Seth Paxton

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

I figured we might as well get a thread going devoted to hashing these out. What I have in mind is a thread where your first post is your top 10 list (and bottom if you choose). Then as you see other films and want to modify your list, post a reply that about the new film BUT just go back and edit your list (maybe add a "changed on" date).

We can discuss to, but maybe make your top 10 list clean except for maybe a brief comment about each film. I'll go first and stick my neck out there. Oh, you might mention other films that you feel might make it on your list when you get to see them. I know we've done this sorta elsewhere, but this will be more official.

Seth Paxton

Seth's List - FINAL

Well, I liked Jason's screen caps so much that I made some of my own. The aspect ratio is correct but most of these caps are modified from what I could find online and are actually cropped to the OAR and lose info.


1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
(Adventure, emotion, action...all done so well and wrapped in a gorgeous bundle of cinematography)

2. Traffic
(almost a modern epic with the large cast and scope, but woven tightly together in small film style. It feels personal and big at the same time)

3. You Can Count on Me
(as true as characters can get. Linney deserved her nomination, and Ruffalo was robbed to not get one as well)

4. Yi Yi
(it takes seeing through the eyes of every member of a family to understand how much we can't know, and to realize that maybe we don't need second chances, maybe we got it right the first time)

5. Almost Famous
(maybe too feel-good at the end for some but like Erin B, being audiance friendly doesn't have to be a bad thing. That half the fun is getting there is what makes this film great. A wonderful journey)

6. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
(an inspiring blend of comedy and music with a beautiful fantasy 30's backdrop - Coens progress in their film abilities)

7. Requiem for a Dream
(about as big a bundle of joy as Midnight Cowboy and the end goes on a bit longer than needed I think...but still crazy powerful storytelling and Burstyn ruled)

8. Erin Brockovich
(just because a guy makes a masterpiece that appeals to the masses it doesn't mean it's not artfully done. In fact it's ability to be both art and pop is one of it's strengths)

9. Before Night Falls
(presented in a beautifully tender way, with a wonderful, wonderful score. This film makes the Chocolat nomination an even bigger joke since they nominated Bardem anyway.)

10. High Fidelity
(I liked the character development, and this film just holds a place in my heart that keeps it in the top 10)

(in rough order)
2nd tier (11-20) - Billy Elliot, Jesus' Son, Tigerland, 13 Days, Cast Away, Emperor's New Groove, Dancer in the Dark, The Contender, Snatch, Sunshine

3rd tier (21-30) - Wonder Boys, Best in Show, Nurse Betty, Remember the Titans, The Virgin Suicides, Shadow of the Vampire, The House of Mirth, Quills, X-Men, Pollock


-------------------------------
All your lists are belong to us
Someone set us up the list
-------------------------------

[Edited last by Seth Paxton on July 30, 2001 at 12:17 AM]

[Edited last by Seth Paxton on July 30, 2001 at 12:18 AM]

Thi Them

It's about time someone started this thread. Moderators, please keep this in the Movies area and don't move it to the Polls area.

Thi's List:

1. Almost Famous
2. You Can Count On Me
3. Traffic
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
5 Requiem for a Dream
6. High Fidelity
7. Nurse Betty
8. Chicken Run
9. O Brother Where Art Thou
10. Erin Brockovich

~T

Jason Whyte

Updated: SURPRISE! 4/03/01

Top 12

1. Requiem For A Dream
Darren Aronofsky - 1.85:1 - 102 min



By far, Aronofsky's emotionally shattering tale of the human soul and the desperation for drugs, is the strongest film of the year. It left a number on me as I viewed it. Twice. This is a challenging anti-drug film, powered by Aronofsky's amazing direction and flawless editing, with Clint Mansell's haunting score and amazing casting, the standout Ellen Burstyn's surprisingly devestating performance as an star-struck woman, strung out on diet pills.

2. Dancer In The Dark
Lars Von Trier - 2.40:1 - 140 min.



Lars Von Trier's "Dancer In The Dark" is like nothing I have ever seen before, a complete original in design, excecution and character study. Even with the film's jerky camera movement, startling realism and scary digital video quality, the movie surprisingly stands up to repeat viewings. After seeing it twice, Trier's examination of Selma, a Czech mother whose life is falling apart, will certainly reward some viewers and anger others through its subject matter and ways of storytelling. See it for yourself.

