Timmay's Top Ten of the 2000's

So much for unanimity – my top ten shares only 2 titles with Big Tasty’s list. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

10. Stranger than Fiction (2006)
Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), a lifeless, lonely, and obsessive-compulsive IRS auditor's pathetic, boring life changes when he begins to hear a woman’s voice that seems to be narrating his every move and providing background details and foreshadowing, as if Harold were a character in a novel. I have never seen a film take the cliché of the human life as a storybook and lay it out in a truly refreshing fashion. Harold desperately seeks answers about his story. Is it a comedy? Is it a tragedy? Will Ferrell’s remarkable and unexpected performance earned a Golden Globe nomination. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson all give first rate performances in this truly original film.

9. The Bourne Identity (2002)
I loved action thrillers as a kid, but as I matured I found virtually all of them to be so mindlessly implausible and lacking any compelling story that my disbelief could not be suspended enough to enjoy them. Along came the film adaptations of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne novels. Intelligent, emotional and suspenseful stories that challenge the intellect and send the viewer’s mind spinning with conspiracy theories. Yes, the film delivers on explosive, kinetic action sequences, but each of them serves to advance the story in necessary, intelligent ways with emotional payoffs that drive the audience through the story, rather than jerk us off. I credit the Bourne trilogy with saving the action film genre. As with many things, the first time is the most memorable, so I'm giving the first chapter the nod.

8. Walk the Line (2006)
Disclaimer: I am a Cash fan, but you don’t have to be to enjoy this biographical film. This film tells the compelling story of Johnny Cash’s young life, from the poor son of an Arkansas cotton farmer to a megastar of country music, concluding with his legendary concert at Folsom Prison. Along the way, we find that Johnny’s life, failures, outlook and art are influenced heavily by the violent, childhood death of his brother and his bitter relationship with his disapproving father. The Man in Black is a classic American “hero,” deeply flawed and troubled but possessing unyielding stubbornness for what he believes in. The performances by Joaquin Phoenix (Cash) and Reese Witherspoon (June Carter), including all of the singing, are absolutely stunning. Masterpiece work.

7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
More often than not, I do not enjoy science fiction films, primarily because the geekery is often held up in place of an actual story worth telling. This film is a notable exception combining 2004’s Best Original Screenplay with great performances from a great cast, including Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Kiersten Dunst, and Mark Ruffalo. It is based upon an imaginary technology that can selective delete memories from the human brain. However, is erasing the physical / electronic storage of the memory of love won and lost enough to erase the experience from the depths of your soul?

6. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
The heartbreaking and triumphant story of Jamal, an orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is on the verge of winning big on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” When Jamal breezes through to the final round, the corrupt producer and police assume fraud, and they torture and interrogate Jamal. As Jamal explains how he answered each question, the story of his impoverished, orphaned childhood comes to life, revealing the experiences that resulted in his knowledge. The flashbacks add up to an innovative story-telling vehicle, a nice variation from the classic, linear, A to B to C plotline. The story is nothing short of shattering and uplifting, but what makes this film truly special are the incredible performances by Indian actors – unknown in the U.S. and mostly unknown anywhere – from amazing work by young children to the excellent performances of the lead actors.

5. Atonement (2007)
The title gives the theme. 13 year-old Briony misunderstands as violence the sexuality and passion she observes between her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and her suitor, Robbie (James McAvoy). Later, when Briony witnesses the rape of her cousin Lola, she mistakenly identifies Robbie as the attacker. Due to Briony’s false witness, Robbie is imprisoned. In exchange for release, Robbie enlists to fight in WWII for his freedom so he may return to Cecilia. In her old age, Briony publishes a novel telling tells her story of the torment of her mistake, how she realized the mistake and did all she could to make it right, thereby reuniting Robbie and Cecilia. However, there are many forms of atonement, some of which exist only in our minds. This is an incredibly powerful and gut-wrenching story adapted from the novel of Ian McEwan.

4. The Departed (2006)
What could I write about this film that hasn’t been written? I tend not to agree with the hype machine, and this isn't the best work of Scorcese, Nicholson, Sheen, Wahlberg, or DiCaprio, but even their half-assed is good enough to top the charts.

3. Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
This sincerely goofy yet epic film from the Coen brothers is a true masterpiece of American film. We follow Everett (George Clooney) and his two accomplices on a long, eventful journey from an escape on a prison chain gang to find hidden treasure – or not. The journey in many ways parallels the many trials of Odysseus’s long return home from the Trojan War in Homer’s epic classic, The Odyssey. Like Odysseus, Everett is confronted by the lure of singing Sirens, the Cyclops (represented by a one-eyed, bible-selling con-man played by John Goodman), and a band of singing Baptists representing Homer’s Lotus Eaters, en route to his wife Penny (Odysseuss’ Penelope). The story is a dust-bowl era epic, even if it is Coen goofy, and it features great performances by great actors (Clooney, Goodman, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter.)

2. Almost Famous (2000)
Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece about a precocious teen who weasels his way into writing for Rolling Stone magazine and heads out on the road with a up-and-coming ‘70s rock band on the verge of super-stardom. Young William (Patrick Fugit) leaves his bizarre and over-protective mother and heads out on a journey where he becomes acquainted with the people and the life that he idolizes, loses his virginity, makes friends, establishes himself as a writer, and falls in love for the first time. Along the way, he discovers, as all kids must, that not all that glitters is gold. Fugit plays the character with naïve enthusiasm coupled with high intelligence and personal genuineness, which makes for a fresh take on the coming-of-age story. Great cast performances by Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, Billy Crudup, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Lee and Fairuza Balk fill out Cameron’s compelling story with life, depth and color. Many films try, but very few films can capture the wonder of youth meeting the disappointments of the real world, while still maintaining the theme that, despite hard lessons, life and love and art and dreams are all worthwhile.

1. Big Fish (2003)
Big Fish is a wild-eyed, Wizard-of-Oz type fantasy film from Tim Burton, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange and, one of my favorite actors, Billy Crudup. It is the story of Edward Bloom, a man who lives his life telling wild, imaginative and bizarre tall tales. His adult son, Will, has long been frustrated with his father, feeling that the story-telling prevents him from really knowing him. The film brilliantly brings to life- as only a Tim Burton can do – Edward’s fantastically wild stories of his childhood, hometown hero and war hero status and lovesick adventures to court his wife. The closing scenes of the film are as moving as any I’ve ever seen, as Will finally realizes that he has to accept his father on his own terms and that the tall tales really do reveal who his father is. Amazing performances by all, particularly the legendary Albert Finney, Crudup and McGregor, but it would be wrong to fail to offer a Danny Devito cameo / nudity alert.