My first thought after the Oscars ended was: "It was a down year." Not that The Hurt Locker is a particularly poor movie (it's not, it's a good one), or that the winners weren't deserving--I just think the selections were underwhelming. The batch of movies available to the voters wasn't particularly stunning for this year, but they still needed to put on a show, to get viewers tuned in. One of the main strategies the Oscars have is to keep you guessing at the winners of the big awards. This concept, to me, is pretty flawed. It's like the BCS of movies. Some obscure strategy, nobody's really quite sure why it is that certain winners are picked, but they are. It doesn't make sense to me. There shouldn't be any surprises. At the end of the year, you should go back and think to yourself, alright, what was THE movie of this year? It's like an MVP race in basketball. It shouldn't be a mystery. The LeBron Jameses of the world should stick out like a sore thumb. But I suppose it makes for good drama, and gives the little engines that could a chance to win the big prize when all is said and done.
I'm going to give myself a C+ for Oscar Predictions. It was a big surprise to me that Precious won Adapted Screenplay, I hadn't heard much buzz about that movie in that category, and though I haven't seen it, I didn't think it would have the academy backing to beat a strong script like Up In The Air. But congratulations to them for that award, it's one of the more important awards in film making, and one of the best ones for the writer to hang on his/her mantle. I picked the wrong place to throw a curveball, on Best Actress. Sandra Bullock has been cleaning up on those awards since the start of the season, I just felt like I was picking all the consensus ones, and wanted to have some originality. Though I can say I am a little bit disappointed that she didn't totally lose it on the way up to the podium. Her speech was fresh, I liked it. Lots of winners do the "I'd like to share this with my fellow nominees" thing, but in this case I think she knew she wasn't head and shoulders above the rest and probably won based a little bit on paying her dues. I just thought that when she took five minutes to stand up out of her chair, she was going to collapse into tears. Didn't happen.
My favorite speech of the night was definitely Kathryn Bigelow's--alright, I'm kidding--definitely Michael Giacchino's after his win for the score of Up. He's been the music director for Lost for years, and has gotten his name involved recently on some big name movies, including Star Trek and The Incredibles. And in his speech he skipped the "thank you bosses, thank you co-workers" approach and used his seventeen seconds of air time to make a point. He remarked that throughout his life he's never been told that what he wanted to do was a waste of time, he's always had a support system (parents, friends, colleagues) who gave him the emotional thumbs up whenever he needed it, and that has made all the difference to him--and that SHOULD make all the difference to kids out there who have dreams. I liked it. In the past, people have made similar points, only with a contrasting approach--that people have constantly told them they were wasting their time, but now they won an award and it's all validated. As if someone who thinks that filmmaking is a waste will be impressed by an Oscar. To Giacchino, the Oscar isn't used as the proof to contradict the naysayers, because if it was, there'd be hundreds and thousands of industry professionals out there without the hardware to support their career choices. He wants all filmmakers to applaud their OWN career choices. To him, the Oscar is not the dream. The career is the dream, and the Oscar is his chance to wake up and share that dream with others.
And continuing on with my countdown:
75. Erin Brockovich (Steven Soderbergh, 2000) - A hot little number that was everyone's darling when it came out, a true cornerstone piece for both lead Julia Roberts and director Soderbergh, who famously was nominated twice for directing in the same year (along with Traffic). The movie is carried almost entirely by Roberts, who appears in essentially every scene, and is at her most flexible and familiar. We want her to stick it to the gas company for polluting the water, we want her to stick it to Ed for running her ragged, we want her to stick it to all the men she meets who see her as a body and nothing more. And in the end, she does, a nice little package of justice served swiftly on the toe of her boot.
74. Sin Nombre (Cary Fukanaga, 2009) - Perhaps my favorite movie from the past year, one that has flown completely under the radar despite being a really fantastic piece. Cary Fukanaga's debut feature tells the story of Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) and Casper (Edgar Flores), whose fates intertwine on a train bound for the Texas border. The film is passionately written and filmed, with very aggressive location shoots and the use of many real-world extras to heighten the realism. I really don't think any blurb I could write would do it justice, you just kind of have to see it. Unfortunately, the seemingly quite talented Fukunaga's next film is slated to be an adaptation of Jane Eyre.
73. Ali (Michael Mann, 2001) - Aside from being referenced in crossword puzzles, there's almost no recognition of this film anymore, now that almost 9 years have passed since its premiere. And to me, that's sad. Michael Mann is quite highly regarded as a director and producer, but generally critics might point to Ali as one of his weaker films, which I'd argue. I think Will Smith is fantastic. I don't think I've ever seen an actor who wanted it as badly as he does in this film--this is absolutely the role of a lifetime and would be nearly impossible to perfect for any actor, given Ali's undying individuality. To tackle all of these inimitable public characters (Ali, Howard Cosell, George Foreman, Martin Luther King Jr.) is a daunting task, and I believe Mann succeeds admirably.
72. Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000) - An almost unheard of movie, at least to the general public, and rightly so. Like many of Spike's movies, it deals quite uncomfortably with the topic of race--Pierre (Damon Wayans) pitches an idea for a horribly offensive blackface minstrel show, only the network ends up loving the concept and green lights it for production. Soon the show becomes a massive hit, and Pierre is beside himself trying to cope with the intense personal struggle. The movie I think interestingly forecasts the events of Dave Chappelle's Show, in that the talent becomes incensed that people are embracing the overtly racist themes of the shows and ignoring the satirical contexts. It's been a while since I saw this movie, but I remember being struck by the power of the statements made, it works on many levels, as opposed to some of Lee's other movies, which simply and shamelessly villainize white people.
71. Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008) - Look, I thought Sean Penn was phenomenal as Harvey Milk. Truly. I just don't believe it was the signature performance of 2008, and his Oscar win, while deserved, wasn't totally accurate. I think Milk is a story that needed to be told, finally, even though it might be a few years too late. It's incredibly relevant today, especially in California, the long-standing home of freedom that has recently started to backtrack on its liberties. And it was nice to see Van Sant return to a straightforward storytelling model, unlike his rather winding, experimental efforts Last Days and Gerry. A good movie that was rightly overshadowed by some other movies that year, which just goes to show you that when it comes to awards, timing is everything.
70. Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004) - From the trailers alone, Payne's movie garnered a ton of buzz--both for the movie itself and for the lead actor Paul Giamatti, fresh off his breakthrough American Splendor performance. It absolutely killed its reviews, getting four stars from just about every notable outlet. Ultimately, it was Thomas Haden Church that really made a splash for himself, returning to notability and parlaying the award-winning performance into a role in Spider-Man 3. The movie was apparently so good that Miles's (Giamatti) distaste for Merlot and preference for Pinot Noir sent American wine markets spinning in favor of the latter. In the end it failed in its attempts to win big year-end awards, but is one of those movies that will retain its shelf life for a while, since it relies on good storytelling and acting instead of outdated gimmicks.
69. Babel (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2006) - Admittedly a little bit of a disappointment, which is impressive, since it still ends up at number 70. But certain portions of the movie were quite disconnected, and forcing them to be connected was a bit of a stretch. My favorite portion of the film was the interactions between the Middle Eastern family whose children accidentally shoot the bus (and Cate Blanchett). Second would be Rinko Kikuchi's (the deaf girl) storyline, at least until the point where it gets a little bit absurd and pushing-the-envelope. While I don't think it's as strong as Inarritu's previous movies, it's still got a lot to like--if you can stomach the overall sadness of the story. Gustavo Santaolalla once again provides a fantastic guitar-based score for the movie.
68. Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004) - I liked this movie enough to see it four times in theaters, and eventually watched it so many times within a year of its release that I started to get sick of it. As a whole, it was a difference maker. It turned Braff from goof sitcom star to accomplished twentysomething icon, and was a big reason why everyone fell head-first in love with Natalie Portman (even though her character was so cartoonish). The movie was filled with one-off scenes and shots that were clever and contrived, but I think they fit with the general pace. And the soundtrack was even more popular than the movie, turning Braff into a favorite mix CD advisor. I'm not sure what its impact will be in the long run, but Garden State certainly had its moment, and I'm not positive that Braff will be able to match its popularity of poignancy in the future.
67. Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004) - A movie, made by a list of nobodies and made on empty pockets, succeeds tackling the rather fanciful and typically huge-budget concept of time travel? Certainly a long shot. But anybody who has seen Primer comments on the effectiveness of the movie, even at the brief duration of 77 minutes. It's certainly thought-provoking, and one of the main reasons it works so well is that it's planned out in advance. Future instances of the characters appear in the initial scenes they later intend on returning to, one of the most simple concepts of time-travel movies that I believe has lacked in other iterations. Do yourself a favor and watch it, it will barely cost you more than an hour, which is good because you might need to watch it a few more times to get a grasp of what's going on.
66. The Life Aquatic (Wes Anderson, 2004) - Sometimes a director has a down year. And sometimes a director has a down year and still manages to make a sweet movie like The Life Aquatic. Sadly, I think The Life Aquatic was a little bit of a turning point in Wes Anderson's movies, going from the absolutely brilliant (Tenenbaums) to the less effective (Darjeeling). The Life Aquatic is carried by a strong performance from Bill Murray, who comes to life in his character on screen, and is marred, in my opinion, by Owen Wilson's silly character. It has its fair share of classic moments, and features Willem Dafoe and Jeff Goldblum in very solid supporting roles, as well as the music of Seu Jorge, playing a bunch of Bowie in his native Portuguese. I love the fact that Anderson embraces the sound-stage setting of his nautical scenes. No use trying to recreate reality at the expense of story.
65. Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004) - Crash has been kind of a thorn in my side for a while, as I don't understand how/why it became the best picture of the Oscars a few years back, especially when there were (as I believe) superior movies in the running, like Brokeback Mountain (insert gay joke here). It's a good movie but a little too cheesy, I think the strongest feature is the storyline involving the Iranian shopkeeper and Michael Pena's locksmith character. Overall it benefits from the fact that the multiple stories are not too complex to be followed, and that its characters, while only thinly portrayed, have affective personalities.
64. Man on Fire (Tony Scott, 2004) - Normally Tony Scott is borderline too much to handle. The rapid-succession jump cuts, the blurred images, the double- and triple-vision... it gets to me. But in Man on Fire it seemed the most appropriate (he went off the deep end in Domino). Man on Fire is intense, but fluid. I can even stomach Dakota Fanning, which is ridiculous. And Denzel Washington, who I think normally falls flat when he tries to go bad-ass (sorry, Oscar), kills it in this movie. And who can dislike a sweet supporting performance from Christopher Walken? It's like the little perfect package for a take no prisoners revenge flick.
63. Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004) - The first movie that really complemented Mann's love of digital video with great success--Collateral just looked really cool in the grainy DV. And the pair of deviant Tom Cruise (as opposed to nutcase Tom Cruise) and Jamie Foxx was a stellar duo. Foxx was easy to root for, Cruise easy to root against. Unfortunately it was the last Mann movie that I truly loved, since Miami Vice and Public Enemies were pretty disappointing. But Collateral offers full-throttle start to finish action, the type of movie where trips to the bathroom could be very costly.
62. Letters From Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006) - Certainly the better of his two WWII movies from the year, the other being Flags of Our Fathers, which was okay, but missing a little something. I think everyone agrees it was notable to finally portray a movie from the side of the Japanese, after all, they are no longer an enemy, but rather one of our most valuable allies. We almost never think of the lives that people give up on the other side, always proclaiming our own soldiers to be such heroes, look what they give up, et cetera, yet the enemy is always just a machine designed to kill. It was poignant to see that concept flipped on its head--to see the Japanese soldiers as compassionate, terrified, and homesick. And while the battle sequences were not Saving Private Ryan, you could tell it was trying to mimic the style, and they were ultimately quite crisp and believable.
61. Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007) - Everybody's darling. I, for one, was pretty psyched about the release of this movie, a well-devised comedy that played on the teenage indie love affair, and frankly I was surprised it generated as much buzz as it did. It was at times too quirky, I don't think anyone can deny that, but it wasn't without heart. And Ellen Page and Michael Cera were hand-carved for these roles, the only ones who seemed to be forcing it a little were Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner. You can see the residue of Juno on tons of indie-pastiche movies out there, especially Away We Go, which I wrote about. Not enough love is given to J.K. Simmons--in this movie or otherwise--who is one of the finest and sharpest character actors in the game today.
60. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Seth Gordon, 2007) - The quintessential underdog tale. Everyman Steve Wiebe, down on his luck, out of a job, takes to the garage to relive his youth as a Donkey Kong master, and in the process tracks down the all-time high score, held by the seemingly diabolical Billy Mitchell, self-obsessed champion. The ensuing drama is better than fiction. Everyman Steve is easy to root for, the odds are stacked against him at every turn, but he battles them and all of his detractors. At the very base level, the story is just terrific. The characters fill the screen, their personalities make great theater, it's simply one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen, documentary or otherwise. And if you're not familiar with the story, just check out the Wikipedia page about it. Even if you have little love for arcade games, this is a movie that anybody can get behind.
59. The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles, 2004) - I have yet to see Soderbergh's Che double feature with Benicio del Toro, but considering the choice on perspective, I'm guessing I might prefer this take anyway. Most people know Che as a caricature, a face on a t-shirt, but the stories of The Motorcycle Diaries are very touching ones, giving some context to a life that seems, outwardly, solely based on riotous revolution. Here, played by Gael Garcia Bernal (one of my favorites), he's brilliant, compassionate, observant, and the friendships that he forges over the course of the movie help to define a complete human, not the counter-culture icon he's become. Like Babel and 21 Grams, it features stunning soundtrack work by Gustavo Santaolalla. Props to Rodrigo de la Serna (who plays Guevara's companion Alberto Granada) on his outstanding portrayal.
