Our Top 10's of 2001 -- Time To Throw Down

2001 will be remembered by me as one of the best years for foreign language and independent films. With a lot of filmmakers still focusing their efforts on films that matter and those that challenge the mind, I have renewed confidence in cinema as an art form. Without further due, here are my top films for 2001:

10.DIVIDED WE FALL (Czech Republic) – A heartfelt story about courage and love and the lengths people would go through just to do the right thing. Set in the Second World War, the film, which also contains some dark humor, is full of unexpected twists and turns and some memorable characters.

9.IN THE BEDROOM - is an examination of human emotions and conditions surrounding a tragic situation. It is about love, secret resentments and painful choices told with the very least sentimentality and manipulation. Actor turned director Todd Field has made a very good debut film with shots delivering some quiet intensity, which are all the more important especially in character driven narratives. Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei all deliver powerhouse performances.

8.AMORES PERROS (Mexico) – No one would think that this import from Mexico is a first film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. He achieves the kind of maturity both in story and direction most directors do not attain with their debut features. This is a film that is so down to earth stripped of any pretentiousness involving true and honest emotions.

7.MULHOLLAND DRIVE – David Lynch delivers a richly textured film that avoids the standard convention of straightforward storytelling by using fragmented narrative. Naomi Watts' breakout performance is this year’s best performance by an actress.

6.MEMENTO - Creatively crafted film with the use of flashbacks, flashforwards and everything else in between to tell its story. It also features one of this year’s best actor performances by Guy Pearce.

5.MOULIN ROUGE - While the story may not be completely original, it is the journey, artistic interpretation and acting that make this film excel from all other musicals in recent memory. Director Baz Luhrmann’s visual style is so original that he transports the audience to another world with the use of quick cuts along with some exhilarating camera work.

4.WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY (France) – Director Dominik Moll’s superb character study about the deep recesses of the subconscious and explores the possibilities of what life might have been had different choices been made. The film examines the human dilemmas between desire and fear, identity and illusion, freedom and passivity, and above all, making choices and compromise.

3.AMELIE (France) - The film touches on the theme of solitude and achieves it greatly by a surprisingly uplifting story and a very impressive visual style by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It is a celebration of life in the most memorable fashion of them all – fun and spontaneous. Audrey Tautou in the title role is very charming.

2. A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – The year’s most complex film is also the year’s most misunderstood film. It is a film to be enjoyed at a metaphysical and analytical level rather than at an emotional one. A.I., in more ways than one, is philosophically enriching. It aims for the intellect instead of the heart. What a tremendous achievement by both Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick.

1.BLACK HAWK DOWN – What it comes down to this year is a film that matters. With all the criticisms about factually based films being made rather carelessly, we finally have a film that actually gets it right. Other directors who continue to make films based on real people or real-life events should take notice of this Ridley Scott film. The events portrayed onscreen showed the harsh realities of what actually happened in Somalia in 1993 without the need to sugarcoat any of it. It is the least sentimental and manipulative combat film to come out of Hollywood for quite some time.

Beyond the Top 10:

11.The Deep End
12.Together (Sweden)
13.Monster’s Ball
14.Hedwig and the Angry Inch
15.The Road Home (China)
16.Enemy At The Gates
17.Shrek
18.In The Mood For Love (China) (temporary placement due to film being viewed on VHS format)
19.The Princess and the Warrior (Germany)
20.Ghost World
21.The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring
22.The Pledge
23.Under The Sand (France)
24.The Royal Tenenbaums

~Edwin

1. Mulholland Drive
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. In the Bedroom
4. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
5. A.I.
6. Moulin Rouge
7. The Man Who Wasn't There
8. Waking Life
9. Ghost World
10. The Deep End

~T

After a lighthearted conversation with Jason about the Pledge being #2 on his list..i submit this

NY/L.A Rule in the house y'all!

(1) Amelie
What can i say. The only film ive seen more than twice in the theatre this year. I made a stupid comment on another board saying this was the best film ive seen since Pulp Fiction. I was wrong. Best film since Malkovich

(2) Harry Potter

I could read the books over and over again. Damn near perfect translation. bring on the dvd!


(3) Memento

I saw this film really early , and talked about it for months. Finally a movie that lived upto the hype even after i pumped it up.

(4) Amores Perros

But its a 2000 film!...blah , blah , blah. The scene with the Dog in the floor still drives me to tears(right Jay? ) , but who cares!. How did Crouching Tiger beat this for the Oscar?.

(5) Lord of The Rings: Fellowship of the Rings

Sorry , but i still like Dead Alive better . All kidding aside , Peter Jackson is a genious!

(6) Mulholland Drive

While i dont think its on par with Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks , its a damn fine movie.

