A Tongue Bath for the Ages

The following image best represents my current feelings regarding the Darrelle Revis hype:The last month of the football season has featured a lot of great performances by a lot of great players. No player has enjoyed the kind of verbal tongue bathing that Darrelle Revis has been treated to by the media. Frankly, I don't care if he's the next Dick "Night Train" Lane. He may have had one of the greatest seasons by a defensive back ever, but I'm getting tired of it.

While I'm on the subject, I want to give special Shout-Out to the Brett Favre Annual Slurp-Fest by showing a graphic representative of my feelings on him as well:Of course, don't tell that to Randy Cross. If he is to be believed, Brett Favre doesn't like the attention. Not one bit.

Done.

A Disney Decade

Here I am at the Magic Kingdom. Just because.
In keeping with my looking back at the Aughts, I don't think I could let the opportunity pass by to rank the Disney Animated Films that came out from 2000 to 2009.

So, here it is... my list, from worst to best, of the Disney Animated Films of the Aughts.


18. Chicken Little
Sorry Zach Braff... You know it's bad when you go to the parks around the time of the release and there's no sign of any merchandise. When the company itself thinks it's no good, that pretty much tells you all you need to know. If you can take anything else from this ranking, keep in mind that I own most Disney movies on DVD, and this is not one of them. I didn't get a chance to see it in the theaters, and I've barely been able to sit through it on TV. Not good coming from a notorious Disney apologist.


17. Home on the Range
This is the other film on the list that I actively dislike.. The rest, from 16 to 1 all have good things about them. This movie? I can't really think of anything. In fact, I guess the best way to reason my ranking of this movie at this place in the countdown is that I KNOW I've seen it, but I can't remember a single thing about it. Not one. I don't recall who did the voices. I don't recall the plot. I know there are cows and chickens involved. That's about it.


16. Treasure Planet
Probably the most glaring issue of this movie is that it was obviously trying too hard to capture some sort of "Hi Tech" kind of feel. What's interesting is that I think the movie, with the same animators, would have been far more successful if they'd done a more traditional take on the the Treasure Island story. The hand drawn animation is really excellent overall, and the integration of some of the computer done stuff was really cool. Long John Silver is a great villain, and really deserved better. I just think that Disney got caught up in trying to tap into some sort of space-craze thing (Star Wars was back t being hot). This movie came out in November of 2002, and I think would have been better as a traditional pirate story (as evidenced by the success of Pirates of the Caribbean 7 months later.). It's actually vaguely Steam-Punk, which I love a lot more now than I did then. Maybe I should revisit.


15. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis isn't bad at all. Just kind of got lost in a sort of dark ages for Disney Animation. Tarzan was excellent, but the next few weren't particularly memorable. The animation in this movie is really cool, though, and the story is solid. I think Disney goes off the rails a little when they attempt to include minorities or different ethnicities when the story doesn't expressly call for it. I'm not saying they shouldn't do that... I'm just saying that it seems that many of the times they've attempted it, it's come across as clumsy. Still... I liked this one enough to use it as the subject in my Musical Theater writing class my senior year of college. We were supposed to take a non-musical movie and write an adaptation that includes music. I got an A.


14. Dinosaur
I'm not really a huge fan of this movie, but it definitely wins points from me due to the ride at Disney World that was refurbished to incorporate it. I really like the ride. The movie is pretty standard "Our World is Coming to an End" movie, and it's sad and kind of hopeless, since...you know...the dinosaurs all died. I think this one also falls into the "trying too hard" mold. This time with the Global Warming allegories and whatnot. Still and all, some pretty good action sequences with the Carnataurs and dinosaurs are always cool.


13. Brother Bear
Now... I actually really like this movie. It was sort of dismissed at the time as another pay-homage-to-the-Native-Americans story, but I didn't really get that. I mean... there was some vaguely antiquated mysticism involved, and it's not THE BEST movie ever, but the animation is really, really cool. The characters are pretty memorable as well. I especially liked the Strange-Brew Moose. It's cheap, but funny. The only reason it gets any points off is that the story isn't exactly original. In fact... Avatar is pretty much the same. And Pocahontas. And Dances with Wolves. It's... not important. They did it well here. It's about here where the rankings are more simply degrees of awesome.


