Top Ten: The Aughts
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 11:49PM Last year I was throwin' up quickie top ten lists for each decade for archival and discussion purposes and tonight wI realized that I'd never finished the run skipping the Aughts and the 1920s and the 1910s (the latter two because I'd hoped to see more silent films before top ten'ing it). So herewith a revisit / rework of a "best of the aughts" list originally published in 2010 but many of you have joined us since!.
Care to share yours?
01 Moulin Rouge! dir. Baz Luhrmann (2001)
The party of the decade. The inspired mashup conductor (Baz) and his darling stars (Nicole, Ewan, Jim) put on the messiest craziest livelest funniest tearjerking "Spectacular! Spectacular!" show on earth. I'd never claim it's a perfect movie but flaws are endearing when you love madly and deeply. and Love Is All You Need.
02 Brokeback Mountain dir. Ang Lee (2005)
A love story for the ages. And one that quietly enrages.
03 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dir. Michel Gondry (2004)
The Eyes: a singularly imaginative visualist in Gondry. The Brain: the twisty intellect of Charlie Kauffman. The Body: a great acting ensemble operating as one powerful machine. The Heart: a comic (Jim Carrey) positively aching with true drama. The Soul: one of the most elemental faces and emotional forces in cinematic history (Kate Winslet); It's the collaborative miracle movie of the decade, all its parts made greater by their interconnectedness.
04 Dancer in the Dark dir. Lars von Trier (2000)
The story of the Aughts for this particular moviegoer was the rebirth of the musical. To yank the dead genre from its unfortunate grave, fearless visionary filmmakers and prodigiously gifted musicians were required. The impish deconstructionist (von Trier) provoked such genius from a totally modern composer (Björk) that a decade later you can still be transported with just a bar of "New World" or "I've Seen It All".
05 Far From Heaven dir. Todd Haynes (2002)
Of all the things we have to thank Todd Haynes for: new ways of looking at Barbie dolls, Bob Dylan splintered, restless experimentation as cinematic life-blood, a mini Douglas Sirk revival, Ewan MacGregor naked and covered in glitter... this is the gift I cherish most: Julianne Moore in a purple scarf, waving love goodbye.
06 In the Mood for Love dir. Wong Kar Wai (2000, released in 2001)
In a perfect world, I would always be fetching noodles or trying on cheomsangs with Maggie Cheung. Either that or writing wuxia and smoking with Tony Leung Chiu Wai. I'd gladly pay the price of heartbreak in the end.
07 Talk To Her dir. Pedro Almodovar (2002)
So imaginatively structured, exquisitely controlled, and enigmatically moving that it's nearly impossible to wrap your head around in one go. It's a good thing then that Pedro's movies miraculous improve with repeated viewings... even when they were brilliant to begin with. "Cucurrucucú paloma, cucurrucucú no llores."
08 Rachel Getting Married dir. Jonathan Demme (2008)
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change... like the fact that so many people don't love this movie. Their loss. I'm ready to dive back into this immersive, noisy, eclectic, spontaneous, superbly acted, wonderfully sustained, bleeding heart of a movie right this very second. Pass me the DVD.
09 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon dir. Ang Lee (2000)
Ang Lee is the only filmmaker with two movies in the top ten. How glorious was/is this utterly transporting adventure?
10 A History of Violence dir. David Cronenberg (2005)
In the past I've likened this movie to a machine, it's so finely calibrated and efficient. But that doesn't get at its emotional fire, its guttural poetry, and its savage eroticism. It's more like a cyborg.
ten other beloveds
Requiem for a Dream, Mulholland Dr, There Will Be Blood, The Lord of the Rings, Vera Drake, Y Tu Mama Tambíen, WALL•E, Volver, The Class, The Hurt Locker, and Before Sunset.
Previous Top Ten Quickies
1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s (thus far)
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Reader Comments (72)
Where's The Hours - as an actressexual I feel betrayed.
murtada & ryan -- weirdly i have never loved The Hours quite as much as readers do. Like I love it, of course, but it wasn't one of my medalists that year. :) I mean you can't love EVERYTHING "most", you know? ;) but at least it was my favorite among the Best Picture nominees!
1. Brokeback Mountain (2005) - I get incredibly invested in cinema but this is the only film that I can honestly say changed my life.
2. (500) Days of Summer (2009)
3. Bright Star (2009)
4. Munich (2005)
5. No Country for Old Men (2007)
6. Wall-E (2008)
7. There Will Be Blood (2007)
8. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
9. In the Bedroom (2001)
10. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
I'll admit that I feel bad leaving perhaps my favorite film of the decade, Miss Congeniality (2000), off the list but it just felt like it didn't belong in the same ranking as these other films.
Adaptation.
