Below are my rankings for the Top 30 Films of 2009 along with my predictions for the Academy Awards. I've ranked all the nominees I've seen by my preference in the category, then alphabetically for those I have not. I listed my prediction for the win, a possible spoiler and which film should have been recognized in each category (thereby if I list three 'should have been here' contenders it means I would replace the bottom three candidates in my ranking of the nominees with those to form my ideal ballot).
Best Picture:
1. Avatar
2. Up
3. District 9
4. Up in the Air
5. The Hurt Locker
6. An Education
7. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
8. Inglourious Basterds
9. A Serious Man
10. The Blind Side
Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Could Win: Avatar, Inglourious Basterds
Should Have Been Here: (500) Days of Summer, In the Loop, Moon, The Road, Star Trek
Best Director
1. Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
2. James Cameron, Avatar
3. Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
4. Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
5. Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
Could Win: James Cameron
Should Have Been Here: J.J. Abrams, Star Trek; Neil Blomkamp, District 9
Best Actor
1. Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
2. Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
3. George Clooney, Up in the Air
4. Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Will Win: Jeff Bridges
Could Win: Jeremy Renner
Should Have Been Here: Sharlto Copley, District 9; Sam Rockwell, Moon; Viggo Mortensen, The Road
Best Actress
1. Carey Mulligan, An Education
2. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
3. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
4. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Will Win: Sandra Bullock
Could Win: Meryl Streep
Should Have Been Here: Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria; Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer; Saiorse Ronan, The Lovely Bones; Maya Rudolph, Away We Go
Best Supporting Actor
1. Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
2. Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
3. Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
4. Matt Damon, Invictus
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Will Win: Christoph Waltz
Could Win: null
Should Have Been Here: Peter Capaldi, In the Loop; Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles; Mark Wahlberg, The Lovely Bones
Best Supporting Actress
1. Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
2. Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
3. Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
4. Penelope Cruz, Nine
5. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Hart
Will Win: Mo'Nique
Could Win: null
Should Have Been Here: Marion Cotillard, Nine; Zoe Saldana, Avatar
Best Animated Film
1. Up
2. The Secret of Kells
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Coraline
5. The Princess and the Frog
Will Win: Up
Could Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Could Have Been Here: Ponyo
Best Foreign Language Film
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophète (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Will Win: Un Prophète
Could Win: The White Ribbon
Should Have Been Here: Gomorrah (Italy)
Best Documentary Feature
1. The Cove
Burma VJ
Food, Inc
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
Will Win: The Cove
Could Win: Burma VJ
Should Have Been Here: Tyson
Best Original Screenplay
1. Up
2. The Hurt Locker
3. The Messenger
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. A Serious Man
Will Win: Inglourious Basterds
Could Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Have Been Here: (500) Days of Summer
Best Adapted Screenplay
1. In the Loop
2. Up in the Air
3. District 9
4. An Education
5. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Will Win: Up in the Air
Could Win: An Education
Should Have Been Here: The Road, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Best Art Direction
1. Avatar
2. Sherlock Holmes
3. The Young Victoria
4. Nine
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Will Win: Avatar
Could Win: Sherlock Holmes
Should Have Been Here: Coraline, Where the Wild Things Are
Best Cinematography
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2. Avatar
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
Will Win: Avatar
Could Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Have Been Here: Moon
Best Film Editing
1. Avatar
2. The Hurt Locker
3. District 9
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Could Win: Avatar
Should Have Been Here: Star Trek
Best Visual Effects
1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. Star Trek
Will Win: Avatar
Could Win: Avatar
Could Have Been Here: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Best Original Score
1. Up, Michael Giacchino
2. Sherlock Holmes, Hans Zimmer
3. Avatar, James Horner
4. The Hurt Locker, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat
Will Win: Up
Could Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Have Been Here: Star Trek, Michael Giacchino; The Secret of Kells, Bruno Coulais; The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Alexandre Desplat
Best Original Song
1. The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart), Crazy Heart
2. Almost There, The Princess and the Frog
3. Take It All, Nine
4. Down in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog
5. Loin de Paname, Paris 36
Will Win: The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)
Could Win: Take It All, Nine
Should Have Been Here: Winter, Brothers
Best Sound Editing
1. Star Trek
2. Avatar
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Up
5. Inglourious Basterds
Will Win: Avatar
Could Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Have Been Here: District 9
Best Sound Mixing
1. Star Trek
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
3. Avatar
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Inglourious Basterds
Will Win: Avatar
Could Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Have Been Here: District 9
Best Costume Design
1. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
2. The Young Victoria
3. Nine
4. Bright Star
5. Coco Before Chanel
Will Win: The Young Victoria
Could Win: Nine
Should Have Been Here: Amelia
Best Makeup
1. Star Trek
2. The Young Victoria
3. Il Divo
Will Win: Star Trek
Could Win: Il Divo
Should Have Been Here: District 9
Best Animated Short
1. Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death
2. French Roast
3. Logorama
4. The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
5. Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Will Win: Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Load and Death
Could Win: Logorama
Should Have Been Here: Partly Cloudy
Best Live Action Short
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
Will Win: The Door
Could Win: Miracle Fish
Should Have Been Here: (Abstain)
Best Documentary Short
1. China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin
Will Win: Chine's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
Could Win: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Should Have Been Here: (Abstain)
My Top 30 Films for 2009
30. The Hangover
29. Adventureland
28. The Princess and the Frog
27. Sherlock Holmes
26. Me and Orson Welles
25. Duplicity
24. Public Enemies
23. Coraline
22. Sugar
21. The International
20. Fantastic Mr. Fox
19. Zombieland
18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
17. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
16. The Messenger
15. The Young Victoria
14. An Education
13. The Secret of Kells
12. State of Play
11. The Hurt Locker
10. In the Loop
9. The Road
8. Up in the Air
7. Moon
6. (500) Days of Summer
5. The Cove
4. District 9
3. Star Trek
2. Up
1. Avatar
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Top 101 Movies of the Decade (40-36)
40. The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004)
Throughout his career, Scorsese has always been interested in the rise and fall of his characters: Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Casino. The Aviator, based on the life of Howard Hughes, falls nicely into that tradition. Focusing principally on Hughes' better years, Scorsese crafts an epic and tragic tale of a man crippled by his own flaws. What makes the film effective, however, is Scorsese's choice to focus on the good portion of Hughes' life - merely alluding to his tragic end (living as a recluse in a single room for most of his last two decades).
Leonardo DiCaprio is phenomenal. The role calls for an epic performance and DiCaprio is completely game. Howard Hughes was a man who courted Hollywood starlets, made epic movies and designed - and crashed - airplanes before succumbing to crippling obsessive behaviors. DiCaprio is one of the only actors alive capable of not just taking on such a role but owning it and making it successful. While DiCaprio 'grew up' with the 2002 releases of Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can, it was with The Aviator that he truly established himself as one of the finest actors working today.
