Spiderman Films of Decade:

The first decade of the new millennium would see an abundance of cinematic treasures, disasters and all things in between. It was the decade in which the Webbed-Wonder swung through the streets of New York and battled the Green Goblin, Doc-Ock, Sandman and Venom. It would be the decade of torture porn. It would be the decade in which The Matrix sequels thoroughly disappointed. It would be the decade Michael Bay came into his own as the purveyor of crash-bang action flicks and discovered the photogenic quality of Megan Fox’s ass. It would be the decade that many screen icons left us, whilst others were made. It would be the decade that belonged to high school musicals, vampires, wizards, hobbits and superheroes. It would be the decade that saw the return of Indiana Jones and would see the last screen performance of Clint Eastwood. So many films, so many hours.

Over the remaining weeks of December Filmshaft contributors will be revealing their very own top-ten Films of the Decade. As ever, we encourage and welcome debate, so please leave a comment or your own lists:

Grizzly Man
(dir: Werner Herzog, 2005)

904125mEnvironmentalist Timothy Treadwell loved grizzly bears. In turn, they tolerated his presence, until one summer he was eaten alive by a ravenous one in the wilderness of Alaska. Werner Herzog’s documentary is a masterpiece of philosophy. The German director believes in the chaos of nature, whereas, Treadwell believed in harmony. He also believed he held a special connection with the bears: he didn’t.

It’s easy to laugh at Treadwell and all his eccentricities, but watching Grizzly Man, one is struck by the amazing footage he’d collected down the years. In his search for the meaning of life this lost soul found comfort in the wild and genuinely loved his subject matter. Herzog disagrees with Treadwell’s conclusions, most vehemently. The scene in which he listens to a recording of Treadwell and his girlfriend’s death is chilling. The subtle changes on the director’s face tell it all.

There Will Be Blood
(dir: Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

there will be bloodP.T. Anderson described his flawless epic as a horror film about the birth of California. Opening with a wordless fifteen minute prologue is not the film’s only audacious move. Filling it with two absolute tyrants with no redeeming qualities as central characters is only one incredible facet of this American, gothic horror masterpiece.

Along side breathtaking cinematography and a dissonant score by Radiohead man Johnny Greenwood is an ending so bleak and terrifying, it descends into black comedy. Daniel Day-Lewis’s utter bastard Daniel Plainview is equally matched by the demented Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). It isn’t a case of good versus evil: it’s evil versus evil. “Sometimes I look at people and I don’t see anything worth liking.” Spine-tingling.

Of Time and the City
(dir: Terence Davies, 2008)

time and the cityDavies is one of cinema’s great unsung directors. An absolute unwillingness to compromise has lead to very few films down the years. Each film, when it does arrive, is achingly beautiful. He is a first rate cinema poet and should be one of Britain’s national treasures.

Of Time and the City is more than a documentary-essay on a bygone era of the famous working class city: it is a love letter, a biography, a personal history and lament. Davies has never been sentimental about his experiences and views. He is one of the finest auteur filmmakers. Whenever he releases a film, it is a cause to celebrate, for we may never know when we shall see one again.

In Absentia
(dir: The Quay Brothers, 2000)

absentiaA good horror film unsettles and lodges itself in the imagination. One could describe the effect as “haunting.” It does not have to be any particular image or moment, either. There doesn’t need to be buckets of gore. It can be an overall ambience or the querulous discord between sound and vision that so unsettles. All great horror films create unease – or should attempt it.

The Quay brothers are well known for their odd animations and odder features. In Absentia is a twenty minute short film made in collaboration with experimental musician Karlheinz Stockhausen. It is an utterly terrifying experience. With its plethora of electronic noises, waves of animated light, disembodied legs swinging on a balcony, repetitious movements and obscured voices – its nightmarish air is palpable. A young woman writes to her long lost lover in a room of an asylum. It’s a room with a view – of hell. That’s all, and it’s as spooky as hell.

City of God
(dir: Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, 2003)

city of godUntil this blasted into the cinematic consciousness of the movie-going world, how many had seen a Brazilian film? Fernando Meirelles’ violent odyssey through the favelas of Rio was all the more startling for its performance – all from untrained actors. This is as far as from tourist brochures and carnivals as one can get. The film is an unflinching (albeit, highly stylized) tour of modern day Brazil and its society is a landmark in cinema and provides a crime classic. Knock-Out Ned and Lil‘Dice are career criminals by accident or circumstance. The viewer is gob-smacked when a smiley little boy massacres the clientele of a motel during a robbery. The self-proclaimed City of God is quite godless.

