The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Adventure
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
Aug 23rd
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong
Director: Edgar Wright
Country: USA
Genre: Action, Romance
“Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman engage in an epic kung-fu sword battle” must not have been the most convincing pitch to get this film green lit. But compared to most of the action movies released in the last half decade, Scott Pilgrim‘s “alternative” cast provides some of the most cohesive and exciting fight scenes years. This is no doubt due to the immense talent of Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz.)
Scott Pilgrim is a young man with some typical girl problems in a less than typical world where video game noises and comic book exclamations make the mundane extraordinary. When Scott falls in love with the new girl in town, Ramona, he quickly learns (the hard way) that in order to date her he must defeat her seven evil exes.
It’s so rare that it’s just to call a film ‘refreshingly original’. Only a person that is truly in love with movies and, in this case, their subject matter can create something as kinetic and satisfying a film like this. This is absolutely a film meant to please as anyone interested in it knows, (to some extent) what they’re in store for. Happily, Wright delivers the goods plus more. The comedy is fierce, the action is amped, and the entertainment is off the charts. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World might go down as the most criminally unseen film of the summer.
A Town Called Panic (2009)
Jul 28th
Director: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar
Country: Belgium
Genre: Animation, Adventure
Absolutely wonderful.
If there’s one characteristic of animated films over the last decade it’s that they are consistently surprising. This feature-length (short though it may be) is an extension of a four minute short from 2000, by the same name. The animation mirrors that of Robot Chicken, though creates characters all its own. The film follows Cowboy, Indian and Horse in their outrageous escapade to retrieve their home from crazy sea dwellers. What’s most striking about this whimsical stream-of-consciousness adventure is that it has the same mentality as a story written by a child. It’s almost as if the filmmakers adapted a one-page story written when they were seven – it really accentuates the naive imagination. This film is sure to rack up the laughs and plaster smiles on the faces of everyone who watches it.
Top 10 Popcorn Flicks of the 2000s
Jul 10th
We all love going to the movies. That’s why you’re here, right? Well, since it’s summer and Blockbusters rule the world at the moment, I thought it would be a great time to put out my Top 10 Popcorn Flicks – those movies that go so well with a bucket-o-popcorn (or Kettlecorn for you sweettooths out there.) There are a lot of great popcorn movies – hell, most movies that are released are made to be viewed over the wide brim of a jumbo bucket, but only a handful are memorable, great, or even the best.
As per usual, these films are listed chronologically and are otherwise not listed in any specific order. Feel free to leave your own top ten popcorn flicks in the comments!
Enjoy!
Snatch. (2000)
Crime doesn’t pay, it steals your dignity. This super stylish crime comedy influenced countless films over the last ten years – few that ever reached the same level of fun.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Jun 27th
Starring: (voices) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
Director: Lee Unkrich
Country: USA
Genre: Animation
Best emotional closure to a long running flawless series (of the decade.)
The Individuals at Pixar are evil sorcerer’s who brainwash us into loving their films by implanting messages in the short films that appear before the features. That’s the only explanation for eleven box office successes in a row. This third installment of the hugely popular series, like the previous two films, etches its own unique mark on cinema history. It weaves together emotion and entertainment flawlessly with a story that tackles a number of important themes, (which some people will surely claim to be ‘too subversive for a children’s film’, but that’s Pixar for you.) Toy Story 3 will certainly please fans of the series, giving emotional closure to an adventure that started fifteen years ago, while simultaneously introducing these lovable characters to a whole new generation. This is probably the greatest adventure of the series, and that’s saying a lot considering the climax of Toy Story 2.
1001 Movie Club: A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
May 13th
Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick’s friendship spanned decades and despite their vastly different directorial styles maintained the utmost respect for each other’s work. So when it came time to make A.I. Kubrick decided to bring in Spielberg as a creative force. Unfortunately before any solid pre-production had started on the feature, Stanley Kubrick passed away leaving Spielberg to make a movie to honor the great director.
This backstory is important in understanding the fundamental tone of Artificial Intelligence. It’s constantly being pulled in two directions at once: toward the sterile and alienating sensibilities of Kubrick and toward the sentimental family oriented sensibilities of Spielberg. No doubt this is an entirely internal struggle within Spielberg who sat down and wrote the official screenplay off of Kubrick’s 90-page treatment. It’s hard to tell if he’s struggling trying to find a balance between honoring Kubrick’s story while holding onto some semblance of his own trademarks.
War of the Worlds (2005)
May 6th
SCIENCE FICTION PICK:
Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin
Director: Steven Spielberg
Country: USA
Genre: Science Fiction
We really are quite a helpless species.
Say what you will about Spielberg in the 00s, but one thing that cannot be denied is his fascination with science fiction. Beginning the decade out with A.I. Artificial Intelligence, he then moved onto Minority Report, followed by this adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells novel,(not a remake.) It’s definitely not without its faults, (there’s really no reason we needed to see the aliens, the narration is entirely unneeded, etc.) but it definitely delivers on a unique sci-fi adventure. It’s a bit more harrowing than most alien stories, focusing a lot on the human condition simultaneously with the destruction. Spielberg once again uses quite a gray color palate, as he did in Minority Report to really enhance the grisly circumstances. Like him or hate him, Tom Cruise brings his A game carrying the entire film on his shoulders. War of the Worlds is a lot of fun, albeit a little overlong.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008)
May 3rd
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Byung-hun Lee, Woo-sung Jung
Director: Ji-woon Kim
Country: South Korea
Genre: Foreign, Adventure
Hollywood Blockbusters, pay attention. This is how it’s done.
Every year it seems more and more blockbusters are being released with bigger budgets and new gimmicks to get people in the seats of the theater. But only rarely are the experiences entirely satisfying. Enter The Good, the Bad, the Weird to fill that void. This is good ol’ filmmaking at its best. Sure there are visual effects shots, but there are also stunts. Real stunts. Real explosions. Real adventure. Real fun. Taking tips from adventure flicks from all different countries in different generations, GBW seems to relish in basking in the shadow of its predecessors (The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, Indiana Jones, even Tarantino and Kurosawa can be felt here,) and its this that allows it to rise to the occasion. It’s chock full of South Korean culture, from the humor to the characters, but it’s also incredibly transcendent. If there’s no other reason to see this film, it’s the epic chase/shoot-out scene to end all chase/shoot-out scenes (REAL STUNTS.) Don’t forget to breathe.
