2003 Film List - Page 12

Updated with Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen.

~Edwin

Just noticed that Jason Whyte no longer has the "Moderator" designation. Hopefully, he sticks around to keep this thread up.

~Edwin

So that's the reason for the edit in the first post. "No rules..just post whenever". Ah, the way it should've been anyhow.

Amen. I've never understood all the stringent rules for posting the film lists, hopefully we'll get some more contributions now. And hopefully I can get some time to start seeing more movies.

The wedding had me so out of the loop that I am just trying to catch up. Ignore any repeated postings on some of these, though I think these are all first time mentions for me. The actual posted list is out of date and I plan to fix it in the next few weeks as things settle down.

My best-man gave me the advice to always see 1 film on vacation so that you will always have that association. Me, I just like to see films in as many different cities and theaters as I can, just for the joy of it. I was denied the chance to try out the cute looking 1 screen theater in Morro Bay, CA, but I did get the wife to go with me to see a film while we were in Maui. That film was...

School of Rock
8.5 of 10
At this point it is a top 10 film, but when all is said and done I would estimate it to fall more around 20-25 which is still very good for the type of project it is. I found it to be appealing much in the same way that Happy Gilmore is. Goofy, silly, but with real laughs and kindly charm from the lead character. And you can tell that Jack Black loves music as much as the character he is playing does. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that his 2 best roles so far are in this film and High Fidelity (IMO).

Alex and Emma
and
View from the Top

3 of 10

Both of these films have awful scripts behind them, wasted ideas and rely on terrible plot devices to drive the story along. The acting in either is adequate, though its better in A&E than in View. View is more confused, unable to decide how to handle the little sub-threads it wants to introduce while A&E misses the chance for more interesting developments given the basic premise.

Both films should have been much better given the story ideas and actors involved. But then a good premise doesn't automatically become a good script.

Some will love each of these films simply for the story at hand or the characters involved, but the actual telling of the stories is about as bad as it gets and relies on cliches for any moments of moderate entertainment.

A Mighty Wind
7.5 of 10
Cute, some more fun characters, but not nearly as engaging as the last 2 films (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman). Personally I have found the "series" to degrade a tad with each film, feeling less fresh with each new incarnation.

Nothing is really wrong with the film, it just doesn't have as much sharp humor as the other 2. It does feature some pretty good songs though.

Shanghai Knights
3.5 of 10
Not all that funny. The film just feels like a manufactured sequel in all the worst ways. Like The Core, another 3.5 film for me, this film could perhaps give you a matinee price worth of entertainment under the right circumstances, but you wouldn't (shouldn't) go out of your way to see it. I thought Rush Hour 2 was a much better Chan sequel.

And I might have already mentioned
The Recruit
6.5 of 10
So I won't add anything here other than it has some fun spots, it does work as a thriller at times, and it is an interesting concept, but it hits too many cliches to be considered a really good piece of entertainment.

I'm at 32 2003 films viewed. Based on the last 3-4 years that means that from now till the end of FEB I will be seeing another 70-80 2003 films. We'll see.

You're slacking Seth, I'm over 50

We usually see movies on vacation too. We saw Congo and Batman III on our Honeymoon. Waikiki still had this great old single screen theater with an organist who played before the film. I've even seen movies in Vegas. There's a multiplex right on the strip. About to leave and go search for the theater in Johnstown. I've heard rumours of one but haven't found it yet.

.

Lots of updates this month, more than are worth pointing out individually. Enjoyed Master and Commander well enough, and Assayas' latest Demonlover is worth a look. Interviewed Pieces of April director Peter Hedges this week, although the interview got cut short by a publicist due to running behind time. Look for the transcript in a few days. Now back to being quiet...

Hey, Seth, congratulations. I guess you'll be joining Tino in the DINK club. Just make sure that you don't fade away from posting and movie watching like he did.

~Edwin

Definitely not trying to compete with you Arman. I don't try and watch everything that comes out. I ended up at around 110 last year. I doubt I'll get much over that this year, I just started renting as the movies I'm interested in come out, rather than last year, where I ended up spending a couple of months only renting 2002 movies. I'm trying to spread it out a bit more. Once we rent season 4 of the Sopranos, I'll rent 1-2 2003 movies, 1-2 Criterions (I'm also trying to see all the Criterions), and 1 S&S movie in each batch of 4 Netflix.

Not really interested in listing all the movies I watch. I know I should at least for my own use, but it didn't seem worth the time to create some huge list that nobody would read, though thanks for saying that you would be interested in reading such a list.

.

Yeah, I think I've hit at least 30 S&S films this year, plus I make a point to watch all my DVD purchases which adds on quite a bit more viewings. And aside from the S&S thing I've started just trying to catch some films that are talked about but which I had never seen.


Since it was the honeymoon I couldn't push too hard for lots of movie viewings (and I was already taking time to watch all those Cubs and Yanks games), but normally I'll just go on my own a lot of times, especially when I hit a city like Seattle or LA that get things before Indy does.

