100 Favorite Films of 2000-2009 (100-91)
January 1, 2010 2 Comments
100
Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)
Logan (Malcolm Stumpf) embodied how it was like to come to terms with one’s sexuality and the film handled the issue with such sensitivity without having to sacrifice honesty. This is a difficult film to sit through if one doesn’t have an open mind because, yes, Logan does experiment with cross-dressing, phone sex and creates an alternate identity of the opposite sex in order to be with another boy who is interested in girls. As twisted as all of that sounds, this film deserves a spot on my list because it was daring, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and fascinating all the way through. Having seen “Wild Tigers I Have Known,” written and directed by Cam Archer, the summer before I went off to the university, it made me interested child psychology.
99
Thirteen (2003)
Although I did have my angry, angsty teenager phase in high school, I wasn’t as bad Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) when she experimented with drugs, sex and crime. Although “Thirteen,” written and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, did not have a complex story arc, it did show what bad parenting could do to a teenager. Or worse, how it was like for someone to not have any sort of internal locus of control in order to break out of a deadly cycle. Diablo Cody stated it perfectly in “Jennifer’s Body” (2009): Hell is a teenage girl.
98
Grizzly Man (2005)
“Grizzly Man” was Werner Herzog’s documentary about two activists, Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were murdered by the creatures they fought for. After watching this film, I remember I just sat there on the couch for a while because I couldn’t believe it all really happened. This is a documentary about the danger of loving something so much that one gets blinded to the reality of the situation. We can judge the two activists however we want but Herzog honored his subjects by just showing instead of judging. I’m still shocked about what I saw years later.
97
Paris, je t’aime (2006)
18 stories about Paris and the people that loved the city. I haven’t been to Paris and I promised to myself that I would visit at least once before I die. Although only half of the stories worked for me, I ended up loving the ones that did work. One of my favorites has got to be the one when an American woman struggled with her French to describe how much she loved Paris. There was something so honest and beautiful about her broken French. I am moved whenever I think about her sitting alone on that park bench while eating her sandwich and then realizing… something profound. She made me reflect about my life and where I was going.
96
Cashback (2006)
Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) has insomnia and has to figure out (amusing) ways to pass the time during his late night shift at a supermarket. “Cashback,” written and directed by Sean Ellis, is a film about love and imagination and I absorbed every minute of it. There was a beautiful quote I always end up reading whenever I’m sad or needing an inspiration. That is, “Once upon a time, I wanted to know what love was. Love is there if you want it to be. You just have to see that it’s wrapped in beauty and hidden away in between the seconds of your life. If you don’t stop for a minute, you might miss it.”
95
Frailty (2001)
This sinister film about a father (Bill Paxton) convincing his sons (Matt O’Leary, Jeremy Sumpter) that God has told him to murder people really chilled me to the bone. It doesn’t succumb to typicality and it really showed what it wanted to get across. Directed by Paxton, I was surprised with how multilayered (and very atmospheric) it was up until the last second. I still don’t have an answer whether he really did get messages from a higher power or if he was just a broken man with disturbing delusions of grandeur. Lastly, the twist was clever and I did not see it coming.
94
Downfall (2004)
I’ve seen a plethora of World War II movies that features Adolf Hitler but never has he been more terrifying as personified in “Downfall” which was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. But at the same time, it was more than how terrifying he was. The picture showed that he was more than a monster like in most WWII pictures—that he was capable of feeling for others and the way he handled those feelings as his regime began to collapse. It’s really quite a unique experience to see him as an actual human being.
93
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
I love zombie flicks and I feel like there has always been an element of comedy in movies that aim to horrify audiences with zombies. “Shaun of the Dead,” written and directed by Edgar Wright, stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two best friends who must save their love ones when everyone around them starts to want to feed on brains. Yes, it’s very cheeky and some of the jokes may not have been as funny to American than European audiences. However, what’s apparent was everyone was having fun and it was able to rapidly reference to one classic zombie movie to the next with wit and confidence. I distinctly remember that scene when the protagonists pretended to be zombies (moaning and slow movements included) to get into a pub. At times the picture was dripping with irony.
92
Chicken Run (2000)
Written and directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park, “Chicken Run” was one of the first movies I saw from start to finish in absolute joy when I first imigrated to America. I remember thinking that it was no ordinary animation because the characters looked like they were made out of clay or rubber. Rewatching it years later, I thought it was very funny, sometimes ironic and it really was creative when it comes to entertaining the kids while at the same time providing social commentaries directed to adults. The one scene that stood out to me was when the chickens tried to escape the chicken farm with a slingshot. While I admire its bona fide sense of humor from start to finish, what I admire more was its sense of adventure.
91
London to Brighton (2006)
“London to Brighton,” written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, was short but taut thriller–a real nail-biter from start to finish. It’s so refreshing whenever a movie deliberately highlights a line between a person’s job and who the person really is. In this case, a prostitute (Lorraine Stanley) does the best she can to protect a girl (Georgia Groome) from the hands of men who want to take advantage of her. I will not forget the last few minutes of this film because I seriously could not help but squirm in my seat since I was so scared for the two leads. This may be a small movie but it didn’t limit its budget from really telling a story that was crafty and touching. It reminded me that there really are strangers out there who are willing to put themselves in danger to save someone else. The writing just flowed and it ended up being a brilliant piece of work.
I love lists, and I find much to agree with here. I haven’t seen all of them (you’ve seen far more movies than me), but I’m particularly glad to see ‘Downfall’ securing a spot. Bruno Ganz was scary as hell, and the movie avoided most of the sentimentalism and/or heroism of most WWII movies. It’s been years since I saw ‘Thirteen’, but I remember I was quite satisfied with it. As for ‘Chicken Run’, you’re right about how fresh it felt. While I didn’t like it quite as much the second time around, I prefer it to ‘Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit’.
Looking forward to follow your countdown.
You can check out my favorite movies of the decade list here: http://welcometoallofthat.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/decadeinmovies/
This was a difficult list for me to make because I originally had about 220 movies I wanted to add to my Top 100. (Some friends insisted I only do Top 25, Top 50 at most.) It got really painful when I got down to 150s. A lot of people don’t realize that over 4,000 movies came out this decade (not counting some really obscure indie films). So a Top 100 is the cream of the crop.
Can’t wait for you to see the rest. I’ll take a look at yours!