Our Top 10's of 2002 -- Time To Throw Down / The HTF 2002 Film Awards (See Post #1)

Jason Whyte · 12-26-2002, 11:48 PM

OUR TOP 10’s of 2002: Time To Throw Down

and...

The 1st Annual HOME THEATER FORUM 2002 Film Awards

Congratulations to...

The Winner of Best Motion Picture Of 2002.

Other Winners!

Best Director: Roman Polanski (The Pianist)
Runners-up: Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York), Pedro Almodovar (Talk To Her), Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch-Drunk Love)

Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis (Gangs Of New York)
Runners-up: Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Nicolas Cage (Adaptation), Michael Caine (The Quiet American), Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt)

Best Actress: Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven)
Runners-up: Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Diane Lane (Unfaithful), Meryl Streep (The Hours), Cate Blanchett (Heaven)

Best Supporting Actor: Chris Cooper (Adaptation)
Runners-up: Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Ed Harris (The Hours), John C. Reilley (Chicago), Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can), Dennis Quaid (Far From Heaven), Alfred Molina (Frida)

Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep (Adaptation)
Runners-up: Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Kathy Bates (About Schmidt), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago), Julianne Moore (The Hours)

Breakthrough Performance: Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary)
Runners-up: Adam Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love), Ryan Gosling (The Believer), Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Evelyn Sampi (Rabbit-Proof Fence), Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher)

Best Animated Feature: Spirited Away
Runners-up: Metropolis, Lilo and Stitch

Best Foreign-Language Film: Spirited Away
Runners-up: Y Tu Mama Tambien, Talk To Her, City Of God, Sex And Lucia

Best Documentary: Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Runner-up: Bowling For Columbine

Best Art Direction: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Runners-up: Gangs Of New York, Far From Heaven, Road To Perdition, Frida

Best Costume Design: Gangs Of New York
Runners-up: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Chicago, Frida, Road To Perdition, Far From Heaven, The Cat's Meow

Best Cinematography: Road To Perdition
Runners-up: Far From Heaven, Gangs Of New York, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Minority Report

Best Editing: The Hours
Runners-up: Chicago, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Gangs Of New York, Adaptation

Best Make-up: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Runners-up: Frida, The Hours, Gangs Of New York, Chicago

Best Music Score: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Runners-up: Punch-Drunk Love, Catch Me If You Can, The Hours, Far From Heaven

Best Song: "The Hands that Built America" (Gangs of New York)
Runners-up: "Lose Yourself" (8 Mile), "Gollum's Song" (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), "I Move On" (Chicago), "8 Mile" (8 Mile), "Always With Me" (Spirited Away)

Best Screenplay, Adapted: Adaptation
Runners-up: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Hours, Chicago, The Pianist

Best Screenplay, Original: Punch-Drunk Love
Runners-up: Adaptation, Talk To Her, Far From Heaven, Spirited Away

Best Sound: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Runners-up: Minority Report, Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones, Punch-Drunk Love, Gangs Of New York

Best Sound Effects Editing: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Runners-up: Minority Report, Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones, Punch-Drunk Love

Best Visual Effects: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Runners-up: Minority Report, Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones

Voting is now closed. My thanks to all of those who have nominated films this year, and I hope to have an even bigger participation next year!

---------

Top 10 Stuff:

And “So it begins…”

Here are our most beloved choices to represent the year of film that was 2002. It was another blockbuster year of Hobbits, Jedis and Spiders, as well of a great selection of foreign and independent product that featured flallegants, plunger salesman obsessed with pudding and humans trapped in a Douglas Sirk movie. If you looked really hard, there was a LOT of great stuff to see.

And at the end of every year, we at the Home Theater Forum come back to remember a year of films with its ups, its downs and Britney Spears. Our lists represent our choices for what made it and what didn’t this year. And although many of us still have plenty to see over the next few months leading up to the Academy Awards, our lists are always a work in progress.

And for this 2002 edition, it will be the strongest and most controlled we’ve ever had.

The following MUST be in all posted Top 10 lists, or will be removed:

-You must have seen at least 35 official 2002 films to post a list. If you have not seen 35 films this year, do NOT post a list until you have done so.

-Your list must contain a complete top 10. No exceptions. It is recommended that you post a link back to your 2002 Film List if you have one up there.

