Recently viewed films (though not all recent) and thoughts

Just some random films I've watched on Netflix lately with some thoughts:

Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006): A pretty out there doc detailing the amazing discovery that a woman may have purchased an authentic Jackson Pollock work of art valued up to 50 million dollars at a thrift store for the bargain basement deal of $5. The film details the woman's crusade to prove that it is authentic while the elitist art world snubs her time and time again. Her hard talking former truck driving uncouth style contrasts so greatly with the snobbish art workd connoseurs that it is hard not to enjoy this piece. 4/5

Rachel Getting Married (2008): A wedding that brings all the family together isn't a wedding without the alcoholic outcast daughter making a speech. Anne Hathway gives her best Anjelina jolie impression and actually pulls it off well. The film does not beat us over the head with the issues at hand but it also doesn't let is completely flow over us - I would have liked to not feel preached to a bit too much in the third act - overall a success. 3.5/5

The King of Kong (2007): To be the best in the world at something is an accomplishment, but to be the best in the world at scoring high points in the classic arcade Donkey Kong is simply the peak of the mountain for anyone who has ever plucked a quarter into a machine. This doc follows one man's obsession to defeat the 20+ year reigning champion's mark and along the way we are privy to some very entertaining characters - some feverishly attempting to break the elusive 1,000,000 mark and some just as passionately doing whatever they can to defend the title and lifestyle associated with it. I just really wish the film could have captured more points of view. 4/5

Big Fan (2009): An obsessed sports fan (NY) who lives with his mother and spends his days in a parking garage cube and nights calling into sports talk radio finds himself face to face with his athletic hero only to realize he is caught up in an incredibly difficult position. The film has much potential but loses itself mid way through and ultimately can't pull it back in. Skip it. 2/5

Man on Wire (2008): One man's passionate need to go where no one has gone before, this true story doc of the man who walked a tight rope across the Twin Towers is powerful, amazing, incredible, and many many many more buzz words of which it is truly worthy. This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen and I cannot say in words how much I think you should see it. 5/5

The Thin Blue Line (1988) I've heard the hype and was expecting something beyond magnificent. Well, there is a reason I hate hype with a passion. The doc is compelling, for sure, but why it wasn't done in a more conventional style is beyond me. There is plenty of amazing material dealing with teh who did and who didn't crime of a murdered police officer, but the filmmakers decided to take this in a more sensationalized and sometimes even dramatized fashion when all I wanted was to the who/what/where/when/why - please see Man on Wire (2008) for the way a documentary is supposed to be made. 3/5

A Mini-Documentary Review: Oceans (2010)

Oceans (2010)

Jacques Perrin

Jacques Cluzaud (co-director)

Release Date: 22 April 2010

USA; 86 min

Narrator - Pierce Brosnan

As the film title implies this is a documentary on 'oceans' - well, that is what we would and should believe based on the advertising and title. However, what we are given is a pretty discombobulated film that jumps from South African killer whales to Australian reefs to Galapagos sea creatures and back again. At no point did I feel like I was watching a cohesive piece of art.

This is all unfortunate because the film has some amazing shots of nature. Some scenes have never been filmed before and it was certainly awe-inspiring to watch, but a lot of you who seek out nature programs already will be disappointed. Television already has wonderful programs such about the planet and the animals and the water, and the more recent film EARTH was significantly better made than this. With Pierce Brosnan narrating you would think it would be somewhat neutral, but this Disney film never takes off and we almost start to feel like we are being lectured to in a classroom.

** out of 5

A Mini-Movie Review: The Losers (2010)

The Losers (2010)

Director - Sylvain White

Release date: 23 April 2010

PG-13; 98 min

Cast

Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Clay

Zoe Saldana - Aisha

Chris Evans - Jensen

Idris Elba - Roque

Columbus Short - Pooch

Óscar Jaenada - Cougar

Jason Patric - Max

I spent more time copy/pasting the credits from http://www.imdb.com/ than I am going to spend with this review.

The "Losers" are a band of American operatives caught up in a lame conflict with a rogue CIA employee named Max (Jason Patric) that results in their unfounded deaths and self imposed exile in Bolivia while they work to get themselves home under the radar.

