10. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
After three successive critical triumphs, Wes Anderson had become the golden boy of American independent cinema. Then he turned in this delightfully peculiar film which received quite the critical drubbing, and although Anderson's career has more than recovered since, it's a bit discouraging that more people didn't quite enjoy this remarkable film. Although The Life Aquatic has been reevaluated since, even being added to the prestigious Criterion Collection, its 53% Rotten Tomatoes score might discourage future film fans from checking it out. Hopefully, this list will convince them otherwise because The Life Aquatic is one of the most charming movies you'll ever see. To be fair, it's a strange movie, the sets look like sets, the CGI is purposely unconvincing, and the actors portray their characters as idiots. The film is almost an arthouse version of Anchorman in that it is purposely stupid and endlessly quotable but The Life Aquatic triumphs by bringing loads of heart to the table and it really grows on you after multiple watchings. The characters are delightfully memorable with Bill Murray's deadpan Steve, Willem Defoe's Klaus, and Owen Wilson's Ned Plimpton being the standouts but Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett, and Angelica Huston are great as well. The strength of the film comes from its characters but it is also very well-written, has endless amounts of endearing little details, and the final showdown with Steve's mortal enemy is always more than a little bit poignant. Ignore the warnings on this one, because Wes Anderson crafted one of his warmest films and managed to make a movie that gets better with every viewing.