2000-2009 TIME CAPSULE: THE TOP 25 PART TWO

And now, I am proud to raise the cinema curtain and shine the projector lights on my Top 10 favorite films from the decade of 2000-2009...

10. "THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY" (2001/2002/2003) Co-Written, Produced & Directed by Peter Jackson
Of course, technically this is a collection of three films consisting of "The Fellowship Of The Ring," "The Two Towers" and "The Return Of The King," but it is my list and I'll rank 'em however I please! Seriously dear readers, I have to express that somewhere during my first viewing of the third film, with the pay-off of the entire series set brilliantly and furiously into motion with a war that re-defined "epic," I knew that I was in the middle of one of the best films I had ever seen. Within that particular epiphany and by that film's conclusion, the fullness of Peter Jackson's complete achievement had been revealed to me.

"The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy" was the decade's classiest, grandest, and most spectacular saga as it faithfully honored J.R.R. Tolkien's untouchable source material while also standing firmly on its own weight as a massive cinematic accomplishment. The special effects wizardry completely enhanced the sometimes gut-wrenching emotional content. And honestly, who had any idea that Peter Jackson would be the one to adapt material (sacred to some) that was potentially unfilmable? As an additional side note, the longer versions available on DVD are even better than the theatrical versions. Just incredible!

9. "LOST IN TRANSLATION" (2003) Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola
Sometimes films are not exclusively about stories or plots. Sometimes movies are about a mood, a feeling, a place or moment in time. In the case of Sofia Coppola's hauntingly melancholy second film, she created an entire film experience dedicated to the haze of ennui, loneliness, feeling adrift and discovering the magic that happens when two souls connect--if only for a fraction of time. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson gave perfectly pitched performances launched from Coppola's minimalist screenplay and evocatively sublime direction. This film shone blinding lights on on middle-aged and marital stagnation combined with strong comedy and a poetic visual presentation. It was like being lost in a brilliant foggy dream.

8. "THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS" (2001) Co-Written & Directed by Wes Anderson
This is my favorite film from Wes Anderson! The beauty of this film for me resides within the meticulously designed layers which revealed the sad truths of a fractured family and rascally patriarch, perfectly portrayed by Gene Hackman. This elegant production felt like a J.D. Salinger styled novel starring John Irving styled characters come to life in the glowing artifice of the New York of Anderson's fantasies. The film breaks my heart as I am laughing...and that slow motion shot of Gwyneth Paltrow exiting a bus as Luke Wilson regards her achingly (and set to Nico's "These Days") is one of the most memorable shots for me during this last decade.

7. "ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND" Directed by Michel Gondry
Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman has quickly and easily become one of my favorite writers due to the audaciousness of his seemingly endless creativity. There is not any way whatsoever to be able to predict where one of his mind-benders will twist and turn. Yet, instead of just existing as cinematic puzzles, they are emotionally resonant and this film, starring Jim carrey as a heartbroken man who wants to have the memories of his failed relationship with Kate Winslet literally erased from his brain, made for the decade's best love story. It is a film about memory as well as fate and Director Michael Gondry not only elicited a career best performance from Carrey, he utilized creative special effect techniques that not only gave audiences the sensation of travelling through Carrey's memories, they enhanced the beating heart of this story to sorrowful and beatific degrees.

6. "SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK" (2008) Written & Directed by Charlie Kaufman
This is probably the most impenetrable film on this list and I understand completely how it could frustrated viewers profusely. Yet, like "Eternal Sunshine," this film has a beating heart that is painfully aware of the human condition and is as reverential as its stunning visual landscape. Phillip Seymor Hoffman gave a revelatory performance as theater director Caden Cotard; a man convinced that he is dying who desires to make one final artistic statement. Hoffman always found the truth in this performance and film, even in large sections and sequences that may not even exist in a real world. It is a film about failure, the artistic process and the painful or blissful art of dying. While not depressing, this film forces you to think about your life in ways you may not want to. It is challenging, witty, and an emotionally exhausting work that is unforgettable. I have a friend who works at my locally owned video store who loves this film so much that he feels that Kaufmann should not even make another film as this one was so complete with its concepts and ideas. I disagree. I would hate for someone of this caliber not create another film but I do have to admit that I truly have no idea how he will scale heights of this artistic level again.

5. "THE DARK KNIGHT" (2008) Co-Written & Directed by Christopher Nolan
This film was the game-changer and it not only scaled new heights within the comic book film genre, it transcended them all, thus raising the bar for all films that follow. Nolan's staggeringly intense and incredible sequel to his "Batman Begins" (2005) created an adult experience that extended itself from the eternal between Batman and the Joker to a battle for the soul of Gotham City. It was a story of the futility of a vigilante fighting crime against a foe, whose level of evil is ever changing, evolving, growing and unstoppable. Heath Ledger's performance was iconic and the film as a whole elevated the entire comic book genre on film forever. For me, if a film cannot even attempt to scale this height then don't even come to play! Hollywood got this one so extraordinarily right!!

