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Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 22 2009 10:16 AM

I'm glad to have made the FRF a place where I can remember what movies I saw. A cursory look over the entries here helped me assemble a (preliminary) Top 10 Movies of the Noughties list. Add yours, debate mine, let's do this. Top 10 in no particular order Fantastic Mr. Fox Sideways In Bruges Shawn of the Dead Tell No One The Station Agent The King of Kong The Lives of Others The Incredibles Children of Men

Benjamin Grimm Dec 22 2009 10:34 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Iron Man The Incredibles Dark Knight

metirish Dec 22 2009 10:34 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?) Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 22 2009 10:53 AM

Not in any order There Will Be Blood Wall-E City of God Downfall Gangs of New York The Magdelene Sisters In America Bloody Sunday 28 Days Shaun of the Dead Dark Knight The Wind That Shakes the Barley Almost Famous subject to change I suppose

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 22 2009 10:42 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I thought Almost Famous was 1999. OK, on the list... In Bruges probably falls off.

metirish Dec 22 2009 10:46 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Got to say I couldn't sit through The Incredibles I fully expect to add "Hunger" to the list....if it ever comes out on DVD...

metirish Dec 22 2009 10:50 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Pan’s Labyrinth Lost in Translation Are we to stick to a rigid ten?...this could get ugly

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 22 2009 10:53 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Maybe once we get a big list we can try to slim it down., For now let's just work on getting a list of people's favorites for this decade.

Edgy MD Dec 22 2009 10:54 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Going with ten, reviewing this forum (which covers, at best, half of the decade), I've got: 1) Wall-E 2) The Station Agent 3) Gran Torino 4) The Wonder Boys 5) Superbad 6) Sideways 7) Adventureland 8) The Incredibles 9) Once 10) Um, Hitch, I guess Given half a chance, I'm sure I'd pull half of those, but that's where I am right now.

metirish Dec 22 2009 10:57 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

OK, here is my Top Ten There Will Be Blood Wall-E City of God Downfall Gangs of New York The Magdelene Sisters In America Before Sunset 28 Days Lost In Translation

Benjamin Grimm Dec 22 2009 12:22 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

metirish wrote: Got to say I couldn't sit through The Incredibles Really? That's how I felt about Wall-E. It seemed like three hours of watching a little troll shoving garbage around.

TransMonk Dec 22 2009 01:22 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Requiem for a Dream Gladiator Vanilla Sky Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 Shaun of the Dead The Devil's Rejects The Departed Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Superbad The Dark Knight

metirish Dec 22 2009 01:33 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Benjamin Grimm wrote: metirish wrote: Got to say I couldn't sit through The Incredibles Really? That's how I felt about Wall-E. It seemed like three hours of watching a little troll shoving garbage around. It was a magnum opus for fecks sake..... Million Dollar Baby This is England.......... I could easily add these two... Looking at Monks list I see The Departed , Gladiator....of shit, I'm sure I have that listed as my fave movie on my FB profile...

Frayed Knot Dec 22 2009 01:34 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Michael Clayton

metirish Dec 22 2009 01:35 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Frayed Knot wrote: Michael Clayton That too....IIRC we ahd a good thread on that movie....

Frayed Knot Dec 22 2009 01:48 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I was actually going to start a thread on this too. In part because I can never remember what year these flicks came out so I need a larger list to choose from before I could form an opinion. But also because I stumbled across the latest rendition of 'At the Movies' - the next generation of the Ebert-Siskel show - where the two current guys are picking their decade's best. They're still in the process of counting down so they haven't gotten to #1 yet, but of the ones they have picked I'm thinking ... really?!? Those are the BEST ones? Michael Phillips (one of those Chicago papers) 10 - Minority Report 9 - Gosford Park 8 - Mulholland Drive 7 - United 93 6 - Zodiac 5 - Y Tu Mama Tambien 4 - Once 3 - Climates (Turkish) 2 - Ratatouille A. O. Scott (get a real name dude) - NY Times 10 - Million Dollar Baby 9 - 25th Hour 8 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 7 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks ... (Romanian) 6 - Best of Youth 5 - Where the Wild Things Are 4 - The Pianist 3 - Brokeback Mountain 2 - A.I. Now I saw and liked some of those, saw and have virtually forgotten others, and failed, as usual, to see a bunch -- but few of them struck me as best of the decade types which led me to wonder whether it's just been a bad decade, bad (or at least odd) choices, or maybe just me.

