13.


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind

How is that a man like Charlie Kaufman, who by the time of 2004 had already gained a massive reputation as one of the most original and creative screenwriters ever, could come out and create a picture that was easily his greatest accomplishment yet? While Adaptation and Being John Malkovich brought him acclaim, I honestly believe Eternal Sunshine is his screenwriting masterpiece.

While Eternal Sunshine works on the level of a near fantasiacal concept of memory being erased, the reason why it is so great is its simplicity. The core of the film is the relationship of Carrey and Winslet's characters, their arc and happiest moments and emotion. The memory erasing is great, but that is used as a tool to get what really matters... the internal depth of the leads. It is that beauty of character and emotion that make Eternal Sunshine so wonderful. Apart from that, Gondry does a very good job directing this feature, the coorelation between the present day and memory is done excellently, and the memories themselves are also perfectly executed. It is a very very well shot film, and visual effects like the world disappearing and the house scene at the end work very much so. The cast is superb and one of the best of its year, Carrey and Winslet give career best performances to date, Dunst, Ruffalo, Wood, Wilkinson, all extremely on the ball. Kaufman's writing itself, away from the incredible originality, also stands as amazing strictly from a dialogue and regular point of view, the more I think of the more I'm convinced its one of the top 3 screenplays of all time, just incredible incredible stuff.

Eternal Sunshine is a film about happiness and cherishing the moments that mean most, and through succeeded in not only the complex stuff but simple love core of Carrey and Winslet, it stands as one of the very best films of this decade. A complete and utter masterpiece.

12.


Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Most. Entertaining. Movie. Ever. !!!

Terminator 2 is the prime mucha grande of entertainment, the top dog. It is cinema popcorn taken to a next level. James Cameron has created his best film (still need to see Aliens), and with it, the best pure action and entertainment film ever. It has undoubtabley the best action sequences ever put to celluoid, 16 years and a computer and CGI boom later and still nothing beats T2's. The action scenes in this film apart from being epic and awesome, are so amazingly orchastrated, Cameron knows what he is doing here. Apart from that, building on the first film is still one of the best sci-fi storylines that has been put out, and I enjoyed the increasing complexity of it in here. Arnold in his definitive role shines, as with the first he has the robot thing down perfectly, and all the catch-phrases come out as well. The rest of the cast including Robert Patrick as a great villain, and Linda Hamilton as a matured and now much darker Sarah Conner are also top notch. Terminator 2 takes entertainment bliss and takes it to a new level, it takes everything the first film set up and improves on it, making it from great originality to sci-fi perfection... It's what the movies are about. Terminator 2 is one of those films that everyone must watch. Everyone.

AWESOME pick. T2's in my top ten.

You just had to throw in Eternal Sunshine in there.

The last 7 picks are all in my top 50 as well. Shack's list is still Schizo thou.

11.


Mulholland Drive

This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. This is your brain on Mulholland Drive.

The mindbender is something that is hardly new, indeed the idea of fucking over the audience's heads is something that has been overdone in the past. There are many that fail trying to be introspective and mind twisting. However, Mulholland Drive is so much more. It is a masterpiece, for the reason that Lynch made the decision not to give this film a clear answer, you're never supposed to completley get it, and he adknowledges that fully well. Because the film still works in sensical matters and narrative, things are clear to connect together in ways as you see it on screen, but there is no final result. For that reason, Drive is a film you could have sit in your head for days, you could watch it over and over, and never truly figure out how it all works and what it all means, the allure and mystery of the Lynch's mind-twister is endless. And again what makes it strong is that the movie in its general plot and series of events is sensical, everything is somewhat based in reality, you are not confused about what is happening in the story itself, you are just allured about what all of it together means. What measure of insanity does it tell, what's the meaning of the cowboy, which characters really appeared in which events, what really happened to this girl, what is real and what is not, it is truly an endless thinker.

Away from that the production and direction qualities of the film are flawless, there is an incredible suspense throughout the film, the scene where they enter the cabin itself in particular is a masterful thrill ride. Again the film is followable and sensical in its events, and so even things like dialogue and character development and emotion stand out. Naomi Watts is incredible in the lead role, and most of the characters live up as well. I had Mulholland Drive in my head for days after watching it, trying to put it together, and to this day it still has me wondering how it all works. Mulholland Drive is a both a masterpiece of cinematic qualities, and one of the most brilliant artistic creations to ever be made.

Always one I've wanted to see, but have never got around to it. I'll see it one of these days.

If you get it the first time you see it your either a genius or insane.

Like I said I'm not sure anyone is supposed to really get it all.

Or maybe I just missed the boat.

Wow, the last 10 have been all over the place genre/style/time wise, and they all range from good to great. Nice picks.

hmmm so wheres di ehard?

Going to 300 in about 10 minutes, but I think I'll kick off the top 10.

I think a few of the choices will... surprise some people, hehe. When talking favorites of all time, both cinematic greatness and personal connection come into play.

10.


