Home Theater Forum - View Single Post - Our Top 10's of 2001 -- Time To Throw Down

Adam_S · 12-26-2001, 10:24 PM

(edited 12/30/2001 to reflect viewing of A beautiful mind)
(edited 01/17/2001 to reflect viewing of The Royal Tennenbaums)

A.I. - Passionate and Daring, A.I. pushed the boundaries of cinema's ability to tell stories. Not only did it challenge audiences with it's existensialist ideas and seemingly disjointed storytelling, it took the science fiction film in new, overwhelmingly positive directions. Spielberg is at the top of his game with A.I., it takes him in a new artistic, and more mature direction, which bodes well for film audiences of the future. Masterfully directed, and beautifully acted, A.I. is one of the most significant films made in years, it is too bad that most critics are so self-absorbed in their own elitism to ever actually open their eyes and find true cinematic art when it is blatently in their face.
Fellowship of the Ring - Peter Jackson and this series of films may well revolutionize hollywood, but they probably won't. Most likely the only lesson that hollywood will learn is that fantasy properties can be lucrative, and we'll suddenly be deluged by bad adaptations of Earthsea, Terry Brooks, and Robert Jordan. However that doesn't detract from the fact that Jackson has delivered a new epic of sweeping scale, vision and potency that hasn't been seen since the golden age of epics in the fifties. He also delivers one of the most concise and brilliantly realized adaptations of all time, bringing extrodinary sincerity and deftness to Tolkiien's massive world. The acting is spectacular, the battle sequences a delight, and the whole film is simply a joy to experience. This is the type of film that made us love film in the first place.
Vanilla Sky - Cameron Crowe delivers us a slam bang film that screws with your mind and practically forces you to watch it again. Vanilla Sky has an out of this world ending that blows away Sixth Sense and the Crying Game, it will make you completely reevaluate the entire film. An incrediblly wonderful surreal film, you exit feeling like Slavador Dali and MC Eshcer helped to write the screenplay and oversaw the production. A fantastic piece.
The Royal Tennenbaums - Absolutely fantastic, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson delivered another absolutely brilliant comedy in the vien of their previous efforts, but still completely different. The film feels steeped in literature be it children's (Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankwiler) or more adult fare (the Glass family) it feels like this was adapted from a classic novel. Be sure to see this film as a comedy first, not a drama (ie don't make the American Beauty mistake thinking it is a drama), because this film is supposed to make you laugh. There is so much going on in the frame that is absolutely wonderful, be it a closet full of classic seventies issue board games or the absurdist paintings on Eli's walls, you'll be beset by the giggles throughout the entire film. Wonderfully, wonderfully accomplished, I can't wait to have this on dvd (please let it be criterion).
Monsters Inc. - Pixar are simply gods of classic animation. Which is odd since their animation is bleeding edge cgi, but with all of thier films you forget the eye candy and fall in love with the story and characters. That is why pixar creates such monsterous successes and is continually outdoing disney's traditionally animated fare. Pixar embodies the spirit of the classic animation, their stories are told with sincerity, wit, and a polished class. (the class being that they can tell a wonderful story that appeals to all ages without panderign to solely kids or adults with cheap directed jokes coughshrekcough). MI completely outclasses any other animate fare released this year, in characterization, animation, and pure unbridaled storytelling. And just to rub it in, they constantly create shorts that are easily worthy of classic silly symphony toons.
A Beautiful Mind - Very straightforward character film, that is beautifully acted and directed with an invisble hand. Russell Crowe is phenomenal as Dr. John Nash, a schizophrenic math genius at princeton, his preformance is nothign short of extrodinary, by rights he should win the oscar this year (since Haley Joel Osment won't be nominated, unforutnately, because he deserves it). jenifer connelly is marvelous as his wife. The thing that sticks out in my mind, is how family centric this film is. It has no nudity, little swearing or adult language, yet they content is still intense enough to warrent a pg13, but what I'm getting at is how wonderful it is to see a wife love her husband so much as to stay with him, even when it was painful for her. definitly one of the best this year.
