My Top 30 Films of the 2000’s

Before I start, I have to right a horrible wrong in my 90’s list. I don’t know how, but there are 2 glaring omissions that would be in the list. 1995’s Copycat, starring Sigourney Weaver. And 1992’s Batman Returns, starring Michael Keaton. They would both be pretty high on the list, and I have no idea how I forgot them. There’s also one that would be in the honourable mentions, 1996’s Freeway, starring Reese Witherspoon. Seriously, my brain is a sieve sometimes. Ok, now that that’s out of the way, here we go.

By the 2000’s I had already started to watch less movies, so this list was a little easier to make. I still have a few honourable mentions, but not nearly as many as the 90’s list. So without any further ado, here are my top 30 films of the 2000’s.

Number 30

Title: Underworld
Year: 2003
Plot: Selene, a vampire warrior, is entrenched in a conflict between vampires and werewolves, while falling in love with Michael, a human who is sought by werewolves for unknown reasons.
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Sophia Myles, Erwin Leder, Wentworth Miller, Kevin Grevioux
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Based on: An original screenplay written by Danny McBride.
Notes: The 2000’s saw the beginning of the “slick horror” films, and this is a perfect example of that. It’s a goth’s wet dream, all latex and straps and beautiful people. It’s definitely a case of style over substance, but it’s still a fun popcorn movie.

Number 29

Title: The Count of Monte Cristo
Year: 2002
Plot: A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous “friend”, escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
Starring: Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Dagmara Dominczyk, Richard Harris, Luis Guzmán, Henry Cavill, James Frain, Patrick Godfrey, Michael Wincott
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Based on: The book Le Comte de Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
Notes: What a wonderful retelling of an already wonderful book. Plus, tiny 17 year old Henry Cavill is almost too adorable for words.

Number 28

Title: Zodiac
Year: 2007
Plot: Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, John Carroll Lynch, Chloë Sevigny, Elias Koteas, Dermot Mulroney
Directed by: David Fincher
Based on: The non-fiction books Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked by Robert Graysmith.
Notes: David Fincher proves yet again how good he with this type of film. Tense from start to finish, it’s an unflinching look at the horrors perpetrated by the Zodiac killer, and the toll it took on the detectives who worked the case. And after going through all the evidence myself, I have to agree with the film’s conclusion that Arthur Leigh Allen was the killer.

Number 27

Title: Silent Hill
Year: 2006
Plot: Rose Da Silva takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins a horrific journey to get her back.
Starring: Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Sean Bean, Jodelle Ferland, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Based on: The Silent Hill video game series created by Konami.
Notes: This is one of those films that you only watch once, even though it’s really good. At least it is for me, and I’ll tell you why. Little girl barbeque *intense shudder*. But all the best elements of the game are beautifully, and horrifyingly, brought to life. It’s tense, it’s creepy, and better acted than other video game adaptations.

Number 26

Title: Shrek
Year: 2001
Plot: A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp home of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Conrad Vernon, Vincent Cassel, Jim Cummings
Directed by: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
Based on: The children’s picture book Shrek! by William Steig.
Notes: This film is so much fun. Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy play off each other perfectly, and the result is hilarious. There’s also a ton of slightly off colour jokes that adults will get but not the kids, so it’s fun for all ages.

Number 25

Title: The Mothman Prophecies
Year: 2002
Plot: A recently widowed reporter goes to a small town to investigate strange, possibly supernatural, happenings.
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, Lucinda Jenney, Yvonne Erickson, David Eigenberg, Debra Messing
Directed by: Mark Pellington
Based on: The non-fiction book The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel.
Notes: A total hidden gem, I never hear people talk about this film, and it’s a real shame. It’s so good, very well acted, and tense. A good time.

Number 24

Title: Gladiator
Year: 2000
Plot: A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Spencer Treat Clark
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Based on: While not based on a true story, it is historical fiction that uses real figures and settings to tell a fictional tale.
Notes: Ancient history is something I eat right up, so even a fictional story set in ancient times is something I’ll likely love (unless they fuck it up completely).

