10 (okay 12) Favorite Movies of the 2000's

I thought I would try something a little different for a change; a list. While there is no shortage of lists on the internet I can't help but make one as well. Now this is not a list of the best of the decade, though some would easily be included on such a list. No this is my personal favorites from 2001-2009. So let's start with the film I most enjoyed seeing; and by that I mean I literally saw it at least sixteen times at the theater. Crazy I know but it just comes to life on the big screen.

Chicago (2002)

 You might be asking sixteen times for Chicago? Yes and I would go see it again if I could. It just has everything you want to see in a film to be entertained. Lots of grit to go with the flashy glamour. It was shot beautifully and just swept me up from start to finish. Even though Roxie and Velma are cold blooded killers you still can't help but warm to their charm. Every actor gives their all with each song particularly John C Reilly's Mister Cellophane. All I know is whenever I feel the need for a pick me up I put this on and can escape for a couple of hours.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

I stood in line each time for tickets to the midnight showing of each of these masterpieces. What more can be said that hasn't been said about these movies? Yes they veer from the books but if you can't look past it for the finished project you are just too nit picky or like elves too much. One of the few films where the CGI works. Just great movies on par with the great epics of old like Ben Hur. Peter Jackson achieved the impossible with these only time will tell if he does it again with The Hobbit.

Let the Right One In (2008)

See my review below for more on why I love this movie. Just a great movie. Yes you are dealing with a vampire but there is no killing just for the sake of it like most horror films. Though this is more a love/friendship story then anything. Two lost souls find one another and try to bring some light into each ones dark world. Dark yet beautiful film.

The Dark Knight (2008)

 

As most would state Heath Ledger's Joker is one of the best performances ever; ever. That being said the film itself is amazing. Not many action films have the ability to keep not only you; aka fanboy/male, entertained but this one also kept those wifes, girlfriends, dates, or moms entertained as well. Now this could be they had more "eye candy" to look at between Bale, Ledger, and Eckhart but I think the story actually had more to do with it. I can't wait to see how this series will end.

Amelie (2001)

 

Very rarely do I go for sugary films but this one has a special place in my heart. Audrey Tautou exudes such an innocence as Amelie that you are drawn to her light like a moth. While there is a lot of chaos to the plot of the film it all falls together wonderfully. This movie reminds me of the golden age of cinema.

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

 

This is a nice little film about two sisters who start a crime scene cleaning business. Each sister has their own demon; one still wanting to be that high school cheerleader the other trying to come to grips with their mother's death. This is a great window into the highs and lows of sisterhood. Emily Blunt gives an Oscar worthy performance in my opinion. Seek this out.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

 

Jason Voorhees with a bowl cut is how I would describe Javier Bardem in his Oscar winning role. Though the kills aren't as grisly they are as shocking. The Coen Brothers know how to write a tight script and this is easily their best. A classic cat and mouse movie shown in a different light.

The Royal Tenebaums (2001)

 

An amazing cast help turn a great script into gold in this one. Gene Hackman stars as Royal trying to get back into the lives of his ex-wife and children after discovering he has cancer. Though this family is not normal by any stretch there is an odd love between them. So many great performances; even Ben Stiller gives a good performance. Just a great subtle film about the complexity of family.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

 

One of the best performances ever; even by Daniel Day Lewis standards. His Daniel Plainview is high on my list of movie bastards. He charms you like he would a landowner in the film then flips you on your ear quicker then "I drink your milkshake". On top of the performance the film is shot wonderfully. A film that deals with how much you would sell your soul for whether it be oil or fame.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

 

What would any decade list be without a David Lynch film? This is one of his best. You are thrown into the underside of LA as you follow "Rita" and Betty on their search for "Rita's" identity. Along the way you run across many Lynchian characters interwoven into various storylines. As with any Lynch film you never know what is real or where you are truly going but that is what I love.

There you have it my favorite films of the decade. Google any you want to know more about or go to your local movie store and rent them.

Apartment For Peggy

It's been quite some time since I could post but I am back and ready to get the ball rolling again with one of my favorites Apartment For Peggy. This is an excellent post WWII era film starring William Holden, Edmund Gwenn and Jeanne Crain in the title role. I like this film for several reasons one being that there are thousands of films about war but very few showing what happens when the troops come home. Peggy gives a rare glimpse into the post war period immediately following the war.

