The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Thriller
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.
Top 10 Directorial Debuts of the 2000s
Aug 15th
There’s nothing more exciting than the potential of a fresh and exhilarating new director. Great talent usually takes many features to develop, but these directors stand out as crafting some of the most impacting, memorable, and extraordinary first-time feature length films. Some of these filmmakers we’ve already seen establish themselves into well respected and acclaimed directors, and others have yet to show us their next work.
This list is accumulated chronologically by the first feature length film helmed by the following directors, (it’s not by official theatrical release, which is why directors like Christopher Nolan and Edgar Wright aren’t on here.) The list will also be updated regularly, as these things are always in a constant state of changing.
David Gordon Green – George Washington (2000)
Over the last decade, David Gordon Green has shown an uncanny ability to paint an indescribable tone stemming from the confines of small towns. Sometimes nostalgic, sometimes tense, sometimes sweltering, sometimes sweet, Green’s ability to capture that je ne sais quoi is unparalleled, and it all started with the quiet storm that is George Washington.
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.
A History of Violence (2005)
Oct 22nd
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris
Director: David Cronenberg
Country: USA
Genre: Thriller
There are movies about character transformation, and then there’s A History of Violence.
There was once a time when the words “David Cronenberg Film” scared me. I’m glad I’m over my ignorance, because this film floored me. We follow an Average Joe during the aftermath of becoming the town hero, though the spectacle attracts unwanted attention from a mobster who begins stalking the man and his family. It’s almost a Jekyll & Hyde story, though it takes its time divulging its information to the audience. To endure the events in the film with a blind eye makes the reveals that much more frightening. Layer by layer, we begin to slowly ask, “wait, do we really know this guy?” It does such a remarkable job at setting up a mood for the film that consistently builds up to an intense little ending. And as if the title doesn’t give you all the warning you need: it’s violent.
