Nova Scotians are tickled at the news this week that former NHLer Mike Danton plans to suit up for the local Saint Mary's Huskies. Of course Danton just spent a few years in jail after admitting to a judge that he kind of, sort of, tried to have his father killed.
Like all the best controversies, the Danton matter is pretty hilarious. Here are some of the jokes I heard about it today:
"He called up the Calgary Hitmen, but they weren't looking for any centres." - G. MacDonald (identity obscured by request due to fear of retribution)
"SMU saw something in him, though. The coach said he liked Danton's killer instinct. So he's basically a lock." - also G. MacDonald
“Stieny isn’t going to bother coaching him much because he’s already shown he can’t execute the game plan.” - Adam Richardson
"I hope SMU goes after Gilbert Arenas next." - Ruari Murphy. (I've also heard or said variations of this one involving Michael Vick, Chris Benoit, O.J Simpson and - I don't really get this one - Magic Johnson.)
My personal favourite is from a sports reporter talking about needing backup the first time he interviews Danton:
“You don’t know what it’s like. You just go to a courtroom where there’s all kinds of protection. I have to go to a hockey rink where I’m going to get murdered.”
There are a lot of people bashing SMU for the move. One commenter on the Chronicle Herald website went so far as to say she would boycot Saint Mary's and ban her children from going there, which is too bad because she sounds cool.
But let's be reasonable, Danton is a great pickup for the Huskies. First, he'll be great for team chemistry. The guy's used to spending lots of time with other dudes in a close, personal environment so he'll be a natural team player. After a strenuous hockey game who wouldn't want to hit the showers with a convicted criminal? Plus, on the ice the guy is a sniper (or at least he knows one). And he's a natural enforcer because really, who's going to want to fight him?
That said he isn't a very good physical player and is known for not finishing his hits. But anything that makes AUS hockey remotely interesting is a great move in my books. I may start going to games just to hear what names the hecklers come up with. My vote is for Patty Patricide.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
The 20 Best Films of the Decade
I love movies and I love lists, so I hereby present my list of the 20 best movies of the decade. This turned out to be much harder than I originally thought. In defining 'best' I considered three factors: artistic merit; audience impact; and longevity.
I was originally going to just list the top 20 alphabetically but that seemed too easy so in the end
I ranked them by number. Admittedly, these rankings are mostly arbitrary so don't read too much into them (how the hell do you really distinguish between the 15th and 16th greatest movies in a decade?) Also, documentaries are not included since it's too hard to compare them to fiction.
Feedback and alternate lists are welcome. Let's get to it.
What is it?
Daniel Day-Lewis drinks other people’s milkshakes.
Why is it great?
To be honest, I’ve never found the character study of Daniel Plainview fully satisfying. We learn so much about how he is but virtually nothing about why. From his initial hatred of humanity to his final descent into loner hell, we’re never given an understanding as to what’s behind it all, which I think limits the character’s impact. Still, when the movie works it really works. When you’ve got one of the best directors alive working with one of the best actors alive in an early American oil epic it’s almost hard for it not to be great. Anderson’s beautiful, patient shots and the brilliant Plainview vs. Eli Sunday scenes are going to be just as riveting 50 years from now as they are today.
What is it?
A group of highway patrol officers get up to some shenanigans.
Why is it great?
A lot of people seem to have Anchorman as one of their top movies, and for a while I was thinking of including it. Then my friend Alex shaved his beard into a moustache and I made a crack about moustache rides. Suddenly it hit me – Super Troopers is one of the best films of the decade. It has moments like its brilliant opening that can go toe-to-toe with Anchorman’s best scenes and it did a better job of not slipping into lazy, sit-comy writing. It’s smarter than Harold and Kumar, more consistent than Pineapple Express and more distinct than the pack of Judd Apatow flicks that filled the OOs. Quite simply, it’s the best stoner comedy of the decade.
What is it?
A little girl stumbles into a ghost world after her parents are transformed into pigs. A modern-day Alice in Wonderland follows.
Why is it great?
This was an enviable decade to be a kid, as many children’s movies stopped relying on clichés and Phil Collins soundtracks and started treating their audiences with respect. But the one that impressed me the most wasn’t made by Pixar. Containing more visual ideas than 10 Disney movies combined along with a universal story about childhood, Spirited Away is the best animated film of the decade.