(7) Series 7: The Contenders

Jason Whyte and I saw this together at UVIC. Not even torching a couple of frames could destroy my fondness of this flick. Sidenote: The DVD is great

(8) Moulin Rouge

Give props to Baz...he deserves it. I will say that Hedwig had better songs

(9) Ghost World

Crumb was a great movie that showed T.Z as an upcoming force in documentries. So what does he do for his next movie?.. a straight ahead black comedy . I am worried that Thora Birch wont get a nod at oscar time though

(10)Lost and Delirious

did anybody in the US actually see this on the big screen after one of the stupidest film ratings ive ever seen!.

As of December 24th..im still missing a few movies. So expect some changes

Top 10 Of 2001

Updated on 06/07/02

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#1: The Royal Tenenbaums
#2: Amelie
#3: Memento
#4: Mulholland Drive
#5: Artificial Intelligence
#6: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings
#7: Black Hawk Down
#8: Ghost World
#9: Moulin Rouge!
#10: Donnie Darko



#11: In The Mood For Love #12: The Road Home #13: The Man Who Wasn't There #14: In The Bedroom #15: Monster's Ball #16: Startup.com #17: The Deep End #18: A Beautiful Mind #19: The Pledge #20: Bridget Jones' Diary


#21: Hedwig and the Angry Inch #22: Va Savoir #23: Vanilla Sky#24: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back #25: Monsters Inc #26: Made #27: The Dish #28: Sidewalks of New York #29: Gosford Park #30: Baby Boy

Currently in queue..

No Man's Land, Lantana, Kandahar, The Business of Strangers, Waking Life, Iris, The Taste of Others, Series 7: The Contenders, The Princess and the Warrior, Amores Perros

Even though the list will undergo a myriad of changes, still needing to see about a million movies, here goes...

1. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai) - Emotionally, it felt like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg or Splendor in the Grass, but stylistically it looked and felt like Eyes Wide Shut. All together, it's the most spellbinding movie of the year. Oddly, I think it was also the first local 2001 release that I saw this year.

2. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg) - The best American film of the year. Wickedly complex and layered, this is Spielberg's most complex film since his masterpiece, Jaws. This movie is responsible for one of the most affecting revelations I've had at the movies in years. It washed over me like a wave.

3. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) - The feel good movie of the year, and you can quote me on that. From the moment in the opening credits when little Amélie was eating the raspberries off of the ends of her fingers, I was sure I was going to love this film. The title character is arguably the most adorable heroine I've ever seen in a motion picture. As it stands, it's the only movie in the last 3 years I've paid to see twice.

4. Memento (Christopher Nolan) - Maybe the best thriller in years. Wickedly convoluted, with as many questions as answers, but very watchable and absorbing even if you don't feel the need to draw yourself a flow chart to figure out the time line.

5. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)

6. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff) - What becomes of intelligent youth raised in an era of irony and nihilism? Are happiness and intelligence in direct conflict with one another? Ghost World attempts to answer these questions, although not in the predictable ways one might expect. At times wickedly funny, scathingly honest, and even touching. I never really knew where this film was going to go, and each detour was a delight.

7. In The Bedroom (Todd Field) - This film refuses to be tied down to a specific genre and as a result, we never really know what will happen next. Serious buzz surrounds the work of Sissy Spacek, and to a lesser extent, Marisa Tomei, but Tom Wilkinson gives the finest performance in the film as a father who quietly alternates between grief and rage.

8. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell) - That the symbolism in this film is bludgeoningly obvious may actually work in its favour. John Cameron Mitchell should receive an Academy Award nomination for his performance. This movie wanted so bad to be good, and it is. Plus, anything that pisses off the squares is always fun. Like Ghost World, 'Hedwig' is alternately wickedly funny and touching, plus the music kicks fucking ass. Far and away, the best transgendered glam rock musical of the year! You can quote me on THAT too.

9. Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann) - Another musical. Gaudy, loud, obnoxious, simple, schmaltzy, slapstick-y. These are all words that could be used to describe Baz Luhrmann's latest headache-inducing opus. But...I had a great time at this film, even if I had to swallow a couple of Advil afterwards. The most ambitious undertaking of the year, a rich, sumptuous production that will no doubt get lots of notice at Oscar time, if only for the "pretty" awards, like Costumes, Set Decorations, etc.

10. The Others (Alejandro Amenábar) - If it weren't for my pick at #1, I'd easily have said this was the most beautifully photographed film of the year. This is almost a throwback film, one they just don't make anymore, a real ghost story, dependent on mood, tone, pace and atmosphere. Nicole Kidman had a great year, with this and Moulin Rouge. She might even get her first Oscar nomination . Who needs Tom Cruise?

#1. Mulholland Drive - An endlessly fascinating examination of the boundries between dreams and reality, Mulholland Drive and its characters occupy a dark rift between mental and physical existence. In an early scene, a man in a cafe watches in horror as a recurring nightmare he's attempting to overcome begins to take root in reality, and feels the presence of a dark man who'd infected his dreamstate. The man, in his waking state, suffers a heart attack at the unexpected sight of the nightmare figure, and dies. Whether the man was only in his imagination or not doesn't matter: he was frightened enough that it caused his death, thus effectively blurring the line between physicality and metaphysicality from the onset. What follows, the tale of a two women searching for answers in Hollywood, is equally soaked in the apprehension of what is to come. Even more structurally brilliant than Memento and philosophically subtler than Waking Life, Lynch's masterpiece serves as a centerpiece for a year of great films that focused on the reality of unreality.




