April 26, 2024
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BYOB: 235 Years Of Relative independence
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
“Star Trek” is the #1 title for Paramount this year … and the #1 title for illegal downloaders too.
So everyone wins Chucky?
Hey DP – is there no Top Ten Scoreboard this year?
I always look forward to your list crunching to catch up on any last-minute holes in my year-end.
The Top Tens have been slow coming in. There’s a link to the scoreboard and individual Tens on the front page, with more to come.
Speaking of lists, A.0. Scott named “A.I.” as his #2 for Decade’s best.
This made my week. Huge fucking props to Scott.
Because the masses demand it, Lex’s MASTERPIECES of the 00s. Not even sure these are the “best of,” but this is (in some semblance of an order) the movies I got the most out of, or will revisit the most, from this decade. Or the movies that will represent this era for me. Or something…
1. 25th Hour (agree with Noah, THE movie of the decade, now the rest….)
There Will Be Blood, Minority Report, No Country For Old Men, Man On Fire, Munich, Brokeback Mountain, Requiem For a Dream, Devil’s Rejects, Memento, Sideways, Domino, The Fountain, About Schmidt, The Departed, Black Hawk Down, Little Children, Up in the Air, Collateral, The Two Towers, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mulholland Dr., Training Day, Hurt Locker, Into the Wild, Mystic River, Some Kind of Monster, Dark Knight, Inglourious Basterds, American Gangster, The Pianist, Assassination of Jesse James, Zodiac, Traffic, 21 Grams, Matchstick Men, Panic Room, Tyson…
YEP.
Interesting list, LexG. Except for a few (Domino, 21 Grams, Into the Wild, Panic Room), I think all those pictures a terrific and will age well into the future. In addition, may I add (again in no particular order) Jason Bourne, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Lives of Others, Eternal Sunshine, The Return, Gladiator, City of God, The Dark Knight, The White Ribbon and for me, the movie of the decade, Talk to Her.
Panic Room is a perfect example of a slickly made, but simple and effective thriller. I think it works better on a pure film level than at least half of the titles on there. Having said that, I’d say only Training Day, Into the Wild and American Gangster are the only movies on Lex’s list that I’d truly label as “really fuckin’ awful” (of the ones I’ve seen, anyway).
I’d like to see some of these sites throwing out best of lists that look identical to everyone else’s make some interesting sub-lists. Most Balls-Out-Crazy Movies of the Decade or Best Movies of the Decade that Straight Guys Love that are Filled with Gay Subjext type of lists.
Thanks Ray. I see it now. Don’t know how I missed it before!
As always, I’m really appreciative of the work you put into pulling this list together. It’s a great tool to hashing out the miles of list making that are out there.
My Film List for The Decade
1. Best Tom Cruise Running Scene – Mission Impossible 3
2. Worst Tom Cruise Running Scene – Collateral
3. Best Scenes with Exploding People – District 9
4. Best Unexpected Nudity – Carla Gugino in Sin City
5. Best Las Vegas Movie – The Cooler
6. Worst Las Vegas Movies – What Happens in Vegas
7. Best Badass Violent Action Movie That Pretended It Wasn’t Badass Violent Action – A History of Violence
8. Most Annoying One Trick Pony of a Writer – Guillermo Arriaga
9. The Best Trilogy of the Decade – The Lord of the Rings
10. The Worst Trilogy of the Decade – The Pirates of the Caribbean
11. Most Overrated Movie of the Decade – The Dark Knight
12. Best Director Who Burst on the Scene With This Film at the Beginning of the Decade but Has Completely Flamed Out and Not Fulfilled His Promise – Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko
13. Second Best Director Who Burst on the Scene With This Film at the Beginning of the Decade but Only Made Two More Films, and Since One Was Raised Out of B-Movie Dreck by an Amazing Mickey Rourke Performance, He Still Has Not Fulfilled His Promise – Darren Aronofsky, Requiem for a Dream
14. Actor Who Seemed to Most Enjoy His On-Screen Homosexual Activitiy – James Franco
15. Actor Who Seemed to Most Hate His On-Screen Homosexual Activity – Jake Gyllenhaal
16. Actress of the Decade – Tilda Swinton
17. Actor of the Decade – George Fucking Clooney
18. Biggest Fall from Grace – M. Night Shyamalan
19. Best Celebrity Meltdown – Mel “Sugar Tits” Gibson
20. Biggest Letdown From a Decade Long Buildup to Nudity – Jessica Biel in Powder Blue
21. Oh My Fucking God it Was So Worth The Wait – Marisa Tomei
22. Movie That Still Haunts Me 6 Years Later So I’m Calling it Best Film of the Decade – Hotel Rwanda
23. Director Who Keeps Making Movies but Should Drink a Big Tall Mug of STFU and Leave Me Alone – Adam Shankman
24. My Biggest Cinematic Letdown – Harrison Ford in Just About Everything this Decade
25. My Favorite Guilty Pleasure of the Decade That I Know Sucks but I Still Love It – Looney Tunes: Back in Action
JPK, I’m building off your poll here with my own.
