The (Now-Overrated) ILX Top 100 Films of the 2000s Poll Results

lol
come to think of it I did kind of like Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Hustle is about a million times better and way less sanctimonious than Kung Fu Panda

yeah its non-stop jokes/visual gags, very cleverly constructed, never a dull moment or wasted scene

stephen chow is my dawg

ok. I'll watch it.

Urgh. Elephant is the first selection to make me feel mildly chagrined, although I shouldn't have been surprised at its placing, given how highly it was rated in the Van Sant poll. As a big, big fan of most of Van Sant's '80s and '90s stuff, I shake my head sadly at Elephant.

I am surprised to see Synecdoche show up. It's the only Kaufman joint that I haven't made an effort to see yet, given all of the 'middlin' to poor' reviews I've read/heard. But now I'm intrigued.

AI is ridiculous. had more endings than The Return of the King iirc.

Kinda true, regardless of who was responsible for the endless poorly-structured, hall of mirrors denouement. Which is not to say that I disliked the content of the endings, or the movie as a whole. It's just mildly frustrating, because I think Spielberg is a real visionary with at least one great movie in him (i.e. one that you can single out as his definitive magnum opus), but I think he still has some popcorn to work out of his system before we'll get that from him. Still: AI = pretty and pretty good.

My #2 (Memories of Murder) and #3 (Kung Fu Hustle) movies have shown up so far. Sad they were both so low. :(

Elephant made me realize how much I like films with dialog.

"Spielberg is a real visionary with at least one great movie in him (i.e. one that you can single out as his definitive magnum opus)"
It's got its faults, but E.T. isn't good enough?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/etienne_saint/kingsandqueen.jpg

Upon viewing it last night, I thought most of it was marvelous. At first I thought Desplechin was letting scenes run too long, especially the ones in which Ismael (crazy second husband) was indulged. IIt's still about 15 minutes too long (the suicidal girlfriend in the loony bin was cute but a bit much), and the epiphany between Nora's son and Ismael wasn't written or shot with the finesse the scene demanded. Then as I got accustomed to his rhythms I relaxed.

The mixture of tones most impressed me, even when Desplechin strained by using jump cuts and intentionally elided transitions; an American version of this kind of novelistic film would have too many cute ironic moments. The performances were good. Emmanuelle Devos is exhaustive and exhausting (Desplechin forces her to cry too often); Catherine Deneuve is dry and self-amused; Maruice Garrel as the father was quite moving.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn

This is stupid, but had I known it would ultimately be so revered, I probably would've thought more about it at the time. Instead, it was the movie I went to with my dad because he had a free pass for a film at the Music Box. Saw it, then had Thai food afterwards. I admired a lot about it, and thought Amalric's performance was quite good, but I did long for it to be shored up somewhat (even if its patience with letting scenes play out was one of the things I admired).

― jaymc

It's been nearly a year since I saw it, but I remember a lot of scenes being extra spry and that there were a lot more of them than in most movies.

I loved it, but my love is sort of guarded with this movie. I don't like talking about it with people. I'm much more comfortable enthusing about Cannibal Holocaust and Dave Chappelle's Block Party and such.

― Eric H.

Arnaud Desplechin's "Kings & Queen" – Classic or Dud?

#64

Kings and Queen
Arnaud Desplechin
2004
France
(282 points, 10 votes)

because I think Spielberg is a real visionary with at least one great movie in him (i.e. one that you can single out as his definitive magnum opus)

The mind boggles at what he'd have to do to achieve this if he hasn't already. But I look forward to see its arrival.

OK, someone seriously flipped the good/bad switch on this poll overnight.

yay, i loved 'kings and queen'

The mind boggles at what he'd have to do to achieve this if he hasn't already

yeah if he hasn't done it yet... uh

i only just voted for Kings and a Queen. i remembered that i had forgotten and added it my ballot after i sent it. as it was i voted it 29th (the last place of my 29 submitted films) but it should have been higher.

Desplechin = thread killer, apparently

Nah, just exhausted by constantly updating this.

I still stand by that K&Q blurb, but, jeez, I hadn't yet learned how to write for ILE in 205.

"I'm much more comfortable enthusing about Cannibal Holocaust and Dave Chappelle's Block Party and such."
I need to hear this Cannibal Holocaust / Kings & Queen breakdown!

Late lunches, no?

the scene where devos finds the final pages to her father's memoir is the coldest shit i have ever seen in a film

I hadn't yet learned how to write for ILE in 205.

― Inculcate a spirit of serfdom in children (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, February 5, 2010 3:15 PM (34 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol u know now

I need to hear this Cannibal Holocaust / Kings & Queen breakdown

Aiight, stop. Collaborate and listen ...

