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these capsules sound like something i'd read in a magazine...good ones, though, even if i didnt agree with all your choices.
>Here are my ten. > >10.Punch-Drunk Love >A terrifically pro-romance movie that also captures how >relationships are seldom built on perfect unions nor always >evolve in a straight-forward manner. However, while Paul >Thomas Anderson's story and Adam Sandler's Barry Egan do go to >delightfully ridiculous extremes to be able to finally bare >their souls, with pudding and phone sex and all, it's these >great lengths that arrive at a conclusion that's as satisfying >and simply put as anything: all you need is love. This >sometimes quirky, sometimes old-fashioned, sometimes >disturbing, finally hopeful and strongly colorful film is an >ode to the power of love and proof of the power of cinema to >make the hard-bitten turn believer. > >09.United 93 >Politicians, who have continually exploited the day as though >some cheap slogan, and the media, who has over-exposed the raw >footage of the Twin Towers' collapse, have shamefully >manipulated the events on and surrounding September 11th to >the point where for many Americans, six years now removed, >that fateful New York morning has lost its significance. What >Paul Greengrass, alongside a thankless ensemble of mostly >unknown or first-time actors, does is to restore meaning to >9/11, as painful and as devastating, but also as truly >important, as that might be. United 93 is shot with the look >of a documentary, the feel of a well-paced thriller, and all >the dignity those who perished as a result of the attacks >rightly deserve. > >08.The Man Who Wasn't There >In the hands of the Coen Brothers, Ed Crane is fashioned as a >man of nothing, so forgettable you'd lose his name the second >after he gave it out, the post-WWII Bartleby. By placing such >a listless character at the crux of a story centered around a >salacious criminal scheme and bordered by the supernatural, >the Coens craft their most original film in years. Though >they do not turn away from either their pulp-tendencies or >their use of bizarre humor to undercut moments of tension, >because their story is ultimately grounded in sincerity, in a >real sense of sadness and despair, their work has been >elevated to the level of a fascinating character study. Billy >Bob Thorton's hushed performance also does a great deal to >convey Crane's languid state of being. > >07.Yi Yi >Edward Yang's Yi Yi asks the question how do we know we make >the right choices when we see only from our eyes, from only in >front of us, and subsequently then only half of the truth? >This query, earnestly posed by a precocious young boy, echoes >throughout the entire film and is thematically most evident in >the way Yang films each scene: often from a distance, even >seemingly the back of action, still, as though curiously >observing. He wants us to take in the long and full picture >in a way his characters cannot always. In doing so, each shot >potentially becomes its own story; from a parting glance to an >uncertain exchange, Yang communicates understanding and >misunderstanding beautifully. The classical-composition of >the film too produces an unpretentious effect key for such a >gracious portrayal of life and all the choices it has to >offer. > >06.Half Nelson >While Ryan Gosling's performance, and even first-timer >Shareeka Epp's to some extent, hogged most of the coverage of >Half Nelson--and yes, it is a incredibly complex but organic >turn by the Canadian actor--director Ryan Fleck too >accomplishes a difficult task by successfully rooting his >story and characters in often ambiguous and contradictory >territory, and not just archetypal or tidily-resolved >scenarios. It's inspiring, gutsy storytelling, where a drug >addict is at once a brave school teacher, a friendless >asshole, a protector, and an enabler. No one here is easily >defined, nor should they be. And it's because Half Nelson has >such an interest in telling a three-dimensional story that it >can feel altogether harrowing, heartbreaking, frustrated, >uncomfortable, and even funny, but always truthful. > >05.Good Night, and Good Luck. >Shot in a kind of black-and-white photography that lends >itself more to story than strictly style, George Clooney's >second directorial work brims with the great confidence >usually found in Clooney's public persona. Though it covers >several considerably heavy topics (the power of television, >the responsibility of the media, and the need to protect the >freedom of expression), Good Night, and Good Luck knows itself >with a manner of precision, smarts, and fearlessness fitting >its lead subject, Edward R. Murrow. By gathering arguably the >best cast of currently-working character actors and matching >them with a script as witty as it is poignant and as biting as >it is graceful, Clooney achieves a certain timeless quality, >that's both a history lesson and a modern-day parable, while >never feeling tedious nor heavy-handed. > >04.Shaun of the Dead >This endlessly creative and loving spoof of horror movies >pours in carnage when it needs to, slapstick when appropriate, >satire all over, and a surprising amount of character and >story development. Creators Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are >ever-knowledgeable about the often-ludicrous films they're >sending up, but they also realize a large amount of humor and >emotional resonance can be forged by grounding the most >outlandish of plots in the middle of the everyday, >particularly here with dating relationships and work. >Moreover, as gore and more subtle visual gags share the screen >equally as well, and as heavy-stylistic flair is balanced with >pure storytelling, Shaun of the Dead serves up a unique and >exceptionally well-rounded piece of entertainment. > >03.Raising Victor Vargas >The principle cast of Raising Victor Vargas and its director, >Peter Sollett, first began their working relationship on a >2000 short film, Five Feet High and Rising. The rapport that >sprang up as a result of this early collaboration is >noticeable in Vargas not only in the chemistry shared between >the leads but especially by how natural and unforced actor and >director alike perform together. By allowing the real-life >personalities of these actors to shape the script, by >promoting improvisation, and then by keeping the camera free >and unrestrained, Sollett creates a work of great >authenticity. Moreover, his characters have so accurately >realized that fine balance between childhood and adulthood: >hormones-raging, awkward all over, brimming maturity cut by >sudden self-doubt. They have trouble trusting each other and >themselves, and it's how these moments are captured in a >simple, seemingly spontaneous manner that highlights late >adolescence in a way most movies are either afraid or unable >to. > >02.City of God >Brazil in the 1970's, with its beautiful bikini-clad women and >streets soaring to a soulful samba sound, is at first an >irresistible setting. Likewise, Fernando Meirelles's frenetic >gangster tale has the look of a movie wonderfully exploding at >your senses. Split-screens, quick-edits, sudden freeze >frames, and a bursting surreal color catch the eye, but the >movie's intense and unrelenting violence also gives way to a >startling depiction of those favela streets shaped like so >many tireless mazes. Here frightened young boys, trapped as >they are, have resorted to a kind of cruelty typically found >only in the most vile of Shakespearean kings. Again, their >brutality is contrasted by a sad naiveté, just as the >seductiveness and savageness of Rio goes hand-in-hand. >Non-actors and a narrator who is both apart from the gangland >lifestyle and also its best hope are the perfect choices to >tell this multi-faceted true story. > >01.Zodiac >Using visual effects to recreate period locations that may now >be unrecognizable or to otherwise control the look of his >scenes to the smallest detail, David Fincher's Zodiac finds >the director employing stylistic craftiness to enhance the >story on screen and then to also illuminate the obsessive >nature of the material. His meticulousness thankfully finds >its match in an exhausting true crime investigation, one that >covered whole careers and is realistically rendered by a >handful of actors giving largely difficult but defining >performances. The film's daring narrative, first mapped out >in a thoroughly-researched script by James Vanderbilt, flaunts >conventions in an ultimate sign of respect to all the >investigators involved. Chilling, slyly humorous, and >ever-engaging, Zodiac's dedicated vision is a painstakingly >well-organized revelation for its director and sure evidence >that storytelling is forever king. > > >my '05 list. > >25th Hour (2002) >City of God (2002) >George Washington (2000) >In the Mood for Love (2000) >Lost in Translation (2003) >Raising Victor Vargas (2002) >Road to Perdition (2002) >The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) >Yi Yi (2000) >You Can Count on Me (2000) > >Reason for differences: > >1)Don't take a 20 year-old's opinion on artistic endeavors too >seriously, I guess. (What about a 22 year-old?) Anyway, my >tastes haven't changed drastically, it's just that I've more >finely tuned for myself what makes a good movie. > >2)In the Mood for Love and George Washington I haven't watched >in years. They've faded a little bit from my memory, and that >lack of a long-standing interest says something to me. > >3)The Royal Tenenbaums fell in the 11-15 range. > >3b)Lost in Translation and You Can Count on Me probably would >fall in the 15-25 range. > >4)Upon re-seeing Road to Perdition and 25th Hour, while there >are many strong qualities that I still find in 'em, and I do >still like them, they feel more flawed now, e.g., the third >act in Perdition and the overall heavy-handedness of Lee's >picture. > >5)Of the new inclusions to my list, five of them I had not >seen at all two years ago (or had just seen them, as with Good >Night, I believe). > >6)So with the three left standing, the five new additions, >that leaves Punch-Drunk Love and The Man Who Wasn't There. I >saw the latter in the theaters when it first came out. I was >16 and in over my head. Thankfully, I revisited it some >months back and was amazed. As for PDL, I'm actually >surprised it wasn't on my first list. Again, it went over my >head the first time through, 17 then, but a year or so later I >got the DVD, strapped on some headphones and have been a fan >ever since.
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