metirish Dec 22 2009 02:03 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I'm seeing a lot of those movies on various best of Lists{/i] I don't recall Minority Report being this well liked when it came out. I saw most of those movies, Zodiac didn't do much for me...A.I. did nothing..

Frayed Knot Dec 22 2009 03:16 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

See if this helps move the discussion along - or at least throws in a few suggestions: Best Picture Nominees 2000: Gladiator; Chocolat; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Erin Brockovich; Traffic 2001: A Beautiful Mind; Gosford Park; In the Bedroom; The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; Moulin Rouge 2002: Chicago; Gangs of New York; The Hours; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; The Pianist 2003: Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King; Lost In Translation; Master and Commander; Mystic River; Seabiscuit 2004: Million Dollar Baby; The Aviator; Finding Neverland; Ray; Sideways 2005: Crash; Brokeback Mountain; Capote; Good Night, and Good Luck; Munich 2006: The Departed; Babel; Letters From Iwo Jima; Little Miss Sunshine; The Queen 2007: No Country for Old Men; Atonement; Juno; Michael Clayton; There Will Be Blood 2008: Slumdog Millionaire; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Frost/Nixon; Milk; The Reader

Centerfield Dec 22 2009 03:24 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Off the top of my head, though I'm sure I'm missing tons: Lord of the Rings Thank you for Smoking Little Miss Sunshine Hero Harold and Kumar go to White Castle Master and Commander The Constant Gardner Batman Begins Training Day Shaun of the Dead Cinderella Man A Knight’s Tale Remember the Titans Kill Bill 1

Frayed Knot Dec 22 2009 08:30 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Trying to put together a top ten (in no particular order): Lives of Other Letters from Iwo Jima Million Dollar Baby Michael Clayton Almost Famous Slumdog Millionaire In Bruges ... and I obviously need three more which, unless and until I come up with something better, will be filled in with Juno, and the very overlooked The Bank Job and The Lookout

Vic Sage Dec 22 2009 09:58 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

My Top 10: Almost Famous Batman Begins Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Kill Bill I & II Lord of the Rings I, II, III Moulin Rouge Once Slumdog Millionaire Stranger than Fiction Unbreakable another 40 worth mentioning: 300 A History of Violence American Splendor Bad Santa Billy Elliot Bourne Ultimatum Chicago Children of Men Crash Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dark Knight Donnie Darko Fahrenheit 9/11 Ghost Dog Ghost World High Fidelity Ice Harvest In Bruges The Incredibles Invincible Juno Lars & the real girl Last Samurai Little Miss Sunshine The Matador Memento Michael Clayton Million Dollar Baby Mystic River No Country for Old Men Pan's Labrynth Shrek Sin City The Tao of Steve There Will Be Blood Wall-E The Watchmen Wonder Boys The Wrestler X-Men 2

Edgy MD Dec 22 2009 10:32 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Would have guessed Almost Famous was from 1998 or 1999. That's got to be on my list, as it's almost perfect. Hard to rank the three Lord of the Rings Films. They all hit pretty equally for me. I guess the more Christopher Lee, the better. The less Sean Bean, also.

metirish Dec 23 2009 07:16 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

The Bourne Trilogy

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 23 2009 07:33 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

metirish wrote: The Bourne Trilogy Hey. We're talking best, not stupidest.

Frayed Knot Dec 23 2009 07:51 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Trying to put together a top ten (in no particular order): Lives of Other Letters from Iwo Jima Million Dollar Baby Michael Clayton Almost Famous Slumdog Millionaire In Bruges ... and I obviously need three more which, unless and until I come up with something better, will be filled in with Juno, and the very overlooked The Bank Job and The Lookout On goes 'High Fidelity', off comes Juno.

