I devoured two separate million word essays from Bill Simmons yesterday. Not only did he delve, in incredible depth, into the saga of this off-season's NBA free agency, but he brought up a topic that I think is a great debate concept.
So, I thought I'd steal it.
Mr. Simmons makes a very good case for his choice of Almost Famous as the Best Movie Drama of the decade (2000-2009) based on the qualifications of "Excellence; originality; rewatchability." His poll lists 8 movies, all of which can be argued as great "Guy" dramas (good luck, however, arguing with a guy's guy about how Brokeback is a "Guy Movie").
But why limit the debate to dramas? When forced to name my favorite movie of all time, which seems to come up at least twice a year, I've been able to put genre out of the equation. In considering all the movies I've seen in my life, I've come to the conclusion that Casablanca is my favorite movie ever made. Using the qualifications of excellence, originality, and rewatchability, Casablanca wins hands down. If you add as a qualification: the film must included the consumption of copious amounts intoxicants, there's no other film that even comes close. I especially like, regarding the intake of alcohol, how the cool guys can hold their liquor. The weaklings, not so much. But I digress.
What is the best movie of the decade -- regardless of genre? I'd like to add the fourth qualification mentioned above, but I think that might lead to Superbad winning in a landslide. So, using excellence, originality, and rewatchability, what movie gets your vote for best film of the decade? A couple starting points...
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Vol 2 (2004)
Memento (2000)
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Gladiator (2000)
Chocolat (2000)
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2003)
You forgot all the Pixar movies (with the exception of Cars which is the same plot as Doc Hollywood and old cartoons where cars and planes were people, not as original as the others).
ReplyDeleteTough topic.
I really liked Slumdog Millionaire but I don't know how may times I can rewatch it. Same with Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth. And I guess the LOTR trilogy doesn't count because it was an adaptation from extremely well known books.
Very tough
For me, it would be LOTR. That will go down like Star Wars - timeless. If we remove LOTR from consideration, considering it's a trilogy not a stand-alone piece, my top flicks in this decade are:
ReplyDelete- Crouching Tiger
- Eternal Sunshine
- Wall-E
- Dark Knight
Honorable Mention - Amelie, 3:10 To Yuma, Moulin Rouge, Garden State, Team America, Incredibles
All those flicks, especially the top ones, completely floored me as I left the theater. With that said, there have been some incredible downer movies too like Children of Men, Amores Perros, and City of God. Those flicks stayed with me for days, but, as you can see from my favorites, I'm a bit of a softie.
Yeah, I had a similar feeling about the Kill Bills -- can you consider a trilogy (or a 2-parter) one movie?
ReplyDeleteI think the answer is if you (and others) can sit and watch straight through. Probably couldn't do it with Star Wars, or the Godfathers, but maybe LOTR...?
Regardless, if you have to choose one (and you can't say Highlander, cause I didn't really quote it)...?
Children of Men is the best large budget narrative of the aughts thus far but I think Inarritu/Arriaga/Prieto was probably the best filmmaking team and so I would give best trilogy to Amores Perros (technially late 90s), 21 Grams, and Babel (shocker). re: Slumdog I have to say that 28 Days Later and Sunshine are way better. I like Slumdog but it's probably his 4th or 5th best film.
ReplyDeleteAgreed about the Inarritu team. All three flicks were freakin' amazing, humbling, terrifying, and even uplifting at various times.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Danny Boyle too, though I've only seen the 2nd half of 28 Days Later (still damn impressive). Sunshine was a criminally ignored by its studio. It had that slow, sci-fi tone of Gattaca, which may explain why it didn't resonate with studio-heads. Nevertheless, it was a great flick. I saw some interview with Danny Boyle where he said he almost quit filmmaking after Sunshine - because he couldn't keep poring his heart and soul into these films and have them shelved. We're lucky he didn't quit.
I guess I got a little off topic with regard to John's original parameters of "Excellence, originality, rewatchability". Few of my picks are terribly rewatchable. While severely flawed, I do find myself glued to Gladiator every time it's on TNT.
I realized that I have not answered my own question. So, I have been back and forth on this between Wedding Crashers and the Kill Bills. They are such similar movies... well, maybe not. But based on the criteria, I think they both stand-up well. That said, I vote for Kill Bill (and if pressed, Vol 1 narrowly beats Vol 2).
ReplyDelete