The movie is filled from start to finish with typical genre generalities that cannot be ignored for the sake of 'just enjoying the movie.' I suppose if you have never once seen a film about a band of outcasts out for revenge then maybe this will hold your attention, but not mine.

** out of 5

A mini-movie review: Green Zone (2010)

Green Zone (2010)

Director - Paul Greengrass
115 min; R
Cast
Miller - Matt Damon
General Al Rawi - Yigal Naor
Clark Poundstone - Greg Kinnear
Martin Brown - Brendan Gleeson
Freddy - Khalid Abdalla

I’ll admit I was wary of seeing this film, thinking it would be the equivalent of a Bourne-movie spin-off (though I do like the Bourne movies) and having director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon together only hardened that pre-viewing opinion. Fortunately I did go, and though this is not exactly a film that will stand out to me 10 years from now, I think it did the trick.

To sum up this movie: Matt Damon as a US soldier uncovers evidence that the war on Iraq took place with the US government at least partially aware that weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) were definitely non-existent. Greg Kinnear and Brendan Gleeson are the ‘bad’ and the ‘good’ of this potential conspiracy, and both do a pretty good job.

This is an ‘imagining’ of what could have happened, though some do believe that something like this actually did happen, and I think the premise works fine. The film does not beat us over the head with a lot of politics about what did or did not happen – it simply is an action-war film. In a year when the Hurt Locker made all the headlines Green Zone does just fine to entertain us in ways which that film did not – ‘fake’ war action that is entertaining.

*** out of 5

A Movie Review: The Ghost Writer (2010)

The Ghost Writer (2010)

Director - Roman Polanski
Writer - Robert Harris (novel); Robert Harris (adaptation)
128 min; PG-13
Cast
The Ghost - Ewan McGregor
Adam Lang - Pierce Brosnan
Ruth Lang - Olivia Williams
Amelia Bly - Kim Cattrall
Paul Emmett - Tom Wilkinson

Not since I reviewed Slumdog Millionaire (2008) have I been so conflicted on what I actually want to write about a film. To be clear, I’m not directly comparing that film to Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer (2010) in terms of content, but more-so in terms of quality of movie, suspense, score, and overall likelihood that I would tell someone else to see it. I guess it is with a slight shrug that I lean towards saying, like the recent Martin Scorsese thriller Shutter Island (2010), go ahead and see this film and enjoy it for a lot of reasons for which you may not always find yourself enjoying a movie. If I sound a bit disjointed so far it is because I truly am at a loss for the first time in years.

The premise of the film is seemingly simple: former Prime Minister Adam Lang, portrayed with great vigor by Pierce Brosnan in a role built exactly for him, is having his memoirs written by a ghost writer who turns up dead on the beaches of Cape Cod under mysterious circumstances. In steps the new ghost (Ewan McGregor) who is given the job not so much for his political contributions to the world, but for his ability to take seemingly incoherent material and turn it into a best seller (his most recent #1 was about a magician titles I came, I sawed, I conquered.) Throw into the mix the fact that as this is happening Lang is being accused of having committed war crimes and is in a sort of exile on Cape Cod with his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) and his personal assistant/obvious mistress Amelia (Kim Cattrall) while they decide how to proceed.

There are more parallels to real life in this film than I could possibly comprehend with my limited political world knowledge, but needless to say there are immediate comparisons to Tony Blair and his links to the CIA, as well as severely obvious references to Polanski himself, who is currently in a form of exile as he awaits facing charges stemming from a widely known story of his accused rape of a teenage girl in the United States some 30+ years ago. I don’t think all of this gets in the way of viewing and enjoying the film, though, but it is so obviously embedded throughout that you would have to be comatose to not recognize some of what is going on.

Right off I want to say that the casting of Kim Cattrall as Lang’s personal assistant is so incredibly wrong that it is difficult for me to move past it, but for purposes of the rest of the review I’ll just leave it at that, and say the rest of the cast is amazingly well put together, and if you are a follower of actors and their careers you may actually give a silent cheer to Ewan McGregor for finally getting back to some real acting. Strong supporting roles are found in by the publishing and editing team of the book, but really Tom Wilkinson as Paul Emmett creates some of the glue that holds parts of this thriller’s pages together, if only for a small, yet vital, supporting role. To discuss him any further would only lead to spoilers so I will stop short.

