try and go for a gritty look either as in the case of John Schumacher’s Tigerland, which is an excellent film in its own right. What Kimball did however, was give the film a very authentic natural look with weather and conditions prevailing. He never attempts to foreshadow events with the direction of the camera, but allows the action to play out before without it looking staged.

M-G-M in sticking with their limited use of DTS for their standard DVD’s presents Windtalkers with a semi-limited Dolby-only soundtrack. The problem more than anything is that all of the low end and high end material of this film has been compressed (especially with the extra commentary tracks) to the point that the film never comes to life like it should. Even turning the Dolby 5.1 mix up only complicates matter more as definition is then compromised. Bass management is far easier to control with DTS audio and why M-G-M would only issue two films in DTS to date is unheard of. Those two films being Hannibal (see this review on the site) as well as the latest in the Bond Franchise Die Another Day, which both of these films boasting their excellent sound dynamics, which Windtalkers is begging for on DVD. Fortunately, the Blu-ray offers DTS HD 5.1 Master Audio for the shorter cut.<o></o>
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What becomes a huge problem is that consumers hear the film a certain way theatrically and then when the DVD of that film comes out the film is shortchanged and held back by not having the same lively dynamics that it might have had if DTS would have been used. This same problem occurred with Columbia TriStar’s release of Ridley Scott’s exceptional film Black Hawk Down.<o></o>
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Despite a few flaws with this film in terms of its audio/visual quality the extras make this a must-have for any fan of the film. Hopefully this edition will find its place in skeptics as well since it provides much of the historical elements as well, which might further expand that viewers allowance for taking this film more for its face value rather than weighing it on the scales of believability. Fact remains that all films are fake. They are theatrical and staged, but Windtalkers manages to let us forget about that and gives us a point of view of being stuck right in the middle of this mess. Whether there are some inaccuracies to this story or not does not necessarily matter all that much since history is written by those who believe it anyway. History is only remembered by how it is taught.<o></o>
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bobsticks

08-01-2010, 07:51 PM

Interesting read.

I never saw Windtalkers in the theater so some of the shortcomings that you listed of the DVD release may have contributed to my ennui. Frankly, though by this period I'd already grown a bit tired of the ppuppy-dawg look of Cage.

I first picked up on NC with Vampire's Kiss which I found laugh-out-loud funny but,as it turns out, a little Cage goes a long way IMO.

PeruvianSkies

08-01-2010, 07:54 PM

PeruvianSkies

08-01-2010, 09:15 PM

Ok, not sure how this fits into my top 50, but I had completely forgotten about this gem:

DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS

Yeah, it would need to be in the top 50, so maybe i'll swap out either GLADIATOR or CARS. While both are good, I think favorite-wise, DLoAB needs to be added.

RGA

08-04-2010, 03:24 PM

Favorite films of the Decade (in no order)

Slumdog Millionaire
Requiem for a Dream
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Inglorious Basterds
Chocolat
High Fidelity
Batman: The Dark Knight
Cinderella Man
Good Night and Good Luck
Fahrenheit 9/11

Batman Begins
The Incredibles
Lost in Translation
Adaptation
Bowling for Columbine
Blood Diamond
Chicago
In America
Munich
The Pianist

Spiderman 2
Shrek
Galaxy Quest
Finding Neverland
The Reader
The Constant Gardner
Seabiscuit
Little Miss Sunchine
Million Dollar Baby
Kill Bill Volume 2

Kill Bill Volume 1
Maelstrom
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Talk to Her
Monster's Ball
In the Bedroom
Moulin Rouge
Traffic
Crash
waydowntown

Sunshine
Felicia's Journey
In Bruges
Before Night Falls
Sicko
The Departed
The Hurt Locker
Erin Brokevich
City of God
Monster

I would highly recommend some of the smaller Canadian films here - Felicia's Journey is an interesting take on the Serial Killer mind and a little more realistic than something like Silence of the Lambs. Here's a trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yPGlwHk_I