Moulin Rouge - Lovely eye candy, lovely voices, lovely soundtrack, a lovely musical. Luhrman slammed us with this modern musical on speed, it's trippy and psycheldic, and unbridaled fun, but it does work infinitely better in the theater, and it's enjoyment increases proportionally with the increase in the quality of your video and sound set up. Moulin Rouge worked for me infinitely better in the tehater where the rapid fire cuts and wacko imagry washes over you creating an sensory experience, but it pales greatly and the gaudiness becomes aparent watching it on a medium sized tv with no sound system. Still it is wonderfully acted and sung, a marvelous tragedy, and moving film.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Kevin Smith delivers the ultimate road trip movie, it manages to be intelligent and ludicrously goofy simultaneously. but like most all his other films, you really should see this film with a bunch of your buddies.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - A faiyhful adaptation brought to us by Columbus, occasionally there is visual flare and the acting is spotty, often times the kids stand beside their fellow actors with blank expressions when they are not speaking, and suddenly become animated whenever it is their turn to speak (either that or Daniel Radcliffe was underplaying his role extremely well). The film is also marred by the on and off visual effects, but is saved by the magnificent adult preformances and rupert grint and emma watson. Absolutley fun, and a straightforward adaptation of a wonderful book.
Memento - Trippy, great screenplay, great preformance, forces teh audience to think and become involved in the story. It's a real crime no studio gave this wide distribution, I think with a little advertising and decent distribution the film could have done wonderfully.
(bumped from top ten by Royal Tennenbaums Spy Kids - someone else has said it better than I could, so i'll reiterate their main idea, "this reminds you of when saturday morning cartoons told the most important stories in the world"
(bumped off top ten by A beautiful Mind) Shrek - Fun to watch, and to rewatch (I have a little sister, and guess what she got for christmas), but it was hurt for me because there were jokes tailored specifically at kids for them to laugh, and separated jokes tailored specifically at adults for them to laugh. however Shrek deserves it's spot on this list if only for the magnificent sequence set to the song "Hallelujah" which I consider to be one of the top sequences/scenes in any film this year. Shrek has other merits, the animation is top notch and voice acting terrific, but I enjoyed the more classic monsters Inc. much more.

biggest disapointments

Pearl Harbor - I hated the historical inaccuracies and especially the portrayals of FDR and Japanese, Ebert said it best about this film.
Hearts in Atlantis - Take a dark stephen king coming of age story and make it a happy and nostalgic coming of age story while ruthlessly excising every element that made it a King story in the first place. The possibility of this film was to be as good if not better than "Stand By Me" and instead we end up with a run of the mill flick
Ocean's Eleven - so much potential, yet so much emptiness, O11 was simply vapid, there was no tension, no fear, and no reason to actually like the theives, by the time it was nearly over, I was hoping there'd be some twist where the thieves actually got caught and had to spend life in prison, something at least to make it interesting
Planet of the Apes - what can i say I didn't like the ending, and the story was comletely predictable, the apes looked wonderful, but the film had none of the soul or subtext of the original (and it's much better to have the apes think of humans as ugly than falling in love with them)
Hannibal - should never have been made, still it is suspenseful and exciting, but too inlove with the gore adn shock value. What made SOTL so intense was what they hinted at and didn't show you, Hannibal dind't bother hinting they just loudly showed as much as they could.
Blow - Scorsese light and completely forgettable
Final Fantasy: The Spirits within - really if it weren't for the voice acting this could have been better, but the animation really needed another coupel eyars befroe it got there. I still enjoyed it which is why it is at the bottom of this list
Jurassic Park III - lots of fun, but they couldn't take the extra step and actually have someone you care about die (one of the continuing problems of the trilogy). The TRex is much more cool, and I had problems with eight weeks alone for a 11 year old kid (who then becomes completely helpless and a bumbling fool after appearing pretty cool rescuing dr grant)
The Mummy Returns - nonstop action, great lines, lackluster plot, still pretty fun, though by no means great cinema, it's relegated to this list because of the scorpion king as found in the end battle and the kid bringing mom back.
Atlantis: The lost Empire - Kind of fun, pleasantly a different step for disney, but a step away from their roots. The film ultimately never comes together to click and make a genuinely memorable film.