This was going to be a mini-review when I left the theater, but even now as I move to another paragraph I find myself needing to continue in depth. The movie is set among storm after violent storm, and at some point you have to wonder if it isn’t a bit too much of a smack in your face to handle. Metaphors are everywhere! And it would take a professional film critic with thousands and thousands of movies in his memory to untangle all that Polanski is referencing here (I assume Hitchcock is found throughout but I am no Hitchcock historian.)

The film does set itself up very well for what it is going to become – a political thriller with twists and turns that you may or may not figure out along the way, but it also takes some ridiculous clichéd turns which, for lack of a better way to put it, turned me off. At one point we get a short conversation with an old man on the beach that, given what we as the audience have already figured out, seems so gratuitous that we have to wonder how someone with the reputation of Polanski would feel the need to hit us over the head with yet another un-needed device.

My real problem with the film comes from a fundamental disagreement with the turn of the plot, from that of an ordinary writer with no family and seemingly no friends doing a job for money ($250k to turn the book around in a month) into that of a super-hero detective tracking down and trying to uncover a potentially earth-shaking political conspiracy – where did his motivation to become involved in all this come from? I feel this character would have simply got on a plane and gone back to London to work on his next fluff piece.

The score by Alexandre Desplat is wonderful and fits the film perfectly, always moving the action forward and adding to suspenseful scenes, and the cinematography makes you really feel the isolation of the characters as they are mainly holed up on an island amidst turmoil of storms and politics. Polanski certainly has a command of the telling of a story, but I found myself wondering throughout the entire film if I wasn’t being taken for some sort of campy ride with a predictable arc, and yes, I suppose that is all well and good especially for a film released in the dead months of early Spring, in the end I wanted and expected more.

*** and ½ out of 5

A Movie Review: Fish Tank (2010)

Fish Tank (2010)
Director - Andrea Arnold
123 min; UK
Cast
Mia - Katie Jarvis
Tyler - Rebecca Griffiths
Joanne - Kierston Wareing
Connor - Michael Fassbender

The British film Fish Tank is a rare movie-going experience, in that we the viewer move from simple voyeurs to the feeling that we are participating in the story to, finally, the feeling that we are the main character, somehow trapped in the same existence and the same feelings of hopelessness and despair that permeate her life. The her I refer to is Mia (Katie Jarvis), a 15 year old teen living a pretty lousy life in Essex with her little sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths) and her single, party-going mother (Kierston Wareing). The three of them co-exist in a flat that is always dirty and they speak to each other with no hint that they are a family – calling one another ‘cunt-face’ or ‘fuck-head’ is a common theme and not one used in light humor.

The beauty of this film is found in the overwhelming feel of despair and alienation which Mia projects. The film is shot wonderfully from her point of view, so that we are always aware that the world in which we are thrust is what this angst-ridden teen is seeing and interpreting, a very important aspect to keep in mind since it always leaves open the possibility of an unreliable narrator or a revisionist view of the world. But that is all an afterthought really, as we navigate the life of Mia who has no friends (she head butts another girl in the face causing her to bleed profusely from the nose), is failing at school badly (she is preparing to be moved to a boarding school for troubled youths in a few weeks), and her only release in life is stealing whatever small amounts of cheap booze she can and retreating to an abandoned flat where she can express herself through hip-hop dance routines – we see her longingly view music videos and mimicking the moves as if she is fully aware that her only chance at a better life involves her getting far away from the one she currently has. At one point we almost believe that she may have a chance, but we are never quite sure what she believes.

The film really picks up with the introduction of Connor, played by the wonderful actor Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds; Hunger) who arrives at the home one day with the intoxicated mother and quickly becomes a staple in their lives. This is obviously the first man in any of their lives who even remotely borders on being a good person and it is clear that Mia has some extremely conflicted views of the situation, emotionally, sexually, and just from the point of view of not trusting anyone but needing and wanting that trust. Connor’s relationship with Mia teeters on the edge of sweet and tender (he removes her shoes for her as he puts her to bed) to the genuinely nice (he offers her a video camera to make a dance audition tape) to the ambiguously pedophilia/opportunistic actions of a man and a teenage girl.