Edgy MD Dec 23 2009 08:08 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Richard Brody of The New Yorker wasn't very Hollywood happy this decade: 1. Eloge de l’amour (“In Praise of Love”) (2001, Jean-Luc Godard, France): Lives up to the promise of its title: one of the most unusual, tremulous, and understated of love stories, as well as the story of love itself; a depiction of history in the present tense, as well as a virtual thesis on the filming of history; a work of art, as well as the story of the work at the origin of art; Godard’s third first film, thus something of a rebirth of cinema. You'll notice that none of his descriptions will include a plot summary. 2. The Darjeeling Limited (2007, Wes Anderson, United States): As ever with the films of Wes Anderson—the best new American director of the last twenty years—love and death, comedy and tragedy, comfort and adventure, understanding and opacity, style and substance fuse in a modernism of personal and reflexive cinema and a classicism of grand and subtle literary emotion. It's a certain brand of modernism though. I'd sum up his themes as the alienation of white privilege, and a desire to go back to the seventies before we found out how empty it was. But congrats to Anderson for making the list. U-S-A! U-S-A! 3. The World (2005, Jia Zhangke, China): The best new non-American director of the last twenty years, here revealing, at great risk, China’s, and his own, painfully ambiguous place in the world. Fuck the Zhangkes! 4. A Talking Picture (2003, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal): The great September 11th movie, from a spry ninety-five-year-old who sees not only the century’s long view but seemingly encompasses Homer’s. Dude is still living and allegedly film-making at 101. 5. “Regular Lovers” (2005, Philippe Garrel, France): The events of 1968, depicted by one of its cinematic heroes as an intimate epic—and, with a self-deprecating fury, as a lovely but unsustainable burst of youthful lyricism. Did Valadius write that blurb? 6. Sobibor, Oct. 14, 1943, 4 P.M. (2001, Claude Lanzmann, France): This discussion with Yehuda Lerner, who took part in the uprising against the extermination camp’s guards, is as profound a dialogue on the morality of violence as the cinema has seen. A Nazi documentary built around a single interview. Yikey. 7. Fengming: A Chinese Memoir (2009, Wang Bing, China): From one of the decade’s two best new directors, as well as its best new nonfiction filmmaker. If I had seen Wang’s “West of the Tracks” in its entirety, I’d have put it here instead; I saw only about a third of its nine hours, but this feature, converging recent Chinese history with the sufferings endured, at the hands of the regime, by one free-thinking couple, does quite as well. Wang Bing sounds like a mashup of "Everybody Have Fun Tonight and "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby." Anyhow, can you tell I haven't seen any of these? 8. Knocked Up (2008, Judd Apatow, USA): Suddenly, all contemporary comedy seemed old-fashioned. From Lubitsch through the Farrelly brothers, the funniest guys in the room were behind the camera; Judd Apatow discovered, or rediscovered, the trick of the great silent clowns—to put funny people on screen—and to make it personal. (If Eddie Murphy had, say, directed “Norbit” in addition to starring in it, it would likely find a place on this list too.) I liked it too, and I think Apatow is on to something, but, of all the American film-makers... 9. Moolaad (2005, Ousmane Sembene, Senegal): Women, resistance, and centuries of oppressive tradition, seen with the fiercely clarifying wisdom of age. The subject is genital mutilation; the phalanx of respected women eager to do the dirty work is truly frightening. Bloody hell. 10. The Other Half (2007, Ying Liang, China): The other of the decade’s two best new filmmakers, the one who does dramas, bringing a laser-like analytical eye to the crossroads of private life and oppressive authority. His anger builds to an apocalyptic outpouring with few parallels in the history of cinema. Score it: China: 3 France: 3 United States: 2 Portugal: 1 Sengal: 1

metirish Dec 23 2009 08:19 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: metirish wrote: The Bourne Trilogy Hey. We're talking best, not stupidest. low blow mate, low blow

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 23 2009 08:26 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Sorry I only saw one of them. I couldn't believe how stupid it was.