-A “Worst Films of 2002” list will be permitted, it must be done under the Top 10, and must have at least 5 entries, none of which that are on the top 10.

-Please, no discussion or responses to any of these lists, although update posts are welcomed (I will go back and prune out old update posts after a week or so). This thread will be stickied for a few weeks to allow everyone to get their lists up and further update them with any new additions.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in touch with me through email or private message. Good luck!

Jason Whyte
Home Theater Forum

Additions and updates:

-Placeholders are welcome, but I must see a posted list within a week of your posting, otherwise it will be deleted.
-All films must be strictly 2002 film releases ONLY. No platform pushover films permitted (ie. Black Hawk Down, A Beautiful Mind, etc. Those are 2001 films). --Thanks to John for the reminder

Special thanks to Bill Harris, Steve Russell, Dana Fillhart, Jason Seaver and John Steffens for their assistance on this thread. As well, I'd also like to thank all participating members on this list!

Jason Whyte · 12-26-2002, 11:48 PM

The Top 10 Films of 2002
By Jason Whyte
WORK IN PROGRESS EDITION. All placements subject to change, and future designs and updates will be occurring frequently through the next few weeks.

#1. Songs From The Second Floor (Sånger från andra våningen)
(Sweden, d. Roy Andersson, 1.85:1, 100 min.)

I thirst for originality and audacity in every film I see. There has to be a level of maturity in a filmmaker, yet also a level that wants to play with the viewer. Roy Andersson has created a film where its world is broken and its inhabitants have broken down. It's a place where a traffic jam piles up yet we don't know where it's going, where flagellants march and torture each other in perfect formation, where a young girl is sacrificed for the means of a larger amount of people, where a man who has a son who "wrote poetry until he went nuts", and looks like he could use some treatment himself. It's a thought-provoking, non-linear, even oddly funny story of man's possible doom into itself, with one incredible static image after another, with no cutting within the scenes. It's a truly startling thing to be able to study an image for almost five minutes (Tsai Ming-Liang's "What Time Is It There?", also on this list, uses some of the same techniques), the camera not moving, our eyes scanning from one corner of the frame to another.

#2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(USA, d. Peter Jackson, 2.39:1, 179 min.)
A full-blooded, involving, dramatic, epic STORY. It's the kind of storytelling we'd expect out of the mammoth, widescreen hey-days of the 50's, and Jackson has revitalized the epic, turned it on its head and made it feel all new again. In this second chapter to the fascinating J.R.R. Tolkien opus, bonds break and new ones are made, forbidden loves are longed for, and evil is taking over the world. What's fascinating about "The Two Towers" is how Peter Jackson makes us CARE about all of these things. We're as involved as the characters are, we want their goals as much as they do. It also helps that he has created a vast, breathing world, using cutting edge visual technology (another example of this is this year's stellar "Minority Report", also on this list.) and terrific actors (Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, among many others) too.

#3. Punch-Drunk Love
(USA, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2.39:1, 95 min.)
Paul Thomas Anderson is a director who has never let me down, always a man willing and wanting to try new things with his unique brand of filmmaking. In this wacky Cinemascope romantic comedy that owes a lot to Tati as it does the Coen brothers, he fashions a love story between a nutty plunger salesman (Adam Sandler) and a woman (Emily Watson) who oddly falls for him, all the while this salesman is being hounded for money from phone sex operators, and collecting frequent flyer miles from cups of pudding. Original and out of the ordinary, "Punch-Drunk Love" is not a film that can make sense at times; heck, it isn't supposed to. It's about falling in love under extreme circumstances, and that love overcoming fear.

#4. All About Lily Chou-Chou (Riri Shushu no subete)
(Japan, d. Shunji Iwai, 1.85:1, 146 min)
This is a film that has to be simply seen to be believed. “All About Lily Chou-Chou” is a beautiful study of the alienation of Japanese youth through music and peer pressure, told with style and elegance, and pure filmmaking freedom that is so rarely seen, especially stateside. Lily Chou-Chou is the unseen hero of this world, following a few characters who are lost in a world of teen violence, peer pressure and parents who don’t care; their only known solution is through Lily’s music. Features original moments and beautiful performances by its young stars, and a stellar use of digital photography (anyone who thought DeBussy’s “Clair De Lune” has been done to death in a movie? Think again.)