The director is careful to never really place blame on anyone, but to merely show us through Mia who these people represent to her life. This girl is damaged in ways most people do not know, but we root for her and we hope that she gets her audition. This is a bleak and powerful film that will have you questioning a great deal about what it is like to be in a position like Mia and how exactly someone like this can ever make a change for the better. The story itself is fairly straight-forward, but Jarvis takes this character and makes her so powerful and vulnerable and real that we lose ourselves in her passion. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and is just recently released in the USA.

***** out of 5

A Mini-Movie Review: Shutter Island (2010)

Shutter Island (2010)
Director - Martin Scorsese
138 Min; R
Cast
Teddy Daniels - Leonardo DiCaprio
Chuck Aule - Mark Ruffalo
Dr. Cawley - Ben Kingsley
Dr. Naehring - Max von Sydow
Dolores - Michelle Williams

I think the people behind the making of this film knew exactly what they had on their hands when they decided to release it at the start of a year (typically a time where not too much is going on as far as movies go) in that what they have is a very good movie, but not a great movie, and setting it loose on the public against a deluge of pretty awful other choices made sure that it would be a success.

Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty darn good suspensful thriller, and everyone involved does a good job with their roles. The island itself takes on a life as a character through the eyes of the director Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio as the federal agent investigating the disappearance of an insane asylum escapee does some fine work. You don't need to know more details of the plot - think of a stormy island off of Boston that holds insane criminals in a slightly post-WWII setting and a strange unfolding mystery.

But that is where things sort of end. If I were grading this as a teacher the report card would probably be an across the board B+, a solid showing but with room for improvement. Where would improvement come from? That's the tricky part. For me, this film was such a throwback and compilation of past great films and techniques that the simple fact that I feel like I have seen this movie before just makes it fall short. Sure, many films are remakes or retellings of very familiar things, but this one was also trying very hard to make us aware that we were watching a film using those techniques.

I enjoyed this film and I got my money out of it, but I'm not going to throw it a perfect score because it has an all-star cast and production crew.

*** and 1/2 out of 5

A mini-movie review: Alice In Wonderland (2010) - **Spoilers possible**

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Director - Tim Burton
Writers - Linda Woolverton (screenplay) Lewis Carroll (books)
108 Min; PG
Cast
Alice - Mia Wasikowska
Mad Hatter - Johnny Depp
Red Queen - Helena Bonham Carter
White Queen - Anne Hathaway
Blue Caterpillar - Alan Rickman

"Off with their heads!!! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!!" the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) with the light bulb head screeches over and over and over and just when you think (hope!!) she has stopped, then over and over and over again throughout the fantasy based film Alice in Wonderland. I would have gladly accepted decapitation had I known for what I was in store.

Nothing in this film works with the small exception of the first 10 minutes of the reality based story - Everything past Alice falling down the rabbit hole is a letdown, especially and including Johnny Depp as the mad hatter and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, both of whom decided to go all entertainingly-challenged on us. The familiar voice of Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar is the only dimly bright spot in the piece.

I wonder who this film is targeted towards? Surely adults will not enjoy this darkened version with little wit and surely children will not enjoy the rabid beasts and lack of cuteness. Surely this film is a total failure and you know what my final verdict of the film is? Certainly, but don't call me surely.

* and 1/2 out of 5

Perhaps this is a 5 star movie in 3d but I will never know as I have retired the funky glasses forever and chose to dislike the regular old 2d version. I guess it is possible the good stuff happened during the 15 minutes I totally dozed off or the 10 minute ending I missed since I decided to simply cut my losses and walk out.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: The Wrestler

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





The Wrestler (2008) Perhaps no role in the past 10 years can come close to matching the perfection between character and actor as that of Randy ‘the Ram’ Robinson, portrayed by true life train wreck and possible redemption story Mickey Rourke in the Darin Aronofsky film The Wrestler. Unable to afford rent on his trailer or impress the sexy aging stripper at the local dive (Marissa Tomei) he falsely believes could be his chance at happiness, the Ram takes weekends off from his demeaning job at the local store to hurl himself around makeshift wrestling rings in the local gymnasiums, grasping at the remnants of a once top-of-the-mountain career in the world of professional wrestling.

