Around the World in 24 Frames 11.27.09: The Great Films of the 2000's - Part One

Posted by Len Archibald on 11.27.2009

Here is the first offering of the movies I felt were the best of the best of the decade: A white rapper, a hairy virgin, a sweet continuation of a long-distance romance and a Jew-hating man infatuated with Pamela Anderson and many more!



Hello, all! While you are feeling the rush of being stuffed like the stuffed turkey you stuffed your face with, I am in my home country…CANADA, chilling out with the family. I am taking a week off from a couple weeks of intense shooting of my new film…one that I'm truly stoked over. I better be stoked for it…I've been doing on average 8-10 hour/day shoots.

Last week, I got a few comments! YAY!

Robin gave me a little reminder of Katie Holmes acting talent, because I put a question mark beside her name in my pariase for 2000's Wonder Boys.

I did put that question mark knowingly beside her name. Thing about Katie Holmes is that – yes – she CAN act…when she wants to push herself. Her role in Wonder Boys and Thank You For Smoking were two wonderful performances, but I think Mrs. Cruise suffers from "phone-it-in" syndrome most of the time. BTW, she is pretty active with the dance community, now – which is her primary passion: She helped spearhead the "Dizzy Feet Foundation", in collaboration with my all-time favorite reality competition So You Think You Can Dance.

411's own Steve Guftason gave me a lil' bit of the old ego booster. Thanks, mate! Check out his own brilliant work right here!

Guest#5425 caught a MAJOR brain fart on my part when I made a side comment about Mel Gibson and his…uh…less than favorable opinion about Jews. I said he was Anti-Zionist instead of Anti-Semetic, (Zionism is the political stance in favor of making Israel a completely Jewish state – in some instances by any means necessary.) I did mean to say Anti-Semetic, and I do know the difference between the two, and that was a slip-up on my part. Apologies and thanks for the catch!

Guest#8091 also got me ego trippin' and is looking forward to a complete and lengthy list. Thanks! I am more than looking forward of providing this labor of love to you!

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If you read my columns, you know how I feel about lists: I don't do them…technically. I engage in 411's Top 5 columns as a lark and to see what my fellow writer's opinions are, but when it comes to actually "ranking" films, I can't bring myself to do so - simply because you can't rank art. I mean, who's really going to discuss whether Whistler's Mother is a better painting than the Mona Lisa, or that Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come is better than Metallica's Master of Puppets in regards to songwriting? They're all excellent for entirely different reasons. If you want rankings, wait a few weeks for the 411 Staff's take on their 100 Best Movies of the Decade (which I will also take part in.)

To me, either a film is well made and powerful or it's not. There are varying degrees of course, but there are factors involved such as personal preference, historical and cultural significance and one's mood while watching a movie. If you catch me on any day of the week and ask me what my favorite movie is, I will give you an different answer every day. Today it may be Citizen Kane, tomorrow it can be The Seven Samurai. Next week may be The Godfather or Star Wars or Belle De Jour or Persona or McCabe & Mrs. Miller, or E.T.. How can I say I like Tokyo Story better than Lawrence of Arabia or Enter the Dragon when I enjoy them all on a deep level but for differing reasons? I can't.

I have taken on the task of compiling a list of my favorite (key word, here) films of the new millennium. I have not narrowed it down to a round number like 100 or 50 or whatever, but just decided to give a shout-out to the films that touched me, made me joyous, made me angry, inspired me and changed my life this decade. This is not a ranking – more of an alphabetized listing of the films I greatly appreciated from January 1st, 2000 to – hopefully December 31st, 2009.

I compiled the list down from over 1,100 films on my radar and basically cut close to 9/10ths of them. How did I do so? I just went with the films that affected me the most. There is no "best", here – each film I consider a "best" in its own right. I understand that you may have never heard of some of these films: I hope anyone who reads this can use this list as a guidepost to help discover new movies.

So, enjoy! Let's see if any of your favorites made the final cut…

Click Here for the HONORABLE MENTIONS…


THE BEST OF THE DECADE

8 Mile

Release Date: November 8th, 2002
Directed by Curtis Hanson
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Cast:
Eminem
Mekhi Phifer
Kim Basinger
Brittney Murphy
Michael Shannon

And we start with what could be considered something of a controversial pick. 8 Mile? That movie with Eminem? Yes, that 8 Mile. Director Curtis Hanson perfectly encompasses Eminem's early years as a struggling hip-hop artist looking for acceptance as a white boy in a predominantly black industry and culture – and in essence, finds out that all he needs to do to succeed is be himself. It is a gritty depiction of blue collar Detroit with some of the best freestyle "battles" caught on film, culminating with a resolution that was perfect for the film. Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy and Mekhi Phifer give great supporting roles, but this is Eminem's film. I can hear the cries, "But it's easy to play yourself!" Tell that to Mariah Carey and Fantasia Barino.