The film's investigation of Hughes' career is utterly compelling, even as his flaws begin to shine through. When filming the aviation epic Hell's Angels, Hughes needs not 24 cameras, but 26, borrowing two cameras from a Hollywood mogul to make sure the scene is just right. His plane designs MUST meet certain specifications, consequences be damned (even if those consequences involve crashing through Beverly Hills in an airplane). The film's supporting cast plays wonderfully off of DiCaprio's Hughes. Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin act as great rivals for Hughes. Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale, playing Katherine Hepburn and Ava Gardner, respectively, both make lasting impressions. In the film's funniest scene Hughes has a meteorological professor (Ian Holm) scientifically analyze Jane Russell's breasts in the movie The Outlaw before the film censorship board to 'prove' that she showed no more cleavage than other starlets. With The Aviator, the world's greatest living director found a biopic perfectly suited to his skills.
39. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
IMDB users have rated The Dark Knight the 10th greatest movie of all time. This perturbs me not just because The Dark Knight is the most overrated movie in film history, but because somehow the movie has come to completely overshadow its far superior predecessor: Batman Begins. [This write-up will have spoilers for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.] I should preface the rest of this by saying I actually like The Dark Knight.
First, let's talk about the acting. In Batman Begins, Christian Bale is the perfect casting choice to bring something new to the role. Bale always brings intensity to his films and this role is no exception. But in Begins, Bruce Wayne/Batman has an actual character arc to follow: he grows from an immature young man to a believable hero. Wayne's training to become Batman, and his failures and struggles when starting out as the hero, are simply more compelling plots. The limitations of The Dark Knight script only allow Bale to do three things: smug Bruce Wayne, mopey and quiet Bruce Wayne and, worst of all, his Batman performance. As Batman, Bale gives the character a gravelly voice but in Dark Knight it feels like a spoof of the character - his growling is so over-the-top and embarrassing that it loses the believability found in Begins. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman both have actual character development in Begins, whereas in Dark Knight they, and most of the rest of the supporting cast, simply appear and disappear from the film with no purpose, just because the script calls for it. Certainly, Heath Ledger gives one of the most compelling villain performances I've ever seen. But the villainous crew of Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe in Begins work better than the Ledger/Aaron Eckhart combination in Dark Knight as effective adversaries for Batman. The end of The Dark Knight careens wildly out-of-control as the motivations of Two-Face simply make no sense - there is literally no explanation (other than the plot 'needing' it) for why Harvey Dent would choose to go after Gordon and Batman instead of the Joker. Compare that to Liam Neeson's return in Batman Begins: the realization of Neeson's deception carries more emotional weight than anything in the second half of The Dark Knight, including Rachel's death. Also, and I'm not claiming she's a better actress overall, Katie Holmes is simply better in the Batman's girlfriend role than Maggie Gyllenhaal.
I don't want to go on-and-on forever about this so I'll focus on just a few more things about the movies. First of all, the action scenes, already poorly edited in Batman Begins, careen wildly out of control in The Dark Knight. It is literally impossible to follow some of the scenes as they are arranged: the flow of the action doesn't make sense and the viewer is required to guess what they're looking at and what is actually happening. The climax of Batman Begins is chaotic, exciting and relevant to the Batman character. The Dark Knights sees a putrid action scene with ridiculous Bat-sonar and a criminals versus citizens stare down to the death. That boat scene - will the normal people kill criminals to save themselves before the criminals kill them?!? - is the sort of scenario best left where it belongs: in the Saw series. The action in Begins is also grounded in reality - Bruce Wayne has to redesign his mask to protect his head more. In The Dark Knight it devolves into absurdity: somehow Bruce Wayne has access to a magical cell phone reading device that allows access to every cell phone conversation in Gotham but also to use the locations of the phones as a sort of sonar. Not only does this make no sense - why not use this technology to find the Joker sooner? - but the sonar is a vast deviation from the more believable technology in the first movie.
Clearly, I've turned this write-up into an assault on The Dark Knight. I guess I'm just annoyed that the decade's finest comic book adaptation has been sadly overlooked by its inferior successor.
38. Serenity (Joss Whedon, 2005)
In 2002, Fox aired a series called Firefly about a crew of, basically, cowboys in space from Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On paper it's an absurd concept and Fox ran only 11 out of the 14 completed episodes (and ran them out of order too) before cancelling the show. But a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity: people started buying the show on DVD. And buying it. And buying it. And buying it. The buzz surrounding the deceased show spread. So successful were the sales of the DVD that Universal picked up the rights and decided to make a movie out of the series.
Serenity, the name derived from the crew's ship, is basically a Western in space, no aliens to be found here. As he does to all of his projects, Joss Whedon brings a unique vision. One area Whedon particularly excels in is dialogue. His characters all speak with a distinct lingo and humor that makes simple conversation a joy to watch. It helps as well that Whedon is a gifted director with a stellar sense of pace and a great understanding of where to put the camera. The show has the benefit of being perfectly cast as well. Each of the supporting players brings great life and humor to their roles, especially Alan Tudyk and Adam Baldwin. Nathan Fillion (now starring on TV's Castle) has the perfect wit and charm as the ship's smarmy, but lovable, captain.
Serenity is a great movie all by itself, but it is a more complete experience after watching Firefly. I highly recommend both.
NB: I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of Joss Whedon's other great creations this decade: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. Dr. Horrible is a series of three musical 'webisodes' each running less than fifteen minutes. Created during the writer's strike on a shoestring budget out of Whedon's pocket, Dr. Horrible is one of the funniest and most charming achievements of the decade (and it can be found on hulu.com).
37. Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, 2009)
I think Star Trek is one of the most surprisingly successful gambles in film history. Prior to Star Trek's release, the 'brand' had almost no appeal outside of its core fanbase and even that group had wained over the years (2002's Star Trek: Nemesis is considered a financial and artistic failure). The series had little-to-no success outside of the United States. The studio then decided to 'reboot' the franchise, recasting all the characters who had grown to the point of cultural assimilation. Even without having seen an episode of the old Star Trek show, everyone knows who Kirk and Spock are. Then they decided to hire a director whose only previous big budget movie, Mission: Impossible III, was a gigantic disappointment at the box office. And they decided to give that director, J.J. Abrams, $160 million dollars to make the movie. And the studio was forced to delay the movie's release from Christmas 2008 to the summer of 2009 (right in the middle of the heavily anticipated trio of Wolverine, Angels & Demons and Terminator: Salvation) because it simply wasn't ready to be released. All the signs pointed to disaster, but somehow Abrams has crafted one of the most enjoyable blockbusters of the decade.
