2002 Film List (1 Viewer)

[Lowell_B]

HTF 2002 Film List
By Lowell Battles
Last Updated: September 17th, 2003
Criteria: First USA/Canada Screening
Number of Films Seen: 90
Just Added: Enigma, The Quiet American, The Truth About Charlie
Coming up next: Anything good that I missed in theaters that's coming out on DVD soon.
Alphabetical Listing. All Films Rated on a 4 Star Scale.
About a Boy ***1/2
About Schmidt ***
Adaptation. ***1/2
Antwone Fisher ***1/2
Atarnarjuat, The Fast Runner **1/2
Austin Powers in Goldmember **1/2
Auto Focus ***
Barbershop ***
Below ***
Big Trouble **1/2
Blade II **1/2
Bloody Sunday ***
The Bourne Identity ***
Bowling for Columbine ***1/2
Brotherhood of The Wolf ***
Catch Me If You Can ****
The Cat's Meow **1/2
Changing Lanes ***
Chicago ***1/2
Collateral Damage **
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind ****
The Count of Monte Cristo ***
The Crime of Padre Amaro (El Crimen Del Padre Amaro) ***
The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys ***1/2
Eight Legged Freaks **1/2
8 Mile ***
Enigma ***1/2
Equilibrium ***
Far From Heaven ***1/2
Frailty ***
Frida ***
Gangs of New York ****
The Good Girl ***
Happenstance ***
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ****
Hart's War **
The Hours ***1/2
Ice Age **
Igby Goes Down ****
Italian For Beginners ***
Importance of Being Earnest ***
Insomnia ***1/2
Kissing Jessica Stein ***
K-19 The Widowmaker **1/2
Lilo and Stitch ***
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ****
Lovely and Amazing ***1/2
Metropolis ***1/2
Minority Report ****
Monsoon Wedding ***1/2
Moonlight Mile ***1/2
Mostly Martha (Bella Martha) ***
Mr. Deeds *1/2
My Big Fat Greek Wedding **1/2
Narc ***
Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas) ***
One Hour Photo ***
Panic Room ***
The Pianist ***1/2
Punch-Drunk Love ****
The Quiet American ***
Rabbit-Proof Fence ***1/2
Red Dragon ***1/2
Reign of Fire **
Resident Evil *1/2
The Ring ***
Road to Perdition ***1/2
Roger Dodger ***
The Rookie ***
Secretary ***
Signs ***1/2
Solaris ***1/2
Spider-Man ***
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) ****
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams ***
Standing in the Shadows of Motown ***
Star Wars: Episode II : Attack of the Clones **1/2
The Sum of all Fears ***
Sunshine State ***
Talk to Her (Hable con Ella) ***1/2
13 Conversations About One Thing ***1/2
The Time Machine *
The Truth About Charlie *
25th Hour ****
Undercover Brother ***
Welcome to Collinwood **1/2
We Were Solders ***
What Time is it There? **1/2
xXx *1/2
Y Tu Mama Tambien ***1/2
--------------
List by Rating.
****
Catch Me If You Can
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Gangs of New York
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Igby Goes Down
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Minority Report
Punch-Drunk Love
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)
25th Hour
***1/2
About a Boy
Adaptation.
Antwone Fisher
Bowling for Columbine
Chicago
The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys
Enigma
Far From Heaven
The Hours
Insomnia
Lovely and Amazing
Metropolis
Monsoon Wedding
Moonlight Mile
The Pianist
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Red Dragon
Road to Perdition
Signs
Solaris
Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Y Tu Mama Tambien
***
About Schmidt
Auto Focus
Barbershop
Below
Bloody Sunday
The Bourne Identity
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Changing Lanes
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Crime of Padre Amaro (El Crimen Del Padre Amaro)
8 Mile
Equilibrium
Frailty
Frida
The Good Girl
Happenstance
Italian for Beginners
The Importance of Being Earnest
Kissing Jessica Stein
Lilo and Stitch
Mostly Martha (Bella Martha)
Narc
Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas)
One Hour Photo
Panic Room
The Quiet American
The Ring
Roger Dodger
The Rookie
Secretary
Spider-Man
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
Standing in the Shadows of Motown
The Sum of All Fears
Sunshine State
Undercover Brother
We Were Soldiers
**1/2
Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner
Austin Powers in Goldmember
Big Trouble
Blade II
The Cat's Meow
Eight Legged Freaks
K-19 The Widowmaker
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Welcome to Collinwood
What Time Is It There?
**
Collateral Damage
Hart's War
Ice Age
Reign of Fire
*1/2
Resident Evil
xXx
*
Mr. Deeds
The Time Machine
The Truth About Charlie
----------------
Lowell

 

[Jay W]

Updated with;

Antwone Fisher (***/****) : Solid and genuine, if not straightforward story with excellent performances and good direction by Washington.