#5. Solaris
(USA, d. Steven Soderbergh, 2.39:1, 98 min.)
Although I have not seen the Andrei Tarkovsky original, Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Russian 1972 science fiction film feels awfully European, in the way that the story unfolds silently, the visual effects are hardly seen, and all the supposed "Boo" moments of modern American cinema are replaced with quiet reveals. This is a truly haunting piece of American cinema from Soderbergh, and certainly not your typical American film from a major studio, more keen on showing the audience moronic typicality than actually being a bit daring.

#6. Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi)
(Japan, d. Hayao Miyazaki, 1.85:1, 124 min.)
What else can be said about Hayao Miyazaki that I haven't said, boasted and argued about this year? Quite possibly the world’s greatest living animator, Miyazaki creates beautiful, original worlds with all of the films he dabs his animator pen at, and "Spirited Away" is certainly no exception. It's a brave film about a brave girl named Chihiro who stumbles across a world full of spirits and amazing people, and tries to make it on her own. Like other Miyazaki films, not only are we treated to vast, amazing visuals (oh, I could go on forever about the complexity of the spirit village, the furnace room with its small balls of dust hard at work, or Chihiro’s temporary invisibility), we can’t wait for the next one to come around the corner. Every last frame is breathtaking, even the ones that portray ugliness.

#7. Irreversible
(France, d. Gaspar Noe, 2.39:1, 98 min.)
How "Songs From The Second Floor" was unique in its static camera shots, Gaspar Noe has made a 95 minute film with roughly only a dozen shots, all unbroken events that depict a brutal nightmare in reverse. A somewhat similar idea to "Memento," Noe has elected to tell the story completely backwards, with a man searching for someone that has done something to his girlfriend, and each scene that unfolds directly after the other reveals a brutal attack, a rape, the party that led to it, the conversations that led to the party, and finally a moment of sweetness. Noe's camerawork never stops, wildly flying around the scene where necessary (there are a few instances where his anamorphic lens tends to go out of focus slightly), finally coming up to an ending that is truly original and out-there. (note: this film has been released into a few select theatres in Canada in September, hence its inclusion on my list. It will be eligible for US in 2003.)

#8. The Search for John Gissing
(United Kingdom, d. Mike Binder, 1.85:1, 92 min.)
The funniest movie of the year that no one saw. Scratch that. This was a film that very few could see, as it was locked onto film festivals and never saw the distribution light. Yet I decided to include this film anyway for those of you who thought that "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was this year's funniest film. It isn't. From Mike Binder (the creator of the hit HBO series "The Mind of the Married Man"), this sublime office-politic comedy about a man (Binder) who is sent to England to replace an office worker (Alan Rickman) is the kind of intelligent slapstick that we don't see anymore. It's old-fashioned Blake Edwards, mixed in with a bit of old-fashioned Billy Wilder, with an astounding performance by Mike Binder that recalls some of the neurosis of Woody Allen.

#9. The Pianist
(Poland, d. Roman Polanski, 1.85:1, 148 min.)
Few movies have truly moved me this year. Then along comes the emotional powerhouse known as “The Pianist” (not to be confused with this year’s “The Piano Teacher”) about a Jewish man trying to survive the holocaust. What makes this film stand out is Adrian Brody’s outstanding performance as Szpilman, a man trying to cope with losing his family and his ability to perform; jumping from bombed building to closets that caretakers provide for him, surviving on whatever little food and water he can muster. One of Polanski's finest films in quite some time.

#10. Monsoon Wedding
(India, d. Mira Nair, 1.85:1, 114 min.)
Again, forget the Greek wedding. This is the REAL wedding of 2002, a wonderful character study with heavy does of realism, but also it's a story with heart and character. Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding," which details all the people involved with an arranged marriage -- right from the technology-ignorant father right down to the perky male wedding planner who has yet to get married himself -- feels all too real, showing its customs and heritage while opening up new ones. And for such a low budget (most of the film was shot with hand-held super light 35mm cameras), it is a joy to look at.

Special Jury Award: Selections #11 and #12
#11. Adaptation (USA, d. Spike Jonze)
A wildly original study of writer's block, Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman deserve some form of medal for marrying an adaption of Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief" and Charlie Kaufman's troubles with adapting said source material. It's an odd and rewarding look into the head of a writer.

