Top 25 Favorite Films of the Decade: 2000-2009 - Part 2, 20-16

This past decade has been awesome for movies with tons of really good big adventure films like Spider-Man, Batman, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. It also featured great genre films, highlighted by the emergence of wonderful new auteur directors and fantastic new stars. Here is the list of my personal favorite twenty-five films from the decade (not necessarily the best films critically speaking, just my favorites):

25-21; 20-16; 15-11; 10-6; 5-1

The Squid and the Whale

Rank: 20

Director: Noah Baumbach

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and Anna Paquin,  

Release Year: 2005

Genre: Dramedy

Summary: The film is about two brothers who have to deal with their parents’ divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s. It is based on the childhood experiences of director Noah Baumbach.

Why It Made the List: Baumbach worked with Wes Anderson (who served as a producer on the film) and Anderson’s D.P. Bob Yeoman, giving the film a slight feel of an Anderson film – a little quirky with emotionally damaged pseudointellectual characters and dry humor. Baumbach’s dialogue is brilliant (he got a 2006 Oscar nod for Best writing). It has such wit and cracks me up every time. The performances that he garners are also fantastic (really giving Jesse Eisenberg his breakout role). Like many of the films on this list, The Squid and the Whale is great because of its characters and the emotional and comedic depth of the film.

Watch the Trailer: Here

Available on: DVD, Streaming and to Rent

Atonement

Rank: 19

Director: Joe Wright

Stars: James McAvoy, Keria Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave

Release Year: 2007

Genre: Romance

Summary: The film, which takes place before and during WWII, is about Brioney Tallis. As a thirteen-year-old, she sees something she does not understand and makes an accusation that forever changes the lives of her older sister, Cecilia, and a man who works for her family, Robbie Turner.

Why It Made the List: The cinematography and aesthetic style of the film are beautiful and fantastic. There is a long-take on the beach at Dunkirk that is among the best in cinema history. Wright also captures very good performances and creates such a moving love story in a film in which the two main characters hardly share any screen time. I also have to mention just how good Dario Marianelli’s score is (listen to this piece for example – sheer brilliance). Maybe the best thing to come out of this film is the emergence of Saoirse Ronan, who is utterly phenomenal in her supporting role (and she has since gone on to be wonderful in The Lovely Bones and Hanna). She is a great talent to watch.

Watch the Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming and to Rent

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Rank: 18

Director: Shane Black

Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michael Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen

Release Year: 2005

Genre: Action/Mystery

Summary: The film is about a smalltime criminal, Harry, who auditions for a Hollywood role to avoid being captured by the cops after committing a burglary. Once in Hollywood, Harry finds himself wrapped up in a murder mystery that is eerily similar to the noir hardboiled detective pulp he read as a kid.

Why It Made the List: Shane Black, the writer behind Lethal Weapon, created the best detective film of the decade with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It is very funny, as Black’s dialogue is hilarious (especially mixed with the superb performances from Downey Jr., Kilmer and Monaghan), has great characters and has an interesting and elaborate mystery at its heart. Plus, the film introduced the world the Michelle Monaghan and all her awesomeness, resurrected Robert Downey Jr.’s career in the eyes of critics and filmmakers (enabling him to win the role of Iron Man, which resurrected his career for studios and the average movie fan) and reminded us that Val Kilmer can still give an amazing performance (like he did in Tombstone). Every time I watch this movie (like many others on this list) I like it more and find it more engaging.

Watch the Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming and to Rent

The Pianist

Rank: 17

Director: Roman Polanski

Stars: Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann

Release Year: 2002

Genre: Drama/War

Summary: The film tells the true life tale of a Polish Jewish musician, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who somehow survived the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto during WWII.

Why It Made the List: Roman Polanski is a wonderful auteur director and this is maybe his finest film (though, a strong argument can also be made for Chinatown). He used some of his family’s own experiences during the Holocaust in the making of the film. It won best actor, director and writing at the 2003 Oscars (but not best film, which to this day makes no sense). Adrien Brody is absolutely outstanding in the lead role (easily the best work he has done to date), giving one of the top five male performances of the decade (and since you are wondering, the other four are Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, Bruno Ganz in Downfall,  Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, and Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds). The film (like all Holocaust films) is very sad, but it is a tale of perseverance and has a beauty to it.

Watch the Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming and to Rent

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Rank: 16

Director: David Fincher

Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Jared Harris, Tilda Swinton, and Taraji P. Henson

Release Year: 2008

Genre: Fantasy Drama

Summary: The film is about a curious boy named Benjamin Button – curious because he is born an old man and ages backwards as the years pass. The film focuses on his adventures and love affair with Daisy.