Of this decade tell me your…
1) Ten favorite movies —
2) Ten overrated movies —
3) Actor who defined the decade —
4) Actress who defined the decade —
5) Director who defined the decade —
6) Favorite new actress —
7) Favorite new actor —
8) Favorite new director —
9) Performance of the decade (female) —
10) Performance of the decade (male) —
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of —
12) Best use of CGI —
13) Best action scene —
14) Unsung masterpiece —
15) Oversung masterpiece —
16) Best one sheet poster —
17) Most promising trailer —
18) Best audience experience —
19) Funniest movie —
20) Scariest movie —
21) Biggest career fall from grace —
22) Biggest career redemption —
23) Biggest surprise —
24) Biggest cry —
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop —
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s —
27) Favorite film critic —
28) Favorite Pixar —
29) Last minute casting change you would have made —
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade —
I too love Looney Tunes Back in Action and don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. It’s funny, sharp-looking, has an extended bit with Will E. Coyote, and is filled with game actors who are having a blast (as I’ve said quite a bit, Brenden Fraser’s ability to correctly play this stuff should not be underestimated). Yes, Steve Martin tries to upstage the toons (something not even Michael Jordan was dumb enough to try), but other than that it works like gangbusters.
Let me rephrase… Michael Jordan is not ‘dumb’. I merely meant that, since he was an untrained actor, I was impressed with his ability to play scenes with visual effects that were not there, and he was smart enough to know that one can no more upstage Looney Tunes than try to upstage the Muppets (something that Joan Cusack and Michael Cane understood better than most).
Am I the only one who thinks that on the Knight and Day poster, the way that Cameron Diaz’s silhouette is holding her gun makes it look like she has a penis hanging out of her skirt?…
Saw Brothers the other day. It’s half a good movie. The problem with the movie is its editing. The cross-cutting between the home scenes and Tobey Maguire’s character in Afghanistan kill the momentum of the story. By showing us everything in the first half the filmmakers create a weird disconnect in the second half. In our heads we know exactly why Maguire’s character goes nuts, but because we’ve ween everything we come away feeling he’s overreacting.
The movie would’ve worked better if Maguire’s character had been introduced in the opening scenes then kept off-screen for an hour or so only to te-enter the story with a sense of mystery about him. All the scenes of him as a POW could’ve been used as a breakdown-flashback sequence, leading up to his heart-of-darkness moment. The other big problem with the film is there’s no big final scene between the brothers. A brief jailhouse phone call won’t cut it. And the scenes in the Middle East look pretty generic compared to The Hurt Locker, In the Valley of Elah, or Stop-Loss.
Maguire gives a technically fine performance, but certain beats are issing. His big breakdown scene doesn’t work because, like Tom Cruise, he has no authority when he screams. Gylenhaal and Portman give far better, more layered performances. The two little girls are good, but they feel as if Sherridan is trying to repeat the magic of In America. He would’ve been better off if he had gone with a daughter-son combo.
