Best of the 2000's

It sends chills down your spine. The closing shot ends and the credits start to roll. If you love film at all, your completely breathless when the movie ends. In all honesty, it's the best film of the last 10 years, without a doubt.

Basically every single shot in the movie serves a significant purpose and not one of those shots are ever boring or repetitive. The cinematography helps make that happen. Robert Elswit is a genius and deserved the oscar he received, bringing immense beauty to the movie.

The musical score is also something to praise greatly. Every piece of music fits perfectly into place into every single scene. The story is amazing anyways, but with the music in the right places, it feels like the whole movie transcends the boundaries of normal film making.

It's obvious that Anderson gets his influences from the greats, like Kubrick and Altman; but his own style mixed with his influences help craft a superb movie that is easily his most ambitious work to date.

And of course the performances. Oh D-Day. You are spectacular. I could easily say he's my favorite actor ever, but I have not seen him in enough movies to truly justify that claim. However, whoever he portrays he doesn't just play another character, he IS that person. But mostly anybody with a love of film already knows all about Daniel-Day Lewis so there's no point in explaining anymore. The inclusion of a phenomenal supporting cast along with the man carrying the movie himself, adds even more to an already modern day masterpiece.

If I ramble, I don't mean to. It's just that this movie can seriously not get enough praise. I've watched the movie now for a 2nd time, and it's so much better this time around. Moving on from here, I really don't know what P.T. Anderson can do to top himself. It's obvious though that he has a knack for superb story-telling and directorial skill. Anything he does is gold. Can't wait to see what he comes out with next.

(There will be spoilers, but not major ones, just fyi.)
The masterpiece I was hoping for. At first as the movie went on, I thought it was going to not trump Batman Begins, but my god was I wrong. Just like the Joker's constantly changing background story about his scars, the movie seems to constantly continue to present twists and turns that are brilliant beyond words.

The cast: Christian Bale is brilliant as always with his charming, yet conflicted nature storming him with personal vendettas that only the greatest heroes could ever trump. Bale is the most talented actor working in Hollywood right alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, even if that man is a monster of a god among actors. The supporting cast (Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michael Caine) are all fantastic and help keep the foundation of the story amazing. Sadly, despite him being one of my favorite actors, Michael Caine suffers from not having enough involvement. Don't get me wrong, he's still spectacular, but I didn't get to see all the charm he brought in the first film as much. That's probably the movie's weakest point. Still, everything scene Caine is in stands as a highlight of the whole movie. Next comes Freeman who I especially love and his performance is full of depth that the first movie did not show. Really great stuff. Then there's Maggie. Wow. So much better than Katie Holmes even though I still admire her performance in the first one. It was brilliant as well.

Then there's Gary Oldman. If the man wasn't a legend already, he cements himself in the records as a brilliant actor in the role he seemed born to play, as Gordon. The man cannot be praised enough, juggling his constant duties as a police officer who is around people who hate the Batman, and cooperating with him at the same time.

Two of the biggest performances most people were most anxious to see were Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart. Heath Ledger, how can I put this, deserves every Oscar of the last ten years. Okay so obviously he doesn't, but it is definitely true he needs the nomination at the least. I obviously can't speak for him winning it right now because all the movies of the year have not been released but still, it's the best performance of the year so far. The chaotic, psychotic nature of the Joker is so masterfully done that Jack Nicholson's performance of the Joker is put to shame, no matter how much I like it as well. Nicholson got nominated for the Joker in '89 so Ledger better get it as well, or I'll be mad as hell and won't take it anymore.

The biggest surprise though was Eckhart. He did not have the best performance, however he came in a pretty close second and blew me away. He should not have been as overshadowed as he has been from Ledger's performance because it has the power and emotion that any great performance has. Brilliant stuff. The performances are what make this movie truly spectacular and a shining example of what an actor should bring to the screen.

Nolan is a top director and his script shows it. He now has three masterpieces on his hands (the other two being Batman Begins and The Prestige) so anything he does from now on has to be watched closely because it will probably be great. But seriously though, this is a prime example of a harrowing tragedy, with everything around Batman falling down around him, the Joker one step ahead of him. Never have I been on such a roller coaster of an experience with a story in a theater with suspense that I have not seen since the days of Hitchcock.