Why It Made the List: There are not too many films that capture the wonder that you felt watching the classics of your childhood as a kid and deliver that feeling to you as an adult viewer. This film just has that magical epic quality to it that (for me at least) evokes the nostalgic feelings of watching grand films for the first time as a kid in the 1980s (things like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Princess Bride). You feel like you are watching a marvelous tale filled with enchanting and miraculous characters and adventures (but again for an adult audience). This is the epic of the decade (outside of the more direct fantasy adventure genre films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy). Plus, Fincher et al have created a film with astounding aesthetics (Claudio Miranda’s cinematography is among the very best work of the decade).

Watch the Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming and to Rent

Underrated Actors – Movies Spotlight – October 2010

There are a lot of fantastic actors and actress working today. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michelle Monaghan and Bill Nighy are among the best. Yet, even though we have seen them in a bunch of high profile films and providing fine performances, they still go without lots of recognition.

Chiwetel Ejiofor:

What You Know Him From:

Ejiofor got his start in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, and has since appeared in lots of small budget films like Spike Lee’s She Hate Me and Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda. But he is has also been in a few big films too like Inside Man, Children of Men (I highly recommend this film), American Gangster, and this summer’s Salt. He is very good in Talk to Me, Kinky Boots and Four Brothers. Just looking at his filmography, a number of excellent films pop out.

Favorite Roles:

He is great in pretty much everything he is in (I would go far as to say he is one of the best working actors today), but these three performances are my favorite. In Stephen Frears’s Dirty Pretty Things he plays Okwe, an illegal immigrant in London running away from his past in Africa who gets pulled into the underworld by his shady Hotel Manager boss. Ejiofor won me over from the first minutes of the film and I have been a huge fan ever since. Okwe is strong yet scared and reflective – it is quite a performance to watch (he co-stars in the film with Audrey Tautou who is also quite good). Next he co-starred in Joss Whedon’s Serenity (the feature follow-up to the fantastic Firefly). He plays an assassin, who completely believes in the ideals of the majority controlling party, and is out to capture the fugitives. He is seemingly without emotion but terrifying, and in a film with wonderful characters he is a standout. He is also completely astounding in David Mamet’s Redbelt, playing a master MMA fighter who fully believes and practices the teachings of his mentor. He is forced into making tough life decisions when a series of events puts all around him into turmoil. Again, Ejiofor is amazing; he plays the role with such conviction that there is never any doubt that he is this man.

What He’ll be in Next:

Coming late this year of sometime next, Ejiofor will co-star in Tonight at Noon, directed by Michael Almereyda and starring Ethan Hawk, Rutger Hauer and Lauren Ambrose, about a group of New Yokers whose lives are redefines by random encounters with one and other. In 2011 he can be seen in the British BBC Two series crime drama The Shadow Line, which also stars Christopher Eccleston. He also has two films in preproduction: The Suffering a horror film about a death row inmate who escapes the chair only to battle creatures who take over the prison (based on the video game) and Three Way Split a drama about three friends who travel to Croatia to find a mutual lost friend so they can all attend the German Grand Prix together.

Career Highlights:

1.) Dirty Pretty Things (2002) – lead – (DVD/Rent)*

2.) Serenity (2005) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

3.) Inside Man (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

4.) Children of Men (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

5.) Redbelt (2008) – lead – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

* Editor’s picks

Michelle Monaghan:

What You Know Her From:

Monaghan got her start on TV, notably on Boston Public. She also had small roles in a few well known films before getting her big break, including Winter Solstice, The Bourne Supremacy, Constantine, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. She had large important supporting roles in North Country and Gone Baby Gone, before getting leads in the romantic comedies The Heartbreak Kid and Made of Honor. She has also done some action films like Eagle Eye.

Favorite Roles:

Monaghan brings a lot of fun and spirit to her roles, having an infectious personality but she also has heart and an empathic quality to her work. My favorite of her roles include her breakout performance in Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. She plays Harmony, a Midwestern girl who comes out to Hollywood to be an actress only to be wrapped up in a murder mystery (co-starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer). She is brilliant in the film bringing life to her role and lighting up the screen. She is also great in J.J. Abrams’s Mission: Impossible III. In most action films, the girlfriend character does not have much to do and is just there to be there. This film is different. Monaghan is given action beats and she excels wonderfully. In Trucker (which she also executively produced), she has a chance to show what a good actress she is playing the challenging dramatic role of a truck driver whose 11-year-old son comes back into her life, having deserted him with his father ten years ago. The film has an extremely low budget, but Monaghan’s performance carries the film garnering her some awards consideration.