My boss caught that “Knight and Day” penis poster the other day:
http://gordonandthewhale.com/awkward-poster-for-knight-and-day/
What were/are they thinking??
It floors me that you thought Portman and Gyllenhaal did better work than Maguire, Jimmy. Portman rarely ruins movies, but she’s one of the most self concious actresses I can think of. As for Gyllenhaal, he has about 5 lines in the movie after Maguire’s character returns. He really doesn’t have a whole lot to do in the film. Maguire was the highlight of the film for me. I thought his breakdown in the third act felt primal.
This reviewer describes what’s always bothered me about Natalie, though Stevens’ dislike for her is more intense than mine:
“Unfortunately, Brothers also assumes that Natalie Portman is interesting enough to watch suffer for two hours. Here I come up against what I’m fully willing to admit may be a personal limitation: I can’t stand Natalie Portman. I’ve never believed her in a single role. She evokes no emotional response in me beyond, “Oh, there’s Natalie Portman.” She doesn’t overact or underact; she just stands around with whatever the appropriate expression for the scene seems to be on her sweet, pretty, childlike face. If there’s something going on behind that face, I neither know nor care what it is, which means that long stretches of Brothers involving her character’s interiority struck me as dramatically inert. If you possess the gene that enables Portman-caring, you may find them brilliant.”
http://www.slate.com/id/2237381/
Okay, no one’s gonna finish reading this, but I answered Crow’s poll:
1) Ten favorite movies — Zodiac, Far From Heaven, Mulholland Drive, There Will Be Blood, Children of Men, Lovely & Amazing, Gosford Park, 4 Mos/3 Wks/2 Days, Wet Hot American Summer, The Hurt Locker
2) Ten overrated movies — All three Lord of the Rings, Up in the Air, Crash, 500 Days of Summer, United 93, Seabiscuit, City of God, The Incredibles
3) Actor who defined the decade — Philip Seymour Hoffman
4) Actress who defined the decade — Catherine Keener
5) Director who defined the decade — Alfonso Cuaron
6) Favorite new actress — Vera Farmiga
7) Favorite new actor — Gael Garcia Bernal
8) Favorite new director — Apichatpong Weerasethakul
9) Performance of the decade (female) — Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven
10) Performance of the decade (male) — Sean Penn, Mystic River
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of — How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
12) Best use of CGI — Avatar
13) Best action scene — Climax of Bloody Sunday
14) Unsung masterpiece — Lovely & Amazing
15) Oversung masterpiece — Million Dollar Baby
16) Best one sheet poster — I’m still laughing at the Zack & Miri poster that eventually got banned.
17) Most promising trailer — Revolutionary Road
18) Best audience experience — Opening night of J. Lo in Enough, in an, um, urban setting
19) Funniest movie — Wet Hot American Summer
20) Scariest movie — Them
21) Biggest career fall from grace — Brittany Murphy
22) Biggest career redemption — Jackie Earle Haley
23) Biggest surprise — Orphan! Plot twist of the decade.
24) Biggest cry — Rachel Getting Married
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop — Franchise fever (each installment must be 3 hours long and have at least one colon in the title). Also, female characters in chick flicks screaming when they see each other.
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s — Whit Stillman
27) Favorite film critic — The guys at Slant
28) Favorite Pixar — Ratatouille
29) Last minute casting change you would have made — Elizabeth Banks, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, Wanda Sykes, and Parker Posey for the actual cast of The Women (with a different script written by Mindy Kaling)
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade — “I’m very discreet. But I will haunt your dreams.” – Jane Lynch, 40-Year-old Virgin
pretty funny:
http://hijinksensue.com/comics/2009-12-21-triumph-of-the-usurper.jpg
Jimmy – see the original Brothers by Susan Beirs. I would be shocked that they were able to top it, even with someone as accomplished as Sheriden.
While a category is not included on Crow’s list I would like to add 31) Finally made the film you were waiting for– Whatever Works, not the best movie but the perfect antidote for the move to country, get some downhome wisdom and set your life straight genre.