The cinematography is gorgeous, the score genius (seriously), and just about everything you could think of. The Dark Knight shows that comic book movies are no longer just light summer fluff, no. TDK has set a standard that if future comic book adaptations don't even come near to this movie, they will fail because they don't feel like art, which this movie is. I can only imagine where they will go from here (if Nolan and Bale do not come back, I will be furious), but there are plenty of avenues to explore that could make the next Batman film just as bloody brilliant as this one. If you don't think this is as close to perfect as you can get, you obviously do not appreciate movies. God bless you Heath Ledger.

2nd Viewing Response - Not only is it just as good, but scenes that seemed a little weak were made stronger by knowing where the movie was going. Morgan Freeman's performance wasn't as good as I remembered though. It was great of course, but not AMAZING. And I have to give Bale more credit than I did because nothing was going to top his performance in the first one, his origin story.

Besides having an all-star cast, this Scorsese film completely delivers everything you could possibly want, music, editing, etc.. Honestly there's not one thing wrong about this film that I can point out. Jack in this movie is the reason why De Niro and Pacino have no reason for sucking in their old age.

Fucking incredible. Danny Boyle is a genius and is one of the most promising directors around, right next to P.T. Anderson and Christopher Nolan. But I think Boyle thought he was making part of 28 Days Later during the filming of the final part of Sunshine. It's the only explanation.

It's a shame this didn't get an Oscar nomination, though I'm really not surprised. There's a great cast and a great screenplay but not something that would instantly click with most people. Another Fincher classic alongside Fight Club and Seven.

I have no idea what happened, but I love it. Silencio.

Cage's best. Kaufman is amazing. And Spike Jonze has a great sense of direction as always. About as good as Being John Malkovich, maybe better. Have to watch it again.

Wall-E is without a doubt Pixar's most ambitious project to date. Toy Story was a revolutionary step forward in animation and since then, it seemed like that major step forward would overshadow everything else they made after it (much like M. Night and the effect The Sixth Sense had on him). Things shaped up though after the release of Ratatouille last year and that great film only made Wall-E even more anticipated. He was just so damn adorable. By the time the movie came into theaters, people were dying to know whether Pixar would deliver again. And without a doubt, they certainly did.

The story revolves around a robot who is on a deserted planet Earth cleaning up the trash, which is what he is programmed to do, stacking them up in high buildings. And that's about as basic as it gets. You get a "love" interest added on sometime later with EVE and eventually move onto a spaceship were we see what happened to human beings. All that is interesting, but the true beauty lies with Wall-E himself. He has an undeniable charm that is infectious and will warm even the darkest of hearts. Reminders of Chaplin cross through the audience as almost the entire first 20-30 minutes is without any dialogue of any sort. The silence creeps up on the audience capturing a serene, but haunting landscape of destruction and beauty. Pixar crafted a beautiful movie, but not in there traditional sense. This world that Wall-E is in is a dark, apocalyptic environment that has rich detail in every building, item, and etc. bringing to life one of the most breathtaking animated movie to date. You have to see it to believe it.

Like I said the character Wall-E is incredible and the first 30 minutes of this film are easily a masterpiece among other great works of art. So what about the rest of the film? Well, it definitely works, but not quite on the same level. EVE doesn't add anything that Wall-E has not already brought to the screen, but her presence brings out even more charm from Wall-E has he consistently tries to charm her when she seems to not even care. Eventually they become friends of sorts and it is charming to see a romance more powerful than any shitty romantic films Hollywood likes to churn out constantly. She soon finds what she was programmed to find on Earth, and the story transcends briefly into a tragic love story. These moments in the film are equally spectacular as the beginning.

What comes after this though is the weak point in the movie. A bunch of politics of sorts ease its way into the film, most of which I care not to get into, mostly because they only work on a simple way. Delving too deep into these politics would be besides the point that Pixar made, or so I would think. The fact is that although Pixar took great measures to please adult audiences, this stands as a children's movie. That said, it still has far too many subtle things that adults can pick up on that will keep them interested throughout the 2nd half of the film, while the children are entertained by the mayhem that ensues on the screen.

I can't think of much else to say right now about Wall-E because so much of the movie you have to see for yourself to completely understand why its Pixar's best film yet. Do yourself a favor and make sure you see this near masterpiece in a theater, to experience something truly magical.

I firmly believe this is Spike Lee's greatest accomplishment. Sure, it might not ooze the same amount of style and shock that his other brilliant movie, Do The Right Thing, does but it manages to elevate to a level that doesn't need that sort of grandiose style and has probably one of the best endings ever. Truly stunning and maybe Norton's best performance - period.

I love Tokyo.

Basically Will Ferrel's best comedy. He hasn't been able to match this sort of talent yet.