LOTR: The Two Towers (****/****) : Storytelling done right, just go and experience it!. Definately the movie event of 2k2.

 

[Kevin Leonard]

Big ol' update to ye olde list.
With Collateral Damage [:star:], we get to see a more sensitive, less violence-prone Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this frustrates me. With a title like that, I expected the classic 80's Ahnuld formula: rampant bloodshed + witty one-liners = a good time. Unfortunately, the movie takes a different route and attempts to get plot-heavy, which wouldn't be a problem if the filmmakers hadn't screwed it up so badly. What could have been an interesting, politically-tinged action film turns into an incoherent mess that has all the required cliches. This is only made worse by a villain who is weak and not very scary; I think director Andrew Davis realized this and tried to improve the situation by adding dramatic music and making him do crazy-ass things (the scene with the snake, for instance)...it didn't help. For what it's worth, Davis directs the movie quite well, and the action scenes are generally good, but everything in the movie, from Schwarezenegger's performance down to the set design, has a bland, boring feeling to it.
13 Conversations About One Thing [ While I'm not sure what that one thing is (Life? Loss? Regrets? Chance? Fate?), the movie is handled beautifully, with Lisa Sprecher directing in a low-key way that perfectly complements the film, yet allows for several memorable images (a drop of blood hitting a notepad, a storm of papers descending to the street). Not to mention the acting, which is aces all around, whether it's dependable pros (Alan Arkin, John Turturro) actors who have been on the fringe (Clea DuVall, Tia Texada), or those faces we can't always match a name to, but are glad to see them (Frankie Faison, Barbara Sukowa). I also have to point out Matthew McConaughey's performance as a D.A. whose life changes radically; though he has little dialogue, he is able to convey a lot just by his facial expressions. I hope this movies gets its due come Oscar-nomination time, because to see a great movie like this go largely unseen would be a crime.
Kissing Jessica Stein [
Moving on, we have Chelsea Walls [:star:], Exhibit B in The Delusion of Ethan Hawke as Renaissance Man (Exhibit A being his illustrious career as a novelist). Chelsea is what someone from the Beat generation would've made had there been a filmmaker in the bunch: a rambling, incoherent mess of a movie with little self-control. Characters float in and out of the movie with no rhyme or reason, the dialogue alternates between trite, mundane and pretentious, and Hawke deploys a series of dumb camera tricks that more annoying than fascinating. Good performances from Vincent D'Onofrio and Uma Thurman help out a bit, but not enough to make me want to experience this hell again.
Todd Solandz's Storytelling [ Still though, Storytelling is worth a viewing for the first great half.
CQ [:star:] marks the debut of another talented member of the Coppola clan--this time Francis' son, Roman. Sort of a sideways homage to 8 1/2, CQ is an enjoyable piece of work that doesn't have much depth (and seems too scattershot at times), but is made entertaining by Jeremy Davies' performance, some great set design, and a dead-on parody/tribute to B-films of the 60's. Hopefully, Coppola's next film will be something a bit more concrete and assured, but CQ is worth a look.
I've never been a Trekkie; I've seen a few episodes from each series, and have seen bits and pieces of all the movies (never the whole way through)...there's something about the whole Trek culture that prevents me from becoming a fan, and Star Trek: Nemesis [1/2] isn't going to convert me. Perhaps one of the most boring films released this year, Nemesis features a plot that is either confusing or non-existant (I asked people after the movie for plot clarification, but nobody could explain it to me), and a gallery of uninspired performances, save Patrick Stewart's Picard and Tom Hardy's affecting villain Shinzon. On top of that, the film has drab and uninspired action sequences, and a general sense that director Stuart Baird has absolutely no idea on how to put together a film--some of the cuts are horrible (the fight between Riker and the Viceroy, to choose one out of many examples), which is a bit surprising considering Baird used to be a professional editor prior to his directing career. I plan to watch all the Trek films next year; I surely hope they're all better than this poor excuse of a movie.
Analyze That [:star:] basically exists to squeeze more money out of the sight of Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal together, and like most sequels that were designed with a box-office gross estimate in mind, the film is a likeable but pretty bland effort. The whole thing is competently done, and there are some rather funny moments (even though they gave it away in the trailers, I have to admit the sight of De Niro warbling showtunes got me chuckling), but this is just pure manufactured product, delivered about two years too late.
Though not a fan of sports in general (and believe me, I'm restraining myself when I say that), I was totally engrossed with Spike Lee's documentary Jim Brown: All American [:star:]. Getting Brown to open up about his life and career, Brown makes a strong case that he was one of the (if not THE) most important football players to ever hit the field; the film also devotes time to his side career as an actor as well as his brushes with the law and charity work. In typical Lee fashion, the movie uses a mixture of game footage, film clips, interviews and photos, which is then filtered through stylized photography and editing, as well as an excellent soundtrack. A gallery of interviewees (including family, friends, teammates, actors and filmmakers) also add their own memories and comments, while Brown adds his own philosophies on life, some of which are rather interesting. If nothing else, Jim Brown proves that there's a lot more depth than expected to this sports star. Too bad this film only played for about an hour in New York theaters earlier this year; it deserves a bigger audience.
Italian For Beginners [1/2] marks what may be a first from the Dogma school of filmmaking: a movie that is actually happy and uplifting, rather than bleak, dull, pointless and unbearably pretentious. The movie is a touching look at a group of damaged souls, almost all of whom find redemption in love--not typical Dogma material, I'll admit. The shot-on-video look and handheld camerawork help to enhance the movie's slice-of-life feel, and a group of actors (all unknown to me) nicely fit into their roles. A great film, and evidence that all Dogma films not directed by Lars Von Trier are worthless.
And finally, we have The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys [:star:], a good coming-of-age tale from first-timer Peter Care. Though McFarlane's animation sequences are distracting (don't get me wrong: they're good, but just didn't blend in as well as I had hoped for), the movie is worth a viewing thanks to a handful of great performances, from giants like Jodie Foster to veterans like Vincent D'Onofrio to up-and-comers like Kirean Culkin, Emile Hirsch and especially Jena Malone. If there's another fault with the film, it's that like most directing debuts, the movie isn't very surefooted, not knowing which way to go, which leads to a scattershot feel. Still though, Boys is a good piece of work, and I'm looking forward to Care's next picture.
Also added the Extended Version of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring to the first-time list. The added material isn't neccessary (which is why it was cut out in the first place), but it does make for a deeper and richer experience than the theatrical version.