Avatar Tuesday — $16.08mil. -1.8% according to Box Office Mojo.
Okay, i’ll bite.
1) Ten favorite movies —
THE DARK KNIGHT
MINORITY REPORT
REVENGE OF THE SITH
RETURN OF THE KING
BLACK HAWK DOWN
WAR OF THE WORLDS
UNITED 93
UNTITLED (ALMOST FAMOUS DIRECTOR’S CUT)
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
CHILDREN OF MEN
2) Ten overrated movies —
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
SHREK
GLADIATOR
GANGS OF NEW YORK
WEDDING CRASHERS
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
CINDERELLA MAN
SIN CITY
SPIDERMAN
SPIDERMAN 2
3) Actor who defined the decade — RUSSELL CROWE
4) Actress who defined the decade — NATALIE PORTMAN
5) Director who defined the decade — CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
6) Favorite new actress — ELLEN PAGE
7) Favorite new actor — SETH ROGEN
8) Favorite new director — JUDD APATOW
9) Performance of the decade (female) — TEND TO AVOID JUDI DENCH / BLANCHETT / KIDMAN / WINSLET / DALDRY TYPE MOVIES, SORRY BUT I’LL SAY NAT IN GARDEN STATE.
10) Performance of the decade (male) — HEATH LEDGER (THE DARK KNIGHT)
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of — NONE SPRING TO MIND.
12) Best use of CGI — AVATAR, NO CONTEST.
13) Best action scene — CRUISE AND COLIN FARRELL IN THE CAR FACTORY – MINORITY REPORT.
14) Unsung masterpiece — AN AUSSIE COMEDY CALLED ‘THE DISH’.
15) Oversung masterpiece — IS THIS THE SAME AS ‘OVERRATED?’ SEE THAT SECTION.
16) Best one sheet poster — THE TEASER POSTER FOR ATTACK OF THE CLONES.
17) Most promising trailer — TEASER FOR SUPERMAN RETURNS.
18) Best audience experience — LAPPING UP ‘THE DARK KNIGHT’ WITH A PACKED HOUSE IN IMAX – JULY 2008.
19) Funniest movie — THE HAPPENING (unintentionally), JACKASS (ON PURPOSE)
20) Scariest movie — UNITED 93, FOR IT’S ACCELERATING SENSE OF DREAD.
21) Biggest career fall from grace –M NIGHT SHYAMALAN
22) Biggest career redemption — MATT DAMON, AS SILLY AS THIS SOUNDS, AT THE TURN OF THE DECADE HE WAS IN BIG TROUBLE.
23) Biggest surprise — THE BLUE GHOST IN THE BATH IN WHAT LIES BENEATH.
24) Biggest cry — THE LAST LINE OF THE CONSTANT GARDENER – ‘TESS.’
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop — LOGJAMMING BLOCKBUSTERS INTO MAY AND DECEMBER, HAVE THE COURAGE TO SPREAD THAT WEALTH.
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s — YOUTH AND ECONOMIC CERTAINTY.
27) Favorite film critic — EBERT.
28) Favorite Pixar –THE INCREDIBLES
29) Last minute casting change you would have made — SUB ORLANDO BLOOM FOR RUSSELL CROWE IN KINGDOM OF HEAVEN – IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MASTERPIECE.
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade — BILLY BOB THORNTON HALFTIME SPEECH IN FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ‘BEING PERFECT IS NOT ABOUT THAT SCOREBOARD OUT THERE – IT’S NOT ABOUT WINNING’.’
What on earth is ‘Some Kind of Monster’?
It’s the Metallica documentary
What is “Them?” I know the 50s version…
That was a French horror movie from a couple of years ago, same vein as The Strangers.