I could see doing a movie version of going to all the MLB stadiums in one year, like picking the top 30 theaters to try or just seeing films in all sorts of areas across the country.

BTW, I have a real reason for posting as well.

Holes
7.5 of 10
Very nice family formula film that keeps things tight and moving along well. The solid actors in the film add a lot of weight to it as well. Just good solid entertainment.

And since I've been busy with a screenwriting class I was appreciative of the fact that the set-up and inciting incident were both done within 5 and half minutes of the start. Good formula scriptwriting.

.

Satoshi Kon's Millennium Actress.

~Edwin

Updated with the clever and fascinating The Secret Lives of Dentists A-

and

B- to Campion's masterfully directed but highly flawed (as problematic as Mystic River), In The Cut. Like what Sean Penn and Tim Robbins did in Mystic River (yet another vigilante oriented film directed by Hollywood's wonder boy and critics favorite), Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo's best performances of their career @ their most erotic and sexually charged roles ever saved In The Cut from getting a failing grade from me. Wow, their love scene was maybe too hot for the old couple (sitting besides me) who suddenly walked out halfway into the film's screening. Good for that obviously conservative couple since the film might had killed them by shock in the more graphic and nude scenes in the film's climactic 3rd act.

Don't know why I can't stop myself associating In The Cut with Mystic River. I'm not sure if this is because Kevin Bacon is also In The Cut where his role is practically in reverse of his role in Mystic River. But I guess, I found some ironies and revelations that the same respected film critics (except Rosenbaum) who regarded MR as a cinematic masterpiece (and refused to cite its flaws whether MR's technical aspects or its social implications)cannot even acknowledge (unlike Rosenbaum again, in his generally positive reviews of ITC) the technical and directorial achievements by the talented and brave Jane Campion (now ex-critics favorite?) and her team.

From Bill Harris:




I guess for now, those reasons will remain unsaid and private. Sorry to see you leave.

~Edwin

Updated with a couple more that really didn't impress me one way or the other - the political documentary The Party's Over and Yet Another Con Artist Movie With A Twist Ending (really, one where everything you find out is true would be a clever innovation), Matchstick Men. ½ each.

Edwin,

I talked to Whyte about this Film List a few weeks ago, and due to certain reasons, which I can't get into here, both he and Harris have decided to leave the HTF.

Disney's Brother Bear.


Next Up: The Cooler

~Edwin

Updated my long-neglected list with my four movies from September up to November. None were bad, all were interesting, but only one truly stood out.

Kill Bill: Volume One just popped way the hell up my top ten list to #3. Matrix: Reloaded is clinging to the #10 spot.

McG’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.

So, the first one was fun and it worked because it had a certain flair to it. This one is overkill as it tries to outdo itself.

~Edwin

I agree Edwin. I had to sit through the airline version which only made it worse, but it also drove home exactly what I didn't like about CA2.

In CA1 it was like McG had walked right to the edge and then stopped. For some he even slipped over the edge in fact. But with CA2 it felt like he went for the standard sequel approach, bigger, louder, more of everything. Not such a good philosophy when you almost overdid it with the first film. Maybe going for a bit more subtlety would have actually made for an interesting sequel, or even just staying at the same level.


Kill Bill Vol. 2
8 of 10
I had my review here, but it ran too long so I'm sticking it in the KB review thread instead. Good film, but with some problems that restrict it from greatness. Of course I'm not all that sure that QT was really shooting for greatness, but I think he still could have reached it.

.

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Our recent little "no rules" situation aside, I'd like the thread's thoughts on the qualification of a film as a 2003 release for the "main list". This evening, I watched David Gregory's documentary Godfathers of Mondo, which is on the 8th disc of Blue Underground's recent Mondo Cane boxset. The film is feature-length (89 minutes) and had a theatrical premiere prior to the release of the DVD box (which I missed due to a scheduling conflict). Part of me tells me this clearly counts, but some inner nagging tells me that it shouldn't, as it was mainly created for a DVD set. Any thoughts?

DJ

Thanks for giving us an update and not leaving us hanging!

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Yeah, I could have seen The Matrix 3, but that'll play for a while, and how many opportunities do you get to see Taoism Drunkard and its watermelon robot on the big screen? (Answer: perhaps one too many)

Anyway, updated with a couple good ones:

The Big Animal was, like Heaven, the product of an unfinished Krzysztof Kieslowski script. It was shot in black and white for Polish television (where it aired in 2000, so it goes in the "for the first time" section), but will begin playing small engagements in the USA next year. Coming in at ~75 minutes, it tells its story of a man, his wife, and the camel that appears in their yard with economy and style. ¼

Tamala 2010 (subtitled "A Punk Cat In Space" on posters but not in the movie) requires further study. This (mostly) black-and-white Fleischer-looking anime set on "CatEarth" offers equal parts cuteness and carnage with a plot inspired, apparently, by equal parts Phillip K. Dick and The Illuminatus! Trilogy. It's definitely worth seeing at least once, and possibly more.

After some flip flopping, updated with final Matrix Revolutions rating of ****/*****. Thoughts in the review thread.