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The 50 greatest films of the 21st Century

This is one of those well-regarded films that, for some reason, left me cold

The BBC surveyed 177 film critics “from every continent except Antarctica. “For the purposes of this poll, we have decided that a list of the greatest films of the 21st Century should include the year 2000” because the year “was a landmark in global cinema.”

Though I started this blog in 2005 and reviewed many of the films I’ve seen over the years, I wasn’t as detailed in the beginning. Still, my reviews will be the items that are hyperlinked. The movies I saw, the number will be italicized. A few movies I am not familiar with I’ve designated DK (don’t know).

I know that sometimes a movie doesn’t work for me – or you – for reasons not in the film. There are at least three films on this list that most people I know love, and they just didn’t work for me, in the theater, on that day. Very few films on this list did I see first on video; actually only one.

50. The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2015) -DK
49. Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014) – DK
48. Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015) – I was captivated
47. Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014) – DK
46. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010) – DK, even though it has Juliette Binoche in it, I’ve discovered
45. Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013) – I really wanted to see this, but it played too briefly here
44. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) – No I didn’t see it. I didn’t want to see it.
43. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011) – this I DID want to see about a rogue planet about to collide with Earth, and how that affects people
42. Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) -it’s very good but depressing as hell
41. Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015) – the research done for this animated film about the emotions of a preteen girl makes the film work so well

40. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005) – I remember being impatient with the sprawling scenery part taking too long, but crying at the end
39. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) – saw the ads about the Pocahontas story, but we weren’t seeing films then
38. City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002) – saw the trailer often, and read enough about this to know it was probably too violent for my taste
37. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) – DK
36. Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014) – DK
35. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) – I remember being mesmerized by the action sequences
34. Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015) – this Holocaust film I saw the trailer for about a half dozen times, and IT was depressing
33. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) – I found Heath Ledger’s death depressing and just wasn’t into seeing this at the time
32. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006) – saw the trailer, looked interesting – the monitoring of East Berlin residents – but didn’t
31. Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011) – DK, and this film has an interesting backstory

30. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)- DK
29. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) – it took me a while to get into it, and I was distracted. As I reread my review, I liked it better than I recall it.
28. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002) – I didn’t see this one? Don’t know why; it was on the list of films to see at the time.
27. The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) – I liked it. My review gave it short shrift because I was seeing lots of films at that time.
26. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002) – Meant to see this one! Didn’t.
25. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) -Meant to see THIS one. Didn’t.
24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012) – Thought to see this one…
23. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005) – ANOTHER Juliette Binoche film I DK; the Daughter WAS one y.o.
22. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003) – this is one of those well-regarded films that, for some reason, left me cold. Well-performed. I feel the need to see it again.
21. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014) – I was exceedingly fond of this, starting with the trailers

20. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) – there may be no film I wanted to like more than this, and… Actually, I enjoyed most of it, but I got lost in the final acts.
19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) – with all the Oscar-nominated films out there, this wasn’t at the top of the list, and time not being fungible, never saw
18. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) – saw the trailer, didn’t see
17. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) – Oscar-nominated, thought to see, didn’t
16. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012) – DK
15. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) – I wanted to see this, but knew I had to be in the right frame of mind – two students in Romania who try to arrange an illegal abortion – and I never did see it.
14. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012) – saw the trailer. It’s a “documentary film about the individuals who participated in the Indonesian killings of 1965–66”. I thought to see it, but I suspect it didn’t stay in town long enough.
13. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) saw the trailer about “global human infertility, civilization is on the brink of collapse as humanity faces extinction”. Yet I probably would have seen, given time.
12. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) – I just wasn’t in the mood
11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) – well-acted, with authentic performances, and a great atmosphere. But the title character was SO pathetic, I didn’t much enjoy the film.

10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007) – Oscar winner, and it looked so violent that I passed
9. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) – saw the trailer, really wanted to see
8. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000) – DK
7. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011) – wish I had seen, because people seemed to either love or hate this
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) – the only movie on this list I saw on a video. I love this film, I relate to this film, about memory, and whether one can/should block them out. My favorite movie on this list.
5. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014) – yes, I enjoyed it, but I was probably more awestruck about the commitment of the director and the actors to a dozen-year project
4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) – I remember enjoying it immensely, and realize that The Daughter might enjoy it.
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) – Oscar-nominated, Daniel Day-Lewis, and I STILL wasn’t in the mood to see it. A few months later, I stumbled over the LAST 10 MINUTES of the film, on YouTube. Yes, I watched it. Now I feel I ought to see the rest.
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000) – DK
1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) – didn’t watch the television show Twin Peaks (I tried), and I’ve never seen a David Lynch film, except Elephant Man. Hmm.