What sets 8 Mile apart from the more typical music-based rags-to-riches films is the same quality that sets a movie like Saturday Night Fever apart from Step Up 2: The Streets: there is a grit and realism within the world of these characters where even if the music is the most important thing, it isn't the only thing. A great scene shows hip-hop artist Xzibit at the blue-collar factory where B-Rabbit (Eminem) works and he vocalizes his disgust for the job he has during break. It eventually turns into an all out war when Xzibit begins insulting his co-workers, including a homosexual. B-Rabbit enters the fray, and to say that he tears Xzibit's character a new one verbally would be an understatement. In my mind, only Krush Groove has been able to display the true poetry and skill display needed in the hip-hop world, and 8 Mile succeeds in breaking down the art of hip-hop as a form of lyrical battle. This is a great uplifting film that doesn't preach.


12

Release Date: September 7th, 2007
Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov
Distributed by TriTe
Cast:
Sergei Makovetsky
Nikita Mikhalkov
Sergei Garmash
Valentin Gaft
Alexei Petrenko
Yuri Stoyanov

I am not a fan of remakes. I'll state that for the record. Upon hearing that a remake of 12 Angry Men was on the horizon, I cringed as I LOVE that movie. Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov and screenplay collaborator Steve Shelokhonov proved me so wrong as they took the bare bones of Sidney Lumet's tight masterpiece, set it in Moscow during the Chechnya war and threw them in a gymnasium to open the space and play with sound and distance. The result is a powerful companion piece to the 1957 drama and shows that a retelling of a classic story can be done if proper thought is given to it.

What Nikita Mikhalkov (who also played "Juror #2) did exceptionally well was take little things about the Sidney Lumet film and expand on them without going overboard with it. One of my favorite scenes expands on the theory of how the Chechnyan man could have used the knife and literally scares another juror half to death. Also, interspersing the film with flashbacks of the accused past life greatly improves and expands the story for its "contemporary" setting. A marvelous dance scene where the accused remembers his life before the war hammers home this modern day masterpiece.


The 25th Hour

Release Date: December 16th, 2002
Directed by Spike Lee
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Cast:
Edward Norton
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Barry Pepper
Rosario Dawson
Brian Cox
Anna Paquin

How much of a shame is it that this movie pretty much got overlooked by EVERYONE when it came out? Spike Lee started to rise out of his "Angry Black Film Maker" phase starting with Clockers and flourished into the complete well-rounded director most knew he was capable of (or was in denial over) since Do the Right Thing. Using the sensibilities of post-9/11 New York City was a masterstroke.

Edward Norton plays a convicted drug dealer who has one last day of freedom left before his conviction. It is just another in a long line of brilliant performances from this man, culminating in a very Lee-esque rant against New York City ("Fuck the Chelsea boys with their waxed chests and their pumped up biceps...") in front of a mirror that plays part Do the Right Thing and part Taxi Driver. I haven't seen a Spike Lee film this dynamic and confident and sure of its story since Malcolm X, and with startling performances by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox and Barry Pepper playing a Gordon Gecko before he was Gordon Gecko Red Bull-drinking Wall Street broker, The 25th Hour was destined to be a modern classic.


28 Days Later

Release Date: 2002
Directed by Danny Boyle
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Cast:
Cillian Murphy
Naomie Harris
Noah Huntley
Christopher Eccleston
Brendan Gleeson
Megan Burns

Are they zombies? Are they just virus-infected people who "seem" like zombies but just run at top speed? Who the hell cares about such trivial nitpicky things? This was the shot in the arm needed for horror's most beloved sub-genre.

By giving the zombies a "virus", Danny Boyle was able to accomplish something within the confines of the "zombie plot": since there seemed to be a "reason" for this societal collapse, the audience could be lead to think there could possibly be a "cure" - something the George A. Romero zombie universe never expanded upon. The "virus" was also used as a tool (or excuse – depending on your point-of-view) have the infected run rampant, giving a new dimension and quality to the slow-moving flesh eaters. With a feel for scope and vision under Danny Boyle's direction, and under Anthony Dodd Mantle's bleak, gray cinematography, 28 Days Later gave life to the "new" zombie and turned the horror genre upside-down.


The 40 Year Old Virgin

Release Date: August 19th, 2005
Directed by Judd Apatow
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Cast:
Steve Carell
Catherine Keener
Paul Rudd
Romany Malco
Seth Rogen

Never in a hundred years would I have thought that a film with a poster of a nerdy-looking Steve Carrell would be one of the funniest films of the decade, but here we are. Terrible poster, great movie.

Steve Carell plays Andy Stitzer, a – well, you guessed it – 40-year-old virgin that works in an electronics store. Even though Andy is what we would consider the "typical" man-virgin (collects action figures, likes video games) he isn't truly socially inept. He doesn't live with his parents. He's decent at his job. He has a group of friends that support him. It is these friends, and the complexities of male-bonding that puts The 40 Year Old Virgin above most of the "Rated R" comedies that were released in the 2000's.

Director and screenwriter Judd Apatow understands camaraderie between men and the awkwardness of relationships between men and women, and that – more than the hair-ripping scenes – is the reason why this movie works. One of the funniest films this decade by a good stretch.


Adaptation.