One of the few sequels that does it right.

Why is In Bruges one of my favorite films of the year? Because not only is it hilarious, it's also a hard hitting thriller with moral precautions that even some of the best dramas have trouble properly conveying onscreen. Also it's one of Colin Farrell's best roles ever. This movie hit me like a brick to the head for whatever reason, though I'm sure a little town called Bruges had something to do with it.

Although Colin Farrel is amazing here, the real scene stealer is Brendan Gleeson. I really liked him in 28 Days Later, but In Bruges has him coming in as his own as an actor, at least from what I've seen from him. These two men are hit men that have been sent to Bruge for whatever reason. They have no idea. Ray (Farrell) recently messed up a hit and killed a child by accident and is haunting him everyday. And that's about all you need to know coming into this film. The story moves along swimmingly and feels alive and vibrant with cleverly written dialogue and beautiful set pieces. I cannot stress the dark humor in In Bruge enough because it is that good. I had no idea I could be laughing at a movie this hard when the next movie my mouth is wide open from some gruesome death or violence. It's pretty brilliant and Martin McDonagh more than proves himself as a visually talented director.

Like I said earlier, the acting is incredible and mainly centers around Farrell and Gleeson, with some Ralph Fiennes thrown in for good measure. These three have so much chemistry together that this could have been a film about growing a garden and I still would have been entertained. The supporting cast is also great with many of those "that guys" doing a more than competent job.

Once again I'll mention the script. This should probably be published and be a mandatory read for any aspiring film student. It's that good in my opinion. It oozes witty dialogue and laugh out comments that rival some of the big comedies of the summer and year. The whole film manages to be a dark comedy, intense action thriller, and thoughtful drama all at once and is spectacular to say the least. Genre blending is hard to pull off but McDonagh manages to do it.

I can't begin to express my love for this film. It's so refreshingly new without being too much to handle at first. It adds dimensions to characters that are normally so shallow and one-dimensional and the humor is spot on almost always. Shakespearean tragedy comes to mind when watching In Bruge - its tragic in its scope yet ironically sarcastic and witty in its tone.

Quiet frankly, Once is one of the best movies I've seen in a long while. Yes, I've seen movies like There Will Be Blood, Raging Bull, and Schindler's List in the last few months, but this my friends, tops it in terms of sheer enlightenment. I will very quickly go out and buy this, along with the soundtrack. It is the best musical I have ever seen.

For the most part, I can find nothing wrong with this movie. The soundtrack is one of the most important things to mention, considering this is a musical. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are musical geniuses and deliver some of the best music I've heard from the 21st century. I still have bands I need to listen to more fully, i.e. Radiohead, but these two musicians but soul into their songs. You feel the pain and suffering they are experiencing or the happiness they experience when writing music together. It's a remarkable feat and one that should not be taken lightly. If you don't feel for these characters by the end of this movie, not even once, then you probably don't have a soul. And yeah, I'm serious. Music nowadays doesn't seem to get what made the 19th and 20th century so wonderful when it came to musical pieces. The classical music, i.e. Bach, Beethoven, and rock classics, i.e. Guns 'N Roses, Journey, had a charm to them that no other bands held. I'm ranting now about the state of music, but there is nothing wrong with any of the music in this movie so that's why I get so pissed at generic rock band #1000.

Anyways, the acting is pretty great too, surprisingly. Especially since neither of them had ever acted before, and Marketa even said she didn't know how she could cry during that one scene (you'll know which one), but she did and very convincingly. The relationship between the two protagonists becomes stronger and stronger as the story moves along and can be seen with the intensity of the lyrics increasing more and more. It's all very awe-inspiring.

Now in a musical, you wouldn't expect the story to be something to extravagant, and in this case its not. But that's the beauty of it! The story is so simple, yet so elegant and sincere. It never tries to be sappy or preachy, and instead shows how life goes on in reality all the way to the ending. And speaking of the ending, wow. So masterfully done. Most movies ruin themselves with their endings (I'm looking at you Sunshine), but (POTENTIAL SPOILER) the ambiguous and open ended ending fit perfectly into the mood of the rest of the flick. And at a short run time of about 86 minutes, I never once wondered when it was gonna end. Only feared it ending cause it's so amazing.

This is an indie picture though, and gets hampered by some shoddy camera work. But hey, that's the budget Carney had, so you can't blame him. He did really well with what he was given. Sure some of it may look amateurish like a home video, almost, but you can't take away from the fact that the action going on in the background is far more important.