4. "KILL BILL VOLUMES 1 & 2" (2003/2004) Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Technically two films, but again, it's my list! For all of the deserved love Quentin Tarantino has received for the groundbreaking 1994 film "Pulp Fiction" and last year's "Inglourious Basterds," the saga of The Bride relentlessly hunting down the assassins who placed a bullet into her head on her wedding day remains his glowing masterpiece. With visual styles lovingly cribbed from Asian cinema and Spaghetti westerns, Tarantino created a 21st century "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" that was just all his own and there hasn't been anything like it before or since. What saved this ultra-violent film from being a soul crushing gore-fest was the orgiastic glee Tarantino obviously has for film and filmmaking. His writing is peerless as his gift of story telling and dialogue lifted this band of anti-heroines and villains to a near mythical quality. The many action sequences also raised Tarantino's visual representation to grand heights as he never forgot to keep telling the story within the gorgeously detailed fights. And I have to say that Uma Thurman gave the performance of her life as The Bride and seemingly, Tarantino is the only filmmaker that knows how to use her properly.

3. "A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" (2001) Written & Directed by Steven Spielberg
Spielberg's greatest film of the decade was definitely his most challenging and most polarizing; something I guess to be expected when taking on the project from deceased filmmaking friend and collaborator Stanley Kubrick. Spielberg, who also delved into a rare bout of screenwriting, never feared from the even the most disturbing elements in this story of a robot boy (a terrific Haley Joel Osment) trying to discover his own humanity. It was a darkly grim adult version of "Pinocchio" presented in a world where robots are tortured, the most hoped for dreams die and the human race faces and meets its own extinction. Chilling and difficult while never losing its heart, this film again showed why Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest filmmakers to ever stand behind the camera.

2. "BAMBOOZLED" (2000) Written, Produced & Directed by Spike Lee
For nearly 25 years, Spike Lee has been a cinematic giant with an output of high quality material that most filmmakers would kill for. He is a born talent, often misunderstood, misrepresented and sadly ignored and he is as fair-minded as cinematically gifted. This particular film, which was barely released and remains stunningly under seen, is one of his most brilliant, incendiary and blistering works.

"Bamboozled" is a satire starring Damon Wayans as a television writer who dreams up the most offensive and preposterous concept he could think of: a modern day minstrel comedy program starring African-Americans (Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson) in blackface. Shockingly and depressingly, the program becomes a nation-wide ratings smash. What Spike Lee has done is to hold African-Americans to task for the images we portray of ourselves within the media. Yes, there was a time when we solely played the slaves, the housekeepers, and all manner of characters meant to demean our spirit and self-image but, without Butterfly McQueen there would be no Denzel Washington. This film argues that since we now hold more power within the media and have more than enough means to shape our visual image amongst pop culture (BET, are you watching?), what happens to us when we create the cartoons and imagery designed to keep ourselves from moving forwards? This was honest filmmaking at its most uncomfortable, pointed and completely focused on its target. I would also think that it is just ahead of its time as there are too many who are not ready to receive and ponder the messages Lee presented. A masterful achievement.

1. "ALMOST FAMOUS" (2000) Written & Directed by Cameron Crowe
This pick was surprisingly easy. In fact, when I first began conceptualizing this entire list, this film and its ranking was the first thing to pop into my mind, and I ultimately had to work backwards from this peak. I do not have enough words to use when I speak of this beautiful, beautiful movie that serves as Crowe's memoir of his family and his own teen-years writing for Rolling Stone, as well as a love-letter to rock and roll, to writing, to music journalism, to the relationships between artists and fans, to the entire era and everyone who influenced that time. Certainly the material speaks tremendously to my personal passions yet even for those who know nothing about rock music, this is a film to be treasured and embraced.

It is sentimental without being cloying. It is truthful about the period while not delving cynically and callously into darker waters. Every single performance is pitch perfect (Kate Hudson has NEVER been better than she is here as the band's self-described "Band-Aid, Penny Lane)as Crowe's empathetic and journalistic screenwriting gives fully developed characters to everyone in this piece...and that even includes the tour bus!

The film features one GREAT sequence after another including, but definitely not limited to that moment after guitarist Russell Hammond's (played by Billy Crudup) brief sabbatical from his band Stillwater which results in a bad drug trip ("I AM A GOLDEN GOD!!' he bellows from a fan's rooftop). Coming down from his trip on the tour bus, and also during the aftermath of band tension, the entire group find themselves in a stunning moment of connection and bonding...to Elton John's classic, "Tiny Dancer." I got chills just from writing about that scene...

"Almost Famous" is like Homer's Odyssey set to The Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" ("I have to go home," teen journalist William Miller--played with a gorgeous awkwardness by Patrick Fugit--often says) and I guess I have to use a character to express my love for this film best. It comes from Band-Aid Sapphire (played by Fairuza Balk) and occurs near the end of the film, after Penny Lane's suicide attempt. She informs Hammond about the nature of being a fan when she says that it is, "to love some silly little piece of music or some band so much that it HURTS!"

I love "Almost Famous" that much. It is a yearning, gorgeous hurt filled with love, deep humanity, generous spirit and lovely bittersweetness. If I could, I would watch it RIGHT NOW!

"Almost Famous" is a gift to anyone who chooses to open it.

(As a SIDE NOTE: I cannot recommend enough Cameron Crowe's Director's Cut of the film which is entitled with the film's original moniker ("Untitled") and runs nearly 40 minutes longer than the two-hour theatrical cut. It is a fuller, richer and even better experience.)

There you have it and it was certainly along time coming but there's just one more nod to the last decade that I have to sift through. The WORST films I saw...

Stay tuned for 2000-2009 TRASH COMPACTOR: The Worst Films of the Decade...