Edgy MD Dec 23 2009 08:43 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Ludlum has always been beach reading for your dad (and, specifically, my dad). I guess I'm glad those movies got made, because almost no films come out of Hollywood aimed at mature men (though I'm sure they're more youth-oriented than the books). Nonethless, I had zero interest in seeing them.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 23 2009 08:54 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I enjoyed reading Ludlum when I was a twenty-something. I didn't know they were aimed at seniors! (I guess I was a bit of a fuddy-duddy.) I saw a new Ludlum novel on display at the supermarket this past weekend. Knowing that the author is dead at the present time, I took a closer look. It's actually written by "Robert LudlumTM" and the indicia describes how the Ludlum family has personally approved an anonymous author to keep churning out Robert Ludlum thrillers in order to keep the gravy train on its tracks. (They didn't word it quite that way.) I think that's just awful. It wouldn't be so bad if it was titled "Robert Ludlum's the Something-or-Other Something or Other" by New Author Guy. But to have it look like Ludlum actually wrote the thing is unfair to his legacy, whatever you may think of him. What's next? Is some descendant of Charles Dickens, or John Steinbeck, or some other famous literary dead guy, going to commission a family-approved author to crank out "Greater Expectations" or "Of Mice and Men: Lennie's Revenge!"

metirish Dec 23 2009 09:05 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I tried one of the new Bourne books written by Eric Van Lustbader , the author approved by the Ludlum Estate , IIRC that's how it was worded.....it was terrible.....Bourne was a professor and some long lost son comes back to kill him....it was awful

Frayed Knot Dec 23 2009 09:11 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?) Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Dec 23 2009 11:01 AM

Richard Brody of The New Yorker wasn't very Hollywood happy this decade And he picks TWO American films and 'Knocked Up' is one of them?!?!?! But I guess it fits in with part of my point about this decade's films - I can find a better top 5 from the '70s even without leaving the all too short John Cazale catalog. I enjoyed reading Ludlum when I was a twenty-something. I did too (IIRC 'The Bourne Identity' was the first one I read) - a girlfriend at the time got me into them. But after about 3 or 4 books there was a sameness to them and I eventually gave up (on both the books and the girl). I'm not normally a big reader of fiction, but of that type of book I preferred the less prolific but more interesting and varied Frederic Forsythe. His books were made into better movies too: 'The Odessa File'; 'Day of the Jackal'; 'Dogs of War'.

Edgy MD Dec 23 2009 09:17 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

It's been going on a while. The name is a brand and, to be sure, many of those brand-name authors probably stop doing the writing well before they die. But yeah, it's kinda creepy. And I didn't mean to suggest that the books were aimed at seniors. But rather at adult males across a broad range of ages. But in their heyday, they were huge among 47-year-olds and if you didn't get started by the time you were fifty, AARP would sign you up. The heavy hitters in the category of Beach Reading for Dads: Robert Ludlum Ken Follett Martin Cruz-Smith Dan Fuckin-Brown I guess you can call the broad genre Conspiracy Thrillers (though I like my name better). Grahame Greene and other literary figures wrote books that could fit in this category, but Richard Condon turned it into a new publishing area with The Manchurian Candidate. After that, every major publishing house had to have one of these guys telling you about the secret Cold War web being woven all around you have NO FUCKING IDEA ABOUT. His ill gimmick was to title all his novels as The [Surname] [Noun]. The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971) The Osterman Weekend (1972) The Matlock Paper (1973) The Rhinemann Exchange (1974) The Gemini Contenders (1976) The Chancellor Manuscript (1977) The Holcroft Covenant (1978) The Matarese Circle (1979) The Bourne Identity (1980) The Parsifal Mosaic (1982) The Aquitaine Progression (1984) The Bourne Supremacy (1986) The Icarus Agenda (1988) The Bourne Ultimatum (1990) The Scorpio Illusion (1993) The Apocalypse Watch (1995) The Matarese Countdown (1997) The Prometheus Deception (2000) Most of these guys, along with the genre, faded as the Cold War ended and they got too old to keep feeding the beast. The idea that Dan Brown survived and escaped the genre fiction shelves to be read seriously by a vast cross-section of the reading (and sometimes the otherwise non-reading) public just makes my head explode on a daily basis.

metirish Dec 23 2009 09:22 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Jack Higgins should be on that list, yes?