3. In The Mood For Love
Wong Kar-Wai - 1.85:1 - 98 min.

4. Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe - 1.85:1 - 124 min.

I have a soft spot for Cameron Crowe, but here, in his best film, which is smart, funny, revealing and timeless, he tells the story of basically himself at 15, here as William Miller (Patrick Fugit) a budding rock writer who follows the band Stillwater for Rolling Stone. Crowe wonderfully captures the pleasure and the freedom of the time, a decade where people simply did what they wanted. That life, sadly, does not exist anymore. Crowe knows this.

5. Traffic
Steven Soderbergh - 1.85:1 - 147 min.

"Traffic" is creative. It's also a huge, sprawling, daring film, where four stories of The War On Drugs sort of connect and they don't. Yet it is also one big story of the deals of the trade, and director Steven Soderbergh (who also made this year's excellent "Erin Brockovich"), with writer Stephen Gaghan, show the problems of this world, with some lives saved, some not.

6. Cast Away
Robert Zemeckis - 1.85:1 - 145 min.

Zemeckis' "Cast Away" is a conventional story, told unconventially. To me, the emotional devesation of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), marooned on a deserted island with no chance of escape, is incredible. There's so many moments in the film of humanity, that the beginning, the middle, and the end, are all equally compelling.

7. The Contender
Rod Lurie - 1.85:1 - 127 min.

I'm interested in American politics and their flaws. So is Rod Lurie, who has made a very realistic drama about a female senator becoming the Vice President, and is at the heat of Congress for her past. Powering this film is Gary Oldman at his finest as a wily congressman, and an amazing Joan Allen as a strong, passionate senator who is smart at what she says and doesn't say.

8. Wonder Boys
Curtis Hanson - 2.40:1 - 112 min.

Seen again recently, Curtis Hanson's "Wonder Boys" is a riveting character study of Grady Tripp (a fascinating Michael Douglas, who has never felt more REAL here) as a University professor at the end of his rope: working on his opus of a novel, caring for a starving student (Tobey Maguire, one of the best actors in his age group) and fighting all of his personal problems. It focuses less on plot and more on the quirky characters surrounding Grady's life. And it has TALKING, too, the back and forth of conversation that lacks in so many films today. Remarkable.

9. The Cell
Tarsem Singh - 2.40:1 - 107 min.

A picture tells a thousand words, and "The Cell" has 1000 of them. Tarsem Singh's movie is a visual masterpiece, yet also a severely powerful and emotionally shattering piece of filmmaking, that combines an FBI pursuit, a virtual reality program, and a deranged serial killer into a
terrifying whole. Singh's visuals are like poetry, thus the underlying power of the film: the visuals speak more than the plot itself, and are unexplainable gems. Jennifer Lopez, Vincent Vaughn and Vincent D'Onfronio, while a tad slight here and there, are still really good as speakers
of Singh's opera. "The Cell" is a beautiful, poetic landmark of a film that has been dismissed by moviegoers that go into "plot" mode and have been unfairly comparing this to "The Silence of the Lambs" and/or "Seven." "The Cell", which is just as good of a film, is not similar in any way to these two films, nor any other.

10. New Waterford Girl
Allan Moyle - 1.85:1 - 100 min.

I was wrong in stating that "you will be hearing about this" in my original review, since the film was never released in the United States and probably never will. This is a wonderful little movie by director Allen Moyle ("Pump Up The Volume" and "Empire Records," the latter still being
loved by the "Yeah, you know, whatever" kids) about sullen girl Mooney Pottie (Liane Balaban, Canada's answer to Natalie Portman) who wants out of her Cape Breton town, and finds solace and release in teenage girl Lou Benzoa (A fascinating and real Tara Spencer-Nairn) who has escaped to Cape Breton with her mother and loves it. The movie is unique in the way it shows its characters, as well as in the 70's loaded soundtrack. Now all this film is screaming for is an American distributor to let itself be known.

