20 Years of Top Ten Lists

I suppose I was a sophomore in high school when I first jotted down what I thought were the best films I had seen that "Oscar season," among them movies like Chicago and About Schmidt. (I later cheated and added a few when I saw them a few years later—something I try to avoid—such as Monsoon Wedding and The Kid Stays in the Picture.) Film critics are more or less required to create these kinds of lists at the end of the year, although the level of enjoyment varies from critic to critic. Dan Kois at the New York Times wrote in 2011 that while he really has loved making top-ten lists at the end of the year ever since he wrote for his high school newspaper, he recognizes that for many critics, the lists are "artificial exercises, assertions of critical ego, capricious and necessarily imperfect." That same year, Emily Nussbaum at the New Yorker wasn't shy about saying that she hates making top-ten lists, writing that she felt her teeth grind as she made a list in that very same article.

Why do I keep making lists of my favorite films of the year? It's not like I'm getting paid to do it. Why would anyone enjoy making lists? Linda Weeks at NPR had a neat way of answering the question: "Lists," she said, "bring order to chaos." And off Robert Kraft's ten benefits of making lists, my favorite is the first: externalizing what we need to remember. I have a list for everything. I make to-do lists and grocery lists. I list my favorite fifty songs of different musicians I like, such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, the Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Janelle Monáe, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, the Notorious B.I.G., Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, and Paul Simon, among many others. I once even ranked the colleagues I disliked the most at a place I worked. But my favorite lists to make are top-ten movie lists.

Although I make lists to help me remember the films I've seen, I have forgotten much about a few movies that I once thought were best. These include 21 Grams, which Wikipedia tells me is a psychological drama from 2003 directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts; Millions, a 2004 British comedy-drama directed by Danny Boyle about a boy who speaks to imaginary saints and altruistically spends a bunch of money he's found; and Taxi to the Dark Side, a 2007 documentary directed by Alex Gibney about a taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and beaten to death by U.S. soldiers. There are some I remember a few moments from (like the ring stopping in mid-air like a tennis ball in Match Point) and how they made me feel (a bit nauseous, from the same film), but if lists are in fact for helping to externalize what we need to remember, then I owe these films another visit. 

I've tried to make sure I don't go back and edit these lists once they're finalized. This relieves some pressure. By doing so, I avoid having to go back and contemplate shifting around a bunch of films I saw years ago. I also can only defend some of the selections by saying that they are a snapshot into who I was in the past. Of course I've changed. When I saw Crash as a freshman in university (after four years of going to a mostly white high school), I imagine I probably thought of it as a profoundly progressive and brutally honest depiction of racism. (I also figured that if the film was good enough to top Roger Ebert's top ten of that year, it would surely be good enough for me.) Yet progressive or not, well intentioned or not, and many years after all the backlash, I viewed it again when I watched all ninety Best Picture winners. It then really sunk in just how problematic the film was and is. Should I go back and change the list? What's the point? I barely have enough time to make a top-ten list each year; how could I possibly go back and continually edit previous years'? 

Other than Crash, I think a lot of my early picks demonstrate a bit of maturity for a young person who knew nothing about film. Sure, I may have been a lot more into Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl twenty years ago than I am now, but that year's top pick was The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNama, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary and was shown to us by Mr. Brewer, my high school history teacher. Since then, and since I am not (except for a brief stint reviewing films for my college newspaper) a professional film critic who gets sent to see a whole bunch of films a week, I have usually used Rotten Tomatoes' annual list of top one hundred films to help me decide which films to try and make my way through throughout the year. (I usually see about sixty percent of those films.) It's for this reason that I don't get the, let's say, smug criticism some have levied towards the website. I recently saw and liked the film that made Rotten Tomatoes' top slot of last year: No Bears, directed by, written by, produced by, and starring Jafar Panahi, who was arrested last July and sentenced to six years in prison for "propaganda against the regime" of Iran. I also liked the movie directed by Panah Panahi, his son, called Hit the Road, a film that made Barack Obama's annual list. For whatever reason, I didn't like either enough to include them on my list from last year. 

