80. Sugar (2008) - Directors: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck - United States
One of the best sports films of the decade was Sugar, a Spanish language film from the U.S. It tells the story of Miguel "Sugar" Santos, a Dominican baseball player who gets called up by an American farm team to pitch. He journey starts in Iowa where he begins pitching for a Single A team. The film chronicles his struggles as a semi-pro pitcher in a country where he doesn't speak the native language. It's a fascinating look into the life of a foreign player who gets caught up in the system that takes baseball players from every corner of the world and often leaves them high and dry. Algenis Perez Soto gives a cerebral performance as Sugar, displaying great humanity and range.
79. The Bank Job (2008) - Director: Roger Donaldson - United Kingdom
Based on true events, The Bank Job is a thrilling heist story with a real-life basis. Jason Statham plays an ex-criminal who owns a car garage. Strapped for cash he takes up a big job: robbing the safety deposit boxes of a bank. Unknown to Statham and his team of petty criminals, the real reason for the heist is to recover compromising photos of Princess Margaret owned by radical Muslim, Michael X. Shrouded by mysterious and gag orders, The Bank Jobputs an exciting twist on the Baker Street Robbery. Statham plays it straig
ht, giving his best performance to date.
78. Superbad (2007) - Director: Greg Mattola - United States
After all of the horrendous American Pie series, Superbad sets the bar high for the teenage sex-comedy. The film was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg while they were teenagers. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play their onscreen counterparts as two high school seniors trying to get booze and chicks before they leave for college. I guess you could call this the most mature teen movie with dick jokes. It also spawned the career of Christopher Mintz-Plasse, still better known as McLovin.
77. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris - United States
Family dysfunction has been portrayed on the big screen numerous times, but Little Miss Sunshine is the funniest of the bunch. The family includes a failed motivational speaker father (Greg Kinnear), the overworked mother (Toni Collette), a silent Nietzsche reading son (Paul Dano), a drug addict grandfather (Alan Arkin), an overweight daughter (Abigail Breslin), and a gay suicidal uncle (Steve Carrell). Put them all in a VW bus on a road trip and you have some of the funniest scenes that I've ever seen.
76. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) - Director: Judd Apatow - United States
Judd Apatow's directorial debut came after a decade of writing and producing. He never quite made a hit during that time, but he struck comedy gold with this first film. Steve Carrell--in his breakout role--plays a man who is just what the title says. Filled with all of the one liners that we've gotten used to from Apatow films, its also an interesting look at love in the sex obsessed culture that we live in. We were also formally introduced the talents of Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and briefly Jonah Hill.
75. Walk the Line (2005) - Director: James Mangold - United States
During this decade we've seen a good many music biopics. The Academy loves 'em and fans of the musicians love 'em. The one that stood out was Walk the Line, based on the early life of country music star, Johnny Cash. It draws from all of the usual cliches of the music biopic: troubled childhood, bad relationship with parents, a new sound that no one has heard, drug addiction, recovery, and a happy ending. Joaquin Phoenix truly embodied the aloof Cash whose baritone voice changed the sound of rock-and-roll. Reese Witherspoon also stands out as his wife June Carter Cash.
74. Finding Nemo (2003) - Directors: Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich - United States
During the past two decades, Pixar has created a monopoly over the animation film industry. After the success of the first two Toy Story films, they put out my favorite of this decade, Finding Nemo. It combines the great Pixar animation with an old fashioned Disney adventure story. After a clown fish's son is abducted by a diver, he begins a journey to find him. On the way he meets colorful characters and picks up a friend name Dory. Ellen DeGeneres really shines in her voice role as Dory. The colorful animation is visually stimulating and meticulously detailed.
73. The Departed (2006) - Director: Martin Scorsese - United States
Was this decade the best for Martin Scorsese? Not by a long shot. But his first Best Director Oscar came from The Departed. The large cast features Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg. Damon plays a Boston city cop who secretly is a rat, while DiCaprio is an undercover cop trying to foil the Irish mob. Like previous Scorsese films, The Departed deals with issues of morality, masculinity, violence, and redemption. The film falls apart in the last act in which several characters--who will remain nameless--die within minutes, which left me feeling cheated. Still, it's with the all star cast and Scorsese, it's a must see.
72. Knocked Up (2007) - Director: Judd Apatow - United States
Apatow's second feature film improved ever so slightly, deciding to make a star out of the stoner/slacker, Seth Rogen. I fear that Rogen may have become slightly typecast, but he was born to play that character. But when he impregnates a up-and-coming E! reporter, his life become much more complicated. The reporter--played by Katherine Heigl--is often sickened by Rogen's boorish behavior, but sticks with him because of the baby. Filled with Apatow regulars, this movie was even more funny than The 40-Year-Old Virgin, though not quite as original.
71. A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Director: Ron Howard - United States
Some films that are "based on true events" take liberties with the facts. A Beautiful Mind could be called a work of fiction. It is Ron Howard's take on John F. Nash's debilitating schizophrenia. Russell Crowe gives one the best performances of his career as the troubled Nash, who goes from math genius to clinically insane conspiracy theorist. While plagued with
his disease, he wins the Nobel Prize for mathematics. Jennifer Connelly gives a strong performance as Nash's wife and Ed Harris also adds his support as a character in Nash's delusions.
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