12. Fantasia 2000
I only put it down this low because it's not a movie I'd wanna watch over and over. The animation is beautiful. The music is very powerful. It's excellently done. It also was a pet project of Roy E. Disney (the guy who passed away last month, and who still deserves his own blog). The visuals of a few of the pieces are incredible. I'm especially fond of the Rhapsody in Blue piece that is styled like Al Hirschfeld's art. I like it a lot. Again... this only loses points due to it's lower re-watchability. (I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that the premier was in December of 1999, whereas the actual release was Jan 1st, 2000....so I'm counting it.)


11. The Emperor's New Groove
This movie has some absolutely hilarious moments in it, and I love the voice work of Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, and Eartha Kitt... If David Spade was even close to the same ball-park, I think it may vault it into the top 7 or 8. I really like the look of it, and I kind of enjoy the take on the story. I wish they hadn't pandered and tried to "hip" it up. I sometimes look at the title and think... does this title make you think this movie belongs in the pantheon of great films in the Disney vault? Man...the title kills me.


10. Meet the Robinsons
I really like Meet the Robinsons. It's got great themes (originally from Walt Disney himself) "Keep Moving Forward" is one of Walt Disney's own quotes, and works well in this movie that straddles the present and future... The animation is cool, though not quite as smooth as the Pixar movies that come later in the list. There aren't a ton of memorable characters, too, which loses some points. It DOES have one of the most hilarious, and ultimately sympathetic villains I can think of, and I love me a good villain. In the end, this is a really solid movie, and one I would watch were it on cable. It possibly loses points since the ulimate villain is an evil hat. That's kinda weird. It falls here on the list, because head-to-head if I'm picking one DVD to pop in, this doesn't beat any of the next 9. Doesn't take away from it at all though.


9. Cars
My least favorite of the Disney/Pixar collaborations. I liked it. I think the animation is cool. But really... not in the same class, emotionally, as any of the films made around it. It's good...don't get me wrong. It's very good. The voice acting of Paul Newman especially is excellent. I really like the sort of vaguely deco, automobile themed landscaping and theming throughout. It's the details like that that keep this movie in the top 10. I don't find the story all that interesting. It's another twist on the Avatar, Pocahontas, Brother Bear, Dances With Wolves story... Still, Pixar most shines in the details, and this movie isn't any different.


8. Bolt
I saw this movie last Winter when I was visiting my fam in Denver, and I wasn't expecting much from it. I typically dislike John Travolta pretty supremely. I'm not a huge Miley Cyrus fan. It just seemed kinda dumb. Well... I was totally wrong. You may even remember that I blogged about it at the time. This movie was essentially made as great as it was by being a vehicle for a great travel-venture story combined with one of the most memorable sidekicks in any Disney movie ever. In fact, I was sorely disappointed there wasn't more Rhino the Hamster merchandise at the parks during my last 2 visits. I think a Rhino-in-his-Ball themed ride would be effing sweet. I even liked Travolta more than I have in years. I also really liked the twists on the story, and Bolts progression as a character. Good stuff.


7. Ratatouille
First, let me say that Patton Oswalt is effing awesome, and his voice is made for animation. It's extremely expressive and he does an excellent job. There are some legitimately awesome sequences in this movie. The whole portion of the movie where Remy learned to "drive" Linguini. The excellent chase scene through the kitchen at the beginning. I also really love the heart of the film...the dissing of snobbery in any form. I also find their less-than-subtle nod to the dirty side of commercialization and marketing. The whole globalized marketing of Gusteau's Microwavable meals. It feels like a sort of self-acknowledgment to me. Anyway, there are some great moments, and with the subject matter being "Cooking", this one will always be a winner to me.


6. Wall-E
I know it's blasphemy to list this any lower than 2nd, as it was deemed worthy of Best Picture and whatnot, and I agree.. it was definitely worthy of Best Picture. Of course, so were, in my opinion, the rest of the movies ahead of it on the list, so... In any case, this is a truly excellent movie, and could easily have been higher on the list, but again it came down to me thinking if I could watch any of them at any time, what would I pick. This lands about here. Usually I can point to voice work, but since this movie is largely beeping and booping and whatnot, I can't in this case, which probably makes it even more special. The first 30 minutes are incredibly engaging for having essentially no dialogue. The notion that society will lazify over time is an interesting one to explore, and I love the whole sequence on the cruise ship. I take off MINOR points for 2 things; 1) I don't love Hello Dolly, so it's hard to hear it over and over. and 2) The rip-off of 2001 with the whole machine taking over...thing. I don't love that.


