10. I AM LEGEND (2007) A desolate New York shelters Robert Neville (Will Smith) as the last survivor after the destruction and spread of a man made virus that destroys humanity. The setup is pure sci-fi fare. Neville, immune to the virus, roams the land in search of survivors, but comes across mutants of the …
What really impresses is the way the script, co-written by Ford and David Scearce, sidesteps the maudlin and the pretentious to show us how ridiculous we can be, even in our darkest moments. – A Single Man Directed by Tom Ford With fashion supremo Tom Ford at the helm, the very least you’d expect from …
10- Donnie Darko (2001) Directed by Richard Kelly Although Donnie Darko was removed from the big screen after a few weeks, it never disappeared. Thrown away by its distributor it ended up finding its audience on home video and at midnight screenings. Recurrent chats on the Internet indicated a rapidly growing fan base for the …
This weekend’s box office take on the soaringly popular James Cameron directed Avatar came to an “estimated $68.3 million in the States during it’s third weekend out, destroying the previous record of $45 million set by Spider-Man 3.” Astonishingly, “This weekend’s box office total of $68.3 million will be almost $30 million larger than the all-time …
Hulks, high-flyers and web-slingers – it was a decade dominated by superheroes of all shapes, sizes and hues. And in the unlikely event that Batman, Superman or Iron Man failed to wow you at the box office, there were brooding, muscle-bound guys with cool gadgets (Bourne and Bond); a precocious young wizard (Harry Potter); and …
Haunting, despite often being drenched in southern Australian sunlight, and that is in no small part to the understated performances within… Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Directed by Peter Weir Australia – 107 min. Color Criterion Collection #29. Hanging Rock is an actual place, an actual rock as it were, situated in the southwestern part …
25- Mulholland Dr. (2001) Directed by David Lynch Genre: Thriller / Mystery David Lynch delivers yet again with this brilliant, biting, hysterical, and haunting ode to Hollywood. A movie in which the pieces add up to much more than the whole and the solution to the mystery, once realized, is remarkably rewarding. Mulholland Dr. split …
I want to highlight some of the most criminally underseen films of 2009. Most are without any American distribution and others may just get small (and potentially unnoticeable) releases next year. It’s quite sad that many of these movies will never have the opportunity to find an audience. There is word of mouth potential for …
I judge the efficiency of a documentary based on two things: its ability to inform in an interesting way, and its long-lasting effect. If I am still thinking about it a week later, then it’s passed the test. Based on those criteria, here are my top 10 documentaries of the decade. 1- Children Underground (2001) …
According to Variety magazine, director Emir Kusturica (When Father was Away on Business) is hoping to cast Johnny Depp in the role of Poncho Villa in his next film Seven Friends of Poncho Villa and the Woman with Six Fingers. The two have already collaborated in 1993’s Arizona Dream. The negotiations to cast Depp have …
39- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Directed by Wes Anderson Genre: Dark Comedy, Family Drama Wes Anderson’s fairy tale of a New York dysfunctional family is a wonderful, quirky, offbeat comedy-drama with the right mix of humor and poignancy. Never sentimental or predictable The Royal Tenenbaums proves that Wes Anderson remains one of the truly original …
Undertones: Volume 8 As we approach the end of the decade, it seems fitting that this installment of Undertones concern itself with some of the most memorable film scores of the ‘00s. Though the films range in financial or critical success, and opinions may be divided as to the strength of some of the films …
49- District 9 (2009) Directed by Neill Blomkamp Genre: Sci-fi District 9 is an allegory for our time, bursting with contemporary themes such as oppression, greed, power and propaganda and while the metaphor itself is pretty clear, Blomkamp goes for the visceral quality of the images and situations proving that sci-fi thrillers don’t have to …
69 – A Serious Man (2009) Directed by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy Blending dark humor with profoundly personal themes, The Coen Brothers deliver their most intimate film yet. Expanding upon some of the themes they’ve played with in the past, the film deals with everything from man’s search for meaning, …
Before I get to number 49 I feel the need to list fifty honorable mentions. This is a very personal list and I am confident that I could have easily chosen 100 foreign language films or 100 independent art house films and skipped out on all the Hollywood flicks, but I decided to go with …
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Runner-up: 11) Idiocracy (2006) I initially felt iffy about including Idiocracy on this list, but the more I thought about it critically, and as a work of science fiction, the more I felt it appropriate. Still, I’m only listing it as the runner-up. Created by Mike Judge of many other comedic successes, this time travel …
Cameron has accomplished that rare task, to inject a real sense of magic and spectacle sorely lacking in big budget movies, aptly bookmarking the prologue and finale of the film with the image of eyes opening, an apt cinematic metaphor for his triumphant return to the multiplexes. Avatar James Cameron 2009 Ferngully with guns. Dances …
59- Capturing the Friedmans (2003) Directed by Andrew Jarecki Genre: Documentary On the surface, the Friedmans were a typical 1980s American family until on one Thanksgiving Day, when that happy façade came to a crashing halt. After the local police discovered the dad had engaged in the buying and selling of child pornography, they questioned …
Johnny Depp has high hopes for putting a notch in the current vampire-trend bedpost. His lifelong dream of playing Barnabus Collins, the leading vamp in Dark Shadows, is just on the horizon of coming true. As soon as Tim Burton’s take of Alice in Wonderland is on the screens, he will be pursuing the remake …
69 – A Serious Man (2009) Directed by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy Blending dark humor with profoundly personal themes, The Coen Brothers deliver their most intimate film yet. Expanding upon some of the themes they’ve played with in the past, the film deals with everything from man’s search for meaning, …
Richard Linklater continues to be a sneakily brilliant director. Working with the actors, he slowly imbues his otherwise stock characters with a humanity that really pays off in the back half of the film. Me and Orson Welles Directed by Richard Linklater In lesser hands, Me and Orson Welles might have been a grandiose love letter …
Two pianists, two war films of disconcerting beauty, lots of weight loss and some black chadors – here are some of the best international films of the decade. 1. Gegen die Wand / Head-on (2004) Directed / Written by Fatih Akin Drama, Germany & Turkey If a film ever deserved the characterisation of possessing …