Number 23

Title: Queen of the Damned
Year: 2002
Plot: The vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the equally beautiful and monstrous queen of all vampires.
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Lena Olin, Matthew Newton, Claudia Black, Christian Manon, Bruce Spence, Tiriel Mora
Directed by: Michael Rymer
Based on: The books The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice (more or less…)
Notes: Yes, I’m aware how bad this movie is. But that’s part of its charm! It’s only very loosely based on Anne Rice’s amazing novels, and while I wish they had gotten the same lush treatment that Interview did, I’m not at all upset with how this turned out. The soundtrack is absolutely killer, standouts being David Draiman’s Forsaken and Jay Gordon’s Slept So Long.

Number 22

Title: Jeepers Creepers
Year: 2001
Plot: Trish and Darry are driving home for spring break when they encounter a being who eats parts of his victims to reshape its own body.
Starring: Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan, Brandon Smith
Directed by: Victor Salva
Based on: While not a true story, the opening scene where Trish and Darry witness a man dumping a body is heavily influenced by a case in 1990. Ray and Marie Thornton witnessed Dennis DePue disposing of his wife’s body behind an abandoned schoolhouse. DePue subsequently chased the siblings in his van.
Notes: Ok, I had no idea that the opening scene was based on a true story! It’s amazing what you can find out with a little research, hehe. But this film is so much fun, silly title aside. The Creeper is such a fun villain, and how cute was Justin Long in this??

Number 21

Title: Ice Age
Year: 2002
Plot: Manny the mammoth, Sid the loquacious sloth, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger go on a comical quest to return a human baby back to his father, across a world on the brink of an ice age.
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, Cedric the Entertainer, Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Alan Tudyk, Jane Krakowski
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge
Based on: An original screenplay written by Michael Berg, Michael J Wilson, and Peter Ackerman
Notes: This has to be one of my very favourite animated films. It’s absolutely hilarious and heart-warming at the same time. It’s animated beautifully and has a simple yet wonderful message of love and acceptance.

Number 20

Title: Identity
Year: 2003
Plot: Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they’re being killed off one by one.
Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, John C. McGinley, William Lee Scott, Jake Busey, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Rebecca De Mornay, Bret Loehr
Directed by: James Mangold
Based on: The book And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (while not a direct adaptation, it adopts the same “ten strangers in an isolated location” premise and kills them off one by one, incorporating a modern twist).
Notes: The film is so tense, so good, with a killer (pun totally intended) twist before twists were a dime a dozen. The only part of the film I dislike is the very last scene. It’s just over a minute long, and undoes everything the film was trying to do. I always turn it off just before this scene. It doesn’t exist to me.

Number 19

Title: Harry Potter(s)
Year: 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009
Plot: The trials and tribulations of Harry Potter and his friends at a wizarding school while they try fight a villain long thought dead.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Kenneth Branagh, John Cleese, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Issacs, Julie Walters, David Bradley, Mark Williams, Toby Jones (v.o.), Richard Harris, Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Warwick Davis, Brendan Gleeson, Robert Pattinson, Katie Leung, Clémence Poésy, Fiona Shaw, Evanna Lynch, Natalia Tena, Imelda Staunton, Richard Griffiths, Helen McCrory
Directed by: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, David Yates
Based on: The first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Notes: Ok, so maybe I’m cheating here, but I didn’t want a good chunk of the list to be Harry Potter films, so I lumped them all into one. Sure, the author is problematic, but HP Lovecraft was a raging racist. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy their work.

Number 18

Title: Mr Brooks
Year: 2007
Plot: Mr Brooks is a well respected businessman who highlights as a serial killer. When he’s photographed at his latest murder site, he must do as the photographer says or he’ll be turned in to police.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, William Hurt, Dane Cook, Danielle Panabaker, Marg Helgenberger, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lindsay Crouse
Directed by: Bruce A Evans
Based on: An original screenplay written by Bruce A Evans and Raynold Gideon.
Notes: I’m a sucker for serial killer films, and I think this is one of the great ones. Except for the last two minutes. They change an otherwise cool and collected character into a blubbering mess, and I hate it. Another one I shut off before the end.