PeruvianSkies

08-04-2010, 06:40 PM

Favorite films of the Decade (in no order)

Slumdog Millionaire HAVE NOT SEEN YET, UNFORTUNATELY.
Requiem for a Dream LIKED, BUT DIDN'T LOVE
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ALREADY DISCUSSED.
Inglorious Basterds OK, BUT WANTED MORE.
Chocolat BARF CITY, SORRY
High Fidelity GREAT
Batman: The Dark Knight GROSSLY OVERRATED ON ALL LEVELS.
Cinderella Man EXCELLENT.
Good Night and Good Luck ALSO VERY GOOD.
Fahrenheit 9/11 PHENOMENAL.

Batman Begins HIGHLY UNDERRATED.
The Incredibles OK.
Lost in Translation YES!
Adaptation YES AGAIN!
Bowling for Columbine SAD, TRAGIC, and POWERFUL.
Blood Diamond GOOD, NOT GREAT.
Chicago VERY GOOD, IN MY TOP 100
In America IN MY TOP 100
Munich YES.
The Pianist TOO ANNOYING, EVEN AS A POLANSKI FAN.

Spiderman 2 SOLID.
Shrek IN MY TOP 100
Galaxy Quest HILARIOUS.
Finding Neverland NO WAY.
The Reader DIDN'T SEE
The Constant Gardner YAWN.
Seabiscuit OK.
Little Miss Sunchine IN MY 100
Million Dollar Baby LAME.
Kill Bill Volume 2 YES.

Kill Bill Volume 1 YES AGAIN.
Maelstrom DIDN'T SEE.
Rabbit-Proof Fence DIDN'T LIKE.
Talk to Her YES!
Monster's Ball VERY GOOD.
In the Bedroom OK.
Moulin Rouge BORING.
Traffic IN MY 100
Crash IN MY 100
waydowntown DIDN'T SEE.

Sunshine GOOD CALL.
Felicia's Journey OK.
In Bruges SOLID.
Before Night Falls NAH.
Sicko SPECTACULAR.
The Departed ALSO GREAT.
The Hurt Locker YES.
Erin Brokevich YES AGAIN.
City of God SOLID.
Monster OK.

I would highly recommend some of the smaller Canadian films here - Felicia's Journey is an interesting take on the Serial Killer mind and a little more realistic than something like Silence of the Lambs. Here's a trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yPGlwHk_I

Thanks for your list!!!!!!

RGA

08-04-2010, 08:51 PM

PeruvianSkies

08-04-2010, 09:04 PM

To be honest there were probably 10 movies on my list that I don't consider all that great. I saw way more movies in the 1990s. Back then I was planning on being a film critic. I saw about 60-70 movies in theaters almost every year of the 90's not counting even more rentals. But I got bored with it - so much dreck to get to a good movie. I actually kept a spreadsheet.

If you do a best of the 1990's thread I'll add mine.

Here is just a quick list of memorable films in my eyes from the 1990's, not necessary the greatest, but certainly some of my favs....

NARROW MARGIN remake
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
COPY CAT
STATE OF GRACE
GOODFELLAS
CASINO
SCHINDLERS LIST
FARGO
MILLERS CROSSING
PULP FICTION
RESERVOIR DOGS
TERMINATOR 2
MAGNOLIA
BOOGIE NIGHTS
JACKIE BROWN
PHILADELPHIA
RUSHMORE
12 MONKEYS
LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET (last non-IMAX film I saw in 70mm)
FIGHT CLUB
ANALYZE THIS
THE TRUMAN SHOW
THE BIG LEBOWSKI

I am sure I am missing lots, but here are a few that I could think of....