Neat poll…
1) Ten favorite (NOT best) movies —
Akeelah and the Bee
Almost Famous
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
The Incredibles
Lord of the Rings (1, 2, 3)
Meet the Robinsons
Memento
Shanghai Knights
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Up
2) Ten overrated movies —
A Beautiful Mind
The Bourne Ultimatum
Chicago
Iron Man
Gladiator
Moulin Rouge
Spider-Man 2
Star Trek
Traffic
United 93
3) Actor who defined the decade — Christian Bale
4) Actress who defined the decade — Cate Blancett
5) Director who defined the decade — Christopher Nolan
6) Favorite new actress — Dakota Fanning (Is she Jodie Foster or Charlie Korsmo?)
7) Favorite new actor — Jesse Eisenberg
8) Favorite new director — Christopher Nolan
9) Performance of the decade (female) — Ellen Burstyn Requiem For A Dream
10) Performance of the decade (male) — Gary Oldman The Dark Knight
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of — Grizzly Man (I loathed Treadwell)
12) Best use of CGI — Avatar
13) Best action scene — first-reel blow out of Star Wars Episode III
14) Unsung masterpiece — Kindgom of Heaven
15) Oversung masterpiece — Slumdog Millionaire
16) Best one sheet poster — The Hangover
17) Most promising trailer — The first teaser for The Dark Knight
18) Best audience experience — 12:01 Wednesday Return of the King
19) Funniest movie — Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
20) Scariest movie — Frailty
21) Biggest career fall from grace –M. Night Shyamalan
22) Biggest career redemption — Chris Columbus (for perfect casting of Harry Potter)
23) Biggest surprise — Alan Rickman found a role more iconic than Hans Gruber.
24) Biggest cry — “Say goodbye to Frankie, dad.”
25) Trend that needs to stop — cramming every Oscar bait movie into December
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s — mid-budget, star-driven thrillers.
27) Favorite film critic — still Roger Ebert.
28) Favorite Pixar –The Incredibles
29) Last minute casting change — Antonio Bandaras in Phantom of the Opera
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade — “You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other.” – The Dark Knight
“Say goodbye to Frankie, dad.”
I teared up just reading that.
In America would be my best audience experience, too. Caught it at a SAG “For Your Consideration” screening. If there’s one group you want to see a grade-A weeper with, it’s a bunch of hyper-emotional actors.
Oooo, list-making fun!
10 Favs (maybe 11, no order)
DARK KNIGHT
DEPARTED
DODGEBALL (yeah, what of it)
CROUCHING TIGER
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
BOURNE IDENTITY
FIGHT CLUB
PUBLIC ENEMIES
O BROTHER
MUNICH
Say, anyone know the name of that Brazillian movie…which may not have been of the Oughts, or whatever we’re calling this decade, but anyway, it was about an older sort of con-woman who accompanied this little boy back home, and I thought it was directed by Fernando Mereilles…? Anyway, brilliant!
OVER-RATED (IMHO)
Up
LOTR
Juno
Eternal Sunshine
Crash
Happy, Happy, Merry, Merry!!
Another List Whore joins the block:
1) Ten favorite movies — Rings 1,2,3. Dark Knight, Departed, No Country for Old Men, Minority Report, Superbad, Hangover, District 9, The Rundown, The Incredibles.
(Have not seen The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Bastards, Avatar.)
2) Ten overrated movies — Cast Away, Chicago, A Beautiful Mind, There will be blood, Almost Famous, HP & Half Blood Prince, WallE, Juno,
CC of Benjamin Button, Seabiscuit
3) Actor who defined the decade — Will Smith
4) Actress who defined the decade — Angelina Jolie
5) Director who defined the decade — Peter Jackson
6) Favorite new actress — Rachel Weisz
7) Favorite new actor — Jonah Hill
8) Favorite new director — Judd Apatow
9) Performance of the decade (female) — Tilda Swinton –Michael Clayton
10) Performance of the decade (male) — Javier Bardem–No Country for Old Men
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of — Ghost Rider
12) Best use of CGI — Avatar (guess)
13) Best action scene — Highway Scene – Matrix Revolutions
14) Unsung masterpiece — The Rundown
15) Oversung masterpiece — There Will be blood
16) Best one sheet poster — Why so serious-Dark Knight
17) Most promising trailer — Spiderman 3.(remember seeing this with Superman Returns and thinking the trailer was better than the movie. Turns out it was better than the entire Spidey3 film too.)
