#2000-2009

[threedee-memories]

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #679

Top Ten Films of the 2000s

As we draw towards the close of the year, I’m tempted to both look backwards at what’s gone, but also look ahead to what may be around the corner. We’ll be a quarter of a way through this new century, one which still feels like the future to me. It’s made me think about the films of the century – a topic I might return to next year – but in doing so I also looked back and realised that I needed to catch up with an old topic of mine. Which is: films of the decade!

A fair while ago now I ranked my favourite films from the eighties and nineties. And now, much belatedly, I return to the theme and rank my favourite films of the noughties. And it was quite a decade. The noughties felt defined in a lot of ways by films that came out around the turn of the millennium, but we also see the seeds of what would become popular in the following decade. The Matrix lead to loads of desaturated, bullet-time-heavy action films with goth-rock soundtracks; Pixar’s success kickstarted the CG animation boom; and a couple of fantasy-tinged epics helped usher in a new era of swords, sandals, and swollen runtimes. But we also saw the shoots of the later comic book boom; Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy made superheroes serious, whilst Raimi’s Spider-Man presaged the colourful, banter-heavy MCU films that followed.

It was a decade of transition as Hollywood moved away from star-led projects towards “IP”, in part fuelled by the success of brand-based, long-running film series such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. Meanwhile the heights of the DVD era not only allowed Disney to mine their back catalogue for stuff to sequalise, it also led to us all stacking our shelves with more diverse films, mopping up the kinds of foreign language movies, unseen classics, and niche genre fair that would have been expensive and more difficult to get hold of in the nineties.

It’s been really hard for me to rank these films, to be honest. Beyond the first three (technically five!) it was sort of anyone’s game; a lot of quality, but hard for me to sort it out the way I normally like to do. Ask me again in a couple of months and this might be structured a bit differently!

Anyway, that’s all the preamble, this is supposed to be a simple week. Let’s just go list ten films released between 2000 and 2009.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03): look, I don’t even think it’s cheating. Lord of the Rings – taken as a whole entity – is probably the cinematic achievement of my lifetime, certainly of the last thirty years. It’s astounding that these films where made, when they were, in the fashion that they were, by the people who made them; it’s almost inconceivable that they turned out as well as they did. These are flat-out full-bore masterpieces of the highest calibre. Absolutely nothing whatsoever comes anywhere near them. They’re pretty good.

WALL-E (2008): my favourite Pixar film. Yes, it’s beautiful, and moving, and funny, and clever, and all that; many Pixar films are. But this is about the triumph of the human spirit, about rising from the ashes. And more, it’s a Superman story: it’s about someone who’s just so damn nice all the time, he inadvertently inspires everyone to be their better self. And it’s a love story. It’s damn good.

Zodiac (2007): Fincher’s best film, an incredibly dark and forensic examination not just of a series of killings, but also of the determined – obsessed? – individuals attempting to uncover the Zodiac’s identity. Astounding performances from three future MCU stars, and one of the bleakest, most upsetting murder scenes in history.

There Will Be Blood (2007): in the battle of the dark neo-Westerns of 2007, the (excellent) No Country for Old Men beat this one at the Oscars, but the story of oil man Daniel Plainview is the elegiac champ in my mind. An intimate character piece painted on a broad canvas, it’s a mesmerising examination of one man’s mania. And he drank your milkshake! He drank your milkshake!

Spirited Away (2001): my third-favourite Ghibli film overall and one of the best animated movies of the decade. A surreal fairy tail full of oddball characters and often disturbing visuals, it’s a magical wonder that manages to be suffused with tension and darkness but is ultimately incredibly uplifting.

Hot Fuzz (2007): the comedy of the decade, taking the template established in Shaun of the Dead and perfecting it, both in terms of Edgar Wright’s directorial style, but also in performance and – especially – scripting, with multiple layered gags, references, and call-backs – making this a violent, sweary, live-action version of an Aardman film. Also has arguably the best line of the noughties: “You wanna be a big cop in a small town, fuck off up the model village.”

The Dark Knight (2008): commonly thought of as the moment where comic book adaptations “grew up”, this is a sprawling Mann-esque crime epic where the cop happens to be Batman and the robber happens to be the Joker. Stunningly shot in what would become Nolan’s signature (cold?) style, it’s clever and mature and a ton of fun, even if it’s not quite as clever or mature or fun as it maybe thinks it is.

Moulin Rouge! (2001): a delightfully scattershot jukebox musical that’s like a glitterbomb going off in a student theatre society’s Christmas party. Energetic does not do it justice, it’s a rollercoaster of an audio-visual experience, but one that’s masterfully handled with two terrific performances at the heart of it, anchoring our emotional attachment. Should have won, like, half a dozen Oscars.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006): another dark fairy tale, as a girl enters a threatening fairytale world that offers dangers and monsters, but is also weirdly an escape from the real horrors – namely the Franco dictatorship and a brutal Captain Vidal. Del Torro gives us sumptuous visuals and gorgeous creature designs, but it’s in its underlying themes and motifs that it really sings.

Munich (2005): Spielberg’s later films – basically anything post-Ryan – often get given short shrift; for one of the most successful directors of all time, he’s surprisingly underrated. This study of violence and vengeance is one of his most political films, and he doesn’t shy away from the horrors inflicted. It’s a bleak watch at times, but it’s in how Spielberg adroitly ties the Munich attack and its repercussions to America’s then-current War on Terror that makes it feel really dark.

Watch this space for the best films from the 2010s...!

