What He Aught To Do
Some time in January I'll put up my 2010 film year in review, but until then, I note my friend Jesse Walker is doing his look back. Except he doesn't deal with the present year, since he knows it'll be a while before he catches up with so many film from 2010. Instead, he looks back, decade by decade, to each film year than ends in zero.
He starts with 2000.
Here's his top ten:
2. Yi Yi
3. You Can Count On Me
4. Dark Days
5. Rejected
6. Memento
7. High Fidelity
8. Sexy Beast
9. Almost Famous
10. Code Unknown
Most of these I like, but some of them I don't think I like as much as Jesse, such as Gleaners, Yi Yi, Sexy Beast and Code Unknown.
I'm intrigued by the subject of Dark Days but don't think the film is great.
I'm no fan of Almost Famous, which I consider weakly written and poorly cast.
I love "Rejected" but it's not a feature so wouldn't make my list.
His honorable mentions:
12. Brave New World
13. Wonder Boys
14. Amores Perros
15. The Heart of the World
16. Faithless
17. Tragos
18. The Cell
19. The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg
20. George Washington
Half of them--11, 12, 16, 17 and 19--I haven't seen.
I liked the subject of Wonder Boys but don't think it goes anywhere. The Cell didn't strike me as anything special. Amores Perros and George Washington would probably make my top ten.
Looking back at 2000, it wasn't a great year for Hollywood. Most of the big hits, like Mission: Impossible II, X-Men, Meet The Parents, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Perfect Storm and What Women Want weren't much. Still, there were some films worth looking at that didn't make Jesse's list.
Here are some he left out that would make my top ten:
Best in Show
Chicken Run
Dancer in the Dark
Here are others I liked, to varying degrees:
Bring it On (I was as surprised as anyone), In The Mood For Love, Italian for Beginners, Me, Myself, And Irene (a disappointing follow-up to There's Something About Mary, but still funny), The Emperor's New Groove, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (not great, but fun, and a soundtrack that made it a hit), Quills, Space Cowboys (a rare Clint Eastwood film I liked), The Specials, The Tao of Steve, Traffic
Here are some films that are at least of interest:
Billy Elliot, Cast Away (flawed but fascinating), Chocolat, Dude, Where's My Car?, Duets, Erin Brockovich (a big year for Soderbergh), The Family Man (has moments that work surprisingly well), Fantasia 2000, Frequency, Pollock, Small Time Crooks, Songcatcher, Unbreakable, What Lies Beneath (a big year for Zemeckis), What Planet Are You From?
A couple films I detested but had great critical and/or public approval:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Nurse Betty
posted by LAGuy @ 12:02 AM
7 Comments:
I loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but as a comedy which is probably not what they were going for.
Watch it inebriated. You'll get what I mean.
"Memento" would be my choice for # 1 of 2000. I don't know how you decide what is "best", but by the measure of rewatching a film (that is, the fact that it sticks with one and generates a desire to be seen again), "Memento" is first for me.
We had little kids in 2000, so we missed a lot of the year's films, but did catch the cartoons. "Fantasia 2000," "Chicken Run" and "The Emperor's New Groove" are very rewatchable too.
I'm surprised you didn't like "X-Men" - I thought it was pretty well done and featured decent performances for a superhero movie. I guess the story was a little lacking, burdened by the need to introduce so many characters.
And you are right about "O Brother Where Art Thou" - it is rewatchable, but mostly for the music. I listen to the album once or twice every year, but have watched the film only two or three times.
I remember seeing X-Men and its sequels. One of the things that annoyed me was there were too many mutants all around the world. I thought it should be more special. In fact, when they were worried about what the President would do, it seemed to me their best solution would be to vote him out.
There's been some sort of big anti-Almost Famous backlash in the last 10 years. I have no idea why.
Best in Show is a funny movie; maybe it would be my #21. And I'll join you in giving thumbs up to Battle Royale, Chicken Run, In the Mood for Love, Me Myself and Irene (uneven but underrated), O Brother (though by Coen standards it's a lesser movie), and Cast Away.
Space Cowboys, Small Time Crooks, and What Planet Are You From are fun but nothing special. I think The Tao of Steve is pretty good but wildly overrated. Traffic is a mixed bag, but more good than bad. Dude, Where's My Car was mildly enjoyable, but not as fun as I hoped.
I disliked Quills and Erin Brockovich (except for Albert Finney, who was great) and, like you, I didn't care for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I thought Nurse Betty was OK.
I don't think I've seen the others.
P.S. With a movie as great as Rejected, don't you feel a little bit tempted to include shorts in your lists?
I beat the rush and didn't like Almost Famous from the start. Maybe I expected more from Cameron Crowe, who was there. Don't forget, in its day, it was critically admired, but was a loser at the box office. (I do, however, know the house in Santa Monica where the kid in the movie grew up.)
"Rejected" is one of the greatest cartoons I've ever seen, but you need bright line rules. Otherwise, next thing you know, TV shows end up on movie lists, and you've got anarchy.
Incidentally, you can see The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qyUIPQ8yvo
Chilling.
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