Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 10:41:18 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Top 5 films of the decade

Started by biggytitbo, December 23, 2009, 01:03:00 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

TotalNightmare

oooh, now lets think (on the fly) about this... (in NO particular order)

Honourable Mention) Inglorious Basterds
I've never been the biggest Tarantino, but i got the same feeling watching this as i did when i first saw Pulp Fiction... I wanted to see it again straight away. I love how the film uses dialogue and language as a more potent weapon than violence. The Basterds themselves are slopping, hulking angry idiots that flounder around the wit and cunning of the Nazis (obviously Landa) or the resistant movement. A total fairytale marriage of WW2 guts for glory adventure and cinefile wankfodder. A laughing face on the smoke is a BRILLIANT way to end the film.

5) The Mist
A film that utterly floored me. I love horror but dont like the downbeat/pessimistic gloom fests out there within the genre... but this... I remember being horrified and on edge throughout the film, gasping at each turn of event and human error or sacrifice.. And thats before i even consider the monsters lurking in the mist. And yes, i happen to think that ending is amazing and perfectly fitting.

4) Drag Me To Hell
The perfect ghost tran/funhouse of a movie with a cool (if obvious ) ending. Silly, freaky and really fun, i marvelled as Raimi wheeled out every cliche in the book and improved on it. The sound design was fantastic too, not to mention that the Sceance scene is easily one of my faves of any horror movie to date.

3) Eternal Sunshine...
It's been said better by others, but i think its the most spot on representation of a relationship i've ever seen. I hate stories that are fundementally 'romance' tales, but the fact that this one was filtered through 'sci-fi' conventions meant it could play around with the execution and meaning of these clices and be more personal and honest than most 'weepies'.

2) Behind The Mask
Funny, smart and exciting... See how the 'professionals' do it, when you follow the rise of America's new slasher villain Leslie Vernon. It shows you how its done. Thnk Scream meets Spinal Tap.

1) Shaun of the Dead
This film means a lot to me, not just because i got to be in it as a number of various zombies throughout the shoot, but because its a British film that i think we should be proud of. It effectively showed that the UK can and do make better genre films when the success of the UK film industry isn't focused on Richard Curtis cut and paste style scripts. Look at The Descent as another example, Moon or even (to some extent, but its pushing it) Children of Men. Ok, we may get shit like Doghouse or Lesbian Vampire Killers (this decades So I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle or Funyman) bt at least its this country taking note of what overseas audiences like as well. The fact that SotD has a truly smart and patient script, is well loved in America and can hold its head up high amongst films like American Werewolf in London or Evil Dead 2, stands for something. So yes, i love it.

Also
A) The Spongebob Sqaurpants Movie
Guarenteed to cheer me up if i am down in the dumps - with a kick ass glam rock climax
B) King of Kong
Better then most thrillers and funnier than most comedies. Perfect geek fodder
C) Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Fuck off. I liked it.
D) In The Loop
Perfect. Haven't laughed so hard with a full audience since South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut
E0 Final Destination (Various)
Basically, i love a unabashed gorno! If i could just edit these films down to the kills, id be happy.

That will do... may update at another point...

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Lots of choice- films like Superbad, There Will Be Blood and Sideways that just missed out. It's been an enjoyable decade for films which made this decision extra difficult.

5. In The Loop - Possibly one of the most continually consistently funny comedy films ever made that just squeezes enough room in for a gut wrenching emotionally compromising conclusion.

4. The Edukators - The ultimate post-Berlin Wall left-wing angst film. An encapsulation of the frustration and helplessness thrust upon idealistic youth. Poignant, and the film never becomes self-indulgent or sloppy.

3. In Bruges - Riotously entertaining and emotionally affecting all at once- this still remains a badly-marketed and under-appreciated film about the inevitability of your deeds catching up with you. An effortless combination of grit, dark humour, sensitivity.

2. Pan's Labyrinth - Like the other inclusions, this affected me deeply. There is something masterful about it, much like there was something masterful about There Will Be Blood. But this is a wonderful tainted fairytale, as Ofelia tries to escape her trappings and finds that the other reality she creates is just as disturbing. Just an utterly wonderful and tragic tale about the corruption of innocence coupled with a scathing murderous hatred of the adult world as the fetid war-torn surroundings bleed into Ofelia's dream world.

1. Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring - More or less the greatest film ever made. A rousing rebirth of early 20th century adventure films combined with the twists, turns and appreciation of the modern cinematic artform of Star Wars. The first film I ever watched where I realised I was watching an ageless classic. The trilogy as a whole is superb, but this is the film with the strongest story, and the film that brings the world of Middle Earth to you with the greatest sense of awe and wonderment.

Desi Rascal

5 Anita And Me Possibly the only film to paraphrase Morrisey say something to me about my life, nails my childhood experiences of growing up as an anglo-asian in seventies rural britain.
So for entirely self-indulgent reasons it goes in

4 The Pianist Roman Polanski, something something wikipaedia,

3 Slumdog Millionaire Poverty Porn to some reminders of Holidays From Hell for others,deplored and boycotted by both left and right wing political groups in india and despite the nailed on end dance routine, a superb piece of story telling.

2 Kill Bill Part 2 much tighter pacing than the first part, Tarentino delivers the almost perfect revenge flick

1 Oldboy been plugging this almost every opportunity i get, nice to see a few other people rate itas highly as me

Honorable Mentions for City Of God,LOR trillogy and no country for old men

samadriel

#33
Quote from: Artemis on December 24, 2009, 04:37:38 PM
I agree with phes about Up/. Moments of pure transcendent loveliness, but a lot of stuff that was just quite good, too. Ratatouille, though? I seem to be one of the few that didn't have much time for NCFOM here. I loved 'There Will Be Blood' but the former just dragged for me and I never really clicked with the lead character. Seems weird that Gladiator was this decade, doesn't it.

I didn't think much of Wall-E once the humans came into it, but I'd hardly call "Meatballs" transcendent (although it was surprisingly funny); certainly not compared to 'Up', Pixar's best movie.  Ratatouille was excellent too.

Wasn't impressed with No Country, either.  Actually, no, that's wrong; I was impressed with quite a lot of it, but I think it was fatally undermined with a lot of inane bollocks (like Chigurh, I still don't know how anyone is impressed by that fart-gag of a character).  Probably the last, best gasp of the Coens, if their recent stuff is anything to go by (I'm hoping their new one is worth a damn; it looks alright, but so did Burn After Reading, and that was atrocious.)

Desi, speaking of Slumdog (ie, popular depictions of Indian poverty with some rags-to-riches action), have you read "White Tiger"?  I know that got a lot of the same kind of denigration as Slumdog, from the critics and, er, the Indian kids at my uni ("the poor man's life isn't like that, Adiga is just slumming it!"), but I liked how jaundiced the protagonist was, and the brutality of the life he depicts seemed pretty plausible.  I'm a little suspicious of the criticisms -- I'm sure most Australians would protest, "Australia's not like that!" if they saw "Samson & Delilah", but for the poorest of us, it definitely is.

Lee

Also, it's not a noughties movie, but I would like to give praise for the 2007 Final Cut of Blade Runner. Whatever you think of the edit (which I happen to prefer), the digital remastering job was superb. It looked like a brand new film.

Desi Rascal

Quote from: samadriel on December 24, 2009, 10:23:58 PM
, I still don't know how anyone is impressed by that fart-gag of a character).  Probably the last, best gasp of the Coens, if their recent stuff is anything to go by (I'm hoping their new one is worth a damn; it looks alright, but so did Burn After Reading, and that was atrocious.)

Desi, speaking of Slumdog (ie, popular depictions of Indian poverty with some rags-to-riches action), have you read "White Tiger"?  I know that got a lot of the same kind of denigration as Slumdog, from the critics and, er, the Indian kids at my uni ("the poor man's life isn't like that, Adiga is just slumming it!"), but I liked how jaundiced the protagonist was, and the brutality of the life he depicts seemed pretty plausible.  I'm a little suspicious of the criticisms -- I'm sure most Australians would protest, "Australia's not like that!" if they saw "Samson & Delilah", but for the poorest of us, it definitely is.

