Underperforming Since 1985

According to Pajiba.  Last post like this for a while?  Probably not, you guys.

Best Films of the Decade

• Of the 20 films listed, I’ve seen 15 1/2.  I’m pretty proud, you guys.
• Mulholland Drive starts out the list, which convinces me that I should probably watch this movie again, because I literally didn’t understand a thing that happened in it.
• I disagree with the inclusion of The Incredibles.  I never got the hype that accompanied this movie.
• You Can Count on Me makes an appearance.  It’s the movie that made me fall in love with Mark Ruffalo (and Laura Linney).  I’m glad this movie made the list.
• I shouldn’t be surprised that There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men made the list.  In the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t seen either movie.  They were released during my “I’m tired of seeing movies about men” phase.  I have no regrets.
• The top 3 are The Dark Knight, Children of Men, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Which is, in my own opinion, probably the perfect top 3 for the decade.

Well played, Pajiba.

Okay, y’all, I lied. I’ve got more lists from Pajiba to talk about.  They keep putting out interesting things, I’m going to continue to opine about them.  Deal with it.

10 Best Kids Movies of the Aughts

• Oh dear.  I’ve only seen 3 of the movies that make the list, and I only loved one of them.
• The one I loved?  Monsters, Inc. I don’t know why the ending affected me so much, but I cried hard enough that it made my friend uncomfortable and made some people around us laugh in sympathy (mockery?).
• The one I wasn’t so crazy about?  Penelope, the much delayed Reese Witherspoon produced Christina Ricci movie about the girl with the pig nose. I wanted to like this movie.  I really did.  But in the end, it was uneven and largely unmemorable.  Agent Bedhead writes, “The film’s lesson — about establishing one’s own way in life without necessarily becoming half of a couple — isn’t a disposable one, and in the end, Penelope may just intercept a few impressionable young girls before they fall prey to the homogenized, slut-worthy mindset of today’s Hollywood princesses,” which is a nice thought and message, but the truth is, I don’t even remember that much about the film, and I worry that most other viewers don’t, either.
• I also saw Charlotte’s Web, which I remember liking, but that’s about it.  There seems to be a lot I can’t remember about these movies.  Am I going senile?
• Other movies make the list, like Coraline, which I meant to see but haven’t gotten around to, and Where the Wild Things Are, which I also meant to see but haven’t.

Best Indie Films of the Aughts

• Requiem for a Dream: Holy guacamole, this movie was so hard to watch.  I’ve seen it exactly once, and while it was extremely well done, I don’t think I could ever sit through it again.  When it was over, my best friend and I sat in stunned silence on her couch for a good 15 minutes before either of us could speak.
• Garden State is still a favorite movie of mine.  I don’t care what people say about Braff as a director or the fact that the end of the film feels a little like a tacked-on Hollywood ending.  I love it.
• The Station Agent was one of those movies that was really good as well, but not one I’ve thought of in a long time.
• Juno takes the #1 slot, and I agree with the author (the name isn’t on the article), who writes, “ If you want to be the kind of jackass reject who can’t see the forest for the trees — or in this case the heart for the hamburger phone — and sit around railing about the twee dialogue penned by a stripper, just do us all a favor and choke on a bag of dicks and your better, more authentic script for the Star Trek reboot.”  I loved this movie, all backlash aside.  Since I actually read Candy Girl, Diablo Cody’s “memoir” of her time as a stripper, I’m the first to tell you that her shtick wears thin.  However, this was a gem of a movie, and it deserves to be on this list.

10 Best Comedies of the Aughts

• I’ve seen 9 of the 10 listed, the exception being Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and I’m feeling pretty proud, even if a few of the titles are not movies that would have made my list.
• The two that I feel ambivalent about?  O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Royal Tenenbaums.  I agree that they’re both good movies, but I just didn’t love them, you know?  I’m not a huge Coen Brothers fan, nor do I harbor a great love for Wes Anderson films.  Which probably makes me biased.  But this is my blog, so that’s allowed.
• However, High Fidelity makes the list, and in all honesty, this would probably make my list of Desert Island movies.  I do love it so.
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin also has a place here, and I have to agree.  I like Judd Apatow movies in general, overly long as they might be, but I believe that this movie is his best, and funniest, to date.  I watched most of it on TV not too long ago–and even though it was edited within an inch of its life, I had forgotten how funny it is.
• Shaun of the Dead takes the #1 slot, and again, I agree.  I love zombies, and I love the sense of humor that this movie took with the threat of zombies.  Also, anything with Bill Nighy is okay with me.

For the record, Pajiba also posted a Best Action Movies of the Aughts, but this is not a genre that I generally enjoy, and while I’ve seen a few of the movies, I don’t feel qualified enough to expand on the highlights.  Feel free to do so on your own or in the comments (heh, heh) though.

That’s all for now.  We’ve still got a good while before the end of the year, so I’m sure I’m not done with these lists.