The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Crime
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.
Mother (2009)
Aug 21st
Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Country: South Korea
Genre: Foreign, Thriller
Joon-ho Bong has quickly become one of the most promising international directors around. In 2003 he made his presence known with a tour de force called Memories of Murder. In 2006 his brilliant take on the all-but-forgotten ‘monster’ genre manifested itself in the form of The Host. And here, returning to the mystery/thriller genre he creates his masterpiece, (surely the first of many,) with Mother.
Do-joon and his mother have a unique bond that extends well beyond her overprotective reach. She attempts to look out for him, but as he’s growing into adulthood (slowly, I might add, due to a mental handicap,) he seems to push her away. But when he’s arrested for the murder of a girl, his mother will ‘stop at nothing’ to prove his innocence – even if he can’t remember the details.
There are so many things that go into making this film great. Naturally part of it is Bong’s visual style and ability to tell a compelling stories through the eyes of intriguing characters. But no amount of praise can overstate the magnificence of Hye-ja Kim’s performance as ‘mother’. Without her raw and natural talent to wear her emotions on her face, (and trust me, they get complex,) Mother could not have been made, at least not in the capacity in which it stands. This is one of those special films that only come around once every ten years or so.
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
Aug 9th
Starring: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago
Director: Juan José Campanella
Country: Argentina
Genre: Foreign, Mystery
Best Foreign Language Film – Academy Awards
This Argentinian film certainly knows its way around a script. Eduardo Sacheri adapts his own novel for the screen (with the help of director Campanella,) which follows an attorney haunted by the one unsolved case of his career. It’s told in two perspectives: in present day the retired attorney revisits the case to scrounge up material to turn it into a novel, and the same attorney twenty-five years in the past as he first takes on the case.
What’s refreshing about this mystery is that it doesn’t try to manipulate the audience. The flow of the story is entirely natural, the suspense isn’t artificially generated – particularly the ending which avoids the pitfall of ‘shock and awe’ that so many mysteries fall into. It’s an inherent conclusion that provides fulfillment and satisfaction because it’s innate. Sacheri’s ability to develop three-dimensional characters is quite profound. Every character is not without his or her flaws and strengths, culminating in a group of people that’s impossible not to care about.
Campanella’s technical prowess shapes this film into kind of brilliant. For the most part, his cinematography is imbued with a sense of reality (albeit slightly romanticized,) developing an atmosphere that is at once nostalgic and immediate. Only once does Campanella really boast his talents with an insanely complex long-take that encompasses an entire chase scene. But for the most part he uses his talents for good, creating a funny, touching, surprising and romantic story of closure.
Winter’s Bone (2010)
Aug 2nd
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey
Director: Debra Granik
Country: USA
Genre: Drama, Thriller
The quiet chaos that is Winter’s Bone…
There might not be a better breakout performance in 2010 than that of Jennifer Lawrence in this matter-of-fact thriller. Debra Granik’s thriller takes place in the backwoods, observing a community of people seemingly shut off from the outside world, but not unaffected by its economic turmoil. Lawrence stars as the 17-year-old Ree who must find her father who has put their house up for his bond – the same house that shelters her, her young brother and sister, and mentally sick mother. This Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner stirs up some subdued fears as it’s delicately crafted suspense begins to chill the bones like it’s title suggests. As Ree pushes through her journey to find her father, she’s driven purely by the need to protect and survive – a trait that alone gives her the strength to endure all too much. Veteran supporting actors John Hawkes and Dale Dickey also shine unlike they ever have before. This is one film that is sure to slowly work its way into the public consciousness.
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.
Collateral (2004)
Apr 12th
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith
Director: Michael Mann
Country: USA
Genre: Crime
This is Los Angeles’s Taxi Driver… literally, not comparatively.
Michael Mann’s verité style finally finds its stride in this otherwise typical Hollywood crime thriller. The this-is-happening-now realism is in direct contrast to the over-the-top action sequences, but instead of clashing they work in harmony creating an enhanced intensity. Both Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise have never been better, Foxx especially. He carries the weight of this film on his back with flawless talent. Despite an unfulfilling third act, the script is unique and fun – creating a character dynamic that goes deeper than their archetypes. There’s a psychology behind Collateral, and while it might not have Freud completely perplexed, it does make the film livelier. There are a number of incredibly well written sequences that will no doubt resonate for years to come. It’s an exciting experience getting in this cab time after time.