RGA

08-04-2010, 10:45 PM

Top 50 of the 90's

Awakenings
Goodfellas
Jacob's Ladder
Das schreckliche Mädchen (The Nasty Girl)
Boyz n the Hood
Grand Canyon
JFK
Dà Hóng Dēnglóng Gāogāo Guà (Raise the Red Lantern)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
My Cousin Vinny
Unforgiven
Groundhog Day
The Joy Luck Club
Kalifornia
A Perfect World
Remains of the Day
Schindler's List
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Three Colours: Blue, White, Red
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Forrest Gump
The Last Seduction
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption
The American President
Leaving Las Vegas
Margaret's Museum
Mr. Holland's Opus
Boys Don't Cry
The Usual Suspects
Breaking the Waves
The English Patient
Fargo
Secrets and Lies
Sling Blade
Swingers
Trainspotting
Gattaca
Good Will Hunting
Jackie Brown
Life Is Beautiful
Office Space
American History X
Antz!
Pleasantville
Run Lola Run
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
American Beauty
The War Zone

Top 10 of the Decade in Order

10. Breaking the Waves

9. Margaret's Museum

8. The War Zone

7. Leaving Las Vegas

6. JFK

5. Three Colours: Blue, White, Red

4. Goodfellas

3. The Shawshank Redmption

2. Pulp Fiction

1. Schindler's List

PeruvianSkies

08-05-2010, 07:34 PM

Top 50 of the 90's

Awakenings EXCELLENT FILM, UNDERRATED WILLIAMS.
Goodfellas YES.
Jacob's Ladder GOOD CALL.
Das schreckliche Mädchen (The Nasty Girl) HAVE NOT SEEN YET.
Boyz n the Hood YES!
Grand Canyon OK.
JFK PHENOMENAL, LOVED NIXON TOO
Dà Hóng Dēnglóng Gāogāo Guà (Raise the Red Lantern) YES!!!!!!!!
Terminator 2: Judgement Day AWESOME. I WROTE A THREAD HERE ABOUT THIS BEING THE BEST SEQUEL OF ALL TIME NOT INCLUDING SERIES LIKE GODFATHER, LOTR.
My Cousin Vinny HMM.
Unforgiven YES.
Groundhog Day A GUILTY PLEASURE OF MINE.
The Joy Luck Club NAH.
Kalifornia SOLID UNDERRATED FILM.
A Perfect World LIKED, DID NOT LOVE.
Remains of the Day I LIKED HOWARDS END A BIT MORE.
Schindler's List YES.
Searching for Bobby Fischer WHERE IS HE? I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW....
Three Colours: Blue, White, Red YES TO BLUE
What's Eating Gilbert Grape EH.
Forrest Gump PROBABLY.
The Last Seduction INTERESTING CHOICE.
Pulp Fiction YES
Quiz Show YES
The Shawshank Redemption YES
The American President NOT FOR ME.
Leaving Las Vegas GOOD CALL.
Margaret's Museum INTERESTING
Mr. Holland's Opus OK, NOT GREAT.
Boys Don't Cry YES THEY DO.
The Usual Suspects AWESOME CHOICE.
Breaking the Waves NAH.
The English Patient GOOD.
Fargo GREAT.
Secrets and Lies OK.
Sling Blade OK.
Swingers LIKED MADE BETTER THOUGH.
Trainspotting GOOD.
Gattaca NOT A FAN.
Good Will Hunting AN OK FAN OF.
Jackie Brown AWESOME.
Life Is Beautiful OK.
Office Space OK.
American History X YES.
Antz! FUNNY STUFF.
Pleasantville GOOD CALL.
Run Lola Run SHE BE RUNNING.
Saving Private Ryan OVERRATED IN MY OPINION.
Shakespeare In Love NOT A FAN.
American Beauty DECENT FAN OF.
The War Zone OK.

Top 10 of the Decade in Order

10. Breaking the Waves

9. Margaret's Museum

8. The War Zone

7. Leaving Las Vegas

6. JFK

5. Three Colours: Blue, White, Red

4. Goodfellas

3. The Shawshank Redmption

2. Pulp Fiction

1. Schindler's List

Thanks for sharing these!

RGA

08-05-2010, 11:31 PM

Lists are tough - As soon as I read Boogie Nights ion your list I thought why isn't it mine - I could easily take out ten of mine to put that one in.

