The Top 10 of the Decade

The decade is quickly coming to a close. What began as decade defined by (the now ridiculous) Y2K quickly turned serious on September 11, 2001. The relatively carefree 90's turned into a decade which seems, to me at least, to be most defined by the paranoia of the Bush presidency (the patriot act, the invasion of Iraq) and the recent financial collapse, which is just now finding its way onto the screen. The films this decade reply to the seriousness of the decade both by reflecting it with the realism of the Dardenne brothers, mumblecore, and Kelly Reichardt among others and by deflecting it with escapist cinema like Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Superhero films, and many others. This has resulted in a greater disjoint between art-house and mainstream cinema than ever before.

As I sift through all the other top 10 lists which have already been released I'm struck by just how diverse they are. It seems as if all end of the year lists turn out the same, yet somehow it seems as if when contemplating ten years instead of one everyone suddenly finds the ability to express something much more personal. One of the main problems with the critical landscape (and one of the reasons its shrinking) is how uniform it is. Who needs to read 20 different critics in 20 different publications when they are all saying the same thing. At the bottom I'll put a few links to lists I find interesting. And without further ado, my picks for the 10 best of the decade, 2000-2009:

Top 5 Most Underrated Movies and Directors of 2000-2009

This decade has been one that will be looked back on as one in which all the rules changed; digital distribution, YouTube, and better digital technology allowed for films to be made more cheaply and faster than ever before. This created a wealth of options from which to choose, as well as alternatives to going out and seeing a movie. For better or for worse the last decade has been the most difficult to seek out the really worthwhile. No matter how much any one person managed to see, they had to miss out on something. These are my picks for the films and filmmakers that critically or commercially were not given the respect that they were due.

The Art of Criticism 1: Inane Ramblings

I thought that at some point I should start to address why I don't have any interest in writing "reviews". In this age of blogs and ready information all anyone seems concerned about is whether a new movie is good or bad. People write pages and pages about the "beautiful cinematography" or the "well written script" with really knowing what that means or even if its important. What makes art interesting (and criticism even more so) isn't assessing the value of it, that's part of the simple act of watching.

Without pigeonholing exactly what criticism is (its much easier, yet probably meaningless, to say what it isn't) because it can take many forms, I merely want to express that it should enhance appreciation or understanding in some way. Writing a "review" as a means of convincing someone to go see something does not count as criticism.  What got me thinking about this was reading Matt Zoller Seitz's article about two of my favorite critics: David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. They consistently get me thinking about films in new ways and their blog is one of the best the internet has to offer. The article itself though is a critique of much of modern film criticism and is in that way its own form of film criticism.

10 Years of Fight Club

I was poking around the other day when I stumbled across this DVD review on slant about a 10th anniversary edition of Fight Club. Its a film I've seen several times and would include on any list of films that define my generation.  I saw it first when I was 14 or 15. Truthfully, I didn't understand it at all. Satire was lost on me, but I knew the film wasn't trying to get me to join a fight club, start infiltrating support groups, or blow up buildings. Instead the film sort of took up a passive residency in my brain (the part that wants to say "fuck you" every time people tell me how to live my life and fit in) and really helped me to understand the world around me. The older I got and the more I understood about the world, it seemed like the more I figured out the film.

Freaks, Geeks, and Glee: Highschool and Groupthink

I recently began watching Glee after reading several positive articles. I was intrigued by the possibility of a show which could channel the genre-bending of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the high school social critique of Freaks and Geeks. I made it to episode 3 before I had to stop. The show certainly has a lot going for it: some well executed melodrama, talented performers, and well executed musical numbers (even though they aren't really my thing, its easy to see that, for what they are, they're extremely well done). Glee, though, is not without its faults, and it isn't the hammy acting or the forced heavy handed messages that turned me off. It's the way that the show fails to really respect the fringes of society in the way that numerous other TV shows and movies have in the past.

Some Sort of Introduction

Perhaps someday I'll have readers beyond friends who occasionally check my blog out of politeness, who'll look back and wonder: who is this guy trying to write about movies? They'll probably be telling themselves that I contradict myself; that my occasional insights are marred by over thinking, under thinking, radicalism, traditionalism, poor writing, misinterpretation, and a sort of reckless zeal; that my voice is just another in an overwhelming cacophony that threatens to drown out any that will actually "advance" the art. Perhaps, though, they'll also have found some nugget, sentence, or even entire post that enhances their experience of watching TV, going to the movies, or (even better) thinking about what they saw.