2000s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 2)

[brendanjc]

Defamer did something interesting and tallied films' appearances on a number of best-of-the-decade lists and found that There Will Be Blood won with 12 votes, with the still-overrated Lord of the Rings trilogy and the still-underrated Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tied for second place with 11 votes.

Slate is doing something similar. It doesn't look like they have a whole lot of lists in yet but they're still updating it.

[reno dakota]

Defamer did something interesting and tallied films' appearances on a number of best-of-the-decade lists and found that There Will Be Blood won with 12 votes, with the still-overrated Lord of the Rings trilogy and the still-underrated Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tied for second place with 11 votes.

Slate is doing something similar. It doesn't look like they have a whole lot of lists in yet but they're still updating it.

Let's not forget about the (more comprehensive) Indiewire list.

[Murdoch]

Ce jour-là - I'd been meaning to see this for a while now so I blind-bought it at the DD sale. Ruiz is quickly becoming my favorite director and it's because of films like this. Elsa Zylberstein has the most hypnotic eyes I've seen, and the scream she lets out every time somebody yells is one of the many high points of the film. From the cops who "pretend" to do nothing to solve a crime to Michel Piccoli complaining about a fictional condiment ("It's just ketchup mixed with soy sauce!") this film was hilarious, and Bernard Giraudeau's stance whenever he would stab someone was great. The pitch-perfect black comedy combined with Ruiz's visual brilliance and the hysterical off-beat performances of the leads all made this a fantastic experience. Definitely going to place high on my list, perhaps even at the top spot.

[Michael Kerpan]

Ce jour-là ... Definitely going to place high on my list, perhaps even at the top spot.

My favorite Ruiz films (so far, at least). I had forgotten it was so recent -- it will definitely be on my list (thanks to your remainder). One of the funniest recent films I've seen.

BTW -- When ARE lists due?

[reno dakota]

BTW -- When ARE lists due?

Your ballots for the 2000s list are due at the end of January 2010. PM them to me.

[Michael Kerpan]

I just saw this when I (accidentally) clicked on the first page of this thread. ;~}

[Tom Hagen]

At the expense of seeing some under-appreciated gems before the deadline, I've submitted my list early. I don't want too many of these end of the decade lists to unduly influence my vote.

[Camera Obscura]

Ce jour-là - I'd been meaning to see this for a while now so I blind-bought it at the DD sale. Ruiz is quickly becoming my favorite director and it's because of films like this. Elsa Zylberstein has the most hypnotic eyes I've seen, and the scream she lets out every time somebody yells is one of the many high points of the film. From the cops who "pretend" to do nothing to solve a crime to Michel Piccoli complaining about a fictional condiment ("It's just ketchup mixed with soy sauce!") this film was hilarious, and Bernard Giraudeau's stance whenever he would stab someone was great. The pitch-perfect black comedy combined with Ruiz's visual brilliance and the hysterical off-beat performances of the leads all made this a fantastic experience. Definitely going to place high on my list, perhaps even at the top spot.

Top spot? You just raised the bar even higher. I've been meaning to see this for ages now, so my expectations are soaring now. Still impatiently awaiting the R1 dvd after I finally ordered it two weeks ago and I am not submitting anything untill I've seen this one.

I also expect a lot from Manoel de Oliveira's Un filme falado / A Talking Picture (2003).

My ten best for the 00s right now..

Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
Der Freie Wille / Free Will (Matthias Glasner, 2006)
Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)
Punch-Drunk Love (P.T. Anderson, 2002)
Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002)
The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki, 2002)
Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
Millennium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2001)
Pusher 3 (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2005)

And a quick shout-out for Sacha Gervasi (who has been praised here and elsewhere, but still..) for the wonderful Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008). I'm not a metalhead nor an Anvil-fan, but what a great portrait that is. Ten dildos for Anvil!

[Murdoch]

A Christmas Tale - Lovely in every way, it was my first Desplechin and it was quite an experience. The visuals were splendid, and the whole family dynamic I loved. I want to write more but I watched a film right after it and it devastated me far too much for me to right lengthily about this film right now.

And that film was Elephant. For me this did everything that films like Schindler's List should have done; taking an extremely traumatic event and not distorting it or overly sentimentalizing it. The film encapsulated the modern high school experience perfectly, capturing the kids' mannerisms and behavior in a way that few other films I've seen have done. I was left afterward only thinking "if I could get my hands on those little fuckers..." I have a sister in high school and right now I just want her to graduate because my school had and, from what I hear, still has plenty of shady characters. I'm not going to sleep well these next two years.

Anyway, both films will chart high for me, they both affected me in extremely different ways and I'm glad for it.