Any money he once had is long gone, but his pride and desire are as strong as ever. Unfortunately for the Ram, his health is not cooperating. For a man who spends his Saturday nights having his face pressed into plate glass shrapnel and having his chest pierced with staples, a heart-condition is a little more serious than just taking a few pills. Having to make some difficult choices might seem appropriate, but for the Ram there is no choice, and this film ends just how we always expected that it would, with a final curtain call.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: There Will Be Blood

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





There Will Be Blood (2007) Very few films can actually be called epic, but take Daniel Day-Lewis and throw him into the role of a turn of the century oil prospector (Daniel Plainview) who makes us question so much about our own nature that we are not sure which side we are on anymore, and you have yourself one of the most exciting movies in a long time. Wide, sweeping shots of the plains leave you breathless as the cinematography stars throughout this film. Long periods of time are filled with your own thoughts as you contemplate the existence of these men and their desires, and ultimately we come to struggle with aspects of greed and religion and, most importantly, human nature as this one man completely controls the screen for 158 minutes.

The film becomes a struggle of wills between Daniel and his thirst for greed and power and that of Eli, the young evangelical who wants to work with Daniel (well, he wants his help financially) to aid in the building of his flock. These two men are different in many ways, but as the story will tell, all too similar in others, and as we watch Plainview tumble into madness we feel a slight smirk come across our faces at the final scene, as if there could be any other way for this film to end.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Synecdoche, NY

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





Synecdoche, New York (2008) Philip Seymour Hoffman became one of my favorite actors of all time during the 2000s. His roles were key in so many good films: Almost Famous, Punch-Drunk Love, Red Dragon, 25th Hour, Capote, The Savages, Charlie Wilson’s War, Doubt as well as roles in a few others I didn’t see – and that is just the past 10 years! Other roles in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Magnolia, The Big Lebowski, Boogie Nights, and as a younger actor he has a scene in Scent of a Woman, alongside Al Pacino, as a perfectly pitched trust-fund student. I mean, this guy is my hero as far as acting goes.

Now let’s pair him with the eccentric Charlie Kaufman as writer and director and, before we watch the film, just throw out anything and everything we know or think we know about watching a movie. Maybe, just maybe, you will enjoy what you see. I’m not going to say you will like this film because I have no idea who the audience is for this one, but I am one of them, and if you find yourself intrigued by the types of movies Kaufman and Hoffman would do together, then this is your jackpot. A re-telling of the plot would do no justice, but generally speaking be prepared for non-linear and non-traditional story-telling, both with a means to an end that will have you thinking for days.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Sideways

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





Sideways (2004) Paul Giamatti has always been one of my favorite character actors. By the time this film came out he had been almost 40 films, yet you could never really name any of them. His parts were usually smaller, supporting roles in which he excelled, but here he carries the movie on his shoulders. As a failing writer, Miles wants to take his buddy Jack (in a great role by Thomas Hayden Church (from Wings!)) on a scenic trip of the Napa valley wine country before Jack’s upcoming marriage. For Miles this trip represents a chance to get out of his life and explore some fine wines while pondering life with his friend. For Jack, this trip is his chance to get laid one more time before taking the plunge.

