I know, I know, we already had a number 11, but there's been a recent, eh, development that needless to say, shook up the decade's top 10. That being said, I'm just going to double up on #11 and readjust my top 10 accordingly. Here goes nothing...
11 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
One of the true pleasant surprises in film that I can recall. I'm not going to lie - I was once a Slumdog hater - I didn't see it in theaters and didn't watch it on DVD until after it won best picture. This is your classic - "don't judge a book by its cover scenario" - I looked at the film on paper - cast of unknowns, rag-to-riches story, uplifting, and thought - there is no way in hell this is 1/10th as good as everyone says. Boy was I wrong. This is one of those eminently watchable films - one that manages to be social commentary, a tale of two brothers, a great love story, a coming of age tale and a mystery all at the same time. Take an almost stock story - the persevering hero with a heart of gold who never loses belief - and set it in India during that country's rise to economic power - and you've got the root of this moving film. Despite its sometime heartbreaking material, the film never loses its sense of fun and ultimately optimistic outlook. Unknown newcomer Dev Patel is beyond great as your classic "good guy" Jamal Malik - who despite a lifetime full of trials and tribulations remains an honest, hardworking, sweet kid. Who can't root for Jamal in his quest to regain his childhood sweetheart? Non-linear storytelling allows the film to unravel present and past in an exploration of Jamal's past and Indian society. This film is full of great shots, great performances and great moments. At once a celebration of Mumbai and the Indian people and commentary at the often unimaginable (to Americans) conditions the poor residents endure, this film accomplishes so much within the frame of a surprisingly tight and fast-paced story. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll gasp - but I promise you'll have a rewarding experience.
10 Requiem for a Dream (2000)
The ravages of drug abuse and addiction are laid plain in this one. Devastating - truly devastating. I've long said they should show this one to high school students.. it's a better anti-drug campaign than anything else schools could possibly do. One of the most gifted filmmakers working today - Darren Aronofsky, drops some serious shit on us with this one. Great performances all around - particularly Ellen Burstyn, who is heartbreaking as a sad, lonely older woman whose life spirals out of control after she becomes addicted to diet pills. Hopes, dreams, even talent, are meaningless when confronted with the beast that is addiction and the havoc that the pursuit of your next high can wreck on your relationships, career and ambitions. Sure, not everyone with an addiction winds up hitting the kind of rock bottom that the four primary characters in this one find themselves careening towards - but there aren't a whole lot of happy endings out there. But no mistake - this is art - sad, crushing art, yes, but this is a beautifully made film - with some amazing sequences. We witness the slow descent to bottom as each character makes bad choice after bad choice, destroying their lives in the process. All four of the leads are solid - likable even - which makes their unraveling all the more upsetting. This one stays with you long after the credits roll.. and while it can be hard to watch - it's impossible to avoid Aronofsky's brilliance and that the film has something to say.
9 The Hurt Locker (2009)
The opening quote and tagline says it all - "war is a drug" - and here we have three primary characters who deal with this most deadly of drugs in varying ways. Tense from the opening scene - this is a truly great depiction of war on screen. I'm on record calling it the best war movie since "Platoon", and considering Platoon won best picture - this is no small praise. Unlike so many (lesser) war films, this one leaves the sermon and soapbox at home, electing to show rather than tell. Starring a bunch of unknowns ("perfect" is inadequate praise for Jeremy Renner's performance in this one) as an elite bomb disposal squad tasked with de-fusing bombs, IEDs, and other nasty things during the bad old days of the Iraq war, this film makes you feel as though you're there... granting you a glimpse into the minds of men tasked with doing the government's dirty work. This isn't about men complaining, spouting the opinions of the writers and directors, it's about men who are very, very good at what they do, and we witness the inevitable horrors of war through their eyes. I find it fascinating that the two biggest names in this film, Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce, are in the film for no more than 15 minutes. There's a reason why war has spawned much of the best media in western culture, and its that life and death situations give you a clear window into man's soul. When all pretense vanishes, we see who we really are.. and that can be a scary thing. By declining to pass judgment on the what and why and instead focusing on the human side of conflict, the film keeps its credibility and manages to say so much more than some partisan critique ever could. There was a period of about 4 months when I thought this was a shoo-in for best picture - and it will definitely be nominated. Great direction by Ms. Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) - in this tense, funny, action-packed and yet ultra-realistic depiction of the way things are. Expect to see a lot of this one come Oscar time.