Edgy MD Dec 23 2009 09:26 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Maybe. I just threw them out there. Based mostly on my dad's shelf of water-logged mass-markets.

Frayed Knot Dec 23 2009 09:45 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

His ill gimmick was to title all his novels as The [Surname] [Noun]. The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971) The Osterman Weekend (1972) The Matlock Paper (1973) The Rhinemann Exchange (1974) The Gemini Contenders (1976) The Chancellor Manuscript (1977) The Holcroft Covenant (1978) The Matarese Circle (1979) The Bourne Identity (1980) The Parsifal Mosaic (1982) The Aquitaine Progression (1984) The Bourne Supremacy (1986) The Icarus Agenda (1988) The Bourne Ultimatum (1990) The Scorpio Illusion (1993) The Apocalypse Watch (1995) The Matarese Countdown (1997) The Prometheus Deception (2000) I heard Ludlum claim one time that not only wasn't it his intention to name books that way but actually didn't realize the pattern until he turned in a new book (probably his 4th or 5th) without such a title. At that point, he said, the publishers "broke into tears" and convinced him of the wisdom of sticking to the by-then established formula.

Edgy MD Dec 23 2009 10:09 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

His few departures were all released under alternative pen names.

Vic Sage Dec 23 2009 10:52 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

don't hijack ths thread. I like the Bourne movies, for what they were... well directed action. They've picked up the 007 mantel and added moral ambiguity. Damon is very good in the series. As for the asswipe from the NEW YORKER, his list is consistent with the magazine. Pretentious bullshit. Its about the appearance of intellect, without having to condescend to the actual applicattion of intellect. Its a coffee table list.

Vic Sage Dec 23 2009 10:54 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

As for ranking the LOTR films, its not necessary. They were shot together to tell a single story. I think its appropriate to treat them as a single work, despite the commercial necessity of splitting it up into 3 films.

Chad Ochoseis Dec 23 2009 12:40 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

#1 is a tossup for me between Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou (Coen brothers not getting much mention in this thread so far) and The Lives of Others. State and Main would be somewhere on my list. Go, you Huskies! Also Little Miss Sunshine and maybe Juno and possibly maybe A Serious Man. Also Black Book (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809421156/info), a Dutch film about the Holocaust which didn't attract much attention.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Dec 23 2009 01:48 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Frayed Knot wrote: Richard Brody of The New Yorker wasn't very Hollywood happy this decade And he picks TWO American films and 'Knocked Up' is one of them?!?!?! Much more bugged by the "Darjeeling Limited" inclusion, which is too twee by half and half again and-- to echo BG's sentiment above-- fits this list and its publisher to an overly-curlicued tee. I really, REALLY dug "Knocked Up" myself-- it's my favorite of the Apatow shtick. That said, it's way too flaw-riddled to be anywhere near a best-of-decade list (even this one).

Frayed Knot Dec 23 2009 02:14 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I didn't mind 'Knocked Up' (not bad - not great) - it's just that the contrast between the rest of his list and that one struck me as funny. You can almost hear the guy thinking: Yes, I prefer all these foreign language arty films that, unlike me, you unwashed type don't have the intellect or the breeding to appreciate. Oh yeah, and that Apatow guy and his band of horny low-brow post-teens just slay me!

Edgy MD Dec 23 2009 03:03 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Hmm... I don't want to act as if I'm unaware of their tastes, just that I have a much broader palate...

