Best Films of the 21st Century

[Aloysius]

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10. Mulholland Drive, David Lynch, 2001

Mind-altering. That's the only way I can describe Lynch's film. You don't go into this one expecting to "figure it out." You go and let the colors, the music, the emotion wash over you like a dream. It shouldn't work: it has characters coming and going without any relation to what's supposed to be the plot; actors changing character in mid-movie; an ending that poses more questions than it answers...but it does work. Somehow, Lynch has concocted a feverish nightmare of a movie that only grows more insane - yet seductive - with each subsequent viewing.



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This movie absolutely blew me away. This scene in particular is just incredibly powerful, imo. I actually can't bring myself to watch it again because my experience seeing it in the theatre was so... intense, I find myself putting down the DVD and watching Anchorman or something again [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I think alot of viewers (myself included) enjoy working through the myriad "solutions" to the temporal fragmentation issues in the plot, and coming to some sort of conclusion. But I agree with Dom, I don't even think that's critical in truly enjoying this movie. I think it ends up being a much more visceral appreciation than cerebral one.

Question - how is this movie considered in the Lynch oeuvre, and also film history in general? I have no sense of this, but recall critical acclaim when it came out.

-Al

[Dominic]

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10. Mulholland Drive, David Lynch, 2001

Mind-altering. That's the only way I can describe Lynch's film. You don't go into this one expecting to "figure it out." You go and let the colors, the music, the emotion wash over you like a dream. It shouldn't work: it has characters coming and going without any relation to what's supposed to be the plot; actors changing character in mid-movie; an ending that poses more questions than it answers...but it does work. Somehow, Lynch has concocted a feverish nightmare of a movie that only grows more insane - yet seductive - with each subsequent viewing.



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This movie absolutely blew me away. This scene in particular is just incredibly powerful, imo. I actually can't bring myself to watch it again because my experience seeing it in the theatre was so... intense, I find myself putting down the DVD and watching Anchorman or something again [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I think alot of viewers (myself included) enjoy working through the myriad "solutions" to the temporal fragmentation issues in the plot, and coming to some sort of conclusion. But I agree with Dom, I don't even think that's critical in truly enjoying this movie. I think it ends up being a much more visceral appreciation than cerebral one.

Question - how is this movie considered in the Lynch oeuvre, and also film history in general? I have no sense of this, but recall critical acclaim when it came out.

-Al

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It seems to be regarded as his "second masterpiece," after Blue Velvet. And yes, it got incredible reviews when it came out. Wouldn't you have loved to see the TV show this was supposed to be??

[Enrique]

Of your top 10 I love 6 of them and haven't seen two of them ("Sex and Lucia" and "Once"). I will definitely see them when I get a chance. I love Paz Vega, I remember I rented "Hable con Ella" because I thought she was in it. She was in it, but only for 15 minutes. I ended up loving that movie, which unfortunately is not on your list (I would have it in mine for sure).
When I saw "In the Mood for Love" the people I watched it with talked a lot during the movie, so I couldn't get into it. I'll try to see it again.
I didn't love Lost in Translation. I thought it was very good, but I didn't love it.
I love the rest of the list. Mulholland Drive was the first Lynch movie I saw and I saw it 3 times in a week. I want to see it again and again.
I loved Amelie, being my favorite movie for a couple of years (until Vertigo by Hitchcock took its place as my favorite movie). I have seen Amelie about 7 times each time with a different person, I try to get new people to see the movie. It is a nice movie that can get people into seeing foreign films.
Before Sunset was amazing. I personally like Before Sunrise more, but I think those are the two best romantic movies I have ever seen.
Lord of the Rings was great. I think Peter Jackson is great, I love his other movies too. I liked King Kong a lot and I thought "Heavenly Creatures" was excellent.
City of God was a fantastic film. It got me thinking for a long time. Great film.
I liked United 93 a lot, but this year I liked Pan's Labyrinth more.

Great list Dom.

[Dominic]

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Of your top 10 I love 6 of them and haven't seen two of them ("Sex and Lucia" and "Once"). I will definitely see them when I get a chance. I love Paz Vega, I remember I rented "Hable con Ella" because I thought she was in it. She was in it, but only for 15 minutes. I ended up loving that movie, which unfortunately is not on your list (I would have it in mine for sure).
When I saw "In the Mood for Love" the people I watched it with talked a lot during the movie, so I couldn't get into it. I'll try to see it again.
I didn't love Lost in Translation. I thought it was very good, but I didn't love it.
I love the rest of the list. Mulholland Drive was the first Lynch movie I saw and I saw it 3 times in a week. I want to see it again and again.
I loved Amelie, being my favorite movie for a couple of years (until Vertigo by Hitchcock took its place as my favorite movie). I have seen Amelie about 7 times each time with a different person, I try to get new people to see the movie. It is a nice movie that can get people into seeing foreign films.
Before Sunset was amazing. I personally like Before Sunrise more, but I think those are the two best romantic movies I have ever seen.
Lord of the Rings was great. I think Peter Jackson is great, I love his other movies too. I liked King Kong a lot and I thought "Heavenly Creatures" was excellent.
City of God was a fantastic film. It got me thinking for a long time. Great film.
I liked United 93 a lot, but this year I liked Pan's Labyrinth more.

