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Top Ten of the Decade (REMIX!)
by Marc Calderaro
Part I: Science Fiction/Fantasy I’ll be writing more of these Top Ten lists as we get closer to 2010. My first decade genre list is my ten favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy films. I know that’s a broad category, and in some ways, every genre distinction is tough. So I’ve done my best to separate in a way that’s beneficial to everyone (i.e. – since Monster’s Inc. probably wouldn’t have made my Top Ten Comedies list, it’s considered a Sci-Fi/Fantasy). Sound good? Good. Let’s get going. The Almost Made-Its: Survive Style 5+, Serenity, the Fountain, Solaris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10. the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, 2001-2003 Dir: Peter Jackson Perhaps I’m underestimating just how important these films will prove to be, and maybe the number nine slot too conservative. But don’t worry Kiwis, I love this movie; all twelve hours of it! Peter Jackson really proved his worth with this endeavor (as if he hadn’t already before), and achieved a host of other amazing accomplishments. a) Boosting Viggo Mortensen to a professional level where he could meet, fall in love with, and kick total ass with David Cronenberg. b) Giving me a reason not to hate Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. c) Giving Christopher Lee more props – inching him ever closer to his never-reachable deserved amount (knighting him was also a big help, Britain. You’re getting there). There’s not much I can say about this technical marvel that hadn’t already been said in the six discs of special features that are worth every byte. Frodo Lives.
9. Monsters, Inc., 2001 Dir: Pete Doctor There’s a sequence in Monsters, Inc. that sums up how inventive the film truly is. The final chase sequence takes place in an endless room, strung with infinite doors like Christmas lights, shooting to and fro along an equally unending conveyor belt. Each door represents a door somewhere on Earth, and going through any one of them immediately transports you to that place. As our two heroes are chased by a chameleon monster from portal to portal, being instantaneously zapped across the globe, the scene serves as a perfect metaphor for the role of animation, and specifically what Pixar does for us unworthy humans. There’s always a chameleon pursuing us, its face might change, but it’s still the same wily, conniving character. However, there are always exotic portals to provide escape. I truly adore this film, and this was my favorite Pixar for a long time – “was” being the operative word.
7. the Prestige, 2008 Dir: Christopher Nolan Who wanted anything different from this film? I believe that if you left the Prestige unhappy, it’s your own fault. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan set the film up perfectly in the opening Michael Caine voiceover. And then they deliver exactly what they told you they would. With powerhouse performances from Caine, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (and some additional support from David Bowie as Nikola Telsa), this film twists and turns like the final, show-stopping trick in the best magic show you’ve ever seen. Plus, at the same time the film is a Memento-like puzzle mystery, it’s also a gritty period drama, and an analogy about cinema – oh, and it’s got science in it too! Jeezum Crow what else do you want people?!
7. Primer, 2004 Dir: Shane Carruth Boy, do I love to hate to love to hate this film. Micro-budgeted around $8,000, this was the Little Sci-Fi that could. There is so much going on. Firstly, the film is about time travel - and sort of invents its own time travel device theory. Secondly, the two main characters think they are the coolest things on the planet, and their not at all. They suck -- big time. I think even the director thinks they are cool a bit, but they are terrible. And that's the third thing that's so awesome about Primer: The movie successfully deconstructs the frailty of modern 30-whatever professionals so subtly, you can miss it if you're too caught up in the details. And that's the brilliance of the fourth thing; the screenplay itself parallels the characters perfectly. It thinks it's got it all figured out, and it's so plucky and underdoggy for doing so. But it's just a corrupted as everything else. Everything always is.
6. WALL-E, 2006 Dir: Andrew Stanton Sure, WALL-E is a little too on-the-nose about global ruin, but I don’t care. The virtually wordless act one is probably my favorite thirty minutes in film history (followed closely by act three of Raw Force). When you can create a direct emotional link with a character who can only say one word, that is storytelling and animating brilliance, pure and simple. I have nothing more to say.
5. Sunshine, 2007 Dir: Danny Boyle I will be the first person to admit I was disappointed the first time I saw Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. After 95 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey-level psychological hard science fiction, the last fifteen minutes takes the audience in a decidedly different direction. I was pissed. I wanted to see the end of that movie, not the end of a different film. But since that initial reaction, subsequent viewings have opened my mind to different ideas, and helped me fall in love with the last 1/8 as I did with the first 7/8s. Though Boyle’s foray into sci-fi is two distinct movies, both movies are totally awesome. And like, it’s about God and stuff, right?
4. American Astronaut Dir: Cory McAbee
This movie’s genre is a tough
choice. I don’t care if it sounds sci-fi, it’s more like a
musical-comedy-western-drama-
3. 2046, 2004 Dir: Wong Kar-Wai Grandly contrasting from my number-four film, Wong Kar-Wai’s, 2046, grabbed my balls at hello and never let go. A sister film to 2001’s In the Mood for Love, the Korean director’s abrupt switch from grounded period love story into a sleek, fate-twisting sci-fi meditation on love and sacrifice is brilliant. Tied together with its companion, 2046 showed the continued rise of Korean filmmaking and helped create the powerhouse the country it is today. The Jacque Fresco-glossy future of this film is a future I too, need to escape from. I wish I could escape to 1960s Hong Kong too…
2. Spirited Away, 2001 Dir: Hayao Miyazaki
Though my list has already
had two animated features, for me, neither hold a candle to this.
Pixar is getting ever-closer to dethroning Studio Ghibli, but the student
is yet to become the teacher. In fact Pixar’s John Lasseter
loves Hayao Miyazaki so much, he didactically delivers introductions
to multiple Miyazaki DVDs. One of those DVD is my number two pick,
Spirited Away. The girl-escaping-to-an-analogous-
1. Pan’s Labyrinth, 2006 Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Yeah, yeah, I know – Snore-Fest
2k9. Everybody who’s ever met me knew this was going to be near
the top. But that’s only because the movie’s brilliant, so
deal with it. I saw it four times in the theater, and I don’t
think it was enough. The stark contrasts between grotesque fantasy
images and hyper-realistic war-time gore is almost palpable; I can taste
in on my tongue. The color palette shifts from scene-to-scene,
sometimes shot-to-shot, as the fantasy world increasingly protrudes
into the everyday – for better and worse. This was the first
time I couldn’t decide whether the fantasy was good or bad, and I
don’t think the film makes a distinction. The fantasy world
is a necessity based on the tumultuous state of modern life, nothing
more or less. When it comes to fantasy of the 2000s, in my mind,
there’s nothing even close to Pan’s Labyrinth. Coming Soon: Top Ten Comedy Films Top Ten Documentary Films Top Ten Action Films Top Ten Horror Films Top Ten Drama Films |
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