The movie could basically be called the anti-August Rush as my friend Riley has said before. Never overly sentimental or sappy, I would think most people would fall in love with it. I could be entirely wrong however, that really doesn't matter to me because I loved the film and will continue to watch it because its one of the most enjoyable experiences of the 21st century, in terms of movies, thus far.

Another great Bale film. I had no expectations going into this, so maybe that was why I was so blown away. But really, what else could you possibly expect from Bale?

Wes Anderson has finally proven to me he is an amazing director. The man is a creative genius.

One of Spielberg's most underrated films, other than Empire of the Sun. At first you see the shiny coat that Minority Report wears, with it's pretty face actor Tom Cruise, or the flashy animations and stunts. But under all that, you have a super tense thriller that makes you think and wonder about the believable future Spielberg and Dick brought to life. And Cruise is very held back and very good here. Doesn't happen very often, so take it as it is. Minority Report is a masterpiece not only among science fiction movies, but among movies in general.

It's one of my lesser favorites of Wes, but it's still awesome.

This is so brilliant, that no matter what you thought about the Japanese in WW2, you will forever be changed.

Slumdog opens up with a bang and leads to a question appearing on screen, a la Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. We're asked whether Jamal has won the show by either cheating, being lucky, or if it was written. Yet ironically, the show Jamal is on, the centerpiece of the film, is not the best part of it, though it probably has some of the most humor. No, it is in fact the flashbacks where we are told of Jamal's life and the simple, yet beautiful love between him and Lakita. Boyle manages to take a stale idea about love and makes it fresh again in one of his best films.

Jamal (Dev Patel) is a slumdog living in the poverty stricken areas of Mumbai, India. He is a sincere boy, much like the main protagonist from City of God with which this film holds several comparisons towards, and is easily sympathized with from the beginning. He is the Oliver Twist of our generation. His life story is told through intricate weaving of flashbacks through the game show he is on and in his interegation, where somehow the men that electrocute him do not understand how a slumdog could be so intelligent and sincere. Despite this and all the dangers and perils Jamal encountered in his life, he survives. His energy is infectious like the rest of the film.

Through the flashbacks, we meet characters like Lakita (Freida Pinto), the love interest of Jamal who endures as much trauma and pain, if not more, as him, who has a strong vitality of life and endures on. Both her and Jamal represent something all of us could use a little more of in these hard stricken times: hope. Jamal's brother Salim (Madhur Mittal), shows what happens to the other poverty children, where corruption and desperation seeps in and anything will be done in order to be on top and away from the bottom in which they had been stuck at. He joins mobs, does horrendous acts to people, yet he's not totally nonredeemable by the end. There's always hope.

The mainstream audience is hardly exposed to the degregation and poverty of India, and trust me, its there. Some have complained that Boyle glamorizes poverty, but its obvious they are watching a different movie. His highly stylized and frenetic camera movement does not make the poverty seem any less gritty, rather its just a technical move which is highly effective and captivating film making. If the favelas seem like the type of place you want to live in, well then all the power to you. But Boyle's use of authentic locations bring out the dirty, grimy world many inhabitants of India have to endure on a daily basis, in a country far too over populated. One shot shows Jamal running through the streets of the favelas and Boyle pulls back the camera three times, finally coming back far enough to reveal the long stretches these poorly made homes and stalls extend out to. It is a breathtaking moment.

The rest of the relatively unknown cast, such as Prem (Anil Kapoor) and Inspector (Irfan Khan) round out the movie with memorable and outstanding performances. The amount of heart present throughout is tremendous and makes for one of the most uplifting movies of the year, even if some horrible things do happen. And those horrible scenes are really that terrifying - one scene involving spoons and eyes will certainly stick with you long after the movie ends. Yet the humor is here too and a few red chilies are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The whole experience is one long, speeding bullet of energy and magic, fable like qualities.

Danny Boyle has proven to be a master of genres, whether it be horror, drug related, comedy, sci-fi, family, and now Bollywood/romance films. I don't know how much longer he can keep this up, but hopefully forever. I obviously loved this film and it will go down as something that people, and myself, will remember for years.

I've been watching quite a few documentaries lately, and this one stands out the most for me. Werner Herzog manages to capture on camera the extremely eccentric behavior of Treadwell and the unbelievable footage of animal wildlife, making this something you should see at least once. You'll want a baby fox after this, trust me.

Better than A History of Violence.

I don't really know what to say. It's one of the best musicals I have ever seen. And Rickman is amazing as always.