Great list Dom.

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Hmmm...I don't Habla con Ella! I'm going to have find this one...

[KOTLP]

This list is honest and awesome. I love seeing Lost in Translation in there. Let us know what you think of The Lives of Others, I''m about to rent it and have heard it's great.

[maltaille]

I don't normally frequent The Lounge (given my post count and joining date, it could be rightly said I don't frequent anywhere on 2+2), but Dominic's recent post on Andrew Vachss' Burke novels (where's the crime fiction thread, eh Dominic?) brought me over, and I'm a big film/tv/book fan, so seeing the powers that be want more posts, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. Hope no one minds a contribution from someone who isn't likely to be a regular.

That's an interesting list, Dominic. Half I would agree with - Amelie, In The Mood For Love, Mulholland Drive, Lost In Translation. Half I haven't seen - United 93, Once, City of God, Before Sunset (it's currently sitting in my watch-this-week pile, alongside Before Sunrise, Little Children, and Sunset Blvd). Sex and Lucia I don't see as quite so much of a classic as you seem to, and the LotR movies I can't stand, despite loving the books (the first is OK, mostly due to the evocative treatment of the Boromir's tragedy subplot, but for me the second and third went progressively more downhill, with the Frodo/Sam strand getting ever more cloying, Aragorn ever more wooden, and the pacing ever more jarring).

According to Flixster, my favorite movies of the 21st century include:

Hero: A theme both compelling and at odds with most of its genre, cinematography to rival Wong Kar Wai, cleverly cast, and a nicely overlaid meta-story about the nature of storytelling, that didn't distract from the main theme. I know for many Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was too similar and better done, but I got a lot more out of Hero.

The Incredibles: More adult than most of Pixar's range, and boasting some really clever character work that's nothing to do with the animation (such as the way Syndrome wipes his nose on his way to his big entrance, or the sly look Edna gives when she knows she's trading on her wacky persona to mess with Helen's marriage), I found this fun (not funny, though it was that too) as hell. Nice use of the medium too, you could never tell this story this way using live action.

Almost Famous: OK, it's almost cliched to like this, but the performances were so good and the writing so strong that I don't mind being cliched here. Frances McDormand was robbed.

Children of Men: Wow this was well done. This is a director's film. Two scenes were world-class (both the long shots, the ambush and the 6-minute siege shot, despite the plotting weakness immediately after), and the tone was superbly executed (it's hard to make such quiet bleakness enjoyable - haven't seen it done so well since Requiem for a Dream, though The Bourne Supremacy gets a mention for the ending).

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Perhaps this wasn't mainstream enough to be a blockbuster, perhaps it did a bit too much, but I found it funnier than most comedies and more exciting than most thrillers that year. Val Kilmer got right back on the horse (factor in Spartan, and perhaps he's remembering he can act), Robert Downey Jr was pitch perfect, and Shane Black's script was so slick it's worth reading on its own (though in a couple of spots you remember that there's a reason voiceover isn't considered a good device).

Honorable mentions to A History of Violence, Oldboy, Batman Begins, Man on Fire, Training Day, and Requiem for a Dream (only because it wasn't enjoyable to watch, despite being so well done). I wonder what it says that this list would be halved in size if you'd excluded films made in 2000?

[MrMon]

For some reason, I have felt compelled to watch United 93 about a dozen times, so I know it pretty well and am very impressed with it, more so each time I watch it. It's one of those films that will do well in time, as people are finally able to watch it, and appreciate it as they get separated from the actual event. I still tear up at the ending, BTW.

Now, although I've watched it to death, I had never turned on the director's commentary until yesterday. When I learned how Greengrass actually shot the film, I was even more impressed, as I know of no other film shot this way. What was done is this - For each of the locations where the film was shot, the various ATC centers, Herndon, Rome Air Defense, and the plane itself, the sequence was shot as one continuous take in real time with two cameras, the cameras reloading when necessary. That means for some of the locations, the takes are like an hour long. Not only that, most of the "actors" are not actors, they're professionals or people playing themselves, so they have to relive the worst day of their lives over and over. And the performances are by and large improvised, with guidelines given to the performers on what they have to do and when. In a way, this should never work, but somehow it does, with Greengrass then taking all these long shots and getting out what he needs to make a film unlike any other. (As a slight aside, it also explains some of the small discontinuities I've noticed, like planes changing direction on the scopes when they shouldn't, but every film has those problems, so no points off.)

I have been trying for some time to try and separate my feeling for the film because it's based on real events versus what it would be like if it were just a film. The more I watch it, the more I realize that he's made one of the greatest thrillers of all time, on par with the best of Hitchcock or the original Alien. The fact that it's real only makes it even better, as it's a terrific tribute to those lost that day, and will allow future generations to know just how terrifying it really was.

