Ten Best Movies of the 2000 Decade
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- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Phantasmagorical. Flawless. Astonishing. Moving. One of the few perfect movies with perfect pacing rhythm and timely messages that blows the mind.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.Close to number one, but has minor problems. Stanley Kubrick's spirit is channeled in this film, and it makes for a frequently astonishing and moving experience that transcends the cinema.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.Engrossing suspense mystery thriller based on a true story, a rarity in cinema since Alfred Hitchcock passed away. Never a boring moment in this nearly three hour police and crime procedural epic with a haunting ending. David Fincher's best and most mature (due to David's restraint from pretentious gimmick) work that may never be topped again by himself.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.It's been a long time since I saw this movie in the arthouse theatre, twice. Phenomenal filmmaking throughout.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsUlrich MüheMartina GedeckSebastian KochIn 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.Unforgettable performance by the late actor Ulrich Mühe, quite possibly one of the best male performances ever committed to celluloid. Excellent filmmaking throughout by the young and incredibly talented German director.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsGerardo TaracenaRaoul Max TrujilloDalia HernándezAs the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.Walked in this movie blind, not expecting much following Mel Gibson's misfortune. Walked out stunned and invigorated. Mel's best work; he may be crazy in real life but he proves with astonishing directing flair, confirming auteur status. This movie is meant to be experienced on the big screen.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..Intoxicatingly nightmarish that makes for a disturbing movie experience. Darren Aronofsky's finest work.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBjörkCatherine DeneuveDavid MorseAn Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.Though the director has an obvious left-wing political agenda embedded within, this film is an unusually mesmerizing and surrealistic musical melodrama. Tough to endure without being painfully moved, with Björk turning in one of the finest female performances ever filmed (never to act as a lead actress again since).
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsNicole KidmanPaul BettanyLauren BacallA woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.The last "tolerable" film from Lars Von Trier before he went off the deep end with gratuitous self-indulgence. Astonishingly visceral experience throughout in this exhausting but mesmerizing three hour epic, with a disturbing and mind-blowing conclusion. Condemned by some critics as anti-American, but I see it as a parable on the cultural psyche of post-19th century imperial Americana. Nicole Kidman's finest acting work, unlike her other films.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldanaSigourney WeaverA paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.Though not exactly a masterpiece (story is standard and derivative), this movie WAS astonishing to the point of poignancy with James Cameron's return to feature filmmaking after a 12-year sabbatical.
I saw this movie in 3D IMAX (one and only format I saw twice in my life so far, the other film was the documentary Stones at the Max with the rock band The Rolling Stones). It was worth the wait for the stupendous experience watching the crystal clear clarity with wise use of 3D effects without the tempting appearance of breaking the fourth wall.
The visual effect revolution of "performance capture" with matching expressive facial movements as envisioned by Cameron, transplanted in the entirely alien world, was surrealistic that translates to phantasmagorical moviegoing experience not seen since Star Wars in 1977. Box office phenomenon speaks for itself.