Some of the years, I found many of the films to be wonderfully enticing, like 2013, which saw the release of films like American Hustle, Fruitvale Station, The Past, and 12 Years a Slave, which won Best Picture. Other years, like 2019 and 2022, I struggled (and failed) to find even ten films that really stayed with me. But all of the following films I (at least one point in time) really liked. Anyway, here is my list of my top-ten lists:

The Best Films of 2002

10. Insomnia

9. The Hours

8. Chicago

7. Catch Me If You Can

6. Adaptation

5. Road to Perdition

4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

3. Bowling for Columbine

2. About Schmidt

1. Spirited Away

Honorable Mentions: One Hour Photo, Spider-Man, The Pianist, Red Dragon, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Kid Stays in the Picture, Gangs of New York, The Count of Monte Cristo, Punch-Drunk Love, Monsoon Wedding

The Best Films of 2003

10. Mystic River

9. Monster

8. Finding Nemo

7. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

6. X-2: X-Men United

5. Peter Pan

4. 21 Grams

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

2. Whale Rider

1. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNama 

Honorable Mentions: Seabiscuit, The Last Samurai, 28 Days Later, Shattered Glass

The Best Films of 2004

10. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

9. Vera Drake

8. Million Dollar Baby

7. The Aviator

6. Fahrenheit 9/11

5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4. Team America: World Police

3. Collateral

2. Finding Neverland

1. The Passion of the Christ

Honorable Mentions: Hotel Rwanda, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Shrek 2, Super Size Me, Shaun of the Dead, The Machinist, Meet the Fockers

The Best Films of 2005

10. Transamerica

9. Grizzly Man

8. Good Night, and Good Luck

7. The Three Burials of Melquidas Estrada

6. Brokeback Mountain

5. Syriana

4. Sin City

3. Mysterious Skin

2. Downfall

1. Crash

Honorable Mentions: The Squid and the Whale, Match Point, Capote, Walk the Line, Weather Man, Hustle and Flow, Millions, Body of War, Cinderella Man, Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins

The Best Films of 2006

10. The Last King of Scotland

9. The Queen

8. The Good Shepherd

7. Casino Royale

6. The Prestige

5. The Departed

4. Little Miss Sunshine

3. Children of Men

2. An Inconvenient Truth

1. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 

Honorable Mentions: Akeelah and the Bee, The Pursuit of Happyness, World Trade Center, Little Children, The Fountain, Jesus Camp, V for Vendetta, Crossing the Line

The Best Films of 2007

10. Things We Lost in the Fire

9. Into the Wild

8. Enchanted

7. Zodiac

6. Sicko

5. American Gangster

4. Lars and the Real Girl

3. There Will Be Blood

2. No Country For Old Men

1. Hot Fuzz

Honorable Mentions: Stardust, Charlie Wilson's War, Black Snake Moan, Atonement, Taxi to the Dark Side

The Best Films of 2008

10. Be Like Others

9. Mamma Mia!

8. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

7. Gran Torino

6. Frost/Nixon

5. The Wrestler

4. Milk

3. Slumdog Millionaire

2. The Dark Knight

1. WALL-E

Honorable Mentions: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

The Best Films of 2009

10. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

9. Let the Right One In

8. Food, Inc.

7. Departures

6. Up

5. Coraline

4. Watchmen

3. Paranormal Activity

2. World's Greatest Dad

1. Collapse

Honorable Mentions: Anvil! The Story of Anvil, The Lady and the Reaper, Zombieland, Star Trek

The Best Films of 2010

10. Exit Through the Gift Shop

9. Rabbit Hole

8. Best Worst Movie

7. Dogtooth

6. The King's Speech

5. Winter's Bone

4. Wo Ai Ni, Mommy

3. The Kids Are All Right

2. Mother

1. Black Swan

The Best Films of 2011

10. A Better Life

9. Hot Coffee

8. The Kid With a Bike

7. A Seperation

6. The Interrupters 

5. Horrible Bosses

4. Hugo

3. We Need to Talk About Kevin

2. The Tree of Life

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Honorable Mentions: Beginners, 50/50, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Best Films of 2012

10. Looper

9. Argo

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

7. The Impossible

6. Django Unchained

5. Amour

4. The Woman in Black

3. Rust and Bone

2. Monsieur Lazhar

1. Moonrise Kingdom

Honorable Mentions: Life of Pi, The Grey, The Sessions, Skyfall

The Best Films of 2013

10. The Past

9. Nebraska

8. 12 Years a Slave

7. American Hustle

6. This Is the End

5. The Hunt

4. Fruitvale Station

3. Lee Daniels' The Butler

2. Side Effects

1. Wadjda

Honorable Mentions: The Wolf of Wall Street, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Saving Mr. Banks, Mud, Europa Report, Blood Brother, The Angel's Share, August: Osage County

