My Decade in Crap, #40-31

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Top 50 Films of the Nils, #40-31

40. A Mighty Wind (2003)

I generally hate films where characters have to create something artistic – a stand-up routine (Elizabethtown) or a painting (Art School Confidential) or a song (Admit it; The Lone Rangers were kind of terrible). Reactions to that work always feel forced. Within the context of the story, it never feels funny or moving or good enough. Which is why I love Christopher Guest’s movies. This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind are hilarious movies about bands, yes, but the music is great too. I totally get why people would attend the film’s folk concert. It helps that A Mighty Wind is both pretty dang funny but also a wee bit sweet. Guest regulars like Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Parker Posey fire off riff after riff, but at the same time, there’s a real heart to the proceedings. Whenever I catch this on TV, I try to make it to the scene where burnout Mitch (Levy) gets lucid enough to buy Mickey (O’Hara) a flower. It’s got a lot more meaning if you watch the movie.

39. The Fall (2008)

Director Tarsem is known for two things: 1) Making beautiful films and 2) Taking a long-ass time to complete them. He’s been commercial and music video director for like 20 years or so – he even helmed R.E.M.’s award-winning “Losing My Religion” video – but to date he’s only completed two full-length films: 2000’s The Cell and 2008’s The Fall. The Fall is the stronger film, but both possess a visual sense that I haven’t seen anywhere else. In a time where sets are increasingly computer-generated (Thanks, George Lucas), Tarsem makes the most out scouting locations. In fact, he took on several advertisement shoots around the world to fund The Fall, as well as obtain locations. Some folks made a stink about its plot being convoluted, but honestly, The Fall isn’t that hard to follow. Stuntman Roy (Lee Pace) tries to kill himself, fails, and ends up in a hospital. There, he meets another patient, a young girl name Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), and begins telling her fantastical stories in exchange for morphine. The film shifts between these two and the elaborate tale Roy tells Alexandria, detailing the adventures of five heroes. It’s dark in places, especially leading up to the ending, but man is it a ride. It’s the kind of film that major studios could never accomplish, and it’s a credit to Tarsem insane devotion to his art that he was able to complete the movie over the course of four years and in over 20 countries.

38. Scotland, PA (2001)

I dig William Shakespeare. I’ve made an effort to check out the modernized versions of his plays, the best of which is Scotland, PA. It sets Macbeth in a fast food joint in the ’70s, where Macbeth (James LeGros) kills his boss and takes over his restaurant. The film has a lot of fun twisting the story around – the Three Witches are recast as hippies, while Christopher Walken is clearly super awesome as Lt. Macduff – but it still hits the original play’s core notes. And to think it all came from the mind of the guy from Severed Ties…

37. Volver (2006)

Penélope Cruz is such an awesome actor… provided she’s speaking Spanish. I loved her in All About My Mother (which Volver director Pedro Almodóvar also helmed). Blow, not so much. Here, though, she shines as Raimunda, the mother/daughter/sister trying to keep her family together. Her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) kills her father in self-defense after he tries to rape her, and Raimunda helps cover up the murder. Meanwhile, her sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) is hiding their mother (Carmen Maura), who is supposed to have died years ago in a fire. It sounds a bit melodramatic, but Volver pulls it off with comedic flare.

36. Park Chan-Wook's "Vengeance Trilogy" (2002-2005)

To save space, I’ve opted to combine films from a series. First up is the “Vengeance Trilogy,” in which writer/director Park Cahn-wook explores, well, revenge in his films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance. Each film has its own style – Oldboy is the most bizarre in its depiction of Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) and his quest to find out why the heck he was imprisoned for 15 years. It gets pretty effed up at the end, but I’d say Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is Chan-wook’s most disturbing entry in the trilogy. A poor deaf man (Shin Ha-kyun) and his revolutionary girlfriend’s (Bae Doona) bungled attempt to ransom the daughter of a wealthy businessman (Song Kang-ho). The film’s first half is like a family friendly comedy… until the daughter drowns. Then shit gets fucked. Lady Vengeance is a little more even in tone. Ex-con Lee Geum-ja’s (Lee Young Ae) was wrongly convicted of killing a child, and she’s going to find out who really did it once she gets out. This installment is noticeably less gory than the other two films, but just as effective.

35. Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)

Martial artist Tony Jaa is the freaking man. In his debut starring role, he must stop a criminal organization from stealing and selling ancient artifacts. This necessitates the use of fightin’, and boy can Jaa bring it. His fighting style hits that sweet spot where it A) looks cool and B) probably hurts like the dickens. The filmmakers keep tossing in new elements to amp up the action, like having Jaa fight like a thousand guys in one continuous shot, or setting Jaa on fucking fire just so his jumpkicks can be that much more awesome. FACT: Setting Tony Jaa on fire only makes him stronger.

34. No Country For Old Men (2007)

This jaw-dropping Coen Brothers adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel about one Texan’s (Josh Brolin) attempt to rip off drug money is so got-damned intense. The cast is stellar across the board, with favorites being Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh, the unstoppable hitman tasked with recovering the money, and Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Ed Bell, the almost-retired police officer who’s (almost) always a step behind the action. You get the sense that none of these characters are going to make it out OK, but they keep plugging away at their individual choices as tension escalates more and more.

33. Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002)

This one’s an Internet cult classic. Rather than bore you with word (stupid words!), here are the YouTube clips that turned me on to such a magnificent picture:

32. Burn After Reading (2008)

A lot of people were let down by Burn After Reading, the Coen Brothers’ follow-up to the critical and commercial wonder No Country For Old Men (but then, a lot of people took issue with The Big Lebowski, the Coens’ follow-up to Fargo). Personally, I thought it was a hilarious comedy about how ridiculously serious adults are about everything. When Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) stumble upon alcoholic ex-CIA analyst Osborne Cox’s (John Malkovich) memoir, they think they’ve found government secrets and try to bribe Cox, only to come up against Cox’s severe anger issues. As that problem escalates, it intersects with womanizer Harry’s (George Clooney) affair with Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton), Osborne’s wife. It’s a faux-spy movie filled with faux-intrigue, a comedic gem that surely must have been a palate cleanser for the Coens after No Country For Old Men’s doom and gloom.

31. The Simpsons Movie (2007)

By the time The Simpsons Movie came out, I had already forgotten how much I loved Matt Groening’s television show. I had forgotten how witty the show could be. I pretty much attended a screening of the film in a fit of nostalgia, and it reminded me just how amazing the show was throughout the ’90s. The film’s first 30 minutes or so are so insanely manic, and even a wee bit dangerous, that I remembered how many jokes the show used to toss off. After this, I rewatched old episodes, and found that I love the show even more than I was a kid, because I get so much more of the humor. The show still hasn’t been great for a long time, but I’ll always hold The Simpsons Movie up its great last stand.

TOMORROW: Movies about marionettes, mutants, and meatballs, #30-29.