5. Monsters Inc.
Just an excellent movie from start to finish. This was the first of the Pixar movies where the animation really just absolutely shocked me. I loved A Bug's Life's visuals too, but Sully's fur in Monsters Inc is truly amazing to watch throughout. That's a minor thing in the grand scheme, but I'll never forget it, and I think that's really the hallmark of a great film. Something new. The plot is excellent too, if not a little tiny bit simplistic. The door chase scene is one of the most incredible animated sequences ever, and really does one of the coolest things in film, which is executing "camera moves" that a real camera would never be able to do. I hate it when animation doesn't take advantage of that. This movie does. The team of Sully and Mike is excellent comically, and Randall is one of the creepiest villains in all of Disney-dom. Love this movie.


4. Lilo and Stitch
The greatest non-Pixar Disney movie of the decade. It's just so elegantly drawn, and the character designs are so neat. I love the music, and I love the characterizations. It's an awesome movie. Of course, the real reason this movie is where it is on the list boils down to one word: Stitch. Stitch is one of the most awesome, hilarious, bad ass characters Disney has ever created. There's a reason he is consistently the most popular character in the Disney universe. Surpassing Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. He combines the great elements of each. He's got Mickey's heart. (Just try to sit through the "Ohana means Family" scene without choking up. ) Goofy's well... goofiness. And Donald's ability to turn on a dime (not to mention sputter and blabber with the best of them.) He's an excellent character, and I'd watch it for just that reason alone.


3. The Incredibles
Not much I can say about this movie that I didn't say earlier in the week with my top 20 movies of the decade list. The voices are excellent. The characters are really fun. ( I especially love the punny names for the villains. I don't know why I always love puns so much, but I do. The best of the bunch? Underminer the mole-like villain voiced by Pixar fixture John Ratzenberger. ) The story is tight, and emotional. It deals with themes such as the embracing of mediocrity, and the malaise associated with getting older. I also love the look of this movie, with it's extremely stylized shapes and visuals. I love that the animators made a choice to look different. I like the angles. It's got a very late Art-Deco look to it. Like something from the Early 50s.. like the production art from the 1964 World's Fair or something.


2. Up
We're all going to be "Up"ed out soon enough, since with an expanded Best Picture field starting this year at the Oscars, it will be a shock if it's not nominated. Certainly it deserves that kind of attention, even if just because of the elegant and beautiful opening sequence of the film that, after checking last week, still packs a pretty emotional punch. I'd venture to say even more so upon second viewing. It's just so perfectly done, and I think congratulations to the creators for taking that kind of chance in a medium that has long been reserved for children. That sequence was certainly not designed for children alone, and that's ultimately what makes Up and Pixar's other movies so successful and critically acclaimed both. We've never seen, to this point at least, Pixar pandering to the lowest common denominator. This is why they'll stand the test of time... When a kid falls in love with a movie, they watch and watch and watch.. and then eventually they grow up and often the films don't grow up with them. Because Pixar (fully) and Disney (in its more successful films) provide layers of story telling that allows the film to grow with its audience.... that's how a film goes from a fad (Say... Kung Fu Panda) to a classic (Toy Story, Up, Little Mermaid, etc...). I seem to have gone off the rails, slightly... Up features some of the best pure visuals and storytelling of any Disney film... The characters are all fully realized, and the "talking dogs" bit is so funny and perfectly done I could watch a whole movie of the dogs going through their daily activities. Really an all-timer.


1. Finding Nemo
What is there even to say about Finding Nemo? Probably in my top 5 movies ever. It's the only animated movie I can think of where I wanted to watch it again right away. The animation is so superb that you forget you're even watching animation at all. There are at least 5 points where you sit back and try to figure out how they made that happen with computers... If you ever get the pleasure of watching the "Making of" you can just see how much care and time they spent getting every moment perfect. The voice casting is the best Disney/Pixar has ever done. Ellen Degeneres as Dory should have won some sort of special Oscar. The "speaking whale" sequence STILL cracks me up every time I see it. It's possible that my perception of this movie has been enhanced recently by the absolutely amazing Finding Nemo: The Musical at Disney World. I saw it when it first came out, and it's clear the kinks weren't out yet, because I wasn't really a fan. I saw it again in October, and have sort of become obsessed with it since. The Tofu Muchacha bought me the soundtrack (for her birthday...) and it's been a fixture in my CD player ever since. I realize I'm using outside influences to help make my rankings, but since it's my list, there's no rule against it. I think it says something for the story that it lends itself so easily to a really excellent musical. Ultimately it comes down to one thing... If I have all of these movies to choose from, but could only watch one, which would I watch? The answer was easier than I expected. It's Finding Nemo.