#12. Roger Dodger (USA, d. Dylan Kidd)

Thirteen Runner-Ups: (COMMENTS COMING SOON)

Bowling For Columbine

Changing Lanes

Elling

Femme Fatale

Lilo & Stitch

Metropolis

Minority Report

Talk To Her (Hable Con Ella)

25th Hour

24 Hour Party People

Thirteen Conversaions About One Thing

Time Out

What Time Is It There?
---
Assorted musings and favourites:
Hey, how could you forget:
- Far From Heaven – While I think most of “Far From Heaven” is spectacular – there are terrific performances by all three leads, there are quiet scenes of power between Moore and Haysbert as forbidden lovers, and it looks and feels like a brutally controversial late 50’s film – director Todd Haynes still distances the viewer from the material. It’s awfully uninvolving at times, both emotionally and from an aesthetic point of view, and the staging of particular “shocking” scenes are rather goofy.
- Gangs of New York – I can’t fault Scorcese for his ambition to tell a story he’s wanted to for years, and yet it runs out of steam at about the halfway point, causing a major disconnect with the viewer. I still enjoyed the movie overall; Scorcese makes up for the film’s flaws with some rousing set pieces and an award-worthy performance by Daniel Day Lewis.
- Spider-Man – Forget how much money it made. Who knew that Sam Raimi would have made the first joyless summer movie of 2002? Spider-Man is a near-failure in every department, casting obvious-looking sets and mediocre effects work in a drab storyline. Sure, Tobey Maguire is good in his out-of-suit scenes, but that’s about it, really.
- The Ring – Many found this film to be scary, I sure didn’t. While shot very well and with great atmosphere, “The Ring” is awfully patience-trying at times, there’s too much foreshadowing, and the film keeps appearing to end even after we think it already has. It also doesn’t show much intelligence in its characters, especially when a character walks in on a dead person and can clearly be seen extinct, yet it takes this person over a minute to walk up to the body and realize it’s dead.
- Y Tu Mama Tambien – Oh, I liked this movie very very much. But I don’t believe it’s the year’s best foreign film as everyone is touting (I only know of a few critics who have seen “Songs from the Second Floor” or “All About Lily Chou-Chou”, and both are vastly superior), and It’s just that the film wanders too much at times, and then tends to beat its symbolism over your head.

Most overrated film of 2002: My Big Fat Greek Wedding – I’m sure you saw it too. In fact, I saw it twice, and the film grew on me...but not in a good way. This film made millions every week, yet I fail to find anyone who can convince me that the acting, writing and direction were any good. The film pretty much failed on every attempt to even entertain; the film’s vapid direction, stereotypical ignorance and lazy, goofy performances sure didn’t do anything to help, either. Is this the ingredient for a successful comedy these days, a pedestrian idea and execution?

Good films that should have gotten a better chance: Femme Fatale, Knockaround Guys, Frailty, Moonlight Mile – All good films (and YES, I enjoyed “Knockaround Guys”…a smart, taut thriller with interesting characters who thought and communicated their problems, even though it kind of boils down a final shootout, it is all compelling nevertheless), and all did not fare well at the box office. All are deserving of better respect and fans, hopefully on DVD.

Best use of a song in a film: Brian Eno’s “By This River” in "The Son’s Room" -- Although this film did premiere in a few theatres in late 2001, I didn’t get a chance to see it until roughly March in Victoria (it also played one show at the Victoria Film Festival). No use of a song this year was more perfectly used than in Nanni Moretti’s haunting story of a loss dividing a family, and it was even used twice! “By This River” also showed up in “Y Tu Mama Tambien”.

The Fast and the Furious Award for Guilty Pleasure Of The Year: Resident Evil – There’s something cheekily wonderful about this movie. Movies based on video games never work very well, yet by combining zombie movie ethics, hyper-kinetic editing, hard rock music and a group of goofy performances, this B-movie works to its own advantage. Director Paul Anderson doesn’t apologize for simply wanting to ROCK the audience, and have fun while it lasts. This year’s award winner also features Michelle Rodrieguz, winner of last year’s award. I’m sure next year, the winner will also feature Rodrieguz in a bad horror film that wouldn’t let me stop laughing.

And now…the worst films of 2002:
#1: Crossroads By far, the year of 2002 saw its worst 90 minutes in Tamra Davis' inexcusable disaster that parades Britney Spears' breasts around in a story so poorly written that if anything came across as original, it was an accident.

