TimesOnLine's 100 Best Films of the Decade: Now Disc. 1. Hidden (Cache) (Michael Haneke, 2005)

Junk. The squandering of a great cast, and it's a film that I remember more for missed opportunities rather than anything it actually ended up doing. It's the illegitimate child of Spartacus and The Fall of the Roman Empire. It isn't fit to be uttered in the same breath as Spartacus and it isn't even on par with The Fall of the Roman Empire, which is a pretty weak effort itself. I'll never understand the love for this film. Except for "Now We Are Free," which is wonderful.

 

Gladiator is in my top 10 list of movies ever. It is perfectly paced, has great music, and tells an epic story but on a personal level.

Not to mention that the film provided the blueprint for so many other movies and shows. Hans Zimmer's theme here is the basis of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme. It spawned the whole gladiator/greeks/romans theme that has occupied popular culture for the last decade.

 

The most overrated movie of the decade. "Death Wish" in a toga, nothing more.

The sad thing: Had the Academy only waited two years, they could have given an Oscar to a genuine epic, The Fellowship of the Ring.

 

Well, they did do that with Return of the King, and I always felt that Best Picture Oscar was for all 3 films of the trilogy, I certainly think of them as one huge movie.

Since we're on the subject of Gladiator and Ridley Scott, I wanted everyone to hear what he has to say about working with movie stars. I'm sure working with Russell Crowe was no picnic, but Ridley cut his teeth on that issue on Blade Runner. He felt like at that point he'd done 2,700 commercials, Alien and had a Cannes Film Festival success with "The Duellists" so he figured he knew what he was doing.

Ridley Scott on Hollywood and working with movie stars

 

I would have thought that Crimson Tide was a more obvious poppy for the Pirates theme.

 

31 Iraq in Fragments (James Longley, 2006)

"Remarkable photography and a glimpse of Iraq on the streets rather than from inside an armoured vehicle ? this little-seen film is one of the decade?s most impressive documentaries."

 

30 Irreversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)

"Yes, this scandalous revenge drama boasts a vile nine-minute rape sequence and a hideous opening mutilation. But it?s also a moral movie that refuses to sanction violence and remains, for strong stomachs at least, unforgettable."

 

I saw this a few years back just to see Monica Bellucci in context and this film was actually much better than I expected. Not exactly a number thirty, but it is a very shocking type of film that everyone should see at some point.

 

Structured in much the same fashion as Memento; mostly famous for an incredibly graphic opening sequence involving someone's face getting slowly turned to jelly with a bludgeon. Haven't seen it, but it was definitely talked about a lot.

 

29 Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 2000)

"The film that introduced the surreal genius of writer Charlie Kaufman to the world, this endlessly inventive riff on the nature of identity and celebrity is a milestone in moviemaking."

 

28 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)

"The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who, after a stroke, was left paralysed and able to communicate only through blinking his left eye. The film takes us inside Bauby's wrecked body and charms us with his still rebellious wit."

 

I'm embarassed to say that I still haven't seen this, after raving about wanting to when it hit the theatres. Need to sign up at the local DVD rental store, this will be at the top of my list.

And all of you go out and read the book right the hell NOW!!!

 

27 Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)

"A sozzled road trip in Californian wine country leads to a mid-life crisis for divorced failed writer and wine buff Miles (Paul Giametti), best man to sleazy charmer Jack (Thomas Haden Church)."

I believe the reviews of a previous Payne movie & saw it: "Election".

Never again.

 

26 Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002)

"A pinnacle for Spielberg and star Tom Cruise, this near-future sci-fi depicts a world of psychic crime- stoppers but is rooted in old fashioned film noir."

 

Too high, though very underrated, a great film. If they want a Spielberg to put here, A.I. would suffice.

 

I love this movie, but I still think the finale is poorly done. There's waaaaay too much expository dialogue. Have a little respect for your audience's intelligence.

 

I enjoyed Minority Report but this is an obnoxiously high ranking.

 

I forget; the film had a coda-tag on the last shot of the film, did it not? And then it was removed for being "too dark" despite it being 100% in-line with Dick's original vision (basically, that the precogs were, in fact, preventing immense amounts of crime, thus leading to debate on whether we should a) use people like that and b) preemptively incarcerate people who we know will be guilty).

Or am I misremembering?

 

25 Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, 2000)

"This musical melodrama was as emotionally subtle as a coach load of orphans and kittens driving off a cliff ? and yet there was something about the florid excesses that gelled perfectly with star Bjork's heart-wrenching score."

 

24 28 Days Later... (Danny Boyle, 2002)

"Danny Boyle and Beach novelist Alex Garland re-imagine the zombie movie for the 21st century. Here, the zombies move with lightning speed, and are fuelled not by the dark arts but by rage itself."

 

Eh...good enough movie. It's fun and creepy, but I wouldn't give it much else.

 

23 Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)

"This lyrical documentary tells the story of Philippe Petit, who strung a wire between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and danced on it, for no reason other than to create something beautiful for the people far below."


I have the same reaction to this idea as I do to mimes.

 

Feel how you want about the act itself, Man on Wire (there you go adding articles again!) is an extraordinary documentary and not nearly as far off the mark as some of the previous few in the list. The director also made the middle movie in the Red Riding trilogy, which I'm very curious to see.

 

22 Far from Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)

"The social facades of 1950s Connecticut slowly crack apart in a gorgeous Technicolor-style melodrama. Julianne Moore is riveting as the homemaker whose life is upended by her husband?s homosexuality and her own feelings for gardener Dennis Haysbert."