Lisztomania, Part Deux
There Will Be Lists
Lists! God, yes, I love them again. See what happens when you get a girl started? Oh, it’s all fun and games until I name The Pineapple Express one of the Best of the Decade. (I will not, though I loved it and am sure a cogent argument could be made in its favor.) Someone recently asked me, for pure shits and giggles, to fire off a list of the Top 25 Films of the last ten years. I could only come up with 20, and at least three of those I felt ambivalent about.
Also to be considered is the perilous line between “Best” and “Favorite.” Just because I adore a movie and can sit through multiple viewings—ahem, The Devil Wears Prada—does that make it worthy of a top spot? In this case, I will say “no,” because I’m judging films like a Michelin rater does a plate at Jean Georges. Well, okay, maybe I’m not that calculated about things, but I am naming movies I consider punch-you-in-the-stomach good—the ones I can’t shake for their beauty, charm, and/or overall execution.
To make things easier on myself, I’ve narrowed that original list of 20 down to 15. This is the nice thing about such a self-imposed assignment: I’m not beholden to anyone else’s standards, and can choose to include or exclude any information I please. Hell, this could be a list of three and it would be perfectly acceptable, albeit not that interesting. I would highly recommend any and all of these for rental. Once again, in no particular order, but this time sans explanations:
Top 15 Films of the Decade
1. Amores Perros
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Capturing the Friedmans
4. Talk to Her
5. Punch-Drunk Love
6. Before Sunset
7. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8. Dogville
9. Dancer in the Dark
10. Lake of Fire
11. All About My Mother
12. The Royal Tenenbaums
13. City of God
14. Amélie
15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Paris is for (erstwhile) lovers.