The movie starts with the revelation that retired Professor Henry Barnes (Gwenn) plans to kill himself after finishing up some bits of work. He feels he is of no use to anyone. He tells his close friend Professor Bell about his plans and Bell naturally advises against it. Next Peggy comes upon Henry sitting in the park. She is a spitfire rambling off new age slang which captures his interest. She tells him that she and her husband Jason (Holden), a war vet using his GI Bill to attend the university, are about to become homeless. Henry tells her to get in touch with his friend Bell who runs the university housing. As she confides in him he confides in her his feeling of uselessness. She tells him in no subtle terms he needs to live; with a capital L. Once Peggy gets in touch with Bell he realizes that Henry has an attic available for use and suggest they live with him to try and help him out. Though Henry resists at first Peggy uses some of her made up statistics to sway him. From there we get the heart of the film with many twists along the way.

While the film may feel dated in places; some of Peggy's slang terms for example, it still has a story that could easily be made today and seem fresh. Of course there is very little "fresh" left in Hollywood today. Crain's Peggy is a refreshing character to see in all her make up statistics as you go glory. Her chemistry with Gwenn is excellent and you get a true feel that they are helping each other. Apartment For Peggy is a true gem that deserves more attention than it receives. Then again there are tons of quality films from that era so sometimes these diamonds fall through the cracks. I highly recommend this film,

Sense and Sensibility

Yet another film based on a great book Sense and Sensibility . Emma Thompson wrote and won an Oscar for her screenplay as well as starred as spinster Elinor Dashwood. The film had all the elements in it to make it great, actors; Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman, a great director in Ang Lee, and beautiful locations. The only weak link was perhaps Hugh Grant who did okay in portraying the restrained gentlemen of the time but still when I watch him I get the sense of it's Hugh Grant as blank whereas Rickman and Thompson become the character they portray so you fully become ensnared by them.



After their father dies the Dashwood sisters along with their mother learn they only get a small sum to live on while their brother gets the bulk of the estate. Their brother's wife invites her own brother Edward (Hugh Grant) to visit. Slowly Elinor; played wonderfully by Emma Thompson, and Edward start to develop a friendship. Appalled Fanny forces her husband to do something about it which results in the girls ending up on a small cottage owned by Mrs Dashwood's cousin.
Elinor misses Edward but continues to restrain her emotion much to the dislike of Marianne; played with passion by Kate Winslet in only her second role the first being in the amazing Heavenly Creatures. Marianne wears her heart on her sleeve which is not the norm for ladies of the time. During one of the cousin's functions she is introduced to Colonel Brandon; greatly portrayed by Alan Rickman. He falls for her instantly though he is many years her elder. She likes his company and attention until she is helped by a stranger after spraining her ankle in a field. Willoughby is dashing, young, and in a well to do family so naturally Marianne is drawn more to him. Everything goes fine for them until Colonel Brandon receives an urgent message from London and leaves an event he is holding at his estate. Not long after Willoughby is called back to London as well but never confides his true feeling to Marianne.Elinor continues to hide her feelings for Edward but her emotions are tried when she discovers Lucy Steele has secretly been engaged to Edward for years. Marianne continues to try and contact Willoughby but to no avail. But in the sisters dismay a ray of hope arrives when they are invited by their hosts to join them in London. Elinor gets to see Edward again but the meeting is again a very painfully restrained moment as Lucy Steele joins the reunion. The pain on both Edward and Elinor's face is beautifully shot by Ang in the scene. Edward clearly wants to tell Elinor and Elinor wants to believe it is not true but neither are able to say a thing with the proverbial elephant in the room.Meanwhile Marianne seeks out and finds Willoughby but is unable to get the reunion she seeks as well. Distraught both head home but are slowed when Marianne falls ill when she walks in a rain storm to view Willoughby's family estate. Colonel Brandon finds her and brings her to Elinor and helps to aid in her recovery. I won't go into more detail as you should watch the film. While there are several great performances Emma and Alan are the two best. Emma portrays Elinor's dismay and restraint so perfectly until she simply can no longer hold it in. The scene when she finally lets it out is just amazing. And Rickman as Colonel Brandon is an cinematic perfect fit. He has the natural melancholy about him which fits the character then you include his acting and it's pure magic. Great book, great film.

Scotland, PA

This week one of my favorite adaptations of Shakespeare's great work Macbeth; Scotland, PA. It is set in the mid 70's with Macbeth named Joe Mcbeth(James Legros); working in a diner for it's owner Norm Duncan(James Rebhorn). "Lady" Mcbeth is played very convincingly by Maura Tierney with Christopher Walken rounding out the excellent cast as Lt Ernie Mcduff.




