brodiemash’s top 5 most influential movies of the decade

The decade that ran from 2000 to 2010 was a pivotal one for me as a filmmaker. Many people talk about being influenced by films from their childhood but I honestly can’t say that very many movies from mine have had similar effects. But the films from this last decade have had every little thing to do with me growing into a filmmaker. So for me, these are the most influential films for me in the past decade, and although the first four I cannot rank, I do have a favorite of the decade, which is that last one on this list:

Scratch (2001)
As soon as I finished watching this documentary, I went into my room and started writing. Now, I know that the film has nothing to do with writing but what it did to to see these people dedicate themselves to a craft and focus until they were on top of their game really inspired me. Anytime I’ve been lazy and not keeping up to a satisfactory level of being productive, I throw this film on and I immediately receive a swift kick in the ass and I think sometimes, we all need one of those.

The Fall (2008)
When I was a child, my sister told me the greatest story I’ve ever heard. She was reading from a book as I sat on her lap. After wards, I went back to read the story again and went to the page where she was reading from and it was an ornate picture with the words “Look at this picture and create your own story.” I was crushed to learn that I would never here that story again and to this day it haunts me. Take what you will from that story but Tarsem’s film served as reminder of how a child’s imagination can take something mundane and turn it into something fantastic! Plus the visuals & the use of Figlio Perduto in the trailer did it for me ;)

Traffic (2000)
Man this film epic. I mean it was a deep film that boasted more characters than I care to remember but it did an excellent job in presenting a relevant, modern issue in a manner that the viewer saw exactly how it affected everyone. Engrossing as it might have been, I never felt overwhelmed and Soderbergh should of one an Oscar for his directing here. And as many people compare this to Crash, I feel this is the far better film of the two.

Collateral (2004)
To say this is my favorite Tom Cruise film might send a few legacy kids from the 80s into a rage but I have to go with this one. But that’ not why I love this film. My love for the film extends from the way director Michael Mann captured downtown LA, something that we rarely see in film. Usually, these kind of stories take place in New York or some other locale that has been used a hundred times and the use of digital cameras struck a chord with me, too. It added a grain that worked well (but in turn, turned out to be a weakness in the director’s recent Public Enemies) and added to the griminess. The loneliness witnessed in downtown LA was something akin to what I see in downtown Fresno at night and that is what drives me to continue to make films centered there.

Requiem For A Dream (2000)
To this day, I still have images of Darren Aronofsky powerful film in my head every time I think about drugs. Besides the gritty style of the film, the music, the acting, the cinematography: it all came together and, at least for me, created a almost near perfect film for me. As hard as some of the images may be to see, the story grips you in a way that forces you to experience the anguish & pain the characters are going through. Although some people might not be able to rank their favorite movies, this one is definitely mine for this last decade.

Honorable Mentions:

The Wackness – A coming of age love story with an awesome hip-hop soundtrack. If you were in high school in the 90s, you gotta give this a shot.

Amores Perros – Up until I had seen this movie, I thought Mexico would never take making movies seriously. This shit rocked my face off!

The Dark Knight/ Iron Man – Comic book movies became AWESOME towards the end of this decade and let me see my favorite childhood heroes on the big screen, almost exactly how I imagined them. C’mon, the movies were fucking fantastic!

The Fast & The Furious – This selection might single handedly negate everything else on my list for many but the film by Rob Cohen served as a reminder of how a film can be successful to the mainstream by totally shitting on the reality of a subject matter. I literally learned how to shut my brain down and stop caring when these movies came up and it made my movie viewing experience ever since then much more enjoyable. Less film snob, more film lover!