The Butcher’s Block

Before we get too far into the next decade, I wanted to take some time to reflect on some of the films that I’ve really liked over the past ten years. Because there are too many to do an overall top ten, I’ll break it down into some genres and if you care to, tune in again over the next few weeks to see my other picks. Let’s start with Action, shall we?

The Bourne Trilogy – Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the Bourne movies. I watch them all the time… All the time… I’m watching them now. I grouped them all together here, but they could easily make it into my top ten on their own. Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Franka Potente, Clive Owen, Joan Allen, and the list goes on and on. Joan Allen’s right hand man, played by Tom Gallop, is a family member of mine so I’m slightly biased but in my opinion, they’re the best action/espionage films made in a very long time.

Kill Bill 1 and 2 – I’m grouping again on this one, but both of these films were great. At their core a great story, but when you add in Uma Thurman and the rest of the cast, as well as Tarantino’s brand of film making, you can’t lose. While he has tried to repeat the ‘resurrection’ success he had with Travolta in Pulp Fiction, Tarantino didn’t come up short this time when he put David Carradine in the role of Bill. Perfect. While Tarantino has made some great flicks up to this point, one could argue that the Kill Bill films are the best he’s done.

Batman Returns and The Dark Knight – The Batman story is one that has been told and re-told several times over. However I think it’s safe to say that these two films brought it to the next level. True, the first Batman with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson is a classic, but these films brought a realism and darkness to the story that no other take has been able to achieve. Christian Bale as Batman is perfect and Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight is amazing. These films are easily in the top ten.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – While this film wasn’t the first example of it’s kind and genre, Crouching Tiger was the first to be brought to the American public is such a wide release. Chow Yun-Fat as a martial arts legend, hunting down his master’s murderer. Classic.

Gladiator – Love it or hate it, no one can deny the popularity of this film. I’m a huge Ancient Roman nerd-aficionado (if that exists), but put Ridley Scott at the helm with Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and a fantastic final performance from Oliver Reed… Easy pick. On a side note, I think Denzel Washington got robbed by Russell Crowe at the Oscar’s the year this came out, but this is a great action film. No question.

Saving Private Ryan – WWII, killing Nazis and a mission that can only end in death and destruction. Fantastic. The beach storming sequence would put this in the top ten by itself. In my opinion, Tom Hanks gave his best performance since Forest Gump, and although he’s done some good films up until now, hasn’t matched it. Great movie.

Sin City – You could say that this film belongs to a few other genres as well as Action, but I’m gonna put it here. Adapted from the Frank Miller graphic novel, the cinematography and art direction pulls you in from minute one. One of the best ‘action’ movies of the 00’s. No question.

Spiderman – While the sequels to the first film weren’t as good, Spiderman still ranks in the top ten. This film helped to hearken in the new, updated way of making super hero films and helped influence ones to follow. Fun, action packed, and entertaining.

X-Men – The X-Men was my favorite comic growing up as a kid. The first film of this franchise was great. Along with Spiderman, which came two years after, X-Men updated the super hero film. It’s action sequences along with it’s almost flawless casting, puts this in the top ten.

300 – Another film based on the works of Frank Miller, 300 is a visual fun house. Hard hitting, over the top and action packed, 300 has been mimicked ever since it was released.