In the interest of full disclosure, I have (since the beginning of this list) seen Sherlock Holmes and Avatar--two movies which some people had previously asked about relating to their rankings. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be listing them anywhere on here, because the list I made started with 200 movies that I had seen and there wasn't any room for inserting things. Maybe future lists, but not this one. Though to be fair, I'll just say that I really did enjoy Sherlock Holmes. It has a fantastic soundtrack and I think Robert Downey, Jr., was fun to watch--even though his Sherlock Holmes wasn't "THE Sherlock Holmes" everyone has kind of silently agreed upon in our imaginations. And Avatar was an absolute marvel in regards to its visuals--I've never seen anything like it and I'm sure most people haven't--though the story itself left a lot to be desired. For me, I think a good story trumps a good aesthetic, but that's not to say that a mind-blowingly creative movie like Avatar is not better than a movie with a pretty good story but not pizazz. Because it is. Certainly it would have a spot on this countdown, I'm not entirely sure where, but somewhere in the top 150 for certain. The problem with Avatar is that the graphics are so other-worldly for right now, but in ten years, it'll seem like chump change, and we'll be left with a mediocre plot to try and redeem it. This is why movies like The Matrix are so astounding when they're released but get kicked down a few notches every year. What makes it special is very fleeting. The Godfather, on the other hand, only gets better with time, because its premise is transcendental--its always interesting to look at movies from the past and see how their themes and character arcs match up with real-life events that have occurred since its release. And sure, maybe someday we'll infiltrate a planet with blue beings and floating mountains--but I kind of doubt that when we do, anyone will remember the movie Avatar.
And on with the list:
125. Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005) - I think this, for me, is a perfect example of a movie that's fantastically executed, but not fantastic. It's well acted, well directed, well written, and has a crisp, accurate feel to it. But I don't think it really did anything new or moved me in any profound way. It was what it was--a well made movie that gave David Strathairn a chance to shine after a long, under-appreciated career of being "Oh he's that guy from that one movie".
124. Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze, 2009) - So much promise, so much buildup, all the leaked internet images and pirated clips on YouTube, and the result was a movie that naturally upset some Maurice Sendak purists, but ultimately impressed me greatly. I loved the creatures, they were well-designed and unique, and certainly the movie strayed a bit from the storyline of the book, but that shouldn't take away from it. It's very moving, very emotional, and features a great performance by young Max Records (as Max, aptly) and a really fun soundtrack by Karen O and Carter Burwell. Don't kid yourself, it's a sad sad movie, a way for Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers to recreate Peter Pan--an aching ode in the name of childhood and loneliness.
123. The Boys of Baraka (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, 2005) - A little-known documentary about a group of boys from the neighborhoods of Baltimore who are given the opportunity to travel to Kenya and learn at a renowned boys' school. Truly eye-opening and moving. It makes you want to pluck every child growing up in a harsh environment and whisk them away to somewhere safe where they can flourish and be themselves. The end of the movie is heart-wrenching as the boys face the future of returning to the projects and a potential life of misery and crime.
122. The Last Samurai (Edward Zwick, 2003) - A kind of forgotten movie of the decade, perhaps because Tom Cruise has turned into a robot zombie, but it was a good one. Especially memorable for me thanks to Ken Watanabe's breakthrough performance. I really liked how they gave you an objective take on the main character--here was a guy who didn't need your pity, didn't need you to identify with him, but he was presented with a remarkable circumstance and out of it, he gained a new appreciation for other cultures, for loyalty, for bravery. Maybe it was Dances With Wolves 2, maybe it was "based on historical events", but I think that if the movie is good enough, you won't be consciously considering those comparisons throughout the course of the film. This was good enough to pass that test for me.
121. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004) - A perfectly timed spoof movie, with zombie films hitting their critical mass around that time (thanks to successes like 28 Days Later), but unlike Scary Movie and its ridiculous brethren, Shaun of the Dead actually has a decent storyline, funny jokes, and even a few chills. My personal favorite moment from this movie is when Shaun's friend is ripped apart while climbing through the window. So deliciously gory.
120. I Am Sam (Jessie Nelson, 2001) - It has kind of entered into a bit of a joke stage with the reference in Tropic Thunder, but I Am Sam still stands out as a terrific movie with a really moving performance by Sean Penn. While I'm a little uncomfortable about people acting like disabled characters, I think he was pretty fair in his portrayal--even if he didn't have as many faculties as Hoffman's Rain Man. This was the last time I really liked Dakota Fanning in a movie.
119. Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke, 2003) - Twisted. But it should be commended for its realistic take on the lives of teens. It was really edgy for a number of reasons, but notably, stars Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed (who co-wrote the film based on her own life experiences) were actually young teenagers at the time, not 20-year olds playing teens. If anything I think it should have been a warning out to parents that their kids are not the innocent angels they might believe them to be, but because of the controversial subject matter I'm sure the only people who saw this movie were in the 18-30 set.
118. This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2006) - I heard this movie was good, and a well-written story, and it ended up being everything I had hoped for and more. It's about a oft-picked-on kid who starts hanging with a crew of tough skinheaded older teens, starts making out with his much-older groupie girlfriend, and eventually dives into the world of racist neo-Nazism. While the story itself shows how strong the bonds of acceptance and friendship are, it also tells the very important message that sometimes being part of the gang is not everything--having a place to hang might not be worth succumbing to mob mentality. A fantastic movie, really, and though it does historically mirror a lot of modern English social movements, the themes can be adapted almost anywhere.
117. Rescue Dawn (Werner Herzog, 2006) - Christian Bale destroys his body; we benefit. Similar to The Machinist, Bale withered away to almost nothing for his role as a fighter pilot caught in the jungles of Laos. It might be based on a true story (with some historical inaccuracies of course), but regardless it's a moving tale--though I don't want to dip into cliches of "bravery" and "courage". Really, it's about survival--what they did to survive, to try and make it out of the jungles alive. Steve Zahn gets the underappreciated award on this one. He might not normally be the world's greatest actor, but I give him a hell of a round of applause for his performance in this movie.
116. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) - A really in vogue movie right now, winning all kinds of awards and being hot on Avatar's tail for Oscar front-runner. To me, it was a really good movie, very well-done with the suspense and insight necessary for a to-date Iraq War movie. Jeremy Renner is good as the borderline psychopath, but I think it's the web of different character personas that makes the movie so good. Really makes you ache for everything that's going on over there.
115. Blood Diamond (Edward Zwick, 2006) - First off, I want to take Leonardo DiCaprio's accent in this movie and blow it off the face of the planet. But if I'm able to remove that from consideration, what we're left with is a pretty solid movie, which I feel was definitely carried by Djimon Hounsou. His character is the emotional compass for the film, I personally could care less about what happens to Leo, and it's a little remarkable that he didn't receive more acclaim for this role. Considering how many movies out there that portray white people as saviors of African people, it's kind of nice to have a movie that outright admits to the whites' exploitation of the natives (even if he does kind of come back to be a hero in the end).
114. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sidney Lumet, 2007) - With a family like the one in this movie, who needs enemies? Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke (somehow?) play a pair of brothers who rob their parents' jewelry store and end up in a horribly complicated cluster(screw). It's almost one of those movies that preys on so many coincidences you want to scream, but the unadulterated cruelty with which the characters treat one another saves it and makes it a dandy. You kind of need a shower after this movie.
113. About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002) - Jack Nicholson famously accepted his award for Best Actor - Drama by deadpanning, "I thought we made a comedy." In every way, this movie attempted to be a comedy about old age and curmudgeoness (curmudgeody?) that played with the concept of fish-out-of-water: first, with the never grown up Jack playing an old man on his last legs, and second, with his character Schmidt being wholly unable to function in his life after the loss of his long-time wife. But no matter how clever and dark they thought they were being, the inherent emotionality of the story kept coming through, especially during the final sequence, one of the most universal tear-jerking scenes in recent cinema. It's almost worth the Kathy Bates nude scene.
112. The Matrix: Revolutions (Wachowski Bros, 2003) - Why do I like this movie so much? I'm not even sure. I think it was a fitting end to the Matrix Trilogy, gathered up a bunch of loose ends thanks to some standard deus ex machina moves, and really hammered home the Neo as savior point. Personally, I think it strayed from the original movie and its intentions, but how could I be the one to question that? It still provided a huge amount of visceral fight sequences and tension, a passable storyline, and was an experience entirely worth having on the big screen. They might have done nothing worthwhile since (yes that includes V for Vendetta) but The Matrix is a highly successful trilogy, like it or not.
111. Junebug (Phil Morrison, 2005) - By now, everyone knows Amy Adams has chops. But almost nobody had heard of her before this movie, a touching story about family and love and wanting to reach out and save someone from being swept under the rug. Luckily this movie was kept from being swept under the rug as well, and gained enough of a cult following to get it some critical applause--of which it is well deserving.
110. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004) - It was the skewering we were all hoping for, much funnier than one could have imagined, and a fitting tribute to George W.'s reign as President. It lacks the depth of Bowling for Columbine, and probably stretched the truth a good bit more, but in terms of entertainment value, ranks right up there with the best documentaries ever. Really makes you feel like Michael Moore is quite a weasel at times, but if you can look past that, there is a lot to be absorbed here--both politically and cinematically.
