The Aughts in Movies: 90-86

For #95-91, click here.  Otherwise, let's continue.

90. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

(Adam McKay, 2004)

The sheer amount of ad-libbing on display in Anchorman is amazing, amazing enough that they cut together a second movie from the remaining footage (a shitty movie, but a movie nonetheless).  I'm honestly not too thrilled about the prospect of a sequel, but if it's half as good as Anchorman, it'll be way better than any of his recent comedies.

89. Primer

(Shane Carruth, 2004)

Here's proof that in the right hands, $7000 can make a great movie.  Those who love Primer always talk about how plausible Carruth makes his time travel story or how it's some kind of DIY sci-fi treatise.  What I love about Primer is how the actors treat the dialogue as though it were a Robert Altman film.  The film doesn't care if you keep up or not, so you'd better pay attention.

88. The Brothers Bloom

(Rian Johnson, 2009)

Most of you never saw this, because it only played in a couple hundred theaters, so when it hits DVD (if it hasn't already), go find it.  Nine times out of ten, I hate caper movies, but Rian Johnson's goes so far out of his way to make this the Ulysses of caper films that it won me over in spite of myself.  Style by the truckload, humor by the gallon, and probably the best expletive use of the decade.

87. Walk the Line

(James Mangold, 2005)

Reese Witherspoon may have won the Oscar for her turn as June Carter, but Joaquin Phoenix is infinitely better as Johnny Cash.  Of all the music biopics of the decade (not that there were that many to begin with), Walk the Line is easily the best.  Great cover songs and strong performances.  Does a rock biopic need anything else?

86. Hellboy II: The Golden Army

(Guillermo del Toro, 2008)

It's a difficult thing to combine sci-fi and fantasy and have the result be a success.  While del Toro's Hellboy sequel is really more of a remake, it's better than the original in almost every way (Danny Elfman's score pales in comparison to Marco Beltrami's original).  The fantasy elements are some of the most interesting you'll ever find, and the performances are uniformly brilliant.  Comic book films rarely look this good.

Come on back for #85-81.