What is it?
Nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana… Batman.
Why is it great?
I almost went with Christopher Nolan’s excellent rival magicians movie The Prestige instead, but ultimately I’ve got to hand it to The Dark Knight. Sure the whole x-ray vision stuff was goofy and there were some problems with the plot, but it deserves a spot for a few reasons. 1) It marked the growing up of super hero movies. In his flick, Spiderman had to choose between saving Mary Jane or a trolley full of people. He pulled some web bullshit and voila, everyone’s fine. Batman was given the same choice and a main character died. 2) Hack movies like Babel get fawned over for insipid themes like “not communicating is bad.” The Dark Knight deals with dark thematic issues most movies never touch, like the West’s responsibility for terrorism, deceiving the masses for their own good, love not saving anyone and the impossibility of living up to heroic expectations. 3) Incredibly memorable moments, like the bank heist opening. 4) Heath Ledger's The Joker. Not just one of the two greatest villains of the decade, he's one of the best all-time movie bad guys.
What is it?
A love story told backwards as it’s forgotten.
Why is it great?
Blah blah blah, Charlie Kaufman, blah blah, Michel Gondry, blah blah. By now everyone knows the praise for the script, visuals, and performances of this movie so I won’t rehash it here. Instead I’ll just say one thing I really respect about Eternal Sunshine is it resisted the urge to romanticize. Instead of waiting for the couple to figure out they’re obviously meant to be together, Eternal Sunshine gives us characters that probably aren’t right for each other and may well be doomed to repeat their mistakes. It’s this heavy dose of reality as much as the script and visuals that made this such a fresh viewing experience. And damn it, we’re all still rooting for Joel and Clementine.
What is it?
A brilliantly stylized reinvention of the zombie genre from one of film's most versatile directors.
Why is great?
This is the second most important zombie movie of all time (after Night of the Living Dead, obviously). Where Romero invented the genre as we know it, Boyle reinvented it for the 21st century. But there’s so much more than just the “fast zombies” that makes this movie great. Just watch the beginning and by the haunting scene of Cilian Murphy wandering around an abandoned London you know you’ve got a classic. And yes, 28 Days Later does count as a zombie movie.
What is it?
Clive Own wanders the streets of a ragged, dying Britain. Children inexplicably stopped being born years ago, the youngest man in the world was just killed in a bar fight, xenophobia has manifested into a militaristic dictatorship and – oh shit, is that chick pregnant?
Why s it on the list?
Man, these ten years were pretty thin on great sci fi movies. The 90s finished off on a high with Dark City and The Matrix then this decade tries to carry the torch with god-awful Matrix sequels and Star Wars prequels. The much championed Minority Report and Stark Trek were too shiny and pretty to be considered classics in my mind. Great sci fi should have some grit. Luckily we got quality mind-benders (Primer), space westerns (Serenity) and of course Children of Men, a story that encapsulates despair as well as any I’ve seen. Intriguing plot and strong acting aside, it’s the incredible cinematography that elevates this film to greatness. The stunning, single-shot car heist and city under siege scenes rank among the best of this generation.
(Note: I’d probably have included Serenity on this list of not for that in my mind it’s inherently linked into the TV show Firefly.)
What is it?
Good question.
Why is it great?
I debated about whether to include this or the longer, stranger Lynch film Inland Empire. Neither are films you can shake out of your mind but ultimately the nod goes to Mulholland Drive. It’s hard to say how the original plan for a TV show would have gone. Instead Lynch salvaged the stillborn pilot to create an enduring work of art. A lot of movies are weird for the sake of being weird while having nothing of substance underneath (take the paper-thin Donnie Darko, maybe the most overrated movie of the decade) but here Lynch delivers something worth digging into and exploring. In the end it’s really quite a simple story, but half the fun is piecing it all together. The other half is watching it - the scene of the opera singer dropping dead during Roy Orbison’s song Crying, thus revealing everything as an illusion, is a contender for greatest scene of the decade.
What is it?
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson star in a surprisingly non-creepy sort of romance story about two tourists in Japan trying to figure it all out.
Why is it great?
