A Decade

General Disclaimer: I put these lists together fairly quickly and thoughtlessly. It was hard making any kind of reasonable lists when I haven’t seen the films in question in several years. I know that I’ve changed a lot since I’ve seen them. I’m sure that I’ve missed a few films that I’ve seen that may deserve to be here and I know that I didn‘t see a lot of films during the last decade. I’m equally sure that most of the titles below aren’t really the best movies that came out in a given year, but there’s something about each of them that I liked. I only have vague impressions of some of them. Others, I remember clearly.

There’s only a small handful that I really love and treasure.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how opinions can change. I still love Adventureland and I‘ll stick up for it if anyone knocks it, but each time I’ve watched it I’ve picked out more problems that I have with the story and the script - contrivances and gods from machines and all that.

I insist on the right to change my mind.

That said, here are some pathetic attempts at yearly lists, 2000 through 2007.

For the sake of making this a full ten years, I’m going to reprint here my 1999 list and my 2008 list at the end of the post. It also makes me feel better to have all of this crap bookended by two lists that I feel more confident about.

1999

Top Ten Films of 1999

1. Julien Donkey-Boy
2. Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
3. The Straight Story
4. Magnolia
5. Three Kings
6. Princess Mononoke
7. The Iron Giant
8. Toy Story 2
9. The Talented Mr. Ripley
10. Bringing Out the Dead


2000

2000 was a continuation of 1999 for me. I’m pretty sure that the first half of 2000 mostly consisted of 1999 films, either movies finally in wide release available in the cinemas of Buffalo/Rochester/LI or on VHS/DVD.

[Aside: I was a fairly early adopter of DVDs in 1997, but I didn’t fully give up on VHS until a few years later, getting rid of the bulk of my VHS collection in 2001, then slowly weeding out the remaining VHS over the last few years. The format and the picture/audio quality was never what bothered me, though it was nice to upgrade. It was the damnable persistence of pan and scan that fostered the hate that I have for VHS. The immediate and (almost) consistent practice of preserving a film’s aspect ratio on DVD was what initially drew me to the format and I’m still happy with the format. I don’t know why pan and scan was dropped or whether or not it would have died just as well if VHS had stayed around, but I’m glad that it’s mostly a fact of the past now. As far as new technology goes, maybe eventually I’ll break down and buy a Blu-Ray player or whatever else is new in 10 years, but I’m happy enough for now.]

I saw about half as many 2000 releases as I did 1999 releases. Sill, I saw a lot of movies in 2000.

Meet the Parents is funny. X-Men signaled the rebirth of enjoyable superhero films. I like Erin Brockovich more than I like Traffic. I hate Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Charlie’s Angels features a great Crispin Glover performance. I liked Rugrats in Paris. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, like Inspector Gadget before it and Speed Racer after it, was much more enjoyable than it had any right to be. O Brother Where Art Thou? is one of my least favorite Coen films, but I won’t deny its charms. All the Pretty Horses isn’t quite what it should have been. Boiler Room is small, but slick. Nurse Betty is interesting seen in the light of In the Company of Men. LaBute is still someone to watch, which reminds me that I need to get around to seeing Lakeview Terrace. I watched The Perfect Storm just because John C. Reilly was in it. Gladiator is still overrated. Frequency is silly, but sweet. High Fidelity was a disappointment. Mission Impossible 2 was the worst movie of the year.

The second half of 2000 found me “studying” in London. Despite the required minimum 12 credits, my real education was on the streets interacting with other malcontents. And at the cinema. I regret now that I didn’t keep any sort of film journal because I can’t remember most of what I saw there and I have nothing to jog my memory. After thinking about it for a while, I can remember the following then current releases: Julien Donkey-Boy (x3), Dancer in the Dark (x2), Ratcatcher, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Nurse Betty, Animal Factory, and Stagecoach. I know that I saw so much more, especially older films, at BFI and other places, but my memory fails me. In the end, the best thing that I took from London was a board game, one of my favorites - Bladder. (click on the link - it’ll take you to the first board game review that I wrote for BGG)

Finally….

I don’t think I’ve seen any of these films again within the last 5-9 years so ranking them now is a difficult if not somewhat stupid task.

Also, going back through the past decade has been humbling as I recognize how totally ignorant I was (and to an extent still remain) of world cinema. I saw a small smattering of things, but missed out on much more. I have a decent (but still weak) grasp on international cinema maybe up until the ‘70s, but then I just don’t know what is going on up until the present. It’s not that I was hostile to foreign film. I definitely wasn’t hostile, but I was clueless. Being clueless, I didn’t seek anything out. Unfortunately, foreign film distribution is so poor in this country that if small and foreign films aren’t actively and specifically sought after, then they’re easy to miss, either because they never played in your area to begin with or because you’ve never read, seen, or heard anything about them and they’re only playing for a week or so in your town. Easy to miss. I do think that Rosenbaum’s Movie Wars is a good read in this regard, examining why movie distribution sucks. I’ve enjoyed reading Film Comment and Cinema Scope since about mid-2007. Starting to read those magazines, following a few blogs (especially David Hudson, wherever he’s at), and meeting Brandon in January ‘08 all worked together to fuel an obsession that I had let lapse and atrophy for nearly a decade, but, also and most importantly opened me back up to an entire world of film, enveloped in but broader than any national boundaries.

