Top 5 2000 Films
By Austin Johnson
I made a list of my favorite 1990 films recently and now it’s time for 2000. All of these films turn 20 this year!
5.) Snatch
“Yes, London. You know: fish, chips, cup 'o tea, bad food,
worse weather, Mary fucking Poppins... LONDON.” |
I used to live with just a couple of my best friends in this upstairs garage apartment and Snatch is a film that I vividly remember watching while intoxicated with those dudes. Normally it would be vaguely remembered but Snatch is made for a bit of a twisted up mind. The pace of it is remarkable and the performances are fucking awesome, especially Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro. I think it’s Guy Ritchie’s best film so far and still extremely rewatchable. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Snatch though, which is undoubtedly the most powerful watch you can have with it.
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4.) O Brother, Where Art Thou?
“I've always wondered, what's the devil look like?”
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The Coen brothers come up quite often when I make these lists because they’re great, but this is the first time O Brother, Where Art Thou? has made an appearance and I know Connor will love that. To see George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturro galloping around the deep south with John Goodman on their asses is an actual dream. The music is fucking insanely good and the comedic timing is just as strong as Arizona or Lebowski. Joel and Ethan received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and then Roger mother fucking Deakins also got a nomination for Best Cinematography.
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3.) Code Unknown
“So? Hold on, you must be hungry, too.”
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Code Unknown is an unforgettable experience if artsy films are up your alley. Michael Haneke deserves every bit of acclaim he has gotten and I personally plan on watching every second of his filmography in the years to come. Code Unknown takes an incident and then tells the story through multiple perspectives without spoon feeding anything. Haneke doesn’t hold your hand but instead he shocks the senses with subtlety and societal observations. I adore Juliette Binoche’s performance as Anne, the actress. I love seeing an actress play an actress and Code Unknown showcases one of the very best of those kinds of performances. The unedited takes that end and transition abruptly is my kind of thing and I will surely be analyzing it forever, thanks to Haneke and cinematographer, Jurgen Jurges.
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2.) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
“The things we touch have no permanence. My master would say: there is nothing we can hold onto in this world. Only by letting go can we truly possess what is real.”
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is my second favorite Ang Lee directed film and my second favorite from 2000. I have to give it a ton of credit for being one of the first foreign films that I latched onto. I remember the day I first saw it and how much it impacted me, so much so that I had to call my older brother to talk about it and that’s when you know something is special. Peter Pau is a Chinese cinematic legend and his work on Crouching Tiger as the cinematographer is so inspiring. Crouching Tiger got four wins on ten nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards which is something that caught my eye as a youngster when looking at random Oscar trivia. It’s not just important in that regard, but it’s a damn good film that I’d recommend to anyone.
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1.) George Washington
“Can you keep a secret? I'm not a good person. I don't think nice things.”
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David Gordon Green stole horror fans' hearts in 2018 with his wonderful Halloween film. He demanded my attention and I knew I had to see what came before for the director of one of the best horror films of the decade. George Washington is his directorial debut and an absolute mind-melter at that. It's a very cerebral kind of experience with incredible cinematography from Tim Orr. Orr is from North Carolina which makes sense because George Washington takes place in a small town in North Carolina. He captured American small town life just as well as anyone that I know of. There’s one particular scene where one of the supporting characters named Rico Rice is riding around the town on his motorcycle and it’s just sublime. That scene reminds me of why I personally love watching films.
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