Number 17

Title: A Knight’s Tale
Year: 2001
Plot: After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food (and glory), creates a new identity for himself as a knight and enters jousting competitions.
Starring: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, James Purefoy
Directed by: Brian Helgeland
Based on: While not a direct adaptation of a specific book, it is heavily inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century work The Knight’s Tale from The Canterbury Tales.
Notes: Melding middle ages with hints of the modern age, this film is so much fun. Heath Ledger made me absolutely swoon as William Thatcher, the squire who dreams of greatness. The jousting sequences are absolutely amazing!

Number 16

Title: 1408
Year: 2007
Plot: Author Michael Enslin, who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences, checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel in New York City and soon confronts genuine terror.
Starring: John Cusack, Samuel L Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Len Cariou, Isiah Whitlock Jr
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
Based on: The short story 1408 by Stephen King
Notes: I actually wasn’t crazy about this film the first time I watched it. I’m not sure why I watched it again, but I’m glad I did. I quite love it now.

Number 15

Title: Pitch Black
Year: 2000
Plot: A transport ship crashes and leaves its crew stranded on a desert planet inhabited by bloodthirsty creatures that come out during an eclipse.
Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Rhiana Griffith, Claudia Black, John Moore
Directed by: David Twohy
Based on: An original screenplay written by David Twohy, Ken Wheat, and Jim Wheat.
Notes: I might be in the minority here, but I absolutely love this film. It’s such an awesome, tense film with some great characters (plus a few throw away ones, but I suppose that’s par for the course for a horror movie).

Number 14

Title: Wall-E
Year: 2008
Plot: In a future where humans have temporarily abandoned Earth, a trash-compacting robot falls in love with a flying droid and helps her on her quest to restore hope to mankind.
Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver, MackInTalk Digital Performer
Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Based on: An original screenplay written by Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon.
Notes: Who knew a film with so little dialog could be so engaging? I recently rewatched this and I loved it just as much as I did back then. Literally perfect film.

Number 13

Title: Signs
Year: 2002
Plot: A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones, M Night Shyamalan, Patricia Kalember, Merritt Wever
Directed by: M Night Shyamalan
Based on: An original screenplay written by M Night Shyamalan.
Notes: I love this film. Sometimes heart-warming, sometimes spooky, it’s so well done. And it has one of the best jumpscares ever.

Number 12

Title: The Eye (Gin Gwai)
Year: 2002
Plot: A blind musician receives a corneal transplant, only to discover she can see ghosts and terrifying supernatural visions, leading her to investigate the donor’s past.
Starring: Lee Sin-Je, Lawrence Chou, Candy Lo, Chutcha Rujinanon, Yut Lai So, Edmund Chen, Yin Ping Ko, Wisarup Annuar
Directed by: Danny Pang, Oxide Chun Pang
Based on: An original screenplay written by the Pang brothers. They were inspired by a newspaper report they read about a girl who committed suicide after a corneal transplant.
Notes: Forget the awful American remake with Jessica Alba, this Hong Kong/Singapore film is where it’s at. Tense and sometimes genuinely terrifying, this one will have you leery of elevators for years!

Number 11

Title: Repo! The Genetic Opera
Year: 2008
Plot: A worldwide epidemic encourages a biotech company to launch an organ-financing program similar in nature to a standard car loan. The repossession clause is a killer, however.
Starring: Alexa PenaVega, Anthony Stewart Head, Terrance Zdunich, Sarah Brightman, Paul Sorvino, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Kevin ‘ohGr’ Ogilvie, Sarah Power
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Based on: A 2002 stage musical of the same name (originally titled The Necromerchant’s Debt) written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich.
Notes: I generally am not a fan of musicals. The only exceptions, I guess, are animated films, but they don’t really fall under the umbrella of “musical”. But when I saw this, a goth musical starring a bunch of people I knew, I had to give it a try. And boy did I not regret it! This film is absolutely awesome, and all of the songs are amazing! Everyone did a great job with it, even, surprisingly, Paris Hilton.

