BAM’s top films of 2000-09: Pixar tops the list
“Finding Nemo”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Looking past favorites for the ‘best’
When it comes to defining a decade, the word “best” takes on a whole new weightier meaning.
Assigned to name my choices for the 10 (or so) best movies of 2000-09, I didn’t want to just list my favorite films of the past 10 years. Instead, I set out to select exceptional films that were difference-makers, movies that set or shattered a trend, raised the bar for a genre, represented a new phase of development for a director or simply changed my life in some way.
“WALL-E”
Here is that list:
1. Pixar’s masterpieces — The brilliant minds at Pixar Animation Studios produced four four-star movies — “Monsters, Inc.” (2001), “Finding Nemo” (2003), “The Incredibles” (2004) and “WALL-E” (2008) — along with three other quality films during the ‘00s. Pixar started revolutionizing animation back in 1995 with “Toy Story,” but the storytelling geniuses really came into their own at the turn of the 21st century, with a stunning series of animated films that garnered stellar reviews, made huge box-office bucks and shared tales and characters that stayed with viewers, and not just because kids wanted to watch them ad nauseam on DVD. Truth be told, parents wanted to see them over and over, too.
“Cinderella Man”
2. “Cinderella Man” (2005) – Biopics were among the dominant movie trends of the aughts, with stars ranging from Ray Charles to Johnny Cash getting acclaimed big-budget cinematic life stories. Duncan-born director Ron Howard used what he had gleaned from making his Oscar-winning 2001 biopic “A Beautiful Mind” to craft an even better fact-based film about Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock. And Russell Crowe’s pitch-perfect performance surpassed even his Academy Award-earning turn in 2000′s “Gladiator,” though the Aussie star’s bad behavior (remember him bashing that hotel employee with a phone?) kept “Cinderella Man” from getting the notice it deserved.
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
3. “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (2000) — The Coen brothers’ Great Depression-set take on Homer’s “The Odyssey” made me truly fall in love with Joel and Ethan’s filmmaking ingenuity, not just respect or enjoy their films. And my adoration developed with time to spare before the brothers created their dark masterwork, 2007′s “No Country for Old Men.”
“Kill Bill: Vol. 2″
4. “Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and 2” (2003-04) — Quentin Tarantino took the cinema-loving, over-the-top, darkly humorous vision he set to film in the 1990s with “Pulp Fiction” and gave it a whole new epic scope with his dual-volume revenge tale. He in turn used what he learned on The Bride’s two-part mission to craft his magnum opus, 2009′s “Inglourious Basterds.”
“28 Days Later”
5. “28 Days Later” (2002) — British director Danny Boyle proved there is no genre he can’t handle with his terrifying, haunting and meaningful horror film, which brought zombies back into a vogue they continue to eat up. But his work didn’t stop there in the ’00s: He followed up with 2004′s remarkable children’s film “Millions” and then won multiple Oscars and made one of my all-time favorite films with 2008′s “Slumdog Millionaire.”
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
6. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (2001-03) – I never got around to reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings until Peter Jackson’s adaptation of “The Fellowship of the Ring” debuted at Christmastime 2001. I then quickly devoured all three volumes of “The Lord of the Rings” series, and when “The Two Towers” opened a year later, I had even read “The Hobbit” aloud to my older son. By the time “The Return of the King” earned a whopping 11 Oscars, I was a full-blown Tolkien fan, impatiently awaiting the promised two-part cinematic version of “The Hobbit.”
“Once”
7. “Once” (2007) — The aughts featured the revival of the big-time movie musical with the likes of “Moulin Rouge!” (2001), “Chicago” (2002) and “Dreamgirls” (2006). But the emotional strength of this low-key, modern-day Irish musical lingered long after the others’ song-and-dance numbers faded. As a bonus, it gave us the achingly lovely, Oscar-winning music of starring duo the Swell Season, who continue to tour and record.
“The Hurt Locker”
8. “The Hurt Locker” (2009) — Kathryn Bigelow deserves to become the first woman to win the Academy Award for best director for creating one of the top combat films of recent memory. Her heart-pounding and thought-provoking drama is set in the Iraq War, a conflict that overshadowed life in the ‘00s and produced a startlingly number of preachy, exploitative or just bad films.
“The Dark Knight”
9. “Batman Begins” (2005) and “The Dark Knight” (2008) — Auteur Christopher Nolan took the superhero genre, which went through a resurgence in the 2000s, to a whole new plane with “Batman Begins” and followed up with an even more unlikely feat: He made the sequel even better. Not even the dazzling reboot of the James Bond series with “Casino Royale” (2006) and “Quantum of Solace” (‘08) could compare with the fresh start of the venerable, oft-abused Batman franchise.
“Juno”
10. “Juno” (2007) — Jason Reitman took his place among the decade’s top filmmakers with his sophomore effort, a comedy about a bright, offbeat teen (memorably played by Ellen Page) dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. He elevated his game even higher for the 2009 drama “Up in the Air.”
- BAM
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“He elevated his game even higher for the 2009 drama “Up in the Air.”
That movie’s kind of a mess, really. Good moments, good acting, but overall it just lacks any real meaning.