A Decade of Cinema: 2000-2009

[NSpan]

Regarding Elf - I have tried several times to watch it and have never been able to make it through to the end, its just terrible IMO - I actually like most Will Ferrell movies but I found him completely insufferable in this. I love most of the cast (especially Ed Asner, but we'll not get into that now) but I think it all came together in this ridiculous farce pretending to be a heartfelt Christmas movie - I felt neither moved nor inclined to laugh, just annoyed and a little sad. Grinch moment over.

ah, didn't even finish it! i daresay you might not be qualified to really rate it, in that case... i think Elf will only gain popularity (not to say that it isn't already considered a bona fide classic by most) throughout the years as Favreau proves himself (again and again) to be a versatile and talented director worth his mettle..

[NSpan]

Well although I wasn't aware of Lewis's intentions, that doesn't mean I have to like his intent

but is that reason enough to dislike the movie? if you found out that a particular movie was a retelling of Islamic mythology or, perhaps, one that explores Buddhist themes--would you consider that fact as a detriment to the quality of the project itself?

And although Lucy has morals, she's still very passive in her role, rather like a typical bleeding-heart wife figure.

i'd be curious to know if anyone else saw Lucy portrayed in this light...? i thought she was a very strong character who takes initiative several times throughout the story... she doesn't learn the ancient art of karate and take on the forces of evil singlehandedly--but, as i pointed out, she's EIGHT... i think the movie does a wonderful job of portraying the potential strengths of such a young child...

Out of curiosity, what did you like about the film?

much like Pan's Labyrinth, i thought the dissonance created by a very difficult large-scale situation happening concurrently in the "real" world (in this case, World War II) is handled well in terms of contrasting with children still having the need to be CHILDREN... i see the movies almost as companion-pieces--although CS Lewis' "fantasy" world deals primarily with a more coherent theology, while Del Toro toyed with a mishmash of fable and mythology...

Narnia itself was impressively rendered.. visually stunning and conceptually intriguing... the characters they meet on the way are interesting and, oftentimes, complex--especially considering the target audience.. the story is appropriately epic while maintaining a balance of keeping it within the perspective of children.. i love the extensive use of "pagan" mythology and characters to contrast the overlying passion play.. Neil Gaiman took a MAJOR cue from this when creating his Sandman universe... and, without boring you (and the rest of the board) with the details, the Narnia story has quite a bit to say about Christian theology (soteriology in particular for LWW) that goes far beyond the superficial, and seemingly-simplistic, streamlining (how's that for alliteration?) of Christianity-for-Kiddies..

[Donte77]

Between Elf and Bad Santa, the one with the biggest possibility of being watched traditionally every Christmas is?

By me? Both along with A Christmas Story. I love them both. Elf because it is retarded and imbecilic (and I don't generally like Will Ferrell) but in an entertaining way. "I like smiling. Smiling's my favorite." Genius. Bad Santa because Xmas is a sham (remember I am an atheist and anti-consumerism) and watching an alcholic thief and a midget rob stores dressed as Santa and an elf is pure diabolical R rated fun.

I will take a stab at my top films of the decade. There is no list, this is just from the top of my head.

Amelie
Memento
Wall-E
Gran Torino
Star Trek
V for Vendetta
Iron Man
An Inconvenient Truth
Batman Begins
Battle Royale
Spider-Man 2
Downfall
I Heart Huckabees
Up
In Bruges
Old School
Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2
The Dark Knight
Pan's Labyrinth
Mystic River
The Departed
Napoleon Dynamite
Spider-Man
The Lives of Others
Shaun of the Dead (Why has no one else mentioned this)
Children of Men
Snatch
Quarantine (I know I will get hate mail from this but yes I like REC too)
Bad Santa
Oldboy
Two Towers (my favorite of the trilogy)
X-2
Sin City
The Wrestler
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
Paranormal Activity (Even more hate mail but as a horror movie it stands as one of the best of the decade)

[W]

What do you do as an atheist for Christmas? Are you an atheist that gives out presents for Christmas? A big dinner or Denny's? The only ones you hear about are the ones in the news that trash nativity scenes, so I'm kind of curious how the rest of the 99.99% do.

Now on topic... How about we try and get it down to the five movies of the decade. That should at least make a list that's got ten or fifteen multiple "votes" rather than a hundred.

Also, what should be the qualifications for film of the decade? Just quality, or are other things involved?

[W]

For my five films of the decade (not my favorites), I would choose:

TDK - The biggest film of the decade financially. The highest rated film of the decade many different places. A cultural phenomenon.
ROTK - 11 Oscars. #11 on the top 250. The culmination of the biggest franchise in history.
Nemo - The biggest family film. A film with good quality. Sold more DVDs than any film. And you can't really talk about the decade without mentioning Pixar.
Spider-Man - Though X-Men came first and other comic book films came before them, this is really the one that raised the bar in both CGI and financially, making sure that tens of giant comic book films would follow it.
Harry Potter and the something?/

[NSpan]

my opinion: quality and entertainment should be the sole focus... let's not get hung-up on criteria like "big earners" "surprise blockbusters" "sleepers" or any of that... hell, even "landmark films" and movies with historical importance should still first be considered by quality/entertainment

that said:

Children of Men
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Proposition
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Wall-E

[numbersix]

Well although I wasn't aware of Lewis's intentions, that doesn't mean I have to like his intent

but is that reason enough to dislike the movie? if you found out that a particular movie was a retelling of Islamic mythology or, perhaps, one that explores Buddhist themes--would you consider that fact as a detriment to the quality of the project itself?

