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Films of the 2000s Rankdown


Alex95

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  • Alex95 changed the title to Films of the 2000s Rankdown (Diana’s Noms Posted)

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Released in 2004, Kung Fu Hustle is a Cantonese film which was directed, produced and co-written by Stephen Chow.  Starring in this action comedy film, the director/producer/writer himself as well as Eva Huang, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qui, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan and Leung Siu-lung.  Often compared to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, it takes place in the 1940s in Shanghai where it follows two crooks that joined an Axe Gang, a neighbourhood gang, and the journey of one of them going on a journey of finding their true self.   After its release in China, it went on to be released in the US where it was met with excellent reviews, especially for their choreography, cartoon features, and the usage of traditional music.  It was also one of the highest-grossing foreign=language film in the US, and it led to the film being re-released for their 10th anniversary in 2014.  Overall, the film seems great if you are a fan of this type of film however it is one of the one that I am the least attached to from this list, and I was pretty limited with my choice when I came to do my cut. 


SAVING: AMÉLIE

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SIN CITY (2005)

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Sin City is a neo-noir film based on the graphic novel of the same name. It features an ensemble cast, including Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, and Elijah Wood. The film is divided into different tales. The Hard Goodbye is about an ex-convict seeking to avenge the death of his former lover. The Big Fat Kill is about a private investigator caught in a street war. The Yellow Bastard is about an aging police officer wanting to protect women from a serial killer. It's an intriguing movie with a unique vibe to it, but it may not be a film for everyone. As for what the critics thought, Sin City has a 77% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus reads: "Visually groundbreaking and terrifically violent, Sin City brings the dark world of Frank Miller's graphic novel to vivid life."

 

Saving Slumdog Millionaire

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The Virgin Suicides

 

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Based on the 1993 best-selling novel of the same name by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides was written and directed by Sofia Coppola and co-produced by Francis Ford Coppola. It was released in 1999 originally at the Cannes Film Festival and released in the US in 2000. It follows the lives of five adolescent sisters in a Detroit suburb during the mid-1970s. After the youngest sister, Cecilia, makes a suicide attempt, all of the girls are put under even closer scrutiny by their religious, overprotective parents. The girls are eventually withdrawn from school and confined to home which led to increasing depression. The film is told in first person from the perspective of a group of adolescent boys in the neighborhood who are fascinated by the girls. I liekd Lex, the most rebellious one the most and it was a powerful watch, but I think it's a fair cut at this point. 

 

Save: Coraline

Edited by ~Tom~
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Dogville (2003)

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First things first: this was written and directed by Lars von Trier and by all accounts he is a massive POS. Anyway. This was one of my immunities because it is such an unusual film. Wikipedia calls it avant-garde. I'd say experimental maybe? Nicole Kidman plays a woman on the run from the mob, and she comes across this small town called Dogville where she tries to hide out in exchange for small jobs, services, etc. The main thing you will notice about this film is that the set is just an empty stage. 

 

Dogville (2003) Lars von Trier The Big Man:... - unique

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The stage is marked off with masking tape to show the buildings/walls of the town. It is really bizarre. The theater nerd in me is obsessed. This is just like watching a black box production back in college. Except you have the likes of Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson, Chloe Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgard... wow this cast is insane. The longer that Nicole stays in the town, the more insane everything gets. Is she just slowly discovering the insanity of the townspeople?? Or is she causing it???? But also, this movie is 178 minutes. WHAT!? That is too long. You honestly start to feel like you're going crazy while you're watching this. What is happening??? Where is this all going??? Why am I so enthralled???

 

In addition to this being a really fascinating experiment in theater/film/staging/immersion with regard to the minimal set, this is also a really crazy study into the characters and how humans treat outsiders and trying to fit in. This is a very very slow burn that escalates to levels that you wouldn't think are even within the scope of possibilities. The ending climax is absolutely bonkers. I personally think the payoff makes the entire film worth it. Others definitely disagree. This was a very polarizing film and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of y'all would HATE it. Is this an artistic innovative masterpiece? Or is this tedious, pedantic, and esoteric to the point of pretentious arrogance? By my immunity you can guess where I personally place it, but I wouldn't begrudge someone for feeling the opposite. It's definitely not for everyone. But this blew my mind. You have to really treat it like a theater production that happened to be filmed. You know what? They should make a stage version of this. 

 

Save Spirited Away

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I enjoyed Dogville and agreed with a lot of what you said, but yes kind of surprised it lasted this long. Part of me wants to see a stage production with full sets, but I realize the minimalist production is part of the appeal. 

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The Secret of Kells (2009 dir. by Tomm Moore + Nora Twomey)

 

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The first film in the “Irish Folklore Trilogy,” The Secret of Kells is a gorgeous animated film that tells the story of the origin of the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells, written in the 9th Century, is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament located in Dublin, Ireland. Always thought this film was produced solely by Irish animators, but apparently this was an Irish-French-Belgian co-production. The film stars Evan McGuire, the awesome Brendan Gleeson, Christen Mooney, Mick Lally, Michael McGrath, Liam Hourican, Paul Tylak, and Paul Young. 

 

The Secret of Kells is a very good movie and it comes as no surprise that Studio Ghibli served as an inspiration for this film, though obviously stylized with Irish art and mythology. I have not seen it since it came out in 2009, when I made it a point to actually see every big awards film. Though nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, it lost to Up that year. A stunning film that had a good run due to Tom, but this seems like a fair placement.

 

SAVING: Requiem for a Dream

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  • Alex95 changed the title to Films of the 2000s Rankdown (Dee's Noms Next)

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