What She’ll be in Next:

She has two highly anticipated films coming out this year – next month’s Due Date, directed by The Hangover’s Todd Phillips and starring Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, about a man that must travel cross-country to get to the birth of his child and Sophia Coppola’s new film Somewhere (scheduled for a December release) about a washed-up has-been actor who reconnects with his daughter. In 2011 she stars in another sci-fi film from director Duncan Jones entitled Source Code about a solider who wakes up in the body of another person. She also will star in Machine Gun Preacher about Sam Childers, a drug-dealer who reformed and found God and is now a crusader for Sudanese children who have been forced to become soldiers.

Career Highlights:

1.) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

2.) Mission: Impossible III (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

3.) Gone Baby Gone (2007) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

4.) Trucker (2008) – lead – (DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s picks

Bill Nighy:

What You Know Him From:

Nighy has been in tons of British films and series, but is best known to American audiences for his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean films (Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End). He plays the vampire elder Viktor in Underworld and its sequels, has small, but awesomely comedic, roles in the Edgar Wright comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and a bit parts in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Pirate Radio. He has done more serious work too in films such as Enduring Love, The Girl in the Café, The Constant Gardner Valkyrie, and Notes on a Scandal, and is just as amazing in both comedic and dramatic roles. Finally, he has also lent his talent to kids’ films like G-Force, Astro Boy and Flushed Away.

Favorite Roles:

Nighy is a quirky actor who brings a strong persona to his work and really goes for it. My favorite of his performances starts with his work on the BBC series from David Yates (who also directed him in The Girl in the Café and next month’s Harry Potter film) State of Play. He co-stars as Cameron Foster (played by Helen Mirren in the American remake), editor of the newspaper that runs with the story involving murder and corruption within Britain’s political system. Nighy plays the role as powerful, but with flare and a touch of comradely. In Richard Curtis’s Love Actually, a film full of great actors, Nighy steals the show. The film serves (along with Underworld) as his breakthrough in America. He is completely out there and theatrical yet genuine – a star-making performance, in very limited screen time. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, we could not see it was Nighy, but we knew it was him right off due to his use of mannerisms and his usual flash, which allowed him to command the screen and bring a fully animated character to life practically abducting the film (a film mind you that also features Johnny Depp’s Oscar nominated Captain Jack Sparrow character). Anytime I see Nighy’s name attached to a film, I become giddy with anticipation for what fantastic character he will portray next.

What He’ll be in Next:

Nighy has two British films that may get theatrical releases in the States, but certainly should find their way on DVD: Glorious 39, a mysterious tale about a British family on the eve of WWII, and Wild Target, about a hitman (Nighy) who cannot kill his last mark, instead deciding to protect her (co-stars Rupert Grint and Emily Blunt, looks to be silly but fun). To finish up 2010, he is in an episode of Doctor Who and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (and he is in 2011’s Part 2). Also in 2011, he has a part in the comedy Chalet Girl, a snowboarding comedy/drama, and the animated film Rango from Gore Verbinski, followed in 2012 by The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel about a retirement home in Bangalore, India co-starring Judy Dench, Tom Wilkinson (who is another wonderful underrated actor), Julie Christie, and Maggie Smith.

Career Highlights:

1.) State of Play (2003) – supporting – (DVD/Rent)*

2.) Love Actually (2003) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

3.) Underworld (2003) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

4.) Shaun of the Dead (2004) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

5.) The Constant Gardener (2005) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)

6.) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) – supporting – (Blu-ray/DVD/Rent)*

7.) Notes on a Scandal (2006) – supporting – (DVD/Rent)

*Editor’s picks

Robert Downey Jr. – Movies Spotlight – May 2010

Today, Robert Downey Jr. is a huge star. He is known for Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. But he has always been a great actor, from supporting roles in teen comedies in the early 80’s to starring roles by the 90’s to international fame and blockbuster hits by the end of the 00’s. This month he stars in Iron Man 2, touted to be the biggest superhero movie of all-time.

Early Career, the 80’s:

After appearing in a few small films in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Downey Jr. finally got his break when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, and got small roles in John Hughes’ Weird Science and supporting James Spader in Tuff Turf. While he was fired from SNL the next year, as the show was overhauling its cast to avoid cancellation, he had established himself in the business. In 1986, he was considered for Duckie in Pretty in Pink, but lost out on the role, and picked up a part in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School. However, it was his role in Less Than Zero, based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel, which gave Downey Jr. his breakthrough to bigger and better opportunities. His performance was praised by many critics. Off this new found acclaim, he was cast in Chances Are, Air America opposite Mel Gibson and Soapdish.

