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Smart Hollywood: My Top Ten Fave Films of the 00’s

the aughts

by Jonathan Fuhrman | 12:50 pm, December 4th, 2009

» 4 comments

7. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Wes Anderson seems in many ways to me like a kindred spirit to Charlie Kaufman. Such an auteur, his films’ unmistakable style render them immediately distinguishable from works by anyone else. Even the recently released stop-motion animated film “Fantastic Mr. Fox” can sit side by side all of Wes Anderson’s other films and look like it is part of the same world. And this is a film with fox puppets! But if you think about it, the characters in Anderson’s films are always his puppets – part of a unique, visually inventive world that Anderson meticulously builds piece by piece. It is for this reason all of his films are eminently re-watchable and rewarding upon multiple viewings, and The Royal Tenenbaums does not disappoint in that regard. This film came out at the beginning of the decade and most definitely has already stood the test of time in my world. The characters in this film are so enjoyable to follow, especially because each has their own little quirky idiosyncrasies and a distinct visual style. It’s certainly not an accident that all of the members of the Tenenbaum family now annually serve as inspiration for Halloween costumes. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen this film, but if I’m channel surfing and I come upon Royal Tenenbaum and his clan of brooding geniuses, I immediately put the remote down and get lost in Anderson’s fantastic world. I can’t wait to get lost there again.

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kevinsemicolon

That’s a pretty interesting list. Of the movies I’ve seen, I would only disagree with a few of them (one in particular—I can guarantee I will not be rewatching any Russell Crowe movie in the next 20 years). Here’s my list, with the added restraint of only one movie per year:

Wonder Boys (2000)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
24 Hour Party People (2002)
The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Volver (2006)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Coraline (2009)

For Volver, you can substitute Pan’s Labyrinth if you prefer. 2006 was the year Madrid picked up the slack for Hollywood. That was a fun exercise. Thanks!
Rachel Sklar

What a great list. I admit that I can watch “Legally Blonde” anytime…or “Bring It On”…or “Mean Girls”…I think I just stumbled upon another idea for a list…

(I also like smart-people movies too, sheesh. Oh and I think I’d put Inglorious Basterds on any list. I still find myself thinking about it, and arrested by it.)
Jonathan Fuhrman

I agree re: “Basterds” but left it off the list for 2 reasons: 1) personal bias given I worked on it and trying to remain somewhat impartial; 2) and more importantly, it’s probably a case of timing hurting its chances to make the top 10 – its just too soon – need a little bit of time and distance to really determine its place on this list. That being said Quentin’s other masterpiece of the 00′s, “Kill Bill” (especially Volume 1) was definitely a near miss to this list. I can watch that scene where The Bride takes on the Crazy 88 over and over. What a movie.
lkruse

Excellent choices! I agree with all those films. I think if I had to try and do both: pick movies just from the 00′s that I’ll enjoy yrs from now (enjoy being the key word in this category as some of the best movies can be difficult to watch over and over again), as well as movies that stand up to critical acclaim I would have to add:

Both Joe Wright’ films “Atonement” and “Pride and Prejudice”
Steven Soderbergh’s “Erin Brokovich”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“Tropic Thunder”

Smart Hollywood: My Top Ten Fave Films of the 00’s

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