It’s never easy to put together a list like this. I was able to get to about 25 films fairly quickly. But to get down to ten I had to leave some favorites off, several of which are listed in the honorable mention section.
To qualify the films had to have release dates from 2000-2009. I kept the list limited to American(or at least films released by U.S. based production companies). If you haven’t seen every film listed here, you owe it to yourself to do so.
The countdown- starting with those that didn't make the list but got honorable mentions.
Honorable mentions and notes:
Bourne Ultimatum- Matt Damon in the role he was born to play. Action from start to finish with a superb extended bit of Bourne, via cell phone, guiding his contact through a sniper’s line of fire in a train station.
Three Kings- Characters that are understood in detail five minutes in. Full of surprises and reversals and totally satisfying
o brother where art thou- A really clever retelling of The Odyssey done by the Cohn Brothers. Clooney is at his best, a leading man with style and humor. A visionary style and motif with every frame under control.
Up- the 12 minutes near the beginning are already legendary- two people’s hopes and dreams and disappointments through sixty years together, all without a single word being said. Watch it and try not to cry, I dare you.
Nemo- probably the best animated film of the last twenty years.
Dark Knight: I know lots will be pissed this isn’t on my list. Dark Knight is a very good film, but it’s not great. It bought depth of character to the comic book genre and sparked arguments between jockdom and film affectionados, both of whom liked the film. Dark Knight is the reason the Oscars went from 5 to 10 best picture noms- so that jockdom wouldn’t say the Oscars were irrelevant since they didn’t include films they liked- the thought being that if there is another Dark Knight, it will get a nom and fanboys will think the oscars are cool again. Seriously.
Star Trek- the writer’s did a tremendous job building a new Kirk and Spock. The plot got a little silly in the middle but still the best star trek movie. I put it as level with Khan.
Hurt Locker- odds on favorite to win 2009 best pic. Tense stuff.
Now, the list from #10 to #1.
10) Sunshine
This is probably the least known film on this list. It bombed at the box office because the studio screwed up the release date. A rich and compelling space sci-fi film by Danny Boyle . Realistic flawed characters and amazing thematic visuals mark it from beginning to end.
9) Knocked Up
Okay, I admit it, I’m not a comedy guy. Rarely does any film get more than a chuckle or two out of me. Knocked Up is the best film from mega-mogul Judd Apatow’s cannon. About a good looking girl who gets knocked up by a fat loser, it explores all the ludicrous scenarios parents go through in this country. Got 4 or 5 hard laughs out of me and that’s impressive.
8) Crash
Crash is a great mutiplot film. Some people didn’t like it because they felt its race morality tale was heavy handed. But it is a fascinating study of coincidence and the interconnectedness of seemingly random events. Written by the great Paul haggis.
7) Casino Royale
Reinventing bond is no easy task. Filled with iconic scenes and the best foot chase I’ve ever seen. The heart attack revival stuff at the poker game was kinda lame, but the rest is top flight. I say it is the best of all the bonds
6) Almost Famous
Almost Famous is the best movie ever about rock and roll. It has a great soundtrack, with a heavy dose of Zeppelin. Written by Cameron Crowe, who drew on his real life youth for material, it follows a talented but geeky teen-aged kid as he travels across America documenting a band called Stillwater. It’s funny and touching and nostalgic at the same time. Makes me wish it was 1975 again.
5) District 9
There are times in your life where you happen to see the right film, at the right time. District 9 fired me up at a time I needed it. It’s a dazzling film and came as a total surprise. It’s the little sci-fi film that could: first time director, first-time writer, first-time actor, mostly filmed at a garbage dump in south Africa. Behind the scenes somewhere, Peter Jackson. The CGI aliens are done so well you forget they’re CGI, which makes it the best CGI of the year. Filmed in mockumentary style, always inventive, always clever, with a great lead character arc from geeky autocrat to hero, District 9 received the highest rating of any film I’ve reviewed over the last two years. It gave me back the belief in what film can do. And it even has a love story. Inspired stuff.
4) Memento
If you’re not deeply involved in some aspect of making films, you probably don’t quite understand memento’s impact. It’s a film that breaks all the rules and is so good it almost establishes a new genre. Based around a main character who has no short term memory older than fifteen minute, it’s a narrative that, instead of moving forward periodically, cycles backward. Played by Guy Pearce, the character utilizes photos, notes and tattoos to keep on track- finding his wife’s killer. One of the most inventive films ever.
3) Requiem for a Dream
Wow. This is a film that will knock you on your ass- guaranteed. A harrowing tale of addiction and need. The connected story of a son, his girlfriend and his mother, all three, in their own way and for their own reasons, fall deeper and deeper into the void. The film’s final images, of the wrecked mother in a sanitarium drooling and pissing herself, and of the son with his gangrened infected shooting arm hacked off, are the most haunting images I’ve ever seen from any film. Ever.
2) Lord of the Rings-
I scoffed when I first heard they were making a LOTR film. No one was happier than me, a LOTR fan for 30 years, to be proved so stunningly wrong. I’ve bunched the 3 films together because the trilogy really is one film. Although Two Towers suffers a bit from being the middle film, as any middle of the story does, Peter Jackson’s trilogy is a masterpiece top to bottom. I think it’s possible to forget how monumental Jackson’s task actually was. First, you’ve got one on the most beloved books ever written being adapted to film- think about how rarely that succeeds at all, then there’s the complexity of the story, with three or four mini-quests often happening concurrently, each with different character clusters. Throw in the fact that if you don’t remain truthful to the gospel of the original text, you’ll lose everyone who ever read the books. Whew. Dare I say that this is one of those exceedingly rare instances where, at least in parts, the film exceeds the source.
1) Gladiatior
As near perfect a film as I can recall seeing, Riddly Scott’s Gladiator is a worthy title-holder. Everything about it is brilliant, some of the best cinematography ever, a moving musical score, superb acting, a great story. All of it pinned down my Crowe’s leading performance- he truly put humanity in the hero. Contains one of the iconic scenes of our time, when Crowe rips off his helmet mask, turn’s to Joaquin Phoenix’s emperor: “I will have my vengeance in this life or the next”. The whole film is lifted to higher levels by the inspired death vision sequences, hinting at mortality, and broadening the film’s appeal. One of the best epic scope films ever done.