The Best Films of 2014

10. The Overnighters

9. Snowpiercer

8. In Bloom

7. Guardians of the Galaxy

6. The Rocket

5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

4. Leviathan

3. The Babadook

2. Pride

1. Life Itself

The Best Films of 2015

10. Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation

9. I Am Big Bird: The Carol Spinney Story

8. Ex Machina

7. What We Do in the Shadows

6. Where to Invade Next

5. Trainwreck

4. Paddington

3. Brooklyn

2. Inside Out

1. Room

Honorable Mentions: The Hunting Ground, The Walk

The Best Films of 2016

10. Moana

9. Toni Erdmann

8. Florence Foster Jenkins

7. Eye in the Sky

6. Under the Shadow

5. Lion

4. Arrival

3. O.J.: Made in America

2. Kubo and the Two Strings

1. Rogue One

Honorable Mentions: Weiner, Captain Fantastic, Don't Breathe

The Best Films of 2017

10. Get Out

9. Battle of the Sexes

8. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

7. The Post

6. Coco

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

4. Kedi

3. The Big Sick

2. The Salesman

1. The Florida Project

Honorable Mentions: The Disaster Artist, The Lego Batman Movie, Thor: Ragnarok, It, Call Me By Your Name, Spider-Man: Homecoming, BPM (Beats Per Minute)

The Best Films of 2018

10. A Quiet Place

9. Black Panther

8. Widows

7. Mary Poppins Returns

6. Paddington 2

5. Roma

4. The Hate U Give

3. BlacKkKlansman

2. Hereditary

1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Honorable Mentions: First Reformed, Crazy Rich Asians

The Best Films of 2019

8. Marriage Story

7. The Lighthouse

6. Honeyland

5. Toy Story 4

4. The Farewell

3. Knives Out 

2. Rafiki

1. Little Women

The Best Films of 2020

10. On the Record

9. The Invisible Man

8. Host 

7. Minari

6. Boys State

5. Crip Camp

4. Saint Frances

3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

2. His House

1. Miss Juneteenth

Honorable Mention: Disclosure 

The Best Films of 2021

10. Lead Me Home

9. Bo Burnham: Inside

8. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It

7. Old Henry

6. The Power of the Dog

5. Riders of Justice

4. King Richard

3. Two of Us

2. Spider-Man: No Way Home

1. The Rescue

Honorable Mention: A Quiet Place Part II

The Best Films of 2022

7. Prey

6. Fire Island

5. The Duke

4. Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe

3. The Red Suitcase

2. Hustle

1. Official Competition 

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Peter Pan and Wendy

 

"His eyes were the blue of the forget-me-not, and of profound melancholy, save when he was plunging his hook into you, at which time two red spots appeared in them and lit up horribly. In manner, something of the great seigneur still clung to him, so that he even ripped you up with an air, and I have been told he was a raconteur of repute. He was even more sinister than when he was polite..."

"To die would be an awfully big adventure."

Does anyone really want to grow up? For all the drivel that has been pounded into our brains over the past few years about the joys of aging, is there anyone who really would prefer the demands and pressures of adulthood to the joy and simplicity of childhood? James Hook certainly does not. For all his talk about how much he hates the proud, insolent youth that is his arch nemesis, he still moans about the cracking of his bones. Peter Pan may dread the thought of growing old, but Hook seems to embody the universal hatred of it. "This is what growing up looks like," Hook scowls to an encaged Wendy.

As for Peter, well, his hatred of adulthood and adults is well known. If you look at the eight reasons why people hate growing up according to Catherine Winter, Peter possesses at least seven of them: fear of autonomy and loneliness, less fun, not knowing any happy adults, vanity, unresolved childhood trauma, a feeling of being trapped in the glory days of youth, and perhaps a personality disorder such as being overdramatic or unpredictable. (He does at one point slam the door, which one of the Lost Boys says is never a good sign, meaning he must do it often.) The only one he surely does not have is the last one: "To grow up means that they're adults," Winter writes. "Once they're adults, they have to acknowledge that they're aging. Aging means growing old. Growing old means they're going to die. Although death is part of the natural life cycle for every living thing, death-denying Western culture cherishes youth and beauty, and vilifies old age. Death is something to be battled against, denied, ignored, not dealt with at all."

Come to think of it, perhaps Peter does fear death. He battles it quite literally against the only adult he is in somewhat regular contact with. Would dying really be an adventure, as Peter claims? That's probably just a defense mechanism to suggest that he's afraid of nothing. Indeed, he's afraid of everything. This Peter, played here by Alexander Molony in his debut performance, even cries and tells Wendy (played by Ever Anderson) that he ran away when his mother scolded him. Peter, the Lost Boys (and girls, as is the case here, which surely must be a first), and even Hook himself are all devoid of mothers. That's why they cling to Wendy so much. Given that so many characters here lack a mother, a mother figure, or really any kind of parent, and given how important the role of a mother can be in a child's developmental growth, it's no wonder so many of the characters turn out the way they do. The audience cheers for the boy Peter Pan against the grouchy authoritarian that is Captain Hook, but Peter Pan is really one of the most pro-adult tales there is.