The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas is quite possibly, the most magical movie ever made! I'm not a gigantic fan of Tim Burton, often I feel he lets his visual imagination take over the films too much, but in Nightmare, it is his place to showcase that visual imagination, and does he ever. Using stop-motion, he has created one of the most gorgeous and wonderfully original showcases ever. Scenes like the hill curling down with Jack on it, is just... wow. Apart from the visuals though, there also is great story and character depth as well. Jack the Pumpkin King is an ingenious creation, and Sally, The Boogey Man, and all others in the film, aren't far behind. These are pieces of clay, but yet they feel even relatable. Jack is bored, he wants something fresh, something new, that is a feeling we've all had. Certainly the idea of going to Christmas-town, stealing Santa Clause, and creating halloween out of Christmas, is just fantastic. There is a nice wit and humor to the film, it's always enjoyable. As well, the songs are perfect, and overall, the film is just a pure delight. One of the greatest modern fairy tales to be made ever, and a film that I hope movie fans and kids will cherish in for many years in the future, it's a clinic of the imagination, Tim Burton's finest achievement by far. What can I say, I'm a Nightmare Before Christmas goon!

How ironic. That's exactly the spot that movie is at on my list.

i cant wait till its my turn and il show yall what a REAL list looks like! magnus is next, than ME!

If you're gonna do it one film at a time, you should just make a new thread. :O :up:

Just found out Almost Famous is Shack's favorite film of the 2000s as of January 2006, so that is definitely in is Top 5.

This just in, in January 06 I was a cracker.

Almost Famous dipped off in time for me, I don't know where that statement came from, though I do love the film and in terms of cinematic filmmaking it is up there. I've pretty much doubled my viewed number of acclaimed movies in the last year and some as well, joining this board pushed up my variety renting a lot. It was #62 on this list.

SEEMS QUITE A FEW films topped it....

9.


Zoolander

Zoolander is an extremely personal choice for me. For one thing, it stands as my most watched film at all time, and it is still a dvd I have no problem playing over and over on any day of the week. For that reason for a long time, probably until sometime in the last 1.5-2 years, it stood as my definitive favorite film. It has dropped down, mainly because I recognize it isn't as amazing as I once considered, but it remains in my top ten.

With that being said, I still consider it to be one of the very best comedies of this decade regardless of personal connection. As probably the beginning of the 'Frat-Pack' with an accidental striking of gold, it still stands in my mind as the best comedy from that troupe of actors. Ben Stiller in the lead role and Will Ferrell as Mugatu give not only their career defining performances, but two of my all-time favorite comedic performances overall as well, the expressions, delivery, they are both absolutely perfect in their lunacy, and they carry the film on their back. Zoolander stands as likely the most quotable film I've seen, there's too many classic moments and lines in the film to count. The idea of dumb comedy is something that has been broken out in the last couple years, however Zoolander is the finest. It almost makes a statement about dumb society, though I won't go there. Zoolander is near flawless comedically throughout the whole film, almost every scene is memorable and stands out. One of my all time favorite comedies and movies to watch overall.

That Hazel is so hot right now!!!! Definetly a great film to watch with a few friends while drunk.

telling ya....a zoolander sequel would do 200 million.

8.


City of God

Remarkably, there is only 1 foreign language film on my list, and it resides all they way up in my top 8. City of God is... a masterpiece. It is the best mob or gangster related film, it far outpaces something like The Godfather or Goodfellas actually. The main difference why, is because you actually care for the characters in City of God. Not only the narrator, but others like Benny, the girl, or others in the Brazillian mob, Meirelles somehow inserts an emotional connection to the tale, as well as the obvious gangster war greatness.

For me, too often foreign films place too much importance in filming the culture and having a specific style from its country, how surprising was it to me to find a film like City of God, which contains some of the best storytelling and narrative ability I have ever seen. Meirelles structures and creates his arc in a masterful way, from showing the beginnings of Lil Ze, then taking the narrator throughout the story as each event transpires. Each detail is perfectly executed, and when things like the original "We'll get to him later" line when discussing Knockout Ned occurs, you anticipate and want him to become a factor in the story, and as he does. Meirelles's direction itself is flawless, the cinematography would rank among the best ever, and the atmosphere created in this mob zone is perfect. The gunplay and blood usage is also excellently staged, truly creating fear and terror in Lil Ze and his reign. City of God is not only a masterful creation of foreign film direction and effortless storytelling ability and narrative, but entertaining in its action sequences as well, an amazing blend that converses into one solid masterpiece.

Excellent stuff Shack, nice to another person with City of God in their top 10. I'll ignore the fact it ain't number 1.

7.


South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

Wait, how did a vulgur and extremely profanic cut-out animation become itself into one of comedy's finest achievements? Don't ask me. Personally, I adore the South Park series. But in all its years, the show itself never reached the level that Trey Parker and Matt Stone reach in their big screen adaptation, they put themselves in a different league with this film. They pulled out all the stops, putting all their peak of creativity and hilarity into one ultimate and unstoppable piece of comedy greatness. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is quite simply, the funniest film I have ever seen. I love my laughing, so for the movie that makes me laugh more than any other, top 7 is fully deserving. The film is an unstoppable and rampant force of comedic timing and gut-bursting, just every moment, from opening song to finale, every character including the amazing creation that is Saddam, every slap at America or Canada, every event, all of what the main SP charaters do, it's just so... perfect. The icing on the cake is the decision to make the film a musical, with all the songs(Blame Canada!, Mmkay song, La Revolution, Brian BoTonel) being extremely memorable and golden as well. I consider Matt and Trey to be geniuses, and this is their ultimate creation, their masterpiece of vulgar satirical comedy, their ultimate prize. I have seen South Park over a dozen times and it never gets old... I just love it!