 

[Seth Paxton]

The Two Towers 10 of 10
This is what great "big" cinema is all about. I wish we could get a film like this every single year. I love the small films, the thoughtful films, just as much but I think we seem to get good versions of those every year.
See my spoiler free review here

 

[Kristian]

Updated with a low-budget arthouse flick called...
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (:star: :star: :star: :star: ): What can I say that hasn't already been said? While there is a good deal of room for improvement (the EE will hopefully flesh out the characters a bit more and make the ending seem a little less rushed), it is without a doubt the most spectacular film I have seen all year.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I'll be back later tonight with a few more additions, but for now I thought I'd share my thoughts on
Die Another Day - :star:1/2 - Holy macaroni, did I loathe this movie. It’s the Batman & Robin of the Bond series, it’s a compendium of the worst sexual innuendoes ever written, it’s a blatant whore for about six different products, it’s an insultingly written and pandering affront to every quality Bond flick since Dr. No. I’d go out on a limb and call Halle Berry the Yoko Ono of the Bond movies, but there are so many nonsensical atrocities on display in this movie that she hardly deserves all the blame. Find me a piece of dialogue that wasn’t A) clumsily presented and choppy exposition (my favorite being when JB dives into a steaming pool of water with a frozen Berry before whining “Wake up! This is warm!”), or B) stunningly banal sex talk, and I’ll show you a Bond fan who’s trying way too hard to defend his beloved hero. It’s woeful to see how low this series has sunk, and given how much money this dungheap has made I’d say it’s all over for the “grown-up” Bond flicks that some of us still enjoy. The effects were laughable, the action the pinnacle of all things cartoonish (thereby invalidating any attempt at cinematic tension), the villains were campy and TRULY ridiculous (ooo, look out for Diamondface!), the plot twists telegraphed and uninteresting, the opening song from Madonna an indecipherable melange of beeps and boops, and the stutter-slide direction from Tamahori seems to say “wacky camera angles and sped-up segues make a movie slick”. I digress.
If you liked the flick, forgive me; I rarely get this worked up over a rotten movie, but it just bugs me to see what this series has become. Good thing we have stuff like Lord of the Rings and The Matrix to look forward to, because 2002 marks the official end of the Bond series as far as I’m concerned. I feel like I just watched a funeral.