Team America: World Police
(dir: Trey Parker, 2004)

581898mGood god, this is anarchic fun! Those expecting an anti-American imperialist rant were left sorely disappointed by Parker and Stone’s “fuck you” finger- pointing at bandwagon-jumping actors, evil dictators, the inherent stupidity of Hollywood blockbusters and America’s image as benign interventionists. In its opening scene Paris is destroyed, but the bad guys get killed. Justice is done: American style!

In ‘South Park: The Movie’, Saddam Hussein was lampooned without mercy, and next on the list was North Korea’s leader Kim Jong II. Taking the piss out of Asian’s struggles to pronounce the letter ‘L’ – the viewer is left crying tears of laughter at such numbers as “I’m So Ronery” and the immortal catchphrase: “Oh herro.”

With its less-than-subtle satire and glorious stupidity, only the most PC-minded would sneer at this crass, silly and marvellous film. It passes offensive humour to such a height it becomes genius. “America, fuck yeah!”

Land of the Dead
(dir: George A. Romero, 2005)

728188mNobody could quite believe it when Universal gave George A. Romero millions of dollars to make a zombie movie. He hadn’t made one since 1985’s ‘Day of the Dead’ – a film intended to be the “Gone with the Wind” of zombie flicks. Romero and major studios don’t mix. Land of the Dead proves it. Yet, the fact of its very existence and clever nuances – along with the awesome gore – is worthy of inclusion.

It is not a perfect film, but contains wonderful ideas. The CGI priest or Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s bothersome fan-boy cameos aside, Land of the Dead is a brilliant depiction of modern day capitalism and fractured society shot through a horror movie lens. Plus, fans got to see a more lush and expensive venture from Romero. It’ll never happen again.

The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
(dir: Andrew Dominick, 2007)

jesseThis is perhaps the greatest film Terrence Malick never made. His influence is all over this. From its slow, ponderous pace to the gorgeous cinematography, the legend of the outlaw Jesse James is played out as an art film. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Brad Pitt’s performance as James plays well against Casey Affleck’s egregious wannabe Bob Ford. Everybody knows the myth, the story and legend. Andrew Dominick’s assured direction still makes it a riveting tale. There weren’t many cowboy films this decade, but this is easily the best of the bunch. A bitter, ironic even, study of obsession in various forms.

Gladiator
(dir: Ridley Scott, 2000)

689104m“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North. General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”

Maximus is a hard bloke. He’s a Roman general-turned-gladiator. Played with feral intensity and great charisma by Russell Crowe, Ridley Scott’s epic revival of a dead genre is masterful in every department. The Englishman endured a pretty shit 1990s – the nadir being GI Jane. But there was something about this project that spelt success. At the beginning of the noughties, Crowe was not the megastar he is nowadays. He was a well respected character actor, sure – but no megastar that went around attacking producers and throwing telephones at bellboys: Gladiator changed all that.

It was a film with cross-over appeal. Everybody loved it. Its state-of-the-art effects even managed to resurrect Oliver Reed’s performance (he died during filming). It is a classic story of a man wronged and his long, hard road to vengeance. This was a new “Mad Max” for audiences to enjoy. Joaquin Phoenix played a great villain, too.

The Fall
(dir: Tarsem Singh, 2006)

fallNot many people know The Fall is based on a little seen Bulgarian film from the 1980s. Nobody has seen it apart from Tarsem Singh (probably). As one of the world’s finest music video and commercials directors, there was little hope that The Fall would turn out to be one of finest films of the year, let alone the decade. Most critics could not get past the lush visuals and dismissed it.

Starring Lee Pace and one of the best child actors ever – Catinca Untaru – The Fall, due to its masterful balance between extraordinary vision and heartfelt sentiment, is a spellbinding film. A Hollywood stuntman with a broken heart (and back) tricks a little girl into fetching him morphine pills by telling her outlandish stories. This simple platform is the used to explore loss, redemption and the cruelty of unrequited love. And who knew that elephants could swim? It was easily the most jaw-dropping, non-CGI moment of the decade.