Jordan Marquez Presents: The Top Ten Best And Worst of The Decade 00s - Number 4 Best

Welcome back to the countdown, as we are now closing on my top ten best movies of the decade.

And continuing on,

The #4 best movie of the decade:
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

This was ultimately a surprise to me. I was expecting something good from this, but I never knew I would witness something so wonderful and brilliant that I just completely fell in l. This is the ultimate anti-depressant, one look at this film will cure you of your sadness and depression. Sure enough there was one sad moment in it, but its forthcoming situation became an instant hilarious joke. And the film became such an excellent example of a feel-great movie because it comes down to one thing: family. It displays one of the most dysfunctional families you could ever find on the screen and nothing much good comes to them, yet we all can recognize anyone in our own family. No matter what sticky situations or intense dramas they have, they are still stick together as a loving family and we know we are not alone in this.

As a hugely dysfunctional family, we are introduced its members with its dark and flawed characteristics and issues: Dad is a desperate motivational speaker who can't get a break, Son is a rebellious teen who took a vow of silence, Uncle is gay and suicidal. Yet the entire family are glued together by a very special member: the bright seven-year-old daughter Olive who always wanted to win a beauty contest. Like most films that are journeys of self-discovery, their crazy road-trip to Olive's beauty pageant lightens up the irony that shows the true beauty of themselves and as a family. Including the irony of the pageant, promoting the superficial and fabricated aspect of beauty. Everyone in the main cast did a brilliant performance especially Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin. And Abigail is one truly beautiful girl, making her and her family just so lovable. While the humor can be dark, it just feels right with the overall tone and it doesn't leave you out of place. Thus the film is so enjoyable with each viewing that you will feel right as rain.

Favorite Defining Moment:
(Spoiler Alert - Don't see this until you see the movie)
This is the one true heart-warming scene where you just can't help but smile. Although you'll be shocked at first, but you'll gradually laugh and smile. And it is great on two factors. One is that it is giving the middle finger to the whole meaning of beauty pageant, especially child beauty pageant. Thus making the entire audience a bunch of hypocrites. And secondly it shows the support and love for each other in such a bad time, making them a true family.



Tomorrow, I will reveal #3 best movie of the 00s. What will it be....

Jordan Marquez Presents: The Top Ten Best And Worst of The Decade 00s - Number 5 Best

Welcome back to the countdown, as we are now halfway through my top ten best movies of the decade.

And continuing on,

The #5 best movie of the decade:
WALL*E (2008)

If I didn't have rules, Pixar would be dominating the top ten list. I would have included among my favorites: The Incredibles, Ratatouille and recently Up. But that would be too easy to make the list and it has to be one film of either group per entry. So it all comes down to the most ambitious, most risky and most unique with a little hint of controversy from all the Pixar films. With that comes my most favorite Pixar film and the best I have seen so far. Everyone has their favorite and I'm not disregarding the others. Up is actually my third favorite Pixar film (just riiiigghhht behind The Incredibles) and I LOVE THAT FREAKIN MOVIE SO MUCH!!! Its just that Wall-E is a little better than them. But what I'm saying is that you can always depend on the little studio filled with big imagination that is Pixar. They are a force to be reckon with.

Part of the great appeal of the film that it has on me is the right timing. I have a love for silent films like Chaplin's and Keaton's and during the time of the release, I was writing a paper about silent films and its narrative through motion and expressions. Being Pixar, they came up with the most imaginative mash-up of genres as a science-fiction romance silent film. This film compliment of both the old and new decade, having the first half play out like a silent film referencing to Chaplin's City Light and bound together many many sci-fi references from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Alien. Though it is bound with those, it is also filled with many other heavy-handed messages and issues such as corporation, consumerism, society, health, reliance on machines and the most obvious environmental. Though they are not banging you over the head with it as they are played out as clever sight gags and subtle dark humor. However they are not the forefront of the film when it is really all about the love story between two actual robots. Something Pixar has never done before. The creation of both Wall-E and Eve became one of the most adorable and most lovable couple in probably film history. Despite only communicating to each other with beeps and bloops, you do understand whats going on and really feel for their heartbeats and heartbreaks. And you get all of this in one film. Pixar.... you are just magical.