58. Pirates of the Caribbean (Gore Verbinski, 2003) - Don't kid yourself. You love this movie. The vintage clothing, the rum, the nifty swinging from rope to rope, the swordfighting. Orland Bloom is the furthest thing from a pirate you can be, but even can't detract from the impact of this movie. Johnny Depp redefined the public perception of pirates, replacing Dustin Hoffman's Hook, and while the sequels mostly made you say, "Huh?", the original is a quality movie with a snappy script and a swashbuckling soundtrack. It's not exactly Kubrick, but it's certainly better than most of the garbage the big-budget studio factories churn out these days. And was timed perfectly enough to reestablish the American concept of the "prissy Brits".
57. Red Dragon (Brett Ratner, 2002) - I know Silence of the Lambs is a classic. I know, I know. But this might actually be my favorite Lecter movie. I mean, a blank screen alone would be enough to elevate it over Hannibal and Hannibal Rising, but I think this movie fires on all cylinders, and has to be considered an outlier to even the staunchest of Brett Ratner opponents. Fantastic acting all around--Ralph Fiennes is vicious, basically what Norman Bates should have been like, if the movie had come out 40 years later. Philip Seymour Hoffman is dynamite, as he typically is in supporting roles, and though Edward Norton is a little out of touch with his character, his role isn't vital to the success of the story. Maybe I'm confused, and missed all the reasons why this movie wasn't very good. But as far as I'm concerned, it faithfully carried the torch of Lecter films, even if Anthony Hopkins was only peripherally featured.
56. Haven (Frank E. Flowers, 2004) - I know nothing about the Cayman Islands. And really, after seeing Haven, I think I still know nothing. But that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a sweet movie. It's hands down my favorite Orlando Bloom role (which you might think is too easy a standard, but I really do think he's good in this) and features solid contributions from Anthony Mackie, Zoe Saldana, and Victor Rasuk. I'm not sure how to appropriately summarize the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it (which is a large group of people, I imagine), but I suppose underneath it focuses on the destruction of a gorgeous island paradise thanks to the greed arising from its tax haven status. A few stories intersect in a Crash-like way, where they are all indirectly connected. And the scenery, music, and location shooting help to amplify the beauty of the land, even amidst the corruption.
55. Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002) - Back when Tom Cruise was relevant, this was a pretty clever movie about the future, based loosely on stories by Philip K. Dick. The futuristic style was inventive, but not overly so, not making wild claims that couldn't be backed up in the imagined world they operated in. Spielberg was widely praised for the noir look of the film, which I think is effective but at times unnecessarily hazy. It was also seemingly the apex of Samantha Morton's career, and she kills as an almost lifeless "precog" with the ability to predict future crime. The story is tight, tighter than one could imagine with such a sprawling and ambitious premise, and Spielberg carves solid performances out of his cast and a hair-raising level of tension in the plot.
54. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005) - Few documentaries are as dynamic with their subjects as Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's account of the life and death of grizzly bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. I believe it to be startlingly fair--as opposed to most documentaries which try to present an angle, Herzog takes Treadwell's life and his personal videotapes and tries to present both sides of a man. He offers critics who denounce Treadwell's "environmental purity" and supporters who know of a many who only want to love and cherish nature. Either way, the film is exceptionally gripping, and haunting, as the so-called grizzly man's last (and most private) life moments are featured.
53. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) - Creepy. Imaginative. Eye-opening. Almost all of the adjectives you could use to describe Del Toro's masterpiece have already been used, over and over again, by almost everyone who's seen the movie. The fantasy of the film is dynamically interwoven with the Spanish Civil War setting. And you could hardly ask for a better performance from a young girl than the one by Ivana Baquero, who plays Ofelia, or a crueler villain than Sergi Lopez i Ayats, who plays Vidal. In so many ways it captures the complete experience of cinema, a feast for the mind and the eyes.
52. Wall-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) - Awesome. I'm not sure there's a better way to describe it. Personally, I think it trailed a little bit when Wall-E traveled to the human spaceship, where the introduction of the human characters sapped a little bit of the mystique from the film, but that's only because the non-human sequences were so fantastic. Wall-E is the most fun little robot this side of Johnny Five (seriously, Short Circuit, you copycat Pixar bastards!) and his relationship with Eve is perfectly complex without the use of dialogue. Mix that with some classic comedic relief sequences, a great soundtrack, and typically phenomenal Pixar visuals, and you have an out-and-out superb film.
51. A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001) - Thinking back, it's actually a little bit hard to imagine Russell Crowe in this role. He's embraced his bad guy image so strongly that playing the meek, pensive genius John Nash seems to be quite the outlier for him. But maybe that's what makes his performance so good--even though he's usually just "Russell Crowe", here, he's definitely John Nash. And Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany are great as his sidekicks throughout, but despite its brilliance this is not a movie I particularly enjoy re-watching, as it generates a decent amount of difficult emotions. Which, all things considered, is probably one of the reasons it is so special.
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