Ashie62 Dec 25 2009 11:43 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?) Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 26 2009 06:41 PM

Capote Seabiscuit The Wrestler The Reader Little Miss Sunshine The Departed Wonder Boys Babel Frost/Nixon Borat Rambow Slumdog Millionaire

metirish Dec 25 2009 03:44 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Good list Ashie..... the Rambow movie is the "Son of Rambow"?

Ashie62 Dec 25 2009 04:58 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

metirish wrote: Good list Ashie..... the Rambow movie is the "Son of Rambow"? Yuppers..I was typing tooo fast..

Vic Sage Dec 26 2009 09:22 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

FARGO is from 1996, and RIPLEY is from `99.

Ashie62 Dec 26 2009 06:43 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Time flies!

Nymr83 Dec 27 2009 09:08 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Admit it, you just wanted to type that out! heres mine: X-Men 2 Batman Begins Dark Knight Lord of the Rings 1-3 Monsters, Inc. Die Another Day Road Trip Meet The Parents Ocean's Eleven Spider Man having constructed this list and looked at everyone else's, I'm convinced this was a bad decade for movies compared to both the 80's and 90's.

Frayed Knot Dec 27 2009 10:22 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

having constructed this list and looked at everyone else's, I'm convinced this was a bad decade for movies compared to both the 80's and 90's. That was essentially my point all along. Hell, I did a quickie search of just '71-'74 and came up with: French Connection, Last Picture Show, Cabaret, Godfather, Deliverance, Jerimiah Johnson, American Graffiti, Mean Streets, Papillon, The Sting, Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation, ... and obviously a bunch more. I really hate to sound like one of those 'it was all better in the old days' types and I know the movie biz (and society) has changed and there are a bunch of reasons for the disparity between eras ... but Geez!

Ashie62 Dec 27 2009 05:58 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

having constructed this list and looked at everyone else's, I'm convinced this was a bad decade for movies compared to both the 80's and 90's. That was essentially my point all along. Hell, I did a quickie search of just '71-'74 and came up with: French Connection, Last Picture Show, Cabaret, Godfather, Deliverance, Jerimiah Johnson, American Graffiti, Mean Streets, Papillon, The Sting, Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation, ... and obviously a bunch more. I really hate to sound like one of those 'it was all better in the old days' types and I know the movie biz (and society) has changed and there are a bunch of reasons for the disparity between eras ... but Geez! Good movies all..The Reader, Slumdog, and a few other do sit well in any decade. There is quality in every decade, sometimes it may just not be as obvious. I consider The Wonder Boys one of the more underrated movies of this decade

Fman99 Dec 28 2009 10:08 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Lord of the Rings 1-3 The Departed Gangs of NY The Aviator There Will Be Blood Traffic Shrek Road to Perdition

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Dec 28 2009 01:19 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I've got some chopping to do yet, but here's my Top 25. Almost Famous (the Untitled version kicks the theatrical version's ass) In the Mood for Love (beautiful and languid, like watching an aquarium filled with doomed lovers... feels longer than it is in a GOOD way) Eternal Sunshine of... (loopy, hits at the nature of love better than anything I've ever seen; maybe my favorite) Memento (it fooks with yer mind!) City of God (intense and gritty, yes, but weirdly intimate in spots; has aged pretty damn well) The Aviator (superunderrated-- this one takes down the Scorcese slot over "Departed," which is ruined by Nicholson's clockpunching) Royal Tenenbaums (the last Wes Anderson I really enjoyed) The Incredibles (I find myself lingering on it every time I see it's on cable) You Can Count on Me (I've never liked Laura Linney more... and I really like Laura Linney) A History of Violence (Cronenberg makes a cracker of a thriller-- with serious depth-- when he's not up in people's colons and whatnot) Pan's Labyrinth (With the Hellboys not far behind, frankly. Nice fable, beautifully realized story-world.) Shaun of the Dead (Don't stop me now... 'cause I'm havin' a good time, havin' a good time...) Spirited Away (See "Pan's Labyrinth.") Inglourious Basterds (If this movie had nothing to redeem it but the opening scene, closing scene and pub confrontation with the Nazis, it would be here.) Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (After being overblown in the 90s following "PF," was Tarantino maybe the most underrated filmmaker of this decade?) High Fidelity (And THAT's why we still love John Cusack, through the '2012's and 'Serendipity's.) Kung Fu Hustle (Like kung-fu Tex Avery. Friggin' great.) Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach shit just crawls into my head and lives there for a bit. Noah Baumbach shit about divorce, painfully sharp and accurate? It haunts that same head.) Grizzly Man (It takes crazy to recognize crazy, and it takes the world's most committed/committable filmmaker to tell this story-- he does it exceedingly well.) Wonder Boys (Almost forgot about this one. Agreed, y'all.) Batman Begins/The Dark Knight (I love Batman. Batman done right? Fuck and yes.) Let the Right One In (Screw "Twilight." THIS one spoke to the 14-year-old girl inside me.) Adventureland ("Superbad" and "Knocked Up" were funny. THIS was the best coming-of-age movie in the decade.) In Bruges (Good, dark hyperverbal comedy with a nasty streak, and great chem from the leads-- Gleeson and Farrell are dancing here, and it's great to watch.) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Gorgeous depiction of a fashion editor's post-stroke "locked-in" syndrome. Schnabel may be kind of an asshole-- as per numerous friendly sources-- but he's a hell of a visual storyteller.)

