25 January, 2010

My Top Ten (i mean TWENTY)

(this is the way Pod Cs it)

in no particular order, of course, and offering no explanation (cannot be arsed).


2046



Mulholland Dr.



Timecode




new world



together



dancer in the dark




piano teacher



old boy



donnie darko



there will be blood



the lives of others



ivan xtc



house of mirth




secret life of words



the barbarian invasions




at the height of summer



le conseguenze dell'amore



amores perros



gerry



yi yi





and there you have it. ran out of options. blew my wad. bit asia-centric. but then maybe that was to be expected. feel bad about not having a single teen crud, but to be fair 00s were not the strongest decade for my favourite genre. other notable exclusions eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and royal tenenbaum and ginger snaps and memento and probably a good deal more.

15 comments:

LeDuc said...

I am in awe of your list.

How could I have left off Gerry? I love that film.

And I had completely forgotten that both House of Mirth and Together were in this decade.

And how could I have missed out New World -- what a stunning choice.

Can't go with you on Mulholland Dr., which I thought was a mess, and (this is shameful) I actually fell asleep during 2046. I only woke up when I did a loud snore. I am a barbarian. Sorry.

Actually, I'm surprised by how much cross-over we managed. Rah-rah us!

FKJ said...

utterly complimentary. with a few exceptions that only prove our point.

TheFastestIndian said...

Oh dear. Have realised there is much on your list that I have never seen and a few I've never even heard of before. I should really try and rectify this.
For a couple of more light hearted entries I'd add 2 Days in Paris and probably also I'm Not There.
For pure visual impact I'd also include Perfume, though this was also flawed in other areas.

FKJ said...

that todd haynes' piece of crappp????
perfume????????? ireena. hang your head in shame.

2 days in paris was absolutely delightful, so you can come back now.

Tom said...

I've only seen 6 of those. I need remedial lessons.

TheFastestIndian said...

I don't know why you've taken against the dylan thing so much- I really thought it was great. Very creative and subversive yet maintaining an overall cohesion. And I am no dylan fan.

I liked Perfume purely on the visuals, but would probably not watch it again. I might withdraw that one actually.

Oh, and I'd also like to add Man on Wire too (as best in docu genre).

FKJ said...

agreed! man on wire was sublime.

i love dylan and that film just fuked me off!

LeDuc said...

I love Todd Haynes but even I thought I'm Not There was atrocious. Man on Wire was good, but for me not good enough for a Best of Decade list (Touching the Void tackled similar ground but in a way that was, for me, much more inspirational. And I hate mountaineering).

Best documentary? What about Murder on a Sunday Morning (an Oscar-winning French take on Florida's judicial system -- and a brilliant defence of the much-maligned public defenders); or Enron, Smartest Guys in the Room (who knew auditing could be so gripping)?

Tom: I am shocked. Only 6? You're not even trying. As one of my colleagues insists on shouting, "Hitchcock is as Important as Shakespeare". Can't see that myself, but film is the medium of the 21st century -- forget those dull old books...

TheFastestIndian said...

Ok, ok, I am losing the I'm Not There war!

But have just remember that (in a very unlikely) scenario I also loved the Brian Clough biopic with Michael Sheen- The Damned United.

Jasmine said...

my god your asian fetish is off the charts

Jasmine said...

as for my thoughts on your list. it is testimony to your tuteledge that i have seen more of these than i expected. i liked the non violent non depressing ones (conseguenze dell'amore is as dark as i'll get).

i think ireena is right about man on wire. what about that nice english one in the countryside or squid and whale? i like that kind of understated movie.

and of course the real winner! julie and julia

FKJ said...

i do not know this woman

sxg said...

Jasmine needs to meet Geoff

TheFastestIndian said...

J- excellent, I endorse the "non violent non depressing ones" film criteria. Try and steer F away from too much blood and incest.

jasmine said...

yes ireena, we are on the same page. though flavia forced me to watch three depressing movies in a row (undertow on saturday, safe on sunday, an education on monday) and i have revised my criteria for film viewing. so long as there is a little sex i will tolerate some violence and unhappy/depressed main characters. though to be totally honest after we watched undertow i had to wash it down with glee, which i found more moving. the kurt and his dad scenes make me cry.