Cru Jones Society

The Cru Jones Society is proud to welcome our special guest columnist for our Favorite Films 0f the ‘00s, and a good friend: Rob Rector. Rob is the host of Natsukashi and has been a published film critic for 15 years. He currently writes movie reviews for the Cape Gazette and teaches film at Delaware Technical and Community College. We’re thrilled for Rob to join us. Please give Rob a warm welcome to the Cru Jones Society!

I know this is the part where I should be thankful to the folk at CJS for picking the opportunity, but no. This has been an incredibly hellish assignment.  C’mon guys, even Time Out New York crammed in 50 of them. There were films that, while perhaps not my favorite, are ones that I consider important. There is an entire host of documentaries that could have populated the list, as well as foreign and indie pics that deserve a list of their own. There was also a few Sophie’s Choice-like moments where I had to leave a few behind.

That said, here’s the rundown of more mainstream fare that meant the most to me over the decade, in no particular order. These are the ones I return to frequently for cinematic comfort food. And thanks to CJS for letting me delve into the corners of the cranium and sift through the detritus for the sake of film.

The Dark Knight

This should really come as no surprise, but strip away the costumes, the budget, the whole Heath Ledger brou-ha-ha, and you have at its core a story that boils down the essence of what is good and evil. It is a film that delivers grandiosity not with its effects, but more with its words, and it thrives in those gray ethical areas that are often debated but seldom solved. Plus, I want that Bat Cycle.

Up

I’ll be honest, this one was the most difficult, as I could have populated this entire list with Pixar pics. And perhaps it is because this was the one I most recently viewed on the big screen (though I still return with frequency to “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and “Wall*E“), but I’ll be damned if I cannot shake the emotions that overwhelm me while experiencing this film. What starts with a note-perfect montage of the value of a partner in life, continues with some of the decades’ most atypical heroes and an ode to friendship that is as true and tender as any witnessed with flesh-and-blood actors.

Memento

A double-dip for director Christopher Nolan, who bookends the aughts with this chronological clusterf*ck that makes it beg for multiple spins on the DVD plate. It’s a rightful heir to the film noir throne even if it was laid out in linear fashion, but the fact that it hiccups through time makes it as fun to  watch from any direction.

Borat

Comedy is a difficult genre to brand “the best” due to its subjective nature, but Sacha Baron Cohen’s without-a-net antics are edgy, intelligent, dangerous, and so sadly needed in this world. His humor may not always hit the target (as evidenced with the strained Bruno), but it’s necessary. In a time when comedy is neutered to suit the needs of focus-group-friendly chuckles, Cohen could not be more valuable.

Pan’s Labyrinth

Have you ever really read old “children’s fables?” There is some twisted stuff going on in there. Try these on for size from the Brothers Grimm: The Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear, The Juniper Tree, or All-Kinds-of-Fur. Rape, incest, murder and infanticide were apparently all the rage to help children drift off into a blissful slumber back in the day. By comparison, Pan’s must look rather quaint, but it is still on the darker side of Disney offerings. Lush and languid, Pan’s is a beauty to behold, set against a very real depiction of war and its atrocities.

Some almost-rans would have included, for reasons of their own merit: I Heart Huckabees, Waking Life, Grindhouse (for it’s ode to going to the theater and not necessarily its films), Children of Men, American Psycho, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Visit Natsukashi.com and download the latest podcasts where movies and memories collide. Email Rob at filmrob@gmail.com