Also, Comedy is always a difficult choice to put in there but My Cousin Vinny has me rolling. Is it really a great film - probably not but it's one of the ten comedies I can watch over and over and over. Plains, Trains and Automobiles from the 1980's is another. While some films that I think are terrific I can't really re-watch. So I try to factor in the entertainment factor.

Office Space seems to me to be hit and miss. I worked in Offices for about 10 years and I felt that closed in feeling of working some big company. I loved the premise of "It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I don't care." It's probably not really a "great" film either but a film made up of some great moments. Similar to There's Something About Mary that has maybe 5 scenes that almost made my spit my drink.

Films like Saving Private Ryan I actually liked the second and third time better than the theater experience. That opening scene was so high impact and impressive that nothing that followed could possibly live up to those 20 or so minutes. On a few follow up views I could find more in it.

Shakespeare In Love plays a lot with the literature and Shakespeare and has in jokes aplenty. The Academy voters chose it because most of them are actors. I don't think it hit the public in the same way.

Breaking the Waves I liked after about the third viewing. Clockwork Orange I hated the first time around and now it is my number 2 film of all time.

Terminator 2 is a great sequal but this is a tough one because how do we determine best sequels. I felt Spiderman 2 was a terrific film (a complete film) and a better movie than the other two. Superman 2 I felt was the best one of the lot of those. Empire Strikes Back is really the only Star Wars movie I can watch. I'd also make a case for the Godfather 2 (although I liked Goodfellas more than the Godfather movies which always seemed a little soap opera like to me), and Aliens IMO was better than Alien. All of these were better than the originals.

Terminator 2 is a terrific action film, a very good boy and his dog err Terminator story, and solid sci-fi to boot. Plus it probably set new standards in many special effects areas. I think I saw this 5 times in the theaters. I loved it

The first Terminator though is grossly underrated in my opinion and in some ways is the better of the two movies. This was a damn scary film when it came out, and had a raw energy that even the second film didn't have. The first movie had the more difficult task of setting up the story and it had more "tension" than the second movie. It had the science fiction elements, tense action, a horror slasher element to it and better than all of that perhaps was the underlying love at first sight romance when Kyle goes back to rescue Sarah based off of a picture and stories. Not that it is T2's fault that the original was so good but I don't think T2 walks all over the original like say Empire walks all over Star Wars. Even the LOTR films - the second one to me was the best one but truthfully the entire thing was an exercise in special effects and a pinch of character development and plot.

The Three colours trilogy has said to be an anti-tragedy, an anti-comedy, and an anti-romance, which I think is fair to say. It is also said to be about Liberty(Blue), Equality(White), Fraternity(Red).

I think Blue is the most accessible but I think Red is the best movie of the three for artistry. And White kind of keeps the whole thing glued together.

Schindler's List - saw it 9 times in the theaters and I hold one of the only 10,000 copies of LaserDisc Box Set. I have no player LOL - but I have the box set.

PeruvianSkies

08-05-2010, 11:48 PM

Terminator 2 is a great sequal but this is a tough one because how do we determine best sequels. I felt Spiderman 2 was a terrific film (a complete film) and a better movie than the other two. Superman 2 I felt was the best one of the lot of those. Empire Strikes Back is really the only Star Wars movie I can watch. I'd also make a case for the Godfather 2 (although I liked Goodfellas more than the Godfather movies which always seemed a little soap opera like to me), and Aliens IMO was better than Alien. All of these were better than the originals.

Terminator 2 is a terrific action film, a very good boy and his dog err Terminator story, and solid sci-fi to boot. Plus it probably set new standards in many special effects areas. I think I saw this 5 times in the theaters. I loved it

Well, you bring up some great points. ALIEN and ALIENS are two completely different films and it makes sense as Ridley Scott and James Cameron are two very different directors who took different approaches with the concept. In ALIEN we have a thriller type of Sci-Fi movie that Ridley Scott used to feed off our emotions as we enter into Space with the first really great horror movie set out there. It's more about what we don't see on screen that scares us, inspired more towards Alfred Hitchcock.

