BEST RECENT GREAT MOVIES 2000 TO 2005 Part 2 of 2Jun 26 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Part 2 of my list of the Best Movies from 2000 to 2005 that are ready to discovered or seen again.
We are more than half-way through the decade, so I thought I would round up the best films from the past 5 years and create a list of films to discover, see again, or perhaps even own on DVD. In Part 1 of the list I picked out 5 Shaggy Dog Movies, 8 movies Based on a True Story and 7 Offbeat, Surprising and/or Unexpected Movies. You can see that list and read the essay by going here: http://www.epinions.com/content_4771520644 You won’t find any huge box office popcorn munchers like Spiderman,Lord of the Rings, X-Men, Potter,or others here. Fun roller coaster rides they may be but they aren’t the ones that stick with me or matter. At least two superb animated features came out during this period Finding Nemo and Spirited Awaw with 4 or 5 others just slightly behind them. I've not included those on my list. Here’s some unique and special movies that matter to me. My 2 part list combined contains 31 of my favorite recent movies from 200 to 2005. This is Part 2: 7 MORE GREAT RECENT MOVIES Y Tu Mama Tambien -- 2002 Teenage male sexuality and friendship explored honestly, painfully and no-holds barred. No wait, it's much more than that. The teenage males learn the female perspective, play sexual games and the audience throughout the film gets glimpses of Mexico few ever see. No wait, it’s about this 30 something woman who goes on a road trip with two very healthy teenagers and they wind up having sex. No wait, it’s about a road trip through Mexico and how a group of travelers come face to face with some political unrest and . . . No, wait… You need to see it. Lost of nudity and graphic sex. THE FAST RUNNER (AKA Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner ) --- 2002 The first film written, directed, starring and made by Innuits (Eskimos). Made on location in what appears to be a barren wasteland-an icy blue-white Sahara Dessert, it re-tells a 1,000 year old folk legend-updating it to the present day. We learn about this unique culture, how they survive, how they interact, and about a folk legend story which eventually becomes an involving, suspenseful and pretty thrilling tale. The first 15 or so minutes are confusing—but stick with it. The acting is first rate too. Wow. Match Point – 2005 This is a slow building romantic thriller with a character reminiscent of Particia Highsmith’s Ripley. It’s talky and some dark humor seeps in to tip you off that maybe Woody Allen actually did direct this color film, set in England. The last 30 minutes will probably have you on the edge of your seat. It’s a thriller not a comedy. Strong performances. More here: http://www.epinions.com/content_219218284164 The Color of Paradise -- 2000 This gem from Iran, was a fairly simple story about a blind boy and the father who isn't sure what to do with him. It’s a compassionate film that may not have the kind of hook that makes you want to rush out and see it with the same urgency of flashier, large films, which is too bad. Stop thinking about it so much and pick this one up. You’re breath will be taken away by it. Director Majidi has created a ninety minute work which is rich with visual and emotional textures that will stay with you long after the film is over. Much of the film, because of its subject matter has a sadness to it. But like Mohammed the film sees beauty and richness everywhere and reminds us there is much we take for granted–like the beauty and compassion a young blind boy easily ‘sees' and accepts. http://www.epinions.com/mvie-review-4EE4-872CB00-39DC8849-prod1 Gosford Park -- 2001 Robert Altman’s Gosford Park is on the surface a murder mystery in an English country side manor house that mixes Agatha Christie and Upstairs Downstairs. That said, Altman cares much more about the characters than the plot, and because there are so many characters and such a huge ensemble cast, you better be paying attention. As I wrote in my 2001 Epinions review: Robert Altman's " Gosford Park " should be required viewing for all film directors prior to working on their movies. It could be used in the same way that professional boxers go to Boxing Camp to get into shape before a fight. Altman demonstrates what a perfectly directed film looks like. Every scene in the film seems to have been staged to an incomprehensible level of absolute perfection. Not only do we have Altman's signature scenes full of characters doing bits of business with our focus being directed via levels of dialogue sound to particular spots on the screen, but also we have dozens of scenes that are mini-movies in themselves. Characters enter, say a line, do a bit of business, the perspective shifts seamlessly to reveal another bit of information and that character does their business and then turns and observes other characters talking and revealing more information. All of this is done through dialogue that is natural, often over-lapping and never over-written (although in this film several lines have a wonderful polished literalness to them). Every actor and nearly all the performances seem to be emanating from actors who have been working with this material and each other for several years. In reality the cast only had a few weeks worth of rehearsal and so the seamless manner in which the performances gel is due to the actors and the man in charge --Robert Altman. Altman is in charge of nearly every film that bears his name. His focus is usually on a different way to tell the story and it's always more concerned with character than with plot. Despite what may you have read or heard he's not very interested in anarchy or in being subversive, he just wants to make films that would interest him and often those are also films that would interest us. http://www.epinions.com/content_52018843268 Constant Gardener ---- 2005 Why? A mystery, a tragic love story and a conspiracy make up Constant Gardener. It seems to circle around events in the same manner its protagonist circles around the truth of his wife’s infidelity because he doesn’t want it to be true. The fragmented style seems to fit the very nature of the murky conspiracy involving drug companies using poverty-stricken Africans as guinea pigs for drugs. It’s based on an angry short story by John LeCarre and feels like a great adaptation of a Graham Greene novel. Powerful acting by Rachel Weisz and Raph Fiennes not to mention Danny Huston, Bill Nighy and Pete Postlethwaite. It’s intelligently written and directed as well though the editing at times is too MTVish. Don’t miss it. I The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada ----- 2005 One of the best movies of 2005 that I didn’t have enough time to appreciate and evaluate for my best of 2005 list was