8 No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Coen Brothers' masterpiece gives us a great story (adapted from a Cormac McCarthy novel) of a nobody, Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin - in a star-making performance) who stumbles upon the remnants of a drug deal gone bad - and attempts to make off with $2 million he finds in a briefcase. In the summer of 1980, in west Texas, the tagline says it all: "there are no clean getaways" - as Moss finds himself hunted by one of film's great villains - the unstoppable killing machine known as Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem, in a deserving Oscar-winning role). This is the Coen brothers at their best. A tight story with great characters, with gorgeous cinematography, solid dialogue, and a sense of inevitability to it all. Any one of these things is worth watching this film for - combined? They create a classic. People focus on the end and how it doesn't make any sense. Does it really not make any sense? Why do film audiences demand that everything is laid bare? Why can films get away with so very little compared to say... literature? Does it really need a bow tied on it? Maybe the end doesn't mean anything - maybe it means everything. What I think it means is that there are no happy endings - that sometimes, the bad guy wins, and that bad things happen to regular people for sometimes no reason at all. After all - it is no country for old men.
7 Memento (2000)
Every now and again there comes around a film that is so truly groundbreaking that it takes multiple viewings to get your mind around it. The Nolan brothers arrive on the Hollywood scene in a serious way - and from the get-go, it is clear that we are dealing with a major talent, who will no doubt (barring tragedy) have a lot to add to the film canon over the next several decades. It is amazing that given the films Chris Nolan has made since Memento (the Dark Knight, Batman Begins, the Prestige), this remains undoubtedly his best. Incredibly original storytelling makes a mundane plot (man seeks revenge for wrong) seem like nothing you've never seen before. A man, Leonard, lost his short term memory and ability to form new memories in a horrific attack in which his wife was raped and murdered. This makes his quest for revenge... difficult, to say the least. Leonard relies on companions who he may or may not be able to trust, notes to himself and a plethora of tattoos covering his body. The film is told in reverse, allowing a masterful filmmaker to unravel the mystery through Leonard's eyes... all confusion and uncertainty. The underrated Guy Pearce (who doesn't work nearly enough) is terrific in demonstrating Leonard's simultaneous determination and (often) bewilderment. You won't know up from down from left from right - until the shocking reveal. We're dealing with a talented storyteller here folks. If you haven't seen this one yet - I suggest you check it ASAP - you won't regret it.
6 Road to Perdition (2002)
Although on the surface a tale of revenge by a mafia soldier who was wronged by those who trusted - this one becomes so much more, including one of the more touching portrayals of father and son on celluloid. To say Sam Mendes is a talented is akin to saying Red Robin makes a good burger. That is to say, woefully inadequate. Look at the shot depicted in the above picture. Just beautiful. So crisp, so artfully done. Tom Hanks is terrific as muscle Michael Sullivan. A loving father and husband, a man of few words, who also happens to be a cold-blooded killer. Tom Hanks, Paul Newman (in his last role), Daniel Craig, Jude Law and one of the best character actors working today: Ciarán Hinds are all great in Mendes' follow up to one of the 90's best: American beauty. Sullivan and son go on a Dillinger-esque crime spree mission of revenge after he is betrayed by his former employer, eluding hitmen and vengeance on a trip through the midwest. For some reason, I'm entranced by bad men, who are fully aware of their inherent badness, yet still live by a code. This one gets the waterworks going every time, and I've watched it probably 100 times. There's something to be said for that. Best line: people ask me if Michael Sullivan was a good man, I tell them: he was my father.
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