While you would think such a setting would reduce the drama of such a great play it does not. While it is written more as a dark comedy it is still very dark particularly Tierney's Lady Macbeth. The Mcbeth's have become increasingly tired of not receiving recognition for what they do for Duncan. After an encounter with "the three witches" here portrayed amusingly as hippies Joe gets a glimpse of the future which involves a Drive Thru. The following day Duncan reveals his plans for a drive thru to the couple and Joe realizes that he has been given the opportunity to change his fate. With the prodding of his "lady" they decide to kill Duncan and move forward with his idea. Though there are a few false starts they achieve their goal not without Pat getting burnt on her hand by some oil from the deep fryer; hence the famous "Damn spot".
Everything seems to be going great for the Mcbeth's as Duncan's sons have no interest in the diner and are eager to sell it to their father's loyal workers. Joe and Pat build the drive thru and business begins to boom. That is until Lt Mcduff starts to investigate the murder. Walken is perfect for the role seemingly confused but knows more than he lets on. Out of fear Pat once again manipulates Joe into killing the fry cook "Banko" whom she suspects knows the real story and may go to Mcduff.
As Mcduff continues to sniff around the diner Pat and Joe become more and more desperate and decide they must do something with him as well. It all spirals down to an very 70's climax that is fitting to the play. Overall it is very well acted from the leads to the supporting roles. It also boasts an excellent soundtrack for an indy film. All the elements seem so strange to use for Macbeth but they are all crafted together perfectly in Scotland, PA.By far the best performance was Tierney's as Pat Mcbeth. As with any version of Macbeth you must have a strong actress portraying the most famous manipulator in history or the adaptation will fail. I was skeptical of how well she would be in the role having only seen her on ER but she blew me away. I could see myself easily doing what she asked had I been in Joe's shoes. I only wish she had gotten some better roles after this but have not seen anything yet that approaches her level in this movie. So if you are in the mood for some Shakespeare and aren't looking to decipher his prose check out this somewhat modern version of one of, if not the best of his plays.

A Face In The Crowd (1957)

This week one of my favorites. Elia Kazan's A Face In The Crowd is simply amazing. It is mind boggling that this film received zero Oscar nominations; of course when you look at the films up for the honor that year there is not much room for argument. The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Peyton Place, Sayonara, 12 Angry Men, and Witness For the Prosecution. But still you would think they would throw it a bone, best screenplay, something. The greatest snub though was for Andy Griffith's performance as Lonesome Rhodes. That's right the future Sheriff of Mayberry; but in this role he is far from the moral Andy Taylor. He breathed a fire into the character and just took control of the film; you could easily see yourself falling under his spell like the public does in the film. And this was his film debut in a leading role! Too bad the Andy Griffith Show caused him to be typecast and kept him from receiving chances at more roles like this.

The film is set at the time when radio was still popular but slowly losing ground to the new medium of TV. A local radio personality Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) is out looking for new talent to feature and discovers Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes while visiting a prison in Arkansas. While he isn't polished he has a charm that she can't help but fall for. She features Lonesome on her radio show and he quickly becomes popular to the local listeners. As his popularity grows he is asked to appear on a small TV program in Memphis. It goes well until he insults one of the sponsors of the program on air. The sponsor plans to cancel the show but soon discovers that Lonesome has actually helped increase sells. Rhodes takes to the new medium and quickly is able to build an even larger audience than his radio listeners.With the aid of an office boy of the sponsor Lonesome is able to land a deal in New York City. He now gains control of a national program and with his Southern charm and everyman appearance he is able to gain more influence; becoming the "voice of the people". As always with power comes ego and Lonesome already had plenty to spare before earning his new found fame. To him everything he touches turns to gold and he can't possibly lose. So it doesn't surprise him when the Senator of NY decides to recruit him for his run at the Presidency. Lonesome uses all his tricks and charm and to try to turn the Senator into a contender.
During all this Jeffries has watched the rise of Rhodes and is one of the few to know his true nature and his contempt for his audience. She feels betrayed by Lonesome and finally decides she must help to destroy her own creation. When she sets in motion those plans we have one of the best endings in film history.This movie is just ahead of it's time. Once again a film that shows the power of the media to create as well as destroy a persona. As well as showing how the media can be used by the right person to manipulate the public to do almost anything. Though not nominated, the movie had an excellent script, director, supporting cast and of course Andy Griffith ignited the screen with a passion rarely seen. In a vast majority of films the actor is pretty interchangeable so if it was someone else playing the role it wouldn't matter the result would be the same. That is not the case here. I can't imagine another actor in the role; Griffith possesses all the qualities of Rhodes like no other actor could. Much like you could not replace Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch. I can't think of an actor past or present that could embody all the qualities of the character like Peck. I would rate Griffith's performance in my top ten of all time. So if you want a see a truly magnificent performance check this one out you won't be disappointed.