The film opens with one of my favorite scenes of the entire decade. In just the ten minutes of a gorgeously crafted and acted sequence, wherein the father of the movie's hero sacrifices himself to save the crew of his ship including his newborn son, J.J. Abrams does the impossible: he makes Star Trek cool for the first time in 30 years. And, from there, we're off. The story, set in the formative years of the well known Star Trek characters, focuses on the relationship between Kirk and Spock, once played by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy now by perfectly cast Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, and how the two grew from rivalry to friendship. All of the other actors are great as well and Abrams and the screenwriters are wise enough to give each character a proper introduction and a moment to stand out during the film.
The production designs are stellar; the new look of everything is clean, modern and impressive. It's almost like the iPod designers gave the Enterprise a once-over. The special effects are well used and the action sequences are exciting. The writers also came up with a cute device to frame the story that allows for a cameo from Leonard Nimoy as the original Spock - his performance, though limited in screen time, is touching and memorable. For my money, Michael Giacchino's theme for the movie, Enterprising Young Men, highlights one of the most distinct and exciting film scores of the decade. Simply put, my two hours at Star Trek were some of the most enjoyable I spent in a theater this entire decade.
36. Walk the Line (James Mangold, 2005)
A man (Joaquin Phoenix) convinces a producer, the same producer that discovered, among others, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, to give his gospel band an audition. They play a gospel song and clearly the producer is apathetic - the producer cuts them off mid-song and challenges the man to sing the one song he would sing if he was in the gutter dying, the song that would let God know how he felt about his time on Earth. From there, the man begins to play a song he wrote while in the Air Force: Folsom Prison Blues. At the moment he starts the song he's a nobody, one of countless struggling musicians. As he plays something changes. The producer sits up in his chair. The audience leans towards the screen. When the song ends, the man has become Johnny Cash.
That's my favorite scene in James Mangold's (3:10 to Yuma) stellar Johnny Cash biopic. It only works because of how spectacular Phoenix is in the lead role. Not just in his delivery of the song (and he has a great voice), but in his face and in his body language you see the transition. The film takes a broad treatment of Cash's life detailing from his youth through his ascent as a performer to his marital troubles and drug addictions culminating in his famous performance at Folsom Prison. The core that grounds most of the movie, however, is his relationship with June Carter. Carter, played by a never better Reese Witherspoon, brings an emotional heft and romantic core to the story. Their love story, difficult as it may be, remains at the heart of Walk the Line and it elevates the movie. One of the finest biopics of the decade, I'd recommend Walk the Line to anyone.
Runner-Up: Blood Diamond (Zwick, 2006)
Runner-Up: Open Water (Kentis, 2004)
Runner-Up: Cinderella Man (Howard, 2005)
Runner-Up: Tigerland (Schumacher, 2000)
Runner-Up: Best in Show (Guest, 2000)
Runner-Up: Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006)
Runner-Up: Saw (Wan, 2004)
101: Big Fish (Burton, 2003)
100: State of Play (Macdonald, 2009)
99: Marley & Me (Frankel, 2008)
98: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher, 2008)
97: Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)
96: 8 Mile (Hanson, 2002)
95: 21 Grams (Iñárritu, 2003)
94: The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2009)
93: Y tu mamá también (Cuaron, 2001)
92: Breach (Ray, 2007)
91: Away from Her (Polley, 2007)
90: Stranger Than Fiction (Forster, 2006)
89: Old School (Phillips, 2003)
88: The Queen (Frears, 2006)
87: Garden State (Braff, 2004)
86: Miracle (O'Connor, 2004)
85: Banlieue 13 (Morel, 2004)
84: The Fall (Singh, 2008)
83: Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2.1 (Raimi, 2002/2004)
82: The Last King of Scotland (Macdonald, 2006)
81: Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
80: Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)
79: Juno (Reitman, 2007)
78: Cast Away (Zemeckis, 2000)
77: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton, 2007)
76: The 40 Year Old Virgin (Apatow, 2005)
75: Michael Clayton (Gilroy, 2007)
74: Friday Night Lights (Berg, 2004)
73: The Descent (Marshall, 2006)
72: In the Loop (Iannucci, 2009)
71: In the Shadow of the Moon (Sington, 2007)
70: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Black, 2005)
69: No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007)
68: Superbad (Mottola, 2007)
67: Insomnia (Nolan, 2002)
66: The Road (Hillcoat, 2009)
65: Defiance (Zwick, 2008)
64: Up in the Air (Reitman, 2009)
63: Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007)
62: Finding Nemo (Stanton, 2003)
61: Låt den rätte komma in (Alfredson, 2008)
60: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Verbinski, 2003)
59: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller, 2008)
58: Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)
57: Moon (Jones, 20009)
56: Collateral (Mann, 2004)
55: Munich (Spielberg, 2005)
54: The Visitor (McCarthy, 2008)
53: El orfanato (Bayona, 2007)
52: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (del Toro, 2008)
51: Adaptation. (Jonze, 2002)
50: Gangs of New York (Scorsese, 2002)
49: (500) Days of Summer (Webb, 2009)
48: Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg, 2002)
47: 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)
46: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron, 2004)
45: The Cove (Psihoyos, 2009)
44: Iron Man (Favreau, 2008)
43: District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009)
42: Atonement (Wright, 2007)
41: The Incredibles (Bird, 2004)
40: The Aviator (Scorsese, 2004)
39: Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005)
38: Serenity (Whedon, 2005)
37: Star Trek (Abrams, 2009)
36: Walk the Line (Mangold, 2005)
Runners-Up
101-96
95-91
90-86
85-81
80-76
75-71
70-66
65-61
60-56
55-51
50-46
45-41
Throughout his career, Scorsese has always been interested in the rise and fall of his characters: Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Casino. The Aviator, based on the life of Howard Hughes, falls nicely into that tradition. Focusing principally on Hughes' better years, Scorsese crafts an epic and tragic tale of a man crippled by his own flaws. What makes the film effective, however, is Scorsese's choice to focus on the good portion of Hughes' life - merely alluding to his tragic end (living as a recluse in a single room for most of his last two decades).
Leonardo DiCaprio is phenomenal. The role calls for an epic performance and DiCaprio is completely game. Howard Hughes was a man who courted Hollywood starlets, made epic movies and designed - and crashed - airplanes before succumbing to crippling obsessive behaviors. DiCaprio is one of the only actors alive capable of not just taking on such a role but owning it and making it successful. While DiCaprio 'grew up' with the 2002 releases of Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can, it was with The Aviator that he truly established himself as one of the finest actors working today.