Number 10

Title: X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand
Year: 2000, 2003, 2006
Plot: In a world where mutants (evolved super-powered humans) exist and are discriminated against, two groups form for an inevitable clash: the supremacist Brotherhood, and the pacifist X-Men.
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Aaron Stanford, Shawn Ashmore, Kelsey Grammer, Ben Foster, Elliot Page, Cameron Bright
Directed by: Bryan Singer, Brett Ratner
Based on: The Marvel comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The superhero team first appeared in The X-Men #1 in 1963, later becoming famous for the long-running Uncanny X-Men series and numerous spin-offs.
Notes: I’m cheating again here by putting 3 films in one spot, but if I didn’t, there’d be 3 entries for X-Men in the list because I loved all three of these films. Yes, even the much maligned third one. I thought it was fun, didn’t get the adverse reaction it got.

Number 9

Title: Center Stage
Year: 2000
Plot: A group of dancers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.
Starring: Amanda Schull, Sascha Radetsky, Ethan Stiefel, Zoe Saldaña, Susan May Pratt, Peter Gallagher, Ilia Kulik, Donna Murphy, Eion Bailey
Directed by: Nicholas Hytner
Based on: An original screenplay written by Carol Heikkinen.
Notes: I love dance movies, even bad ones, simply cause I love the dancing. This one is about ballet, and they hired actual ballet dancers to star in the film. And surprisingly, the acting doesn’t suffer for it. The dance sequences are amazing, and all the characters are engaging. Simply wonderful.

Number 8

Title: Frailty
Year: 2001
Plot: A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to destroy people who were in fact “demons.”
Starring: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Matt O’Leary, Jeremy Sumpter, Powers Boothe, Luke Askew, Levi Kreis, Derk Cheetwood
Directed by: Bill Paxton
Based on: An original screenplay written by Brent Hanley, although he was heavily inspired by the real-life 70’s serial killer Joseph Kallinger. Kallinger was a religious fanatic who believed he was on a divine mission and forced his young son to help him kidnap and murder people.
Notes: This is such an underrated gem of a film. It’s so tense, so disturbing, and everyone turns in amazing performances. I highly recommend seeing this film if you haven’t already!

Number 7

Title: From Hell
Year: 2001
Plot: In 1888 London, a Scotland Yard investigator searches for Jack the Ripper, and a conspiracy begins to unfold.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Robbie Coltrane, Katrin Cartlidge, Susan Lynch, Ian Holm, Ian Richardson, Jason Flemyng, Terence Harvey, Lesley Sharp, Annabelle Apsion, Joanna Page
Directed by: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Based on: The historical-fiction graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. Both the movie and the book are based on a specific, largely discredited theory about the Ripper’s identity, which was popularized by Stephen Knight’s 1976 book, Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution.
Notes: I actually didn’t love this movie the first time I saw it, although I couldn’t tell you why. It has everything I love in a good serial killer film, plus Johnny Depp to boot. But I love it now, even if this particular theory about the Ripper is horseshit. Crazy conspiracy theories make good cinema, however.

Number 6

Title: The Haunting in Connecticut
Year: 2009
Plot: After a family is forced to relocate for their son’s health, they begin experiencing supernatural behavior in their new home and uncover a sinister history.
Starring: Kyle Gallner, Virginia Madsen, Martin Donovan, Elias Koteas, Amanda Crew, Sophi Knight, Ty Wood
Directed by: Peter Cornwell
Based on: The book In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting by Ray Garton and famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Supposedly based on a “true story”, and I put that in heavy quotations.
Notes: This is only a loose retelling of the Warrens’ book, it’s got a lot of stuff added to it, and the Warrens themselves aren’t even in this movie. But it’s such a great little film. It’s spooky, atmospheric, and very well acted. This is a definite horror gem of the 2000’s. Plus, Kyle Gallner. Meow.

