Our top 10's of 2000 - Time to throw down - Page 13

Rob Willey · 07-27-2001, 12:47 PM

I've taken the last film off my "yet to see" list and moved it into the top ten at #10.

I finally received the superb Malena from rentmydvd.com and had to find a place in the top ten for it to the detriment of Shadow of the Vampire.

Malena is the story of a beautiful young woman and the effect she has on a small Sicilian village during WWII. At times funny, sad, powerful and dramatic, this is also a beautiful film to look at. It is the latest from Giuseppe Tornatore, the director of Cinema Paradiso.

I am now hopelessly smitten with Monica Bellucci, the model-turned-actor, who is astounding in the title role. I thought she was beautiful in the movie, but that pales in comparison to how she looks in the "Making Of" feature on the DVD. Wow! I'm looking forward to seeing her again in the Matrix sequel.

Giuseppe Sulfaro in the role of young Renato is also a standout. The only negative is that the DVD has the worst positioning of a layer change I've ever seen.

Highest recommendation. Check it out!

Rob

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"That suits me down to the ground."

[Edited last by Rob Willey on July 27, 2001 at 03:16 PM]

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Edwin Pereyra · 07-27-2001, 04:44 PM

Finally saw Panic last night. While it was good

(out of four), (i.e. its themes of father/son repressed anger and resentment, among other things), in the end, it was not as compelling as that of 1998's Affliction with Nick Nolte, James Coburn and Sissy Spacek, which dealt with the same themes.

~Edwin

[Edited last by Edwin Pereyra on July 27, 2001 at 04:46 PM]

Edwin Pereyra · 07-27-2001, 05:03 PM

I also had a chance to screen Sunshine but I was not in the mood for a 3-hour film. I had to put this off for a later time.

~Edwin

Seth Paxton · 07-27-2001, 10:30 PM

I thought Panic was a tad sloppy, but it had it's moments.

Sunshine is a nice film, even over the long running time, but it's not LoA, Fiddler or Ben-Hur nice. Worth seeing for sure, but I don't think you've "robbed" yourself by skipping it for now.

Pollock left me feeling in a similar way. I liked it, but it was a bit like Man in the Moon in that it felt like it was just skipping along showing me the facts without exploring the person enough. Don't get me wrong, I found the acting terrific and I know we did see his drinking problems, but it only hinted at the forces behind his drinking.

Before Night Falls had a bit of this as well, but we did see a lot of his developing life that helped give insight into what made him a great artist. For Pollock, I didn't really get a sense of that. He starts with respected greatness and keeps it till the end for the most part.

Less time with the BS business of it all and more into the person behind the art.

Good, but not great. Not a top 10, and while I like Harden's performance I'm not sure it was more deserving than the ladies from Almost Famous.

I'm only considering one more film, 13 Days, this weekend.

Brook K · 07-28-2001, 01:22 AM

Just had to pipe up that while I saw quite a few bad films from 2000, Malena was the only one I hated. I thought it was brutally exploitative, I've never been closer to walking out on a film. I stayed, hoping for some kind of redemption or at least a satisfying conclusion, but this movie just slaps you in the face even harder.

I have Panic and American Pimps left on my Netflix list, but both are long waits. Consider my list complete.

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"It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen"

S&S Challenge: 72 ...25
DVD BEAVER

My DVD Collection

Seth Paxton · 07-30-2001, 12:11 AM

Well, I finally saw 13 Days tonight, which was a pretty strong film actually. Not quite Oscar stuff, but lingering just outside that area perhaps.

It's style and pace really reminded me of how Apollo 13 was done. I thought Apollo 13 was better than 13 Days, but they are certainly "relatives" in the world of film.

13 Days won't crack my top 10, but I can understand why it makes other people's top 10 lists. Good, interesting film. I loved seeing the dynamic relationship between Jack, Bobby and Kenny.

Anyway, that's it for me. I'm considering my list closed, at least in the context of this thread. It only took me 7 months after 2001 to see all of the top film contenders for the year

but I finally made it.

