Favorite Films of the.....00's!

Hey everyone! It's been a good long while since I have written a blog and I wanted to start off big...with my favorite films of the first ten years of the new millennium!

The "Zero's" are hard to categorize. They will go down in history (much to many people's chagrin) as "The Second Bush Years" and the start of an historic "change" in the Presidential seat. We will all remember where we were for the tragedy that started the decade. Hip-hop became a force to be reckoned with in the popular music industry, knocking off the boy bands and sugar pop of the 90's. Dr. Phil showed us what it means to be a "real" doctor with "real" advice without actually knowing anything. And, perhaps most importantly, the greatest American rock band of all time gave us some of the greatest songs in years....Nickelback, anyone?

Enough of that; here are my favorites!

10. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) (Joel and Ethan Coen) - A hunter stumbles upon a case of drug money and becomes part of a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with a ruthless killer; all the while, the sheriff of the small southern town is starting to think that America is [insert title here]. Great performances by everyone, especially Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The mood of the directing matches the intensity of the chase. Brilliant all around. FAVORITE SCENE: Brolin's character sitting on his hotel bed watching as an anonymous yet brooding shadow darkens the light in the hall....absolutely terrifying.

9. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) (Edgar Wright) - A department store manager and his friends try to stay alive as the dead begin to rise and feed on the people in a little UK town. One of the best horror-comedies, if not the best, of all-time. The scares are immediately followed by laughs, and vice versa. It also introduced to the world the brilliant comic minds of Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost....who are rumored to be working on one more film together that will be a send up of sci-fi and road trip films. Keep an eye out! FAVORITE SCENE: The scene of Pegg's character walking through the town after the infection has spread, not even realizing anything is different; hilarious and revealing of our individualistic times.

8. IN BRUGES (2008) (Martin McDonagh) - Two hitmen are forced to "vacation" and bond in Bruges, Belgium in order to escape a job gone wrong. The most underrated movie of the new millennium, in my humble opinion. Again, very funny but extremely intense. And not only were Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes great, but Colin Farrell couldn't have been better...believe it, son! FAVORITE SCENE: "They're filmin' midgets!"...just see the movie.

7. AMERICAN SPLENDOR (2003) (Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini) - The true story of underground comic artist Harvey Pekar. Half-documentary, half-biopic. Pekar's bitterness juxtaposed with his humor makes him extremely likable and relatable. Forget Sideways; this is Paul Giamatti's best performance to date by a mile. FAVORITE SCENE: It's hard to explain, but Giamatti interacting "between shots" with the real Pekar is just fun to watch.

6. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004) (Adam McKay) - San Diego's top rated news team makes history as it hires the first ever woman anchor. I know this is mostly a personal choice, but look at the impact it has had on Hollywood. It really launched the career of three huge stars (Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, and Paul Rudd) and brought back the comedy sub-genre of "boys behaving badly". FAVORITE SCENE: So many good ones, but I will go with Ferrell's crew confronting their rival news team, led by the never-better Vince Vaughn ("Dorothy Mantooth is a saint!")

5. THE KING OF KONG (2007) (Seth Gordon) - A documentary about two video game experts vying for the title of best "Donkey Kong-er" in the world. It's rare that a documentary manages to not only be truthful and fair, but engaging and exciting. A total good-vs-evil story set in Smalltown, USA. Nearly perfect. FAVORITE SCENE: It's tough to watch as the entire video gaming community sides with the veteran and supports him every step of the way, even when he sends in a video to support his own position despite that being illegitimate.

4. WALL-E (2008) (Andrew Stanton) - A futuristic story of two man-made robots falling in love, saving a completely polluted Earth, and leading humanity back to its home....you know, that same old story. Pixar's most poignant film from a list of greats. Stanton follows up the success of his emotional and fun Finding Nemo with a film that should not be merely recognized as a great animated kids movie, but simply as great story-telling. FAVORITE SCENE: Wall-E alone on Earth watching Hello Dolly; rarely do we see such emotion in film, much less from a non-human animated character.

3. O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000) (Joel Coen) - A loose and hilarious translation of Homer's "Odyssey" set in early 1900's America, following three escaped convicts searching for buried treasure. Again, highly underrated in its time but has become more of a cult classic than almost any other Coen film (excluding The Big Lebowski). And despite the rave reviews he is getting for Up in the Air, this is George Clooney's best performance. FAVORITE SCENE: "Well we was about ta fornicate!"

2. GONE BABY GONE (2007) (Ben Affleck) - When a little girl goes missing in Boston, two private detectives start to uncover more than just a kidnapping... After going through more than half the decade with not a single acting success, Ben Affleck moves behind the camera and gives us one of the most powerful films in years. Despite the deceivingly simple story, Affleck's direction, the script, and the superb acting push this past the endless number of other mystery movies that come out each year. FAVORITE SCENE: It's hard to call it my "favorite" because of the material, but the sting operation on a house with connections to the kidnapping is so effective that it's hard to believe this is Affleck's first film as a director.

1. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) (Christopher Nolan) - Batman is first introduced to his archnemesis, the Joker. I know some people would scoff at this choice, saying that it's just Hollywood popcorn fare. But it is the best superhero movie of all time, and possibly the best thriller-action film as well. The twists and turns, the incredible action, the witty dialogue, and a performance that forever places Heath Ledger in a small group of outstanding villainous performances. FAVORITE SCENE: The phone in the stomach...you have to see it to believe it.

RUNNER'S UP:

Young @ Heart, Pan's Labyrinth, Monster's Inc., The Descent, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Trek, Harry potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Best in Show, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Once

And here are my favorites in each genre of film...ten years is too long to stick to ten movies.

ACTION/ADVENTURE:

Ocean's Eleven, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 3:10 to Yuma, District 9, Kung Fu Hustle

ANIMATED:

Up, Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Princess and the Frog, Spirited Away, Finding Nemo

COMEDY:

Meet the Parents, Hot Fuzz, Orange County, Role Models, A Mighty Wind

DOCUMENTARIES:

Capturing the Friedmans, Man On Wire, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Murder On a Sunday Morning, 9/11

ROMANCE:

Slumdog Millionaire, Return to Me, Walk the Line, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Fever Pitch

HORROR:

Let the Right One In, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Zombieland, Saw, Battle Royale

A Writer's Perspective

My pal and fellow JU Dolphin Harley Ferris (a published poet and all-around knowledge-aficionado) recently shared his thoughts about the new Sherlock Holmes movie on Facebook. Because he is a friend and I love him to death, I'm stealing it and posting it here to share his always insightful perspective. I present Harley Ferris in "Holmes, Sweet Holmes":

...or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Film

I approached the new Sherlock Holmes film with trepidation. Gabi and I love the Holmes mythos. Admittedly, I’ve only read a few of the actual stories, so most of our love comes from the teleplays and movies. Basil Rathbone is brilliant, Jeremy Brett is inspired, Matt Frewer is, well, Max Headroom, unfortunately, and will always be so. Still, we love Robert Downey, Jr., and I was eager to see what he would do. The main concern I had from the previews was that Holmes seemed emotional, irrational, and most-grievously, dependent on Watson for rescuing. So last night, we plunked down our money and gave it a go.

The first thing that struck me was just how enjoyable it was. If you’ve seen other Guy Ritchie movies—even that BMW commercial with Clive Owen and Madonna—you know he stylizes everything he does with a certain flair, and the Holmes movie was no different. The fight scenes were reminiscent of Brad Pitt’s boxing matches in Snatch, and Ritchie actually used the technique to illumine the character of Holmes. The set design was terrific, revealing the dirty sky and filthy back streets of turn-of-the-century London. Costuming seemed to take a few liberties, though not so much as the new BBC Robin Hood (sorry, it’s not Robin of the Hoodie).

As to the character of Holmes, specifically regarding his weaknesses, the trailers skew his frailty a bit. From the previews, I was expecting a womanizing, depraved, hotheaded Holmes that needed Watson’s calm, calculating caretaking to prevail. This is hardly the case. I would daresay Jude Law is my favorite Watson. He is certainly the most capable partner to Holmes, and partner he is. Far from the bumbling idiot Watson of Nigel Bruce, Law is more than the oft-portrayed assistant, nearly matching Holmes step for step and proving invaluable more than once. Additionally, rather than a token heroin addiction, Downey shows a Holmes that descends into near-madness when his mind is not wrapped around a case, depicted by a range of symptoms. But most surprisingly, mainly because he actually pulls it off, Downey delivers the most human Holmes to date, in my opinion.

When detective stories first appeared, the reader sat back and watched Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Ellery Queen or Hercule Poirot solve crimes with dazzling intellect, boundless knowledge and sly intuition. Over time, however, crimesolvers became less and less the unmatched wit and the reader/audience was invited into the mystery to participate in hunting down the villain. My opinion is that as culture changes, stories evolve, and the heroes of the past adapt to accommodate contemporary society. How, then, does one present the loved character of Sherlock Holmes in a way that not only delights but also endears? I think Ritchie & Co. pull it off nicely by keeping Holmes a step ahead of the audience, just barely in front of the baddies, coming out on top at the end of day. He is smart, strong and funny, but fallible. Watson is helpful, stoic, courageous, yet endearing. The movie’s execution is masterful, and the last ten minutes set up Sherlock Holmes 2 without any question. Will purists add it to the canon? Never. Will it revive the other incarnations of Holmes to young moviegoers? Possibly. Will you enjoy it? Probably. Will it be on my shelf when the DVD hits stores? Elementary.