Blog: Jordan

I posted the LA Film Critics Association's list of the top ten movies of the decade a few weeks back. Here's my own personal take:

1 City of God (2002) An epic. A masterpiece. This Brazilian film about the rise and fall of a group of young hoods will forever rank as one of the great movies from anywhere, anytime.

2 The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) An overlooked gem, The Assassination of Richard Nixon exemplifies what independent cinema can achieve when it stops trying to be quirky or cool and instead strives for grit and honesty.

3 No Country for Old Men (2007) The Coen Brothers’ best work, No Country for Old Men gives us all the excitement of a thriller without any of the predictability. Like many classic films, it only gets better with each additional viewing.

4 Brokeback Mountain (2005) A heartbreaking story of forbidden love. Although it’s about gay cowboys, this romance is as believable as any other memorable screen relationship.

5 Memento (2000) We see a lot of narrative gimmicks in movies, but rarely do they work as well as the one in Memento, a film propelled by a remarkable script.

6 The Departed (2006) Veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese delivers his best work in fifteen years with The Departed. He’s helped in his effort by an all-star cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg.

7 Munich (2005) One of Stephen Spielberg’s most mature films, Munich treats the issue of global terrorism with fairness and nuance during an era that’s often lacking both.

8 The Fog of War (2003) Errol Morris rewrote the rules of documentary filmmaking. He’s at his best again here in a movie that deconstructs both the Vietnam War and the leaders that waged it.

9 Adaptation (2002) The smartest comedy of the decade, Adaptation is an inventive look at the creative process that proves screenwriters can have greater authorial impact than directors.

10 The Machinist (2004) The Machinist is another gritty independent film that never got its due. Christian Bale took after Robert DeNiro (in reverse) when he lost a dangerous amount of weight to play this role.

Filmmaker Marc Webb, who made indie comedy (500) Days of Summer, will direct the next Spiderman installment. Webb is another director that comes from a music video background, having made videos for 3 Doors Down, Ashlee Simpson and Green Day. It seems unusual that Sony would choose a director whose only feature film was a small indie comedy to head a blockbuster comic book film. But I supposse Sam Raimi worked for the first three, and he had previously been making B-horror movies.

Personally, I don't care much for the franchise, so the move doesn't really bother me. But I'm sure there are plenty of fanboys unhappy about it.

Last night's Golden Globe Awards were dominated by blockbuster films: Avatar won best director and best film-drama, The Hangover won best film-comedy, and Sandra Bullock won best actress-drama for The Blind Side. It's probably no coincidence that it was the highest rated Golden Globes telecast in some time. Will the Academy Awards go the same direction?

Director Joe Johnston, who made upcoming release The Wolfman and Jurassic Park 3, has revealed that Jurassic Park 4 is in the works with him at the helm. The next installment, he explained, would split from the narrative of the previous three: "...it's going to be unlike anything you've seen. It breaks away from the first three—it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way."

This seems to be a growing trend in Hollywood: Rather than tacking on another sequel to a franchise, studios are restarting the series all over again: Halloween, Star Wars, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, etc.

Today, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Mulholland Drive the greatest film of the 2000s. This goes to show how an artwork's reception can change over time: In 2001, when the organization voted for best picture of the year, Mulholland finished second behind In the Bedroom, which received no votes in the decade poll.

The complete top ten is as follows:

1 Mulholland Drive

2 There Will Be Blood

3 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

4 Brokeback Mountain

5 No Country For Old Men

5(tie) Zodiac

6 Yi Yi

7 Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

8 Spirited Away

9 United 93

9(tie) Y Tu Mama Tambien

10 Sideways

The Hurt Locker finished the highest ranked film of 2009, coming in at number 25 overall.