I'll let it go for 1 more week and then will do the final totalling and perhaps put together a webpage of the lists in this thread, along with the final talleys, so we can have some archive of our 2001 lists.

Rob Willey · 07-31-2001, 02:03 PM

Since it looks like Seth will soon throw six feet of dirt on this thread, I thought a post-mortem might be interesting.

Seth can be counted on to tally our results as a group, but it might be fun to look at our own lists and comment on them.

Specifically, we could first list the relevant statistics. In your top ten, how many are comedies and how many are dramas? Any musicals? Live action vs. animation? Any summer blockbusters? How many big studio releases vs. indie films? How many foreign language films made your list? Etc.

I know when I first joined this thread I assumed my eventual final list would be top-heavy with films I saw in a theater compared to those I only caught on DVD. How many did you only see in your HT?

After the statistics, feel free to add any comments on what those stats mean (to you). Any surprises? How would those stats compare to other years? Etc.

Have fun. Any and all comments welcome.

Rob

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"That suits me down to the ground."

[Edited last by Rob Willey on July 31, 2001 at 02:04 PM]

Rob Willey · 07-31-2001, 02:16 PM

In the spirit of answering my own challenge, I'll go first:

I've got two comedies on my list, eight dramas (no musicals). All are live action. The closest thing to a summer blockbuster is Erin Brockovich and I don't count that.

It's hard to peg what is indie and what isn't but I'd say it's about half and half. I've got two foreign language films on my list.

And much to my surprise, I saw five of my top ten in theaters and the other five on DVD only. In fact, eight of my top 13 I saw on DVD only. I guess that goes back to how many of the really good movies never make wide release.

The only other big surprise to me is how few comedies are on my list (O Brother and Virgin Suicides). It is probably my favorite genre, but it seems as if there are a lot fewer good comedies being made nowadays.

An additional surprise was having two films from the same director on my list (Soderbergh). I haven't maintained these lists in previous years, but I think this is pretty rare.

That's about it. I'll add more if I think of it.

Thanks Seth for a great thread!

Rob

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"That suits me down to the ground."

[Edited last by Rob Willey on July 31, 2001 at 04:00 PM]

Brook K · 08-01-2001, 12:33 PM

Ok Rob

3 comedies (Oh Brother, American Psycho, High Fidelity)

5 Foreign films, though DITD is in English

3 Studio films (Oh Brother, Traffic, High Fidelity)

Saw all of mine in the theater

Unlike '99 when there were several films I saw multiple times in the theater, last year the only movie I saw more than once in a theater was Requiem For A Dream, 3 times

------------------
"It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen"

S&S Challenge: 72 ...25
DVD BEAVER

My DVD Collection

Rich Malloy · 08-01-2001, 01:36 PM

1. Dancer in the Dark
2. Yi Yi
3. In the Mood for Love
4. You Can Count on Me
5. Wonder Boys
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7. Chicken Run
8. High Fidelity
9. Almost Famous
10. Traffic

The most interesting stat from my list, IMO, is that of the 4 foreign productions, 3 are from China/Taiwan/Hong Kong (Yi Yi, In the Mood for Love, and Crouching Tiger). And 2 of those films made my top 3.

Another stat of personal interest is that 2 films on my list incorporate Bob Dylan songs at key points (Wonder Boys uses 4 Dylan tunes in all, and High Fidelity uses at least 2... maybe 3, I need to view it again). And 2 films feature the album cover from Dylan's Blonde on Blonde (High Fidelity and Almost Famous).

Seth Paxton · 08-05-2001, 02:22 AM

Rob, I just wanted to say that your idea is a good one and that I saw it but was too busy to do anything with it myself yet.

Hoping to make some time for the final count and some thoughts on my own list tomorrow.

I just brought an HDTV into the house and a new TV stand, plus some other projects around the house requiring efforts. Kills my thread times.

Kristian · 08-27-2001, 02:49 AM

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)

2. Cast Away

3. The Virgin Suicides

4. Unbreakable

5. Battle Royale (Batoru Rowaiaru)

6. The Emperor's New Groove

7. Chicken Run

8. High Fidelity

9. Fantasia 2000

10. The Patriot