Top 10 Films - the 2000s

I'm kinda afraid of what I'm gonna say in a review like this. It feels a little bit like writing a love letter: there's little chance that I could possibly put into words why I like this movie so much and at the same time, there's a huge chance I come off sounding stupid and incoherent. So why bother? Honestly, I don't even know myself. But... oh well, here goes.

Art, as a general whole, tends to strive to show the human condition. To me, that seems to be a rule that carries through to all of the artistic mediums: movies, music, what have you. In particular, movies tend to show you a story, and the story has a morale that highlights a certain condition of being human. Then we can all relate to it, and if even we don't, we can still get something out of the experience, knowing that whatever was shown was very much a part of being a human being. And thus we're further enlightened.

That's one of the things that sets this movie apart. Other movies use stories, and at times, it feels very very apparent that you're watching a story unfold. That's not the case here. This movie is unique; it doesn't feel like a pre-written story at all. It feels as if we're placed smack dab in the middle of the lives of two very common people with very common problems. At no point in this movie does it feel like we're watching a pre-written story being acted out. Instead, we're simply experiencing life, as must be experienced by millions of people on this planet, by following these two people.

It's this uniqueness which sets this movie apart. Since it never feels like a "story", we approach it like we would approach things that happen in real life. You sympathize with both the characters of Charlotte and Bob. Even when certain things aren't said, you can tell what they're thinking, as if you were watching these events unfold with real people you knew in front of your eyes. You know why Bob is attracted to Charlotte, and vice versa. You know what they're thinking, and how they must be feeling. This goes on from scene to scene, and you see the gradual transformation, maturation and growth of each character. This creates a sense of connection that you simply can't feel if this movie was done any other way, because it personally feels like the life experience we've gone through ourselves.

By seeing everything in this manner do all the themes pop out at you. And wow, there are a lot of them: Everyone is confused about life. Everyone is unsure about growing up. Everyone is unsure of how content they really are about the way their lives have turned out. Life always feels a little odd as we proceed in it, as if we've been displaced from our native countries (by the way, that's a damn awesome metaphor).

I'm an Asian-American college kid from Southern California. Yet, the humanity shown in this movie was so universal that I could relate to two white Americans' experiences in Tokyo.

And that's where the appeal of this movie lies: we're all human, and we're all going through this funny little thing called life. It'd be nice to have a translation to it, but that Rosetta Stone probably won't be discovered. All of this, everything shown in this movie... this is exactly what being a human being is about.

"Who wants to trade places with him?"

"I do."

It's hard to determine where to start when talking about this film. It did so many things right. It simply had it all. Acting, cinematography, story, pacing, and a whole lot of heart.

If there was ever any doubt that Jim Carrey could do a serious role... well, there's none now. Jim Carrey convincingly portrays the role of the quiet, average, and slightly dull Joel Barish. And of course, Kate Winslet's a great actor, and continues that consistency in this film. She plays a wild-haired free spirit, and does it well. Throughout the movie, you don't ever think in terms of "Jim Carrey's character" or "Kate Winslet's character", and for these two top names, that's a true testament to the skill they showed by being able to disappear from their celebrity status, and re-emerge to us as Joel and Clementine.

Cinematography was top notch. The movie dealt heavily with the subject of memories, and the filming reflected that quite well. It was able to portray the way things just seemed to blend together, accurate to the way we only remember "important" events, without memorizing the "little things" in between. It's hard to describe, but the atmosphere this created was perfect and extremely relevant to the subject at hand. The sequences where the memories are disappearing easily have to be some of the most beautiful sequences in recent film history.

The story and the heart behind it were also obviously major focal points of the movie. It had a wonderful message and a lot of authenticity and heart to it. Simply put, love is something that is beautiful, no matter what how "low" a relationship gets. The good times always outweigh the bad times , in both quality and quantity. And of course, the equally important message that we all need to treasure the memories and experiences we gain through life, because they had an effect on everything else we did in life, and made us the person we are today.

But, if I were to tell you that this movie was a movie about the different aspects of love, the importance of memories, and the construction of character based on past experiences, and was shot very dreamy/memory-like, you'd tell me that it sounded like a bunch of pretentious bull. However, the movie's also able to balance this out well. Not once does this movie come off as pretentious, because it's able to throw in comedy every once in awhile. So, don't worry. This isn't a douchey indie movie that takes itself to seriously. It has the perfect pacing, and is able to mix the dramatic with the comedy, and is still able to send it's message loud and clear. That's something definitely to be admired, in this age where we either have movies that are way too childish, or movies that think they're deep, artistic, and God's gift to the film industry.

It's a perfect film that has a lot of important things to say. And it definitely says it, and does it in cinematographic grace, and in a way we can all relate to. Don't be surprised if you're swept off your feet by this one. Simply amazing.

Believe the hype. Wall-E is possibly Pixar's best film, and with the track record Pixar has, that's surely saying something. With some time, this movie has a very serious chance of upgrading to a 5.0 star movie for me.

This is an absolutely beautiful movie about a robot who ironically helps human beings (who had become a lot more robotic in their lifestyles than the robots in this movie) regain their humanity again. It's a statement of the dangers of consumerism, a beautiful tale of love, and a philosophical look at what makes people "people." (Case in point: Wall-E was more than the sum of his parts. That's why he was able to remember.) Yeah, that's right. Pixar went into frickin existentialism here. And it friggin worked. Wow, Pixar. Wow. Color me impressed.

