'9/11' Tops 'Telegraph' Movies of the Decade List

We're just a couple months away from the acknowledged end of the decade (it's really next year, because there was never a year zero, so this decade actually ends in 2010), and that means we'll get Best of the Decade lists on top of Best of the Year lists. I'm actually looking forward to the process myself and I'm revisiting some of the 25 movies or so I think have a chance to make my own list.

The Telegraph has unveiled a top 100 list, but not necessarily in terms of quality. Instead, we have the most significant hundred films from the past decade, the movies that "defined" the decade. There are, of course, some picks you'll certainly agree with; we have the top 25 listed and you can read the paper's entire list and see even more great films. But their selection of Fahrenheit 9/11 as the number one movie of the past ten years is almost completely unqualified.

"It may not have been the best film of the decade. It may not have been the best film Moore has made (that honour still belongs to 1989’s Roger and Me). Nevertheless, it’s hard to overstate the importance of this film, a modestly funded political documentary that was shunned by its Disney backers but went on to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, coin more than $220 million around the world, and boost the emergence of politically liberal, agenda-driven multiplex fare such as Supersize Me (sic) and An Inconvenient Truth."

I can think of one problem right away: Super Size Me came out about two months before Fahrenheit 9/11 and spent three weeks in summer 2004 in the top ten despite only playing in a couple hundred theaters. So I can't see how 9/11 had a tremendous impact on Morgan Spurlock's movie.Secondly, while there have been great documentaries since 2004, this decade may have seen even better documentaries before Fahrenheit 9/11, and I'd argue that Moore's film might have actually diluted the effectiveness of the non-fiction film, based in part on his reliance on shaky half-truths to tell a more incendiary story. There's a fair amount of tabloid journalism in that film, and I'm not sure that's what the format is supposed to foster. So here's the top 25 films of the past decade, according to the editors of The Telegraph:

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Box Office - 'Zombieland' Debuts with $25 Million

Already in the black, Zombieland opened with a $25 million weekend, a clear-cut victory for the Woody Harrelson comedy. It all got started with a $9.4 million Friday, and it's a big enough weekend that you can start thinking about how well the film can do over the long haul. It'll be easier to figure that out in another week, but it could top out around $75 - $80 million.

Unfortunately, that's the only movie out this week that has that kind of potential. Drew Barrymore's Whip It should have done about twice as well as it did, finishing outside the top five in a tie with Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. Those films combined made in three days about what Zombieland managed on Friday. Ricky Gervais' The Invention of Lying fared a little better, earning $7.35 million. I would have thought Whip It would have been in that position instead, though. And proving it still has punch, the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3-D re-release finished in third place this weekend with $12.5 million.

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Box Office - 'Zombieland' Dominates Friday

We gave you an indication on Thursday that Zombieland might just pick up momentum and run away with this weekend at the box office, and it's doing exactly that. On Friday, the new zombie comedy made $9.4 million, more than the next three highest-grossing films combined, to put it on course for a mid-$20 million weekend.

As we said earlier in the week, great reviews and public interest were going to be the reason this film took over the top spot from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and that animated flick is a distant second, slightly ahead of the double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, with about $3.7 million. It's hard to say the rest of the field even matters in terms of a discussion of box office performance; the Ricky Gervais comedy, The Invention of Lying, and Drew Barrymore's Whip It will probably make no more than $12 million between them this weekend, so the overall numbers won't be too staggering a couple months from now.

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Movie Review - 'Capitalism: A Love Story'

Capitalism: A Love Story Starring Michael Moore Directed by Michael Moore Rated R

Perhaps the most divisive filmmaker of his generation, Michael Moore has as many feverish detractors as ardent supporters, and he is almost certainly unique in his chosen profession to the extent that his fans and haters both raise excellent points in their own defense. Capitalism: A Love Story, while not even-handed or purely historical, is perhaps Moore's most surprising work. Given the massive success of Fahrenheit 9/11 and how easy it was - even in 2004 - to point out Bush administration mistakes leading up to the invasion of Iraq, it would be simple to rinse and repeat with Wall Street. Rather than spend two hours blaming AIG, the Republicans, deregulaton, and simple greed for the recent economic collapse, Moore states his thesis early and clearly and then spends most of his allotted time taking a look at the impact of the collapse on American workers. Along the way, he does provide a timeline of deregulation in the banking industry and a growing influence of corporate America over Wall Street and the Treasury Department, which isn't as informative as it is a connecting thread running through all the stories. The strength of the film, though, comes from the other points of view Moore brings to his analysis, including film of Franklin Roosevelt proclaiming a second Bill of Rights for every American in the 1940s, a stern look at corporations profiting off the deaths of their employees covered (unbeknownst to the employees or their families) under what are joylessly called "Dead Peasant" policies, and a few minutes with companies that rule themselves democratically, meaning that every employee owns the company and no major decision is made without the input of all of them. At a certain point, though, Moore goes for blood, and nobody would watch this film if he didn't. Not since Mike Wallace in his 60 Minutes heyday has a man with a camera made public officials cower and squirm like this guy. Many of his points about the recent crisis are incontrovertible, although his proposed solutions may or may not be to your liking.

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Michael Moore Offering Free 'Capitalism' Screenings

Tonight, Michael Moore is presenting free and benefit screenings of his new film Capitalism: A Love Story in selected cities across the country. The movie opens nationwide tomorrow, his biggest theater count ever, after setting a 2009 standard for per-screen averages last weekend in New York and Los Angeles.

Below is part of a letter from Michael Moore, as well as the cities and theaters showcasing the film this evening:

"To kick off the national release of "Capitalism: A Love Story," I've asked the studio to offer a number of screenings in the nation's hardest hit cities -- the ones with the highest unemployment rates and highest foreclosure rates -- where those who've lost their jobs or who are in foreclosure (or have already been evicted) may attend my film free of charge. They've agreed, and so tonight (Thursday), the night before our opening day, ten cities will grant you free admission if you have fallen on hard times. The list of theaters and cities is below. You don't need to bring any "proof" of your situation -- just show up -- it's the honor system, no questions asked." "Of course, a free movie ain't much when what you really need is a job or a place to live. And that's not going to change until the party that controls both the Congress and the White House wakes up and realizes the American people put them in charge to fix the mess created by the previous administration. For that to happen requires the active involvement of each of us. And, as I show in this movie, it's going to also require us to challenge some fundamental assumptions about an economic system that currently allows the wealthiest ONE PERCENT in this country to have more financial wealth than the bottom 95% combined. That concentration of money and power in the hands of so few people is, I believe, at the core of so many of our problems." "So, if you're going through tough times and you live in one of the areas below, please be my guest tonight, on the eve of my new film's opening. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis."

Get more information about the film and the screenings at MichaelMoore.com. Now, here's where you can check it out tonight:

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