The oughts had a bit of an obsession with movies about people ‘finding’ themselves. Lost in Translation was the best of the bunch and set the bar for the Junos, Little Miss Sunshines and Garden States that followed. People tend to gush over, say, holocaust movies because of their heavy subject regardless of whether they’re well made. Yet here is a movie about two upper-class people fighting ennui and through some truly graceful filmmaking we genuinely relate to and care for them. In this case less is more: Long stretches of no dialogue? Instead take in the excellent soundtrack by Air. Having no plot to speak of? Yeah, well neither does real life. Coppola mixes just the right blend of wistfulness and humour so that by the ending fade out you feel truly satisfied.
What is it?
In a futuristic dystopian Japan, a class of grade nine students is kidnapped, taken to an island, given weapons and told they must fight to the death until only one is left alive.
Why is it on the list?
Uh, did you see the premise? Usually something that sounds that batshit awesome turns out to be a heap of disappointment. Not this time. This is one movie that knows how to follow through. I sill rank the first time I saw Battle Royale in high school as one of the most mind-blowing cinema experiences of my life.
What is it?
Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke reunite 10 years after a one-night romantic tryst.
Why is it great?
1995’s Before Sunrise was a charming film about two young people meeting randomly for one passionate night in Europe. Making a follow-up to its excellent ending – will they or won’t they fulfill their promise to meet one year later? – seemed like a terrible idea. Instead, this sequel bests its predecessor in every way. Delpy and Hawke still have some of the best on-screen chemistry ever seen, but 10 years later life has gotten complicated and their discussions have more weight. Instead of a young fairytale romance, here are two adults trying to recreate a fairytale romance. The beauty is in watching them pull it off. Linklater’s direction couldn’t be better – for a film that is basically one long string of dialogue it’s the sparse use of silence that has the most impact.
What is it?
The story of a man with no short-term memory hunting his wife’s killer. Oh, and the movie runs backwards.
Why is it on the list?
I feel a pretty deep connection to this movie. At the time of its release it was my favourite film and in many ways it sparked my love of movies. It’s not the only film to do the backwards chronology thing (2002’s Irreversible, which I painfully couldn’t fit on this list, is a notable example) but it uses it brilliantly. What could have been a gimmick becomes an incredibly fresh way to tell a dark, unforgettable story that is still captivating today. This is raw movie-making gold.
What is it?
Tarantino, master of the literal title, delivers a loving homage to samurai movies.
Why is it great?
First of all, it's one big story so I'm throwing the two movies together. What's striking about Kill Bill is that so much of it is made up of recycled parts. By assembling a mountain of shots and moments and molding them into one Power Rangersesque super movie, Tarantino has surpassed his source material. Only in Pulp Fiction has Tarantino brought style and substance together in such a dynamite package. Plus it rejuvanated David Carradine's career, so huge bonus points.
What is it?
During a night of heavy drinking a man is mysteriously abducted, kept captive in a hotel-style room for 15 years without explanation and then released. He immediately goes on a quest for answers - and revenge.
Why is it great?
Thank god rumours of an American remake seem to have fizzled out. There is just no way to improve upon this breathtaking film. Like Battle Royale, Oldboy takes a wicked premise and doesn't just live up to it but exceeds it. Chan-wook Park challenges you to keep up to his winding story that ventures miles beyond what mainstream western movies would dare to touch. This is revenge cinema at its finest. It's so good that its also having one of the best fight scenes of the decade doesn't even seem fair.
What is it?
A comedy? A horror movie? A zom-com? Who knows?
Why is it great?
Sure, it’s quick and funny enough to be on the list for yuks alone. But beyond that, Shaun is actually quite groundbreaking. How many movies, if any, have managed to so finely walk a line between two disparate genres? A hilarious toss up of zombie films while at the same time being a zombie film, Shaun of the Dead is the ultimate case of having your brains and eating them too.
What is it?
The best thriller of the decade.
Why is it great?
Suck it, Stephen Spielberg. Joel and Ethan Coen show that they are the masters of cat-and-mouse thrill ride filmmaking. Everyone brings their A game to this one. You can't ask for better technical camerawork and editing. Its pacing is unconventional but works to a tee. The cast is excellent but the show is stolen by Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh. With the Joker, Chigurh is one two characters that elevated villainhood to new hights. And of course the star behind the screen is Cormac McCArthy, whose faithfully adapted novel this all stems from.
