The Defining Film of the 2000s

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1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

This Wednesday, March 19, marks the 10-year anniversary of the release of one of the greatest films in the history of humans, and, for me, the film that most defines the first decade of this century. It's almost unfair how perfectly every element of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes together to create one of the most profound, stimulating, and moving pieces of art I'm likely ever to experience. From the mind of known genius Charlie Kaufman, the script alone would rank as one of mankind's greatest achievements, but when visionary director Michel Gondry put those words to the screen (with an incomparable cast led by two of my favorite actors of all-time, Jim Carrey & Kate Winslet), it was transcendent. I could never erase this film, these images, those characters, that music from my mind - Eternal Sunshine is a part of me.

So: Happy Eternal Sunshine Week! We'll keep the celebration going all week long with various features and commemorations, so stick around and cancel that appointment at Lacuna, Inc. 

Catch #10-#2 of the decade here.

My Top 10 Defining Films of 2000-2009

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My Top 10 Defining Films of 2000-2009

By the end of the year we'll be halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, so it's the perfect time to look back on the first decade, yes? Well, I'm going to anyway. Humor me. This list does not necessarily comprise what I think are the 10 greatest films of the decade, but rather the ten (plus) movies I think of when I think of the years 2000-2009. It was a defining decade for me: At its start, I was a freshman in high school; by its end, I had moved to New York City with the guy I would eventually marry (hey, Munch!). The films I saw in those ten years proved just as influential as my out-of-theater experiences and deepened my love of the cinema (and, for better or often worse, the Oscars). 

Again, if I were to compile a ranking of the "best" films of the aughts (have we decided that's what we're calling that decade or is this still up for debate? the 2000s?), it would look slightly different than the following in both the movies included and their placement on the list. And full disclosure that I'm totally cheating with numbers six, eight, and nine...but, my list, my rules.

First, several honorable mentions:

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Best Picture Cheeses: 'Her'

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Best Picture Cheeses: 'Her'

One of the best new cheeses around is Miranda, an absinthe-washed wonder lovingly crafted by Jos Vulto of Vulto Creamery. Starting out as a cheesemaker in Brooklyn, Vulto aged cheese in a crawlspace beneath a city sidewalk, and now operates a creamery in Walton, NY, just a few hours north of New York City. Vulto Creamery represents no-nonsense cheesemaking at its best, honoring the milk of the animals and the tradition of making cheese by hand and in small batches.

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Top 10 Moments of the 86th Academy Awards

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Top 10 Moments of the 86th Academy Awards

Well, it's another one for the books. The 2013 Oscars (yes, 2013, folks; we're honoring the cinema of 2013 despite it being March of 2014) are now behind us, and despite the suspense of the Best Picture race (which even up until Will Smith opened the final envelope could have gone to either 12 Years a Slave or Gravity), there were no surprises to be found. Twenty-three of the 24 categories saw the presumed frontrunner walk away with a statue--the only exception being the French animated short Mr. Hublot besting Get a Horse!, the latter starring a (still winless) Mickey Mouse.

We at the CineMunch household had a great time as always, despite a truly terrifying 10 minutes during which the cable went out. (We fixed it in time to see Darlene Love belting a tune from the stage.) Much like the telecast, our menu featured some hits (American Brussels! Wolf of Waldorf Salad! Last-minute cheese additions!) and misses (We're looking at you, Tang Gravityni). So, before we put this year's awards race behind us, let's count down our ten most memorable moments from the Oscars telecast.

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Final 2013 Oscar Predictions

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Final 2013 Oscar Predictions

Pencils down! The day has finally arrived. It’s been a lengthy and exhausting awards season (stretched long due to the Sochi Olympics), but the time to has come to answer the question: "Gravity or 12 Years a Slave?". Or is it American Hustle? We'll know soon enough.

There are a few guarantees: Gravity will win Best Visual Effects and end the night with the most Oscars (though maybe not the top awards), Cate Blanchett will collect her second Academy Award (though first for a leading role), and nothing is likely to top Dame Shirley Bassey belting “Goldfinger” from last year’s ceremony. Strap in, grab a drink (see our Oscar menu here), and follow along with our sure-to-be-inaccurate predictions below!

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If We Had a Ballot 2013

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If We Had a Ballot 2013

What follows is a hypothetical scenario in which we are Academy voters who commit the ultimate sin of showing you our completed ballots.

Note: Like many Oscar voters, we could go through the motions of voting for shorts and foreign films, but, for the sake of honesty (and what we hope the real voters practice), we'll abstain from the categories where we have yet to see all the nominees.

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Oscar Menu 2014

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Oscar Menu 2014

With just nine days left before the red carpet shenanigans begin, it's time to get down to the business of food. We've shared our process for creating the perfect Oscar Menu, and now we're ready to unveil this year's feast. We prefer a balance of courses and flavors in our menu (with at least two cocktails in the mix), and we try to avoid an attention-hogging entree or epic meat course that will take away from the true star of the evening: the Oscars telecast itself.

The envelopes, please. <imagine a drumroll here>

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Best Picture Cheeses: '12 Years a Slave'

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Best Picture Cheeses: '12 Years a Slave'

In 1997 Max Schmidhauser created the semi-soft goat cheese Tomme Crayeuse as an answer to a top-selling French classic known as Tomme de Savoie. The latter is a perfectly fine cheese (I like to channel my inner cow and pretend I’m munching on grass while eating it), but Tomme Crayeuse’s flavors run deeper: from fresh earth to bright citrus to the gentle tang of goat’s milk. A visual stunner as well, it’s spotted with white and yellow molds against a marbled gray rind concealing an ivory paste. In its prime, the cheese is a lichen-covered rock after a rain shower, a painter’s splattered studio floor.

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