** NOTE 1**
I have not yet watched The Princess and the Frog, so it is currently unranked. Once I see it (hopefully soon), I'll post a brief editorial with an updated ranking.

** NOTE 2**
I am not including The Wild on the list as it's not technically a Disney-made movie. It was funded and distributed by Disney, but created by a separate entity.

An Age-Old Question. Answered.

My awesome sister, in an effort to encourage more forays into baking and cooking and whatnot got me a few excellent baking tools for Christmas. Among those things were a pie crust shield (Something I'd never heard of) that is designed to place around the crust of your baking pie in order to prevent the edges from burning. She also got me a pie-crust lattice cutter, which is basically a cheaters way of making latticed pie-crust. It's awesome too, as I'm definitely not above cheating (at least when I'm not in some sort of baking competition...which... I've never been a part of.

Anyway... last weekend, as the holidays were winding down, the Tofu Muchacha and I invited my sister (Tofu Hermana?)to the T.M.'s house to attempt to bake a pie using these new accoutrement. Here's the story of how that went down...

First, the T.M. herself decided what kind of pie we were baking, and we set about scrounging up the ingredients we needed... She wanted to use up the last of her cranberries from the holidays, and she found a recipe in "THE BOOK" for Apple Cranberry pie. I wasn't particularly enthused, because my last apple pie sucked, but who am I to argue with a Muchacha on a mission. In any case, the project was much less about the filling and more about the crust...

Here's the Mise en place:


You'll see the usual pie making types of things. Apples, cranberries, flour, sugar, etc... Not really all that interesting.

The Tofu Muchacha volunteered to make the filling while Tofu Hermana and I made the crust. Perhaps our first mistake...

I'd decided to be lazy and not use my aunt's vodka crust recipe. I'm not sure why. As I recall from the cheese/apple pie in the Fall, the crust was the best part of the whole thing... the lesson, as always, is that I'm an idiot. We found a basic pie crust recipe in "THE BOOK" and went to work.

I don't have any pictures of the crust mixing process... I'll just say it didn't go smoothly. I guess I never really realized how non-descript and open for interpretation certain portions of pie crust making instructions are... Like what does "until it just comes together" mean? I mean... that's a subjective thing isn't it? Maybe I'm wrong. Obviously I'm wrong, because the first mistake Tofu Hermana and I made was beating the absolute, ever-living HELL out of that pie dough. I mean.. we punished that bitch. When we were next able to access the camera... the dough had been rolled out and balled up at least 2 times. It looked like this:

Looks okay, right? Well.. looks aren't everything I guess. That's something I certainly learned through this excercise.

After being rescued, so to speak, by the T.M., we got the crust rolled out to a respectable size and thickness and whatnot, and got it into the pie pan. Little did we know that these next few steps would be the apex of the pie making process.


That contraption you see in the above picture is the aforementioned lattice crust cutter. It's really an excellent tool. It doesn't make the crust exactly latticed, but it definitely approximates it well enough. The best part was that I baked up the little crust squares with cinnamon and sugar. That was kind of tasty, though over-baked.

The filling seen above was entirely the work of the Tofu Muchacha. I wish I could take credit for it. It was the only part of the pie that didn't make me want to puke.

See how pretty it looks? It certainly won't get any better than this. I really do like how the latticed thing turns out. It looks awesome. If only it would make it taste better.

Aaaaand here's the pie crust shield. All loaded up and ready to shield some fucking crust. It actually worked great. I'd never had a lot of experience burning pie crusts anyway, but this certainly did prevent it in this particular case.

Man.. does that pie look delicious or what? It's really one of the prettiest pies I've ever baked. It's irrelevant that it's one of the few pies I've ever baked.

