The man with the plan, the sentence reducer, the bail producer,
James T (entertainment attorney at law) Lawson makes his Funhouse blog debut with his favorite movies of the last 30 years.
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2000: American Psycho. James T Lawson: "American Psycho gets the nod for satisfying the ever present dark side that's in each one of us. The character of Patrick Bateman, played brilliantly by Christian Bale, had you both rooting for him and despising him. His descent into madness, and back to reality, is captured very well in the now cult indie classic. This was a GREAT year for films... I choose this over
Crouching Tiger, Pitch Black, Requiem For A Dream, Sexy Beast, Memento, Best In Show and
Gladiator which is a great mass appeal film. All these films to me are classics of 2000."
2001: Y Tu Mma Tambien. James T Lawson: "
Y Tu Mama Tabien is a beautiful relationship story with two guys and a beautiful woman on a road trip to a magical beach. It's a coming of age story that is sexy and erotic. The film is subtitled so if you're a person that doesn't dig that, you might have a problem here. If you speak spanish, it's all good. This was not that difficult of a decision for me here, although this year had some goodies. I choose this over
Black Hawk Down, Fellowship of the Rings, Jeepers Creepers, Donnie Darko and
Gosford Park. Fast and the Furious gets an honorable mention as well."
2002: City of God. James T Lawson: "
City of God is a gritty, and at times scary, true story coming from the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It follows a young boy whose only desire is to be a photographer, this desire, leads him into some life threatening situations. The cinematography for this film is excellent, with a very hot, as in temperature and intensity, look to it. Once again, like my choice for 2001, this movie is subtitled. If you speak Brazilian Portuguese you're good to go. 2002 was also a decent year despite having two of my childhood films (Star Wars: II and Star Trek: Nemisis) turn out to be crap. Other notable films that year...
25th Hour, 28 Days Later, Undercover Brother, The Two Towers, Bowling For Columbine, Stevie, and K-19: The Widow Maker."
2003: Kill Bill Volume 1. James T Lawson: "
Kill Bill vol. 1 is to me Tarantino's best. This film has amazing in character development and dialogue. It also carries with it, Quentin's gift to recreate that Drive-in style, old Kung-Fu, B-movie magic. Excellent editing and action sequences. This film pulls no punches and never has a dull moment. This movie has a very talented cast led by Uma Thurman and gets my kick ass vote. 2003 had a few other mentionable movies like my second choice
The Cooler. It also had
Mystic River, Open Water, Phone Booth and
X-men 2."
"
Crash is my choice over
Kill Bill vol 2 because I count the "Bill" movies together.
Crash does what I love for films to do if executed properly, it takes different stories happening at the same time, and intertwines them. It touches on many of the human dramas Racism, Classism, and Discrimination. It asked many questions, including some we don't want to answer for fear we might admit a truth. Well acted by all parties in this classic that will always demand discussion. I choose this over many quality films.
The Incredibles , Million Dollar Baby, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sideways, Ray, Man on Fire, Dawn of the Dead, and
Harold and Kumar."
2005: Memoirs of a Geisha. James T Lawson: "
Memoir's of a Geisha is a visually stunning film with an Oscar winning score by legend John Williams (my hero). This film is about a young girls thrust into the world of the Geisha and the love she discovers to set her free. High quality acting from the younger stars as well as the seasoned veterans. I choose this over more of my childhood destruction
Star Wars: III which had its moments, but then gave in to stupidity. Notables for 2005 are
Batman Begins, The Interpreter, Serenity, 40 year Old Virgin, A History of Violence and The Devil's Rejects (guilty pleasure)."
2006: The Prestige. James T Lawson: "
The Prestige is such a solid film. From the story, to the direction by Nolan, and the acting by Jackman and Bale. It's a magical tale literally that takes you through twist and turns. The competition to be the best magician goes deep into the supernatural or does it. It's all an illusion and a GREAT film. 2006 may have been the worst year for me.
There wasn't a lot of notables, but here are a few.
United 93, Grandma's Boy, The Descent, Casino Royale, Hostel and Dave Chapelle's Block Party."
2007: 300. James T Lawson: "
300 gets the nod here because it had a revolutionary new look, an intriguing and exciting plot, and action galore. This even had a solid score to accompany this epic style film. For me a weak score can kill a film, this one enhances the passion of the film. 2007 had a few underrated films slip by, such as
The Mist and
Hannibal's Rising. I also must mention
Grindhouse, 28 Weeks Later, The Simpson Movie, 1408, Sicko, There Will Be Blood, Why Did I Get Married (guilty pleasure), and
No Country For Old Men."
2008: Rambo. James T Lawson: "
Rambo is my favorite of 2008 and I choose this over 5 powerhouse films and an honorable mention, which I'll get to in a minute. Rambo is a classic 1980's character brought back to life by the man who originated the role. Sylvester Stallone turns his... before, one man show, into a more reality based performance. We see Rambo aged and settled into a life without war only to be pulled back in again. This time he is joined by a group of mercenaries that travel into the war zone of Burma. This instantly became the best
Rambo since
First Blood in terms of realism. Violent action and explosions make this a classic. Many of you know 2008 also gave us
The Dark Knight, The Wrestler, Religulous, Milk, Iron Man and honorable mention to
Zach and Miri Make a Porno."
2009: Food, Inc. James T Lawson: "
Food Inc is the winner here, but only by the slimmest of margins. It's not often that a film can transform your personal life so dramatically as this did me.
