My Ten Favorite Films of the Decade (Part 1)

And an additional assortment of lists in the coming days...

I can’t write exclusively about not being employed. In fact, being a bum means I have way more time to think about all of this pop-culture shit. And clearly I’m a little behind on the whole “end of the 2000s” list trend. About a month late to be exact. Sorry about that.

As the godforsaken decade drew to a mundane close, we could’ve looked back on all kinds of shit not really worth discussing here. There are things more important than spouting all of CNN’s talking points about the Iraq War, Afghanistan, nuclear weaponry, health care, and all that other happy horseshit that’s clogged our cerebral arteries since GWB’s first day in office. There are actually interesting topics: music, movies, books, and TV shows. Say what you will, these things matter. With that, I give you my ten favorite movies of the last ten years—not the best movies, mind you. I’m not that intelligent, so why not be totally biased? We'll start with number ten and move on down. Bottom five today, next five tomorrow. And at the end, I'll throw in a few honorable mentions just for the hell of it.

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Ten: There Will Be Blood (2007)

This and Boogie Nights are P.T. Anderson’s masterworks, both standout films in their respective decades. Blood, based on the book Oil! by Upton Sinclair, tells the rise-and-fall saga of Daniel Plainview, a ruthless oil tycoon (an astounding performance by the always-reliable Daniel Day-Lewis). It took me awhile to see this one for reasons unbeknownst to me, but when a couple of my buddies finally brought over a fifth of bourbon and this DVD on a Tuesday night, I wasn’t about to put up a fight. The first thirty minutes alone, completely devoid of dialogue, are enough to really zonk you; but as the movie continues, Plainview and a business-savvy, born-again Christian kid (Paul Dano) manipulate and humiliate each other senseless. The ending, that takes place with way too much hard alcohol and a bowling pin, is one of the darkest concluding sequences of the last decade. Your view of this film will mature and your appreciation will deepen with each successive viewing. It’s a timeless piece about the true costs of greed. (And the milkshake quote is priceless.)

Nine: American Splendor (2003)

This largely overlooked film told the story of file clerk turned underground comic book author Harvey Pekar. This pic is something really special. American Splendor, the comic book Pekar penned with the help of artist Robert Crumb, is a cult rag based on his mundane, everyday struggles in Cleveland, Ohio. Paul Giamatti, in a phenomenal performance, plays the reclusive file clerk to a T, while Pekar himself makes several appearances throughout the duration alongside his real-life family and friends. Anyone who’s a film connoisseur should watch this one as much for the dialogue as for the artistic techniques the filmmakers employ, shifting effortlessly between the comic book illustrations, the real-life Harvey, and Giamatti’s performance. Hope Davis also does a great job interpreting Harvey’s quirky, long-suffering wife Joyce.

Eight: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Call me whatever four-letter word you want, but I thought Rushmore, while inspired in parts, was downright mediocre. The film wasn’t a very compelling look into the life of an adolescent or his infatuation with an older female teacher; rather, to me, it seemed like an excuse to make a hackneyed indie film with muted pastel backgrounds and a pretty good soundtrack. Tenenbaums, on the other hand, gets the texture part right without sacrificing interesting characters in the mix. Gone is the irritating Max Fischer, traded in for a cast headed by veteran actors Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston in two wonderful performances. Royal (Hackman), the Tenenbaum family patriarch, is a rich asshole who’s all but abandoned his family when the film starts—that is, until, he is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and attempts to make amends with his ex-wife and estranged children. Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson do excellent work as Royal’s insanely quirky sons. The dialogue rings much truer than that of Rushmore, and the carefully selected soundtrack synchs up wonderfully with what’s happening on screen—especially the scene where Royal and Ben Stiller’s uptight kids go on a spree that includes shoplifting, illegal gambling, driving go-karts, and a familiar Paul Simon tune.

Seven: The Lives Of Others (2006)

The Lives of Others, a film that takes place in East Germany during the terrors of communist rule, is something you don’t see everyday. A very intelligent thriller, it wraps you up in the spying techniques used during that tumultuous time. In Cold War-raddled East Germany, people who spoke or wrote critically about the state were almost always banished or killed. In Lives, playwright Georg Dreyman gets a free pass—that is, until a high-ranking government official falls for his girlfriend and wants Dreyman taken out of the picture.

The movie, spoken in German, subtitled in English, is extraordinarily captivating. The acting is top-notch, including Oscar-caliber performances from all three leads. You’ll get chills from the beginning parts of the film as the government’s most learned wiretapper, Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, looks into the lives of Dreyman and his lover and gets completely caught up in their everyday struggles. Your spirits will lift as Wiesler eventually makes a decision that leads to a happier ending than one would expect from a film with such dire subject matter. Though most Americans are skeptical of any movie not spoken in the plainest of English, The Lives of Others is an experience that would likely change anyone’s mind.

Six: High Fidelity (2000)

If there’s a movie that made music snobbery look fucking cool, it was High Fidelity. John Cusack, Hollywood’s (and America’s) favorite everyman, played Rob Gordon, a recently jilted Chicago record store owner. His dumpy boutique is frequented by slacker clerks Barry (Jack Black, in his best-ever performance) and Dick (Tood Louiso), and a host of other misfits, from some uber-nerdy Beefheart fan to a middle-aged dude coming in to ask for “Just Called to Say I Love You.” The film shows life as it’s really lived and love as it’s really lost. Not only do you dig spending a couple of hours with these music nerds, but you’d want to hit the bar after watching the DVD and hang out with people just like Rob, Barry, and Dick.

Rob Gordon is a college dropout who compartmentalizes his life in a series of “Top Five” lists, including one about his toughest breakups. Laura, the one who got away (while he screams “You’re Gonna Miss Me” by the 13^th Floor Elevators) in the opening scene, is the broad he can’t seem to shake. He obsesses over the top five things he misses about her at every chance while descending into a chain-smoking, melancholy funk. These scenes never fail to amuse. But as Rob works his way through the past, he comes to see exactly what he missed out on by being a noncommittal boyfriend to her for years.

Everything about the movie just makes you glad because it somehow keeps a sense of humor even in the saddest moments. You’ll dig it more-so if you can hang with a soundtrack that’s clearly geared toward more gifted rock and roll listeners. If you like Lou Reed, sarcastic dialogue, and a great love story to boot, you’ll love High Fidelity. It only seems ironic that this one falls just outside of my “Top Five” movies of the decade.

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The rest to come tomorrow.