Of course... it's all pointless because the pie crust may have looked pretty, and the filling may have been delicious, but that fucking crust tasted like pure ass. I don't know what it was...maybe the tortured flogging of the dough. Maybe the ridiculously generic pie crust recipe that had no flavor at all. All I know is that it was super tough and it tasted like straight up flour.

So what was that age-old question that I answered? Well... I've always heard that pie, much like sex and pizza is good even when it's bad.

The question is.... Can Pie be Bad?

The answer? Yes. Oh God Yes.

A Decade in Movies... The Muchacho's Favorite Flicks

A new decade has begun, and what better way to look ahead to a new decade by looking back?

When I look back at the Aughts or whatever we decide to call them, one of the first things I'll think about are the movies. I watched hundreds.. literally hundreds... of movies over the last 10 years. I don't know how the decade will be seen in retrospect when given a few years of perspective in terms of it's place in the history of cinema, but I know one thing for sure... The Aughts certainly produced at least a couple of my all-time personal favorites. The 40s have Casablanca and Citizen Cane. The 70s have The Godfathers. The 90s have Braveheart and Silence of the Lambs and American Beauty and Unforgiven. I don't know what movies I'll immediately point to from the Aughts, but I'm certain they'll be movies from this list.

The following is a list, broken down by clumsy-ass categories, of my 20 favorite movies of the last 10 years. I've decided not to rank these at all.. Too hard.

ANIMATION

Finding Nemo (Pixar, 2003)
Finding Nemo is among the 2 or 3 most re-watchable of any of the films on this list. I can consistently enjoy it, and I am consistently awed by the absolute beauty of the animation. In terms of the animation, I think it really signifies a marked leap toward realism that had only been hinted at previously too. The story is truly affecting and and there are at least 3 scenes/sequences that are so perfect I'm amazed every time. Dory speaking Whale is in the conversation of "Hardest I've Laughed" moments of the decade.


Up (Pixar, 2009)
I really love Up in general, but this movie makes the list because of the opening sequence. I'd say it's among the greatest opening sequences of any movie ever. I'll never forget sitting in the theater after that montage and just hearing absolutely NOTHIING but sniffling. Even during a serious moment in most movies, you'll still hear rustling in the seats or the crinkling of candy or the sipping of drinks. All I heard was soft weeping. And you know that's not cheap crying when people go to a Pixar movie and are expecting a light-hearted cartoon and end up crying in the first 5 minutes.

The Incredibles (Pixar, 2004)

Possibly the most out-and-out fun of the Pixar movies... The voice performances of Jason Lee and Craig T. Nelson especially are great too. Pretty hard to go wrong with super heroes and I have always been a little fascinated by the inner thought processes of the super heroes and villains. Syndrome is one of the funniest, yes legitimately dangerous villains in the Disney canon, and I do love me some villains. I think also, of all of the Disney/Pixar movies of the decade, this is the one where the characters are as interesting as the overall plot. As great as Finding Nemo is, I'm not sure I'd care to re-visit the characters in a second story. The Incredibles are the characters most ripe for sequel.


COMEDIES/ ROMANTIC COMEDIES


Ocean's Eleven (Warner Bros., 2001)
Best overall cast ever! I wasn't expecting a lot from Ocean's Eleven, but it has become one of the few movies I'll watch literally any time I come across it on television. There were points where I've put in the DVD a dozen times over the course of a month. Not as much since the sequels came out...man they were disappointing.... nonetheless... The first was pure awesomeness and cool. I loved every silly, slick minute. There are movies where you just know that the actors and creators are having the best time ever, and this movie may be the greatest example of that. The final 30 minutes of Ocean's Eleven stand up against any 30 minutes of almost any movie of the last ten years, and that was enough to put it on the list. Not even considering the awesomeness of Brad Pitt in this movie. Seriously... if you at all thought Brad Pitt was a tool... watch this movie. It'll give you a whole new perspective.


Tropic Thunder (Dreamworks, 2008)
What can I say about Tropic Thunder? It's effing awesome. Tom Cruise finally made me forget he was insane (in real life). Robert Downey Jr. (one of the most talented actors on the planet) played an Australian actor playing an African American Vietnam soldier. The spoofs and the send-ups of Hollywood were so smart and spot-on that you almost believe that Ben Stiller actually gets it. I believe I saw this movie 4 times in the theater, and I bought it on DVD the day it came out. There aren't many movies like that in recent memory. I think I enjoyed The Hangover a little more overall, but Tropic Thunder would be a close second in the comedy category for the decade. It definitely has the single most surprising moment of any movie on the list. Steve Coogan explodes. 'Nuff said.


