Sunday, November 28, 2010
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
FILM
The Eleven Best
Films Of The Decade
Kate Dickie in "Red Road", directed
by Andrea Arnold.
Artisan
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The 2000s. The 00s.
Last year the list below was "the almost-decade list". Now, just 33 days
remain in the decade of 2001-2010. This final year of the first decade of
the new century was not a good one for film overall. This list remains
unchanged from a year ago.
Overall though, the decade for film was good.
Film-wise, I hope the 2011-2020 decade will be as exciting as the one that
officially ends on December 31, 2010.
I couldn't pare this list down to ten films, so here they are: the eleven best
films of the decade.
10COLLATERAL
Michael Mann's film starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx boasts good acting if not
a strong screenplay by Stuart Beattie, who still creates strong characters.
Mr. Mann's high-definition camera (the Thomson Viper) brings stunning dimension
to the visuals. During a night in L.A. contract killer Cruise usurps a
taxi driver's car to complete a deadly mission. Excellent
soundtrack. Released in 2004.
9SEXY BEAST
Jonathan Glazer's impressive directing debut is crystallized by Ben Kingsley's
unforgettable performance as Don Logan, a London bad-ass who recruits a
reluctant former partner-in-crime, Gal (Ray Winstone) for one last bank heist.
The dialogue is razor sharp and the acting by Ian McShane and Mr. Winstone is
very good. Terrific cinematography and music soundtrack featuring Dean
Martin and other greats. Released in 2001.
8ZODIAC
Arguably David Fincher's best film, based on Bay Area cartoonist and
investigator Robert Graystone's books on the serial killer who was never caught
despite at least three Northern California police departments hunting for him
over a nearly-30-year-period. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as San
Francisco Chronicle beat writer Paul Avery. With Jake Gyllenhaal,
Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox and Chloe Sevigny. Memorable
music from Santana and a host of other music legends. Best film of 2007.
Read the review.
A truly masterful film made more so by the fact it's Oren Moverman's first.
A very strong screenplay (by he and Alessandro Camon) and excellent acting by
Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton.
The best film of 2009. Read
the review.
6
Call it a requiem for Robert McNamara, the former U.S. defense secretary
under Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, giving his own personal account of
the Vietnam war and giving some priceless introspection on his own actions
leading to the fateful conflict. Errol Morris hits the bulls eye with this
amazing documentary. Featuring a remarkable soundtrack and even better
cinematography. Released in 2003.
5
A classic documentary by Andrew Jarecki about a Long Island family who had been
accused of child molestation and other abuses in the 1980s and 90s. The
more you watch this documentary the more you question whether those telling the
story are telling the truth. Powerful, disorienting and straightforward,
this film affects your own perspectives about perception and reality. A
truly amazing work. The best film of 2003.
4
A woman working as a surveillance operator at a CCTV tower in Scotland spots a
person on the monitor who she'll never forget: the man who caused the death of
her only child. The film is about the encounter between the two. Not
a revenge film as much as it is a quest for understanding and closure.
Raw, riveting and sexy, both in content and in the lead character's
single-mindedness. Excellent debut by director Andrea Arnold. As
Jackie, Kate Dickey fearlessly commands the screen with courage and phenomenal
power. Tony Curran also stars. A 2006 film.
3CITY OF GOD
Fernando Meireilles' powerful drama about child gangsters in the
poverty-stricken streets of Rio. Behind the glum and dour lives of crime
there's hope, and even a love story. The film plays like a documentary and
features real-life slum-dwellers and non-actors, for the most part. A
tense, colorful experience. The best film of 2002.
3
A conundrum beyond compare, nothing that David Lynch has done before or since
matches up with this one-of-a-kind film that is a genuinely challenging murder
mystery set in Los Angeles. Creepy, beguiling and complex, the film
follows the fortunes and misfortunes of an aspiring actress. Though
there's Hitchcockian overtones, the film is a completely original vision,
conceived only the way Mr. Lynch can. A marvelous puzzle. Naomi
Watts stars as the actress, in her breakout U.S. performance. Laura Elena
Harring and Justin Theroux also star.
1
Leonard Shelby suffers from short term memory loss. He can barely remember
something five minutes ago. And he's unsure of that gun by his side, the
blow to his head, and those tattoos decorating his body. Christopher
Nolan's feature film debut was the very best film of the First Decade.
Original, comedic and deeply engaging, Mr. Nolan and his brother Jonathan wrote
the script for "Memento", a gritty and sophisticated mystery thriller.
Told in reverse chronological order, it features Guy Pearce's bewildered and
memory-addled everyman, who looks and is dressed like David Bowie in his music
video "Let's Dance". A jarring performance by Carrie-Anne Moss. Very
good supporting work from Joe Pantoliano. The best film of 2001.
(Image above: Newmarket Films)
Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
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