Release Date: December 6th, 2002
Directed by Spike Jonze
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Cast:
Nicholas Cage
Meryl Streep
Chris Cooper

The best movie about writing, period. Period. I will say it again: if you are involved in any style of writing, from fiction to poetry to song to journalism, here is your love letter. As one witnesses the scene in which Nicholas Cage proceeds to tear through his own thoughts to create a starting point for a screenplay – it will be made clear as day that this whole writing thing isn't as easy as some make it out to be.

Nicolas Cage plays Charlie Kaufman – a neurotic, self-depreciating and brilliant screenwriter, who is having issues after the success of the film, Being John Malkovich which he wrote. He has been commissioned to adapt Susan Orlean's novel "The Orchid Thief" into a screenplay. To say that he's hit a creative block over it would be a bit of an understatement. On top of that, Charlie's wacky and slightly less intellectually inclined twin brother, Donald (Nicholas Cage) has decided on a lark that he is going to write a screenplay of his own. When he succeeds, and sells the script as well, Charlie and Donald attempt an interview with Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) who still has an infatuation/obsession for John Laroche (Chris Cooper), the "Orchid Thief" to drum up some inspiration. To say we know where the story goes from there is the understatement of the decade.

Charlie Kaufman evolved from neurotic but gifted author to certifiable literary genius with this film. Spike Jonze proved why he was one of the best young directors at the time, Meryl Streep was Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper showed he could play anyone and, yes folks – there was a time when Nicolas Cage was the most dynamic actor on the planet and not the butt of "NOT THE BEEZ!" jokes.


Almost Famous

Release Date: September 13th, 2000
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Distributed by DreamWorks & Columbia Pictures
Cast:
Billy Crudup
Frances McDormand
Kate Hudson
Patrick Fugit
Jason Lee
Zooey Deschanel
Anna Paquin
Fairuza Balk
Noah Taylor
Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Joyous, nostalgic film making. Cameron Crowe's autobiographical tale of growing up as a teenage writer for Rolling Stone magazine during the rock-infested 1970's was a joy to behold – a coming of age film that isn't heavy in syrupy melodrama and packs an emotional punch.

Patrick Fugit plays William Miller, a teenager growing up in the bloom of the 1973 music scene. Overprotected by his mother (Francis McDormand), William uses the music of various rock groups as a means to escape. Eventually, his ambition to write turns into an opportunity as he is given the chance to document a Black Sabbath concert – with no way of getting in. Along the way, William befriends the "Band-Aides", a set of flower-girls/groupies, spear-headded by the out-of-this world Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), as well as opening act Stillwater, lead by their guitarist, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup). These characters lead William on a chain of events that ultimately displays that the people you look up to eventually will disappoint, but also are open to redemption.

What Cameron Crowe does exceptionally well in crafting Almost Famous – at least from an autobiographical standpoint, is it doesn't strive to over-exaggerate or make the story more than it is. There are no true villians in this film – and everyone is flawed, specifically Russel. Patrick Fugit does an excellent job leading an all-star cast that includes Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Phillip Seymor Hoffman, Jason Lee and Anna Paquin. But the real star, and everyone knows this – is Kate Hudson's free-spirited turn as Penny Lane. Can she ever be this good again?


Amélie

Release Date: April 25thth, 2001
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Distributed by UGC & Miramax
Cast:
Audrey Tatou
Mathieu Kassovitz
Rufus
Claire Maurier
Isabelle Nanty
Dominique Pinon
Serge Merlin
Jamel Debbouze
Arthus de Pengerne
Maurice Bénichou

If you are a fan of love, in love, want to fall in love, or are infatuated with the "idea" of falling in love, you will thoroughly enjoy Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's modern-day French masterpiece. Audrey Tatou as the title character has never been better with her charms. She is currently receiving rave reviews for her portrayal of French designer Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel, released earlier this year.

The full title, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain ("The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain") is the story of a shy waitress who decides she will attempt to intervene in the lives of those around her for the better, while dealing with her own loneliness. She grew up isolated from other children and suffers from a form of hypertension (actually, a medical mistake resulting from the increase in her heartbeat caused by the rare thrill of physical contact with her father, who only ever touches her during medical check-ups – weird.) Amélie constructs a vivid and active imagination.

This will be the first film I review when Around the World… goes back to its normal format, so I won't go too deep into divulging plot details. Amélie, with its bright colorful photography and adorable story is really a film that people should more "discover" than be "told" about – even though I tell EVERYONE to see it, so…SEE IT!


American Psycho

Release Date: April 14th, 2000
Directed by Mary Harron
Distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment
Cast:
Christian Bale
Willem Dafoe
Reese Witherspoon
Chloë Sevigny
Jared Leto
Justin Theroux
Josh Lucas
Cara Seymour

From the glorious opening moments, where what seems to be blood splotches slowly transform into pastry decoration – we know that with American Psycho, we're in for a devilishly good time at the movies.

This was Christian Bale's first truly great role as the insanely ravishing – and insanely insane Patrick Bateman, a wall street yuppie that is caught up in (and possibly overwhelmed) by the excesses and testosterone-driven impulses of the mid-1980's. Consumed by rock-hard abs, business card paper stock and typesetting and the importance of "moisturization", Bateman is a walking ticking time bomb, on the verge of going on a Dahmer-like killing spree, picking up call girls, giving them names of his own choosing then brutally hacking them to bits. It seems as if he's able to get away with his crimes until his murderous bloodlust, and the deterioration of his own psyche causes everything to go astray, leading to a great, ambiguous (or not, depending on one's interpretation) conclusion.