#2. The rest of the teen films: Eight Crazy Nights, Stealing Harvard, Swimfan, The Master Of Disguise, National Lampoon's Van Wilder, The Rules of Attraction, Slackers, Slap Her She's French, Sorority Boys, New Best Friend, The New Guy, Bend it Like Beckham, The Hot Chick: – These films pretty much describe themselves.

#3. Half Past Dead -- To think that hundreds of student films are made every year and yet this one gets a wide North American release. One of the ugliest pieces of action nonsense ever made; this film was shot overseas at some backlot in Germany to take place of...."New Alcatraz"???? Steven Seagal, bigger-boned than ever -- the film's editing hides this, with bad closeups and quick editing. There's not one instance that his double chin is visible for more than two seconds -- is paired with a bunch of rappers (so, therefore, a hot new soundtrack can be released) to take back some dudes who are trying to steal from New Alcatraz. If you've read this far, I guess I should add the editing from an R to a PG-13 is so funny that it deserves some kind of an award. "Come here mother !!!!!"

#4. Pinocchio - "I am not a tuna!"

#5. Men In Black II – I was never a fan of the original “Men in Black”, which was too overly stylish, unfunny, and too smarmy for it’s own good. This so-called sequel features actors who look embarrassed simply to be spouting off lines from the bad screenplay, but are probably still spending their paycheques as we speak.

#6. The Four Feathers A vapid, arid mess of flashy costumes, overbearing storytelling, goofy acting and painful dialogue that will make your brain leave the theater thirty minutes in, even if your body has joined it or not. Robert Richardson's photography is one thing (in fact, it's very good), but it's another thing to throw an audience into a tiring story with no emotional strength. But if you liked "All the Pretty Horses", this one will be right up your alley.

#7. Austin Powers in Goldmember – There’s nary a laugh or a grimace anywhere to be found in “Goldmember”. Is this what audiences are expecting these days, a “Saturday Night Live”-themed film where jokes are repeated from previous attempts and repeated for a long period of time, even if the actors themselves don’t think it’s funny?

#8. Vulgar If Kevin Smith can shoot a nice-looking indie for $27,000, then why not let one of his buddies shoot a 16mm feature completely out of frame, about a group of clown rapists who have their way with whiny Brian O'Hallorahn of "Clerks" fame?

#9. Jason X The first movie I ever walked out of. I still don't know if evil Jason got to kill everyone. I'm sure the girl with the big boobs, or the girl with the big boobs, or the girl with the big boobs was the one to die first.

#10. Rollerball Sorry, I'm deaf. Be right back. Listen for the "BOING"!

And finally….the ten best films (and one miniseries) that I saw for the first time this year:
01. Tokyo Olympiad - It comes as no surprise that the Emperor of Japan rejected it, or that the film was cut down to 93 minutes and dubbed into english for it's american release. Legendary director Kon Ichikawa was not going for a simple show-and-tell version of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Instead, he utilized dozens of widescreen cameras to truly get inside the soul of the athlete. Using various filmmaking techniques, Tokyo Olympiad is a human story about the competition of the athlete, right from a haunting segment about an athlete who is from a small country and doesn't win, right to the most amazing sequence I've ever seen on film, the final cross-country dash, following a single man, yards and yards ahead of his competition, as he wins the gold medal. What's fascinating is how we, the audience, feel like a spectator into the soul of these athletes. Ichikawa and his staff of camera operators could not direct these athletes, but he gets us close enough to watch their body language, and even at the same time presenting a gorgeous coverage of what happened in Olympics that year.

02. The 400 Blows - French New Wave this, French New Wave that, just give me a good movie. And thankfully, Francois' Truffaut's "Le Quatre Cente Coups" is so bold and fascinating that we can't take our eyes off of it, even if it's just a simple story of a boy who thinks he is much older than he actually is, yet is told with such visual flair and thoughtfulness that I can understand how this and future French directors supported the exciting visions of many filmmakers today.