Then we have ALIENS under a different direction in a combat-style action film with Sci-Fi elements and horror, but it plays out with a quicker pace and some people prefer the guns and explosions versus the slow-paced chiller of a film that the first one was. Both are good, I still think that in the end that ALIEN is a more terrifying experience of a film that gets better with age.

Now, the same could almost be applied to TERMINATOR and TERMINATOR 2, but the reason why I feel that the second film is superior is that it didn't just go for the bigger is better approach, although clearly the film has better special effects, more guns, more action sequences, and overall is just a BIGGER film in all areas. But, what I think truly sets this film apart is it's tenderness. Yes, I said it... tenderness. The film really embodies the emotional attachment between man and machine, it also portrays a dark world overrun by machines, the sequences in which we see the playground ablaze is gripping and there are dozens of moments throughout where the film utilizes heartfelt moments to turn this action film into a layered story that is both raw, sentimental, and yet profound as well.

From a production standpoint, this film raised the bar on just about EVERY level imaginable for 1991. The film score, the camerawork, the special effects, the acting, all were at a high level to make the intensity of this film work. Arnold plays the part to perfection here, the role of John Connor is spot on by Edward Furlong, and Sarah Connor is played to an amazing level by Linda Hamilton, who was good in the first film, but superb here. Even the secondary casting is sensational and makes the film click. The memorable music score, the high level of special effects and sound design were all state-of-the art in 1991 and even nearly 20 years later, the film still gets appreciated when released on Blu-ray as fans get treated with high quality picture and sound. Of course, the film was released on both Laser and DVD several times in various forms promoting new technology in either picture or sound, it was always a home theater favorite in some level.

The Godfather doesn't count, neither does Lord of the Rings as these are series, they were already planned second installments or were written as such, whereas a true sequel is one that wasn't initially conceptualized. Spider-Man 2 was certainly better than the first film, but I don't think it tops Terminator 2 in terms of best sequel of all-time, maybe time will tell, but I find it hard to beat.

RGA

08-06-2010, 08:33 AM

I can't really disagree with your view. I consider Alien to Aliens like T1 to T2. It is interesting that you preferred the higher octane action of T2 over T1 but liked the first Aliens movie. I thought Aliens had more of a human story with relationships between the little girl and Weaver and the aritficial life form. Alien to me is Halloween in Space. Not that that is bad as Halloween is arguably one of the great slasher horror movies (though that list is short).

I think James Cameron is FAR better at directing movies like Aliens and T2 both of which I think are superior to movies like Titanic and Avatar. I bought his romance in T1 more than I did in Titanic and Avatar paints everything in broad brushstrokes. Aliens meets Pocahontas both of which were smarter movies. And interesting T2 is so good that the effects of T2 generated WOWs while Avatar looked like a Disney movie most of the time. I'm glad it didn't win best picture - it should not have been nominated. T2 should have.

But the academy just won't do it - probably because Arnold was in it. T3 was pretty much rubbish so much so that I didn't bother seeing the 4th one. T3 could have been so much better - a Terminatrix with boob enhancements - I mean awesome. LOL.

dean_martin

08-06-2010, 08:48 AM

T3 could have been so much better - a Terminatrix with boob enhancements - I mean awesome. LOL.

yeah! I'd watch that.

I watched a bit of Aliens recently. I just happened to catch the scene where Paul Reiser's character is dressed in his 80s pastels with rolled-up jacket sleeves a la Miami Vice. I puked a little. Other than that, it's a great sequel.

PeruvianSkies

08-09-2010, 06:26 PM

I can't really disagree with your view. I consider Alien to Aliens like T1 to T2. It is interesting that you preferred the higher octane action of T2 over T1 but liked the first Aliens movie.

It surprises me too, most often I prefer the other way around, but T2 had a great storyline and executed many of the SciFi elements to keep it from just being an Arnold-fest of senseless killing.