American Psycho is a stunning take on the 1980's corporate world, based on Bret Easton Ellis' famed novel. This is more than a horror movie, as it begs the question: what if Norman Bates grew up in the never-sleeping, always moving bustle of a yuppie-filled metropolis? Mary Harron's direction is excellent, expertly mixing blood with satire. I could never listen to "Ssudio" or "Hip to be Square" ever the same again after this film – but I do truly appreciate the underlying uplifting themes of "The Greatest Love of All".


American Splendor

Release Date: January 20th, 2003
Directed by Shari Springer Berman
Distributed by Fine Line Pictures
Cast:
Paul Giamatti
Hope Davis
Harvey Pekar

Paul Giamatti may be – to use a boxing term – pound-for-pound, the best actor from the United States. He may not be in a cinematic masterpiece all the time, but one knows that if he is anywhere near a film, he is going to give a performance to remember and raise it to a higher standard just by his pudgy, self-reflexive presence.

In the absolutely ingenious American Splendor, Giamatti takes on the role of true-life underground comic legend Harvey Pekar in a way where, when placed side-by-side with the real thing, it is hard to tell them apart in regards to mannerisms. Everything, from Pekar's crotchety rasp to his self-imposed droop and deeply buried eyes is 100% spot on in comparisons to the real deal. Splicing in actual footage from when Pekar was a frequent guest on Dave Letterman, as well as documenting his friendship with underground comic demi-god, Robert Crumb (impeccably played by James Urbaniak) was also a bonus that gave weight to the film.

Director Shari Springer Berman expertly weaves one of the most awe-inspiring webs of film making this decade, splicing "making of" footage with the events of the film and adapting the dramatized life of Pekar and his friend(s) and family from the skewed frames of the comic. Comedy in misery was never so miserably funny.


Amores Perros

Release Date: May 14th, 2000
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Distributed by Nu Vision & Lions Gate Films
Cast:
Emilio Echevarría
Gael García Bernal
Goya Toledo
Álvaro Guerrero
Vanessa Bauche
Jorge Salinas
Adriana Barraza
Gustavo Sánchez Parra

Alejandro González Iñárritu's Mexican drama, Amores Perros is what I feel is the start of the "hyperlink" films kicking into gear. Now, I understand that is misleading as everyone from Altman to Buñuel to Tarantino has made a movie where unrelated characters' lives intersect and affect each other, but this is where the craze began to spiral out of control where Traffic, Crash, Babel and a slew of other wannabe films of this style came out.

A car crash opens the film and transports the audience into three distinctive stories revolving around those involved, who instigated, and were affected by the aftermath of the crash. "Octavio and Susana" is a bitter love story staring Gael García Bernal and Vanessa Bauche as the title characters, a man in love with his brother's wife. "Daniel and Valeria", stars Álvaro Guerrero and Goya Toledo as a magazine publisher and supermodel who is under a strenuous relationship after the car crash affected Valeria's leg and livelihood. "El Chivo and Maru", with Emilio and Lourdes Echevarría may be my favorite story, about a professional hitman who attempts to reconnect with his daughter. The scene in which El Chivo attempts to make one final connection via answering machine is heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. It is a wondrous performance by Emilio Echevarría.

The film, where the themes about the cruelty of animals (including ourselves) resonate, is a powerful account of how one random act can affect many lives in its wake. This was director Alejandro González Iñárritu's introduction to an appreciative audience outside his home country of Mexico, and the start of the dominance of "The Three Amigos" in Hollywood. ***NOTE***Do not fall into the trap of thinking the English translation for the title (Love's a Bitch) is the correct, literal translation.


Antichrist

Release Date: May 18th, 2009
Directed by Lars Von Trier
Distributed by IFC FIlms & Artificial Eye
Cast:
Willem Dafoe
Charlotte Gainsoburg

Lord, forgive me. I can't help it – I've jumped on the Antichrist bandwagon. When I reviewed this movie, I gave it an 8 out of 10. Now, I would give it closer to a 9.5. Lars von Trier's inverted take on good vs. evil (where it is evil vs. good – or maybe evil vs. evil) has stuck with me and haunted me like no other film has in 2009.

Dafoe and Gainsoburg play "He" and "She", a married couple who lost their infant son to an accident while having passionate (and explicit) sex. Notice I do not use the term "make love", as in the world that they inhabit, love – at least our definition of it – does not exist there. "She" falls into a pit of despair, and "He", a prideful psychiatrist decides to treat his wife as his newest patient, instead of his grieving wife. They retreat to "Eden", their cabin in the woods, so "He" can cure "She" of her grief. What follows is a horrendous tale of sexual, spiritual and psychological angst unlike anything ever filmed this decade.

If we can move past the "torture porn" aspect of the film and focus on the photography (some of the best this decade) and the thesis of the story, which is FAR more deeper than most people give it credit for – including myself, Antichrist becomes more of an experience than the normal film. Charlotte Gainsoburg and Willem Dafoe deserve a medal for allowing themselves to go through the absolute hell their director imposed on them.


Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Release Date: May 13th, 2001
Directed by Zacharias Kunuk
Distributed by Sony Pictures
Cast:
Natar Ungalaaq
Sylvia Ivalu
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq

CANADA! At first, the film world wondered how a movie written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut, the language of Canada's Inuit people, would play out on the big screen. Would people understand it or shun away from its spiritual center and truly exotic locales and characters? Thank God for a desire for new storytellers and an audience to see it.

Atanarjuat, which literally translates into "the fast runner", is an Inuit hunter living in "ancient times". His tribe was cursed long ago by shaman who "brought evil to the camp like death." It is during this time that Atanarjuat must go through jealousy, rage and sorcery to break the curse for his own survival. What is crazy about Atanarjuat, in my opinion, is that it is a thriller wrapped up in a "Dungeons and Dragons" nerd's wet dream. Visions of ghosts and mystical powers are all a backdrop for a story set in the realism of the harsh and icy northern environment, full of igloos and makeshift dog-sleds. One of the most thrilling moments captured on film this decade is a chase, where Atanarjuat, naked and barefoot, must outrun his foes on a sheet of ice. Zacharias Kunuk paced his film in the style of Akira Kurosawa or Michael Mann, where we know where the lines are crossed, and the film is about the anticipation of the two main enemies finally colliding.

I've heard some complaints about Atanarjuat, mainly that it is "too far fetched" or "depends on too much mysticism." Of course most of these critics favorite movies is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which dismisses their claims entirely. Of course, they would be also unaware that this is an adaptation of an over 500-year-old Inuit legend, which is pretty insulting to that camp of people. See this movie now.


A Beautiful Mind

Release Date: December 21st, 2001
Directed by Ron Howard
Distributed by Universal Studios & DreamWorks
Cast:
Russell Crowe
Jennifer Connelly
Ed Harris
Paul Bettany
Christopher Plummer
Josh Lucas

There was a brief moment in time when Russell Crowe was hailed as the next big thing in movies. He received unanimous critical acclaim in 1999 for his role in The Insider. He had previously won a Best Actor Oscar for Gladiator in 2000, and with his heartbreaking and inspirational portrayal of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, John Nash - he seemed primed to strike gold again.

John Nash was a gifted, yet socially awkward mathematician – able to create formulas out of basically nothing (he created a formula of how his University buddies could successfully obtain a date for each of them from a group of college-age women…by NOT going after the most attractive female in the bunch.) Over the years, as a professor at M.I.T., he would meet Alicia Larde (Jennifer Connolly), a student who would eventually become his wife. Over time, though – the power of paranoid schizophrenia would take over his body, as Nash felt compelled to solve formulas and puzzles assigned to him by the U.S. Government. The problem was, the formulas, puzzles, and even the man who assigned them (Ed Harris) were a figment of his imagination that affected his work, his livelihood and his relationship.

Ron Howard directed (pardon the pun) a beautiful film about the power of the mind and the power of love. Jennifer Connelly (in an Oscar-winning turn) and Ed Harris give dazzling supporting performances, each in their own right as one is a woman who must learn to love a man who cannot decipher reality, and another as an apparition living in it's own universe. Loved this film. I think only Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon matched the confidence in direction that Ron Howard possessed for this – the movie which won him a Best Director Oscar.


Before Night Falls

Release Date: January 26, 2001
Directed by Julien Schneibel
Distributed by Fine Line Features
Cast:
Javier Bardem
Olivier Martinez
Andrea Di Stefano
Johnny Depp
Sean Penn

French filmmaker Julien Schneibel teamed up with future Oscar winner Javier Bardem to create this compelling tale based on the autobiography of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas during the unstable political climate of Fidel Castro's communist regime.

Bardem may have since become famous (or infamous) for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Anton Chigurh in 2007's No Country for Old Men, but he received a Best Actor Academy Award Nomination for playing the openly gay artist with such zeal and fearlessness that it's hard not to pay attention every time he is on screen. Before Night Falls, though, is not a film about the struggle for equality so much as it is a story about freedom in general as Arenas must go through battles with the Cuban government just to leave the country and move past a ridiculous false charge he was slapped with.

Julien Schneibel's sophomore effort (after the much praised Basquiat [1996], about another tortured artist) is much more refined, keeping the rawness of his debut feature, but with a confidence with his compositions and camera movements. Sean Penn and Johnny Depp give great minor performances as well.


Before Sunset

Release Date: 2004
Directed by Richard Linkletter
Distributed by Warner Independent Pictures
Cast:
Ethan Hawke
Julie Delpy

Richard Linkletter's 1995 film, Before Sunrise was a refreshing, passionate call-to-arms for an audience that demanded a more mature take on romance. Before Sunset, in my opinion – is one of the greatest exclamation points of a previous story ever filmed.

Nine years have passed since the events of Before Sunrise, when Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) had met in Vienna. Jesse is now a married, successful novelist in Paris doing a European book tour, where Celine coincidently shows up (I would be remiss to not mention a great tongue-in-cheek moment with three fans of Jesse's book, each with their own interpretations of the ambiguous finale of his novel – a mirror of how people felt about Before Sunrise.) Of course, time is limited between Jesse and Celine, who is now an environmentalist – and they must use every minute of their time together to re-acquaint.