Uh, that's about as far as I've gotten in that particular essay.

yeah, it's hard to work and follow this thread. Agree with Eric that a lot of great films showed up today

The DVD has a funny extra with a lawyer very amiably explaining why a real lawyer couldn't do the things that the crazy lawyer did in the movie, which I appreciated more than the movie.

I hadn't yet learned how to write for ILE in 205.

― Inculcate a spirit of serfdom in children (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, February 5, 2010 3:15 PM (34 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol u know now

I have to learn to take earlier lunches too.

Spielberg is a real visionary with at least one great movie in him (i.e. one that you can single out as his definitive magnum opus), but I think he still has some popcorn to work out of his system

What are you expecting from him, Satantango? Most of his films are nutrition disuised as popcorn, same as Hitchcock or Ford.

I liked K&Q -- the lower end beyond "meh" -- but I sure don't remember any of it now.

I kind of wish Cannibal Holocaust had a similar interview with documentarians explaining how real documentarians wouldn't behave like the ones in CH.

What are you expecting from him, Satantango? Most of his films are nutrition disuised as popcorn, same as Hitchcock or Ford.

If by nutrition you mean the "healthy" entrees at Olive Garden or Outback Steakhouse, sure, more nutritious than popcorn, but bland and with plenty of hidden un-nutritious ingredients

there were many turns in 'kings and queen' where i expected things would end up a certain way & it was completely different. very insightful, i know. all in all i was continually stunned by how blunt people were, talking to each other. and the letter from nora's father, good grief..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/etienne_saint/wet-hot-american-summer.jpg

I thought it was ubelievably funny. I did however think that I couldn't imagine it would be funny to anyone who didn't go to a Jewish sleepaway camp in upstate NY/mass/maine etc during the early/mid 80s. I didn't find it as much a spoof of those aforementioned movies, as a spoof of that particular experiance, which I took part in, for many years. My favorite part is the time they spent building up to the discovery of the gay lovers, when the friends are like "we have to do something about this" and they buy them something from Crate and Barrel.

― Dan Selzer

i think this movie is fucking great!

specifically the MONTAGE where COOP tries to get the GIRL.

― planescapin' 'til dawn (Homosexual II)

Patchy for sure, but I liked it. Some of the jokes worked, others didn't, but I liked the details as much as anything else -- the kids all had the exact right clothes and haircuts for camper-age kids in 1981 or whatever the date was. And the songs were right too -- "Jukebox Hero"! Totally what 7th-grade boys were listening to that year. I guess I liked that it was so affectionate not just to the genre it was sending up but to the whole particular time and place (or how that time and place seemed to a pre-teen or young adolescent).

― gypsy mothra

It's not so much the gay sex scene that's awesome, but the scene where their friends find out about their relationship, make like they're going to fag-bash them, howl "We've got something for you!" and then cart in a chaise lounge as a wedding gift.

― Eric H.

"Wet Hot American Summer"

#63

Wet Hot American Summer
David Wain
2001
United States
(289 points, 15 votes)

because I think Spielberg is a real visionary with at least one great movie in him (i.e. one that you can single out as his definitive magnum opus)

The mind boggles at what he'd have to do to achieve this if he hasn't already. But I look forward to see its arrival.

Don't get me wrong: I really love a lot of his films. It's just that there's usually something in even my favorite of his films that doesn't quite gel. It's like he doesn't quite take things as far as he could. Or he doesn't resist his inexplicable need to include goofball comic relief shit.

The ending of AI (and I am in no way saying that Spielberg was responsible for writing the ending) is like a microcosm of his biggest problems as a filmmaker. Yes, the blue fairy ending would've been an amazing ending. Or, if it felt less tacked on, the future robots ending would've been equally amazing. Something about the multiple endings seemed so perfunctory and afterthought-y and distinctly lacking in finesse, especially for a filmmaker as talented and experienced as Spielberg. It's like he just needs to focus and fully commit to an idea, to its logical conclusion. He's frequently so good that it's frustrating that he never quite succeeds in blowing my mind.

Also, ET is the only film any of you have been able to come up with as a possible magnum opus. Just sayin'...

Ha ha. Oh, yay. WHAS represent! This is sure to inspire some haterade.

I know it's flawed, I know it's dumb. I still love it.

DWH:

Empire of the Sun
Munich

No desire to see WHAS, or Aqua Teen Super Colon Blow etc.

I got WHAS from lovefilm today :)

didn't vote in this but i love WHAS

Looove Wet Hot American Summer! Yessss.

What's wrong with ET as magnum opus? Way better Jesus movie than Passion. ET on bike over the moon way more iconic than baby carriage falling down steps.
The weird part where Spielberg turns kid Ballard into Rambo spoils Empire, but it's good, too.