Number 5

Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Year: 2003
Plot: An intrepid blacksmith teams up with an eccentric pirate captain to save his love from an undead pirate crew.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Zoe Saldaña
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Based on: The classic Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. The screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio took the theme park ride’s atmosphere, iconic animatronic scenes, and pirate lore, and built an original swashbuckling adventure around them.
Notes: When I heard they were making a movie based on a ride at a Disney theme park, I almost died laughing. “They’ve really hit rock bottom” I thought. But then I saw the film and I took it all back. It’s so much fun! Johnny Depp made one of the most iconic characters of the 21st century.

Number 4

Title: Constantine
Year: 2005
Plot: Detective Angela approaches Constantine, a demon hunter, to help her investigate her twin sister’s mysterious death. As he digs deeper, he realizes that demons are trying to enter the human world.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Tilda Swinton, Gavin Rossdale, Djimon Hounsou, José Zúñiga, Peter Stormare
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Based on: The Hellblazer graphic novels by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben.
Notes: I saw the movie before reading any of the comics, so imagine my surprise when I saw how different the film actually was. While I did enjoy the books, it’s the movie that I actually revisit. It’s just so good, everyone giving great performances, Keanu’s stoic nature actually perfect for this character.

Number 3

Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Year: 2001, 2002, 2003
Plot: A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis (v.o.), Sean Bean, Miranda Otto, Karl Urban, Bernard Hill, Brad Dourif, David Wenham, John Noble, Sala Baker
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Based on: The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien
Notes: I’m not really cheating here, since this is one long story that was actually filmed all at the same time. But what can I say about this? It’s so very good, the New Zealand landscape looking the part of a magical, lush, beautiful world. Every single character from the mains to the extras are doing their absolute best, and you can really see their dedication. Just amazing.

Number 2

Title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Year: 2005
Plot: A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young lady that resulted in her death.
Starring: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Jennifer Carpenter, Campbell Scott, Colm Feore, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Joshua Close, JR Bourne, Mary Beth Hurt
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Based on: The book The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel by Dr Felicitas Goodman. Also based on a “true story”.
Notes: This film is at times poignant, at times tense, and at times downright scary. Jennifer Carpenter gives a tour-de-force performance as the possessed girl.

Number 1

Title: The Ring
Year: 2002
Plot: A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone seven days after they view it.
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, Rachael Bella, Amber Tamblyn, Daveigh Chase
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Based on: The book Ring written by Koji Suzuki. It is also a remake of the Japanese film Ringu.
Notes: Finally, my absolute favourite film of the decade, The Ring is tense, scary, with buckets of atmosphere. The actors all do a great job. As a side note, the original dvd had a copy of the video that the characters watch in its entirety that you literally could not stop. They made it so that you couldn’t press stop, couldn’t pause, and I almost had a heart attack. I know it’s just a movie, but I really didn’t want to see the full video, haha.

Honourable mentions:

Troy
Ginger Snaps
Donnie Darko
The Dark Knight
Saw
The Grudge
Stardust
Session 9
Inkheart
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Save the Last Dance
Juno

And that’s it! Are your favourites on the list? Let me know, and stay tuned for the next (and last) in this series, the 30 best of the 10’s. I’ve got a list started for the 20’s, but I won’t be doing it til 2030, so I’ve got some time to think about it, lol. Or maybe I’ll do 2020 – 2025, then 2026 – 2029 when the time comes. We’ll see.

I hope you enjoyed my list!

M.

My Top 10 Biopics

I thought I was going to have trouble choosing only 10 films to put on this list, and actually, the opposite turned out to be true. Looks like I haven’t seen as many biopics as I thought, and liked even fewer of them. But, I guess you could say that’s a good thing, since I enjoyed so few of them, that this list will end up being just the very best. No mediocrity here! hehe

I’m also going to try do a wee bit of research to see just how true the film really is. But I’m not a historian, or a time traveler, nor do I have an all-seeing eye, so please don’t be a jerk if I get something wrong. Google knows a lot, but what it doesn’t know is which articles are the actual truth, and with so much info out there, it’s almost impossible to separate the real truth from the rumours. But I’ll do my best.

