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Jan. 1, 2016, 10:20 AM
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Disney / Pixar"WALL-E."
There's never a bad time to dive back into the archives and watch some good movies.
And if you have some time off around the start of the new year, this might be a good time to binge some modern-day classics.
With that in mind, I've come up with 20 essential titles from the
past 15 years that you should reexamine or, if you've never seen them,
delve into.
1. “Donnie Darko” (2001)
Jake
Gyllenhaal was just starting to get on everyone's radar when he scored
one of his first lead roles, playing a troubled teen who is tormented by
visions of the future and a disturbing-looking bunny. "Donnie
Darko" has become a cult classic, as it captured the angst of the youth
who at the time the movie was in theaters were coping with the confusion
of a post-9/11 world.
2. "Bowling For Columbine" (2002)
Michael
Moore's fourth feature film, which won an Oscar for best documentary,
might be his best. The controversial director uses the events of the
Columbine High School massacre to address the US' addiction to guns.
Sadly, 14 years later the issues explored in this movie are still
relevant.
3. "City of God" (2002)
This
incredibly stylish look at the slums of Rio de Janeiro charts the lives
of two boys as they grow up among guns and drugs. The cast is made up
mostly of nonprofessional actors, which gives an authenticity to the
movie. But what's most surprising about this extremely violent film is
how much comedy is layered into it.
4. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004)
What
do you get when you combine director Michel Gondry and screenwriter
Charlie Kaufman? One of the most original love stories of the past 15
years. In one of Jim Carrey's best performances, he plays Joel, who
after breaking up with his girlfriend (Kate Winslet) goes to a special
doctor who specializes in erasing someone from your memory. What then
unfolds, thanks to the visuals of Gondry and words of Kaufman, is near
perfect.
5. "Super Size Me" (2004)
Morgan
Spurlock used his outgoing personality and a hot-button topic to create
a film that has defined his career. Examining the US' issue with
obesity, Spurlock turned his camera to McDonald's and in the process
changed the way we look at fast food (in the movie he eats only from the
McDonald's menu for one month). This movie is a big part of why you see
more healthy choices and no more "super size" option at McDonald's.
6. "No Country For Old Men" (2007)
The
Coen brothers create a classic modern-day Western thanks to the
adaptation of this Cormac McCarthy novel. Starring Josh Brolin as a man
who stumbles upon a large suitcase of cash and Javier Bardem as a
psychotic hit man, the movie gets better every time you see it.
7. "Ratatouille" (2007)
"Ratatouille"
tells a compelling story through animation that isn't just for kids.
Set in the posh Paris cooking world, "Ratatouille" follows a rat who
fancies himself a chef. The movie could have been a disaster, but
instead it showed that stories with lots of layers could be told well
through cartoons and computer graphics.
8. "There Will Be Blood" (2007)
Paul
Thomas Anderson delivers a film that is epic in so many
ways, including its story, its music, and its photography. Daniel
Day-Lewis
delivers a performance that withstands the test of time as a maniacal oil baron.
9. "Zodiac" (2007)
David
Fincher, who is known for his attraction to dark material, was perfect
for bringing the story of the Zodiac Killer to the big screen. Jake
Gyllenhaal plays a cartoonist for a newspaper who becomes obsessed with
the case and takes over the detective work when the cops dry up on
leads. Perhaps the best trick Fincher pulls off is building constant
suspense so that, by the end, anyone could be the Zodiac.
10. "Man on Wire" (2008)
Before
"The Walk," we got the story about the daring high-wire walk across the
Twin Towers from the real people who did it in James Marsh's "Man on
Wire." The Oscar-winning documentary is elevated thanks to the man who
did the walking,
Philippe Petit, as our narrator. Though the
reenactments show viewers how incredible the feat was, it's Petit's
masterful storytelling that keeps them engaging.
11. "WALL-E" (2008)
Arguably
Pixar's greatest work, "WALL-E" explores so many different issues that
you can watch it a dozen times and enjoy focusing on each one. From a
love story to commentaries on obesity and climate change, the movie
is much more than the mere travels of a lovable robot (but that part is
great, too).
12. "Inglourious Basterds" (2009)
Quentin
Tarantino's long-awaited Nazi-killing movie was worth the wait. Brad
Pitt plays the leader of a group of Jewish US soldiers whose mission is
to kill as many Nazis as possible in France. But along with great
characters like "The Bear Jew" and incredible action sequences, the film
is also a love letter to cinema.
13. "Inception" (2010)
Christopher
Nolan always likes to mess with us, but "Inception" is one of his
biggest mind tricks. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the leader of a group who
enters people's dreams to steal information. For his latest job,
however, he's hired to plant a memory. This leads to a dizzying chase
through the deepest subconscious that you can't turn away from.
14. "Bridesmaids" (2011)
Featuring
some of the funniest women in the business, "Bridesmaids" showed that
the girls could be as funny and raunchy as the guys. Along with finally
giving Kristen Wiig the lead in a movie, it also turned Melissa McCarthy
into a movie star and Paul Feig into the go-to director for female
comedies.
15. "Drive" (2011)
Director
Nicolas Winding Refn takes his love of violence and combines it with
Ryan Gosling and the music of Cliff Martinez to create a slick thriller
that's in the vein of '80s movies like "Thief" or "To Live and Die In
LA."
"The Interrupters" (2011)
Before
Spike Lee looked at gun violence in Chicago with "Chi-Raq," documentary
filmmaker Steve James showed the people who are trying to stop the
violence in "The Interrupters." Following a group of former gang members
who are trying to talk some sense into the youth, James' camera
captures incredible interactions in which words do much more than any
gun can.
"The Act of Killing" (2012)
Drafthouse Films/"The Act of Killing"
This
is one of those docs that feels too horrific to be true. Documentary
filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer puts a spotlight on the genocide in
Indonesia by befriending the leaders who were responsible for mass
killings. He had them reenact their murders by filming them in the movie
genre of their choosing.
"The Master" (2012)
Some
of the best acting you'll ever see are the exchanges between Philip
Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in Paul Thomas Anderson's "The
Master." The move follows a Navy veteran who befriends the leader of an
organization. The mental gymnastic the two play with each other over the
course of the film is thrilling to watch.
"Upstream Color" (2013)
Made
on a shoestring budget and self-distributed, "Upstream Color" is a
inspiring tale that shows us that there's more to life than our everyday
existence. Seek out this movie.
"Boyhood" (2014)
Shot
from 2002 to 2013, Richard Linklater's look at a young boy's life from
adolescence to young adulthood is a special work that has rarely been
attempted. The dedication by everyone involved is commendable, but the
story itself is so powerful it rivals some documentaries in how
realistic it is.
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