Well, I have not logged-on here in a while. I have been sick (strep throat) and it has been an extremely stressful holiday season for me as a wine buyer. Sales have stunk for a while and my department has become really stale. I needed a wake-up call and I got one! I'm not going to get in to the details but it was enough to get me focussed on Xmas and New Years and I showed a big improvement. Still, with my recent illness happening the minute after the holidays ended (my body basically shut down), I am beginning to have doubts about whether I have the strength or passion for running a department that just is not very popular or hip right now. In these tough times folks are switching to spirits and especially beer (or Super Ale, as I like to call it.)
[By the way, a little sidebar: Craft brewers are killing beer
in this country. Someone explain to me, When, just when
did lager become a four letter word?]
Anyhoo, I am healthy again. I think I'm ready to mix things up and become a great wine buyer again. I feel like the navy guy from Barcelona, "Everyday in every way, I am becoming, ... "
So, for this post and for fun here are my listings for the best films of the naughts and then of all-time! Enjoy.
Best films of the naughts:
10. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
I know, I know, ... most folks and critics prefer The Royal Tennenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001) but Life Aquatic to me is funnier, more fun, and actually shows more depth and passion than Royal Tennenbaums. Both films are great. Neither are nearly in the league of Rushmore or Bottle Rocket.
9. Standard Operating Procedure (Errol Morris, 2008)
This film by documentary master Morris was a complete bomb. I guess no one wanted to rehash one of this country's worst moments again so soon. My partner, Renee, simply won't watch the film, nor, will my friend, Nick. Plus, there are partisan issues. Right-wingers don't want to hear an empathetic account for Ms England and the others involved. It is the "few bad apples" crap argument. I like this film much more than Fog of War and I believe Fog of War benefitted from the fact its subject was near death and that it was made forty years after the start of the Vietnam War.
8. Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)
Greatest buddy/road movie of all-time? It is arguable. My favorite moment is the surprising yet inevitable moment when Miles just knows he'll have to sneak in to that house and retrieve that wallet.
7. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)
Good gracious, who woulda thought that Boyle would become such a powerhouse? It all started with Shallow Grave. Then came Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions, and most recently a best picture, Slumdog Millionaire. I like 28 Days Later best this decade. It is gripping, genre-transcending, full of amazing performances, particularly Christopher Eccleston, and is the action film paradigm, as far as I am concerned. It blows all the cgi New Zealand and Hollywood blockbusters away. No one does "bells and whistles" better than Boyle.
[Renee is going to cut my hair now. I'm not kidding. I will return to this tonight and/or tomorrow. Kisses!, mds]
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