Rise to Fame, the 90’s:

In 1992, Downey Jr. had a role of a lifetime as Charles Chaplin in Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin, and he did not disappoint. He is fantastic in the film and garnered an Academy Award nomination (losing to Al Pacino, blind and yelling stuff). Chaplin firmly established him as one of the best young actors in Hollywood. However, he did not choose or end up staring in any very good film through 1995, but did find good supporting work in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers and Ian McKellen’s rendition of Shakespeare’s Richard III. In 1996, Downey Jr. had his first drug-related arrest; he claimed that he had been on drugs since he was eight and struggled into 2001 to get clean – he was arrested a number of times and in and out of rehab. His career in the second half of the 90’s was not so great either. His best known films from this period are: Two Girls and a Guy, The Gingerbread Man, U.S. Marshals (you know it is not going well for you when you co-star in the sequel/spin-off to a great movie, The Fugitive, and your movie is awful), and Bowfinger. Chaplin, his first staring role and what should have been only the beginning, ended up being the only good film he had the lead in during the whole decade (pretty sad).

Rock Bottom and Rebirth, the 00’s:

In 2000-2001, Downey Jr.’s drug problems were costing him roles. He was supposed to play Hamlet in Mel Gibson’s stage production in LA, star in America’s Sweethearts and Woody Allen wanted to cast him in Melinda and Melinda – all of which did not happen. However, despite continuing to struggle with his addiction, he had a few great performances in the early part of the decade. Downey Jr., in a small role, is very good in Wonder Boys and practically saved Ally McBeal from being cancelled with his character, Larry Paul, in season four. By 2003, he was ready to start fresh and revive his career clean. He took the lead in the Mel Gibson produced The Singing Detective and co-starred with Halle Berry in Gothika. For The Singing Detective, friend Gibson paid his insurance bond so he could work on the film, while on Gothika producer Joel Silver withheld forty percent of Downey Jr.’s salary until after the film wrapped (apparently, similar clauses are now part of most of his contracts since). With those two film behind him without any issues, he was able to find a number of good roles in smaller or independent films, including: Good Night, and Good Luck., A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, A Scanner Darkly, Zodiac, and Charlie Bartlett, all of which were met with critical acclaim. But, it was his performance in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (a personal favorite of mine) that really re-jumpstarted his career and made fans and film executives take notice.

Blockbuster Hero:

Up until 2008, Downey Jr. had never starred in a blockbuster (or even appeared in one for that matter), but that all changed that summer. In May 2008 Iron Man opened to a huge box office, acclaim from fans and critics and made Downey Jr. an international star. Only for him to follow it up with Tropic Thunder, another well received film also featuring a fantastic performance. Not since Chaplin has he really concretely staked his position in Hollywood as one of the elite actors, with his performances in films from 2005-present he has done just that. He is Iron Man, no doubt. And again with Sherlock Holmes, he is Holmes. In both films he is what makes them work, what makes them great. It is wonderful to see that he has turned his life and career around. He has two of the most successful franchises entering into this new decade.

Future Projects:

Along with Iron Man 2, Downey Jr. has Todd Philip’s new comedy Due Date coming in November. The film co-stars Zach Galifianakis and Michelle Monaghan, and features supporting work from Juliette Lewis, Jamie Foxx and Alan Arkin. It is a road trip film about Downey Jr. hitching a ride with Galifianakis to make it to his child’s birth on time. In 2011 and 2012, he has the sequel to Sherlock Holmes and Joss Whedon’s (YES) The Avengers, which sees Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and others all team up in the same film. There are also plans in work for a third Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. Box Set (Selected Filography/Career Highlights):

1.) Chaplin (1992) – lead actor* [DVD]

2.) Short Cuts (1993) – supporting actor [DVD]

3.) Natural Born Killers (1994) – supporting actor [Blu-ray/DVD]

4.) Wonder Boys (2000) – supporting actor [DVD]

5.) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) – lead actor* [Blu-ray/DVD]

6.) Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) – supporting actor [Blu-ray/DVD]

7.) Zodiac (2007) – lead actor [Blu-ray/DVD]

8.) Iron Man (2008) – lead actor [Blu-ray/DVD]

9.) Tropic Thunder – lead actor [Blu-ray/DVD]

10.) Sherlock Holmes – lead actor [Blu-ray/DVD]

*Editors Picks

Movie of the Week - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

This week’s movie is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005).

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a detective film about a two-bit criminal that mistakenly finds his way to Hollywood only to be mixed up in a 1940s noir detective story. The film is the directorial debut of Lethal Weapon mastermind Shane Black as well as being Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback film (critically at least) and Michele Monaghan’s breakout film. What makes it great is Black’s style, both visual, as he uses color and design surprisingly well, and thematically, the film deconstructs the detective structure while still being a detective story, and is darkly witty, fantastical and lots of fun, while playing off the myth of Hollywood a bit in the process. Val Kilmer gives one of his best performances in the film as well.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang [Blu-ray/DVD]