18) Best audience experience — Transformers 1. The “I am Optimus Prime” moment rocked the theatre.
19) Funniest movie — The Hangover
20) Scariest movie — Ruins
21) Biggest career fall from grace — M Night
22) Biggest career redemption — Robert Downey Jr.
23) Biggest surprise — In a series known for its fantastic bad guys, how non threatening the baddie in Die Hard 4 was.
24) Biggest cry — The Bucket List
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop — Re-imaginings.
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s — Powerful Legal dramas.
27) Favorite film critic — My buddy Joe Leydon
28) Favorite Pixar — The Incredibles
29) Last minute casting change you would have made — Tom Hanks for Mel Gibson in Cast Away. (Nobody does going crazy better.)
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade — “Call it.” Anton. “Well I don’t know what I’m putting up.” Shop Owner. “Everything.” Anton. – No country for Old Men
1) Ten favorite movies —
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
ZODIAC
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
DAWN OF THE DEAD ’05
MULHOLLAND DR.
BATMAN BEGINS
GHOST WORLD
The Royal Tenenbaums
2) Ten overrated movies —
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
KING KONG
JUNO
ADAPTATION
WALK THE LINE
SIN CITY
FINDING NEMO
THIRTEEN
THE STATION AGENT
WAKING LIFE
3) Actor who defined the decade — JOHN C. REILLY (defined it to me. His work in THE PROMOTION is unsung genius. “Blapples.”)
4) Actress who defined the decade –NAOMI WATTS
5) Director who defined the decade –CHRIS NOLAN
6) Favorite new actress –AMY ADAMS
7) Favorite new actor –DANNY MCBRIDE
8) Favorite new director –ZACK SNYDER
9) Performance of the decade (female) — NAOMI WATTS (MULHOLLAND DR)
10) Performance of the decade (male) –DANIEL DAY LEWIS (THERE WILL BE BLOOD)
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of –UNDERDOG
12) Best use of CGI — AVATAR
13) Best action scene — MINES OF MORIA SEQUENCE (FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING)
14) Unsung masterpiece — SPEED RACER
15) Oversung masterpiece — BABEL
16) Best one sheet poster — LOTR: THE TWO TOWERS
17) Most promising trailer — THE MATRIX RELOADED
18) Best audience experience — THE SIMPSONS
MOVIE (ME, WIFE, ALL 3 OF OUR KIDS, AND A PACKED THEATER MAKING A GOOD MOVIE INTO A GREAT TIME).
19) Funniest movie — this is a HARD one. IDIOCRACY, because it gets funnier everytime I see it. But DODGEBALL and ZOOLANDER are sooooooo close.
20) Scariest movie — [*REC]..but THE DESCENT is very close.
21) Biggest career fall from grace –MEL GIBSON
22) Biggest career redemption — MICKEY ROURKE
23) Biggest surprise — Rob Zombie keeps getting funding.
24) Biggest cry — when the 2+ decade wait for a HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE movie came to a disappointing conclusion
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop — release date/ roll-out jitters keeping good movies on the shelf and/or so limited nobody gets to see them (case study: SAW v. TRICK R TREAT; LET THE RIGHT ONE IN; HURT LOCKER).
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s — being amazed at the possibilities of digital/dvd rather than non-plussed.
27) Favorite film critic — Ebert. He tells me what HE thought, not what I AM GOING TO THINK. TAKE NOTE, 99% OF THE OTHER CRITICS ON THE WEB!
28) Favorite Pixar — THE INCREDIBLES
29) Last minute casting change you would have made — Val Kilmer over Sam Rockwell as Zaphod in HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade — “Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?”
This isn’t intended as anti-Avatar, but I keep noticing everybody’s choosing it for best use of CGI for the decade. I’d probably go with something more like Zodiac or Minority Report — where the digital is there to supplement the story, but the movie isn’t defined by its VFX.