03. Band of Brothers
04. My Neighbor Totoro
05. Saturday Night Fever
06. Kiki’s Delivery Service
07. Blue Velvet
08. Abre Les Ojos (Open Your Eyes)
09. Breathless
10. George Washington

Top 5's from the past five years:

2001:

01. Mulholland Drive
02. Donnie Darko
03. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
04. Amelie
05. The Princess and the Warrior

2000:

01. Requiem For A Dream
02. Dancer In The Dark
03. Maelstrom
04. George Washington
05. Audition

1999:

01. Magnolia
02. Eyes Wide Shut
03. The War Zone
04. Princess Mononoke
05. Fight Club

1998:

01. Pleasantville
02. The Thin Red Line
03. Happiness
04. Saving Private Ryan
05. Dark City

1997:

01. Boogie Nights
02. Jackie Brown
03. In The Company Of Men
04. The Sweet Hereafter
05. LA Confidental

HTF 2002 Film Award Nominations:

-Best Director:
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch-Drunk Love
Roman Polanski, The Pianist
Michael Winterbottom, 24 Hour Party People
Spike Jonze, Adaptation.

-Best Actor
Steve Coogan, 24 Hour Party People
Daniel Day Lewis, Gangs of New York
Campbell Scott, Roger Dodger
Nicolas Cage, Adaptation.
Adrien Brody, The Pianist
Honorable Mention: Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love, James Nesbitt in Bloody Sunday, and Edward Norton in 25th Hour

-Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Heaven
Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven
Martina Gedeck, Mostly Martha
Michelle Williams, Me Without You
Susan Sarandon, Moonlight Mile
Honorable Mention: Jennifer Westfeldt, Kissing Jessica Stein

-Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Chris Cooper, Adaptation
Christopher Walken, Catch Me If You Can
Jesse Eisenberg, Roger Dodger
Sydney Pollack, Changing Lanes

-Best Supporting Actress
Meryl Streep, Adaptation
Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing
Clea Duvall, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Tovah Feldshuh, Kissing Jessica Stein
Brenda Blethyn, Lovely and Amazing

-Best Breakthrough Performance
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Secretary
Andy Serkis, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Nicolas Hoult, About A Boy

-Best Animated Feature
Spirited Away
Metropolis
Lilo and Stitch

-Best Art Direction
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Solaris
Minority Report
Gangs Of New York

-Best Costume Design
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
The Hours
Gangs Of New York
Chicago

-Best Cinematography
Songs From The Second Floor
Solaris
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Minority Report
Punch-Drunk Love
Honorable Mentions: Far From Heaven, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams and Heaven

-Best Documentary
Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Bowling For Columbine
Dogtown and Z-Boys

-Best Editing
Punch-Drunk Love
Minority Report
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
The Hours

-Best Foreign Language Film
Songs From The Second Floor (Sweden)
All About Lily Chou Chou (Japan)
Talk To Her (Spain)
Time Out (France)
What Time Is It There? (Taiwan)

-Best Makeup
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Frida

-Best Music Score
Talk To Her
Punch-Drunk Love
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Heaven
The Bourne Identity

-Best Screenplay, Original
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Roger Dodger
Punch-Drunk Love
Changing Lanes
24 Hour Party People

-Best Screenplay, Adapted
Adaptation.
The Pianist
Solaris
Heaven
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

-Best Song
Gollum's Song, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lose Yourself, 8 Mile
The Hands that Built America, Gangs of New York
Something to Talk About, About A Boy
Forgiven, Lovely and Amazing

-Best Sound
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Punch-Drunk Love
Minority Report
Solaris
The Bourne Identity

-Best Sound Effects Editing
Minority Report
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Punch-Drunk Love

-Best Visual Effects
Minority Report
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams

Stephen R · 12-26-2002, 11:49 PM

Temporary Lists (Until I get the graphics done...)

TOP TEN OF 2002

01. All About Lily Chou-Chou (Japan, d. Shunji Iwai)
02. Punch-Drunk Love (United States, d. Paul Thomas Anderson)
03. Devils on the Doorstep (China, d. Jiang Wen)
04. Femme Fatale (France, d. Brian De Palma)
05. Spirited Away (Japan, d. Hayao Miyazaki)
06. The Pianist (Poland, d. Roman Polanski)
07. Adaptation (United States, d. Spike Jonze)
08. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (United States, d. Peter Jackson)
09. What Time Is It There? (Taiwan, d. Tsai Ming-liang)
10. Roger Dodger (United States, d. Dylan Kidd)

Runners Up: Solaris, Monsoon Wedding, Minority Report, The Rules of Attraction, Trouble Every Day, No Such Thing, Late Marriage.