12-26-2001, 10:24 PM	#36 of 235
Adam_S *Adam_S* Member Location: Marina del Rey, CA Join Date: Feb 2001 Local Time: 12:33 AM Local Date: 12-03-2008 Posts: 5,067	(edited 12/30/2001 to reflect viewing of A beautiful mind) (edited 01/17/2001 to reflect viewing of The Royal Tennenbaums) A.I. - Passionate and Daring, A.I. pushed the boundaries of cinema's ability to tell stories. Not only did it challenge audiences with it's existensialist ideas and seemingly disjointed storytelling, it took the science fiction film in new, overwhelmingly positive directions. Spielberg is at the top of his game with A.I., it takes him in a new artistic, and more mature direction, which bodes well for film audiences of the future. Masterfully directed, and beautifully acted, A.I. is one of the most significant films made in years, it is too bad that most critics are so self-absorbed in their own elitism to ever actually open their eyes and find true cinematic art when it is blatently in their face. Fellowship of the Ring - Peter Jackson and this series of films may well revolutionize hollywood, but they probably won't. Most likely the only lesson that hollywood will learn is that fantasy properties can be lucrative, and we'll suddenly be deluged by bad adaptations of Earthsea, Terry Brooks, and Robert Jordan. However that doesn't detract from the fact that Jackson has delivered a new epic of sweeping scale, vision and potency that hasn't been seen since the golden age of epics in the fifties. He also delivers one of the most concise and brilliantly realized adaptations of all time, bringing extrodinary sincerity and deftness to Tolkiien's massive world. The acting is spectacular, the battle sequences a delight, and the whole film is simply a joy to experience. This is the type of film that made us love film in the first place. Vanilla Sky - Cameron Crowe delivers us a slam bang film that screws with your mind and practically forces you to watch it again. Vanilla Sky has an out of this world ending that blows away Sixth Sense and the Crying Game, it will make you completely reevaluate the entire film. An incrediblly wonderful surreal film, you exit feeling like Slavador Dali and MC Eshcer helped to write the screenplay and oversaw the production. A fantastic piece. The Royal Tennenbaums - Absolutely fantastic, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson delivered another absolutely brilliant comedy in the vien of their previous efforts, but still completely different. The film feels steeped in literature be it children's (Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankwiler) or more adult fare (the Glass family) it feels like this was adapted from a classic novel. Be sure to see this film as a comedy first, not a drama (ie don't make the American Beauty mistake thinking it is a drama), because this film is supposed to make you laugh. There is so much going on in the frame that is absolutely wonderful, be it a closet full of classic seventies issue board games or the absurdist paintings on Eli's walls, you'll be beset by the giggles throughout the entire film. Wonderfully, wonderfully accomplished, I can't wait to have this on dvd (please let it be criterion). Monsters Inc. - Pixar are simply gods of classic animation. Which is odd since their animation is bleeding edge cgi, but with all of thier films you forget the eye candy and fall in love with the story and characters. That is why pixar creates such monsterous successes and is continually outdoing disney's traditionally animated fare. Pixar embodies the spirit of the classic animation, their stories are told with sincerity, wit, and a polished class. (the class being that they can tell a wonderful story that appeals to all ages without panderign to solely kids or adults with cheap directed jokes coughshrekcough). MI completely outclasses any other animate fare released this year, in characterization, animation, and pure unbridaled storytelling. And just to rub it in, they constantly create shorts that are easily worthy of classic silly symphony toons. A Beautiful Mind - Very straightforward character film, that is beautifully acted and directed with an invisble hand. Russell Crowe is phenomenal as Dr. John Nash, a schizophrenic math genius at princeton, his preformance is nothign short of extrodinary, by rights he should win the oscar this year (since Haley Joel Osment won't be nominated, unforutnately, because he deserves it). jenifer connelly is marvelous as his wife. The thing that sticks out in my mind, is how family centric this film is. It has no nudity, little swearing or adult language, yet they content is still intense enough to warrent a pg13, but what I'm getting at is how wonderful it is to see a wife love her husband so much as to stay with him, even when it was painful for her. definitly one of the best this year. Moulin Rouge - Lovely eye candy, lovely voices, lovely soundtrack, a lovely musical. Luhrman slammed us with this modern musical on speed, it's trippy and psycheldic, and unbridaled fun, but it does work infinitely better in the theater, and it's enjoyment increases proportionally with the increase in the quality of your video and sound set up. Moulin Rouge worked for me infinitely better in the tehater where the rapid fire cuts and wacko imagry washes over you creating an sensory experience, but it pales greatly and the gaudiness becomes aparent watching it on a medium sized tv with no sound system. Still it is wonderfully acted and sung, a marvelous tragedy, and moving film. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Kevin Smith delivers the ultimate road trip movie, it manages to be intelligent and ludicrously goofy simultaneously. but like most all his other films, you really should see this film with a bunch of your buddies. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - A faiyhful adaptation brought to us by Columbus, occasionally there is visual flare and the acting is spotty, often times the kids stand beside their fellow actors with blank expressions when they are not speaking, and suddenly become animated whenever it is their turn to speak (either that or Daniel Radcliffe was underplaying his role extremely well). The film is also marred by the on and off visual effects, but is saved by the magnificent adult preformances and rupert grint and emma watson. Absolutley fun, and a straightforward adaptation of a wonderful book. Memento - Trippy, great screenplay, great preformance, forces teh audience to think and become involved in the story. It's a real crime no studio gave this wide distribution, I think with a little advertising and decent distribution the film could have done wonderfully. (bumped from top ten by Royal Tennenbaums Spy Kids - someone else has said it better than I could, so i'll reiterate their main idea, "this reminds you of when saturday morning cartoons told the most important stories in the world" (bumped off top ten by A beautiful Mind) Shrek - Fun to watch, and to rewatch (I have a little sister, and guess what she got for christmas), but it was hurt for me because there were jokes tailored specifically at kids for them to laugh, and separated jokes tailored specifically at adults for them to laugh. however Shrek deserves it's spot on this list if only for the magnificent sequence set to the song "Hallelujah" which I consider to be one of the top sequences/scenes in any film this year. Shrek has other merits, the animation is top notch and voice acting terrific, but I enjoyed the more classic monsters Inc. much more. biggest disapointments Pearl Harbor - I hated the historical inaccuracies and especially the portrayals of FDR and Japanese, Ebert said it best about this film. Hearts in Atlantis - Take a dark stephen king coming of age story and make it a happy and nostalgic coming of age story while ruthlessly excising every element that made it a King story in the first place. The possibility of this film was to be as good if not better than "Stand By Me" and instead we end up with a run of the mill flick Ocean's Eleven - so much potential, yet so much emptiness, O11 was simply vapid, there was no tension, no fear, and no reason to actually like the theives, by the time it was nearly over, I was hoping there'd be some twist where the thieves actually got caught and had to spend life in prison, something at least to make it interesting Planet of the Apes - what can i say I didn't like the ending, and the story was comletely predictable, the apes looked wonderful, but the film had none of the soul or subtext of the original (and it's much better to have the apes think of humans as ugly than falling in love with them) Hannibal - should never have been made, still it is suspenseful and exciting, but too inlove with the gore adn shock value. What made SOTL so intense was what they hinted at and didn't show you, Hannibal dind't bother hinting they just loudly showed as much as they could. Blow - Scorsese light and completely forgettable Final Fantasy: The Spirits within - really if it weren't for the voice acting this could have been better, but the animation really needed another coupel eyars befroe it got there. I still enjoyed it which is why it is at the bottom of this list Jurassic Park III - lots of fun, but they couldn't take the extra step and actually have someone you care about die (one of the continuing problems of the trilogy). The TRex is much more cool, and I had problems with eight weeks alone for a 11 year old kid (who then becomes completely helpless and a bumbling fool after appearing pretty cool rescuing dr grant) The Mummy Returns - nonstop action, great lines, lackluster plot, still pretty fun, though by no means great cinema, it's relegated to this list because of the scorpion king as found in the end battle and the kid bringing mom back. Atlantis: The lost Empire - Kind of fun, pleasantly a different step for disney, but a step away from their roots. The film ultimately never comes together to click and make a genuinely memorable film. top 20 films 2008 film list My DVDs; S&S List 62...212 AFI lists: - DONE! Last edited by Adam_S : 12-26-2007 at 04:25 PM.