As a bit-part actor who may or may not have a better than average life, Jack is struggling like Miles with who he is, but in very different ways. It is Giamatti’s great performance as a neurotic guy who just can’t figure things out that makes this film so special. When the two guys meet up with two women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh) as the saying goes – hilarity ensues. In the best remembered scene of the film Miles, upon learning that his book will not be published, completely freaks out and pours the entire bucket of wine-spit from a tasting over his head declaring his rage and inadequacy all in one motion. It is one of the best scenes ever.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: The Royal Tenenbaums

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) I am actually going to cop-out on this write-up, because I just don’t think any words can do justice to this film in the form of a re-telling. I mean, what is there to tell? This is an awesome family portrait in the strangest sense. See this if you like Wes Anderson films. See this movie if you like Bill Murray in Wes Anderson directed roles. See this movie if you like a cast that includes Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, and Alec Baldwin. If you haven’t seen this yet, then you don’t need the plot – it’s awesome dead-pan humor. If you have seen it then you already know what happens, and I hope you feel the same way I do about it. No words can describe it. None at all.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Road to Perdition

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





Road to Perdition (2002) Tom Hanks is certainly versatile. Even though he has proven himself in many films and many types of roles, there seems to be a stigma attached to him, that he is an average actor who only does Oscar-type films. I’m not going to argue the acting ability of Hanks, but I am going to defend his wonderful portrayal of Michael Sullivan, an depression-era mob member who has the job of an ‘enforcer’ – someone to make people do what needs to be done. As a company man most of his life he takes orders and does his job, then goes home to his wife and two children.

When one of his sons accidentally witnesses a murder by another mob member a chain of events is started that cannot be stopped. The murder of his wife and other son is the catalyst to the rest of the film which finds the man and his surviving boy on the run and looking to get a form of revenge. On their way to Perdition (a Michigan city) their bond as family is tightened and when the film ends we feel a real connection with these characters – thanks in large part to director Sam Mendes and his ability to allow the characters to bloom before our eyes. I love a movie that actually gives us character depth in the first part that leads to and offers more information at a later part. Paul Newman and Jude Law give very good supporting roles in this gangster film with a twist.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: No Country For Old Men

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





No Country for Old Men (2007) The lack of a traditional score (just 16 minutes of muted sounds throughout) is one of the great directorial decisions that the Cohen brothers ultimately went with in this amazingly well adapted film from the novel by Cormac Mccarthy. The tension that builds throughout does not require an outside source to heighten our senses – we only need the knowledge that Chigurh is out there, somewhere, everywhere. Desolate areas of Texas serve as the background as we are brought into the world of drug deals gone bad, moral and ethical decisions contemplated, and evil as sure as evil can be lurking.

Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is the focal point of the story, holding everything together as he struggles to understand the nature of the world around him, and though his screen time is limited, we understand that this story is about him, and others like him, not just about who gets the money. Josh Brolin is very good as Llewelyn Moss, a pretty simple guy who, once he makes a decision, finds himself caught up in something larger than himself, and no bargaining will get him out of this jam.

Ultimately it is Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh who raises the level of this film to one of the top thrillers ever made. Whether he is flipping a coin to decide your fate, blowing your brains out with an animal killing air gun, or simply staying quiet, off-screen and silent, we know he is present, and that he always has been and always will be.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Mean Girls

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





Mean Girls (2004) I’ll concede this is my guilty pleasure on my list of 20 favorites. This is no cinematic masterpiece and it has no life changing conclusions, but this film is a hell of a lot of fun and I never turn it off if I come across it on TV. In 2004 Lindsay Lohan actually had a career in progress – she was popular and hot at least – and playing a high school girl named Cady who was home-schooled most of her life while living in Africa with her parents is her defining role. This is a more modern-day Clueless and I absolutely love the supporting cast: Rachel McAdams as Regina, the queen of the ‘plastics’ clique; Lacey Chabert as the follower and heiress to the guy who invented toaster-stroodle; Amanda Seyfried as the girl who can sort of tell the weather by touching her breasts; And even Tina Fey who I normally don’t like and Tim Meadows put on funny performances as school staff. The premise of teen angst and peer pressure is put to comedic excellence and this film will always be a winner to me.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Lost In Translation

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:






Lost in Translation (2003) There is a lot of buzz in Hollywood about Kathryn Bigelow and her chance to be the first female to win an Oscar for Best Director, but had it not been for a little film by Peter Jackson known as The Return of the King I like to think that Sophia Coppola would have already won that award for her wonderful 2003 film Lost In Translation. Subdued and under-stated, the plot of the film is not really the point so much as the interaction of two characters both at a crossroads of life who happen to meet in the perfect setting of a far-away country, in this case Japan.

