Aaron Hose

Latest update...

Saw Dancer in the Dark on DVD yesterday. Not only am I surprised at how great the film was, it didn't bother me for a second that it was shot entirely on DV!! It actually looked like it was done on 16mm. D.i.t.D. is a very powerful and moving film, with lots of irony thrown into its well-choreographed musical numbers, which IMHO, add a magical element to the film. The ending

Spoiler:

is, I have to say, very depressing, but then again, Selma had to do what she had to do in order to save her son from permanent misery. A truly remarkable film about the power of the imagination and self-sacrifice.

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2. You Can Count On Me
3. Requiem For A Dream
4. Dancer in the Dark
5. Keeping the Faith
6. Erin Brockovich
7. Unbreakable
8. Chocolat
9. Pay It Forward
10. Girlfight



- A.

Rob Willey

Updated my list (on page 1) after going to the theater to see Pollock and renting the Dancer In the Dark DVD.

No change in the top ten though Pollock came close. Great performances by Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden, both worthy of their Oscar noms.

Dancer In the Dark was a disappointment after all the effusive praise I've heard for it, but it didn't work for me on any level.

Rob

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"That suits me down to the ground."

Seth Paxton

Sorry to hear that Rob.


John, it's fine to watch Dancer, just have The Jerk on standby to throw in right afterward and don't do any drinking or take cough syrup before watching it. Otherwise it might be suicide prevention hotline for you.

Seriously, this will most likely leave you feeling pretty somber and in need of some Nick at Nite, but I thought it was really good and worth the effort.


OK, when I get home tonight I will do a tally of our lists, and then I will do one more on Sunday before the big show, just for everyone's interest.

Remember, this is just for fun...no wagering - Letterman

PS - Ric
Exactly. I mean we are listing our current thoughts on film. The only reason I thought it best to let it go on so long is that lists made by people who only got to see 40% of the main films seems a bit dumb. The edit as you go thing was so that we would start getting our thoughts organized without feeling as though it was some sort of final list before everything had been seen.

This thread is what we thought about 2000 films in a reasonable timeframe to see them. Once the Decembers start streeting I would consider it mostly a reasonable timeframe, except for non-US people who got later releases.

Edwin Pereyra

I just posted my thoughts on Wonder Boys in another thread. I found it to be just average. My Top Ten List remains intact for now.

Next Up: Before Night Falls and Dancer In The Dark

~Edwin

Jason Whyte

Haven't updated my list in a while, but In The Mood For Love is number #3 on my list and I've added a few titles like Possible Worlds, Pollock, etc.

John Thomas

Sorry to leave everyone hanging.. I don't think I've posted
here in 2 days! But, yeah, IMDb classifies Memento as
a 2000 release. Dunno man, I've put my .02 (plus interest)
in on that subject and I'm going with the Academy just to
compare mine against the Oscar winners. Afterwards, I'll
complain that they are blind!

Anyhow, I do have to add that Chicken Run was great.
Just saw it, and while I don't go for the Wallace/Gromit
stuff, the movie made me laugh, especially about my job
situation right now. I haven't made up my mind if it's
going on my top 10 yet or not though... but if you haven't
seen it, it's worth a rental at least.




"Next Up" (gotta mess with Edwin): The Contender

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"You're going to wear the t-shirt of the band that's playing? Don't be that guy."


"PCU / Nerds are both on the release schedule for the first half of 2001." - from the Fox chat.

Rich Malloy

So, have we absolutely, positively decided to include IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE in the 2000 list?

Seth Paxton

No, In the Mood For Love is a 2001 February release in NY/LA, a bit later for the wide US release. If I understand things correctly then a BEST PICTURE contender must play in NY/LA by the end of the year for 1 week straight. I'm not using the BEST PICTURE rules for some films and then using the BEST FOREIGN PICTURE rules for others, if they are indeed different criteria.

I don't think it's fair to have a BEST PICTURE top 10 list where all the entries don't have to meet the SAME standards.

I can only see 3 reasonable choices for such standards (but I'm willing to hear all concepts). Those are:

1) Academy best picture - NY/LA for 1 week by end of year.

2) Wide release US - 1 week of wide release before end of year

3) Wide release any country - 1 week of wide release in any country


The problem with #2 is that who defines "wide release", see CTHD for that problem, or Blair Witch, etc etc.

The problem with #3 is that many of the members of HTF simply won't be able to see a lot of the "years" films based on the criteria.


Remember, the point of the lists is for discussion/comparision of HTF members to review the "year in film that was" for the majority of members.

I don't think it fits with the spirit of the thread to try and find some film to put at #1 that most members won't get to see at a theater for several months into the next year. Something like Shadow of a Vampire barely slipped in, for example. It met the AA requirements and then hit theaters within a month wide (as wide as it got at least).

In the Mood for Love should be considered a 2001 film by this threads standards, and is more than welcome to top the 2001 lists based on what I've heard.

BTW, as great as IMDb is please keep in mind that they don't even list Pulp Fiction's release at Cannes where it won the top prize. So they don't have every release date for every film, but they do show either the NY/LA date or US wide date.

Seth Paxton

I just watched Jesus' Son which is very good, although I just didn't take all the symbolism in for sure. I will have to watch it again several times to start making sense of the underlying concepts (which must be the main theme). On the surface it's very scattered and has little direction, which is perfect for the main character, but plays terrible as a straight narritive piece (which I'm certain it's not, it feels clearly abstract/interpretive).

Crudup is super-strong here, possibly better as an actor. The part required much less mainstream behavior, so I felt like it was more challenging to maintain the quirkiness (reminded me of Ruffalo in Count on Me). And speaking of that, I think the director (Maclean) did a terrific job of making each character quirky in a similar way, so there was the consistency of characters throughout the film. Very interesting and some great cameo-style performances from Hopper, Leary, Holly Hunter, and Jack Black (as good as in High Fidelity I think).


Anyway, sorry about the full review, it just blew-up on me. I have no idea where to put this film yet cause it just takes time to sink in and appreciate, but it could make the list I think.

Also, sorry about no totals, I watch JS last night and Heat with the girlfriend - her request, so I wasn't going to say no to that I'm trying to train her, so rewards for good behavior (ie film choice) are critical

Tonight, I promise.