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THE BEST OF THE DECADE 2000-2009 Written for Gone Cinema Poaching

#1 Brokeback Mountain Directed by Ang Lee There isn't much more I can say about this beautiful film that I haven't already said - I have been rather vocal about it. This was easily one the most emotionally gripping films I have ever seen - with or without the supposed "ick factor" that so many have been harping on and on about. So instead of coming up with something new, here is an excerpt from my original review: "A triumph of wills for all those involved in its long creation. From Proulx's original writing, to McMurtry & Ossana's re-tooling, to Lee's sharply subtle direction, to Ledger & Gyllenhall's intrepid performances. Political powderkeg or not, Brokeback Mountain is, not only Ang Lee's greatest cinematic achievement yet, but also one of the most beautifully tragic love stories ever told." What more can be said?

#2 2046 Directed by Wong Kar Wai After first seeing 2046 (the way most cinephiles in America and Europe first saw it - on an all region dvd player) nearly a year ago, I went back and rewatched In the Mood for Love, the film that works as a basis for this semi-sequel. On watching the special features I noticed many originally deleted scenes that now pop up - in altered form - here in 2046. My conclusion merely expounds on what I have always thought of Wong Kar-wai - his (possibly) lifelong attempt at making one long and winding master film of swirling, swaying, swooning brilliance. 2046 is not only a continuation of In the Mood for Love but also (if not in subject, then in a visual array of a singular cohesive beauty) is the beautiful bouncing baby boy of Chungking Express, Fallen Angels and Happy Together. Wong Kar-wai is - hands down - the most expressively eloquent filmmaker working today.

#3 The New World Directed by Terrence Malick Malick's latest film swirls and sways about as if it was a very part of nature itself. The blowing grass seems to speak to the audience and the rolling rivers almost pour over us as we watch The New World. Malick's camera, both reclusive as he is and participatory as he wants us to be, snakes about the characters - especially Pocahontas portrayer, Q'Orianka Kilcher - as if it were making love to each and every one of them - and we the voyeurs. Although probably Malick's weakest film yet (only his fourth) it still shines far and above nearly anything else coming out of the Hollywood Hills. Beautifully rapt and georgeously attired, The New World - even with the trepedations of Colin Farrell being involved (but remember that Malick managed to make even Richard Gere look good once) - begins on a high note of visceral enchantment and splendors its way to enrapture us the entire way through.

#4 A History of Violence Directed by David Cronenberg There have been films that have taken the proverbial microscope to problems of violence in society, and more acurately, our detached and dispassioned eye for said violence. Films such as Natural Born Killers and Elephant, but Cronenberg's latest (and his greatest I must say) delves much deeper than any of its predecessors. Showing the emotional highs and lows of violence, and those most desensitized to it, Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello - as well as a sadly-truncated performance from William Hurt - plow through the film as if their lives depended on it. Powerful and intense to the point of almost no return - and the ending is possibly the best finale in any film this year. Cronenberg, who made (among others) The Fly, Dead Ringers, eXistenZ and Spider ends up having his least "out-there" film being his best yet.

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