Bill Murray as an aging and seemingly indifferent actor (Bob Harris) is in a stale marriage and a stale career (he is in Japan for the two million dollars he will be paid to shoot a whiskey commercial) meets a young and disillusioned Scarlett Johansson (Charlotte) while having a drink in at the hotel bar. Newly married to a budding star photographer, Charlotte is already having a very young mid-life crisis, as she struggles to understand who she is and what she wants. She likes photography, sort of as a pet-project, but she doesn’t really know much else. While her husband is off living a rock-star life she concedes she doesn’t even know who she married. The meeting of these two lost souls in a foreign country under circumstances that are both beautiful and harsh is what makes this film a masterpiece.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: The Lord of the Rings trilogy

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:














The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001); The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

It was said that a film based on the J.R.R Tolkien novel series could never be accomplished, at least not in a way that could capture the epic feel of the story that has captured the minds of the generations of fans who love the story in a true cultish manner. In fact is could not be done in one film – it took three. Hobbits, men, orcs, dwarves, elves, ring-wraiths, wizards and much more are the chess players on this massive board called middle-earth. Director Peter Jackson was able to accomplish the impossible by not only piecing together a workable and watchable series, but by creating a worthy adaptation filled with wonderful shots of scenery, strong acting, and an incredible team of costume and make-up artists.

When put together, the 3 films create one epic re-telling of a hobbit’s journey to destroy the ultimate tool of a dark lord. Along the way he is aided by his friend and fellow warriors from all walks of life in their universal purpose to defend against evil. There are many decent performances in this masterpiece but my personal favorites are Viggo Mortensen as the ranger Aragorn and Ian McKellan as the wizard Gandalf - both roles are central to the films and each holds his own throughout.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) Director Wes Anderson has received much acclaim for some of his other works, but I will defend to my death that this is his best work. Ok, maybe I’m being dramatic, but ever since I saw this film on opening weekend in a theater filled with about 15 people I have come to love every shot. I watch the dvd every so often and don’t always finish it, I just browse through scenes. Something is very captivating to me about the overall arch of the story (believable, yet completely never going to happen) and the way that Bill Murray completely owns the role of Steve Zissou, a Jacques Cousteau –like figure who leads team Zissou on aquatic expeditions around the globe making documentaries.

Unfortunately Zissou is past his prime, and his wife Eleanor (Anjelica Huston) has had enough of paying for the projects – she is leaving him and shacking up with Zissou’s arch-rival, Alistair Hennessey, in a role suited perfectly for an arrogant Jeff Goldblum. Filled with typical Anderson humor which is very subdued and definitely not for everyone, it is a film where the supporting cast means everything and the directorial decisions made throughout make this one of my favorite comedy/dramas of all time.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: In The Valley Of Elah

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





In the Valley of Elah (2007) Tommy Lee Jones delivers another must-see performance in this film that deal with the aftermath and on-going investigation of a soldier’s death during the Iraq war. Seen by many as just another in a long line of anti-war films, I found something much deeper. This is the story of a man (like so many others in his situation) who is willing to go to great lengths to discover the truth of what happened to a loved one, in this case his son, during a terrible time in our nation’s history.

In a variation, his son’s body is found burned just outside the military base he was stationed at on US grounds. A very good supporting role by Charlize Theron as a cop who becomes deeply involved in the investigation and by Susan Sarandon as the mother of the dead soldier help aid the film, but this is ultimately a Tommy Lee Jones film, and he is a master at conveying his emotions through facial features and body language. I don’[t like to compare this film to any other in the war genre, as I feel it cheapens it for what it is, which to me, is just a very personal story of a man trying to figure out the truth of his son’s death, and why so many other people just seem not to care.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: In Bruges

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





In Bruges (2008) In a widely over-looked film when it was released we are given a gem of a movie that brilliantly weaves noir-comedy and ultra-serious issues seamlessly. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson complement each other perfectly as hit-men who are heading in different life directions, each thrown together for an indeterminate amount of time in the postcard-picturesque city of Bruges as their employer (Ralph Fiennes) decides how to handle the delicate decision (both professional and moral) that a bundled hit has put them all in. With side-busting humor on the darkest level it may not be a film for everyone, but it certainly captures a different feel for how to tell a movie about a not-too-uncommon Hollywood theme of hit-men and the difficult situations they always seem to find themselves. Witty dialogue keeps the slow-ish pace of the film on track and the comical ending turned tragedy leaves you with a deep appreciation for the people who worked on the entire production.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Grizzly Man

