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Top 100 Tuesday: 100 Best Movies of the Decade

29 December 2009 4:43 AM, PST | WeAreMovieGeeks.com | See recent WeAreMovieGeeks.com news »

We are leaving Kubrick behind and fast approaching Hyams.  If you get that reference, go grab yourself a cookie.  It is time for us to reflect back on the decade that was.  On January 1st, 2000, Disney released Fantasia 2000.  On Wednesday, December 30th, 2009, The White Ribbon is set to bow.  Between the release of these two films, thousands of films came and went, and some of them were far more memorable than others.  It was a long trek getting this list together, but here are our collective top 100 films of the past decade.

Quick Year-to-Year by the Numbers:

2009 – 11

2008 – 11

2007 – 7

2006 – 14

2005 – 12

2004 – 8

2003 – 7

2002 – 12

2001 – 10

2000 – 8

100. Million Dollar Baby (2004) – Clint Eastwood

99. Juno (2007) – Jason Reitman

98. An Education (2009) – Lone Scherfig

97. Spider-man 2 (2004) – Sam Raimi

96. Munich (2005) – Steven Spielberg

95. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) – Wes Anderson

94. The King Of Kong (2007) – Seth Gordon

93. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’S Stone (2001) – Chris Columbus

92. Clerks 2 (2006) – Kevin Smith

91. Femme Fatale (2002) – Brian De Palma

90. Tasogare Seibei »

- Movie Geeks

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Anna Kendrick: The Hollywood Interview

21 December 2009 8:34 AM, PST | The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news »

(Anna Kendrick and George Clooney, above, in Up In The Air.)

By Terry Keefe (Currently appearing in this month's Venice Magazine.)

Anna Kendrick has always excelled at playing the smartest person in the room, and one who you definitely want to watch your back around. We were introduced to Kendrick in her big-screen debut, Todd Graff’s Camp in 2003, when she played young teen actress wannabe Fritzi Wagner in a notable supporting role. Described by one adult character in the film as a “scary little girl,” Wagner begins the story as a mousy sidekick to blonde theater star diva Jill (Alana Allen), but then manages to quite literally push Jill off the stage in a fierce All About Eve-style turnaround. In 2007, Kendrick won critical acclaim for her work as manipulative high school debate champion Ginny Ryerson in Rocket Science. Like Fritzi Wagner, Ginny Ryerson had a freaky air of intelligence well beyond her years, »

- The Hollywood Interview.com

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Decade in Review: 2004 Top Ten

14 December 2009 6:56 PM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Moving on to 2004. What follows is my original top ten list, based on films released in NYC in 2004. If I have anything new to say that'll be in red after the original text.

Top Ten Runners Up (in descending order): Aviator, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Mean Girls, Maria Full of Grace, The Five Obstructions, Collateral, Goodbye Lenin!, Birth and Closer Yes, I'm absolutely horrified by the rankings now. Nothing about that ranking feels right now. I am most ashamed that Birth was only at number [cough] 19 in its year. In my self-flattering memory I "almost" put it in the top ten despite the then brutal reviews. I was ahead of my time! Oh well... at least I did actually name it the #1 most underappreciated film of the year. At the time I said...

Jonathan Glazer made a significant splash four years ago when his brilliantly acted heist film Sexy Beast »

- NATHANIEL R

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Exclusive: Jodelle Ferland Dances For Matthew Broderick In This Clip From 'Wonderful World'

8 December 2009 7:00 AM, PST | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »

A good part of the world is always going to see Ferris Bueller when they look at Matthew Broderick, and that's fine. Not every actor is afforded the opportunity to craft a character as memorable and iconic as the high school troublemaker, so Broderick deserves the recognition. He's had other roles though, and more often than not, he's shined in them (see also: "Election").