I also won’t be including any horror or supernatural “true stories”. Since I already did both top horror and top serial killer films lists, I won’t include any of those in this list, to avoid repetition. And on that note, we’re off!

NUMBER 10

10 The Runaways

Title: The Runaways
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Stella Maeve, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat, Riley Keough, Johnny Lewis, and Tatum O’Neal
Released in: 2010
Directed by: Floria Sigismondi
Written by: Floria Sigismondi
Based On a Book?: Yes; Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story by Cherie Currie
Who is the Story About?: Cherie Currie, Joan Jett and their short-lived band The Runaways
How Close to the Truth Is It?: What Joan has said about the friction between Cherie, Kim Fowley, and herself: “There was more friendship than was shown. I never really had a falling-out with him, even after the band broke up. Disharmony is natural in any band. But there were times when we were on the same page. Kim and Cherie and I still have an extremely intimate bond.” What Cherie has said about the film depicting them as always being miserable: “And that’s not true at all. How do you shove two-and-a-half years into an hour and a half? That was tough because we had a lot of fun.”
Why I Love It: Such a fun film with great music and really strong acting. Think Kristen Stewart is a bad actress? Then you’ve only seen her in Twilight. Joan Jett herself has said that she was absolutely blown away by her performance. She was recorded as saying “It was like looking in a mirror”.

NUMBER 9

9 The Basketball Diaries

Title: The Basketball Diaries
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Lorraine Bracco, James Madio, Patrick McGaw, Juliette Lewis, Bruno Kirby, and Ernie Hudson
Released in: 1995
Directed by: Scott Kalvert
Written by: Bryan Goluboff
Based On a Book?: Yes; The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll
Who/What is the Story About?: The drug-hazed teenage years of writer/musician Jim Carroll.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: What Jim Carroll has said about the film: “I thought it was well made. I thought the performances were fantastic. I thought Leonardo was wonderful; I couldn’t have asked for a better actor. I thought the whole cast was great. Unfortunately, the director had no idea what my book was about. And then the ending was much more ambiguous [originally]. They changed it and re-shot it in LA, so I didn’t know about that until I saw the final version of the film. And so I said, “You’re not gonna like make it fucked up and preachy and stuff??” and they said, “No, no!” But that’s what they did!”
Why I Love It: Despite the fact that it’s pretty far from the truth, it’s still a wonderful, albeit hard to watch, film. Leo turns his performance up to 11, and he really shines.

NUMBER 8

8 Cleopatra

Title: Cleopatra
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Hume Cronyn, Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall, Robert Stephens, Francesca Annis, George Cole, and Kenneth Haigh
Released in: 1963
Directed by: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Written by: Joseph L Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall, Sidney Buchman
Based On a Book?: Yes; The Life and Times of Cleopatra by CM Franzero, plus historical texts by Plutarch, Appian, and Suetonius
Who/What is the Story About?: The life, rule and eventual death of Ancient Egypt’s last Pharaoh, Queen Cleopatra, and the two men in her life, Julius Caeser and Mark Antony.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: Wikipedia says: “On the whole, the film followed the history of the period fairly closely, and took fewer liberties with historical accuracy than several other epics. However, there are a few minor inaccuracies:” Click here for the list.
Why I Love It: I don’t think I need to explain. I love everything Ancient Egyptian, and this film is beautiful, lush, and actually quite historically accurate, which is sadly rare in Hollywood. Elizabeth Taylor is breath-taking in the lead role, oozing sexuality and power, much as I assume the real Cleopatra would have.

