19-Nov-09, 01:25pm
#1
|
|
|---|---|
"Boredism" |
daily telegraph defining 100 movies of the naughties
cos i like lists
100 Avatar James Cameron, 2009, DVD n/a: On the basis of a sneak 15-minute show reel, it’s not premature to predict that this ground-breaking 3D sci-fi epic will change the way we look at movies. 99 Together Lukas Moodysson, 2000, £12.72: Astutely observed and delightfully delicate comic drama about a Swedish hippie commune in the Seventies. 98 Crash Paul Haggis, 2005, £9.78: Oscar voters loved this multi-stranded depiction of contemporary LA’s combustible race politics. 97 Tropical Malady Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004, £12.72: Thrill-seeking audiences rejoiced (while scratching their heads) at this mesmerising gay love story featuring soldiers adrift in Thai forests. 96 Shrek Andrew Adamson, 2001, £9.78: Charming, witty computer-generated animation fairy tale about a princess and an ogre. Hugely promising, but its sequels have fallen far short. 95 Michael Clayton Tony Gilroy, 2007, £8.80: In this intelligent, literate thriller, George Clooney, as a disillusioned fixer at a New York law firm, did his best acting work to date, proving that he’s a movie star for the ages. 94 The Brown Bunny Vincent Gallo, 2003 , £7.82: Heckled at Cannes, the decade’s most reviled film is now destined to become a future lost classic. 93 Grizzly Man Werner Herzog, 2005 , £8.80: Still fierce, still idiosyncratic, the German director’s superb documentary about two slain bear enthusiasts was riveting from first to last. 92 The Wrestler Darren Aronofsky, 2008 , £12.72: Comeback of the decade from Mickey Rourke, in a lacerating saga of steroid overkill and trailer-trash redemption. 91 Atanarjuat: the Fast Runner Zacharias Kunuk, 2001, £12.72: This Inuit epic with extraordinary snow chases, based on a tale 2,000 years old, was a unique achievement that lingers. 90 Bend It Like Beckham Gurinder Chadha, 2002, £8.80: A surprise British global hit, blending football with teen-girl comedy and cultural diversity issues. The launch pad for Keira Knightley, one of the decade’s biggest stars. 89 Munich Steven Spielberg, 2005, £8.80: Dark, pensive thriller about Mossad agents bent on killing Palestinian terrorists who massacred Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. A complex, unsentimental one-off. 88 The Pianist Roman Polanski, 2002, £8.80: Polanski won an Oscar for this comeback of unexpected acuity, with Adrien Brody bringing haunted charisma to the lead role. 87 The Child Dardenne brothers, 2005, £9.78: Europe’s finest purveyors of social humanist cinema outdid themselves with this Bresson-like portrait of a feckless young father who sells his infant son. 86 Let the Right One In Tomas Alfredson, 2008, £12.72: Vampire movies have been 10-a-penny this decade. None was remotely as affecting as this snow-capped charmer about alienated Swedish teenagers. 85 Erin Brockovich Steven Soderbergh, 2000, £8.80: Julia Roberts got the role of her life – and a slam-dunk Oscar – in Soderbergh’s legal‑crusader drama. 84 Sin City Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, 2005, £10.76: Fanboys salivated over the noir fidelity of this super-stylised comic book transfer, with 300 and Watchmen to come. 83 Good Bye Lenin! Wolfgang Becker, 2003, £8.80: A young man tries to shield his frail mother from the news that Communism is over in this charming exercise in “Ostalgia”. 82 Monsoon Wedding Mira Nair, 2001, £15.65: The changing face of middle-class, urban India was brought to warts-and-all life in this freewheeling, thought-provoking drama. 81 Milk Gus Van Sant, 2008, £10.76: Sean Penn wasn’t an obvious choice to play gay rights activist, Harvey Milk. His funny and seething Oscar-winning performance proved sceptics wrong. 80 The Return Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003, £19.56: This emotionally subtle drama about two brothers dealing with the return of their missing father signalled a new dawn in Russian cinema. 79 Spider-Man Sam Raimi, 2002, £8.80: The first hit for an amiable comic-book franchise set the tone with humour, a warm romance and Tobey Maguire’s likeable hero. 78 The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow, 2008, DVD n/a: The one Iraq drama that mattered, shaking us with the street-level view of America’s perilous occupation. 77 Children of Men Alfonso Cuar”n, 2006, £9.78: This apocalyptic vision of a world in which man can no longer procreate gnawed at the imagination. 76 Antichrist Lars von Trier, 2009, dvd n/a: Instant notoriety was the name of the game in von Trier’s lavish, rusty-scissored attack on bourgeois sensibilities. 