“Film is a battleground. Love, hate, violence, action, death…In a word, emotion.”
100. WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt : USA)
Minimalistic tour-de-force.
099. NOTRE MUSIQUE (Jean-Luc Godard : France)
A Godard fan’s dream journey through Heaven, Hell and Purgatory.
098. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (Kim Ji-woon : South Korea)
Beautifully shot, sharply comedic, ultra stylish and tons of fun.
097. MYSTIC RIVER (Clint Eastwood : USA)
Eastwood’s personal best directorial effort boasts a perfect ensemble cast.
096. COLLATERAL (Michael Mann : USA)
When viewed from beneath the surface, a deep philosophical brilliance is found.
095. WOLF CREEK (Greg Mclean : Australia)
Brutal and unflinching horror that serves up beautiful imagery.
094. THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY (Ken Loach : Ireland)
Loach finally gets his Palme D’or.
093. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (Quentin Tarantino : USA)
Tarantino re-invents history, why not?
092. SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE (Park Chan-wook : South Korea)
The first entry in one of the decade’s best trilogies.
091. JCVD (Mabrouk El Mechri : Belgium)
Van Damme’s performance still stands out as a decade’s best, perfect satire.
“If it were all in the script, why make the film?”
090. UP THE YANGTZE (Yung Chang : Canada)
A devastating doc of economy over person.
089. BLOODY SUNDAY (Paul Greengrass : United Kingdom)
Greengrass’ vérité approach and Nesbitt’s performance make this a must see.
088. GEORGE WASHINGTON (David Gordon Green : USA)
As strange as it is beautiful, as distant as it is relevant.
087. A SERIOUS MAN (Joel & Ethan Coen : USA)
Most mature Coen Bros. flick yet, and that is saying something.
86. BUBBLE (Steven Soderbergh : USA)
Completely overlooked film, this is Soderbergh at his finest.
085. IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (Wong Kar Wai : Hong Kong)
That cinematography and that score.
084. THE CHORUS (Christophe Barratier : France)
An enjoyable and heartwarming film. Oh, and it’s French.
083. AMORES PERROS (Alejandro González Iñárritu : Mexico)
An exploration on vanity, ambition and redemption that is almost too powerful.
082. JARHEAD (Sam Mendes : USA)
Combine Mendes’ vision and Deakins’ eye and you’ve got yourself one hell of a war film.
081. SUNSHINE (Danny Boyle : United Kingdom)
One of the all time greatest sci-fi films; Boyle can really make any type of film.
“I always viewed life as material for a movie.”
080. THE WHITE RIBBON (Michael Haneke : Germany/Austria)
Haneke has still got it.
079. BURN AFTER READING (Joel & Ethan Coen : USA)
Sometimes the Coen Bros. are too damn brilliant and witty for their own good.
078. MATCH POINT (Woody Allen : United Kingdom)
Beautifully paced and written with the utmost precision, a return to form for Allen.
077. MAMMOTH (Lukas Moodysson : Sweden)
Moodysson returns to form after two avant-garde flicks with a stunning study on the world economy.
076. EX DRUMMER (Koen Mortier : Belgium)
My immediate thoughts after watching this film: “Wait, what the fuck did I just do?”
075. THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (Julian Schnabel : France)
You’ll stay for the end credits.
074. JESUS CAMP (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady : USA)
Whenever people ask me about my favorite horror films, I always include this on the list.
073. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING (Kim Ki-duk : South Korea)
One of the most beautiful portraits of life I have ever seen.
072. BLACK HAWK DOWN (Ridley Scott : USA)
Sound is rarely as good as this film’s.
071. HOT FUZZ (Edgar Wright : United Kingdom)
One of the smartest and funniest films of the decade.
“If movie makers were building airplanes, there would be an accident every time… one took off. But in the movies, these accidents are called Oscars.”
070. LAKE OF FIRE (Tony Kaye : USA)
Attacks a morally sensitive subject with expert precision.
069. PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant : USA)
Any Van Sant really is good Van Sant.
068. GOOD BYE LENIN! (Wolfgang Becker : Germany)
Still one of the most emotional films for me, Good Bye Lenin! is a truly remarkable film.
067. PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER (Tom Tykwer : Germany)
An adaptation that would have made Kubrick giddy.
066. I HEART HUCKABEES (David O. Russell : USA)
The one film that you can absolutely love without understanding the point of.
065. LAST DAYS (Gus Van Sant : USA)
Lots of people hate this film, but I can’t help but love the lo-fi brilliance of it.
064. CAPOTE (Bennett Miller : Canada)
All the performances in this film are nearly too good to be true.
063. MAN ON WIRE (James Marsh : United Kingdom)
This documentary goes above and beyond the normal means of what a doc is; this film is an experience.
062. THE ROAD (John Hillcoat : USA)
And the bleakest film of the decade award goes to…
061. HEAVEN (Tom Tykwer : Germany)
A film whose presence has faded with time, yet beauty still fully remains.
“I’m not a politician. I don’t know how to solve the problems of the world. But as an artist, I have one duty: to ask questions.”
060. PERSEPOLIS (Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi : France)
Black and white rarely looks this good.
059. THE DEPARTED (Martin Scorsese : USA)
Fans of Infernal Affairs were enraged by this film, but in my opinion, this is how to remake a film.
058. A SINGLE MAN (Tom Ford : USA)
Beautifully paced and shot, Ford crafts this film like his finest clothing line.
057. IRREVERSIBLE (Gaspar Noé : France)
Walked out on by the majority at Cannes, but if you can stand it, this is a film that will never leave you.
056. 4 MONTHS 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu : Romania)
Poetic, subtle and shocking. All about the pacing.
055. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola : USA)
Bill Murray is superb and Tokyo has rarely looked better.
054. LILJA 4-EVER (Lukas Moodysson : Sweden)
This film will make you sympathize with people you’d never think you’d meet.
053. GOMORRAH (Matteo Garrone : Italy)
The neo-Godfather, except better in every aspect.
052. CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles : Brazil)
Easily some of the best direction and cinematography of the decade. The disco scene is pure craft.
051. THE DREAMERS (Bernardo Bertolucci : France)
Bertolucci re-introduces eroticism to a new generation of crazed cinephiles.
nellodeangelis