Broderick's latest is "Wonderful World," a family drama in which the actor plays a divorcee who willfully avoids falling in love again. If the exclusive clip below is any indication, he may not find much success there. Khadi (Sanaa Lathan), who comes to live with Broderick's Ben Singer as a roommate following a series of random events, teaches Singer daughter Sandra (Jodelle Ferland) how to dance while dear old dad watches. And that's not all dear old dad is watching. You can see "Wonderful World" on Amazon, »

- Adam Rosenberg

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The 180 second challenge

19 November 2009 11:03 PM, PST | FilmInk.com.au | See recent FilmInk.com.au news »

Gearing up for its fourth annual competition is The Optus ONE80PROJECT, an initiative that encourages local, aspiring film and television talent to submit an original 180 second television pilot and accompanying treatment for judging, by a panel of judges as well as Optus mobile phone subscribers.   Previous illustrious judges have included Noah Taylor, Abbie Cornish, Emily Barclay, Neil Armfield, Teresa Palmer, Alex Dimitriades and Nash & Joel Edgerton and this year it is Us based, international heavyweight producer David Gale (Election, The Longest Yard and Napoleon Dynamite) that will hone in on the winning contender.   Currently the Executive Vice President of New Media at MTV, David Gale was previously head of MTV films and oversaw films such as Napoleon Dynamite, Hustle and Flow, Murderball, Beavis and Butthead Do America, Jackass: The Movie and Jackass Number Two. »

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Exclusive: 'Wonderful World' Poster

11 November 2009 8:15 AM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Click on the image below to view full poster

Cinematical has just received the official poster for Matthew Broderick's sharpie-smiled Wonderful World. It's been a good two years since the actor signed on to the project, which was then simply described as a movie that "centers on a depressed, divorced, and unemployed father who finds solace in his Senegalese roommate's sister." That now sounds as telling of the story as saying The Lord of the Rings is about a journey to play a fiery game of ring toss.

The directorial debut of writer Joshua Goldin, this feature also marks a reunion with Broderick, who starred in his 1992 script, Out on a Limb. But this flick sounds like it will be even further out on that limb, making Broderick's stint in Election sound like your Average Joe kinda day:

"A pessimistic pothead struggles with his own cynicism after his Senegalese »

- Monika Bartyzel

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Exclusive photos, director comments: Savage County on-line shocker

10 November 2009 12:11 PM, PST | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

Director David Harris sent along some exclusive pics (see them below) from his fright feature Savage County, an MTV production which will be presented in eight 10-minute on-line installments beginning next February. Lensed in Memphis, Tn this past summer, the movie (scripted by Harris and Dan Alvarado) is about a group of high-schoolers who run afoul of a vicious backwoods family, the Hardells.

Savage County is an unabashed homage to vintage rural horrors of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre breed, though Harris notes it has a true-life inspiration as well. “I grew up in Texas,” he tells Fango, “and as a kid, I was 100 percent sure that Chainsaw 1 and 2 were documentaries. We had a big woods near our neighborhood, with a 1800s house and a rambling old man with a shotgun and 100 cats—basically, a slightly less decrepit ‘Grandpa.’ That was the original big scare for me, and there was no »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (Michael Gingold)

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George Clooney in Talks for Alexander Payne's Next Film

5 November 2009 6:30 AM, PST | Pastemagazine.com | See recent PasteMagazine news »

George Clooney is in talks to play the lead role in the first feature film Alexander Payne has directed in five years, the follow-up to 2004’s Sideways. Payne also directed 1999’s Election and currently executive produces HBO’s series Hung. Produced by Fox Searchlight (where Payne has a first-look deal), the new film is a family “dramedy” called The Descendants, based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ 2007 novel of the same name. »

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MTV News Celebrates Election Day November 2009 With Our Favorite Campaigns In Movie History

3 November 2009 10:30 AM, PST | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »

It's the first November of 2009, which means it's time to pull that lever, touch that screen or figure out whatever newfangled contraption your district has provided: today is Election Day, so cast that vote!

I put that exclamation point in there not because I'm excited to vote in New York's mayoral election, but because Election Day gets me thinking about what a rich topic elections have been for cinema. Combining intrigue, corruption, passion and the odd sex scandal, politics in general and elections in particular have made for some big screen gems over the years. Here are my favs.

Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) in "The Distinguished Gentleman": This flick is potent satire lurking within broad comedy: Johnson's conman epiphany is to ditch his illegal shenanigans and start sucking the enriching teet of the Washington establishment. He looses his ode-to-a-forefather's moniker, appropriates the name and campaign signage of a recently deceased politician and – bingo! »

- Eric Ditzian

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Clooney will likely have Descendants

3 November 2009 7:58 AM, PST | Corona's Coming Attractions | See recent Corona's Coming Attractions news »

Georhe Clooney is in talks to frontline The Descendants for director Alexander Payne. If he takes the job Clooney will play a father/husband who goes on a search to locate the man who was his wife's secret boyfriend for years. As the director of Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt and Sideways, it sounds like the kind of off kilter dramatic material that Payne is known for.