The film's investigation of Hughes' career is utterly compelling, even as his flaws begin to shine through. When filming the aviation epic Hell's Angels, Hughes needs not 24 cameras, but 26, borrowing two cameras from a Hollywood mogul to make sure the scene is just right. His plane designs MUST meet certain specifications, consequences be damned (even if those consequences involve crashing through Beverly Hills in an airplane). The film's supporting cast plays wonderfully off of DiCaprio's Hughes. Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin act as great rivals for Hughes. Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale, playing Katherine Hepburn and Ava Gardner, respectively, both make lasting impressions. In the film's funniest scene Hughes has a meteorological professor (Ian Holm) scientifically analyze Jane Russell's breasts in the movie The Outlaw before the film censorship board to 'prove' that she showed no more cleavage than other starlets. With The Aviator, the world's greatest living director found a biopic perfectly suited to his skills.
39. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
IMDB users have rated The Dark Knight the 10th greatest movie of all time. This perturbs me not just because The Dark Knight is the most overrated movie in film history, but because somehow the movie has come to completely overshadow its far superior predecessor: Batman Begins. [This write-up will have spoilers for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.] I should preface the rest of this by saying I actually like The Dark Knight.
First, let's talk about the acting. In Batman Begins, Christian Bale is the perfect casting choice to bring something new to the role. Bale always brings intensity to his films and this role is no exception. But in Begins, Bruce Wayne/Batman has an actual character arc to follow: he grows from an immature young man to a believable hero. Wayne's training to become Batman, and his failures and struggles when starting out as the hero, are simply more compelling plots. The limitations of The Dark Knight script only allow Bale to do three things: smug Bruce Wayne, mopey and quiet Bruce Wayne and, worst of all, his Batman performance. As Batman, Bale gives the character a gravelly voice but in Dark Knight it feels like a spoof of the character - his growling is so over-the-top and embarrassing that it loses the believability found in Begins. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman both have actual character development in Begins, whereas in Dark Knight they, and most of the rest of the supporting cast, simply appear and disappear from the film with no purpose, just because the script calls for it. Certainly, Heath Ledger gives one of the most compelling villain performances I've ever seen. But the villainous crew of Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe in Begins work better than the Ledger/Aaron Eckhart combination in Dark Knight as effective adversaries for Batman. The end of The Dark Knight careens wildly out-of-control as the motivations of Two-Face simply make no sense - there is literally no explanation (other than the plot 'needing' it) for why Harvey Dent would choose to go after Gordon and Batman instead of the Joker. Compare that to Liam Neeson's return in Batman Begins: the realization of Neeson's deception carries more emotional weight than anything in the second half of The Dark Knight, including Rachel's death. Also, and I'm not claiming she's a better actress overall, Katie Holmes is simply better in the Batman's girlfriend role than Maggie Gyllenhaal.
I don't want to go on-and-on forever about this so I'll focus on just a few more things about the movies. First of all, the action scenes, already poorly edited in Batman Begins, careen wildly out of control in The Dark Knight. It is literally impossible to follow some of the scenes as they are arranged: the flow of the action doesn't make sense and the viewer is required to guess what they're looking at and what is actually happening. The climax of Batman Begins is chaotic, exciting and relevant to the Batman character. The Dark Knights sees a putrid action scene with ridiculous Bat-sonar and a criminals versus citizens stare down to the death. That boat scene - will the normal people kill criminals to save themselves before the criminals kill them?!? - is the sort of scenario best left where it belongs: in the Saw series. The action in Begins is also grounded in reality - Bruce Wayne has to redesign his mask to protect his head more. In The Dark Knight it devolves into absurdity: somehow Bruce Wayne has access to a magical cell phone reading device that allows access to every cell phone conversation in Gotham but also to use the locations of the phones as a sort of sonar. Not only does this make no sense - why not use this technology to find the Joker sooner? - but the sonar is a vast deviation from the more believable technology in the first movie.
Clearly, I've turned this write-up into an assault on The Dark Knight. I guess I'm just annoyed that the decade's finest comic book adaptation has been sadly overlooked by its inferior successor.
38. Serenity (Joss Whedon, 2005)
In 2002, Fox aired a series called Firefly about a crew of, basically, cowboys in space from Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On paper it's an absurd concept and Fox ran only 11 out of the 14 completed episodes (and ran them out of order too) before cancelling the show. But a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity: people started buying the show on DVD. And buying it. And buying it. And buying it. The buzz surrounding the deceased show spread. So successful were the sales of the DVD that Universal picked up the rights and decided to make a movie out of the series.
Serenity, the name derived from the crew's ship, is basically a Western in space, no aliens to be found here. As he does to all of his projects, Joss Whedon brings a unique vision. One area Whedon particularly excels in is dialogue. His characters all speak with a distinct lingo and humor that makes simple conversation a joy to watch. It helps as well that Whedon is a gifted director with a stellar sense of pace and a great understanding of where to put the camera. The show has the benefit of being perfectly cast as well. Each of the supporting players brings great life and humor to their roles, especially Alan Tudyk and Adam Baldwin. Nathan Fillion (now starring on TV's Castle) has the perfect wit and charm as the ship's smarmy, but lovable, captain.
Serenity is a great movie all by itself, but it is a more complete experience after watching Firefly. I highly recommend both.
NB: I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of Joss Whedon's other great creations this decade: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. Dr. Horrible is a series of three musical 'webisodes' each running less than fifteen minutes. Created during the writer's strike on a shoestring budget out of Whedon's pocket, Dr. Horrible is one of the funniest and most charming achievements of the decade (and it can be found on hulu.com).
37. Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, 2009)
I think Star Trek is one of the most surprisingly successful gambles in film history. Prior to Star Trek's release, the 'brand' had almost no appeal outside of its core fanbase and even that group had wained over the years (2002's Star Trek: Nemesis is considered a financial and artistic failure). The series had little-to-no success outside of the United States. The studio then decided to 'reboot' the franchise, recasting all the characters who had grown to the point of cultural assimilation. Even without having seen an episode of the old Star Trek show, everyone knows who Kirk and Spock are. Then they decided to hire a director whose only previous big budget movie, Mission: Impossible III, was a gigantic disappointment at the box office. And they decided to give that director, J.J. Abrams, $160 million dollars to make the movie. And the studio was forced to delay the movie's release from Christmas 2008 to the summer of 2009 (right in the middle of the heavily anticipated trio of Wolverine, Angels & Demons and Terminator: Salvation) because it simply wasn't ready to be released. All the signs pointed to disaster, but somehow Abrams has crafted one of the most enjoyable blockbusters of the decade.
The film opens with one of my favorite scenes of the entire decade. In just the ten minutes of a gorgeously crafted and acted sequence, wherein the father of the movie's hero sacrifices himself to save the crew of his ship including his newborn son, J.J. Abrams does the impossible: he makes Star Trek cool for the first time in 30 years. And, from there, we're off. The story, set in the formative years of the well known Star Trek characters, focuses on the relationship between Kirk and Spock, once played by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy now by perfectly cast Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, and how the two grew from rivalry to friendship. All of the other actors are great as well and Abrams and the screenwriters are wise enough to give each character a proper introduction and a moment to stand out during the film.