Favorite Defining Moment:
(Spoiler Alert - Don't see this until you see the movie)
There are many great moments in the film that were considered cute, funny and possibly emotional. I could pick from Eve's anger towards the ocean-liners, or Wall-E's discovery of the humans who are now extremely obese and lazy, or the heart-breaking shocking ending. But the most favorite moment that was just magical was how they define dancing. Two robots in love gliding together in space... how is that not the most romantic thing?



Tomorrow, I will reveal #4 best movie of the 00s. What will it be....

Jordan Marquez Presents: The Top Ten Best And Worst of The Decade 00s - Number 6 Best

Welcome back to the countdown, as we are now counting down my top ten best movies of the decade.

The #6 best movie of the decade:
The Lord Of The Rings:
Return Of The King (2003)

Now let me get this out of the way. I didn''t like or love the Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy. I recognized it as good examples of film-making and I thoroughly enjoyed each movies, but somehow I never see it as one of the go-to favorite classics of films. With this and King Kong, I felt it wasn't balanced in giving the point of the scenes and when to stop giving the point of the scenes. It will strike up a huge argument in how a film should be faithful to its original source, either you take certain important sections of the books to give a moderately time length or be completely faithful and have the entire movie so damn long. Even with the theatrical cut, it was too long. But that just me. And I have to give Peter Jackson such marvelous praise for, just like Frodo, carrying such an extremely huge and dangerous burden in bringing such a faithful film adaptation of the most epic fantasy story ever written. And if I have to choose one out of the three, this is my most favorite to rule them all.

Its a great thing that the series had the green-light in this decade because who knew how it would have gotten made if it weren't for the technology. Sure enough some of the effects look dated nowadays especially sadly the greatest CG-animated star, Gollum. Yet it is still Andy Serkis' brilliant performance that proves timeless and hold no bound from it technological aspect. The whole series journey is not just about the battle of good and evil, but a journey of maturity, growth and responsibility and at the last film, we see great development of most of the characters from Aragon taking the throne as the King of Men to the Hobbits taking actions greater than their size. And the battle scenes are well-directed and provided a great range of emotions and action.

Favorite Defining Moment:
(Spoiler Alert - Don't see this until you see the movie)
We all have follow Samwise as he helps his dear friend Frodo, guide him through the devastating lands of Mordor while bearing the deadly One Ring. And at first, he had shown hints of incompetence and cowardice. But whenever his friend is in trouble, he becomes a badass. And who didn't really cheer when Sam mans up and came back to take a giant spider to rescue his friend?



Tomorrow, I will reveal #5 best movie of the 00s. What will it be....

Jordan Marquez Presents: The Top Ten Best And Worst of The Decade 00s - Number 7 Best

Welcome back to the countdown, as we are now counting down my top ten best movies of the decade.

The #7 best movie of the decade:
Yingxiong "Hero" (2002)

I grew up watching alot of kung fu movies from Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and anything from Gold Harvest or Media Asia. Kung fu/Wu Shu/martial arts movies have been so spectacular to watch that it became a mainstream element in the western action movies nowadays. But then comes along a concept that portrays martial arts as an illustrative form of art. A work of art as poetry, dance and paintings. Not only to be entertaining and bone-breaking in the previous martial art films, but in a slow-paced, observing sequence of motion and color. A thing of beauty. I could compare this and another memorable martial arts movie: Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon and you could ask why I didn't choose the latter. Well... Hero just stuck more out to me. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon wasn't artistic enough and this has the artsy factor up to 11!

Not only you're seeing ass-kicking kung fu fight sequences, but you are actually watching a moving Monet painting filled with rich colors and beautiful composition. And color is the significant element that is mainly used for this film, emphasizing the structure of the narrative, the theme of each chapter, the emotions and the tone of the film. But colors are not the only important element that holds up the film, but so does the use of sound and motion like how the swarm of arrows have the sound of wasps and hornets. And it is the most beautiful imagery you'll ever seen in a martial arts film.

Favorite Defining Moment:
(Spoiler Alert - Don't see this until you see the movie)
Speaking of beauty, this fight sequence on the lake made me jaw drop with its beauty and tranquility. The use of water and ripples makes this entire play fight in honor of their comrade entirely special.



Tomorrow, I will reveal #6 best movie of the 00s. What will it be....