11. High Fidelity
Stephen Frears - 1.85:1 - 112 min.

Until July, this was my choice for film of the year. Then all the other films rolled in. But this is still an amazing film. It is about relationships. It is about life. It is a movie about love. "High Fidelity" is all of these things, the kind of irresistable character study that is so rarely shown anymore. It tells the story of Rob (John Cusack) who chronicles his past relationships like a Top 5 record list. Through the story, Rob learns to better himself with what he has and the mistakes that he has made. Stephen Frears, who wisely moves the original novel idea from London to Chicago, shows that people have dreams and desires, yet are flawed. Rob is like any person you have met, and at the end of the movie, I feel like I could go out and meet this guy for a drink.

12. You Can Count On Me
Kenneth Longergan - 1.85:1 - 109 min.

While not perfect, Kenneth Longergan's amazing look into a drifter who comes into a small town to visit his sister, is not an original idea, but it's execution is: with perfectly chosen edits (watch the opening scene for a perfect example that explanation is not exactly required), award worthy
performances by Laura Linney as a single mother at her wit's end and Mark Ruffalo as a troubled brother, and Longergan's wise ways of showing characters just doing something. It's rare to admire and cherish such a film, even if we've seen it before, but not nearly as great as this.

13 Honorable Mentions: (in no particular order)

American Psycho - Marry Harron has made a powerful look at a crazed killer (or is he?) in the Go-For-It 80's. Not only features the style, but the film LOOKS like it was made in the 80's, too.

Before Night Falls - An alternately beautiful and unsettling portrait of an artist in Cuba, Julian Schanabel's "Before Night Falls" shows our protagonist, Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) through his days as a child, to his open homosexuality, to his prison life, to his exile to New York. Beautifully shot and fluently told, even if it does leave out some years in his life where we wonder what happened to him during them.

Chicken Run - Dazzling fun, and its claymation is a beauty to behold. And who knew escaping chickens could be so cool? Nick Park and Chris Lord are the geniuses behind this classic.

Chuck and Buck - With its strong subject matter, Chuck and Buck can be a scary experience for some, but there lies its power. Miguel Artera's film feels all too real (it's shot in digital video for extra creepiness) with Mike White's implosive performance as a man obsessed with old friend Chuck (Paul Weitz).

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee has made a soaring, beautiful film here, that is knee deep in fantasy about warriors, legends, love and fighting. What is great is that Lee gives each element equal treatment. There's great romance between a princess and the warrior she falls for, and even two Wudan trained warriors that hide their love from each other. The fight scenes are not always handled as a form to kill, rather one fighter outwitting the other. While not perfect, there's such a love for great storytelling, and even at just two hours in length, it is still an epic. The best fight scenes ever put down on film, however? I'd give that to Jackie Chan's "Drunken Master II."

Erin Brockovich - Julia Roberts is amazing in the other film by Traffic's Steven Soderbergh. A fabulous story of a strong woman up against an electric company, the movie has its loose ends, but its message is strong.

Nurse Betty - Renee Zellweger will finally recieve the attention she deserves, in a powerhouse performance as Betty, a troubled woman who dreams of being on her favorite soap opera show, and gets the chance. Even looking her most "plain," Zellweger is her at her best and most luminous.

Original Kings of Comedy, The - "The Original Kings of Comedy," based on the live comedy show of the same name, is the funniest movie of the year. And it's a documentary. The force behind this movie is Spike Lee, who brilliantly captures the comic stylings of Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and host Steve Harvey (the next Richard Pryor) as they riff through everything wrong society, be it stupid people, movies, music, even white people, with hilarious results. It's been a while since I have laughed so hard, and save for "State and Main" and "Small Time Crooks," there is more laughs in this movie than all of the other comedies of 2000 put together. A great documentary.

Pups - A daring, shocking little indie of a film, about a 13 year old boy (an amazing Cameron Van Hoy) and his girlfriend (Mischa Barton) who decide to rob a bank. Fueled with all of their knowledge of life through television and the media, the kids represent everything bad that can happen when violence reaches our children.