A Mighty Wind (Warner Bros., 2003)
I think Christopher Guest is a genius, and I can't think of a movie of his that I didn't enjoy, but for my money, this one is the most complete as a film, and not just as a collection of oddities and bits. Don't get me wrong... there are oddities and bits (Jane Lynch's dark past is a great throwaway), but of his recent movies, this one has the most "soul" to it. The music, all original, is both hilariously perfect and also genuinely good and fun. The Mitch and Mickey storyline is just excellent plotting. Eugene Levy is funny as Mitch, but is also so genuine and honest. He makes a character, that could have easily been too weird and broad, real and sympathetic. And "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" is a truly great song. Oh... and Michael Hitchcock slapping Bob Balaban... Gold.


Love Actually (Universal, 2003)
I love this movie. It's a romantic comedy (sort of), but it's not done in the traditional by-the-numbers way. I like the Christmas backdrop for it, and I love the different relationships that are fleshed out over the course of the film. Each has it's obstacles, and each is resolved in a satisfying way (though not necessarily happy). A consistent feature in all of my favorite movies is excellent acting, and I think the giant cast comes through nicely. Bill Nighys' is probably my favorite performance overall, but it's hard to go wrong with the Keira Knightly stuff or the Colin Firth stuff. Also this is probably the most likable Hugh Grant will ever be.


Wedding Crashers (New Line, 2005)
Probably not as stand-out funny as The Hangover or Anchorman, but it does have more heart than those two...and truth be told... I am a sucker for heart. It's really a chick-flick disguised as a buddy movie. Probably the deadliest combination of films known to man. There's a reason Knocked Up and Wedding Crashers and 40-year Old Virgin are huge successes. It nails the 2 key demos. Anyway... This movie is on this list for largely sentimental reasons. I love the characters. It features 2 of my favorite actresses (Isla Fisher and Rachel McAdams) being super hot. I also love the chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson... it works better in this movie than any of their other ones. Also? Walken.


The Hangover (Warner Bros., 2009)
Easily the funniest movie I've seen in years. I don't expect tight plotting from Todd Phillips (who I find to be incredibly douchey and unlikeable whenever I see him speak as himself), but this movie was seemless. There are several moments in this movie where I was laughing so hard I struggled to catch my breath. It has just about everything I look for in a comedy. Great perforances? Check... Galifinakis, Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper carry the movie as the 3 protagonists, but then you also have Brian Callen, Rob Riggle, and the insane Ken Jeong, who gives the most ridiculous and amazing performance...maybe ever. Great setting?Check. Doesn't get much better than Vegas..and the best thing is that they seemed to use more acual Vegas locations than most movies set there. Signature Scenes?Check. Mr.Chow in the trunk (and everywhere else). The police station. The tiger. Incredible. One of the funniest movies ever, and made even better by the fact that I wasn't really expecting it at all.

DRAMAS

Road to Perdition (Dreamworks, 2002)
I'm a known Tom Hanks fan. At some point early in the decade people seemed to get tired of acknowledging he was the best actor working. I'm fairly convinced that had this not happened Tom Hanks wins Best Actor for Road to Perdition. He's truly spectacular in this anti-hero role. It's a break for him... a bad person doing the right thing. This movie also features two of my all-time favorite scenes... Paul Newman and Tom Hanks playing piano at the wake, and Hanks assassinating men in the pouring rain. It's a beautiful movie about the relationship between a man and his son. It features some other astounding performances by great character actors. Jude Law as the uglied-up assassin after Hanks is especially excellent. It made me utterly infuriated when this movie wasn't even nominated for Best Picture and Hanks got shafted too. Only Newman got an acting nomination. Conrad Hall did win for Best Cinematography, but it's hardly enough for a truly great and forgotten film.


Almost Famous (Columbia Tristar, 2000)
You know how some movies... you're watching it and you just know it's great? That's how I felt about Almost Famous when I first watched it. Amazing performances. Amazing soundtrack. Great writing. One memorable scene after another. It's interesting... Everyone who loves this movie (and that's a lot of people) points to a different scene as being their favorite. The scene that sets this movie apart for them. For some it's the "I'm a Golden God" scene. For some it's the "Tiny Dancer" scene. For some it's the plane crash scene. For some it's the Emily Rugburn scene. For me.. I don't know if I have a favorite. Too hard to pick. That seems like a good thing when you're talking about a great movie.