Tommy Lee’s directorial debut “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada ” . It reminds me in many ways of a Sam Peckinpah movie. Cinematography Chris Menges and Tommy Lee Jones have captured the soft pastels of West Texas and Mexico. We get in on the story in a somewhat time-shifted convoluted manner but stick with it. The last 45 minutes of the film I found intelligent, perfectly executed and at times full of laugh out loud but very dry droll humor. The project was written by the Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga, and Tommy Lee Jones acquired the project from producer Luc Bresson. Several scenes were filmed on Tommy Lee’s ranch and both the barn and the cattle you see in the early part of the movie are owned by Mr. Jones. The film is a morality tale. A bigoted Border Patrol officer from Cincinatti (Barry Pepper)is responsible for an accidental, but very lethal crime. When rancher Pete Perkins’ (Tommy Lee Jones) friend Melquiades Estradas (Julio Cedillo) is found, the local police (Dwight Yoakum) aren’t too interested in solving the case since the deceased is an illegal Mexican immigrant. Tommy Lee wants to solve the case and make good on a promise that he would make sure his friend’s body is buried in a small town in Mexico and NOT in Texas. The beauty is in the details and how rich some of the characters we meet are. The acting is superb and there’s a wonderful supporting role played by Levon Helm. There’s quite a few unexpected twists and turns and I won’t spoil them here, except to suggest you see one of the best movies of the last 5 years in the very near future. Truth is stranger then fiction : The DOCUMENTARIES Some of the finest movies of the past 5 years have been documentaries. The one’s I’m listing below and many others that are almost as good like for instance: Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2005), Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002), Sound and Fury (2000), My Voyage to Italy (2001), Life + Debt (2001), Hell House (2001), FRONTLINE: Merchants of Cool (2001), 49 UP (2005), The Fog of War (2003), The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000), Dogtown and Z Boys (2001), Devil’s Playground (2002), Dark Days (2000), CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2002), Boycott (2001) BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002) and there have been many more. If you haven’t seen ones on this list seek them out. , . BUKOWSKI BORN INTO THIS -- 2003 Charles Bukowski is a very famous poet. To some he’s a great poet and writer. To others his work is crude, vulgar and too undisciplined to be considered as serious literature. This fascinating documentary uses a lot of footage from a TAYLOR HACKFORD project on Bukowski that never got finished. (Hackford is director of An Officer and a Gentleman and RAY who once worked at P.B.S. in Los Angeles and produced documentaries) . The mostly black and white video footage is not in great shape, but since the movie looks into the poisoned past and troubled soul of Bukowski—it seems fitting. Although there are a couple of frightening Bukowski outbursts in this movie, we also discover that Bukowski inside was an extremely sensitive pussycat. He worked as a Los Angeles postman for many years, had a horrible case of stage fright, was a raging alcoholic, but is an extraordinary poet. You will often by repulsed by what you watch in this documentary. You will be offended and bothered by what you see. It is honest, unflinching and unforgettable. There are some great bonus extras on the DVD. Bukowski fans do not hesitate to pick this up. The CORPORATION -- 2004 The best documentary I saw this year was The CORPORATION a highly stylized, sometimes weird film that comes down very negatively against corporate culture but has good reason to do so. It’s an agenda film—but the sometimes slightly over stylized manner it uses creates some sublime moments impressed the hell out of me. One of the finest reviews I have ever read on any film happens to be about this film and is just a click away right here: http://www.epinions.com/content_145706159748 DON’T miss reading this superbly written review or seeing this movie. Grizzly Man - -2005 Here is one of the most interesting and best documentaries I have ever seen, period. (Funny that Herzog is involved since he was part of another brilliant documentary years ago made by Les Blanc on the set of Herzog’s movie FITZCARALDO . That Documentary is called BURDEN OF DREAMS ). Part of GRIZZLY’S presentation may even be problematic for some in terms of how director Werner Herzog chooses to not show us or even let us hear some extremely dramatic material. I don’t fault the decision, but he includes a discussion about it in the movie itself, which raises some questions of integrity. I think that’s healthy and realistic and gives the film even more than it would have had without it. The film focuses on the well known exploits of Mr. Treadwell who was a self-invented and borderline crazed character who lived amongst the Grizzly bears and filmed himself as he had reckless contact with the wild beasts. Herzog shows this character who is difficult to like and empathize with. However, Herzog also makes its clear that Treadwell’s passion was both very good and very bad for wildlife causes and Grizzly bears in particular. There’s several conflicts going on in the course of the film. All making the film one of the most compelling and interesting you will ever see. It is a crime this one was not allowed to be nominated for an Oscar. MY ARCHITECT --2003: This is a too personal documentary about a son trying to discover who his famous architect father was. He wants to understand his father’s life work and he hopes to discover who his father was in the process. He travels the world to see his father’s work and uncovers family secrets, exposing himself and others in his quest for closure and understanding. It’s a film about the son’s journey, as much as both a tribute to a famous architect’s work and influence and an unflattering biography of Louis I. Kahn the famous architect. You won’t believe how compelling and interesting nearly every moment of this film is. It’s flawed, because our narrator and filmmaker is Nathaniel Kahn the illegitimate son who is completely involved in the story and that’s exactly as it should be in this case. Yes, you’ll be interested in just about everything talked about and shown in this documentary. Even if you don’t think that’s possible, it will happen. Don’t miss it. Hopefully my 2 Part List of Great Recent Movies has turned you on to a couple of films you haven’t seen yet and will encourage you to re-visit some movies worth seeing again. Part 1 of the list is here: http://www.epinions.com/content_4771520644 Thanks for reading.  |
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