NUMBER 7

7 Braveheart

Title: Braveheart
Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson, Brian Cox, Peter Hanly, Stephen Billington, Barry McGovern, and Tommy Flanagan
Released in: 1995
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Written by: Randall Wallace
Based On a Book?: Yes; The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace by “Blind Harry”
Who/What is the Story About?: The life and death of William Wallace, a 13th century Scot who led the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of England.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: This is one of the most famously inaccurate films in Hollywood history. I won’t even try to list it all. Click here to see what Wikipedia has to say on the subject. Give yourself some time, there’s a lot there :-p
Why I Love It: Despite it’s glaring inaccuracies, one can’t deny this is a beautiful, powerful film. Shows just what Mel Gibson could accomplish before he went bat-shit crazy.

NUMBER 6

6 Remember the Titans

Title: Remember the Titans
Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, Craig Kirkwood, Ryan Gosling, Hayden Panettiere, Kip Pardue, Ethan Suplee, Nicole Ari Parker, and Kate Bosworth
Released in: 2000
Directed by: Boaz Yakin
Written by: Gregory Allen Howard
Based On a Book?: No
Who/What is the Story About?: Black football coach Herman Boone is assigned to TC Williams High School’s team the Titans, and the first inter-racial school in the United States.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: The core of the story (integration of the races, most of the players and games) seems to be all there, but a lot of the smaller details (or most of them, rather) are fictionalized. Click here to see what Chasing the Frog (a website devoted to uncovering the real truth behind Hollywood’s “true stories”) has to say about it.
Why I Love It: I’m not the biggest fan of sports films, or sports in general for that matter (except hockey, I am Canadian, after all 😉 ), but every so often one comes along that I really love. The story is good, the acting all on point, and it’s so fun to see a bunch of actors who are big now getting their start here, like hunky Ryan Gosling.

NUMBER 5

5 Immortal Beloved

Title: Immortal Beloved
Starring: Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini, Johanna ter Steege, Marco Hofschneider, Miriam Margolyes, Barry Humphries, and Valeria Golino
Released in: 1994
Directed by: Bernard Rose
Written by: Bernard Rose
Based On a Book?: No
Who/What is the Story About?: The life (and loves) of great composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: I actually didn’t know a whole lot (that means nothing) about Beethoven’s life before writing this except for what I’d seen in the film. Doing my Googling now, I can see that I may as well have been watching fiction. In the words of movie critic Lewis Butler: “About the only things they got right were that Beethoven wrote the 9th Symphony and that he died.” Ouch. You can read the rest of his review here.
Why I Love It: Having not known how historically inaccurate it was before now will be my excuse for loving this as much as I did. Bah, who am I kidding? I’d have loved it anyways. It’s beautiful, schmoopy, and Gary Oldman gives a tour de force performance, as usual.

NUMBER 4

4 Party Monster

Title: Party Monster
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Chloë Sevigny, Dylan McDermott, Wilmer Valderrama, Wilson Cruz, Mia Kirshner, and Marilyn Manson
Released in: 2003
Directed by: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Written by: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Based On a Book?: Yes; Disco Bloodbath by James St James
Who/What is the Story About?: The rise and fall of legendary 90’s “club kid” Michael Alig.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: When asked if the film retained “the true vibe of it all”, James St James had this to say: “Well, was Cleopatra really like Elizabeth Taylor? Was Erin Brockovich anything like Julia Roberts? Movies are movies. They are meant to entertain. Was it a moment-by-moment depiction of our lives and our relationship? Oh my god no. But it captured the spirit of the times and that’s all you can hope for.” He has also expressed pure love for Seth Green and his performance.
Why I Love It: It’s fun, colourful, with great music and great performances, especially, as James has said, Seth Green’s. He ate up every inch of the screen while he was on it, and it was wonderful.