The Legend Of Billie Jean

While the majority of my recommendations have been older movies this one is about as "recent" as I'll get. The Legend Of Billie Jean is from 1985 and is once again a film loosely based on a novella, The Legend Of Michael Kohlhaas. While it was not well received in it's initial release it has grown into a cult classic. I have loved this movie since it first came out and don't see why it wasn't more popular.

Billie Jean Davy; played perfectly by Helen Slater, is nothing special. She is a normal girl from the trailer park; her only real concern at the start of the movie is to cool off in the hot Texas weather. So she and her brother head to the local pond to take a swim. Her brother Binx; played by Christian Slater no relation to Helen, tries to convince Billie Jean that they should head to Vermont to escape the heatwave. Their discussion is interrupted when some rich kids decide to steal Binx's scooter. They are long gone with the scooter before Billie Jean and Binx get to the shore. Binx wants to go get it back immediately but Billie Jean assures him that it is best to go to the police.
She reports the incident to Detective Ringwald (Peter Coyote) who doesn't pay much mind to it. Binx finally tries to get it back himself but is beaten and his scooter gets trashed. Outraged Billie Jean confronts the main bullies father; local business man Mr Pyatt, to get the cost of repairs for the scooter $608 exactly. At first it seems he is going to comply and lures her upstairs with the promise of the money. When they get there he tries to rape her but she runs back downstairs where Binx is waiting with a gun he found in the store. When Mr Pyatt tries to get the gun from Binx by saying it isn't loaded he fires it and wounds Mr Pyatt in the shoulder. Billie Jean and Binx flee the store and with the help of some of their friends from the trailer park become fugitives.
When the detective gets to the scene of the crime he realizes he has helped cause the situation to blow up. As the media gets involved Billie Jean starts to become an icon for teens and young adults. Throughout her journey she adds to her legend by deeds she actually performs and others invented by the media. And ultimately leads to a final confrontation with Mr Pyatt.
While the acting isn't great from some of the supporting characters there really isn't anything else negative I can think of. Helen is great in the role and easily transitions from "trailer trash" to unwanted martyr. The story is nicely adapted to the 80's culture at the time though it makes it seem dated now. To me it was ahead of its time with its use of the media creating both an evil fugitive and youth rebellion figurehead. There's not much more I can add other than check this movie out.

M

Today's film is one from the German master Fritz Lang M (1931).
One of the reasons I love Lang's work is because he was ahead of the
curve when it came to telling stories. You need to look no further than
his masterpiece Metropolis to see what I mean. However that is for another day.M starts with a series of shots showing an apparent investigation into the disappearances of children. And it is quite apparent that the killer is doing more than just killing them. We only get glimpses of the killer at the start in shadow. As he stalks he whistles "In The Hall of The Mountain King". He lures a girl away after buying a balloon for her from a blind peddler. Most modern day movies tend to shy away from humanizing the victim but Lang takes the time to bring us a heartbreaking scene depicting the little girl's mother as she waits for her daughter to return from school. Sadly she does not.
As the number of children disappearing start to increase citizens grow suspicious of both friends and neighbors. They take no second thought in pointing the finger of blame. This leads to increased police raids on both common citizens and the criminal underground. The career criminals grow increasingly tired of the killer because; to put it simply, he is bad for business. After the killer writes a note to mock the police; both the cops and criminals have had enough. Unknown to either side or the killer they join together to hunt him down.Ultimately it leads to the killer being marked with an "M" and a classic chase and hunt takes place.
Peter Lorre; in his first starring role, is excellent as the killer Hans Beckert. He is able to show both control and confidence as he "hunts" but also sadness at the beast he has inside. M is a very mature themed movie for the time; though most German films of the era didn't fall under the Hollywood gloss. The film deals with a subject that even to this day is rarely touched and gives it a unique twist as both the cops and criminals vie to get the same man off the streets. This is a great film from a true master and I highly recommend it.