Catch me if you can
Downfall
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Finding Nemo
The Hours
Little Miss Sunshine
Lost in Translations
Mary&Max
WALL-E
My favorite film of the aughts despite being one big hilarious mess: Mamma Mia!
I'd probably never seen films like Adaptation or Angels in America if I haven't seen this.
So yeah, it will always be very special to me. That's all. ;)
Today mine is:
Cache
Volver
Moulin Rouge
No Country for Old Men
Dogville
Inglourious Basterds
The Piano Teacher
Far from Heaven
Beyond Sunset
Lost in Translation
I did this a while ago, I don't think my opinion has changed much:
1. Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. In The Mood for Love
4. Amelie
5. Pan's Labyrinth
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7. Memento
8. Up
9. Moulin Rouge!
10. Before Sunset
With deepest apologies to Requiem for a Dream, Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Royal Tenenbaums, Mean Girls, Rachel Getting Married, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Lost In Translation, and Kings & Queen.
I was only 7 in 2000, so my list skews very populist but here it is anyway:
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Ratatouille
3. The Incredibles
4. Finding Nemo
5. Before Sunset
6. Gladiator
7.The Departed
8. The Dark Knight
9. Erin Brockovich
10. Memento
Nathan--while we don't agree on our favorites, your write-ups on all your movies hits me to the core.
My Top Ten:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Lost in Translation
3. Sideways
4. Children of Men
5. Milk
6. About Schmidt
7. Gran Torino
8. Little Miss Sunshine
9. The Dark Knight
10. Big Fish
Everchanging of course, but the top 2 are etched.
1. Eternal Sunshine
2. Children of Men
3. Pan's Labyrinth
4. Der Untergang
5. LOTR: FOTR
6. Ratatouille
7. Michael Clayton
8. Hunger
9. Cache
10. Anchorman: Legend of Ron Burgundy
Blast, I forgot Children of Men! And Michael Clayton is one of those films that's gets so much deeper with every viewing. I didn't even like it that much when it first came out (I was particularly upset that Gilroy got in over Joe Wright, though I suppose Reitman would be more to blame for that), but the film is so rewatchable, and Clooney has never been better.
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Moulin Rouge!
4. Far From Heaven
5. Children of Men
6. Almost Famous
7. A History of Violence
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
9. The Hurt Locker
10. The Departed
1. Mulholland Dr.
2. Children of Men
3. In the Mood for Love
4. Werckmeister Harmonies
5. Songs from the Second Floor
6. In Praise of Love
7. Tropical Malady
8. No Country for Old Men
9. Little Children
10. The Wayward Cloud
can't choose 10, so I'll go with 20. hope it's not a problem :-)
Spirited Away
City of God
The Royal Tenenbaums
A Prophet
Inglorious Basterds
Summer Hours
Shaun of the Dead
Memories of Murder
Oldboy
Hero
Eternal Sunshine...
Two Lovers
Big Fish
Waltz With Bashir
Wall-E
Amores Perros
4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The Lives of Others
Big Fish
The Squid and the Whale
Alphabetical order:
1. Almost Famous
2. Atonement
3. Batman Begins
4. Catch Me If You Can
5. Downfall
6. Inglourious Basterds
7. Pan's Labyrinth
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
9. The Prestige
10. WALL-E
Special Prize for Unintended Entertainment Value: The Room
Completely adore your top 5. I'd take me a long time to make this list myself, but a lot of the movies mentioned would make it. Without a doubt Children of Men, The Hours and Amelie would be in it too.
No one has Avatar on their list! Whaaat?
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
3. The Lives of Others
4. Zoolander
5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
6. Inglorious Basterds
7. Casino Royale
8. Master and Commander
9. The Class
10. Gosford Park
The comments for this post need to be compiled - a film experience readers top ten - a lot of trends can be spotted here in general and compared to
Nathaniels' list :)
I forgot Master & Commander. Definitely top 10.
@Rizz - I second that emotion
@Sawyer - From what I can tell, you and I are the only ones with it on our lists. It was my No. 3, and I still think it's severely underrated. If only it hadn't come out the same year as Return of the King...
"Master and Commander" came very close to making my list, but I was trying to keep my list reasonably diverse, so when it came down to it or "Pirates" in the "2003 nautical film" competition, "Pirates" won out on sheer popcorn value and nostalgia (15-year-old me saw that movie four times in the summer of 2003). I debated putting them as a combined entry, but I considered that cheating.
Yay! In alphabetical order and using IMDB dates...
Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
The Company (Robert Altman, 2003)
Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005)
Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi, 2009)
Enter the Void (Gaspar Noe, 2009)
Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008)
Julia (Erick Zonca, 2008)
Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)
Two Lovers (James Gray, 2008)