Food, Inc. is an eye opening and disturbing look at the very thing we need for survival...FOOD. I immediately, after viewing this movie, ran to tell anyone who would listen that this is a film you must see. 2009 was my toughest to speak of because the quality, of mostly underrated films, was great. I choose this over
The Road (this film is a classic),
Bronson, Black Dynamite, Moon, Orphan, Taken, Watchmen, The Goods and
Sherlock Holmes which was surprisingly good."
The man with the plan, the sentence reducer, the bail producer, James T (entertainment attorney at law) Lawson makes his Funhouse blog debut with his favorite movies of the last 30 years. 
.jpg)
2000: American Psycho. James T Lawson: "American Psycho gets the nod for satisfying the ever present dark side that's in each one of us. The character of Patrick Bateman, played brilliantly by Christian Bale, had you both rooting for him and despising him. His descent into madness, and back to reality, is captured very well in the now cult indie classic. This was a GREAT year for films... I choose this over Crouching Tiger, Pitch Black, Requiem For A Dream, Sexy Beast, Memento, Best In Show and Gladiator which is a great mass appeal film. All these films to me are classics of 2000."
2001: Y Tu Mma Tambien. James T Lawson: "Y Tu Mama Tabien is a beautiful relationship story with two guys and a beautiful woman on a road trip to a magical beach. It's a coming of age story that is sexy and erotic. The film is subtitled so if you're a person that doesn't dig that, you might have a problem here. If you speak spanish, it's all good. This was not that difficult of a decision for me here, although this year had some goodies. I choose this over Black Hawk Down, Fellowship of the Rings, Jeepers Creepers, Donnie Darko and Gosford Park. Fast and the Furious gets an honorable mention as well."
2002: City of God. James T Lawson: "City of God is a gritty, and at times scary, true story coming from the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It follows a young boy whose only desire is to be a photographer, this desire, leads him into some life threatening situations. The cinematography for this film is excellent, with a very hot, as in temperature and intensity, look to it. Once again, like my choice for 2001, this movie is subtitled. If you speak Brazilian Portuguese you're good to go. 2002 was also a decent year despite having two of my childhood films (Star Wars: II and Star Trek: Nemisis) turn out to be crap. Other notable films that year... 25th Hour, 28 Days Later, Undercover Brother, The Two Towers, Bowling For Columbine, Stevie, and K-19: The Widow Maker." 
2003: Kill Bill Volume 1. James T Lawson: "Kill Bill vol. 1 is to me Tarantino's best. This film has amazing in character development and dialogue. It also carries with it, Quentin's gift to recreate that Drive-in style, old Kung-Fu, B-movie magic. Excellent editing and action sequences. This film pulls no punches and never has a dull moment. This movie has a very talented cast led by Uma Thurman and gets my kick ass vote. 2003 had a few other mentionable movies like my second choice The Cooler. It also had Mystic River, Open Water, Phone Booth and X-men 2."
2005: Memoirs of a Geisha. James T Lawson: "Memoir's of a Geisha is a visually stunning film with an Oscar winning score by legend John Williams (my hero). This film is about a young girls thrust into the world of the Geisha and the love she discovers to set her free. High quality acting from the younger stars as well as the seasoned veterans. I choose this over more of my childhood destruction Star Wars: III which had its moments, but then gave in to stupidity. Notables for 2005 are Batman Begins, The Interpreter, Serenity, 40 year Old Virgin, A History of Violence and The Devil's Rejects (guilty pleasure)." 
2007: 300. James T Lawson: "300 gets the nod here because it had a revolutionary new look, an intriguing and exciting plot, and action galore. This even had a solid score to accompany this epic style film. For me a weak score can kill a film, this one enhances the passion of the film. 2007 had a few underrated films slip by, such as The Mist and Hannibal's Rising. I also must mention Grindhouse, 28 Weeks Later, The Simpson Movie, 1408, Sicko, There Will Be Blood, Why Did I Get Married (guilty pleasure), and No Country For Old Men."
2008: Rambo. James T Lawson: "Rambo is my favorite of 2008 and I choose this over 5 powerhouse films and an honorable mention, which I'll get to in a minute. Rambo is a classic 1980's character brought back to life by the man who originated the role. Sylvester Stallone turns his... before, one man show, into a more reality based performance. We see Rambo aged and settled into a life without war only to be pulled back in again. This time he is joined by a group of mercenaries that travel into the war zone of Burma. This instantly became the best Rambo since First Blood in terms of realism. Violent action and explosions make this a classic. Many of you know 2008 also gave us The Dark Knight, The Wrestler, Religulous, Milk, Iron Man and honorable mention to Zach and Miri Make a Porno."
2009: Food, Inc. James T Lawson: "Food Inc is the winner here, but only by the slimmest of margins. It's not often that a film can transform your personal life so dramatically as this did me. Food, Inc. is an eye opening and disturbing look at the very thing we need for survival...FOOD. I immediately, after viewing this movie, ran to tell anyone who would listen that this is a film you must see. 2009 was my toughest to speak of because the quality, of mostly underrated films, was great. I choose this over The Road (this film is a classic), Bronson, Black Dynamite, Moon, Orphan, Taken, Watchmen, The Goods and Sherlock Holmes which was surprisingly good." 
Crash is so overrated. Food Inc, Y Tu Mama, Geisha, I didnt see. American Psycho is 2nd only to Gladiator that year. Forgot Man on Fire in 2004, solid. Jeepers Creepers honorable mention, I thought you hated those movies.
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