Mini Reviews - 9

9

, Crispin Glover , Fred Tatasciore

When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the g... (read more) When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

For a concept that is entirely original and has so much potential, it is disappointing for it to drop the ball with a "paint-by-number" story, undeveloped characters and a VERY short time-duration. Though it brought out a star-studded cast like Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly and Jennifer Connelly, it felt that they were not used so well enough as these characters could have voiced by unknown actors. The visuals and art direction were pretty impressive and I praised it for its dark and terrifying tones. You'll wish that it could handled better and so much more especially the last few minutes.

3 out of 5 stars

Jordan Marquez Presents: The Top Ten Best And Worst of The Decade 00s - Number 8 Best

Welcome back to the countdown, as we are now counting down my top ten best movies of the decade.

The #8 best movie of the decade:
Cidade De Deus "City Of God" (2002)

In a way, you can compare this film to Slumdog Millionaire. Both are foreign films, set in poverty-ridden part of the city and chronicles the lives of the kids living off on the streets with violence, drugs and power. Though the difference is that one is a fairy tale and the other is based off a true story. Though I ask, which of these is the most harsh and most brutal? Which of them doesn't really f*ck around in portraying the dangerous and intense nature of poverty and survival? If you answer City of God, you are indeed correct. I'll keep on saying this that I still don't see what was the fuss about Slumdog Millionaire. Because when I watched Slumdog Millionaire, I say to myself "Yeaaaahh, but City Of God did better".

You feel the great brutality and danger in the film as you know this is what is actually happening in the most poverty-stricken cities of the world, for example the film's setting, City of God in Rio de Janeiro. The story has the richness of the decades between the 60s and the 80s as it deals with the new hippie youth and the radical government reign while it is much a coming-of-age theme. You'll be introduced to various young characters growing up in the dangerous streets and to reach their ultimate goal in life: either power, freedom or redemption. And the film does not pull any punches especially it involves violence and children. Its a whole new level and experience of crime and gangsters on film and one that should not be missed.

Favorite Defining Moment:
(Spoiler Alert - Don't see this until you see the movie)
We all seen kids being creepy and mute in horror movies. But we have never been introduced to a kid so evil and psychotic that takes joy in shooting at random people like he would with a toy gun, only to grow up as the most dangerous crime lord in the city. He is one evil little bastard and his name is Lil' Ze.



Tomorrow, I will reveal #7 best movie of the 00s. What will it be....

Jordan Marquez Presents: The Top Ten Best And Worst of The Decade 00s - Number 9 Best

Welcome back to the countdown, as we are now counting down my top ten best movies of the decade.

The #9 best movie of the decade:
Requiem For A Dream (2000)

You may think this is just a movie about drugs and that the message of the film is to just say no to drugs. In a way it is. But you can say this is the most depressing and most artistic drug message you'll ever see. This film is not about drugs but about addiction and it chronicles the four happy souls down to a very devastating point of their life. I'll say this, there is no happy ending. No point of lesson realization where things go back to normal. Things go down to the sh*t.. hard! But in this heavy and moral issue lies a beautiful, emotional and visually-breathtaking experience even the faint of heart must see.

Its a visual feast grounded with a sense of emotional and dark issues, following the four characters as they tried to reach that ultimate goal and happiness in life. The most significant out of the four actors is Ellen Burstyn, who gave an outstanding and heartbreaking performance as the ignored, lonely old mother who wanted nothing more than to be on a television show and to be loved by her only son. Others gave great performances too, especially Marlon Wayans who did so well in a dramatic role. The film's trademark would be its editing and cutting style patterns in sequences representing the film's theme of addiction, one that will be parodied in certain films and TV series. The soundtrack is some of the most haunting and chaotic ever put on screen and the cinematography are just out there. Watch this film with caution, by the end of the film you will be hallow inside.

Favorite Defining Moment:
(Spoiler Alert - Don't see this until you see the movie)
I could talk about Ellen's brilliant monologue scene, or the montage that shows the character's demise, but probably my most favorite is the final phone conversation between doomed lovers Harry and Marion. Its a short and simple scene, but after following their romance throughout the movie, this comes full effect. That when they end their talk on the phone, all hope is lost and it is downhill from there.


(click the picture for the video)

Tomorrow, I will reveal #8 best movie of the 00s. What will it be....