The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged War
1001 Movie Club: Gone with the Wind (1939)
May 28th
Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind is easily the biggest movie of all time bringing in over three billion dollars. This is no coincidence as Gone with the Wind is one massive production – the sets, the story, the acting – everything is epic. It’s so big that it required 2,400 extras, 50 speaking parts, and even two directors, (three if you count David O. Selznick’s meticulous producing.)
The Messenger (2009)
May 24th
Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton
Director: Oren Moverman
Country: USA
Genre: Drama
This is one knock-knock joke you don’t wanna hear…
The Messenger isn’t the first in post-Iraq war films to be released, but it feels like it’s one of the few that really stand out as a direct reaction to the events that took place overseas. It’s an anti-war film to be sure, but if it has a political statement to be made, its made subtly as this is far and above a character study of two soldiers from different wars assigned to a Casualty Notification Team – informing families (NOK’s or Next of Kin) of the bad news of their fallen loved one. Both Foster and Harrelson put in great performances of internally afflicted soldiers dealing with their own pains of war – both physical and emotional. Moverman’s film is about as insightful and well-written as they come.
1001 Movie Club: The General (1927)
May 21st
As Tarantino so aptly put it in [a deleted scene from] Pulp Fiction, there are Elvis fans and there are Beatles fans. You can be fans of both, but ultimately you lean in one direction more than the other. The same can be said of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. No matter which side of the line you are on, it’s hard to deny the talents of the other, particularly with a work like The General.
Keaton is far more of a stunt man than Chaplin, setting up elaborate and death-defying acts that are also a visual treat for audiences. This 1927 film is definitely Keaton’s opus. The spectacle achieved in this film (all real!) is something to behold.
The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Apr 20th
Starring: Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, Federico Luppi
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Country: Mexico
Genre: Foreign, Horror
Japan isn’t the only country with ghostly children.
There are horror films, and then there are horrific tragedies. The Devil’s Backbone is definitely part of the latter, as it draws us into a subtly complex drama with its promises of ghostly terror, much in the same way that The Orphanage does. The film takes place in an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War and follows a child new to the community, who shortly begins hearing the voice of a ghost. Very much like Pan’s Labyrinth, it tells a story about a group of victims of a war through the understanding of a child. Complete with a handful of chilling moments, a few scares, and a competent backstory, The Devil’s Backbone is an often overlooked gem.
In the Loop (2009)
Mar 25th
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini
Director: Armando Iannucci
Country: UK
Genre: Comedy
The Office meets Dr. Strangelove.
The above statement pretty much sums up this film to a T. Perhaps throw in a bit of Aaron Sorkin’s inter-office/political character dynamics and you’re good to go. This is one hell of a funny film. It’s quick, it’s witty, it’s clever, but it’s never above a good phallic Washington Monument joke. It does a great job creating a zany satire of the inner workings of both British and American government and the rat race that it can be. The actors are not to be understated, but the real brilliance of this movie is its super sharp script- not just in its hilarity, but in its complex multi-character narrative. The film doesn’t let up for a single minute in its pacing, making for a very quick and highly enjoyable watch.
Shutter Island (2010)
Feb 25th
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
Director: Martin Scorsese
Country: USA
Genre: Thriller-ish.
At Shutter Island nothing is as it seems.
In his fourth collaboration with DiCaprio, Scorsese has pulled out one of his best performance, and crafted perhaps one of his most interesting films. Sure to infuriate some and delight others, Shutter Island is all about evoking a response out of the audience – participation. It’s a detective story about a detective, but the investigation isn’t the investigation that the detective is investigating. Or is it? It raises a lot of questions, and doesn’t take the audience for granted in finding the answers for themselves. Also, in a departure from his usual visual style, Scorsese has created one of his more luscious looking, albeit foreign feeling, films to date.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Jan 23rd
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Country: USA
Genre: War
The master of homage is back in his homagiest homage yet!
It took two viewings of this film to fully appreciate it. The first time I was looking for the nuance of its brilliance, but it’s quite blatant and I think I took that as arrogance. Maybe it is. This is by far Tarantino’s most patient and deliberate film to date. For being two and a half hours, it’s only filled with a small number of incredibly long scenes. As it’s been said by many more articulate people than I, it’s his use of dialogue to build the suspense of the scenes, particularly the opening. Plus, his dialogue, though completely fantastical as it may be, is just so fun to listen to. Performance wise, Christoph Waltz almost doesn’t need mention as his talent is beyond obvious. However, many harp on Pitt for his lame accent. I, however, found it to be obvious that he knew he was doing a cartoon version of his character… because it is after all a fairy tale. Once upon a time, and happily ever after.