What is it?
A genre-breaking film about the real life hunt to track down the Zodiac Killer.
Why is it on the list?
Could this be the best serial killer movie ever? I guess it’s not a fair question. While most focus on the mind of the killer (take Fincher’s own Se7en), this movie is about the people hunting him. More truly, it’s about obsession. Fincher puts on an absolute clinic of filmmaking. He juggles an incredible cast of characters (especially Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.) and a complex, weaving plot that spans decades of dead ends and false starts, yet the movie never stops being gripping. It’s a story that shouldn’t work but Fincher inverts the focus and makes this all about that wing of human nature that refuses – or isn’t able – to let things go. People who derided this film as 'slow' need to go back and see all that's going as they're missing exquisite filmmaking.
What is it?
A Quebecois professor is diagnosed with cancer and admitted to hospital. As the end of his life nears, his family and friends gather together to see him off.
Why is it great?
Admittedly, the premise makes this movie sound entirely depressing. It’s not. It’s filled with dark humour, off-colour jokes, womanizing and drug use. This makes the moments of poignancy and insight that much more powerful. Clever, debauched and somehow comforting, this is a personal fable about something we all try to do eventually - come to terms with death. This is also my favourite Canadian film, period.
What is it?
The wily Royal (Gene Hackman) returns to his family of over-the-hill geniuses to try to trick them into loving him again. Paul Simon montages ensue.
Why is it great?
Don’t even get me started. There are so many classic scenes and quotes in this movie that there’s really just too much to take in in one sitting. Repeated viewings begin to peel away a script, cast and direction that fit together so well the end result is, arguably, perfect. Some people dismiss Wes Anderson by throwing him into the “quirky indy filmmaker” camp, but they’re not watching closely enough. Yes, Anderson’s filmmaking is clever, but he doesn’t sacrifice character or story to be so. And as shown by his recent excellent films The Darjeeling Limited and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, he hasn’t slowed down. But Tenenbaums is Anderson’s best film of the decade (as well as my personal favourite film of the decade) and in the end will likely go down as his masterpiece.
What is it?
Star Wars with elves.
Why is it on the list?
In the end, this is inescapable. The Lord of the Rings movies were the defining cinematic accomplishment of the decade.Whether or not LOTR is your style you've got to be impressed by how it cultivated so many millions of die-hard fans. Yearly 11-hour director's cut marathons are now a commonplace tradition.
But it's not just popularity that earns LOTR the top spot. This is old-fashioned adventure filmmaking - a fun, epic, wild ride. In other words, it truly is the Star Wars trilogy for the next generation. People who thought Avatar was a 'game changer' were way off. More CGI is not the answer. It's about making your special effects enhance reality, not become reality. Jackson had groundbreaking technology too but he anchors the films in real flesh and blood so they never become CGI snooze-fests.
This trilogy could have gone so wrong in so many ways. Instead we got that rare movie magic where a beloved series of books now have equally beloved film companions. More than any other movie, the OOs will be remembered for Lord of the Rings.
I was originally going to just list the top 20 alphabetically but that seemed too easy so in the end
I ranked them by number. Admittedly, these rankings are mostly arbitrary so don't read too much into them (how the hell do you really distinguish between the 15th and 16th greatest movies in a decade?) Also, documentaries are not included since it's too hard to compare them to fiction.
Feedback and alternate lists are welcome. Let's get to it.
20) There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
What is it?Daniel Day-Lewis drinks other people’s milkshakes.
Why is it great?
To be honest, I’ve never found the character study of Daniel Plainview fully satisfying. We learn so much about how he is but virtually nothing about why. From his initial hatred of humanity to his final descent into loner hell, we’re never given an understanding as to what’s behind it all, which I think limits the character’s impact. Still, when the movie works it really works. When you’ve got one of the best directors alive working with one of the best actors alive in an early American oil epic it’s almost hard for it not to be great. Anderson’s beautiful, patient shots and the brilliant Plainview vs. Eli Sunday scenes are going to be just as riveting 50 years from now as they are today.
19) Super Troopers (Jay Chandrasekhar, 2001)
What is it?A group of highway patrol officers get up to some shenanigans.
Why is it great?