 

[John Spencer]

Updated with this little indie flick about a sickly munchkin and a hairless monkey with a penchant for saying "Pressshussssss".

 

[Brook K]

The Two Towers - I'm in the troubled by the changes camp, but am conflicted. I hadn't read the books in over 10 years, so when I saw the movie, I only recognized a few of the changes and assumed everything else was fine. Then I pop on to HTF and discover the problems. Still, there are so many great things about Jackson's vision and seeing all the the things I dreamed of on the screen. Theoden was great, Gollum even better.
Another issue is that, having seen FOTR EE, I'm pretty sure this isn't the best version of TTT. I'll still give it an A-
Hollywood Ending - I've liked several of the recent maligned Woody Allen films like Celebrity and Curse of the Jade Scorpion, but this one...., there is some funny stuff, but even in Allen movies I haven't liked, there's always a few laughs. But Hollywood Ending is mostly as disjointed and tone deaf as the fictional movie Allen directs blind. The ending in particular is a clunker. Also I've never liked Tea Leoni in anything, she has dead eyes.
A funny idea, but loses something in the execution C+
I received Italian For Beginners today from Netflix but didn't have time to watch it yet.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

A few more updates:
Personal Velocity: Three Portraits - :star::star::star:1/2 - Three unrelated tales of women in various stages of 'personal velocity'; one's stagnant yet healing, one's on a career rollercoaster; one's desperately unhappy but hopeful. Each tale offers a fantastic lead performance (Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk respectively) and some knowing touches of melancholy and heart. Artsy and grainy, but not irritatingly so.
Nicholas Nickleby - :star::star::star::star:1/2 - As far as the original books are concerned, I know very little about Dickens. This movie may change that. A sweet, funny, colorful, and altogether addicting movie. I've no idea how well embraced this one will become, but I thought it was just great. And what an ensemble cast!
Evelyn - :star::star::star:1/2 - Old-fashioned, straightforward, and quaintly classy courtroom drama about a single Dad fighting to keep his kids in 1954, Ireland. Pierce Brosnan surprised me a bit here, and I don't mean just because he sings with an Irish accent. You know where this one's headed fifteen minutes in, but director Bruce Beresford affords the flick a buoyant 'likeability' that only the staunchest of Grinches will be immune to. Slick supporting work from Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, and (particularly) Alan Bates helps quite a bit.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Brook, don't let the complainers fool you. Go pull out the book and just do a skim. You will quickly find just how similar the film often is, except for the added Warg stuff and a few other additions (which I won't spoil here).

In the end I think that TTT is actually not much more different from the book than FOTR (at least theatrical) was, perhaps even less.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Catch Me If You Can
8.5 of 10
The good news is this is a fun, feel good movie with some nice moments. Hanks is fine, though at times under utilized, and DeCaprio and Walken both put in outstanding efforts.
The bad news is this is a story that could have been an Oscar level film. The film itself hits on those moments from time to time, but in the end Spielberg somehow seems confused in which direction he wants to go with the film. The result is mixed messages to the audience in regards to the pacing and expectations for the characters. We end up with several false endings that clearly seem unlikely to be the end based on the opening moments of the film, but emotionally and thematically do feel like good stopping points.
And that is the fault of the story structure/direction/script, or all 3. It's too bad, because this could have been the same feel good, but done with Oscar caliber quality. It was most odd to see Speilberg miss in such a manner, usually his strength. He has a stand-up double this time, but it should have been a homerun.
BTW, some of the finest opening credits you will see for a film. Also a very solid score which was often impressive.

