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Latest pieces:

My Best Of The 2000s In Cinema
DVD Times Best of the Decade: 2000s

It's a new decade and an opportunity to look back at the Noughties in film. Here is a review of the best of the decade that I did for Video Vista and a feature containing top ten lists from the DVD Times contributors, together with some insightful comments.

My Top 20 Films of 2009:

  1. Synecdoche, New York
  2. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  3. Inglourious Basterds
  4. Revolutionary Road
  5. The Wrestler
  6. Watchmen
  7. Milk
  8. Frost/Nixon
  9. Bruno
  10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  11. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
  12. The Hurt Locker
  13. Fantastic Mr. Fox
  14. The Young Victoria
  15. Public Enemies
  16. Coco Before Chanel
  17. Sherlock Holmes
  18. An Education
  19. In The Loop
  20. Bright Star

DVD Times Top 10 Films of 2009

2009 was another eventful year in cinema, and here is my top ten, together with those of my DVD Times colleagues, which taken together show a broad and interesting spectrum of taste.  In fact the year was so good that a list of ten films isn't enough to do it justice, so I've complied a further top twenty list on the right.

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Ian Dury's distinctive musical style and witty and playful lyrics were one the best things to come out of the punk/new wave era of the late '70s, and Andy Serkis captures the man to perfection.  However the script, which focuses on Dury the wayward family man at the expense of Dury the musician, should have been revised.

Sherlock Holmes

Having proved his box office credentials with the Iron Man franchise, Robert Downey Jr. is a good choice with whom to re-vitalise the most filmed character ever.  Guy Ritchie's take is high on action, fisticuffs and thrills and spills, but lower on seriousness, credible plotting and a sense of true Conan Doyle-style detection.  But nevertheless the movie remains an enjoyable Steampunkish romp.

Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman has surprised us as a screenwriter, with reality-bending pieces such as Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Now writing and directing, he comes up with a similarly intriguing tale of art mirroring life mirroring art to the nth degree.  Now out on DVD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inglourious Basterds

The Dirty Dozen done Tarantino-style, with some exquisitely tense scenes mingling  with moments of knockabout comedy and a take on World War II you won't find in any history book.  As ever Tarantino blazes his own trail down Pastiche Lane, and the results are constantly entertaining.

This Is Spinal Tap: Up to 11

A 25th Anniversary Edition 3 DVD set of the celebrated rock-mockumentary, with a host of new extras to further compliment the already burgeoning number from previous releases.  What's great about it all is that the legend continues 'in character', with the band members now older but no less wacky—especially Nigel—and the original movie seeming more ground-breaking than ever.

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