1. “Sideways” - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor took a quirky, high-spirited novel from Rex Pickett and turned it into one of the most enjoyably low-key cinematic gems of the decade. With its disheveled everyman duo of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, this one took us on a life-altering journey through the stunning ins and outs of California wine country and extracted some hysterical moments along the way. Seldom does a film capture the uncompromised essence of a book so impeccably.
“Million Dollar Baby” - I originally settled on “Sideways” as my sole number one, but Clint Eastwood’s heartbreaking meditation on love and loss is too powerful to ignore. The performances of Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman speak for themselves and every frame just feels like an unnerving setup for something beyond the normal tragedy that boxing films often carry. Sure, the fight scenes are aplenty, but much like real life, these wounds cut a lot deeper than you realize.
2. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” - Every time Charlie Kaufman pens a script, it’s guaranteed to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and director Michel Gondry certainly did his part to deliver on that promise. His melancholy portrait of two endearing eccentrics trying to literally erase their relationship from memory is beautifully woven together to create something totally void of all rom-com cliché. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are pitch perfect as the struggling couple, because they leave the glamour at home and delve into the painful aspects of romance with bona fide apprehension.
3. “The Passion of the Christ” - I know, I know. It’s lengthy, vindictive, blood-spattered, and borderline anti-Semitic (Not in my opinion), but I found every frame to be nothing short of inspiring. I challenge you to find a more fearlessly outstanding performance than that of Jim Caviezel and his surprising control of the Aramaic language. Only an ambitious filmmaker such as Mel Gibson would willingly weather the storm to bring something of this scale to the screen, so the $370 million box office return surely alleviated the critical beating he endured following its release.
4. “Kill Bill Vol. 2” - Part two of Quentin Tarantino’s delectably idiosyncratic ode to Kung Fu classics is pure poetry in motion. It turns the entire revenge genre on its head in a way that only Tarantino can and provides the perfect platform for Uma Thurman to deliver a career-best performance. She plays The Bride with such profound ferocity that we’re rooting for her regardless of how wicked or thick-skinned she becomes and, believe me, she definitely gets her revenge. Is it as good as “Pulp Fiction?” No, but what is?
5. “The Aviator” - Since Martin Scorsese is my favorite director, it’s difficult to be completely objective when it comes to his work, but this film really is something special. The lavish radiance of old time Hollywood is channeled in remarkable fashion and Leonardo DiCaprio captures the neurotic madness of aviation visionary Howard Hughes as if they were long lost brothers. Whether or not his real-life battle with OCD aided his work I can’t say, but the role is brilliant nonetheless and possibly his best yet.
6. “Kinsey” - When the tagline for your film is “Let’s Talk About Sex,” it’s hard for me to envision a massive audience coming out to support your cause. Americans are and always have been greatly terrified of discussing anything deemed taboo and I don’t think that will ever change. The fact that Dr. Alfred Kinsey dared to break the mold and challenge people makes for a fascinating two-hour exploration of the human psyche and Liam Neeson is perfect every step of the way.
7. “Ray” - Nothing Jamie Foxx has done since has even come close to the magic he conjured up as Ray Charles, but with “The Soloist” due out later this year, he may have another shot at greatness. My only gripe with him is that he almost tried to make himself bigger than the legend he was portraying and, to me, that’s just wrong.
8. “Collateral” - No one shoots at night quite like Michael Mann. For him, the darkness almost becomes a character in itself just waiting to swallow up the unsuspecting cast members and force them to question their own sanity. Never was that more clear than in this dazzling action vehicle in which a reticent cab driver goes on the ride of his life with a extreme, silver-haired hitman leading the way. As the late, great Joel Siegel said, “It’s Tom Cruise Unplugged.”
9. “The Machinist” - This austere tale of an insomniac machinist is a Kafka-esque nightmare in which Christian Bale sheds weight faster than Jared Fogle. Director Brad Anderson keeps you guessing at every turn and, if you haven’t seen it, you’ll be astonished by just how far Bale goes for the sake of entertainment.
10. “The Dreamers” - Spicy Bond girl Eva Green, Michael Pitt, and Louis Garrel star as a group of avid cinephiles who go into seclusion during the 1968 student rebellions in France. The amount of wild sex in this film earned a devastating NC-17 rating, but the narrative here is about so much more than just what’s on the surface, so I urge you to check it out.
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