Two points for Morbs:

DWH:

Empire of the Sun
Munich

Notable that I still haven't seen either. But I will now check them out at my earliest convenience.

No desire to see WHAS, or Aqua Teen Super Colon Blow etc.

I respect your lack of desire, but please please please do not conflate WHAS with the mostly LCD garbage that is ATHF. Two wholly different animals, those.

omar i need to say again that your screengrabs have been A++ throughout

did not know was was about jewish summer camp, adding to queue fo' sho'.

whas was :/

Fuck. Yes. This poll is bringing it today. No Maxperiment necessary anymore.

didn't vote for WHAS but happy it's here.

and eric out of curiosity, can you elaborate a little on this, about AI? i didn't mind the movie but i thought it was kind of a jumble and i'm not really sure what you mean.

the movie turns into one of the smartest, most philosophical mass market movies of the decade, a pitch that crescendos all the way up to the mother. fucking. credits.

Nothing wrong with ET as magnum opus, Philip. It's just not mine. I feel like maybe if Spielberg could rediscover the hunger that fueled his work in the lean days with the world-building $$$ of today, he'd really have something. Will check out Morbs' recommendations to see if he's managed to pull that off yet.

A related side question to Spielberg stans: I know that Crystal Skull has been pretty widely derided as garbage, but is there any of the latter-day Spielbergian magic residing therein? Enough to make it worth a watch? I just want to know whether it's safe to dismiss sight unseen.

My favorite Spielberg, still:

http://www.timanderic.com/images/spagettPoster.jpg

WAHT?! I totally forgot that Bradley Cooper was in Wet Hot American Summer.

and eric out of curiosity, can you elaborate a little on this, about AI? i didn't mind the movie but i thought it was kind of a jumble and i'm not really sure what you mean.

the movie turns into one of the smartest, most philosophical mass market movies of the decade, a pitch that crescendos all the way up to the mother. fucking. credits.

― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Friday, February 5, 2010 8:44 PM (50 seconds ago)

yes, I'm curious about what you meant by that, too.

Too busy at work right now. Suffice it to say Rosenbaum said it better than I ever could.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/etienne_saint/borat2.jpg

i have a low tolerance for embarrassment humor so big stretches were super uncomfortable for me, but jesus christ there are a million moments that are just not on film in any other way anywhere

― geoff

This was quite funny in parts, but my laughter felt strangely hollow, if such a thing is possible. In the end, a man acting the goat, coupled with a few Americans (not that many, in the end) caught being racist and sexist didn't add up to that much. My favourite bit was the bear and the ice-cream van kids, which was like a Perry Bible Fellowship cartoon.

― Alba

In my opinion, the whole anti-semitism thing, as funny as it was, was too heavy-handed to be an effective social commentary. Also, even if Pamela Anderson was in on the joke (which I suspect she was), the scene with her was too close to a sexual attack to make me laugh. Borat getting people to agree (or disagree) with his sexist comments can be funny, but playing a sexual attack for jokes is a bit too much. In comparison, I don't think people would've laughed if he would've started to hurl anti-semitic rants to the Jewish couple who's house he was staying in (which would've been in character). It's only funny when the joke's on the bigot/sexist.

I really liked the main story in the film, and I don't think I've laughed so hard at the cinema for ages, but I think the film was too much in between a social satire and a politically incorrect comedy to be effective as either. A totally enjoyable film, but less than the sum of it's parts.

― Tuomas

the gypsy bit was weirdly hilarious, and very clever, the way he acts like you have to be authoritative but also cautious with gypsies, like "I am going to look through your treasures, gypsy. IS THIS OK?"

I have to say while I can see the point of the film exposing backward views or whatever, a lot of the impact seems to be in the fact that it makes racist or anti-semitic jokes, these jokes are powerful because they are seldom allowed to be made.

Once the setting has been made "ok" for people, then you get this raucous outpouring of laughter. Some of the "FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER" type reviews kind of make me feel this a bit more intensely, like people are laughing with the relief of being able to laugh at stuff that would normally be taboo.

I suppose you hope people think about how anti-semitic, sexist etc Borat is, I mean he's obviously a cartoon character, but I'm not sure that people ponder the fact that they just laughed at anti-semitism, maybe it doesn't matter.

I guess Borat brings out the worst in some of the Americans he speaks to, but then perhaps the film also exposes European attitudes towards Eastern Europeans...

― Ronan

Larry Charles to direct Borat movie

#62

Borat
Larry Charles
2006
United Kingdom/United States
(295 points, 16 votes, 1 first place)

WAHT?! I totally forgot that Bradley Cooper was in Wet Hot American Summer.

Yeah, that joint is jam-packed with people who were destined to be come waaay bigger down the road.