Haven't read it so i can't comment upon the book in particular but i can direct you to my facebook mumbai snaps, (taken before the cst/taj mahal hotel attacks)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1280&id=1207313500&l=93a81b96f7
My overall impression was that redevelopment wasn't really aiding the poorest, rather than allieviating poverty it just shuffled it about a bit, for example redevelopment in bahdra led to greater overcrowding in nieghbouring khar and santa cruz; i think its best illustrated by this pic
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=22166&id=1207313500
the other thing that strikes you is theat whereas in this country homelessness tends to be a problem not isolated to but generally associated with young males and alcoholism,in india you get the impression that poverty accompanies the least fortunate from cradle to grave, watching whole famillies preparing for bed at khar road station was one of the most harrowing images i've ever seen,whole generations of a family sitting on the pavement combing out each others long hair, where bed was a piece of taurpaulin nailed to a wall, christ knows how wretched that must be during the monsoons when the sewers flood.


ps anyone wants another facebook pal feel free to add me

wherearethespoons

Can't decide but I've particularly enjoyed Edmond, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Up and Vanilla Sky.

EDIT: Forgot O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Artemis


jutl

Not in order:

Capturing The Friedmans
Spirited Away
Tillsammans
Grizzly Man
Primer

the midnight watch baboon

Lars and the Real Girl
Sin City
Amélie
The Hurt Locker
The Incredibles

Artemis

Another brilliant movie this decade has been Artificial Intelligence. I've been told I'm "wrong" about that on countless occasions, but I don't think so. It's a superbly acted (even by Law), brilliantly realised piece of work. It looks awesome, too. Not in my top 5 but certainly up there.

Saucer51

In no order

Creep - a kind of latterday Death Line, which is good enough for me.

The Queen - Assumedly historically inaccurate but probably as close to a true account as we'll ever get

War of the Worlds - watchable because the aliens will get man flu at the end

Munich - not just the story, the visual feast provided.

Conspiracy - A tableful of inadequate morons with the power to decide where to STORE people they consider Untermenschen. Creepier than Creep but highly compelling.

JPA

Quote from: Artemis on December 25, 2009, 11:45:37 PM
Another brilliant movie this decade has been Artificial Intelligence. I've been told I'm "wrong" about that on countless occasions, but I don't think so. It's a superbly acted (even by Law), brilliantly realised piece of work. It looks awesome, too. Not in my top 5 but certainly up there.

I really like it, it's very underrated. I really wish it had ended with them underwater though, that would have been a lovely bleak ending.

Danger Man

About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002)

Touching the Void (Kevin Macdonald, 2003)

Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)

Old Boy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Niels Mueller, 2004)


With Pixar winning 'Studio of the decade'.



Dark Poet

1. Before Sunset

Maybe my favourite film ever.  The dialogue is perfect and the last line (
Spoiler alert
"Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.")
[close]
is my equivalent of "Nobody's Perfect".

2. City of God

Powerful stuff and thankfully not the Brazilian Goodfellas as it was tagged.

3. In the Loop

No need for justification here.

4. Mysterious Skin

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance is reminiscent of Di Caprio in The Basketball Diaries but this is a better film.  Lots of Slowdive and Cocteau Twins on the soundtrack too.

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

A modern classic that's beautiful in every way.

6. The Hurt Locker

I don't normally go in for war films but this affected me as much as The Deer Hunter.

7. Mulholland Drive

Don't ask me what it's about exactly but Naomi Watts is brilliant and that reminds me, I need to see Lost Highway.

8. 24 Hour Party People

Surprised by the lack of mentions thus far - very funny indeed.  Barabus!

9. The Station Agent

Wonderful independent film that you feel better for seeing.

10. The Class

A film about teaching that's neither cynical nor idealised - fantastic, natural performances from the children too.

Nik Drou

Quote from: JPA on December 26, 2009, 07:32:16 PM
I really like it, it's very underrated. I really wish it had ended with them underwater though, that would have been a lovely bleak ending.

Not to constantly snipe the thread without providing a list myself, but surely it has a particularly bleak ending as it is?  I don't quite understand how people find it mawkish,
Spoiler alert
he temporarily ressurrects his dead adopted mother, purely for the sake of his own personal closure, and now faces an eternity with no purpose.
[close]
It's achingly sad.  Still wouldn't be in my top 5, mind.

hoverdonkey

Off the top of my head, my initial top 3 are:

Wall E
The first 40 minutes of this film are just beautiful. My little boy is 2 and is mesmerised by the film, so we've watched it at least 20 times in the last couple of months and I still haven't tired of it. To produce a childrens film set on a post-apocalyptic earth with virtually no dialogue for the first half is incredibly brave and they pull it off to stunning effect

Amelie
A sumptuous film. I love the colours, the sentiment and Audrey Tatou.