Quills - Philip Kaufman's thoughtful retelling of the last days of the Marquis De Sade comes to be the most interesting "freedom of speech" story since "The People Vs. Larry Flynt." Geoffery Rush is amazing as Marquis.

State And Main - David Mamet has written a smart and literate screenplay, riddled with movie-talk, but it is also one of the funniest movies of the year, and knows it. Watch William H. Macy, a Mamet expert, steal the screen when David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon ("Kids? I just don't see the point."), and Phil Seymour Hoffman aren't doing so themselves. And watch the entire movie be smart, and us knowing it. Sure, that may sound crazy, but "so is the electoral process, but we still vote."

Thirteen Days - Proof that we can still make fine political thrillers without having to resort to Tom Clancy books. Roger Donaldson's best film features a strong storyline about the cuban missle crisis, featuring a surprisingly award-worthy performance by Bruce Greenwood as JFK, and is matched by Steven Culp as Bobby Kennedy, Kevin Costner as Kenny O'Donnell, and especially Dylan Baker as Robert McNamara.

The Way Of The Gun - Here is a movie that is a rip-roaring good time, the kind of western, 70's filmmaking that reminds me of the movies by Sidney Lumet, Sam Peckinpah and Francis Ford Coppola, that so rarely made anymore. It is your average kidnapping gone wrong story, but featuring characters interacting and thinking with one another, cute little touches of Hitchcockian betrayl, and a cool-as-ice Benicio Del Toro, who at one point does this quirky little wink. You'd be hard pressed not to return one.

Yet to see: Butterfly, Show Me Love, Malena, Bamboozled, The House Of Mirth, Malestrom, waydowntown

And yes, I've seen everything else.

Complete List

Eligible To-date Film Count: 141

Title/Out of ****/Aspect Ratio/Length

Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle *** 1.85:1 91 min.
All The Pretty Horses ** 2.40:1 118 min.
Almost Famous **** 1.85:1 124 min.
American Psycho ***1/2 2.40:1 102 min.
Art of War, The ** 2.40:1 116 min.
Autumn In New York **1/2 1.85:1 104 min.

Bait *** 2.40:1 119 min.
Battlefield Earth(no stars) 2.40:1 117 min.
Beach, The * 2.40:1 119 min.
Beautiful * 1.85:1 112 min.
Bedazzled *** 2.40:1 92 min.
Before Night Falls ***1/2 1.85:1 132 min.
Best In Show *** 1.85:1 92 min.
Big Kahuna, The *** 1.85:1 92 min.
Big Momma's House ** 1.85:1 98 min.
Billy Elliot *** 1.85:1 109 min.
Black and White ***1/2 2.40:1 100 min.
Bless The Child (no stars) 2.40:1 108 min.
Boiler Room *** 1.85:1 118 min.
Book Of Shadows - Blair Witch 2 * 1.85:1 90 min.
Bossa Nova **1/2 2.40:1 92 min.
Bounce *** 1.85:1 105 min.
Boys and Girls (no stars) 1.85:1 97 min.
Bring It On *1/2 1.85:1 97 min.
But I'm A Cheerleader *** 1.85:1 82 min.

Cast Away **** 1.85:1 145 min.
Cell, The **** 2.40:1 109 min.
Center Stage ***1/2 2.40:1 112 min.
Charlie's Angels * 2.40:1 95 min.
Chicken Run ***1/2 1.85:1 85 min.
Chocolat **1/2 1.85:1 122 min.
Chuck & Buck ***1/2 1.85:1 96 min.
Contender, The **** 1.85:1 127 min.
Coyote Ugly * 2.40:1 99 min.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ***1/2 2.40:1 119 min.

Dancer In The Dark **** 2.40:1 142 min.
Dinosaur ** 1.85:1 84 min.
Down To You * 1.85:1 92 min.
Dracula 2000 *1/2 2.40:1 99 min.
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas *** 1.85:1 105 min.
Dr. T and the Women ***1/2 2.40:1 122 min.
Dude, Where's My Car? * 1.85:1 84 min.

Emperor's New Groove *** 1.85:1 76 min.
Erin Brockovich ***1/2 1.85:1 132 min.
Eye Of The Beholder * 2.40:1 100 min.