109. Layer Cake (Matthew Vaughn, 2004) - Honestly if you can tell me the name of Daniel Craig's character, I will be impressed, because I have no idea. This was the movie that was destined to launch a bunch of careers--Craig's and director Vaughn's, most notably--but Vaughn backed out of X3 to stay with his family and unfortunately he hasn't taken off the same way. Every few years we really need one of these fresh, bold action/crime thrillers to keep our blood pumping, and Layer Cake took the torch from Snatch and waved it admirably.
108. The Last King of Scotland (Kevin Macdonald, 2006) - Might be a little lower than some would imagine, and I'll just say this--I'm not the hugest fan of Forest Whitaker's performance as Idi Amin. I know he won the Oscar and got all the pub, but I'm not sure why, considering his role in the movie was very small and James McAvoy carried it from start to finish. I think it was still a very well made movie and a story that needed to be told, but at times I lost touch with its "based on a true story" nature, and I think the potentially momentous impact it could have had was dampened.
107. Identity (James Mangold, 2003) - A case where I just kind of sit back and say, "I don't know why, but I love this movie." Sorry. It's true. Not the greatest of stories, not the greatest directing or acting, but ever since seeing this movie in theaters, I've loved it, I think it hits on being creepy and suspenseful without being obnoxious, I like (or at least used to like) John Cusack as a lead, and the other characters and the isolated setting make for a really successful thriller. I was a little surprised when I saw that it was James Mangold, who has gone on to direct straight-laced dramas like 3:10 to Yuma and Walk the Line, but this one will always have a special place in my heart.
106. District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009) - Before I had seen this movie, I was kind of sick of it. I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about--it looked like a standard alien movie, how could that be groundbreaking? But I saw it. And I loved it. Maybe it's not as revolutionary as they'd like you to believe, but that's not the point. It has a good story, it's very well directed and conceived, and wholly unknown Sharlto Copley dominates his role like few others. Definitely had one of the single best jaw-dropping moments of any movie this year--when they unwrap the bandage.
105. Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, 2002) - Baz Luhrmann tried to make the movie Australia into the country Australia's one great historical epic feature, and by all accounts, he failed. But when you have a movie like this one, what else do you need? An incredibly informative and risky story about young half-aboriginal girls who escape from an internment camp and elude an experienced tracker to travel back to their hometown. The story of potential racial cleansing in Australia is one that needs to be more familiar to people in America. And this movie helps.
104. Super-Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004) - I'm shocked and disgusted that I actually ate far less McDonald's before seeing this movie than I have since, but that is more a result of convenience and laziness than it is the success of the documentary. Certainly it's a contrived idea, eating any kind of food of that nature for one month will put a strain on your body. And maybe Morgan Spurlock ended up being quite an ass, but he took a novel concept, piled on lots of information about nutrition, and made it very enjoyable. Everybody was talking about this movie for a month, and rightly so. It didn't bring any new ideas about fast food to the table, but his approach was entertaining and memorable.
103. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008) - This is part because I like how funny, clever, and heartfelt the story of the movie is, and part because I'm truly fascinated by the inventive visuals created in the film to re-imagine favorites like Ghostbusters and Men in Black. Michel Gondry is a magician with a camera. What some directors spend millions of dollars on with computer generated effects, Gondry does with streamers and panes of glass and cardboard. I sincerely hope that this movie makes everyone smile.
102. The Italian Job (F. Gary Gray, 2003) - A coincidence that I listed two Mos Def movies back to back? Probably. But I do really like the guy as an actor, he shows his terrific sense of humor in this movie, one which developed a really strong following upon release and showcases a brilliant combination of quick action and quick wit. TV shows these days about criminals turned good are all the rage, and I think that concept draws a lot of people towards this movie--here are bad guys, who are just like you and me, that get sucker punched by their "friend" and want to teach him a lesson. It's a fun ride where legal consequences are imaginary and thieves one-up each other with dazzling displays of choreography. Good cast, good fun, really tough to argue against.
101. The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006) - I think a lot of people confused Helen Mirren for the actual Queen after the release of this movie, which was notable for the angle it took on a very sensitive subject that is still fresh in the minds of many Britons. Her performance was very good (though I don't think quite legendary) and Michael Sheen again put in a good turn as an affable man in the public eye. Critically raved by all, and though I don't think it was quite as good as some of the other films released that year, it is still one that is definitely worth seeing--but it should be noted that I personally have only a vague grasp of the events following Diana's death, so my discrimination in terms of accuracy is quite low.
I'm sorry it's taking me so long. But I love building the suspense, don't you?