Only if I have a particular problem with said religion, which I happen to do with Christianity

And although Lucy has morals, she's still very passive in her role, rather like a typical bleeding-heart wife figure.

i'd be curious to know if anyone else saw Lucy portrayed in this light...? i thought she was a very strong character who takes initiative several times throughout the story... she doesn't learn the ancient art of karate and take on the forces of evil singlehandedly--but, as i pointed out, she's EIGHT... i think the movie does a wonderful job of portraying the potential strengths of such a young child...

Perhaps I'll give you that one. She is just 8 and perhaps my beef is more with the older sister. But the idea of a small female child being a moral force has been done to death in cinema (I'm sure the book was well ahead of them, but I'm just criticising the film, as I read the book as a kid and can barely remember it)

much like Pan's Labyrinth, i thought the dissonance created by a very difficult large-scale situation happening concurrently in the "real" world (in this case, World War II) is handled well in terms of contrasting with children still having the need to be CHILDREN... i see the movies almost as companion-pieces--although CS Lewis' "fantasy" world deals primarily with a more coherent theology, while Del Toro toyed with a mishmash of fable and mythology...

Narnia itself was impressively rendered.. visually stunning and conceptually intriguing... the characters they meet on the way are interesting and, oftentimes, complex--especially considering the target audience.. the story is appropriately epic while maintaining a balance of keeping it within the perspective of children.. i love the extensive use of "pagan" mythology and characters to contrast the overlying passion play.. Neil Gaiman took a MAJOR cue from this when creating his Sandman universe... and, without boring you (and the rest of the board) with the details, the Narnia story has quite a bit to say about Christian theology (soteriology in particular for LWW) that goes far beyond the superficial, and seemingly-simplistic, streamlining (how's that for alliteration?) of Christianity-for-Kiddies..

It's interesting you make that comparison. You see, what I loved about Pan's Labyrinth was that it did have a contrast between a "real" war and a fantasy world, but what the film ultimately meant to me was that it was the world of fantasy that helped Ofelia make the right decision, despite the consequences. I certainly didn't get that when walking out of LWW- in fact, I barely recall what happens after the battle. So I felt there was very little connection made between the two worlds. Is this something the sequels do?

Personally, I didn't find the visuals effective, but I'd like to hear what everyone else thought about this.

And I'd actually like to hear your thoughts on the story's relation to Christian theology and its ideas on salvation. And I'm not just saying that to bait you. Or am I....

[numbersix]

2007: http://www.screenhead.com/reviews/scree ... rt-8-2007/

[Buscemi]

A small correction: Juno wasn't exactly an indie film. Despite having the indie look and a low budget, the film was wholly financed and distributed by Fox.

[transformers2]

Elf is the for sure the best christmas film of this decade its really funny and sweet and thats pretty much all you need in a christmas film

My 10 faves of the decade would be

1.Sin City
2.The Departed
3.The 40-Year Old Virgin
4.Kill Bill Vol 1
5.Inglorious Basterds
6.Transformers
7.Superbad
8.Knocked Up
9.Spider-Man 2
10.Hustle And Flow

[NSpan]

warning----over-analysis of a children's movie ahead:

And I'd actually like to hear your thoughts on the story's relation to Christian theology and its ideas on salvation. And I'm not just saying that to bait you. Or am I....

you gotta realize that, in discussing Narnia, we have to take an intra-religious approach to Christian theology... CS Lewis isn't trying to convert anyone with this particular work--he's trying to more firmly establish what Christianity means to Christians... in particular, the LWW story deals with salvation through atonement/sacrifice...

these two articles explain the two interpretations of atonement that Lewis' story struggles with
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_ ... on_view%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_ ... om_view%29

though i don't personally fully agree with either (and neither does Lewis), it still makes for some interesting contemplation..

(tangentially, this is the view i associate more closely with:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_ ... al_view%29

this is all probably incredibly boring to non-Christians, but I'd hope that it's reassuring to you that many Christians take their own religion seriously and perpetually seek to reconcile their faith with reason... it's easy to sum up Christian themes into concise (and cliched) soundbites--but it takes a bit more work to actually understand it

but, anyway, the important thing about Adamson's film is that it's ENTERTAINING and enjoyable to watch.. yes, it has meaning--but it's not some underhanded recruitment film... the message is clear--but it can be taken universally.. even if you have a "problem" with Christianity, there's still no reason to use that as fodder against the movie... if you find the basic story of "good vs. evil" offensive, i'd advise you to avoid 95% of cinema in general... and that isn't to say that Narnia paints a black and white picture of what's "good" and "evil"--in fact, it does a pretty decent job of including several shades of grey

[undeadmonkey]

very interesting NSpan, thanks for sharing.

[Donte77]

What do you do as an atheist for Christmas? Are you an atheist that gives out presents for Christmas? A big dinner or Denny's? The only ones you hear about are the ones in the news that trash nativity scenes, so I'm kind of curious how the rest of the 99.99% do.

Try to avoid as much of the "christ" in "christmas" as I can. I do give presents (ever tried being married and NOT giving presents?). I just think of it as an excuse for getting together with family and spending time with them while we all have a few days off. While I was single and living on my own, I didn't have a tree or lights or anything. But even then I still hung out with family. And it is funny but not all atheist are out killing children and destroying stuff. We leave that up to republicans and anti-abortionists.

LOL

Add The Orphanage to my list as well.

[W]

So, you had the Festivus pole when you were single?

[NSpan]

Donte has made use of the Festivus pole for years--single or otherwise.... in fact, religious or otherwise...