What makes a good movie list? Well, it must include obvious choices, or you will be berated for oversight. It must also include odd choices, or you will be criticized for sticking to the obvious. I realize this balance is almost impossible to maintain, but in all seriousness, I just want to share what I love about 2000s filmmaking. In no way can this list be considered definitive, unless you limit the analysis to films I've been exposed to. At the same time, I try to give equal footing to those obvious and odd choices.
(Speaking of being criticized for sticking to the obvious, you should check out the Five Favorite Films features at Rotten Tomatoes. If a director, actor, or whoever cites “The Godfather” as a favorite film, the commenters go after that person like rabid badgers. This is Really Questionable to me. The implication is that someone is a hack for liking “The Godfather” a lot, so I suppose Stanley Kubrick was a fucking hack.)
After reading this list, you will have a good idea of what I have been exploring and what I prefer. You might detest a choice. You might think a choice is placed too high in general or peculiarly sandwiched between two superior movies. You might discern that I enjoy the Coen brothers stuff too much.
Fine. I want discussion. That's really it.
I want to be as upfront as possible about my limitations. While I am quite aware of South Korea's recent output, I don't know much about contemporary Iranian filmmaking, other than the greater attention it has received over the last few years. In other cases, my knowledge is limited as opposed to rich or nonexistent. Brazilian filmmaking? Big fucking surprise, “City of God” makes my list. But that's the only Brazilian movie I've seen. Thankfully, I know more about French and German films of the 2000s, but I probably look ignorant in these areas compared to other people. You can tell I live in the United States.
I also haven't seen every movie of every great filmmaker. Johnny To is the John Woo of the 2000s, but I've only seen two of his movies, “Exiled” and “Fulltime Killer.” The former was disappointing, but the latter makes my list. Does that mean “Fulltime Killer” is To's best film? Does that mean I wouldn't have put another one of his movies over “Fulltime Killer” if I had seen his complete body of work? No. But To is an important action director, and action movies often get the shaft in these lists, and “Fulltime Killer” is a great action movie.
I want my reasoning to be clear to you. With each entry, I am trying to put you in my head for a minute. These brief visits to my cranium might not be Pleasant every time, but I want them to be understandable and interesting. So let's start with the bottom five.
(Note: Choices 50-26 are negotiable. I didn’t spend much time ordering them, and I consider these choices to be of similar overall quality. Choices 25-1, however, are movies I won't budge on and will be more rigorously placed.)
No. 50 - “Casino Royale” (2006)
All I can say is “Well, fuck” if I blow my credibility here. It is true that the artistic merit of “Casino Royale” is dubious, but … wait, did I just use “artistic merit” and reference a James Bond film in the same sentence? Well, fuck.
It's a great action movie. The brutal, black-and-white opening scene is evidence of Martin Campbell's—who also directed the more traditional Bond film, “Goldeneye”--impressive sense for action directing. And then you have the boggling footchase, the hilarious airport explosion, the brief but memorable stair brawl, the PG-13 torture scene that makes me cringe more than usual. An action movie is supposed to keep you on your toes in a baffling fashion, and I think this one does. Some say the movie is too long, but its final action scene, which I wouldn't spoil for anyone, is more than enough payoff (OK, technically, I'm talking about the penultimate action scene that is much bigger than the very last action scene, which was a nice touch).
Last but not least, Daniel Craig is fantastic. He's badass, but he also makes Bond a more interesting character. The one-liners have less charm but more punch, the suave bullshit is gone, and he's a frighteningly effective killer on-screen. It's just refreshing that Craig and Campbell aim higher than everyone before them in terms of characterization and story without sacrificing the action. Too bad Campbell's steady hand couldn't have directed the sequel, “Quantum of Solace,” where Marc Forster shakes the camera so much you can't enjoy Craig doing what he does best. The greatest action movies—“Dirty Harry,” “The Killer, “Die Hard,” etc.—don't spare you the details of violence, and “Casino Royale” follows this formula with its own twists.
No. 49 – “Burn After Reading” (2008)
I thought this was a lesser effort from the Coens initially, but having watched it three times since, I deem my original conclusion lacking (you can read more about that here and here). The Coens are well-known for writing stupid characters to make us laugh, but there is something different about “Burn After Reading.” The film's characters are moronic as usual, but this time they are heavily associated with current American fads (excessive fitness, appearance-altering surgery, online dating, etc.).
Ray R., a friend at Comic Book Resources and no stranger to Washington, has an enlightening perspective: “it struck me by how quintessentially Washingtonian it is, where the terminally stupid mingle with those who think they're actually powerful, when in reality, who cares. Plus, true pragmatists like J.K. Simmons, who know where the bodies are buried, but don't care as long as the file gets closed.”
“Burn After Reading” also has the most outrageous MacGuffin in film history, hysterical disdain for movie trends (for example, overly dramatic music), deft physical humor, and a perfect deadpan ending thanks to the delivery of character actor J.K. Simmons. As a creator, God has a sense of humor (if he exists), and the same can be said about the Coens (they do exist). Only now they're meaner. Quite the sight, really.
No. 48 - “Save the Green Planet!” (2003)
My masturbation to South Korean cinema begins here. A good friend and I see this comedic film as one that pulls the rug out from under you. (In fact, I believe my friend first wrote that, bugging me incessantly to watch the movie, and I finally bought the fucking thing years ago, so I have to mention my friend or this is all Plagiarism.) However, whereas many movies only pull the rug once or twice, “Save the Green Planet!” is an entire movie of vicious and, if I could be allowed to write libelously, criminally insane rug pulling. Like other recent South Korean films, it is not shy about borrowing ideas from multiple genres—in this case, martial arts, science fiction, horror, crime, and comedies of all stripes. The film is the giddy work of a Whackjob, from the Far East rock rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to the downright ridiculous bee scene that gets me every time. The brief social commentary and tragedy really have no place, but it's hard not to appreciate a unique misstep. More rug pulling, in other words.
No. 47 - “The Descent” (2005)
I was tempted to include “Dog Soldiers” in this list, as it is very enjoyable. Director/writer Neil Marshall's other horror movie, “The Descent,” makes the list without question. But this is important: Fuck the American theatrical version, which butchers the character-based and psychological ending of the uncut British version that you should get on DVD if you care to watch this movie. The American version has a stupid peek-a-boo ending that is intended to be shocking. It comes across as something I could have written when I was 10 years old, only I would have written something better as a child.
Now that I've got that Nasty Bile out of the way, I like how every main character is female. Interestingly, the movie doesn't exploit their sexuality but rather utilizes them as personalities that bash into each other for disturbing consequences. The film is every bit a tragedy as it is a weird-creatures-that-kill-shit-in-the-cave flick. Marshall puts the camera in the most claustrophobic places I can remember. “The Descent” isn't just voyeuristic, it’s suffocating.
No. 46 - “Forty Shades of Blue” (2005)
Clearly inspired by 1970s filmmaking. Clearly pretentious (maybe a little too pretentious during certain scenes). Clearly the craft of a gifted director, Ira Sachs, who knows how to use space between characters to create moodiness. What makes the film, however, is the acting. Rip Torn is savage without going over the top. But actress Dina Korzun claims the screen in a fantastic ending that makes this otherwise depressing movie worth the trouble and, because of its strong but justified feminist tone, one of the more memorable dramas of the decade.
As an aside, I wouldn't have watched "Forty Shades of Blue" if I hadn't been working in a video store when it came out on DVD.
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