Best of the Aughts

The end of a decade necessitates a certain amount of reflection, and for movie critics, that reflection usually comes in the form of a list. Lists, by their very nature, are not very valuable creations. They are exclusive and subjective and argument-inducing, rarely meaning much to anybody beyond the person who creates them. I’ve tried to create several over the years, usually trying to group those rare and precious ten, under the impressive and capitalized title, All Time Favorites. I usually end up throwing in the towel after recognizing the very impossibility of reducing all of the great movies I have seen throughout my life down to a significant and finite number.

However, contradictorily, lists can be valuable during their creation as they act as reminders of all the wonderful movies you have seen over the years. And, even though superfluous, a challenge can be fun merely in its attempt. That’s why I made the subsequent list. Perhaps you, my readers, will also discover something here that sparks your interest, as well, and that is where lists gain the greatest value for me.

So the following are ten, not the ten, but ten movies that I consider to be great from the past decade. We’ll call it the Insignificant and yet, Despite how Trite, Still Rather Amusing Attempt at the Creation of a List of Great Movies from the Aughts. The only qualifier I used is that each movie meant something to me when I first saw it, and continues to mean something to me with each subsequent viewing. I have seen each of these at least twice, most more than that.

Other than the #1 spot, they are in no particular order.

10. Sideways (2004)

Directed by Alexander Payne, this is terrific movie, extremely funny and beautifully poignant, about two friends who travel to California wine country in the week leading up to one of them getting married.

Scene to Remember: Around the midway mark, the characters portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen, sit in a small, screened-in porch and discuss why they both love wine so much. In my opinion, this is the best-acted scene of the decade. Watch each actor as he and she both convey a lifetime of feelings and emotions wrapped up in words that are not at all what they seem to be about. Absolutely perfect.

9. Minority Report (2002)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this near-futuristic story of a man (Tom Cruise) who must go on the run from authorities to prove his innocence of a crime he has not yet committed but will in the future, is a stunningly created action thriller that shows why Spielberg is one of the best visual storytellers of all time.

Scene to Remember: Spielberg uses a mesmerizing, overhead tracking shot through a slum apartment complex to show tiny, spider-like robots (totally created using CGI technology) that are used by the police to search for a man on the run. We know the man they are looking for is inside one of the apartments, and that it is only a matter of time before he is discovered by one of these creepy little robots. Terrific suspense.

8. Cast Away (2000)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this story of a man who spends years alone on a deserted island following a plane crash is a triumph thanks to two things. The creators, led by Zemeckis, do not succumb to any temptations for easy resolution. And Tom Hanks gives one of his best performances in a role that has him alone for over an hour of the movie.

Scene to Remember: The penultimate scene of the movie has Tom Hanks’ character speaking about what it was like to live on the island all those years by himself, and what it is now like that he is off. At one point his voice cracks when he mentions the simplicity of having ice in his glass. This is the kind of performance that the term bravura was invented for.

7. The Dark Knight (2008)

Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to his reboot of the Batman series in 2005 with Batman Begins is possibly the greatest comic book adaptation of all time. Nolan stripped away the majority of the over-the-top comic book features, leaving a hard, big-city, crime movie that considers the role of the hero and its influence over the existence of the villain. Heath Ledger gives a legendary performance as the Joker.

Scene to Remember: The interrogation room scene between Batman and the Joker. You’ll know when you see it.

6. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

He went from being an iconic movie star to one of the most important American directors in film. He’s won two Academy Awards for Best Director, both after his 60^th birthday. His movies are influential and set standards for what great American dramas should be. He is Clint Eastwood.

His second Academy Award winning film is the story of a poor, white-trash girl who fights her way to the top of the female lightweight boxing division, begrudgingly helped along the way by Eastwood’s grouchy trainer. What initially seems like a standard, bottom to top, sports movie, turns surprisingly into a deeply moving study of two people and the lengths they will go to heal one another.

Scene to Remember: A beautifully directed and subtly acted scene, has Eastwood and Hilary Swank’s characters talking in a car together. Watch as the light and shadow dance back and forth across the actors’ faces. American filmmaking at its finest.

5. Almost Famous (2000)

Directed by Cameron Crowe, this is a wonderful coming-of-age story about a young boy who talks his way into joining a 1970’s rock band tour as a reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine. Crowe wrote his script based on his own similar life experience, and he obviously feels very deeply about the time and the music around which he sets his story. Kate Hudson gives a star-making performance as one of the band’s groupies (or band-aids).

Scene to Remember: The band and the rest of the gang with the tour are leaving a city on their tour bus. It hasn’t been a good stop. Suddenly, an impromptu sing-a-long of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” begins and the mood completely shifts to one of pure joy. I dare you not to smile.

4. Juno (2007)

Jason Reitman directed this sweet and sour comedy about a precocious high school student who gets pregnant and the 9-month journey that such an experience takes her on. Instead of the expected abandonment, she finds support from her family and friends. Conflicts arise from the obvious difficulties involved with having such an adult thing happen to you at such a young age.

Scene to Remember: Juno runs into the adopted mother (Jennifer Garner) of her baby in a shopping mall one day. One of the most endearing moments of any movie I’ve seen follows as Juno gives the mother-to-be a chance to feel her baby kick. A moment of eye contact and character realization takes place that is simply perfect.

3. The Queen (2006)

Stephen Frears directs a remarkable script by Peter Morgan focusing on Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Tony Blair and the thrill ride of days immediately following the death of Princess Diana. Tensions arise throughout England as everyone tries to guess what the reaction from the crown will be regarding the death of such a profoundly loved woman. Helen Mirren is absolutely wonderful as the Queen who believes it is her God-given duty to act a very specific way; a specific way that simply does not include a public reaction to the death of a woman no longer an official part of the crown.

Scene to Remember: As the Queen is slowly coming to realize her decision to say nothing about Diana’s death is doing more harm to the country she loves than good, she takes a drive out into the country where her car breaks down. As she is waiting for someone to come with another car, she sees a large buck, standing proudly on a nearby hill. It is a simple moment that evolves into one of purest grandeur.

2. Once (2006)

While the past decade saw the resurrection of the big Hollywood musical, it was this uber small film from Ireland that had the sweetest music telling the most genuine of stories. This is the simple story of a boy and a girl, who come together briefly through their shared love of music, enrich each other’s lives for a mere moment in time, and manage to make a lasting connection to one another. This is a gem of a movie.

Scene to Remember: The boy and the girl go to a piano shop, so he can hear her play. He then teaches her one of his songs and they share a duet. It is one of the most magical moments of film I have seen.

1. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

This may be seen as a bit of cheat, as this is technically three movies. But, however you choose to watch its individual parts, The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson’s perfectly brilliant realization of the spirit and themes behind Tolkien’s seminal opus, is a grand and epic movie that is one of the greatest landmarks in the history of cinema. Of all the movies I saw this past decade, The Lord of the Rings was far and away my favorite.

Scene to Remember: At the conclusion of The Two Towers (the second part of the trilogy), Sean Astin’s Sam explains to Elijah Wood’s Frodo why they have to keep going on their journey, despite the enormity of the odds against their success. They must go on because of the belief that the good in the world is worth fighting for. It is a wonderfully moving moment that perfectly captures the spirit of the entire movie.

And there the thing is. Come back next week for a discussion of one of the ten movies just nominated for 2009 Best Picture Academy Awards.

Until then, here’s my hope that we all find our Shangri-La. Goodnight.