A lot of people seem to have Anchorman as one of their top movies, and for a while I was thinking of including it. Then my friend Alex shaved his beard into a moustache and I made a crack about moustache rides. Suddenly it hit me – Super Troopers is one of the best films of the decade. It has moments like its brilliant opening that can go toe-to-toe with Anchorman’s best scenes and it did a better job of not slipping into lazy, sit-comy writing. It’s smarter than Harold and Kumar, more consistent than Pineapple Express and more distinct than the pack of Judd Apatow flicks that filled the OOs. Quite simply, it’s the best stoner comedy of the decade.
18) Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
What is it?A little girl stumbles into a ghost world after her parents are transformed into pigs. A modern-day Alice in Wonderland follows.
Why is it great?
This was an enviable decade to be a kid, as many children’s movies stopped relying on clichés and Phil Collins soundtracks and started treating their audiences with respect. But the one that impressed me the most wasn’t made by Pixar. Containing more visual ideas than 10 Disney movies combined along with a universal story about childhood, Spirited Away is the best animated film of the decade.
17) The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
What is it?Nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana… Batman.
Why is it great?
I almost went with Christopher Nolan’s excellent rival magicians movie The Prestige instead, but ultimately I’ve got to hand it to The Dark Knight. Sure the whole x-ray vision stuff was goofy and there were some problems with the plot, but it deserves a spot for a few reasons. 1) It marked the growing up of super hero movies. In his flick, Spiderman had to choose between saving Mary Jane or a trolley full of people. He pulled some web bullshit and voila, everyone’s fine. Batman was given the same choice and a main character died. 2) Hack movies like Babel get fawned over for insipid themes like “not communicating is bad.” The Dark Knight deals with dark thematic issues most movies never touch, like the West’s responsibility for terrorism, deceiving the masses for their own good, love not saving anyone and the impossibility of living up to heroic expectations. 3) Incredibly memorable moments, like the bank heist opening. 4) Heath Ledger's The Joker. Not just one of the two greatest villains of the decade, he's one of the best all-time movie bad guys.
16) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
What is it?A love story told backwards as it’s forgotten.
Why is it great?
Blah blah blah, Charlie Kaufman, blah blah, Michel Gondry, blah blah. By now everyone knows the praise for the script, visuals, and performances of this movie so I won’t rehash it here. Instead I’ll just say one thing I really respect about Eternal Sunshine is it resisted the urge to romanticize. Instead of waiting for the couple to figure out they’re obviously meant to be together, Eternal Sunshine gives us characters that probably aren’t right for each other and may well be doomed to repeat their mistakes. It’s this heavy dose of reality as much as the script and visuals that made this such a fresh viewing experience. And damn it, we’re all still rooting for Joel and Clementine.
15) 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)
What is it?A brilliantly stylized reinvention of the zombie genre from one of film's most versatile directors.
Why is great?
This is the second most important zombie movie of all time (after Night of the Living Dead, obviously). Where Romero invented the genre as we know it, Boyle reinvented it for the 21st century. But there’s so much more than just the “fast zombies” that makes this movie great. Just watch the beginning and by the haunting scene of Cilian Murphy wandering around an abandoned London you know you’ve got a classic. And yes, 28 Days Later does count as a zombie movie.
14) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
What is it?Clive Own wanders the streets of a ragged, dying Britain. Children inexplicably stopped being born years ago, the youngest man in the world was just killed in a bar fight, xenophobia has manifested into a militaristic dictatorship and – oh shit, is that chick pregnant?
Why s it on the list?
Man, these ten years were pretty thin on great sci fi movies. The 90s finished off on a high with Dark City and The Matrix then this decade tries to carry the torch with god-awful Matrix sequels and Star Wars prequels. The much championed Minority Report and Stark Trek were too shiny and pretty to be considered classics in my mind. Great sci fi should have some grit. Luckily we got quality mind-benders (Primer), space westerns (Serenity) and of course Children of Men, a story that encapsulates despair as well as any I’ve seen. Intriguing plot and strong acting aside, it’s the incredible cinematography that elevates this film to greatness. The stunning, single-shot car heist and city under siege scenes rank among the best of this generation.
(Note: I’d probably have included Serenity on this list of not for that in my mind it’s inherently linked into the TV show Firefly.)
13) Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
What is it?Good question.