BOTTOM FIVE OF 2002

01. The Master of Disguise (United States, d. Perry Andelin Blake)
02. Enough (United States, d. Michael Apted)
03. The Sweetest Thing (United States, d. Roger Kumble)
04. Crossroads (United States, d. Tamra Davis)
05. Vulgar (United States, d. Bryan Johnson)

Runners Up: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Queen of the Damned, Seom, FearDotCom, Men in Black II, Mr. Deeds.

TOP TEN OLDER FILMS SEEN FOR THE FIRST TIME

01. Tokyo Story (Japan, d. Yasujiro Ozu - 1953)
02. Band of Outsiders (France, d. Jean-Luc Godard - 1964)
03. Cyclo (Vietnam, d. Tran Anh Hung - 1995)
04. My Life to Live (France, d. Jean-Luc Godard - 1962)
05. Au hasard, Balthazar (France, d. Robert Bresson - 1966)
06. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (United States, d. Robert Altman - 1971)
07. Raging Bull (United States, d. Martin Scorsese - 1980)
08. Throne of Blood (Japan, d. Akira Kurosawa - 1957)
09. Dead Man (United States, d. Jim Jarmusch - 1995)
10. Solaris (Soviet Union, d. Andrei Tarkovsky - 1972)

Bill Harris · 12-26-2002, 11:49 PM

The Mighty 2002 Top 10 Best and Worst List

Only a few films to go , so this list should be pretty much final. Currently at 302 films seen for the year

Top 10 of the Year

(1) Chicago
(2) The Pianist
(3) Solaris
(4) Bowling For Columbine
(5) All About Lily Chou Chou
(6) The Lord of The Rings : The Two Towers
(7) Punch-Drunk Love
(8) Moonlight Mile
(9) 13 Conversations About One Thing
(10) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

The 10 Worst Films of the Year

(1) Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights
(2) Master of Disguise
(3) Pinocchio
(4) Half Past Dead
(5) Crossroads
(6) Jason X
(7) The Hot Chick
(8) The New Guy
(9) Stealing Harvard
(10) National Lampoon's Van Wilder

and...HTF Awards Yo

Best Director

(1) Peter Jackson - The Two Towers
(2) Roman Polanski - The Pianist
(3) Paul Thomas Anderson - Punch-Drunk Love

Best Actor

(1) Daniel Day Lewis - Gangs of New York
(2) Steve Coogan - 24 Hour Party People
(3) Ralph Fiennes - Spider

Best Actress

(1) Cate Blanchete - Heaven
(2) Maggie Gyllenhaal - Secretary
(3) Renee Zellweger - Chicago

Best Supporting Actor

(1) Nicky Katt - Full Frontal
(2) Philip Seymour Hoffman - Punch-Drunk Love
(3) Barry Pepper - 25th Hour

Best Supporting Actress

(1) Natascha McElhone - Solaris
(2) Samantha Morton - Minority Report
(3) Clea Duvall - 13 Conversations About One Thing

Best Breakthrough Performance

(1) Adam Sandler - Punch-Drunk Love
(2) Ryan Gosling - The Believer
(3) Sam Rockwell - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Best Animated

(1) Spirited Away
(2) Lilo and Stitch
(3) Escaflowne

Best Art Direction

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Minority Report
(3) Gangs of New York

Best Costume Design

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Gangs of New York
(3) Chicago

Best Cinematography

(1) Road to Perdition
(2) The Two Towers
(3) Minority Report

Best Editing

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Chicago
(3) Irreversible

Best Foreign Film

(1) City of God
(2) All About Lily Chou Chou
(3) Sex and Lucia

Best Makeup

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Chicago
(3) Resident Evil

Best Music Score

(1) Punch-Drunk Love
(2) Solaris
(3) The Two Towers

Best Screenplay Original

(1) Punch-Drunk Love
(2) 13 Conversations About One Thing
(3) Moonlight Mile

Best Screenplay Adapted

(1) The Pianist
(2) Chicago
(3) Roger Dodger

Best Song

(1) 8 Mile - Eminem
(2) The Hands That Built America - U2
(3) Gollum's Song - The Two Towers

Best Sound

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Minority Report
(3) Attack of The Clones

Best Sound Effects Editing

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Chicago
(3) Punch-Drunk Love

Best Visual Effects

(1) The Two Towers
(2) Attack of The Clones
(3) Minority Report