Disney tries to show us this in their latest live-action remake of one of their older animated films, the 1953 animated Peter Pan, adapted here as Peter Pan and Wendy, which is at least the dozenth adaptation of J.M. Barrie's famous story about a boy who won't grow up and the vengeful pirate out to get him. Disney (ever so slightly) plays with such ideas of anxiety and the consequences of motherlessness, so Peter Pan and Wendy is not as two-dimensional as other adaptations, like the 1923 version (the first on-screen adaptation of the story), the Broadway version (whose rerun in the 1980s was perhaps the first time I had come in contact with this famous story), or the animated version that the film reminds us was inspired by (when in fact they share very little in common, tonally at least).   

When watching the first twenty minutes or so of this newest film, one might wonder if it will be just like all the other versions. Adapting this story is risky; be too faithful of an adaptation, and you could make the film stale, while trying something too novel could make the whole thing wobbly (such as it was in a sequel like Hook or a prequel like Pan). Indeed, the only noticeable deviations in the first act are minute ones: Tinker Bell is less adversarial towards Wendy than she is in other versions, and the children already know who Peter Pan is from their stories by the time he flies into their home. For a while, it's unfortunate that the film follows all the usual beats while checking all the boxes: the pirates, the crocodile, the shadow, crowing, the thimble being mistaken for a kiss, and all that stuff.  

Fortunately, however, the film is in good hands, and when director David Lowery (who also directed The Old Man & the Gun, The Green Knight, and Disney's live-action remake of Pete's Dragon) nudges the story in different directions, the results are mostly good. The first example of this is when Peter, Wendy, George, and Michael fly out of the London skies, through Big Ben, and right into what seems to be another realm. This would be an appropriate time to praise the contributions of the others in this project, namely cinematographer Bojan Bazelli, whose choice of color palate adds an authentic fairy tale aesthetic, costumer designer Ngila Dickson, and Zoe Jirik and Jade Healey, whose set decoration and production design (respectively) are so much better than the excessive stand-in of green screens. 

Indeed, one of the only flaws of the 2003 Peter Pan (which is still probably the best of the adaptations) is its overuse of Industrial Light and Magic's computer-generated imagery, which sometimes gave that film a fake look during the height of Hollywood's obsession with CGI. Instead, the visual effects provided by Framestore and DNEG not only look better twenty years after 2003 Peter Pan, but they sometimes make up for the film's narrative flaws, meshing exceptionally well with the gorgeous scenery of the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland. This may not be the very best version of Peter Pan, but it is certainly the best looking. 

The acting is also (mostly) good, especially the earnestness of the two leads and the tenderness of Molly Parker as Mrs. Darling. The actor who looks like is having the most fun is, as expected, Jude Law as Captain Hook. Every eyebrow he raises, every line he shouts, every threat he gives with his prodigious hook look like they are done with great theatricality and gratification. The cast in general is slightly more diverse, with Tinker Bell being played by Yara Shahidi, and the Lost Boys are a diverse group of boys and girls, many of whom are people of color. Noah Matthews Matofsky makes history as the first person with Down syndrome to appear in a Disney film; he plays one of the Lost Boys. Finally, Alyssa Wapanatâhk plays Tiger Lilly, who's a larger part than she was in the past, with her being just as much an action star as Amber Midthunder was in Prey last year. Wapanatâhk's casting is noteworthy because, despite the character being indigenous, she is often played by people of other ethnicities, like Anna May Wong in the 1923 version or Rooney Mara in Pan. The film's diversity is a strength, though one wishes film companies would go further and be brave with on-screen adaptations of Austin Chant's novel Peter Darling in which Peter is a trans man or Jodi Lynn Anderson's book Tiger Lilly, which is told through this character's perspective. However, given Disney's fight with Ron DeSantis and corporations' fear of being called "woke," this is unlikely to happen. Additionally, there has already been racist attacks at Disney for this slightly more diverse cast, with bigots whining about it (right on cue). This likely is a warm-up act for their vitriol against the upcoming The Little Mermaid.         

Is Peter Pan and Wendy the best version of this famous tale? Probably not. Is it the second best? Probably. Children will likely love the film, especially the flights, the fights, and even the humor, but they will also probably like any Peter Pan film. The adults will find themselves relating to Hook for reasons previously mentioned. As for me, the production designs were top-notch, and the actors all looked like they were having a ball. I like how the film toys with deeper themes; I just wish it had gone further. 

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