Linkletter, with use of some tracking shots that seemingly never end, went part-Scorsese and part-Kurosawa with a sweet little story of the power of love and how one can never forget an experience shared with a kindred spirit. The film goes from small-talk to politics and philosophy, teasing moments where Celine and Jesse may finally make the move to give in to their love for one another, ending in another touching – and ambiguous moment that gives the viewer the chance to finish the story. "Baby, you're gonna miss that plane!" Don't miss this movie.


Big Fish

Release Date: December 10th, 2003
Directed by Tim Burton
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Cast:
Ewan McGregor
Albert Finney
Billy Crudup
Helena Bonham Carter
Marion Cotillard
Jessica Lange
Alison Lohman
Steve Buscemi
Danny DeVito

I remember watching Tim Burton's brilliant Ed Wood and thought to myself, "Yes! He is expanding his reach as a filmmaker…" – and then he did Planet of the Apes. Sigh. Then came along Big Fish the story of father and son Edward and Will Bloom. At the heart of the matter – and what elevates Burton's opus from "another Burton-esque imaginative yarn" into truly great movie making is the relationship that binds – and strains the Bloom men.

Older Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) always tells the same story about how on the day his son Will (Billy Crudup) was born: he was out catching an enormous, unattainable fish, using his wedding ring as bait. It leads to a string of tales, one more outlandish and fantastic than the next – involving werewolves, giants, Siamese twins, and the third worse bank robbery captured on film (Stroszek is the worst, Dog Day Afternoon gets the silver medal.) All of these stories have taken a toll on Will, who feels his father has never been able to tell him the truth and will in essence, affect the relationship he will have with his own son. Only when tragedy strikes does Will understand who his father is and the love he has not only for the stories he tells, but for his son and the town he resides in.

With a more inspired Danny Elfman score than usual, fantastic photography provided by Phillipe Rousselot and some dazzling visual effects, not to mention great performances from Finney, Crudup, Ewan McGregor (as the younger Edward Bloom), Steve Buschemi and Helena Bonham Carter, Big Fish was one of the more out-there-yet-rewarding films of the decade.


Blow

Release Date: April 6th, 2001
Directed by Ted Demme
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Cast:
Johnny Depp
Jordi Mollà
Penélope Cruz
Ray Liotta
Paul Reubens
Franka Potente
Rachel Griffiths
Ethan Suplee
Cliff Curtis

There have been unjust comparisions of Ted Demme's final film Blow, based on the biographic novel of the same name with such other films as Brian De Palma's Scarface and Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas (of course, if I made a film that drew those comparisons, I'd be pretty stoked) for its sensationalized depiction of the drug world. To that I say: I don't think you've seen the final eight minutes of the film. What its anti-protagonist (not antagonist, there is a difference) receives in the end is worse than getting shot in the back while hopped up on a one foot mound of cocaine or "ratting out".

Blow follows the story of real-life cocaine smuggler George Jung (Johnny Depp) as he moves up from small-time marijuana hustler to big-time cocaine exporter, dodging in an out of prison, court dates and bullets along the way. Johnny Depp is a force of nature as the real life hood whose ambition was greater than his reach. Ted Demme brought the fire with this film, creating an energy and dichotomy that matched the fast-paced world in which George was a part of. And seeing Pee-Wee as a drug dealer? Yeah, that kinda screwed me up in a terrible way – not as much as finding out he was pleasuring himself in public, but pretty damn close.

The fact of the matter is, Blow is a great "fall from grace" story about how the world of drugs is one that will take you and your family down in a heartbeat. It doesn't pack the full emotional brunt of another anti-drug film I will touch on later on, but that final shot pretty much sells the story: Drugs kill…And not just lives.


Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Release Date: November 2nd, 2006
Directed by Larry Charles
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Cast:
Sacha Baron Cohen
Ken Davitian
Luenell
Pamela Anderson

Yes, you are reading this correctly: "Arthouse" Archibald is hailing a movie that boasts an extended scene of two grown, naked men fighting in a bed with serious homo-erotic undertones and interrupting a hotel conference as one of the great films of the 2000's. I have no rhyme or reason for this other than to say that Borat is funny as hell.

Over the years, filmmakers and comedians have tried to break through into the upper realms of success through the mockumentary genre. This is Spinal Tap, for me, will forever be the Holy Grail, but there have been some excellent efforts, including Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. Borat has come awfully close to that Holy Grail, though.

The exploits of the now-infamous Kazakh television personality, Borat Sagdiyev, is pretty much a pop-culture phenomenon, with seven year olds giving thumbs up and screaming "SEEEEXXXY TIIIIIME!" at weddings and other family functions (yes, I've seen it – depressingly.) Everything from the infatuation with Pamela Anderson (who was a HELL of a good sport) to blaming Jews for 9/11(!) and being happy with the violation and death of a spouse from a bear is shocking, appalling, distasteful and bloody hilarious. I'm sorry, but throwing money at cockroaches, thinking they are self-transformed Jews in order to "escape" – how does one come up with such inspired non-PC bullshit?