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 07 2010 08:36 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I've got some chopping to do yet, but here's my Top 25. Almost Famous (the Untitled version kicks the theatrical version's ass) Loved it. In the Mood for Love (beautiful and languid, like watching an aquarium filled with doomed lovers... feels longer than it is in a GOOD way) Never saw it Eternal Sunshine of... (loopy, hits at the nature of love better than anything I've ever seen; maybe my favorite) Saw it only recently. Better than I expected! Liked it. Memento (it fooks with yer mind!) The out-of-sequence thing is so less novel since. City of God (intense and gritty, yes, but weirdly intimate in spots; has aged pretty damn well) Never saw it. The Aviator (superunderrated-- this one takes down the Scorcese slot over "Departed," which is ruined by Nicholson's clockpunching) Didn't see. Royal Tenenbaums (the last Wes Anderson I really enjoyed) Stupid. The Incredibles (I find myself lingering on it every time I see it's on cable) Really great. I've watched it 200 times since getting 'Pail the DVD for xmas, still finding stuff to admire about it: The expression on the cops' faces when they "congratulate" Mr. Incredible for stopping the chase; the whole "fighting for the remote" ending; Syndrome's perfect mix of geekiness and evil. You Can Count on Me (I've never liked Laura Linney more... and I really like Laura Linney) "Her butt should have won an Oscar for, uh, Best Butt." Really enjoyed this. A History of Violence (Cronenberg makes a cracker of a thriller-- with serious depth-- when he's not up in people's colons and whatnot) Yup. Pan's Labyrinth (With the Hellboys not far behind, frankly. Nice fable, beautifully realized story-world.) Didn't see it. Shaun of the Dead (Don't stop me now... 'cause I'm havin' a good time, havin' a good time...) Love love love it. Spirited Away (See "Pan's Labyrinth.") No See. Inglourious Basterds (If this movie had nothing to redeem it but the opening scene, closing scene and pub confrontation with the Nazis, it would be here.) That's about all that redeemed it, but yeah, all great scenes. Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (After being overblown in the 90s following "PF," was Tarantino maybe the most underrated filmmaker of this decade?) Maybe? I'd didn't bother seeing either since I'm afraid QT's become 98% about making a good homage and only 2% about making a good movie . High Fidelity (And THAT's why we still love John Cusack, through the '2012's and 'Serendipity's.) I was sort of turned off by this. Kung Fu Hustle (Like kung-fu Tex Avery. Friggin' great.) Didn't get it. Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach shit just crawls into my head and lives there for a bit. Noah Baumbach shit about divorce, painfully sharp and accurate? It haunts that same head.) Didn't relate to it. Guess I needed a worse childhood or richer parents or something. Grizzly Man (It takes crazy to recognize crazy, and it takes the world's most committed/committable filmmaker to tell this story-- he does it exceedingly well.) Weird and wild. Wonder Boys (Almost forgot about this one. Agreed, y'all.) Yup. Batman Begins/The Dark Knight (I love Batman. Batman done right? Fuck and yes.) Haven't watched a single Batman since burned by the hype of the first one. How's that for a grudge? Fuck Batman. Let the Right One In (Screw "Twilight." THIS one spoke to the 14-year-old girl inside me.) I keep meaning to rent it. Adventureland ("Superbad" and "Knocked Up" were funny. THIS was the best coming-of-age movie in the decade.) Agreed [ b]In Bruges (Good, dark hyperverbal comedy with a nasty streak, and great chem from the leads-- Gleeson and Farrell are dancing here, and it's great to watch.) Fun. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Gorgeous depiction of a fashion editor's post-stroke "locked-in" syndrome. Schnabel may be kind of an asshole-- as per numerous friendly sources-- but he's a hell of a visual storyteller.) Good. Wouldn't care to watch it again tho. Anyone else still doing this? I found the 2005 list here: [url]http://cranepoolforum.qwknetllc.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=53142&sid=d36b509f01354aead20cf5931ffbafa5 Crash? March of the Penguins? These hold up for anyone?