[SL__72]

I think all of the films on this list that I've seen would be on my list too. That kinda makes me want to see the rest of them more then I already did:

Mulholland Drive: never got around to seeing it.
Once: never even heard of it...?
United 93: I've owned this for months and can't bring myself to watch it.
In the Mood for Love: was already in the top10 on my Netflix queue, now bumped to 1.

[Dominic]

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I don't normally frequent The Lounge (given my post count and joining date, it could be rightly said I don't frequent anywhere on 2+2), but Dominic's recent post on Andrew Vachss' Burke novels (where's the crime fiction thread, eh Dominic?) brought me over, and I'm a big film/tv/book fan, so seeing the powers that be want more posts, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. Hope no one minds a contribution from someone who isn't likely to be a regular.

That's an interesting list, Dominic. Half I would agree with - Amelie, In The Mood For Love, Mulholland Drive, Lost In Translation. Half I haven't seen - United 93, Once, City of God, Before Sunset (it's currently sitting in my watch-this-week pile, alongside Before Sunrise, Little Children, and Sunset Blvd). Sex and Lucia I don't see as quite so much of a classic as you seem to, and the LotR movies I can't stand, despite loving the books (the first is OK, mostly due to the evocative treatment of the Boromir's tragedy subplot, but for me the second and third went progressively more downhill, with the Frodo/Sam strand getting ever more cloying, Aragorn ever more wooden, and the pacing ever more jarring).

According to Flixster, my favorite movies of the 21st century include:

Hero: A theme both compelling and at odds with most of its genre, cinematography to rival Wong Kar Wai, cleverly cast, and a nicely overlaid meta-story about the nature of storytelling, that didn't distract from the main theme. I know for many Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was too similar and better done, but I got a lot more out of Hero.

The Incredibles: More adult than most of Pixar's range, and boasting some really clever character work that's nothing to do with the animation (such as the way Syndrome wipes his nose on his way to his big entrance, or the sly look Edna gives when she knows she's trading on her wacky persona to mess with Helen's marriage), I found this fun (not funny, though it was that too) as hell. Nice use of the medium too, you could never tell this story this way using live action.

Almost Famous: OK, it's almost cliched to like this, but the performances were so good and the writing so strong that I don't mind being cliched here. Frances McDormand was robbed.

Children of Men: Wow this was well done. This is a director's film. Two scenes were world-class (both the long shots, the ambush and the 6-minute siege shot, despite the plotting weakness immediately after), and the tone was superbly executed (it's hard to make such quiet bleakness enjoyable - haven't seen it done so well since Requiem for a Dream, though The Bourne Supremacy gets a mention for the ending).

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Perhaps this wasn't mainstream enough to be a blockbuster, perhaps it did a bit too much, but I found it funnier than most comedies and more exciting than most thrillers that year. Val Kilmer got right back on the horse (factor in Spartan, and perhaps he's remembering he can act), Robert Downey Jr was pitch perfect, and Shane Black's script was so slick it's worth reading on its own (though in a couple of spots you remember that there's a reason voiceover isn't considered a good device).

Honorable mentions to A History of Violence, Oldboy, Batman Begins, Man on Fire, Training Day, and Requiem for a Dream (only because it wasn't enjoyable to watch, despite being so well done). I wonder what it says that this list would be halved in size if you'd excluded films made in 2000?

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Very cool, with contributions like this, you'll be a very welcome presence in The Lounge!

Hero, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Children of Men and The Incredibles almost made my list...so did Memento and Brokeback Mountain.

And feel free to post something in my Andrew Vachss thread - I was always a little disappointed that didn't get very many views.

[Dominic]

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For some reason, I have felt compelled to watch United 93 about a dozen times, so I know it pretty well and am very impressed with it, more so each time I watch it. It's one of those films that will do well in time, as people are finally able to watch it, and appreciate it as they get separated from the actual event. I still tear up at the ending, BTW.

Now, although I've watched it to death, I had never turned on the director's commentary until yesterday. When I learned how Greengrass actually shot the film, I was even more impressed, as I know of no other film shot this way. What was done is this - For each of the locations where the film was shot, the various ATC centers, Herndon, Rome Air Defense, and the plane itself, the sequence was shot as one continuous take in real time with two cameras, the cameras reloading when necessary. That means for some of the locations, the takes are like an hour long. Not only that, most of the "actors" are not actors, they're professionals or people playing themselves, so they have to relive the worst day of their lives over and over. And the performances are by and large improvised, with guidelines given to the performers on what they have to do and when. In a way, this should never work, but somehow it does, with Greengrass then taking all these long shots and getting out what he needs to make a film unlike any other. (As a slight aside, it also explains some of the small discontinuities I've noticed, like planes changing direction on the scopes when they shouldn't, but every film has those problems, so no points off.)

I have been trying for some time to try and separate my feeling for the film because it's based on real events versus what it would be like if it were just a film. The more I watch it, the more I realize that he's made one of the greatest thrillers of all time, on par with the best of Hitchcock or the original Alien. The fact that it's real only makes it even better, as it's a terrific tribute to those lost that day, and will allow future generations to know just how terrifying it really was.

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pretty amazing, isn't it? I haven't heard the commentary yet, so I'll have to check that out.