I first set out to compile a top ten list of MY favourite movies of the noughties and realised 10 couldn't’ really cover it, so here it is, the top 20, even now I regret the omission of any Far East Horror Movies, Oldboy, Amelie, You, Me and Everyone we know, A Very Long Engagement, The Beach, Spiderman 2, Catch Me If You can, Monsters Ball, Narc, Final Destination (the first and sequel), Jeepers Creepers (but not the terrible sequel) and more surprisingly, House Of 1000 Corpses which had some terrible reviews but had a director who experimented with nearly every scene he shot and totally refused to follow the teen friendly horror route. I make no excuses for featuring 4 End of the world movies, 3 of which are zombie movies as these are my two favourite Genres (I couldn't really justify including Resident Evil Apocalypse, which was much better than the reviews but hardly a great film).
In order of favourites,
(1) The Aviator (2004) A masterpiece, a top director who’s been making quality films for over 30 years uses new tricks, a fantastic (true) story and an amazing performance from almost certainly the best and most charismatic actor in the world at the moment.
(2) City Of God (2002) Very very powerful movie works simply because it looks so real. The IMDB “(the bible”) lists this film as the 15th best ever of all time and they are rarely wrong. Makes Goodfellas look like an episode of the good life.
(3) Kill Bill Vol 1/Kill Bill Vol 2 (2003/2004) Tarentino is a genius, love him or loathe him, no one can touch him for sheer brilliant storytelling, Vol 1 is an adrenaline rush, Vol 2 is classy melodrama.
(4) Dead Mans Shoes (2004) Raw, brutal and uncompromising revenge movie with some of the best acting you will ever see. Paddy Considine is unbelievable. When on form the British make the best films in the world.
(5) Shaun Of The Dead (2004) A homage (not a spoof), which is very funny, very tense and at times extremely heartbreaking, made by people who genuinely love their source material.
(6) Birth (2004) None of the Oscar winners for best picture in the last five years have had a spark of originality about them. This has it in spades, very controversial, very brave and always beautiful to watch.
(7) The Descent (2005) One of the most possible pants wetting movies you will ever see, definitely the most squirming in your seat film of the 21st Century.
(8) Battle Royale (2000) A movie Hollywood would never touch, an all action thought provoking classic only the Japanese could make.
(9) Secretary (2002) A genuinely original love story between two very strange but extremely likable people.
(10) Switchblade Romance (2003) The French tackle splatter movies and do it with style and panache. The most ludicrously over the top twist in movie history too. What is there not to like?
(11) 28 Days Later (2002) A raw British horror movie that pulls no punches. A very good director uses every trick in the book to make a relatively low budget flick look better than a thousand Matrix wannabees put together.
(12)Donnie Darko (2001) Weird and wonderful. A cult movie if ever I’ve seen one. Great ensemble cast too with a star making performance from Jake Gyllenhall.
(13)My Summer Of Love (2004) Very classy drama that the BBC and Channel 4 used to do in their sleep before their obsession with reality TV. Paddy Considine, the new De Niro? No, he’s better.
(14)Dog Soldiers (2002) All out horror action movie from the director of the Descent. Again this is a perfect example of how to make a movie on a tight budget.
(15)Chopper (2000) The Australians used to make a lot of good movies, not so much these days. This is an excellent Prison movie that becomes a searing crime drama. Eric Bana is awesome in this.
(16)Dawn Of The Dead (2004) The original is possibly the best Horror movie of all time. The best compliment I can pay this re-make is that’s its on a par with the 1978 movie.
(17)Sideways (2004) I shouldn't like this movie about two 40 something wasters who like wine but I do. It’s a great slice of Americana.
(18)The Day after Tomorrow (2004) Cracking adventure yarn with some of the finest special effects ever put on film. How true to life could this movie actually be?
(19)8 Mile (2002) Eminem is fantastic in an extremely well written gritty drama that explores the bottom end of American society.
(20) Children Of Men (2006) Welcome to a real and raw action thriller with proper actors and Micheal Caine as an ex hippy, it doesn't get any better than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment