The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Coming-of-Age
Animal Kingdom (2010)
Aug 30th
Starring: James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Jacki Weaver
Director: David Michôd
Country: Australia
Genre: Crime
This isn’t exactly the safe Disney ride that the title alludes to, but rather a dangerous safari into the wilderness. In a growing line of independent and foreign gangster films, Animal Kingdom demands some attention. It not only looks at human nature, but basic human instinct. Survival instinct.
It’s told primarily through the perspective of young J Cody who is taken under his grandmother’s care after his mother dies from an overdose of heroin. His four uncles are notorious bank robbers and wanted by the law. It’s not exactly the ideal circumstances for an impressionable teen to grow up in. But as J says early on in the film, kids don’t question their circumstances, just accept them. With that in mind, the question of whether or not J ever had the chance to do something else with his life or if he was destined to fall into the life of crime? Can a cub choose whether or not to become a lion? It’s all part of nature it seems.
David Michôd’s film is an interesting addition to a genre that never ceases to be surprising. Michôd opts for substance over style, choosing his symbolism carefully. This might be the antithesis to Guy Ritchie’s gangster world. Animal Kingdom is about character psychology. Its slow-burn story isn’t about planning the next heist or some grandiose escape from the law, it’s about surviving the circumstances of actions.
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.
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.
City of God (2002)
Jun 22nd
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Country: Brazil
Genre: Foreign, Crime
Best foreign drug war film of the decade.
There is a certain connotation that comes along with the word “foreign film”. The subtitles are a given, but I think generally thoughts of slow moving films about people and topics that American audiences can’t connect with. But City of God is the perfect example of a foreign film that transcends a specific audience. This tale of the rise of the drug wars in Cidade de Deus in the seventies has so much style that takes inspiration from all sorts of international films – from Tarantino-style storytelling to Guy Ritchie-style editing to a soundtrack straight out of seventies exploitation films. It has the same harrowing ping of a Scorsese film with the same flavor of Brazil’s other huge cinematic hit, Black Orpheus. Meirelles’ decision to use non-actors was a brilliant choice, rooting it in a similar realm as the best of international cinema. It’s incredibly stylish and super entertaining.
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.
Top 10 Coming of Age Films of the 2000s
Mar 30th
Coming of age stories have been a corner stone of cinema for decades upon decades. The French New Wave really popularized the personal tales with films like The 400 Blows and Murmurs of the Heart (to name two.) While the coming of age tale was a presence in Hollywood with films like Rebel without a Cause, it really picked up in the late sixties and haven’t let up. Filmmakers like Hal Ashby and Peter Bogdanovich are still an influence on directors and writers of today.
Independent cinema has proven to be a breeding ground for these personal tales of simple human growth. But every once in awhile Hollywood still pumps out a gem. Below is the list of the ten best coming of age films released between 2000-2009.
*Note: this list is subject to change and if it does it shall promptly be reposted with the appropriate information.
#10. The Visitor is only Thomas McCarthy’s second feature, (though in all fairness he’s been in the film world quite awhile as an actor,) and he crafts a very poignant and simple film about a man lost within his own life rediscovering passion in the most unexpected place. It turns the coming of age tale on its ear and looks at it from the “it’s never too late to start” perspective. It’s a re-coming-of-age story with an Oscar nominated performance by the always wonderful Richard Jenkins.
The Wackness (2008)
Mar 6th
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby
Director: Jonathan Levine
Country: USA
Genre: Dramedy
Coming of age isn’t just for teenagers.
The coming-of-age film can usually be riddled with independent film clichés bogging down any semblance of tenderness the story may hold, but if the film is really driven from a personal place and passion it can usually overcome these obstacles. Such is the case with Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness. The cast is as solid as they come, with strong performances from both experienced veterans (Ben Kingsley = greatest actor ever,) as well as newcomers (the underrated Olivia Thirlby, and under seen Josh Peck.) It’s a tale of first love, a journey into manhood, and a huge slice of nostalgia as it takes place in the mid-nineties and boasts a soundtrack of the greatest era of rap music. Like the best independent dramedies, it balances its quirkiness with its darkness really well, and ultimately creates a portrait of what it was like to take the first step toward growing up at age 18 and at age 50.