Family Man, The *** 2.40:1 124 min.
Final Destination ***1/2 1.85:1 96 min.
Finding Forrester *** 2.40:1 137 min.
Frequency *** 2.40:1 117 min.

Get Carter *1/2 2.40:1 102 min.
Gift, The *** 1.85:1 111 min.
Girlfight *** 1.85:1 110 min.
Gladiator *** 2.40:1 154 min.
Gone In Sixty Seconds * 2.40:1 116 min.
Groove *1/2 1.85:1 82 min.

Hamlet(2000) ***1/2 1.85:1 110 min.
Hanging Up * 1.85:1 94 min.
Here On Earth ** 1.85:1 97 min.
High Fidelity **** 1.85:1 115 min.
Hollow Man **1/2 1.85:1 112 min.

I Dreamed Of Africa * 2.40:1 114 min.

Keeping The Faith ** 1.85:1 129 min.
Kid, The *** 1.85:1 104 min.

Legend Of Bagger Vance **1/2 1.85:1 128 min.
Little Nicky (no stars) 1.85:1 87 min.
Loser *** 1.85:1 95 min.
Lost Souls *1/2 2.40:1 98 min.
Love's Labour's Lost *** 2.40:1 95 min.
Lucky Numbers ** 1.85:1 106 min.

Meet The Parents **1/2 1.85:1 104 min.
Me, Myself and Irene ** 1.85:1 116 min.
Men Of Honor *** 2.40:1 128 min.
Miss Congeniality *1/2 1.85:1 110 min.
Mission: Impossible 2 *1/2 2.40:1 124 min.
Mission To Mars (no stars) 2.40:1 113 min.
My Dog Skip ***1/2 1.85:1 95 min.

Next Best Thing, The * 1.85:1 107 min.
New Waterford Girl ***1/2 1.85:1 98 min.
Ninth Gate, The ** 2.40:1 135 min.
Nurse Betty ***1/2 2.40:1 110 min.
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps *** 1.85:1 105 min.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? *** 2.40:1 106 min.
102 Dalmations * 1.85:1 90 min.
Original Kings of Comedy, The ***1/2 1.85:1 112 min.

Passion Of Mind * 2.40:1 105 min.
Patriot, The *1/2 2.40:1 165 min.
Pay It Forward *** 1.85:1 122 min.
Perfect Storm, The *** 2.40:1 128 min.
Pitch Black *1/2 2.40:1 109 min.
Pollock *** 1.85:1 124 min.
Possible Worlds ** 1.85:1 92 min.
Proof of Life **1/2 2.40:1 132 min.
Pups ***1/2 1.85:1 101 min.

Quills ***1/2 1.85:1 124 min.

Ready To Rumble (no stars) 1.85:1 107 min.
Red Planet * 2.40:1 108 min.
Reindeer Games *1/2 2.40:1 104 min.
Remember The Titans *** 2.40:1 110 min.
Replacements, The *** 1.85:1 119 min.
Requiem For A Dream **** 1.85:1 104 min.
Return To Me ***1/2 1.85:1 117 min.
Road Trip *1/2 1.85:1 93 min.
Romeo Must Die ** 2.40:1 115 min.
Rugrats In Paris ***1/2 1.85:1 78 min.
Rules of Engagement**1/2 2.40:1 126 min.

Saving Grace *** 2.40:1 94 min.
Scary Movie * 2.40:1 85 min.
Scream 3 **1/2 2.40:1 117 min.
Shaft (2000) ** 2.40:1 98 min.
Shanghai Noon *** 2.40:1 110 min.
Sixth Day, The ** 2.40:1 124 min.
Skulls, The*1/2 1.85:1 107 min.
Small Time Crooks ***1/2 1.85:1 95 min.
Snatch **1/2 1.85:1 103 min.
Snow Day **1/2 1.85:1 89 min.
Space Cowboys *** 2.40:1 128 min.
Stardom ** 1.85:1 101 min.
State And Main ***1/2 1.85:1 106 min.
Supernova * 2.40:1 88 min.