Why is it great?
I debated about whether to include this or the longer, stranger Lynch film Inland Empire. Neither are films you can shake out of your mind but ultimately the nod goes to Mulholland Drive. It’s hard to say how the original plan for a TV show would have gone. Instead Lynch salvaged the stillborn pilot to create an enduring work of art. A lot of movies are weird for the sake of being weird while having nothing of substance underneath (take the paper-thin Donnie Darko, maybe the most overrated movie of the decade) but here Lynch delivers something worth digging into and exploring. In the end it’s really quite a simple story, but half the fun is piecing it all together. The other half is watching it - the scene of the opera singer dropping dead during Roy Orbison’s song Crying, thus revealing everything as an illusion, is a contender for greatest scene of the decade.
12) Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
What is it?Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson star in a surprisingly non-creepy sort of romance story about two tourists in Japan trying to figure it all out.
Why is it great?
The oughts had a bit of an obsession with movies about people ‘finding’ themselves. Lost in Translation was the best of the bunch and set the bar for the Junos, Little Miss Sunshines and Garden States that followed. People tend to gush over, say, holocaust movies because of their heavy subject regardless of whether they’re well made. Yet here is a movie about two upper-class people fighting ennui and through some truly graceful filmmaking we genuinely relate to and care for them. In this case less is more: Long stretches of no dialogue? Instead take in the excellent soundtrack by Air. Having no plot to speak of? Yeah, well neither does real life. Coppola mixes just the right blend of wistfulness and humour so that by the ending fade out you feel truly satisfied.
11) Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000)
What is it?In a futuristic dystopian Japan, a class of grade nine students is kidnapped, taken to an island, given weapons and told they must fight to the death until only one is left alive.
Why is it on the list?
Uh, did you see the premise? Usually something that sounds that batshit awesome turns out to be a heap of disappointment. Not this time. This is one movie that knows how to follow through. I sill rank the first time I saw Battle Royale in high school as one of the most mind-blowing cinema experiences of my life.
10) Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
What is it?Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke reunite 10 years after a one-night romantic tryst.
Why is it great?
1995’s Before Sunrise was a charming film about two young people meeting randomly for one passionate night in Europe. Making a follow-up to its excellent ending – will they or won’t they fulfill their promise to meet one year later? – seemed like a terrible idea. Instead, this sequel bests its predecessor in every way. Delpy and Hawke still have some of the best on-screen chemistry ever seen, but 10 years later life has gotten complicated and their discussions have more weight. Instead of a young fairytale romance, here are two adults trying to recreate a fairytale romance. The beauty is in watching them pull it off. Linklater’s direction couldn’t be better – for a film that is basically one long string of dialogue it’s the sparse use of silence that has the most impact.
9) Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
What is it?The story of a man with no short-term memory hunting his wife’s killer. Oh, and the movie runs backwards.
Why is it on the list?
I feel a pretty deep connection to this movie. At the time of its release it was my favourite film and in many ways it sparked my love of movies. It’s not the only film to do the backwards chronology thing (2002’s Irreversible, which I painfully couldn’t fit on this list, is a notable example) but it uses it brilliantly. What could have been a gimmick becomes an incredibly fresh way to tell a dark, unforgettable story that is still captivating today. This is raw movie-making gold.
8) Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003/2004)
What is it?Tarantino, master of the literal title, delivers a loving homage to samurai movies.
Why is it great?
First of all, it's one big story so I'm throwing the two movies together. What's striking about Kill Bill is that so much of it is made up of recycled parts. By assembling a mountain of shots and moments and molding them into one Power Rangersesque super movie, Tarantino has surpassed his source material. Only in Pulp Fiction has Tarantino brought style and substance together in such a dynamite package. Plus it rejuvanated David Carradine's career, so huge bonus points.
7) Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)
What is it?During a night of heavy drinking a man is mysteriously abducted, kept captive in a hotel-style room for 15 years without explanation and then released. He immediately goes on a quest for answers - and revenge.
Why is it great?
Thank god rumours of an American remake seem to have fizzled out. There is just no way to improve upon this breathtaking film. Like Battle Royale, Oldboy takes a wicked premise and doesn't just live up to it but exceeds it. Chan-wook Park challenges you to keep up to his winding story that ventures miles beyond what mainstream western movies would dare to touch. This is revenge cinema at its finest. It's so good that its also having one of the best fight scenes of the decade doesn't even seem fair.
6) Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
What is it?A comedy? A horror movie? A zom-com? Who knows?
Why is it great?
Sure, it’s quick and funny enough to be on the list for yuks alone. But beyond that, Shaun is actually quite groundbreaking. How many movies, if any, have managed to so finely walk a line between two disparate genres? A hilarious toss up of zombie films while at the same time being a zombie film, Shaun of the Dead is the ultimate case of having your brains and eating them too.
5) No Country for Old Men (The Coen brothers, 2007)
What is it?The best thriller of the decade.
Why is it great?
Suck it, Stephen Spielberg. Joel and Ethan Coen show that they are the masters of cat-and-mouse thrill ride filmmaking. Everyone brings their A game to this one. You can't ask for better technical camerawork and editing. Its pacing is unconventional but works to a tee. The cast is excellent but the show is stolen by Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh. With the Joker, Chigurh is one two characters that elevated villainhood to new hights. And of course the star behind the screen is Cormac McCArthy, whose faithfully adapted novel this all stems from.
4) Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
What is it?A genre-breaking film about the real life hunt to track down the Zodiac Killer.
Why is it on the list?
Could this be the best serial killer movie ever? I guess it’s not a fair question. While most focus on the mind of the killer (take Fincher’s own Se7en), this movie is about the people hunting him. More truly, it’s about obsession. Fincher puts on an absolute clinic of filmmaking. He juggles an incredible cast of characters (especially Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.) and a complex, weaving plot that spans decades of dead ends and false starts, yet the movie never stops being gripping. It’s a story that shouldn’t work but Fincher inverts the focus and makes this all about that wing of human nature that refuses – or isn’t able – to let things go. People who derided this film as 'slow' need to go back and see all that's going as they're missing exquisite filmmaking.
3) The Barbarian Invasions (Denys Arcand, 2003)
What is it?A Quebecois professor is diagnosed with cancer and admitted to hospital. As the end of his life nears, his family and friends gather together to see him off.
Why is it great?
Admittedly, the premise makes this movie sound entirely depressing. It’s not. It’s filled with dark humour, off-colour jokes, womanizing and drug use. This makes the moments of poignancy and insight that much more powerful. Clever, debauched and somehow comforting, this is a personal fable about something we all try to do eventually - come to terms with death. This is also my favourite Canadian film, period.
2) The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
What is it?The wily Royal (Gene Hackman) returns to his family of over-the-hill geniuses to try to trick them into loving him again. Paul Simon montages ensue.
Why is it great?
Don’t even get me started. There are so many classic scenes and quotes in this movie that there’s really just too much to take in in one sitting. Repeated viewings begin to peel away a script, cast and direction that fit together so well the end result is, arguably, perfect. Some people dismiss Wes Anderson by throwing him into the “quirky indy filmmaker” camp, but they’re not watching closely enough. Yes, Anderson’s filmmaking is clever, but he doesn’t sacrifice character or story to be so. And as shown by his recent excellent films The Darjeeling Limited and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, he hasn’t slowed down. But Tenenbaums is Anderson’s best film of the decade (as well as my personal favourite film of the decade) and in the end will likely go down as his masterpiece.
1) The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003)
What is it?Star Wars with elves.
Why is it on the list?
In the end, this is inescapable. The Lord of the Rings movies were the defining cinematic accomplishment of the decade.Whether or not LOTR is your style you've got to be impressed by how it cultivated so many millions of die-hard fans. Yearly 11-hour director's cut marathons are now a commonplace tradition.
But it's not just popularity that earns LOTR the top spot. This is old-fashioned adventure filmmaking - a fun, epic, wild ride. In other words, it truly is the Star Wars trilogy for the next generation. People who thought Avatar was a 'game changer' were way off. More CGI is not the answer. It's about making your special effects enhance reality, not become reality. Jackson had groundbreaking technology too but he anchors the films in real flesh and blood so they never become CGI snooze-fests.
This trilogy could have gone so wrong in so many ways. Instead we got that rare movie magic where a beloved series of books now have equally beloved film companions. More than any other movie, the OOs will be remembered for Lord of the Rings.
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