 

[Brook K]

Just saw the wonderful Italian For Beginners a romantic film where characters who have known only pain, loss, and frustration, finally get a chance to grasp for happiness. This is one of those movies that has you rooting for characters to get together, but the Dogme style gives it an immediacy and reality that eliminates any hint of cornpone.
The one flaw is that one of the main characters is presented as such an unrepenetant asshole that, while I can believe someone would fall in love with him, I can't believe so many other characters would be friends with him and basically condone his actions or that he would have the patience or tact to be an effective teacher.
However, the story in general is so affecting and genuine that I can mostly forgive this complaint. I may be adding this to my collection in the future. B+

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Updated my list with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Phenomenal film that continues the standard set by the first film and takes the journey into exciting new territory. 95%, but #3 instead of #1 in my list, primarily because of (in my opinion) a bad editing/pacing decision with the Ent thread that, combined with an internal inconsistency in said thread, slightly mars one of the greatest battles ever seen on the big screen, Helm's Deep.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Updated with Atom Egoyan's Ararat.
~Edwin

 

[Dana Fillhart]

I've seen Gangs of New York (in the heart of NY, no less), but I haven't updated my list with my rating/review of it yet. I need to digest it more, but one thing is certain: I have absolutely no desire to see it again until the DVD comes out -- this is one of those heavy-hitting films that, while great, is something you cannot repeatedly watch in a short time frame (unless you've got a masochistic streak!). For now, I'll just say it will end up in my Top 10 of 2002, but where, I'm not entirely sure.
I'll put up my deeper thoughts on it tomorrow, after I've had a night's sleep away from it.

 

[Derek Miner]

Darn it! I had my list taken away...:frowning:
Just when I was finally going to get back and update it, too. Wish I had gotten a warning it was going to fall prey to the scissors, though. Now I feel like an outcast. :b
I know, it's my own fault. I got a little busy through the second half of the year, but I didn't stop going to the movies. As of right now, I have seen 73 2002 films and 105 different movies in a theater.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Far From Heaven 9.5 of 10
A very strong bit of direction on the part of Todd Haynes that seems highly likely to put him in the hunt for best director. He makes wonderful use of dissolves to keep what could be a much drier film moving at a more lively pace. Julianne Moore is my leading contender for Best Actress as well, very subtle but with a good range. The only problem with the film is that the 2 men in her life, especially Raymond Haysbert (playing Deagan) don't get enough character and come off a bit flat. Oddly Quaid gets a lot more charater traits than Haysbert but his character certainly ends up being less important to Moore's character in a way that would require more depth.
A front runner for Oscar, but not a top 5 film for me.
Frida 9.5 of 10
Finally, a film about an artist that feels artistic and full of life. After sitting through Iris and Pollock I was afraid to go see Frida and see yet another dry recounting of some artist's life. Instead Frida uses mixed-medium art within the film, mainly through computer effects (such as going all B&W except for one character, or mixing painting with animation with real life, etc) and this gives the film a fresh life that makes if feel like a celebration of art, rather than a boring "here's what happened next" in a dull monotone.
Hayek is good and has a great character, but probably is not stronger than Moore is in Far From Heaven. However, Supporting Actor (if he is pushed that way) Alfred Molina has a shot at a nomination too, which I wasn't expecting.
Overall, it was Far From Heaven that was drier than Frida. Frida had that touch of life that you saw in Amelie, though the total film is not as fluffy as Amelie (and therefore not as "fun" as that outstanding film).
Far From Heaven reminded me much more of Driving Miss Daisy to be honest, in soundtrack, in color pallete (tinted and art directed in fall colors), and even in story. Frida was Amelie crossed with Before Night Falls (including the political undertones that the artist dealt with), and has a lively score matching the Mexican settings/characters.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Updated with Evelyn.
As Pierce Brosnan has shown in The Tailor of Panama, he’s got his acting card under his sleeve and is able to do some good dramatic work outside of the James Bond franchise.
In this family courtroom drama, he plays an Irishman fighting the Catholic church to gain custody of his children after his wife has left him. A feel-good film with a good supporting cast including Stephen Rea and Aidan Quinn.
~Edwin

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Updated my list with Gangs of New York, a great epic with so much violence in every facet that it makes it near impossible to empathize with anybody or anything other than the city itself. 85%, and #10 for the year.
I also lowered my rating of Barbershop slightly; it's now out of my top 10.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I just wanted to add that after seeing the trailer for Nicholas Nickleby I'm pretty excited about seeing the film.

Doesn't seem like there has been tons of buzz but it does seem to be getting at least decent critical notice.