[trashraccoongirl]

[classichorrorblog]

Jennifer's Body (2009)

[m0ney]

colbywalsh on flickr･ﾟﾟ･｡☆

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₊‧꒰ა ang3l ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

[90s-2000s-barbie]

It’s Happy Bunny

Designed by artist & writer Jim Benton in the 1990s. Happy Bunny gained popularity in 2001 after stores like Hot Topic and Spencers began selling its merchandise.

[witchrealms]

(x)

[youre-dreaming-302]

2000s Anime girls

[finalgirlbarbie]

HOT HORROR GIRL WALK

The Craft (1996) Ginger Snaps (2000) Jennifer's Body (2009) Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

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[threedee-memories]

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Class of 09 Nicole mood board 🪩🤷‍♀️🤳

[anyataylorjoys]

#Ginger snapped so Jennifer could body

GINGER SNAPS (2000) JENNIFER'S BODY (2009)

[classichorrorblog]

Jennifer's Body (2009)

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Let’s talk about the significance of how Stephanie Browns first ever appearance is tied directly to a TV broadcast about Batman, and how it perfectly explains why she's such a remarkable character.

Detective Comics #647

The full sentence the TV broadcaster says is “It’s not up to some masked vigilante to protect our citizens …. No matter how good his intentions…No matter how noble his cause”.

This scene asks us to compare the characters of Batman, who the statement is textually about, and Stephanie, who is viewing it and (presumably), being inspired by it. The panel itself seems to encourage use to try to apply these lines to Steph instead of Batman, framing the latter proclamation directly above her head, almost like a text box telling us this information about her. If we apply these lines to her, we can see an idea emerge.

There is this figure, who is not only not necessary, but unacceptable on the face of it, “…No matter how good [her] intentions...” / “…No matter how noble [her] cause…”

The first time we see Stephanie brown, she is being showcased alongside a condemnation, which is followed by her disregarding the message of this broadcast, and appearing for the very first time as Spoiler.

Dismissal and Stephanie ignoring this condemnation continues on to be one of the central facets of Stephanie’s character. In the same introduction arc we already see the dismissal/disregard dynamic established.

Batman and/or Robin tell her to Fuck Off, she chooses not to:

Detective #649

This pattern continues on for some time. She is dismissed by Batman

Robin #16, Robin #26, Robin #50 (1993)

And by Tim Drake/Robin:

Robin #25, Robin #35, and Robin #26 (1993)

And by her own mother:

Robin #71 (1993)

When she finally becomes an official part of the team in 2001, there is a break in this pattern. But, as always, Stephanie is eventually pushed out again:

Gotham Knights #37 (2000)

But, as always, Steph says “fuck that”, and refuses to stop.

Even in the face of dear friends agreeing she should give it up.

Batgirl #38 (2000)

And when Steph is brought in as Robin, she is again dismissed, in this case “Fired” soon after. She doesn’t quit of course, leading to the disastrous events of War Games.

Robin #128 (1993)

And when she comes back from being “dead” she is dismissed again, by Robin.

Robin #182 (1993)

This isn’t every time someone tells her to quit being Spoiler, but instead a showcase of how prevalent the Dismissal/Disregarding dynamic is for her character.

I am working on two other posts, one which will explain in depth Why the way she was “fired” as Spoiler has everything to do with Bruce Wayne’s own hangups and emotionally manipulative quirks and very little to do with her own skill level. The other will analyze why she feels the compulsion to be keep being Spoiler even after having Every reason to quit and being told to do so hundreds of times.

However, for the purposes of this post, all that matters is that this Dismissal/Disregarding dynamic exists and is a huge and reoccurring part of Stephanie’s character.

Whether or not you think she “deserved” how often she was rejected, and whether or not you think her disregarding the rejection was “good” or not doesn’t come into play here.

For now, let’s focus on the implications this dynamic has for her character in a meta sense, as a character who is used and discarded.

A character who is for all intents and purposes, the narrative punching bag. She endures character dismissal and belittling, three separate backstory instances of sexual harassment as a child and teenager, teenage pregnancy, abuse, taking care of a parent struggling with addiction, brutal and (debatably) sexualized torture, character assassination, death, retconned death, and further character assassination until 2009, where she finally gets her own solo comic, and a modicum of respect. The thing that separates the horrible shit Stephanie goes through and the bad things that happen to other characters is only rarely are Stephanie’s struggles treated as significant on their own, and almost always her narrative is used for drama or to prop up Robin Tim Drake’s plot. Very rarely does she get treated with the care and attention her character merits.

But let’s go back to that news broadcast, all the way back in Detective #647. How does she take it, when we are told, when Stephanie is told, first thing, straight out of the gate, plain and simple: No matter how good your intentions, no matter how noble your cause, you is not enough, or you’re too much, or your just not right?

It is met by a triumphantly tragic: “And?”

Stephanie hears from the VERY start the same refrain she will hear for years and years: she is not good enough, she needs to go home, she needs to quit and she does the exact thing she will continue to do every following time she is told this: she puts on the damn Spoiler outfit and she still tries anyway. Again and again.

The next time we see Stephanie Brown after this, the second time we ever see her character, she has donned the Spoiler costume, and she’s got to work. “And?” She seems to say. “As if!” She seems to shout. What a perfectly awe inspiring thing, and what a perfect summary of what makes Stephanie Brown so damn cool.

For better or worse, you cannot keep her down. I love Stephanie Brown so much.

And if you want to read a comic which understands this, which treats the terrific character of Stephanie Brown with respect and love, and which for the first time maybe ever lets her stubborn refusal to give up go her way? Read Batgirl (2009)!!

Batgirl #3 (2008) & Bruce Wayne: The Road Home - Batgirl (2010)