The Decade According to Will pt. 1

This is a pretty special new years eve. Ending of a decade. You know what that means. That means top 10 lists. I've been known to indulge in numeration from time to time. Seems to me this decade is probably the one that defines my generation, although the 10's are the decade that we as a generation will define, and that calls for a bit of numerical summation. Starting today and leading up to getting back to TWU in a week's time, I'm going to try to post a few top ten lists on this blog. I've got five list ideas and the first one that I've completed happens to be the top ten movies of this past decade, so here goes (also, I hate top ten lists that start with 1, it just makes no sense). Also I just had the hugest deja vu.

Top Ten Movies of the 00's

10. 28 Days Later (2002)

Directed by Danny Boyle, this film is good not because it's a vivid re-imagining of the zombie genre (which it is), but because of its brilliant character development. The breakdown of the protagonist into something savage and barely recognizable as human in order to maintain his humanity is immense.

9. Cinderella Man (2005)

There are not many sports movies I enjoy (exactly two), they almost invariably follow a set formula designed for specific emotional responses. They're a cheat. Boxing movies have a natural advantage over other sports movies in that they generally focus on a single man, rather than a team, which opens up the story to a much broader range of development. Cinderella man takes full advantage of this and features some of the best acting from some of my favorite actors, netting it a spot on this list.

8. Juno (2007)

The characters in this movie are intensely human and their responses to their situations are beautifully consistent. Too many hollywood movies fall into the trap of creating characters that can change at a moments notice, but Juno recognizes that for real people, change comes hard. It also tackles a pretty heavy issue with wit and a lack of pretension and comes out on top, props.

7. Gladiator (2000)

Like I said, Russell Crowe is one of my favorite actors and this is where he shines best, in a tale of bittersweet revenge opposite a truly despicable Joaquin Phoenix. Not only is it a fairly faithful recreation of a period of history, it's also just a darn good tale.

6. The Dark Knight (2008)

For such a rich comic book history, Batman has had some of the worst disappointments ever filmed. The Dark Knight is the long awaited realization of what a Batman movie should be. It's a beautiful crime drama that delves into the concepts of chaos and order, with a hero that's darker than he's ever been and villains that are multi-dimensional and fascinating. Add killer music and great cinematography and pacing and we have a winner.

5. Children of Men (2006)

Children of Men looks at what would happen if babies stopped being born. While this will probably not be useful information in the future, it does happen to be a fantastic science fiction film and is arguable an accurate representation of what we would become and what we would do, as humans, should that ever happen.

4. Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

My Mom read us the books when we were kids and to go see it portrayed so faithfully on screen was a pretty sweet experience. There were so many times during the trilogy that I realized 'hey, this is exactly how I imagined in my head', this is both a testament to Tolkien's incredibly descriptive style and Peter Jackson's skill and courage as a filmmaker.

3. There Will Be Blood (2007)

This is capitalism vs. religion played out in a brutally honest story about an "oil-man" and his rise to power. Daniel Day-Lewis melts your face off with his acting, putting this on my top five of all time list as well. Favorite line: "I... drink... your... milkshake!"

2. No Country for Old Men (2007)

Only the Coen brothers could have turned out this brilliant adaption of Cormac McCarthy's already brilliant book. It's basically a frank discussion of where our society is at with relation to crime and how that compares with our fathers' generations. It's brooding and unsettling, leaving the viewer wishing for some measure of assurance, but finding none

1. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Guillermo del Toro's finest creation yet, Pan's Labyrinth is both a violent and moving account of life under General Franco in Spain, and an intricate world, peopled by strange and fascinating creatures, as seen through the eyes of a young girl on a personal odyssey to find out who she is. It delves into the dynamics of family and loyalty, among other issues, as well as delving into the richly populated mind of Del Toro. Over all, however, what gives this the number one spot is the fact that it is just a really good story. A darn good story.

I wrote up a short list of 28 movies before I narrowed it down to 10, but three of the ones that didn't make it, I felt deserved special notice. High Fidelity was our first real introduction to the comic genius of Jack Black and still somehow remains a poignant story thanks to John Cusack. If this list had an 11th place, High Fidelity would occupy it. The Passion of the Christ was an incredibly accurate and well done depiction of what the crucifixion of Jesus would have been like and you cannot watch it without being deeply moved, but let's be honest, the book was just that much better. Moulin Rouge was one of the first musicals I could actually appreciate thanks to its killer use of popular music as story driving pieces, but notwithstanding a really good story and great acting, Moulin Rouge is still more about the music than the movie so it falls short from this list. Anyhow, it's past four right now and I'm needing sleep in a big way, I just thought I might start this thing off right away. Tomorrow I'll tackle the top ten discoveries. Keep it pregnant.

PipeSmokingProfessor