75 The School of Rock Richard Linklater, 2003, £7.82: The chameleonic Linklater teamed up with Jack Black to create a hugely endearing take on the rags-to-riches rock movie template. 74 Los Angeles Plays Itself Thom Anderson, 2003, DVD n/a: Copyright issues mean it will likely never be commercially released, but this archive-essay exploring cinematic depictions of LA was an underground smash. 73 Master and Commander Peter Weir, 2003, £9.78: A magisterial seafaring epic from Weir, serenely adapting Patrick O’Brian and putting a brave focus on the quotidian. 72 Uzak Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002, £9.78: One of the great revelations of the decade was this Turkish auteur whose portraits of broody masculinity seduced art house audiences. 71 A History of Violence David Cronenberg, 2005, £9.78: Cronenberg switched tack with a bruising study of dormant criminality, anchored by the ever-improving Viggo Mortensen. 70 Mulholland Drive David Lynch, 2001, £9.78: From the wreckage of an abandoned television pilot, Lynch crafted a seductive dreamscape of fractured identity in Tinseltown. 69 The Class Laurent Cantet, 2008, £19.56: A rare great Best Foreign Film, this pedagogical docudrama bristled with teacher-student brinkmanship. 68 Waltz with Bashir Ari Folman, 2008, £19.56: Few animation features were as bold as this graphic and surreal account from Israel about the (true) mass slaughter of Palestinian refugees. 67 Little Miss Sunshine Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, 2006, £8.80 This light, offbeat, uplifting comedy about a dysfunctional family en route to a gruesome children’s beauty contest pointed the way for American independent cinema. 66 United 93 Paul Greengrass, 2006, £8.80: Could the events of 9/11 be filmed? More to the point, should they? This extraordinarily powerful film answered only the first question. 65 The Departed Martin Scorsese, 2006, £9.78: An all-star cast – DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg – pulled together to make this twisty, underworld drama a total knockout. 64 Spirited Away Hayao Miyazaki, 2001, £12.72: The film that finally made Japan’s master of animation familiar in the West. A moving story, exquisitely drawn. 63 The Piano Teacher Michael Haneke, 2001, £9.78: Isabelle Huppert delivered the decade’s boldest performance in this portrait of the self-mutilating repression of the Austrian bourgeoisie. 62 The Devil Wears Prada David Frankel, 2006, £8.80: Spearheading Meryl Streep’s reascent to mega-stardom, this bitchy fashion face-off was a female-targeted blockbuster like no other. 61 In This World Michael Winterbottom, 2002, £12.72: This magnificent drama about two Pakistani asylum seekers confirmed migration as one of the key themes of cinema this decade. 60 Kill Bill Quentin Tarantino, 2003, £10.76: Tarantino split the film in two and his critics down the middle, serving up a delirious martial arts revenge saga. 59 Wall-E Andrew Stanton, 2008, £22.50: Pixar trawled the debris of a disused Earth in this brave, breath-taking robot romance. 58 Donnie Darko Richard kelly, 2001, £7.82: This darkly beautiful suburban fable was the cult sensation of the decade. 57 Sideways Alexander Payne, 2004, £8.80: No Merlot! Everyone’s favourite wine-trip comedy, this was a rare buddy movie with serious wit, integrity and great performances. 56 Atonement Joe Wright, 2007, £9.78: This flamboyant, visually ravishing adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Second World War novel put its British director on the map and confirmed Keira Knightley’s star quality. 55 Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore, 2002, £9.78: Passionate, wildly funny condemnation of America’s gun culture. It inspired a wave of politically-minded young people to become documentary film-makers. 54 Talk to Her Pedro Almod”var, 2002, £9.78: Beguiling top pick from the Almodóvar offerings, as the Spanish director went from strength to strength in his ongoing “mature” phase. 53 No Country for Old Men Joel & Ethan Coen, 2007, £9.78: Fine adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s dark vision of evil in Texas, blending savage humour and genuine dread with stunning photography. 52 Hunger Steve McQueen, 2008, £12.72: Recent history – and Bobby Sands’s starvation campaign – was brought to intense, visceral life by the Turner prize-winner’s feature debut. 51 Lagaan Ashutosh Gowariker, 2001, dvd n/a: A stirring fusion of masala music and anti-colonial cricketing epic that opened many eyes to Bollywood. |
|
|
| JulesPLees |
| View Public Profile |
| Find More Posts by JulesPLees |