NUMBER 3

3 Gladiator

Title: Gladiator
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Spencer Treat Clark, Richard Harris, David Schofield, and John Shrapnel
Released in: 2000
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
Based On a Book?: No
Who/What is the Story About?: An enslaved soldier determined to see the Emperor who murdered his family pay for his crimes.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: Well… Commodus was real, as were all the other members of his family. And that’s about it. Heroic Maximus is fiction. Commodus wasn’t the swellest dude around, but he was nowhere near as gross as he’s played on screen. Here’s a more detailed account of the historical untruths told by the film, on a cool blog called Historical Histrionics. Looks like he only did a few posts, though, which is a shame, because they’re well written.
Why I Love It: It’s actually thanks to this film, historical inaccuracies and all, that I got so interested in ancient history. I mean, I’d always been interested, especially in ancient Egypt, but seeing this really made me want to know more about ancient Rome. I was a little disappointed to find out how inaccurate this film actually is, but it didn’t make me love it any less.

NUMBER 2

2 Chaplin

Title: Chaplin
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Geraldine Chaplin, Paul Rhys, Moira Kelly, Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Tomei, Penelope Ann Miller, Kevin Kline, Maria Pitillo, and Milla Jovovich
Released in: 1992
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
Written by: William Boyd, Bryan Forbes, William Goldman
Based On a Book?: Yes; My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin, and Chaplin His Life and Art by David Robinson
Who/What is the Story About?: The life and work of legendary comedian Charlie Chaplin.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: I’m actually having some trouble looking stuff up. There’s lots of reviews of the film, but even Wikipedia doesn’t have much on whether or not it’s very accurate. As far as I can tell, it seems to pretty accurate, although there’s a lot cut out (the man lived to 88, you couldn’t get all that into one film), and they seem to gloss over some rather important stuff, while focusing on some more minor things. Gotta highlight the dramatic, I guess. This movie review was the one I found with the most historical information.
Why I Love It: This is the film that made me fall in love with Robert Downey Jr. He was ridiculously perfect for the role, and the rest of the film just falls perfectly into place around him. He should have won the Oscar that year. I’ve no idea who won, but I can tell you that he wasn’t as good as Robert.

NUMBER 1

1 Amadeus

Title: Amadeus
Starring: Tom Hulce, F Murray Abraham, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, and Charles Kay
Released in: 1984
Directed by: Milos Forman
Written by: Peter Shaffer
Based On a Book?: No, a play :-p Amadeus by Peter Shaffer
Who/What is the Story About?: The life, music, and death of musical prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
How Close to the Truth Is It?: Well… not very actually. In the words of movie critic Alex von Tunzelmann: “A deadly rivalry that never was, a dried-up bachelor who was actually a father of eight, and flops that were hits in reality … even getting Mozart’s toilet humour right cannot redeem it.” She definitely didn’t like the film. You can read the rest of her scathing review here.
Why I Love It: I knew going into it that it wasn’t historically accurate. And do I care? Not a lick. I know a biopic is supposed to tell a true story, and I am sorry that so many people think that this is the way things actually went down, but I’ll be damned if I don’t just love this film to pieces. Fart jokes and all.

 

What are your favourite biopics? Let me know in the comments, and stay tuned for more!

M.

Mel’s 5 Second Review: Winter’s Tale

Winter’s Tale
(2014) Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly, Ripley Sobo, Eva Marie Saint, Kevin Corrigan, Mckayla Twiggs, Graham Greene, Will Smith, and Listo the Horse

winters-tale

So this film is one giant, obvious attempt to get people to cry. It goes about its business, purposefully pressing every emotional button in our brains, while the breathtaking scenery and actors light up the screen. Based on the book of the same name by Mark Helprin, it’s pure, unadulterated schmoop… and I loved it. Now, I can’t honestly say that I’d have liked it on any other day, but just so happens that the day I watched it was the first day of my period. My hormones were already on the fritz, so this film did exactly what it was made to do, and it did it well. I cried like a baby. Happy tears, sad tears, longing tears, the whole shebang. I started crying about a third of the way in, and barely stopped until after the film was over. If you’re a sucker for uber-romance, then you definitely need to see this one. Just don’t forget the kleenex… I give it a solid 8/10.

This film isn’t currently streaming on Netflix, but it’s still pretty new. I’m sure it’ll get there soon enough.

M.