Movies that Defined the Decade ('00-'09)

[Mace Dolex]

And how is LOTR silly American storytelling? The story wasn't written by an American.

Foreign audiences are not as movie savvy and don't go logging onto movie forums to discuss the process into making a movie like we do.

Besides any American film shown overseas is already considered american no matter who writes, directs, stars in it.

 

[Doctor Jones]

This IS America Goddammit!

 

[matrix_ghost]

Definately The Dark Knight.
That movie proved that a comic book movie doesn't have to be a "silly" movie . TDK can definately compete with any other big crime movie . You don't have t dumb down stuff to make it any less enjoyable.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Well, if you say The Dark Knight, I'm going to say Iron Man. Thank God this came out in the same year. Like I said it showed that a comic book film doesn't need to be dark, grim or realistic to be good. It can be light and fun. Stick to what works for that character and play off their strengths. Dark only works for certain characters. What I'm liking with the IM2 sequel is that it doesn't look darker than the first one. I'm glad they followed the same formula. If they did a straight up Demon In A Bottle stroyline it would have betrayed what the first film was about.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Outside of the U.S. nobody really cares for LOTR..........well that's my opinion anyway.

I don't know for other EU country but in France LOTR ( movie and books ) are well known and loved.
I guess it is the same in UK.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Definately The Dark Knight.
That movie proved that a comic book movie doesn't have to be a "silly" movie . TDK can definately compete with any other big crime movie . You don't have t dumb down stuff to make it any less enjoyable.

That hardly defines us as a whole, that is just a industry trend

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

V for Vendetta pretty much defines this decade. The big question of the decade after 9/11 has been is it worth giving up freedom for security and the two very different factions that result because of it. Even the recent healthcare reform battle is basically over that question. No movie captured it better than V for Vendetta.

 

[bunk]

That hardly defines us as a whole, that is just a industry trend

I don't know that the purpose of your thread is really coming across.

 

[The Joker]

Spider-Man 2
Lord of the Rings
The Dark Knight
The Bourne movies

 

[Infinity9999x]

Foreign audiences are not as movie savvy and don't go logging onto movie forums to discuss the process into making a movie like we do.

Besides any American film shown overseas is already considered american no matter who writes, directs, stars in it.

The LOTR novels are some of the most well known books ever published. They've been translated into multiple languages and were widely recognized as some of the best fantasy novels ever published, and this was before the movies were released.

Also, I find it hard to believe that other countries disliked the LOTR movies, considering their impressive world wide box office.

 

[Bunker]

There Will Be Blood
Brokeback Mountain
Memento

 

[redhawk23]

Well regarding LOTR's popularity, it might be big in the UK but I don't see these movies being huge in Spanish speaking countries.

I'm Hispanic so I know from experience that in South America the audience there can be very fickle when presented with movies that require them to believe in what they percieve as silly American storytelling, if it doesn't have visual action excitement you lose your audience.

Trust me I had a Hispanic co-worker who liked Batman & Robin because according to him it had more action.

dude "Epic Battle Sequence" is in the rating for Return of the King, how exactly does this not count as visual action excitement? just really how does the battle of pellinor fields alone not qualify much less the rest of the movie?

 

[redhawk23]

I can agree that the film version of V for Vendetta definitely captured the mood.

Something I've been thinking is that with all the reboots, remakes, and recycling that went on this decade the perfect films to represent this are the Kill Bill films. Pretty much every scene of those movies came about of a lifetime of movie watching, with asthetics, rip offs and "homages" blended into a very particular film.

 

[Hound55]

I think a lot of folk here are missing the original point of the topic.

I think V for Vendetta went BEYOND capturing the mood to being an unsubtle sledgehammer to the face from liberal sentiments at the time... I also think it was a difficult time to express subtlety in those sentiments because of how out of proportion some of the leading figures in politics were at the time.

I'll throw a Wall-E out there... Wall-E heavily picked up on current alarming trends and exaggerated them to show us all a satirical charicature of ourselves. Wall-E nails about the last 4 years of sentiment from a large group of people in my opinion, whilst still appealing to them with a main character people found sweet.

 

[Doctor Jones]

X-Men 2. The first comic book sequel to surpass its predecessor in every way. It showed that it was possible. At this point comic book films were looking up again for the most part.

I mean the white house scene is all kinds of badass. I wish I saw it in the theater.

 

[Hound55]

Foreign audiences are not as movie savvy and don't go logging onto movie forums to discuss the process into making a movie like we do.

Besides any American film shown overseas is already considered american no matter who writes, directs, stars in it.

They don't?

So a movie written by a Brit, directed by a kiwi with Americans in the cast being a minority... that movie is still American?

 

[Evil Twin]

The escapism and story of pure good, of the commonest, smallest person, triumphing over monumental evil in the wake of 9/11 probably defined the desires of the US more than any other movie this decade. It's the flip side to every movie that tried to deal with the Iraq War and flopped at the box office. Heck, looking over the foreign box office, I don't know if there's a region of the world where LOTR can be called unsuccessful based on numbers, rather than anecdotes. See http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=returnoftheking.htm

I've never watched it, but Saw which invoked the fear of torture probably would only be successful in a decade when the spectre of torture was raised so frequently.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I don't know that the purpose of your thread is really coming across.

Not even in the least. People are just naming their favorite movies of the year.

Although I found a really great blog that has some great ideas.

part 1: http://thefinecut.blogspot.com/2010/02/memories-of-turn-of-century-in-film.html

part 2: http://thefinecut.blogspot.com/2010/03/memories-of-turn-of-century-in-film.html

part 3:http://thefinecut.blogspot.com/2010/04/memories-of-turn-of-century-in-film.html

and continuing.

Of course he does both industry and culture at large.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I think a lot of folk here are missing the original point of the topic.

I think V for Vendetta went BEYOND capturing the mood to being an unsubtle sledgehammer to the face from liberal sentiments at the time... I also think it was a difficult time to express subtlety in those sentiments because of how out of proportion some of the leading figures in politics were at the time.

Still are. Bipartisan is crazy. I love the way Swing Vote portrayed politics.

I'll throw a Wall-E out there... Wall-E heavily picked up on current alarming trends and exaggerated them to show us all a satirical charicature of ourselves. Wall-E nails about the last 4 years of sentiment from a large group of people in my opinion, whilst still appealing to them with a main character people found sweet.

Yea, I think Wall-E was the only environmental movie that was any good. Biggest problem is they were all about as subtle as a jackhammer, but Wall-E was entertaining beyond the message as well.

 

[cerealkiller182]

The escapism and story of pure good, of the commonest, smallest person, triumphing over monumental evil in the wake of 9/11 probably defined the desires of the US more than any other movie this decade. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=returnoftheking.htm

Id say Spiderman had a more direct line to this given the the time and location it was set in. Not the LOTR doesnt fit.

I've never watched it, but Saw which invoked the fear of torture probably would only be successful in a decade when the spectre of torture was raised so frequently.

Actually Im pretty sure Saw predated the torture talk. It was a Paranormal Activity situation, short film turned surprise blockbuster. I'd say he spawned the interest rather than the other way around.

 

[Doctor Jones]

The first Saw was clever and solid. Unfortunately what followed wasn't.

 

[Golgo-13]

I would say LOTR too. Not a big fan, but it definitely was that era's Star Wars.

I'm saddened by the way Transformers has turned out. That franchise had so much potential to be something great, epic, etc.