This film also reached that level of beauty which separates films from others. It's hard to describe because it's sort of an intangible (and probably very subjective). Off of the top of my head, other movies that reach this status are Lost in Translation and Beauty and the Beast. It's just a quality about the film that takes it from merely a moving picture into something more beautiful. I've used the metaphor of "a movie being a beautiful painting" before, and I think that's the point I'm trying to make here as well. This movie is a beautiful painting. It's simply a work of art.

In the future, people will look back at the film industry of our time, see how great these Pixar films are, and they will say, "I wish I was around for that." Because ... I gotta say, I'm so damn glad I'm around for them.

"Define dancing..."

Battle of Helm's Deep is possibly the greatest battle I've ever seen on film.

Seeing that entire battle on the big screen = one of the biggest movie orgasms ever.

After watching this movie, I couldn't figure out exactly how much I liked it. It kept bouncing back and forth between 4 stars and 4.5 star territory. Then I realized the little smirk/grin/smile that was still on my face, and decided to take the plunge.

A lot of the charm comes from how realistic this movie feels (minus the dialogue that's too clever to be actually made up on the spot). The relationships are very real, which is bittersweet. Vanessa and Mark's relationship is something you probably see everyday. Juno and her dad's relationship was an authentic, pure familial love, which is something you don't see portrayed that often anymore. There's even the Mark and Juno relationship, which threw a nice twist into everything, and which gives depth to both Mark and Juno (Mark's lingering of his childhood, Juno's extent of innocence, etc.) The dynamics were right on in this movie.

The only problem is the main romantic relationship. Juno and Bleeker's relationship wasn't even close to as developed as it deserved to be. That's a minor complaint, though, because part of the charm of their relationship came from the awkwardness of it.

And of course, this movie has a hell of a heartwarming message. At a point where abortion could have been an easy option for Juno, she decides to cling to hope and optimism. Which wasn't an easy thing to do, especially when everything was seemingly falling apart for her and her baby. It definitely put a smile on my face, and it's a message that our jaded generation would do well to learn from. It scored some serious pro-life points with me.

Not only was it a nice, heartwarming story, I was laughing throughout. Don't be fooled by all my talks about relationship dynamics and uplifting themes. You should laugh, and at times, laugh really heartily.

Oh, and you know that this movie is good, simply by the fact I actually talked about the movie for so long without mentioning how amazingly cute Ellen Page is. For an average movie, I would basically ramble about how cute Ellen Page is, instead of actually talking about the movie. But, yeah, she's really cute/beautiful and she CARRIED this movie. Like... she deserves the caps, because she really CARRIED it. It's up there for one of the best performances of the year. It simply has to be. She lit the screen up in more ways than one.

Funny, uplifting, and at times powerful and emotional, with a bit of bittersweet. This movie is overflowing with charm. I really fell for this one, I'm in love.

Pixar's version of the Lion King.

Well, what can I say? This film delivered, and certainly lived up to its hype.

The film is gorgeous. It seems like every single sequence in this movie was meticulously planned, because each of them looked like something you might see in a painting. It rivals what I consider to be the most visually beautiful film I've ever seen, Lost in Translation. Each detail in this movie seems to bring about a certain essence of realism that ultimately brought this movie to life.

The acting is brilliant as well. Tang Wei, the newcomer, simply dazzles on screen. I don't think she's going to find herself lacking in any roles after this one. This woman has a future in the industry.

Wang Leehom also does a great job. He simply oozes with emotion throughout this film and forces you to really like his character, because he's so damn likeable. His character is so earnest and realistic.

And on the other hand, one of my boys, Tony Leung, does the exact opposite. However, that's not saying his performance was bad, because it was actually pretty damn good as well. In fact, the reason why his character was so convincing, is because he was so remote and showed little emotion. That's quite a feat to pull off: creating a remote, emotion-devoid but realistic character. But Tony Leung did it, and that's why he's one of my favorite actors.

And of course, the story. Set in Shanghai and Hong Kong during World War II, the film works somewhat on the premise of being an espionage thriller, but don't expect too much on that front. It works mostly with the concept of love. If this is what love is, I'm not sure I ever want to fall in love. This film shows just how messy love can get, and how irrational people get because of it. There's also a bit here (which took me awhile to realize) about the concept of enemy/foe and patriotism in general. I really don't want to go on too much about the story (partly because it's hard to describe and partly because i wouldn't want to spoil you), but Ang Lee told a hell of a story here. It's a masterpiece of storytelling. Kudos to Mr. Lee. There's no lacking of depth here.

There will be some who may complain about this film because it seems too remote. Actually, the way this film was able to be remote (as espionage thriller films usually are), yet feel so emotional is really unique. It also may be long, but all that means is that the combination of its length and emotional punch will leave you emotionally exhausted at the end. It never gets boring. It's compelling enough to keep you interested the whole way through, letting you ride the continual waves of emotion and tension.

There are some films you could consider pieces of art, and this film may very well be one of those. It does absolutely everything right. As of right now, this is my pick for the best film of 2007.

One of the standards i judge all comedies by.

If there was a movie i can have on repeat constantly in my head for the rest of my life, this one would be a top candidate. I'd bet it'd still be funny and I'd laugh for the rest of my life.