Perhaps Borat is considered a great film because it truly exposed the jingoism of post 9/11 America (via a rodeo and one of the most disturbing hitchhike trips I've ever seen), and showed that we as human beings still have a bit of work to do in regards to coming together for the cause of a greater good. That message is buried far…Far…FAR beneath Ken Davitian's layers upon layers of body fat, but it is there. And Borat is still funny as hell.


The Bourne Identity

Release Date: June 14th, 2002
Directed by Doug Liman
Distributed by Universal Studios
Cast:
Matt Damon
Franka Potente
Chris Cooper
Brian Cox
Julia Stiles
Clive Owen
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Anthony Green

The James Bond movie that never was. When The Bourne Identity was released, the question looming on everyone's mind was "Can Matt Damon do action?" Yeah, most of us went home with our tails tucked between our legs after that first shot to the throat.

James Bourne (Matt Damon) is a psychogenic amnesiac caught in the middle of a SUPER SECRET GOVERNMENT conspiracy as he is being hunted down by members of the CIA for failing to report back after an unsuccessful unsanctioned assassination attempt. Along the way, he teams up with Marie (Franka Potente, of Run Lola, Run and The Princess and the Warrior fame) to help learn of his past and get his memories back. Everyone plays their role to perfection, and Damon more than silenced any possible detractors of whether or not 1) he could open a movie and 2) he could open an ACTION franchise. Even though sequels The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) doesn't pack the same initial punch to the gut that Identity did, they are still very good action yarns, and showed that a skilled hand, cast and crew can make an effective and intelligent actioner.

Even though "shaky-cam" is now a cliché term to use for a film-making style for those who are unable to shoot an effective action sequence, in 2002, Doug Liman re-defined the next great film convention – one that was hailed as a masterstroke and beaten into the ground much like "bullet time" was when The Matrix was released in 1999. With the more realistic portrayal of an ass-kicking spy, Bourne almost put Bond out of business, and actually forced the hand that led us to Casino Royale. All in all, though – this is one of the best action/thrillers of the decade.


Bowling for Columbine

Release Date: October 11th, 2002
Directed by Michael Moore
Distributed by United Artists
Cast:
n/a…unless you count Marilyn Manson, Dick Clark and Charlton Heston

There hasn't been a documentary filmmaker quite like Michael Moore, and I doubt we may ever see his ilk again. Even though over the years he has become someone who may have become a product of buying his own hype and thinking said hype can affect the spectrum of political discourse, it is with this very film that we see the original impassioned man who really felt a need to simply change the way we perceive…Everything in the West.

Columbine has, unfortunately, become just another one of those "pop icon" moments – where people can ask "where were you when…?" instead of taking the isolated incident to question and challenge the way we function as human beings. Moore perfectly expressed the anger, confusion, cynicism most of the country was feeling and it hit the perfect note when he and two of the victims of the tragic school shooting walked into K-Mart.

Sure, the Charleton Heston thing seemed tacked on, but I still feel it was under the guise of someone who was genuinely pissed off. This was Michael Moore before he became "Michael Moore" – and one of the best docs of all time.


Brokeback Mountain

Release Date: December 9th, 2005
Directed by Ang Lee
Distributed by Focus Features & Paramount Pictures
Cast:
Heath Ledger
Jake Gyllenhaal
Anne Hathaway
Michelle Williams
Randy Quaid

Let's get this out of the way so we're clear – if your dislike for this movie is on the sole basis of "they're f*gs" or "it's an abomination to God", you can skip my praise and go to the next pick. The fact of the matter is that this may be the decade's best love story. I don't care that it's between two men. I'm straight, I have a beautiful wife that I sleep with every night, so I am not threatened or disgusted by the fact that people look for love, want to be loved and can't control who they love sometimes.

Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) meet at the fictional Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming during the summer of 1963 while herding sheep for Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). Amidst the isolation and loneliness of the task, the two form a bond that is one of the most emotionally, physically and sexually complex relationships ever filmed. They make love, they fistfight, they hurl insults and they make up. It is a struggle to stay together over eighteen years, and marriages of their own but they can't "quit" each other.

Ang Lee collaborated with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger to craft a story of passion, repression, guilt, friendship and isolation in the throes of forbidden love and hit every note out of the park. Most who followed the careers of the three men involved knew they were talented and needed a project to display it for the world to see. Brokeback is tragic, heart-wrenching and beautiful. Heath Ledger's performance as Ennis is one of those eye-opening instances where one looks at the screen and has a "John Ford" moment…

"I never knew the big son of a bitch could act…" - and would lead him to the movie he will probably be always famous for.

Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams also offer compelling performances, completing the circle for one of the decade's best ensembles. Crash (also released in 2005 – winning the Best Picture Oscar) was a good movie, but this, the next film on the list and about four or five others were FAR superior.