Oh, also forgot to mention, saw Princess & Frog and, while not a top ten o’ the decade, found it absolutely, well, charming!
Have never seen a line 100+ people long at our local multiplex and it was for…Alvin & the Chipmunks!!
Son saw Avatar…as predicted, chicks were the bait…and all thought it was just okay, too long by an hour.
Best use of CG for the decade = digital penis in the IRREVERSIBLE rape scene. Everyone thinks Monica Bellucci is doing hardcore, but nope…digital wizardry.
Jeff, you might know Them as Ils. It’s very good.
1) Ten favorite movies —
Mulholland Drive, Moulin Rouge!, Birth, American Psycho, Elephant, Dogville, Dancer in the Dark, Mysterious Skin, Lost in Translation, Lantana
2) Ten overrated movies —
Once, Shrek 2, Oldboy, Sin City, The Counterfeiters, Mullet, Training Day, Finding Neverland, In the Bedroom, The Ring
3) Actor who defined the decade —
Jude Law…. I dunno. Christian Bale, perhaps, because even when he was let down by dodgy movies it personified the idea of arthouse actors being thrust upon mainstream audiences.
4) Actress who defined the decade —
Nicole Kidman. Although Tilda Swinton came close and Penelope Cruz made a frantic dash in the second half and Meryl Streep’s story is already one of legend.
5) Director who defined the decade —
I’m tempted to say James Cameron because it feels like we’ve been talking about Avatar since 2000, but I’m gonna go with Gus Van Sant instead. Although Lars Von Trier would be the one to put up the biggest argument, probably.
6) Favorite new actress —
Naomi Watts and Scarlett Johansson started out big, but have slipped. Nevertheless, I can’t think of others who had such big introductions.
7) Favorite new actor —
Jamie Bell.
8) Favorite new director —
Jonathan Glazer. I so hope he returns and that Birth (a stunning masterpiece in every sense of the word) didn’t ruin him.
9) Performance of the decade (female) —
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive, Nicole Kidman in Birth, Tilda Swinton in Julia, Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream, Bjork in Dancer in the Dark, Toni Collette in Japanese Story, Joan Allen in Upside of Anger, Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge! and Charlize Theron in Monster. So many brilliant female performances this decade I feel bad keeping it to one.
10) Performance of the decade (male) —
Christian Bale, American Psycho.
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of —
Dogtooth, the Greek festival film you may have heard about.
12) Best use of CGI —
Outside of movies like Avatar, i’d say The Cell or, blegh, Hollow Man.
13) Best action scene —
The car chase in Death Proof, + Helm’s Deep/The March of the Ents, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
14) Unsung masterpiece —
Birth
15) Oversung masterpiece —
Wait, does this mean a movie that people call a masterpiece but I don’t think it is, or does it mean a movie that is a masterpiece, but maybe not as much of one as people think? There Will Be Blood, perhaps? I’m not sure.
16) Best one sheet poster —
Funny Games remake, probably.
17) Most promising trailer —
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
18) Best audience experience —
The Descent. My cinema was filled with old people and my mate and I were the only ones jumping every five minutes! It was hilarious when the credits rolled.
19) Funniest movie —
I’m the One that I Want
20) Scariest movie —
The Descent? [rec]? I am a fan of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I do admit. Ils, too.
21) Biggest career fall from grace —
I’m gonna go with the others and saw Shyamalan.
22) Biggest career redemption —
Gus Van Sant.
23) Biggest surprise —
Tilda Swinton. Who knew she’d have a decade like that in the mainstream?
24) Biggest cry —
Dancer in the Dark makes me week uncontrollablt.
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop —
Faux-indie comedies filled with faux-quirk. Ugh.
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s —
Edgy queer cinema, the lesser focus on CGI, adult thrillers/dramas
27) Favorite film critic —
Of actual critics (so no bloggers) I’ll say Ebert purely for his review of War of the Worlds in which I agree with every single syllable.