So that is 12 of this 50, plus 14 of the other 52, making 26 of 102. Some of these I plan to see, now that I’ve been reminded of them. Quite a few I will NEVER see. And that’s all right.

Thanks to Don, my Facebook compadre, for the idea.

The 21st century’s 100 greatest films, part 1

Until I read my own review, I had forgotten how much I liked this film

The BBC surveyed 177 film critics “from every continent except Antarctica. “For the purposes of this poll we have decided that a list” of the 21st century’s 100 greatest films “should include the year 2000” because the year “was a landmark in global cinema.”

Though I started this blog in 2005, and reviewed many of the films I’ve seen over the years, I wasn’t as detailed in the beginning. Still my reviews will be the items that are hyperlinked. A few movies I am not familiar with I’ve designated DK (don’t know)

Yes there are three films at 100

100. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016) – DK
100. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000) – saw this in a not-very-crowded theater; at least half of the audience had seen the before. It was astonishing, druggy psychological drama with Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly. I thought the star, Ellen Burstyn, should have gotten the Best Actress Oscar instead of Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich. It was in my Top Ten Films of the Aughts
100. Carlos (Olivier Assayas, 2010) – DK
99. The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000) – DK
98. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002) – DK
97. White Material (Claire Denis, 2009) -DK
96. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, 2003) – I enjoyed it quite a bit when I first saw it; classic Disney dead parent film. Still, I can’t but see this initially through the eyes of The Daughter , when she was about 4 or 5, when she was at a party and was terrified by certain scenes
95. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012) – I found it delightful, and the serendipity of seeing it was almost as much a part of the experience
94. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) – DK
93. Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007) – once I got over the idea of rats and edible food, I liked it
92. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) – thought to see it, but just never did
91. The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009) – DK, though I had heard of the 2015 American remake, which I did not see

90. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002) – I thought to see it, but, based on the previews, I knew I had to steel myself to see a Holocaust movie, and just never got to the theater before the film left
89. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008) – DK
88. Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015) – even though it won the Oscar for Best Picture, I think it’s somewhat underrated, because most of the performances were understated
87. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) – I definitely bought into the whimsy of the waitress ((Audrey Tautou) who was a change agent in other people’s lives, even as she disconnected inside
86. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002) – I found this film about 1950s Connecticut suburban bliss – but not really – quite powerful at the time in dealing with race, gender, sexual identity, and class. Starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Patricia Clarkson. I feel as though I should see this again to find out if it holds up.
85. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, 2009) – I saw the previews of a French film about murder and drug dealing, and I just wasn’t interested
84. Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) – at some level, I thought it was not at all implausible, the way we are tethered to our devices.
83. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001) – I had meant to see it, and just didn’t
82. A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009) – I really wanted to see this. It’s about the struggle with issues of faith. Didn’t
81. Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011) – saw the trailer about sexual addiction with Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan as grown siblings. It looked dark – I mean in many ways, including visually, lots of night scenes. If I had seen more films that year, this might have been one of them

80. The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003) – may have seen the trailer of this Russian film about growing up
79. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000) – enjoyed this a lot, actually. A music film is in my emotional wheelhouse.
78. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013) – I picked off most of the Best Picture nominees that year, and I had seen this one. My parents-in-law HATED it, it’s very long, and ultimately I never saw it
77. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007) – until I read my own review, I had forgotten how much I liked this film
76. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) – saw the trailer, but it didn’t capture me
75. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014) – saw the trailer several times, and was never sure if I wanted to see it; didn’t, apparently
74. Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) – saw the previews, thought it looked TERRIBLE
73. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004) – I have to see the Before trilogy one of these days
72. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, 2013) – DK
71. Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012) – DK

70. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012) – though a mostly low-key documentary, I liked it a lot
69. Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015) – maybe a little TOO understated, but I enjoyed it
68. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001) – I disliked virtually every character in this film, which may have been the point, but I did not enjoy this film. At all.
67. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) – I took this out from Netflix for four months, and never found the two-hour bloc to watch it. I need to watch a video the first time as though I were in the theater, which means in one solid bloc
66. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (Kim Ki-duk, 2003) – DK
65. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009) – DK
64. The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) -DK
63. The Turin Horse (Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2011) – DK
62. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) – wasn’t sure I wanted to see another gory Tarantino film, so I didn’t
61. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013) – a horror film with ScarJo; the former turned me off

60. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006) – DK
59. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005) – the Daughter was one y.o. We saw few movies in this period, and I’m not sure if this would have been a contender
58. Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembène, 2004) – DK
57. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012) – sometimes the politics of the film gets in my way
56. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, director; Ágnes Hranitzky, co-director, 2000) – DK
55. Ida (Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013) – DK
54. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011) – DK
53. Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) – I have the soundtrack to this movie, some of which is fine, even spectacular, but other bits uncomfortably trite, rather like the movie
52. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) – DK
51. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) – this actually intrigued me, the idea of stealing information by infiltrating the subconscious. Maybe I should rent it

Well, that’s the first half. The next part is where I show that I did not enjoy movies some of you love.

MOVIE REVIEW: Gravity

Kudos to director Alfonso Cuarón, who WILL deservedly win the Oscar for Best Director.

So much I hated about going to the movies that Sunday afternoon to see Gravity:

1) It was at Crossgates, a local mall I particularly loathe. Don’t believe I had seen a movie there since Presidents Day weekend 16 years ago, nearly to the day, when I saw L.A. Confidential and Mrs. Brown, both Oscar nominees. But it was the only place locally it was playing, and seeing it later on video seemed to be a much lesser experience. And SamuraiFrog was so fond of it.

2) The movie was only available in 3D. I tend to hate 3D. Indeed, the preview of the upcoming X-Men movie looked like looking through one of those old ViewMasters I had as a kid; boy, I hope the MOVIE doesn’t look that weird.

3) Saw this news piece on NBC “revealing” how they got Sandra Bullock’s character to appear to be in zero gravity, noting that if she REALLY were, her hair would stand up, just one of the scientific errors in the movie.

Yet, I really enjoyed the film, both as a technological marvel, despite its flaws, and as a reflection on life and death and rebirth, sorrow and release. This summary from Deadspin spoke to me: “You want to admire the technical achievement, except it never feels like a technical achievement. It just feels like you’re there. And desperately want to leave.” The Wife was on the edge of her seat, sometimes literally. There were moments I forgot to breathe.

Kudos to Bullock and George Clooney as the astronauts, the cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, and especially director Alfonso Cuarón, who WILL deservedly win the Oscar for Best Director.

MOVIE REVIEW: Philomena

Steve Coogan co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Pope, based on Martin Sixsmith’s book, “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.”

I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart recently, and Steve Coogan was on talking about the movie Philomena. I must admit that I had no real idea who he was. When I was talking at work about the fact that The Wife and I gave the movie two thumbs up after we had seen it a couple of weekends ago at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany, one of my colleagues said, “But doesn’t it star Steve Coogan?” After I confirmed this, she indicated that he always plays a real jerk in movies, particularly in some comedies I had never seen.

As “world-weary political journalist” Martin Sixsmith, Coogan’s character is more than a little arrogant as he lowers himself to investigate “the story of a woman’s search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.” He finds the now-aging Philomena (Judi Dench) quite pedestrian. But during the journey to two continents, he develops a different relationship with her.

Coogan not only costars in the film, but he also co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Pope, based on Sixsmith’s book, “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee,” after he happened upon an article about the true story. AND he is a producer of the film.

Ever since I saw the film, I’ve wanted to extol its praises, including the fact that the trailer does not give away too much. But the less you know, the better your viewing experience will be. I will say the second half of the touching film is even better than the first, Dench and Coogan are very fine, at under 100 minutes it is efficiently made, and that a late American President figures prominently in the narrative.

OK, since the Academy Awards nominations were announced – it’s up for Best Picture and Dench for Best Actress – there’s been a debate whether the Church gets a pass; that, I think, is not the film I saw.

MOVIE REVIEW: Frozen

I predict there will be a Broadway version of Frozen by 2018.

It was a very rainy Sunday afternoon. The Wife, The Daughter and I were supposed to travel from Albany to near Binghamton for a family dinner, but the forecast for locations in between were dodgy, with snow and ice likely. Instead, we went out to lunch, and then to Colonie Center Mall to see the newish Disney animated film Frozen.

Some bullet points:
*THIS FILM IS GORGEOUS. Continue reading “MOVIE REVIEW: Frozen”