The production designs are stellar; the new look of everything is clean, modern and impressive. It's almost like the iPod designers gave the Enterprise a once-over. The special effects are well used and the action sequences are exciting. The writers also came up with a cute device to frame the story that allows for a cameo from Leonard Nimoy as the original Spock - his performance, though limited in screen time, is touching and memorable. For my money, Michael Giacchino's theme for the movie, Enterprising Young Men, highlights one of the most distinct and exciting film scores of the decade. Simply put, my two hours at Star Trek were some of the most enjoyable I spent in a theater this entire decade.
36. Walk the Line (James Mangold, 2005)
A man (Joaquin Phoenix) convinces a producer, the same producer that discovered, among others, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, to give his gospel band an audition. They play a gospel song and clearly the producer is apathetic - the producer cuts them off mid-song and challenges the man to sing the one song he would sing if he was in the gutter dying, the song that would let God know how he felt about his time on Earth. From there, the man begins to play a song he wrote while in the Air Force: Folsom Prison Blues. At the moment he starts the song he's a nobody, one of countless struggling musicians. As he plays something changes. The producer sits up in his chair. The audience leans towards the screen. When the song ends, the man has become Johnny Cash.
That's my favorite scene in James Mangold's (3:10 to Yuma) stellar Johnny Cash biopic. It only works because of how spectacular Phoenix is in the lead role. Not just in his delivery of the song (and he has a great voice), but in his face and in his body language you see the transition. The film takes a broad treatment of Cash's life detailing from his youth through his ascent as a performer to his marital troubles and drug addictions culminating in his famous performance at Folsom Prison. The core that grounds most of the movie, however, is his relationship with June Carter. Carter, played by a never better Reese Witherspoon, brings an emotional heft and romantic core to the story. Their love story, difficult as it may be, remains at the heart of Walk the Line and it elevates the movie. One of the finest biopics of the decade, I'd recommend Walk the Line to anyone.
Runner-Up: Blood Diamond (Zwick, 2006)
Runner-Up: Open Water (Kentis, 2004)
Runner-Up: Cinderella Man (Howard, 2005)
Runner-Up: Tigerland (Schumacher, 2000)
Runner-Up: Best in Show (Guest, 2000)
Runner-Up: Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006)
Runner-Up: Saw (Wan, 2004)
101: Big Fish (Burton, 2003)
100: State of Play (Macdonald, 2009)
99: Marley & Me (Frankel, 2008)
98: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher, 2008)
97: Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)
96: 8 Mile (Hanson, 2002)
95: 21 Grams (Iñárritu, 2003)
94: The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2009)
93: Y tu mamá también (Cuaron, 2001)
92: Breach (Ray, 2007)
91: Away from Her (Polley, 2007)
90: Stranger Than Fiction (Forster, 2006)
89: Old School (Phillips, 2003)
88: The Queen (Frears, 2006)
87: Garden State (Braff, 2004)
86: Miracle (O'Connor, 2004)
85: Banlieue 13 (Morel, 2004)
84: The Fall (Singh, 2008)
83: Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2.1 (Raimi, 2002/2004)
82: The Last King of Scotland (Macdonald, 2006)
81: Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
80: Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)
79: Juno (Reitman, 2007)
78: Cast Away (Zemeckis, 2000)
77: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton, 2007)
76: The 40 Year Old Virgin (Apatow, 2005)
75: Michael Clayton (Gilroy, 2007)
74: Friday Night Lights (Berg, 2004)
73: The Descent (Marshall, 2006)
72: In the Loop (Iannucci, 2009)
71: In the Shadow of the Moon (Sington, 2007)
70: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Black, 2005)
69: No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007)
68: Superbad (Mottola, 2007)
67: Insomnia (Nolan, 2002)
66: The Road (Hillcoat, 2009)
65: Defiance (Zwick, 2008)
64: Up in the Air (Reitman, 2009)
63: Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007)
62: Finding Nemo (Stanton, 2003)
61: Låt den rätte komma in (Alfredson, 2008)
60: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Verbinski, 2003)
59: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller, 2008)
58: Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)
57: Moon (Jones, 20009)
56: Collateral (Mann, 2004)
55: Munich (Spielberg, 2005)
54: The Visitor (McCarthy, 2008)
53: El orfanato (Bayona, 2007)
52: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (del Toro, 2008)
51: Adaptation. (Jonze, 2002)
50: Gangs of New York (Scorsese, 2002)
49: (500) Days of Summer (Webb, 2009)
48: Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg, 2002)
47: 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)
46: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron, 2004)
45: The Cove (Psihoyos, 2009)
44: Iron Man (Favreau, 2008)
43: District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009)
42: Atonement (Wright, 2007)
41: The Incredibles (Bird, 2004)
40: The Aviator (Scorsese, 2004)
39: Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005)
38: Serenity (Whedon, 2005)
37: Star Trek (Abrams, 2009)
36: Walk the Line (Mangold, 2005)
Runners-Up
101-96
95-91
90-86
85-81
80-76
75-71
70-66
65-61
60-56
55-51
50-46
45-41
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Top 101 Movies of the Decade (45-41)
45. The Cove (Louis Psihoyos, 2009)
Generally speaking, I don't much care for "message" documentaries. The Cove is the exception to that rule. The Cove deals with the Japanese slaughter of dolphins but not from the pedantic perspective you might expect. Rather than preach, the movie plays out like a great heist movie. Specifically, the movie shows the efforts of a group of activists to break into a guarded Japanese cove where it is believed dolphins are killed. Similar to Ocean's 11 each character has a specific role to play in the infiltration: camera men, drivers, free divers, etc.
The film focuses on Rick O'Barry, who had been the trainer on the Flipper TV show. That experience with dolphins led him to a life of activism. O'Barry and director Louis Psihoyos mastermind the effort to investigate what happens in the cove in the Japanese fishing town of Taiji. Often it is easy to be put off by hard line activists on any side of any issue, but O'Barry (and most of the other infiltrators) come off as informed, intelligent and reasonable. The Cove is one of the most exciting and affecting documentaries I've ever seen.
As The Cove is one of only two documentaries making my Top 101 - along with #71 In the Shadow of the Moon - I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a few of the other great documentaries this past decade. Below are my Top 10 best documentaries not on the Top 101:
10: Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2008)
A compelling study of the eclectic set of characters that choose to live and work in Antarctica.
9: Wordplay (Patrick Creadon, 2006)
A quirky documentary about the creator, players and world champions of the New York Times' Crossword puzzles.
8: Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
The story of a nature loving activist who chose to try to live among wild bears in Alaska.
7: Murderball (Henry Alex Rubin/Dana Adam Shapiro, 2005)
Murderball is a compelling study of the paraplegic sport of full contact wheel chair rugby.
6: Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
Spurlock's unique style as a documentarian is so effective that he was given his own TV show, 30 Days, to continue his madcap experience experiments.
5: Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
Fascinating documentary about a man who illegally crossed between the towers of the World Trade Center...while walking on a wire 110 stories in the air.
4: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Seth Gordon, 2007)
The story of the effort to set the world record high score in King Kong told hilariously as high tension sports drama.
3: Tyson (James Toback, 2009)
James Toback's documentary is a fascinating study of the psyche of one of the most controversial athletes of the century.
2: Lost in La Mancha (Keith Fulton/Louis Pepe, 2002)
Lost in La Mancha fascinatingly tells of Johnny Depp and Terry Gilliam's quixotic efforts to get a Don Quixote movie made.
1: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
Martin Scorsese's Bob Dylan documentary was one of the hardest cuts to make from the list.
44. Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
Iron Man is one of the most enjoyable film experiences of the decade. Carried on the strength of Robert Downey, Jr.'s exceptional lead performance, Iron Man is unique among comic book movies. Rather than the mopey self-important heroes of Spider-Man or Batman, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Downey) has fun being a superhero. The entire cast helps support this with wonderful chemistry and interplay. Jeff Bridges makes for a worthy mentor-cum-adversary. Downey and Paltrow have magnificent chemistry. Removed from the self-important movies she's been doing this decade, Paltrow seems to be having fun again. The actress who was so charming in Shakespeare in Love returns in each crackling scene with Robert Downey, Jr.
Beyond the great acting, Iron Man works on a number of other levels. All of the dialogue works thanks to a witty script that loses the self-serious air that permeates the genre. The production designs are spectacular: from the set designs to the costumes everything works. More importantly (and unlike fellow 2008 summer release The Dark Knight), the action is easy to follow because director Jon Favreau competently constructs each scene. Absent are the jump cuts and choppy editing present in far too many action scenes these days. I look forward to seeing where Downey and Favreau take the character when Iron Man 2 is released this May.
43. District 9 (Neil Blomkamp, 2009)
Originally, Fox hired Peter Jackson to oversee the creation of a movie based on the video game series Halo. Tasked with finding a director, Peter Jackson chose South African director Neil Blomkamp to head up the potential big budget franchise on the strength of a short film Blomkamp made called Alive in Joburg. Alive in Joburg dealt, much like District 9, with the lives of alien invaders sequestered in apartheid South Africa after arriving on Earth. When the Halo film fell apart because of studio drama, Neil Blomkamp decided to go back to that original story and expand on its ideas. His choice was rewarded with a best picture nomination.
The first stroke of genius in District 9 is the casting of total unknown Sharlto Copley in the lead role. Copley, a writer, director and producer by trade, gives one hell of a performance in the lead role. Copley's character, Wikus Van De Merwe, is tasked with leading the effort to move the ghettoized aliens of District 9 to District 10, removed from the population of Johannesburg. His character transitions believably from something of a nebbish pencil pusher to a desperate man to something more...
There's so much more in District 9 worth talking about, from the stellar special effect to the beautiful cinematography to visceral and exciting action scenes, but it's best to leave each of you to discover the secrets of District 9 on your own.
NB: I do just want to say that District 9 had some of the most creative marketing I've seen for a movie leading up to its release. The mystery of District 9 was played up and subtle advertising (complete with phone and internet 'viral' marketing that sold the premise as real) helped complete the picture.
42. Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007)
Atonement features the single greatest camera shot of the entire decade; it is, perhaps, the greatest of all time. British soldier Robbie Turner arrives at the beach at Dunkirk and the camera follows him as he as walks and talks with a commanding officer. As Robbie continues to walk along the beach the camera follows him, past the soldiers preparing to escape mainland Europe back to England. Along the way the camera sometimes leaves Robbie: focusing on a man atop a grounded ship here, on a soldiers' choir there and various other little moments leading up to the evacuation of 300,000 individuals. The shot lasts nearly five minutes and was accomplished, in part, by having a marching band play so that all of the actors and extras could time where they're supposed to be. It is simply breathtaking to watch.
Of course, Atonement is about more than one great shot. At its core are two principal plots: a love story and a story of guilt. The love story deals with a young woman, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), from an aristocratic family that falls for the son of the family housekeeper (James McAvoy). Both are wonderful in the roles and the chemistry between the two shines through. Upon finally growing the courage to act upon their feelings, the two are torn apart because of the misunderstanding of Cecilia's young sister Briony. Briony in the film is played by three different actresses (each depicting the character at a different age). Each is effective and memorable in her own way, but the standout of the group is young Saiorse Ronan. Ronan (also great as the lead in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones) crafts Briony in a way that is loathsome, but at the same time somewhat understandable - it is her lie that tears the couple apart. The other actresses, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave, are left to redeem the character, to help her find atonement.
Director Joe Wright has done great work in all respects here. The adaptation is pitch perfect: Wright, and writer Christopher Hampton, understand that the adaptation process is about capturing the spirit and the core of a novel, not the page by page recreation that literary snobs seem to demand (only to decry the film's inferiority, of course). Wright also found great success this past decade adapting Pride and Prejudice in a manner that, while upsetting Jane Austen purists with changes, brought the story to life in a compelling and approachable way. Atonement, beyond the Dunkirk shot, is phenomenally well made. Every shot in the film is vibrant and beautifully lensed.
41. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
Brad Bird, who also made Ratatouille and the prodigiously underrated The Iron Giant, has a gift at using broad appealing animation to get across subtle points. On the face of it, The Incredibles is the action story of a family of superheroes tackling a nemesis. But at a deeper level, Bird has something to say about modern society. Mr. Incredible is forced into retirement, and an absurd desk job, not because of ineffectiveness or age, but because of tort law suits in the aftermath of his heroic deeds. All of the voice actors, especially Craig T. Nelson, are wonderfully cast and give pitch perfect performances.
I make no secret of my admiration and affection for the work done by Pixar. The Incredibles marks a transitional period for the company. Prior to Brad Bird's superhero spoof, the company had made great kid's movies that held a broader appeal (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life). After the success of The Incredibles, Pixar began making great movies that also appealed to children (Up, WALL-E, Ratatouille). It is a subtle distinction but it's one that has helped Pixar mature into being the finest and most consistent studio working today. The Incredibles is hilarious and exciting, but it also works as an effective satire on 1950s Americana.