Edgy MD Jan 07 2010 09:02 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

History of Violence --- I mean it's all cool when a freak like Bill Hurt gets to play a mobster, but there are huge swaths of this that make no sense.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 07 2010 09:58 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

NYMR: Die Another Day Really, Namor? I can see the rest of your list-- some good H'wood thrillage, there-- but DAD? JCL: Not sure if "In the Mood for Love" is your cuppa, but "City of God" is one to see. Also, as "Let the Right One In" is for the pre-teen girl in ya, "Pan's Labyrinth" is for the 10-year-old in you who has a grasp of the Spanish Civil War. "Squid and the Whale" was like 4 of my elementary school friends' parents wrapped into one, so that one might just be me. (Did I mention I grew up on the UWS?) Also, Batman would flip you the double-bird, but he's too busy kicking major rear and yelling at grips. And what didn't you like about "High Fidelity"? (Cusack at the heights of his man-boy powers... a realistic-- hyper-realistic, grading on the romantic-comedy curve-- take on adult relationships... and a GOOD Jack Black, before the ubiquity?) EDGY: Whadja mean, there? Plot holes?

Edgy MD Jan 07 2010 10:20 AM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Yeah. (Sperlers coming.) How does a guy end a multi-state killing spree with an act of shocking vigilantism and draw the attention and multiple visits from out-of-state mobsters before killing said mobsters and then getting a call from a rival gang from out of state who he goes to visit and splatter, while the only law involved is the fat genial sherrif saying, "Consarn it, something here doesn't add up."? I expect that sort of hands-off silliness in, say, Gremlins. In this, I would think there'd be 100 FBI officers crawling around town. Plus, Viggo. With that big fucking chin... how are you expecting to go underground and pretend you're somebody else, lying right to your old associates' faces?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 07 2010 01:03 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like some sort of made-up story. The I'm-not-the-guy-who-looks-and-sounds-exactly-like-the-guy-you-know thing did seem a little strange at first (I remember thinking, "Different haircut? Beard?"). To me, it lends the story the character of a shockingly-brutal and semi-real fable, more than something ripped from everyday life.

Giant Squidlike Creature Jan 07 2010 02:55 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Squid and the Whale Best. Movie. Ever. And Squid totally pwn3d that freakin' whale!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 07 2010 04:19 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

Holy %^@*! Issa Squid! I'm guessing "Ocean's Eleven" was kind of disappointing, eh?

Edgy MD Jan 07 2010 07:19 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I seem to remember the Bucket liking Royal Tennebaums under another handle back in the day.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 07 2010 08:57 PM Re: Top Movies of the Noughties (?)

I may have ... but it's aged badly in my mind. My prob with High Fidelity as I recall it was kind of screwing up the book. But maybe I should see it again.