Tao of Steve, The *** 1.85:1 85 min.
Thirteen Days ***1/2 1.85:1 146 min.
Time Code *** 1.85:1 95 min.
A Time For Drunken Horses ***1/2 1.85:1 80 min.
Titan A.E. ***1/2 2.40:1 95 min.
Traffic **** 1.85:1 147 min.
28 Days *** 1.85:1 102 min.

U-571 ** 2.40:1 117 min.
Unbreakable *** 2.40:1 106 min.
Up At The Villa** 1.85:1 115 min.

Vertical Limit ** 1.85:1 124 min.
Virgin Suicides, The ***1/2 1.85:1 96 min.

Watcher, The * 1.85:1 95 min.
Way of the Gun, The ***1/2 1.85:1 119 min.
Whatever It Takes * 1.85:1 94 min.
What Lies Beneath *1/2 2.40:1 128 min.
What Planet Are You From? * 1.85:1 107 min.
What Women Want *** 1.85:1 127 min.
Where The Heart Is* 1.85:1 119 min.
Where The Money Is *** 1.85:1 88 min.
Whole Nine Yards, The ***1/2 1.85:1 97 min.
Wonder Boys ***1/2 2.40:1 112 min.

X-Men *** 2.40:1 105 minutes.

You Can Count On Me ***1/2 1.85:1 110 min.

Films with USA/Canada releases that are ineligible for 2000 list

Closer You Get, The *** 1.85:1 92 min.
U.K. Film released in 1999
Croupier***1/2 1.85:1 98 min.
U.K. Film released in 1998
Fantasia 2000 ***1/2 1.85:1 75 min.
Advance and Public premiere screenings held in December, 1999
Five Senses, The ***1/2 1.85:1 104 min.
Canadian made film, Released in Canada in November, 1999
Legend Of Drunken Master ***1/2 2.40:1 102 min.
Re-release of a Chinese film made and released in 1994
Titus ***1/2 2.40:1 165 min.
Originally released for one week in December, 1999 for Oscar consideration
War Zone, The **** 2.40:1 98 min.
Released in US to film festival circuits in mid-1999, and in LA/NY in December, 1999

By Rating: (Currently under construction)

****

Almost Famous
Cast Away
Cell, The
Contender, The
Dancer In The Dark
High Fidelity
Requiem For A Dream
Traffic
Wonder Boys

***1/2

American Psycho
Black and White
Center Stage
Chicken Run
Chuck & Buck
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Dr. T And The Women
Erin Brockovich
Final Destination
Hamlet (2000)
My Dog Skip
New Waterford Girl
Nurse Betty
Original Kings Of Comedy
Pups
Quills
Return To Me
Rugrats In Paris
Small Time Crooks
State And Main
Thirteen Days
A Time For Drunken Horses
Titan A.E.
Virgin Suicides, The
Way Of The Gun, The
You Can Count On Me

***

Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The
Bait
Bedazzled
Best In Show
Big Kahuna, The
Billy Elliot
Boiler Room
Bounce
But I'm A Cheerleader
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Emperor's New Groove, The
Family Man, The
Finding Forrester
Frequency
Gift, The
Girlfight
Gladiator (2000)
Kid, The
Loser
Love's Labour's Lost
Men of Honor
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Pay It Forward
Perfect Storm, The
Remember The Titans
Replacements, The
Saving Grace
Shanghai Noon
Space Cowboys
Tao of Steve, The
Time Code
28 Days
Unbreakable
What Women Want
Where The Money Is
X-Men

**1/2

Autumn In New York
Bossa Nova
Chocolat
Hollow Man
Legend of Bagger Vance, The
Proof of Life
Rules of Engagement
Scream 3
Snatch
Snow Day

**

All The Pretty Horses
Art of War, The
Big Momma's House
Dinosaur
Here On Earth
Keeping The Faith
Lucky Numbers
Meet The Parents
Ninth Gate, The
Possible Worlds
Romeo Must Die
Shaft (2000)
Sixth Day, The
Stardom
U-571
Up At The Villa
Vertical Limit