Runner-Up: Blood Diamond (Zwick, 2006)
Runner-Up: Open Water (Kentis, 2004)
Runner-Up: Cinderella Man (Howard, 2005)
Runner-Up: Tigerland (Schumacher, 2000)
Runner-Up: Best in Show (Guest, 2000)
Runner-Up: Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006)
Runner-Up: Saw (Wan, 2004)
101: Big Fish (Burton, 2003)
100: State of Play (Macdonald, 2009)
99: Marley & Me (Frankel, 2008)
98: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher, 2008)
97: Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)
96: 8 Mile (Hanson, 2002)
95: 21 Grams (Iñárritu, 2003)
94: The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2009)
93: Y tu mamá también (Cuaron, 2001)
92: Breach (Ray, 2007)
91: Away from Her (Polley, 2007)
90: Stranger Than Fiction (Forster, 2006)
89: Old School (Phillips, 2003)
88: The Queen (Frears, 2006)
87: Garden State (Braff, 2004)
86: Miracle (O'Connor, 2004)
85: Banlieue 13 (Morel, 2004)
84: The Fall (Singh, 2008)
83: Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2.1 (Raimi, 2002/2004)
82: The Last King of Scotland (Macdonald, 2006)
81: Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
80: Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)
79: Juno (Reitman, 2007)
78: Cast Away (Zemeckis, 2000)
77: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton, 2007)
76: The 40 Year Old Virgin (Apatow, 2005)
75: Michael Clayton (Gilroy, 2007)
74: Friday Night Lights (Berg, 2004)
73: The Descent (Marshall, 2006)
72: In the Loop (Iannucci, 2009)
71: In the Shadow of the Moon (Sington, 2007)
70: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Black, 2005)
69: No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007)
68: Superbad (Mottola, 2007)
67: Insomnia (Nolan, 2002)
66: The Road (Hillcoat, 2009)
65: Defiance (Zwick, 2008)
64: Up in the Air (Reitman, 2009)
63: Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007)
62: Finding Nemo (Stanton, 2003)
61: Låt den rätte komma in (Alfredson, 2008)
60: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Verbinski, 2003)
59: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller, 2008)
58: Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)
57: Moon (Jones, 20009)
56: Collateral (Mann, 2004)
55: Munich (Spielberg, 2005)
54: The Visitor (McCarthy, 2008)
53: El orfanato (Bayona, 2007)
52: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (del Toro, 2008)
51: Adaptation. (Jonze, 2002)
50: Gangs of New York (Scorsese, 2002)
49: (500) Days of Summer (Webb, 2009)
48: Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg, 2002)
47: 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)
46: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron, 2004)
45: The Cove (Psihoyos, 2009)
44: Iron Man (Favreau, 2008)
43: District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009)
42: Atonement (Wright, 2007)
41: The Incredibles (Bird, 2004)
Runners-Up
101-96
95-91
90-86
85-81
80-76
75-71
70-66
65-61
60-56
55-51
50-46
Generally speaking, I don't much care for "message" documentaries. The Cove is the exception to that rule. The Cove deals with the Japanese slaughter of dolphins but not from the pedantic perspective you might expect. Rather than preach, the movie plays out like a great heist movie. Specifically, the movie shows the efforts of a group of activists to break into a guarded Japanese cove where it is believed dolphins are killed. Similar to Ocean's 11 each character has a specific role to play in the infiltration: camera men, drivers, free divers, etc.
The film focuses on Rick O'Barry, who had been the trainer on the Flipper TV show. That experience with dolphins led him to a life of activism. O'Barry and director Louis Psihoyos mastermind the effort to investigate what happens in the cove in the Japanese fishing town of Taiji. Often it is easy to be put off by hard line activists on any side of any issue, but O'Barry (and most of the other infiltrators) come off as informed, intelligent and reasonable. The Cove is one of the most exciting and affecting documentaries I've ever seen.
As The Cove is one of only two documentaries making my Top 101 - along with #71 In the Shadow of the Moon - I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a few of the other great documentaries this past decade. Below are my Top 10 best documentaries not on the Top 101:
10: Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2008)
A compelling study of the eclectic set of characters that choose to live and work in Antarctica.
9: Wordplay (Patrick Creadon, 2006)
A quirky documentary about the creator, players and world champions of the New York Times' Crossword puzzles.
8: Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
The story of a nature loving activist who chose to try to live among wild bears in Alaska.
7: Murderball (Henry Alex Rubin/Dana Adam Shapiro, 2005)
Murderball is a compelling study of the paraplegic sport of full contact wheel chair rugby.
6: Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
Spurlock's unique style as a documentarian is so effective that he was given his own TV show, 30 Days, to continue his madcap experience experiments.
5: Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
Fascinating documentary about a man who illegally crossed between the towers of the World Trade Center...while walking on a wire 110 stories in the air.
4: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Seth Gordon, 2007)
The story of the effort to set the world record high score in King Kong told hilariously as high tension sports drama.
3: Tyson (James Toback, 2009)
James Toback's documentary is a fascinating study of the psyche of one of the most controversial athletes of the century.
2: Lost in La Mancha (Keith Fulton/Louis Pepe, 2002)
Lost in La Mancha fascinatingly tells of Johnny Depp and Terry Gilliam's quixotic efforts to get a Don Quixote movie made.
1: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
Martin Scorsese's Bob Dylan documentary was one of the hardest cuts to make from the list.
44. Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
Iron Man is one of the most enjoyable film experiences of the decade. Carried on the strength of Robert Downey, Jr.'s exceptional lead performance, Iron Man is unique among comic book movies. Rather than the mopey self-important heroes of Spider-Man or Batman, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Downey) has fun being a superhero. The entire cast helps support this with wonderful chemistry and interplay. Jeff Bridges makes for a worthy mentor-cum-adversary. Downey and Paltrow have magnificent chemistry. Removed from the self-important movies she's been doing this decade, Paltrow seems to be having fun again. The actress who was so charming in Shakespeare in Love returns in each crackling scene with Robert Downey, Jr.
Beyond the great acting, Iron Man works on a number of other levels. All of the dialogue works thanks to a witty script that loses the self-serious air that permeates the genre. The production designs are spectacular: from the set designs to the costumes everything works. More importantly (and unlike fellow 2008 summer release The Dark Knight), the action is easy to follow because director Jon Favreau competently constructs each scene. Absent are the jump cuts and choppy editing present in far too many action scenes these days. I look forward to seeing where Downey and Favreau take the character when Iron Man 2 is released this May.
43. District 9 (Neil Blomkamp, 2009)
Originally, Fox hired Peter Jackson to oversee the creation of a movie based on the video game series Halo. Tasked with finding a director, Peter Jackson chose South African director Neil Blomkamp to head up the potential big budget franchise on the strength of a short film Blomkamp made called Alive in Joburg. Alive in Joburg dealt, much like District 9, with the lives of alien invaders sequestered in apartheid South Africa after arriving on Earth. When the Halo film fell apart because of studio drama, Neil Blomkamp decided to go back to that original story and expand on its ideas. His choice was rewarded with a best picture nomination.