Seabuiscut (Universal, 2003)
Hard to not include an inspirational sports movie on the list, and when I looked back at the decade, this was my favorite. I loved the book, and I find Charles Howard such an incredibly interesting historical figure. On top of the performances in this movie, which are really excellent (especially Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper), the setting and circumstances around the horse and the grabbing of the collective imaginations of the public, mired in the depression, to rally behind this ugly, stubby horse who just happened to run like lightning. It's a chilling story. The other top sports movie candidate was Cinderella Man, which oddly has the same plot. Incidentally, Chris Cooper had won the Best Supporting Actor the year before for Adaptation and with this pretty much established himself as one of my favorite character actors. He gave one of my favorite performances of the previous decade as Ricky's father in American Beauty.


Finding Neverland (Miramax, 2004)
This may be shocking, but this is the only film on the list that I did not see in theaters. In fact, it was given to me as a gift by my buddy Alan, because he knows how much I like Johnny Depp, he knows that Peter Pan is my favorite Disney movie, and he knows I'm basically an emotionally weak puppet... He hit a homer on that one. Depp gives an incredible performance as J.M. Barrie. He lost the Oscar for Best Actor to Jamie Foxx in Ray, and while Foxx was great and I didn't have much of an issue with it at the time, looking back... man... hard not to give it to Depp here. He's amazing. In terms of being an emotionally weak puppet, Alan told me that I would cry when I watched it, and I didn't necessarily doubt him, but let me just be clear on this... I cried like a true bitch and I have cried like a true bitch every time I've seen this movie. If you don't cry at this movie you're an android.


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Focus Features, 2004)
This is a movie that is difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't watched it... And probably that's part of the attraction for this movie. It's so original and so interesting that it stands out among all of the other cutesy indie-type movies. I don't know how this could be called an indie with the star-power behind this one, but it has that feel. It doesn't feel like a big studio movie. The subject matter is dark. The filming style is jerky and grainy. Simply put, though, this is the most emotionally impactful movie that Charlie Kaufman has written. The acting is beautiful and subtle. I think the thing that sets this movie apart in another way is how wonderful the "b plot" really is. Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo are especially great. I think my favorite part is how in a fairly dark movie full of upsetting exchanges, and the willful killing of memory, which is an interesting idea... there is a hopefulness to the whole thing that sort of underlies the idea that the outcomes for these people are maybe inevitable.


Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage, 2007)
I'm not really a huge Sean Penn fan. I think the guy is really talented, but kind of annoying as a person. That said, I really was moved by this film and the story. There aren't a ton of movies where the main character (in this case Christopher McCandless, played by Emile Hirsh) is totally unlikable and yet the movie itself is great. I find the decisions made my McCandless (a real life guy) to be so awful and selfish and yet I also find myself sympathizing with him throughout. He treats everyone pretty badly. Especially a hippie girl he meets (played by a pre-Twilighted Kristen Stewart) and an old man (played amazingly by Hal Holbrook in one of the best performances I can think of.), and yet... despite the bad treatment and selfish behavior I find myself sympathizing with him. This is a success of film making. It's also worth seeing for the great soundtrack (by Eddie Vedder) and Alaskan scenery.


Catch Me if You Can (Dreamworks, 2002)
There's something about the story of Frank Abagnale Jr. that is just fascinating to me. I love the performances by Tom Hanks and DiCaprio, but most especially Walken again. He was absolutely great in this movie as Frank Sr. The movie features the signature, smooth filmmaking of Steven Spielberg, but doesn't seem to have all of those weird ticks that end up in his movies a lot of the time. I like movies where the protagonist is probably the bad guy... Just like in Pirates where you root for the pirates over the British Navy, this one you're supposed to root for Frank to keep on capering and out-pacing the FBI. The best part of this movie is that it's based on a true story, and Frank Abagnale is a real person who did these things. Probably the most interesting biopic subject of the decade. (Since again.. no Disney biopic.)