*1/2

Bring It On
Dracula 2000
Get Carter (2000)
Groove
Lost Souls
Miss Congeniality
Mission: Impossible 2
Patriot, The
Pitch Black
Reindeer Games
Road Trip
Skulls, The
What Lies Beneath

*

Beach, The
Beautiful
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Charlie's Angels
Coyote Ugly
Down To You
Dude, Where's My Car?
Eye of the Beholder
Gone In Sixty Seconds
Hanging Up
I Dreamed Of Africa
Next Best Thing, The
102 Dalmations
Passion Of Mind
Red Planet
Scary Movie
Supernova
Watcher, The
Whatever It Takes
What Planet Are You From?
Where The Heart Is

ZERO

Battlefield Earth
Bless The Child
Boys and Girls
Little Nicky
Mission To Mars
Ready To Rumble

2000 Film Batting Average: 2.53 out of 4.00

**** - 9 - 36
***1/2 - 25 - 87.5
*** - 37 - 111
**1/2 - 10 - 25
** - 17 - 34
*1/2 - 13 - 19.5
* - 21 - 21
0 - 6 - 0
* 132 - 334
------------------

ICQ: 16733922
FOX - Say Anything is more popular than you think

Edwin Pereyra

*Updated: 07/27/01.*

Here's the upper echelon of my 2000 films. The rest is still a work in progress and my Top Ten will be finalized after all films in 2000 have been seen.

Films (out of four):

1. Traffic – Steven Sorderbergh successfully weaves four storylines in one ambitious motion picture. The result: a hard-hitting look at America's drug war problem without the usual cliches. Cameos of certain individuals including well-known public figures prominently featured in the media in their drug war fighting efforts further enhanced the film's credibility. By far, it is one of this year's most honest and thought provoking films with a strong performance by its ensemble cast.

2. Before Night Falls - With Julian Schnabel’s direction and camera work, he paints a big picture of the life of an artist with some mesmerizing passages and beautiful poetry. Javier Bardem gives a dynamic and electrifying performance as exiled Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. He showed a wide range of emotions and considers his performance very challenging. In depicting the harsh realities of human emotion under the clouds of repression and persecution, no other film is more honest this year than this one. It is a provocative and powerful film about human rights with a very strong central performance.

3. Requiem For A Dream - Comments to follow.


Films:

4. Wo Hu Zang Long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) – An action-adventure movie masquerading as a dramatic romance film? "Hogwash!", you might say. While the film may be far from perfect, director Ang Lee has managed to westernize a traditional wuxia novel by taking certain liberties and, for the most part, with very good success. A film such as this exists only in one's imagination. And director Ang Lee has creatively transferred that imagination onto film along with beautiful photography, romantic undertones and fine acting by its two female leads, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi.

5. Erin Brockovich – The film’s "already-been-seen-before" material is elevated by Julia Roberts' very strong performance and Steven Soderbergh’s capable direction. An actor that can single-handedly carry an entire movie on her own and still manages to captivate my attention despite its recurring material, deserves to be recognized.

6. Gladiator – Amidst all of its technical wizardry and pageantry, what really worked for me here is the film’s main theme of one man's love for his family told with brutal honesty and sincerity. How unfortunate that some people were easily distracted by the film’s CGI and battle scenes and missed this critical underlying theme. Still, take what others thought this film was about and add to it Hans Zimmer's stirring music, Ridley Scott delivered a rousing contemporary version of the "swords and sandals" epic films in the footsteps of Spartacus and Ben-Hur. Russell Crowe gave a superb performance as a man whose first and foremost allegiance is to his family then to his country.

7. O' Brother, Where Art Thou? - A funny, well-acted and beautifully photographed film. It contains this year's most delightful songs. The Coen brothers give us a film with colorful characters and vignettes that are almost dreamlike sequences in a whimsical look of rural Americana in the 1930's. Truly something out of the ordinary and George Clooney’s best performance to date.

8. Nurse Betty – One of this year's most original and unpredictable movies. Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival, this is one of the very few movies this year in which I had a smile on my face after leaving the theater. Renee' Zellweger, under the direction of Neil Labute, delivers a very convincing performance as a traumatized woman who loses touch with reality and retreats into a dreamlike state. The film also has a fine supporting cast: Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock and Greg Kinnear.