The first stroke of genius in District 9 is the casting of total unknown Sharlto Copley in the lead role. Copley, a writer, director and producer by trade, gives one hell of a performance in the lead role. Copley's character, Wikus Van De Merwe, is tasked with leading the effort to move the ghettoized aliens of District 9 to District 10, removed from the population of Johannesburg. His character transitions believably from something of a nebbish pencil pusher to a desperate man to something more...
There's so much more in District 9 worth talking about, from the stellar special effect to the beautiful cinematography to visceral and exciting action scenes, but it's best to leave each of you to discover the secrets of District 9 on your own.
NB: I do just want to say that District 9 had some of the most creative marketing I've seen for a movie leading up to its release. The mystery of District 9 was played up and subtle advertising (complete with phone and internet 'viral' marketing that sold the premise as real) helped complete the picture.
42. Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007)
Atonement features the single greatest camera shot of the entire decade; it is, perhaps, the greatest of all time. British soldier Robbie Turner arrives at the beach at Dunkirk and the camera follows him as he as walks and talks with a commanding officer. As Robbie continues to walk along the beach the camera follows him, past the soldiers preparing to escape mainland Europe back to England. Along the way the camera sometimes leaves Robbie: focusing on a man atop a grounded ship here, on a soldiers' choir there and various other little moments leading up to the evacuation of 300,000 individuals. The shot lasts nearly five minutes and was accomplished, in part, by having a marching band play so that all of the actors and extras could time where they're supposed to be. It is simply breathtaking to watch.
Of course, Atonement is about more than one great shot. At its core are two principal plots: a love story and a story of guilt. The love story deals with a young woman, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), from an aristocratic family that falls for the son of the family housekeeper (James McAvoy). Both are wonderful in the roles and the chemistry between the two shines through. Upon finally growing the courage to act upon their feelings, the two are torn apart because of the misunderstanding of Cecilia's young sister Briony. Briony in the film is played by three different actresses (each depicting the character at a different age). Each is effective and memorable in her own way, but the standout of the group is young Saiorse Ronan. Ronan (also great as the lead in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones) crafts Briony in a way that is loathsome, but at the same time somewhat understandable - it is her lie that tears the couple apart. The other actresses, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave, are left to redeem the character, to help her find atonement.
Director Joe Wright has done great work in all respects here. The adaptation is pitch perfect: Wright, and writer Christopher Hampton, understand that the adaptation process is about capturing the spirit and the core of a novel, not the page by page recreation that literary snobs seem to demand (only to decry the film's inferiority, of course). Wright also found great success this past decade adapting Pride and Prejudice in a manner that, while upsetting Jane Austen purists with changes, brought the story to life in a compelling and approachable way. Atonement, beyond the Dunkirk shot, is phenomenally well made. Every shot in the film is vibrant and beautifully lensed.
41. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
Brad Bird, who also made Ratatouille and the prodigiously underrated The Iron Giant, has a gift at using broad appealing animation to get across subtle points. On the face of it, The Incredibles is the action story of a family of superheroes tackling a nemesis. But at a deeper level, Bird has something to say about modern society. Mr. Incredible is forced into retirement, and an absurd desk job, not because of ineffectiveness or age, but because of tort law suits in the aftermath of his heroic deeds. All of the voice actors, especially Craig T. Nelson, are wonderfully cast and give pitch perfect performances.
I make no secret of my admiration and affection for the work done by Pixar. The Incredibles marks a transitional period for the company. Prior to Brad Bird's superhero spoof, the company had made great kid's movies that held a broader appeal (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life). After the success of The Incredibles, Pixar began making great movies that also appealed to children (Up, WALL-E, Ratatouille). It is a subtle distinction but it's one that has helped Pixar mature into being the finest and most consistent studio working today. The Incredibles is hilarious and exciting, but it also works as an effective satire on 1950s Americana.
Runner-Up: Blood Diamond (Zwick, 2006)
Runner-Up: Open Water (Kentis, 2004)
Runner-Up: Cinderella Man (Howard, 2005)
Runner-Up: Tigerland (Schumacher, 2000)
Runner-Up: Best in Show (Guest, 2000)
Runner-Up: Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006)
Runner-Up: Saw (Wan, 2004)
101: Big Fish (Burton, 2003)
100: State of Play (Macdonald, 2009)
99: Marley & Me (Frankel, 2008)
98: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher, 2008)
97: Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)
96: 8 Mile (Hanson, 2002)
95: 21 Grams (Iñárritu, 2003)
94: The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2009)
93: Y tu mamá también (Cuaron, 2001)
92: Breach (Ray, 2007)
91: Away from Her (Polley, 2007)
90: Stranger Than Fiction (Forster, 2006)
89: Old School (Phillips, 2003)
88: The Queen (Frears, 2006)
87: Garden State (Braff, 2004)
86: Miracle (O'Connor, 2004)
85: Banlieue 13 (Morel, 2004)
84: The Fall (Singh, 2008)
83: Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2.1 (Raimi, 2002/2004)
82: The Last King of Scotland (Macdonald, 2006)
81: Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
80: Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)
79: Juno (Reitman, 2007)
78: Cast Away (Zemeckis, 2000)
77: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton, 2007)
76: The 40 Year Old Virgin (Apatow, 2005)
75: Michael Clayton (Gilroy, 2007)
74: Friday Night Lights (Berg, 2004)
73: The Descent (Marshall, 2006)
72: In the Loop (Iannucci, 2009)
71: In the Shadow of the Moon (Sington, 2007)
70: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Black, 2005)
69: No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007)
68: Superbad (Mottola, 2007)
67: Insomnia (Nolan, 2002)
66: The Road (Hillcoat, 2009)
65: Defiance (Zwick, 2008)
64: Up in the Air (Reitman, 2009)
63: Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007)
62: Finding Nemo (Stanton, 2003)
61: Låt den rätte komma in (Alfredson, 2008)
60: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Verbinski, 2003)
59: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller, 2008)
58: Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)
57: Moon (Jones, 20009)
56: Collateral (Mann, 2004)
55: Munich (Spielberg, 2005)
54: The Visitor (McCarthy, 2008)
53: El orfanato (Bayona, 2007)
52: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (del Toro, 2008)
51: Adaptation. (Jonze, 2002)
50: Gangs of New York (Scorsese, 2002)
49: (500) Days of Summer (Webb, 2009)
48: Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg, 2002)
47: 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)
46: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron, 2004)
45: The Cove (Psihoyos, 2009)
44: Iron Man (Favreau, 2008)
43: District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009)
42: Atonement (Wright, 2007)
41: The Incredibles (Bird, 2004)
Runners-Up
101-96
95-91
90-86
85-81
80-76
75-71
70-66
65-61
60-56
55-51
50-46
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