28) Favorite Pixar —
The Incredibles or Ratatouille
29) Last minute casting change you would have made —
Toni Collette in a Liza Minnelli biopic rather than Anne Hathaway in yet another Judy Garland biopic.
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade —
“Half the people in this room are mad at me, and the other half only like me because they think I pushed somebody in front a bus, so that’s not good.”
Lindsay should’ve seen her own downfall coming via the movie that made her famous.
Ask me next week and a lot of them might be different.
Glad to see someone name the highway scene in Matrix reloaded as best action scene. That whole sequence is worthy of cameron and lucas. My main problem with the third movie was that the action was weak sauce. I would also nominate the balrog sequence in two towers, both the prelude part and the later finish. When the movie began I was in a state of shock, that falling battle was so intense.
Great answers.
1) Ten I love… Shaun of The Dead, Dawn of The Dead, The Matador, School of Rock, Wedding Crashers, Talladega Nights, Inglourious Basterds, About A Boy, Bad Santa, Spider-Man 2
2) Ten overrated movies — Moulin Rouge!, Million Dollar Baby, Lost in Translation, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Royal Tennenbaums, LOTR: The Return of The King, Eternal Sunshine, Donnie Darko, The 25th Hour
3) Actor who defined the decade — George Clooney
4) Actress who defined the decade — Angelina Jolie
5) Director who defined the decade — He peaked early, but Peter Jackson gets the game ball.
6) Favorite new actress — Anna Faris is just tops.
7) Favorite new actor — Bill Nighy is going places. You watch.
8) Favorite new director — Paul Greengrass, the perfect reality director for the reality tv decade
9) Performance of the decade (female) — Watts in Mulholland Dr. More like “MegaWatts.”
10) Performance of the decade (male) — DDL in Gangs of New York. Bill The Butcher IS AMERICA.
11) Movie you almost or actually did walk out of — “Down to You” with Freddie Prinze Jr. The title is how that movie talks.
12) Best use of CGI –The Gollum/Smeagol conversation in Two Towers is still one for the ages.
13) Best action scene — I will have to agree with Camel about Death Proof. It’s literally the real deal.
14) Unsung masterpiece — Syndromes and a Century
15) Oversung masterpiece — Wall-E
16) Best one sheet poster –Mr & Mrs Smith. Two movies stars looking like freaking movies stars.
17) Most promising trailer — Little Children
18) Best audience experience — DiCaprio’s final moment in The Departed was followed by a shriek from a lady that curdled my blood.
19) Funniest movie — Bad Santa. My Uncle Lou took my grandmother to see it. What a 10 minutes that must have been.
20) Scariest movie — Paranormal Activity gave me the willies for a couple weeks.
21) Biggest career fall from grace — They should teach Shyamalan’s decent in film school.
22) Biggest career redemption — The rebirth of Robert Downey Jr is a beautiful thing.
23) Biggest surprise — How many fresh movie stars we didn’t get in this decade. Come on, name like one?
24) Biggest cry — In America. But the end credits dedication to Frankie. It instantly turned this sweet little story into a biography. Killed me.
25) Hollywood trend that needs to stop — Stop making romantic comedies where the lead characters are sociopaths. Do you know how cynical that makes you people look?
26) Thing you miss most about the 1990s — I miss that wonderfully snobby Gene Siskel.
27) Favorite film critic — Stephanie Zacharek… The working man’s Manohla.
28) Favorite Pixar — Ratatouille.
29) Last minute casting change you would have made — Russell Crowe and Mekhi Phifer in Mann’s Miami Vice.
30) Piece of dialogue that best sums up the decade — “Anakin, you’re breaking my heart.” — Natalie Portman in Revenge of the Sith.
Same here, Natters.
Merry Christmas!
Okay, just remembered the name of that Brazilian movie, CENTRAL STATION, but it was from ’98.
Would add HUSTLE & FLOW to my top flix.
However, in terms of writing/directing/acting/ cinematography/production design “cinematic experience” of the decade would have to go to non-theatrical:
DEADWOOD
&
MAD MEN