[knives]

Have you seen the other three Van Sant's from this period? Just curious where you'd rank it. While I love Elephant, and this may be because I saw it last, I wasn't as affected by it as the other three. By the sounds of it though you'd get the biggest kick out of Paranoid Park which continues that thread of emotional separation in high school and the sort of people it molds. It's more sympathetic to its lead and all around optimistic. I personally love Gerry best though simply because it can do anything for me. Need an uplift, reality check, time to ponder, banging drum, really anything you can think can come from art Gerry has been able to do, for me at least. Last Days is probably the odd man out. I love it, but it seems to be the consensus unfavorite. Maybe it's that the style was tired out at by that point, PP has something closer to a traditional story which may be the reason for the boosted fan fare or it is that good, but I don't think it is any worse than Elephant. In the same quiet it way it manages to speak volumes about obsession, perspective, celebrity worship, responsibility and a few other things. I should talk more about all four, but I'm sure someone else here can do a better job.

[Murdoch]

I haven't seen the others though I've been meaning to for a while. I'm a fan of Van Sant's work, and I've always found it interesting how he successfully moves between mainstream and independent fare. Paranoid Park has been on my to-watch list since its release, Gerry as well.

After seeing Elephant I'm going to try to see the rest before the deadline, although knowing my viewing habits it may take too long. While it was Elephant's subject matter that gravitated me to the film, how the film was composed both formally and the naturalness of the characters was what held my interest and really what made the film as affecting as it was during the final moments.

[swo17]

Gerry is my preferred of the three as well. I could probably cross-post this in the "Perfect Moments in Film" thread, but that scene where I believe Damon is walking ahead with Affleck trudging behind in the bottom left of the frame, the light starts to come in, these eerie bell tones are playing, and it goes on for minutes...I could watch that scene on repeat for hours.

[knives]

Goodbye, Dragon Inn pushes his aesthetic to some kind of minimalist extreme, but it seems to be the consensus choice around here.

To say the least. Just finished watching it and I have to say if one film makes Bresson look like a director of epics this is it. For the first twenty minutes I was confused, the following forty somewhat happy, and the last thirty frustrated and confused again. I'll give it another go around before the deadline, but as is I feel it as more an interesting experiment than a great film. I'm afraid even if I do gather some sort of appreciation for it there's not enough meat for me to consider it great. I will give that the moment with the fallen shoe is one of the funnier things I've seen recently.

[zedz]

I will give that the moment with the fallen shoe is one of the funnier things I've seen recently.

If you decide to re-view this before the deadline, that's a good reference point. I see a lot more Keaton than Bresson in this film (and other Tsais) - it's sort of like a queer Sherlock Jr at 8fps.

[knives]

I actually did re-view just in case today, on a bigger screen, and either hangovers impair my judgment or this film simply should be seen exclusively on Imax screens. I understood a lot more of the 'story' and really fell in love with its showings of lonely awkwardness. I still feel it's better as an experiment, but that should change several viewings from now.

[swo17]

I think zedz will agree that Dragon Inn is really only truly experienced in IMAX 3D.

[puxzkkx]

I agree with knives that the film works better as an experiment. I was touched by it, and thought its vision of a dying era was quite poetic and poignant, but I do think its more of a film-in-embryo than a fully formed work.

[Michael]

A Christmas Tale - Lovely in every way, it was my first Desplechin and it was quite an experience. The visuals were splendid, and the whole family dynamic I loved.

Murdoch, get your hands on Kings and Queen which I think is better and richer than the still-magnficient A Christmas Tale.

[Murdoch]

It's definitely on my ever-expanding to-watch list, I hope to get to it before the deadline (along with far too many others).

[knives]

I agree with knives that the film works better as an experiment. I was touched by it, and thought its vision of a dying era was quite poetic and poignant, but I do think its more of a film-in-embryo than a fully formed work.

Even though I stand by that statement, it might actually go on my list since this is the first film since my discovery of Blue Velvet that's made want to watch so often. I dislike it, but must see it sort of thing. I'm not sure why, but I suppose that means something in the film was done right.

[zedz]

I think zedz will agree that Dragon Inn is really only truly experienced in IMAX 3D.

No, but it should really be seen in circumstances as close to those depicted in the film as possible! I'm sure there are some scuzzy, dilapidated IMAX theatres around, but surely not that bad.

This is going to sound really pretentious (qui, moi?), but in a big near-empty cinema this becomes a quasi-installation work, particularly if the audience play along by coming and (mostly) going - and they will.

And further to knives most recent comment, I think the film also works beautifully as 'ambient' cinema - something to have on that creates a really distinctive mood, even if you're not fully watching it. Again, that's the 'installation' element of it.

[knives]

And further to knives most recent comment, I think the film also works beautifully as 'ambient' cinema - something to have on that creates a really distinctive mood, even if you're not fully watching it. Again, that's the 'installation' element of it.

That's strangely perfectly accurate to what I've been feeling. It's so silent and you to pay close attention to get the story, but running back and forth to the toilet or fridge during those still frames somehow makes it exciting. I'm not sure if basically calling it great for not watching is complimentary, but that's how the soap drops I guess.

[Jeff]

I'd like to nominate Roger Ebert for the best of decade list most likely to inspire enmity and/or derisive laughter from the cf.org faithful.

[swo17]

In Ebert's defense, the man did have a fairly daunting task ahead of him--picking just 20 films out of the 500 or so that he gave four stars to this past decade.

[domino harvey]

I thought you were going to say "Remembering films that came out more than three years ago," but then again, he mostly failed there