Children of Men (Universal, 2006)
Officially my vote for best movie of the last 10 years. It's the only movie in this decade that makes a run at my top spot. I'm talking my personal, ALL-TIME top movie. It's simply incredible to watch. Of the very few things that my dad does that infuriates me, it's his abject passive refusal to watch this movie. I've probably watched it 5 times now, and it's truly shocking to me every time. There are so many things... The camera work is legendary... there's a long tracking shot of a motorcycle encounter that was done in one single shot that is so claustrophobic and intense that I, to this day, have no idea how they did it. That's the one people always point to, and rightly so, but for my money it's not even the most impressive shot in the movie. That honor goes to the 5 minute long single shot sequence at the end. This movie has some absolutely killer performances too... Michael Caine stands out, but then... so does Chiwetel Ejiofor (I just saw Dirty Pretty Things, and he's great in that too!). And so does Julianne Moore. And so does Pam Ferris. And maybe most of all so does Clive Owen. It's a stunning movie that pretty much everyone should see. I mentioned earlier that I'd seen it 5 times. I realize that doesn't seem like a lot, but it's not an easy movie to watch. It's intense and heartbreaking and violent and unrelenting. Doesn't take anything away from it being an absolutely incredible movie. Oh... and the soundtrack is fucking sweet. When I first started creating this list, this was the first movie I thought of.

ACTION /ADVENTURE/ FANTASY / SCI-FI (See...told you it was clumsy)


Unbreakable (Touchstone, 2000)
My personal favorite of the M. Night Shyamalan movies. This was his second big movie, and came out before everyone expected his "Twist" endings. It's a simple story about a man realizing an inner power. I love super-hero movies, and I think this one is especially original. It's in a world where super-powers aren't known to exist and where the heroes can be flawed. The first time we meet the main character, he's scamming on a woman on a train (who isn't his wife). I love the way this movie is shot, and the moody atmosphere. I think my favorite thing about the movie, though, is the introduction of one of the most interesting and sympathetic villains ever, in Elijah Price (a.k.a. Mr. Glass). Samuel L. Jackson at his best.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (New Line, 2001-03)
Simply the greatest achievement of movie-making of all time. People are saying that shit about Avatar now, and I agree that Avatar is impressive, but Avatar is less than a third of the length. "But Muchachooooo.... It's three separate movies, not one!" Wrong. They filmed one long movie and divided it into "chapters". This is not the Harry Potter movies where each is self contained. This story relies on continuity and consistent performances. Peter Jackson and team succeeded in every respect. The effects are seamless. The acting is excellent. The imagery is breathtaking from beginning to end. They raised the bar for all Fantasy films forever. It's no longer acceptable for a studio to put out crap. The nerds demand excellence. We have this film to thank. Other things of note: Andy Serkis as Gollum created one of the single most memorable characters we'll ever see. The Battle of Pelennor Fields sequence was one of the most incredible scenes I can remember. Ian McKellan is a badass. Orlando Bloom is not a badass, but this movie fooled us into thinking he is... (Greatest achievment overall?)


Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Disney, 2003)
The Summer of 2003 was fucking awesome for movies, and this was the best of them all. Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't highly anticipated by anyone but me. Being the huge Disney fan I am, I saw the first preview for it, and was pretty much ready to camp out for tickets at that exact minute. When it finally came out I was fucking PUMPED for that movie, and it didn't disappoint at all. It's funny, exciting, original, well acted, and true to the Disney ride from which it was inspired. Maybe most memorably, it brought us the complelely singular performance of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. A character so popular that they adjusted the ride to make him a part of it. I think that's an exceptionally huge achievement that is often not discussed. He was so good they changed the source material. Depp lost the Oscar that year to Sean Penn in Mystic River, but Sean Penn isn't in a ride at Disney World. Who got the more poignant honor?

Happy New Year (and football)

My Bearcats got their asses handed to them. I guess it makes sense what with the loss of the head coach and the whole "playing against the greatest college football player ever" thing. Still a bummer.

Anyway... It's the last week of NFL regular season picks. I think this is the first year that I've not missed a single week, or been late for any picks. So.. *Patting myself on the back*

Last Week I went: 11 and 5
Overall Record: 152 and 88

Here we go:
COLTS
BROWNS
BEARS
NINERS
STEELERS
VIKINGS
FALCONS
PANTHERS
PATRIOTS
EAGLES
BRONCOS
RAIDERS
CARDINALS
CHARGERS
TITANS
JETS