Variety notes that the film, which is in the chute at Fox Searchlight, would begin filming next February in Hawaii. The movie's screenplay is based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. »

- Patrick Sauriol

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George Clooney in Talks for Alexander Payne's 'The Descendants'

3 November 2009 6:48 AM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

While he's one of the main men of superstardom, George Clooney also keeps one foot firmly in the world of quirk and strangeness. He may be Mr. Ocean, but he's also the dude who was in Return of the Killer Tomatoes and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Clooney knows how to be ridiculous, and now he's jumping into a whole new world of quirk.

Variety reports that the actor is in talks to star in the new Alexander Payne dramedy The Descendants. His first feature since Sideways, the film got cooking back in August and follows a rich landowner and father who decides to grab his two hard-to-handle daughters and search for his wife's lover in an attempt to keep his family together -- while she's in a coma after a catamaran accident. ...I still can't fathom the logic behind this one.

This is definitely one of those it's about time! »

- Monika Bartyzel

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George Clooney Circles 'Descendants'

2 November 2009 9:05 PM, PST | CinemaSpy | See recent CinemaSpy news »

According to Variety, George Clooney is circling the family dramedy The Descendants, set to be directed by Alexander Payne, the man behind such films as Election, About Schmidt and Sideways. Circling typically means that either Clooney is still deciding, and/or negotiating terms...or that the project is in difficulty and the actor may be preparing to descend in and pick up the project remains.

The story for The Descendents concerns a wealthy landowner who takes his two daughters on a search for his wife's lover in the hopes of keeping his family together.

Penned by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the screenplay is based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

The Descendants, which marks Payne's first feature in five years, is scheduled to begin lensing in February in Hawaii. Fox Searchlight will distribute.

The story sounds a bit improbable for a Clooney film, frankly. It's hard to imagine »

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Find Interview: Director Lynn Shelton of Humpday

2 October 2009 11:13 AM, PDT | Film Independent | See recent Film Independent news »

Lynn Shelton recently won the Acura Someone to Watch Award at the 2009 Spirit Awards. She continued her lucky streak with the much-lauded Sundance premiere of her latest film, Humpday, which was picked up for distribution by Magnolia Films. The actors starring in Humpday, including Shelton herself, improvised all the dialogue, and the result is a candid and hilarious tale of two straight men who decide to have sex with each other in the name of art.

By Carolyn Cohagan 

Our members love to hear the logistics of how a film gets made. Can you tell me about your shooting schedule and budget?

The budget was very lean. It was under half a million. No one got anything up front.  I pulled it together with a lot of in-kind donations. I gave everyone back-end (points) so that when I made money, they made money. I've worked with these guys over the »

- maint

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Tiff Review: The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man

12 September 2009 9:12 AM, PDT | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »

The Coen Brothers' A Serious Man is very comparable to Alexander Payne's masterwork Election, which just happens to be one of my favorite films of all time. Both films are brilliant dark comedies about teachers who are trying to do their best, trying to do the right thing, and somewhere along the way, make one small bad decision which spirals out of control into the biggest mess you've ever seen. A Serious Man is set in 1967, and centers on Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) a midwestern professor who is faced with divorce, and all the consequences that may bring to his Jewish family, which includes a son prepping for Bar Mitzvah while evading bullies at school, a daughter, and his crazy gambling brother who keeps getting into more trouble. Larry seeks answers from three local rabbi, none of which are able to give him any advice he believes to be »

- Peter Sciretta

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Toronto 2009: "Jennifer's Body" Could Use Some Work

11 September 2009 7:58 AM, PDT | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

Even though Telluride stole a little of Toronto's thunder with a sneak premiere of Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," the foremost film festival in North America is not about to let anyone forget that it was the place where "Juno" debuted two years ago. All three "Juno" principles -- Reitman, screenwriter Diablo Cody (with "Jennifer's Body"), and star Ellen Page (the lead in "Whip It!") -- are back up north with new films, and the most direct descendent, the Reitman-produced and Cody-penned "Jennifer's Body," was the first of the three to premiere in the midnight madness section on Thursday.