The Dark Knight
Started playing Arkham Asylum last night and it reminded me of the amazing feeling I had during the Dark Knight in the cinema - a watershed moment for superhero films

I need to think some more about a couple of others

Mildly Diverting

Quote from: Mildly Diverting on December 23, 2009, 11:26:12 AM
1. In Bruges

I know it won't be anyone else's choice...

Bloody hell, I thought it was just me! Glad it's got so many mentions.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

In Bruges is wonderful. I'm actually slightly pleased that it's relatively unseen, as it means I can have the pleasure of introducing it to people. They think it'll be shit, but always change their tune after watching.

rudi

And unless you've seen it it's impossible to explain why the bit
Spoiler alert
when he punches that woman
[close]
is so funny.

amputeeporn

Thank you inhabitants of this thread! There are terribly obvious things here that I've never seen and, while I'm home a-raping the boundless broadband of my parents, I'm catching up.

Watched In Bruges and Children of Men thanks to you fine folks and had to order the DVDs immediately afterwards. They're a calibre of film that it's easy to forget our corner of the world is still capable of. With Bruges in particular, every one I've shown it to feels as silly as I did for writing it off. It's certainly crept into my favourite films of all time.

I've also got the boxed set of Before Sunrise/Before Sunset in the post and very much looking forward to those. I will hopefully get around to everything in here I haven't seen.

Neville Chamberlain

1. Cache
Possibly the most straightforward Haneke film I've seen, and all the more powerful for it I reckon.

2. Mulholland Drive
Waaaaay better than the gigantic mess that was Inland Empire!

3. In The Loop
Hands-down one of the funniest couple of hours ever recorded. Worth it just for Malcolm saying "Kiss my sweaty balls, you fat fuck!"

4. We Jam Econo
Not just because this is a whole documentary about one the best bands ever to have existed, but also because it's an extremely interesting documentary about one the best bands ever to have existed.

5. Man On Wire
A beautifully put-together documentary about one of the most bonkers things ever done by a human being.

Groodle

I enjoyed ...

Bænken (The Bench) (Per Fly, 2000)
Caché (Hidden) (Michael Haneke, 2005)
Chopper (Andrew Dominik, 2000)
Keane (Lodge Kerrigan, 2004)
L'enfant (The Child) (Dardenne brothers, 2005)
Le fils (The Son) (Dardenne brothers, 2002)
Le temps du loup (Time of the Wolf) (Michael Haneke, 2003)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
Ni na bian ji dian (What Time is it There?) (Tsai Ming-liang, 2001)
No Country for Old Men (Coen brothers, 2007)
The Brown Bunny (Vincent Gallo, 2003)
Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis, 2001)
Vozvrashchenie (The Return) (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003)

Quote from: Groodle on February 24, 2010, 10:45:56 AM
I enjoyed ...
The Brown Bunny (Vincent Gallo, 2003)

Please share what you enjoyed about this movie? I thought it was fucking dreadful.

I thought it was fucking dreadful in every respect, before you ask! :)

Groodle

That seems to be the consensus (although much of its bad rep comes from the early edit that was shown at Cannes).

I'm sure 95% of people would find it tedious but I really like it. I tend to find slow, ponderous films absorbing, so long as observing characters going about their (otherwise mundane) actions reveals something about them. That said, I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much if not for the conclusion, which casts a different light on everything that precedes it. I don't think I've seen many films that reflect on grief and loneliness quite in the way this one does.

Emma Raducanu

I'm with you on finding characters going about mundane tasks, unedited, totally absorbing. The Son as you mentioned is master of that. That is also true of Otar Iosseliani's Lundi Matin, which is just a staggeringly wonderful slow-burning portrayal of someone trying to escape the mundanity of everyday life, in which we see him engaged in all manner of mundane acts such as drinking on a roof and writing a love letter for a man who cannot write.

Groodle

The Son is great, one of the Dardennes' best. I've not seen Iosseliani's Lundi Matin but will seek it out, thanks.