9. Almost Famous – A perfect movie does not always need a happy ending. Cameron Crowe's coming of age film set in the 1970's makes an appearance in my Top Ten list even though I had faulted the film’s fantasy-like ending. A semi-autobiographical film should remain honest and true to its form instead of being self-indulgent and self-serving. (Even Crowe admits that part of the film’s ending was sugar coated). Nonetheless, the film's ensemble cast delivers a strong performance and overshadows the film's shortcoming.

10. Quills - Director Philip Kaufman brings a wicked sense of humor to a complex material that can be quite controversial and offensive, at times. The film explores both sides of the censorship issue and the unpredictable consequences of free expression. Is (extreme) art to be held responsible for people’s reactions or should there be a sense of responsibility attached to those who willingly accept this form of art? Sometimes, in order to appreciate true art, we have to see its extremes. The film also touches on how extreme behavior can bring out hypocrisy in those who claim to be moralists. The performances of Kate Winslet and Joaquin Phoenix are both outstanding but it is Geoffrey Rush’s electrifying performance as the Marquis that will be most remembered.


Other Films in alpha order:

• The Contender
• Fantasia 2000
• Thirteen Days


Films:

• Best In Show
• Billy Elliot
• Cast Away
• Chuck & Buck
• Finding Forrester
• Frequency
• The House Of Mirth
• Jesus' Son
• Panic
• Shadow of the Vampire
• State and Main
• Tigerland
• You Can Count On Me


Films:

• Dancer In The Dark - Lars von Trier’s bold film about the miscarriage of justice will definitely polarize audiences. I happen to side with those who were somewhat put off by it and for good reasons. While the style is certainly interesting, it is not without its faults. The film comes off as being highly manipulative, overly contrived, and most of all, blatantly dishonest. There are those who wouldn’t dare speak against the iconoclast von Trier and his films because, after all, they are considered “art” and how dare they? But not me. Those who are more forgiving will be able to accept the film and its flaws. Nevertheless, what I did enjoy about the film is Bjork’s remarkable performance as the blind Selma. At the very least, I recommend experiencing this one for yourself to arrive at your own conclusions.

• Pollock - What a big disappointment this was. By the time this autobiographical film was done, I didn’t know anything more about Jackson Pollock other than he was a manic-depressive and an alcoholic. And at the end of a long two-hour journey, we still know very little about the man himself, the artist in him. The film felt fragmented – a series of snippets into Pollock’s life that felt long in certain areas and very short on others. No movie should be this serious unless it has a very interesting story to tell. The manner in which Ed Harris handled the material, he certainly did not made it feel that way.

• Chocolat
• Wonder Boys

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Still to see:

George Washington
Sunshine

~Edwin

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American Film Institute Top 100 Films Home Theater Forum Challenge
Countdown Of AFI Movies Left To Watch: 1, 2, 3!



[Edited last by Edwin Pereyra on July 27, 2001 at 04:52 PM]

Holden Pike

1) Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark
2) Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys
3) E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire
4) Guy Ritchie's Snatch
5) Soderbergh's Traffic
6) The Coen Bros.' O Brother, Where Art Thou?
7) Darren Aronfronsky's Requiem for a Dream
8) Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost
9) Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai
10) Philip Kaufman's Quills
11) Mamet's State and Main
12) Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich
13) Chris Guest's Best in Show
14) Frear's High Fidelity
15) Stanley Tucci's Joe Gould's Secret

I also very much liked Bonnie Hunt's Return to Me, Keith Gordon's Waking the Dead, Eastwood's Space Cowboys, Lonergan's You Can Count on Me, LaBute's Nurse Betty, Crowe's Almost Famous, Bruno Barreto's Bossa Nova, and Alison Maclean's Jesus' Son.

*Ed Harris' Pollack I haven't caught up with yet, but am still looking forward to it.

For everybody's bitchin' about what a horrible or weak year the cinematic fare of 2000 was, I found plenty of great stuff out there.

UPDATED 1/19/01