Caché

Release Date: October 5th, 2005
Directed by Michael Haneke
Distributed by Artificial Eye & Sony Pictures Classics
Cast:
Juliette Binoche
Daniel Auteuil
Maurice Bénichou

Caché (aka "Hidden") is a film that kinda crept under the radar and hit me out of the blue one evening in 2007. A random rental I picked up, more because of Austrian director Michael Haneke. When the film ended, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Caché is about the quiet lives of the Laurent family, Georges (Daniel Auteuil) the host of a French television show, his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche), a book publisher and their son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky). Videotapes start showing up at their doorstep one day – with footage of their home from a hidden camera from across the street. The tapes at first seem harmless, but then they are accompanied by disturbing illustrations by crayon – and then footage that calls into question the circumstances of Georges' childhood; circumstances that Georges does not want to discuss, not even with his wife.

Michael Haneke, who directed 2009's Palme d'Or winner at Cannes, The White Ribbon, put together this taut little drama that plays something of a reverse, twisted hybrid of Rear Window, The Ring and The Conversation within the backdrop of a domestic family. It's themes of repressed guilt, willful amnesia, and voyeurism haunts both the characters of the film and the audience watching. Haneke's pacing – using no score, combined with masterful editing from Nadine Muse and Michael Hudecek and gripping performances from all involved (including a heartbreaking performance from Maurice Bénichou as Majid, a link to Georges' childhood) makes Caché one of the more quietly disturbing films to be released this decade.


Cast Away

Release Date: December 7th, 2000
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Distributed by 20th Century Fox & DreamWorks
Cast:
Tom Hanks
Helen Hunt
Semion Sudarikov
Geoffrey Blake
Jenifer Lewis
Chris Noth
Nick Searcy
Lari White
Vince Martin
Wilson the Volleyball

In the 1980's, Tom Hanks was that "aww, shucks" kinda goofy comedian that could do no wrong. In the 1990's, he became the acting powerhouse that we know him as. Now, he's more of a producing powerhouse, only surfacing to lend his voice to Woody for Toy Story and his body for The Di Vinci Code, but in Robert Zemeckis' tale of isolation, ingenuity and hope, Tom Hanks proved why at one point, he was the most gifted thespian on the planet.

Tom Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a time-obsessed FedEx Systems analysis who is in a long-term relationship with Kelly (Helen Hunt) in Memphis, but have never taken the time to settle down and marry. During a trip to solve a problem overseas, his plane crashes into the ocean near the South Pacific, killing all on board except for him. He washes up on shore and finds he must spend life fending for his own survival on an uninhabited island for over four years.

While Big displayed his acting potential and Philadelphia and Forrest Gump raised the bar for his career, Tom Hanks reached the apex of his acting abilities in Cast Away. For over an hour, Hanks had the task of carrying an entire film on his back, something that no one would dare try again until Wil Smith in I Am Legend - and even then, he had a dog. Hanks had a volleyball. I don't know whether to praise the screenwriter, director or Hanks himself for being able to generate empathy for an inanimate object such as "Wilson", but that in itself puts Cast Away in another league of movies.


Children of Men

Release Date: September 22nd, 2006
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Cast:
Clive Owen
Julianne Moore
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Charlie Hunnam
Clare-Hope Ashitey
Pam Ferris
Danny Huston
Peter Mullan
Michael Caine

I always tell people I don't believe in "ranking" films – a film is great or it is not, but I will not hesitate to admit that I could assemble somewhat of a makeshift "Best 10" or whatever of the decade. There are a few films that would be obvious picks and I would never deviate from taking them off. Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 masterpiece, Children of Men is one of those films.

Set in a bleak, dystopian future of 2027 Britain, where no child has been born on the planet for over eighteen years – Clive Owen plays Theo, a former activist turned apathetic bureaucrat. After watching a news report learning that the world's youngest human, an eighteen year old, had been stabbed to death, Theo narrowly avoids a café bombing. A chain of events transpire where Theo must maneuver himself in a society where anarchy, terrorism, fascism and hopelessness rule to safely transport Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), a pregnant refugee out of the chaotic country.

Not many films affect me upon first viewing, but Children of Men's anti-Blade Runner universe, Alfonso Cuarón's seemingly-impossible one-take sequences, Emmanuel Lubezki's depressingly breathtaking, blue-grey photography and John Tavener's near-euphoric score that nearly reaches the heights of nirvana (spiritual enlightenment, not the group) is something of a miracle. The claustrophobic moments concerning a group of individuals seated in a car during a high-speed chase is one of the most technically and emotionally flawless events ever composed on film. The acting performances from everyone, from Owen's evolution to savior of the world, to Michael Caine's futuristic hippie and Julianne Moore's steely-eyed and determined resistance leader, hits all the right notes. Science Fiction is usually never this arresting, gripping, heart-stopping or emotionally draining. Children of Men isn't just one of the best films of the decade – it's one of the best ever made. Period.

{Film Passport Stamped]

That will do it for this week! What films resonate with you? Let's make this a big interactive deal and trade off.

Coming Attractions: Part Two of The Great Films of the 2000's: Movies that shed light on a crazy Aussie, graceful Kung-Fu, the second-highest grossing film of all time and...ROB ZOMBIE??? You will have to see what I mean next week!

Questions or comments? Completely disagreed with any of my picks? Are you in love with me? Leave comments below or email me at [e-mail]!!!

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