An émigré of the dearly departed Fox Atomic label, "Jennifer's Body" arrived in Toronto with plenty of baggage, but came across like catnip to the friendly audiences in a country that gave birth to the "Ginger Snaps" franchise. Though Cody has said her follow-up to "Juno" was inspired by »

- Stephen Saito

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TV Review: The Best New Show of the Year is ‘Glee’

9 September 2009 11:10 AM, PDT | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Chicago – Ryan Murphy’s brilliant “Glee” is not only the best new show of the year, it’s off to one of the best starts for any series in the last several fall seasons. Much closer to Alexander Payne’s “Election” than Disney’s “High School Musical,” this is a clever blend of satire, pop tunes, laugh-out-loud comedy, and rich, interesting characters that you simply shouldn’t miss.

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0 Since I first reviewed “Glee,” I was worried about two things. One, is the show too quirky and unusual for TV? Could it suffer the same fate as other critically acclaimed shows that never found an audience like “Pushing Daisies” and “Veronica Mars”?

Two, would the quality of the premiere that was so good that Fox aired it four months early maintain itself? The jury is still out on the former but I’ve seen two more episodes (tonight’s “Showmance” and the fourth episode, »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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The 'Election' of 1999

12 August 2009 10:30 AM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »

"Dear Lord Jesus, I do not often speak with you and ask for things, but now, I really must insist that you help me win the election tomorrow because I deserve it and Paul Metzler doesn't, as you well know. I realize that it was your divine hand that disqualified Tammy Metzler and now I'm asking that you go that one last mile and make sure to put me in office where I belong so that I may carry out your will on earth as it is in heaven. Amen." -- Tracy Flick, Election It's been 10 years since Alexander Payne's Election introduced the world to Reese Witherspoon's ruthless go-getter, and I'm not surprised that Tracy Flick has blossomed into a pop-cultural touchstone, even if Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin hadn't emerged as political lightning rods. Everyone knew a Tracy Flick in high school. They also probably knew a »

- Jeff Labrecque

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Alexander Payne's Flirtation with Dysfunction

11 August 2009 5:02 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Okay, after all these years, maybe Alexander Payne is doing a little more than flirting with dysfunction.

He's brought to life the manic world of Tracy Flick, teenage sexuality, and cheating spouses with Election, aging pains and hot tub sauciness with About Schmidt, and wine snobbery at its finest with Sideways. He's the man who finds strange books and make them a usually irresistible cinematic experience. He's even gearing up to shoot a film that focuses on people who want to become little people to have a happier retirement. But before that can happen, Payne is going to follow The Descendents, according to Variety.Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Deals

Continue reading Alexander Payne's Flirtation with Dysfunction

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- Monika Bartyzel

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Novel Adaptations: How Close Should They Be?

22 July 2009 1:00 PM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

The release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has reopened discussions about what makes a good book to film adaptation. The Potter series often divides fans, and the latest chapter is no exception. I’ve heard from a number of fans of the book series who are  disappointed with the current film’s adaptation, while I’ve also talked to fans who are satisfied. Brad Brevet from RopesofSilicon reflected on some of the more negative fan reactions and he asks, “how faithful should film adaptations be?”

Adapting a book into a film is not an easy process. Squeezing a 300-page novel into a 120-minute film is difficult, especially if the book has lots of exposition or other elements that are not easily cinematic. For books that are rich and deeply characterized, like the Potter books, adaptation is almost always going to mean losing some characters or the minute characterizations that many fans hold dear. »

- Christina Warren

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Ed Helms Heads to 'Cedar Rapids'

16 July 2009 11:51 PM, PDT | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »

A couple of months ago, we had the chance to talk to Ed Helms from The Hangover. At the time, he was hesitant to predict good things for the movie, but of course, things worked out Ok on that front.

As generally happens with a breakout hit, good things await the cast. Zach Galifianakis is juggling a lot of offers and has already latched onto another movie with director Todd Philips in addition to the sequel, Bradley Cooper's got a million things going on, and now Ed Helms has inked a deal to wstar in Cedar Rapids, and ensemble comedy produced by Alexander Payne.

Helms, of course, has a background in improv comedy, was a correspondent for The Daily Show, and is a regular on The Office, so ensemble comedies shouldn't be a big reach for him, especially since Payne (Election, Sideways) is involved. Another point in Helms' favor »

- Colin Boyd

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2000 | 1999

1-20 of 45 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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