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





Grizzly Man (2005) Timothy Treadwell had the kind of life that only unabomber-types can relate too, for the most part, although I’m sure there are plenty of people who secretly wish they could just leave society and live a solitary existence among nature. I’m not so sure that many people would choose to spend all that free time with wild grizzly bears.

Director Werner Herzog pieces together footage taken by Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie over the course of 13 summers in the Alaskan wilderness as they live amongst the animals and, in some sort of personal crusade, vow to protect them. Throughout the film we are given a look into the mind of Treadwell, who appears most of the time in close proximity to the bears, and we come to truly believe that he actually believes what he is telling us, that the bears are not out to harm him, that they understand his approach and they appreciate it. Not meant to be, however, as most sane people could tell you, for grizzly bears are not full of human emotion, they are full of survival instincts, and in the end it is one of Treadwell’s ‘friends’ who devours he and Amie in the wilderness, the audio of the attack available only to Herzog who decided not to include it in the film (we have a powerful shot of the director listening to the sound of them being torn to pieces on large headphones and declaring that it should be destroyed.)

What you take from this film may be personal to you, but for me it is simply another story of how crazy humans can be when they obsess over something, but also how it is not our rite to tell them not to do something, even if it means they may become bear food.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Frost/Nixon

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:






Frost/Nixon (2008) It is almost laughable to think that a movie built entirely around a face-to-face interview covering a subject that everybody already knows could be filled with the perfect amount of tension, anticipation and intrigue, but that is exactly what we get from Ron Howard and his re-telling of the David Frost interviews with ousted President Richard Nixon in the 1970s.

What really separates this film from what would be an ordinary affair is the grab you by the throat portrayal of Nixon by Frank Langella, a man who commands the screen every time he is shown, whether it be as the statesman-like President awaiting a question or as the man at his home viewing the garden.

Michael Sheen as David Frost puts on a wonderful performance to complement Langella and we really come to know this man and the toils he went through to pull off one of the biggest stories of his time. That Nixon would ultimately admit to his illegal activities is the climax of the film, but it is the suspense and background leading up to that moment that make this film truly one of the greats.

My favorite 20 films of the 2000s: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:






Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Completely overlooked by me when it was released, I didn’t see this comedy until almost 1 year after everyone else was talking about it, and now I’ve probably watched it 5 times. One of things I thought of most with my list: Is the movie one I want to re-watch again and again without it becoming tiresome? This is one of the few comedies in recent memory that I think gets better each time. The simple story of boy loses girl, boy finds new girl, boy almost gets old girl back, boy gets new girl is given a fun slant in this film that, along with great dialogue and good performances, gives us wonderful scenery of Hawaii. It doesn’t hurt that we get to look at Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell either. A funny movie that never crosses that ‘over-the-top’ line that so many comedies this decade always seemed to do, it is impossible to Forget Sarah Marshall.

My 20 favorite films of the 2000s: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

These are my 20 personal favorite films of the 2000s and they are not being ranked according to any criteria, other than I love them. So here they are, in alphabetical order:





Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The timeless emotion of love has been written about since the written word took form. Films are no exception in their use of love as the driving force behind many plots and with this masterpiece of a story we are given every angle you can have, from the good to the not-so-good to the bad of this fickle emotion.

Jim Carey and Kate Winslet turn in wonderful performances as a couple/not couple who have had their memories altered in an effort to forget and to move on – but can you ever fully move on from your ultimate emotions? In this Charlie Kauffman script we are taken for a typical wild ride and trying to figure this film out in a linear fashion could cause a potential rupture of the brain – just let that part go and enjoy the film. This is simply not for everyone to enjoy, and for those who do not, no hard feelings I say, but for those who get into these type of movie I think you will find a spot for this among your all time favorites.