Okay…

Top Ten Films of 2000

1. Dancer in the Dark
2. George Washington
3. The Big Kahuna
4. Shadow of the Vampire
5. Cast Away
6. Wonder Boys
7. Space Cowboys
8. The Tao of Steve
9. Unbreakable
10. Chicken Run


2001

Spring semester 2001 was my final year of college. All of my time was taken up courting my beautiful bride-to-be and trying to fake my way through student teaching (ultimately receiving a 4.0, what a joke). My preferred media of choice at the time was “Old-Time Radio,” especially the Science Fiction shows. Specifically the two ‘X’ shows: X Minus One, Dimension X. I may have been the only college kid in 2001 hosting Baby Snooks parties, but I’d hold those parties up and above any Frat bash. In May, I participated in a “Mayterm” trip to Paris as a last desperate attempt to finish my language requirement, the only thing holding me back from graduating. I was miserable in Paris, but Paris wasn’t miserable. I went to a few movies, the most memorable being several nights at an Elia Kazan retrospective. I still haven’t seen America, American again since (it could possibly be my favorite Kazan picture), but Panic in the Streets was a fun discovery and A Face in the Crowd has since grown to be one of my favorites which I like to revisit.

Over the summer, I moved up to Whitney Point, NY in preparation for married life. I don’t remember going to any movies. We were married October 6th and went on a honeymoon for a week or so. We went to the NESFA clubhouse, but no movies. I don’t remember many movies for the rest of the year and I don’t even think we had a television set up in our apartment for a while. I know that I didn’t have one in the apartment on September 11th. I listened to everything happening via NPR and other radio stations and didn’t see any footage of the attacks until several years later.

I only count 23 2001 releases that I’ve seen and I don’t care for most of them. A Beautiful Mind is okay. Hannibal might have been scary. I don’t remember. Enemy at the Gates I only just watched this year. Spy Kids was a little bit fun. Blow blew. The Mummy Returns was dumb. Shrek is outrageously overrated. Fast and the Furious irritated me at a moderate pace. Planet of the Apes was a nice try. The first Harry Potter put me to sleep. The Royal Tannenbaums is everything I dislike about Wes Anderson, but good for him. Ali is the weakest Mann film that I’ve seen. LoTR:FoTR proved to be much worse than I had feared. Despite some incredible effects (even these are sometimes too showy as CGI), the story adaptation is hack work, operating on the level of a bad television drama. I Am Sam was better than everyone gives it credit for. Memento pissed me off with its “cleverness.” I liked Black Hawk Down, but don‘t remember it well enough to justify listing it below. I really can’t remember whether or not I saw Spirited Away. I feel like I have, but I can’t remember anything about it except for some weird light creatures who were maybe from Mononoke? I don’t know.

2001 was the beginning of my decline as a moviegoing geek. I can’t even make a top ten.

Top Ten Films of 2001

1. In the Mood for Love
2. A. I.
3. Waking Life
4. Monsters, Inc.
5. The Man Who Wasn’t There
6. Donnie Darko
7.
8.
9.
10.


2002

I only saw about half a dozen more 2002 releases than 2001.

Blade II was bad. Star Wars II was bad. The Two Towers was bad. Men in Black II worked enough for me to proclaim it the best sequel of the year. Spiderman did a lot to cement Marvel’s ascendancy, but I liked it less than others. Bourne Identity felt fresh and new. So did Road to Perdition, a film I’d like to revisit. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was big and fat and Greek. 8 Mile was better than I thought it would be. Insomnia is great, but I don’t remember it well enough. Bowling for Columbine has its moments, including the moments when I stopped trusting Moore. Catch Me if You Can was fun. The Pianist wasn’t. Star Trek Nemesis made me happy the same way every Star Trek film makes me happy. I saw a clip of Panic Room on television the other night and realized now what I missed last year when I saw it for the first time. That little girl is Kristen Stewart. Lastly, I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for The Rookie.

Note: I have problems with every single film on the list below. I enjoyed them all, but in no way could I unequivocally and wholeheartedly recommend each one in the way that I could do so for my 2008 list. To a certain extent, this note applies to each of the lists from the last ten years. I say that I enjoy them, but I think that I might hate some of them, too. I don’t know. I’m just making lists and these movies were better than others. I have a feeling that there were plenty of better films in 2002 that I missed out on. Anyhow, there’s at least a little something to praise in each of the titles below.

Top Ten Films of 2002

1. Minority Report
2. Solaris
3. Signs
4. Changing Lanes
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. Gangs of New York
7. Love Liza
8. Reign of Fire
9. Adaptation
10. We Were Soldiers


2003

Titles seen increased by about half a dozen again this year, up to 32, though still not even that close to half as many as that high mark, 1999.

I’m not going to waste any time except to say that 2003 seems like it was a good year even though I still missed a lot of the more critically acclaimed films. At least, I feel positive about the movies below. Here’s a top ten.

Top Ten Films of 2003

1. School of Rock
2. Owning Mahowny
3. Northfork
4. Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
5. Elf
6. Gods and Generals
7. Finding Nemo
8. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
9. Holes
10. Open Range

Honorable Mentions: 28 Days Later, Luther, Mystic River, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Winged Migration

Most overrated: In America

Singled out for hate: The Hulk


2004

I count 24 releases seen from 2004. In the fall of 2004, I started library school. It took another degree to forcefully make me recognize that I’m not cut out for a professional work environment. I do like to watch movies. 2004 was an okay year, though I know that I missed a lot.

Top Ten Films of 2004

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Incredibles
3. The Five Obstructions
4. The Passion of the Christ
5. Undertow
6. Collateral
7. Million Dollar Baby
8. The Terminal
9. Saw
10. Primer

Honorable Mentions: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Supersize Me

Most overrated: Spiderman 2

Singled out for hate: Sideways


2005

In 2005, I had a growing family, I was working full-time, and I was going to school full-time. I was hanging out a lot at Don’s Atomic Comics and doing plenty of comics related projects for school. Needless to say, I saw less films. I saw only 17 films released in 2005. No matter, because 2005 was the year that Malick gave us his masterpiece. Brandon, I’m looking forward to reading more about what you thought about 2005 because I mostly missed it. Looking back, it doesn’t seem like I missed all that much, but I’m willing to change my mind about that.

Top Ten Films of 2005

1. The New World
2. Grizzly Man
3. Serenity
4. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
5. Kung Fu Hustle
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Honorable Mentions: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, MirrorMask, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Syriana

Most overrated: Batman Begins

Singled out for hate: Fantastic Four


2006

2006 marks the all-time low of only 13 films seen from that year. And I saw the majority of them after 2006. Late 2005 was when I discovered BoardGameGeek. In early 2006, I was meeting regularly with a group in Buffalo. I wasn’t going to see movies. At home, Abby and I were watching television shows mostly, going on a Buffy binge late in the year after moving down to the Binghamton area, watching all 8 seasons in about 8 months or less. Someone might argue that 2006 was a great year for movies, but I just can’t see it from where I’m standing.

Top Ten Films of 2006

1. A Scanner Darkly
2. The Proposition
3. Joyeux Noel
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Honorable Mentions: Lady in the Water, X-Men: The Last Stand

Most Overrated: Babel

Singled out for hate: Apocalypto


2007

2007 marked my return to seriously caring about film and, to a lesser extent, film culture. Mid-year, I started reading Film Comment and Cinema Scope. I’m still not entirely sure why. I saw the magazines there on the shelf at Barnes and Noble and I remembered that good films exist. I wasn’t gaming as much as I had been in Buffalo and what gaming I was doing wasn’t satisfying. I was burned out on theology and ecclesiology and didn’t want to debate any more. My girls were beginning education and I would argue that film needed to be a part of their education. All things considered, I was ready to return to the cinema. And 2007 was a great year.

Major contenders that I haven’t seen, but would like to: Away From Her, The Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford, Colossal Youth, Grindhouse, The Host, Into Great Silence, Lake of Fire, Southland Tales

Cute: The Astronaut Farmer, The Martian Child

I liked more than others, but won‘t press the issue: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Spiderman 3

Had minor moments that justified their existence, but I could forget them: I Am Legend, 3:10 to Yuma, Ghost Rider, 1408

Critical darlings that I mostly disliked: I’m Not There, Juno, The Savages, Sweeny Todd

Honorable Mentions: Breach, Control, Enchanted, Offside, Once, Michael Clayton, Zodiac

Top Ten Films of 2007

1. There Will Be Blood
2. No Country For Old Men
3. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
4. Ratatouille
5. The Simpsons Movie
6. Gone Baby Gone
7. Reign Over Me
8. Sunshine
9. Stardust
10. The Darjeeling Limited


2008

And then came 2008. I know that it’s probably mostly a matter of perspective, but I believe that 2008, in general, was a better year than all of those other years combined.

Top Ten Films of 2008

1. Mister Lonely
2. Still Life
3. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon
4. Ashes of Time Redux
5. Wall-E
6. Funny Games
7. Appaloosa
8. La France
9. In Bruges
10. Iron Man

I already want to tweak this list some since I made it last month, but I won’t. All I’d really be doing is rearranging and switching in some films from the #11 honorable mention slot. Oh well.

That’s ten years of my life as a moviegoer.