#2. Audition - Comments coming.










#3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - More so than any recent Hollywood epic, Jackson’s first installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a snaz-free vision. Grime and dirt infest the heroes’ hair; fingernails are outlined by the black muck of adventuring. Close-ups reveal unhealthy pores clogged with filth. The characters and locales feel as if they’ve been around as long as we’ve been told. We notice because Jackson’s camerawork allows us to see the minutest of details and the grandest of architecture. By deftly juxtaposing extreme long-shots with extreme close-ups, expressions become the living embodiment of the adventure itself. McKellen’s emotive face is indeed an emotional counterpoint to the landscape traversed, and offers as much a diverse topography as that of New Zealand’s Middle-Earth. The film is rousing and moving, its dialogue never stilted or bogged down with politics. Thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien and the filmmakers involved in bringing his work to the screen, we’ve been given one of the most unique epics ever, and we can be thankful that there are two more to come.




#4. Donnie Darko - I must admit an affection of sorts to these types of films. There aren’t many things I like more in film than man-sized bunny rabbits with carnivorous insect faces portentously predicting the apocalyptical doom of man, jet engines falling through suburban houses with no plane to link them to, and coming-of-age stories punctuated by theories of time travel vessels that link with individual humans by means of a long, gooey cylinder that extends from the chest. It’s like Ghost World directed by David Lynch with a helping of Being John Malkovich. But Richard Kelly puts his own stamp on this creation with truly brilliant casting and a script that dares us to second-guess it – it’s filled to the brim with memorable twists. This is also one of the best directorial debuts of the year; Kelly balances Donnie’s dark, perhaps psychotic delusions with a cockeyed, humorous vision of the 80s that’s both absurdist and reverent, and his use of slow-motion is inspired, often and appropriately displaying ludicrousness rather than grace or style. A bonus: the movie gives Patrick Swayze his best role since, well, ever.




#5. Memento - While the impact of watching Memento is, not surprisingly, somewhat diluted upon multiple viewings, the joyous act of viewing bravura, audacious filmmaking remains intact. Like Mulholland Drive and Waking Life though not is such a discreet manner, Memento’s main character, Leonard Shelby, is trapped in a recurring dream/nightmare of sorts. He exists for the sole purpose of exacting revenge on those who left him with such a blindingly depressing final mental Polaroid. Some critics attacked Nolan’s screenplay as being gimmicky. In essence, it is, but the high-concept premise certifies and justifies it. Through patient repetition, Nolan builds a fully contained meta-universe for Leonard, complete with its own set of rules, that gradually builds steam in defiance of all former rules of filmmaking: a story told backwards should lose momentum. When it finally arrives at its bleak, existential faux-beginning, Memento daringly suggests that a mans id is only as stable as his memories allow it to be, and memories exist on shaky ground.




#6. In the Mood for Love - Comments coming.










#7. The Royal Tenenbaums - Comments coming.










#8. Va Savoir - Comments coming.










#9. The Princess and the Warrior - Comments coming.










#10. The Day I Became a Woman - Comments coming.








10 Runners-Up (In Preferential Order): A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Songs From the Second Floor, Monster's Ball, Waking Life, The Others, Kandahar, Amelie, The Devil's Backbone, The Man Who Wasn't There, Monsters, Inc..

Missed: Eureka, Together, and The Werckmeister Harmonies.

UPDATE - 1/11/2002 - Some notable shifting on my list. I saw Waking Life again, and didn't think quite so highly of it this time. It's still a great, enlightening film, but I don't think it deserves its original place of #5, so it dropped quite a bit. On the other hand, I watched my Region 2 DVD of In the Mood for Love last night, and my appreciation of Wong's film only grows. It moved up 2 slots to #5.

_____________________________

The Most Overrated Movies of the Year

Amelie - Yes, I realize it's on my runners-up list of favorites of the year. Comments attempting to justify my paradox coming.

The Deep End - Comments coming.

Moulin Rouge - Comments coming.

Shrek - Comments coming.

_____________________________

The Worst Movies of the Year

#01. Freddy Got Fingered
#02. Valentine
#03. Tomcats
#04. Ghosts of Mars
#05. Say it Isn't So!
#06. Tomb Raider
#07. Lantana
#08. Double Take
#09. 3000 Miles to Graceland
#10. Charlotte Gray

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10 Memorable Scenes from 2001 Films

#01. Fat Girl - The final five minutes, which is not a favorite scene, for sure, but I'd be lying if I didn't mention it as the one scene from 2001 that's most permanently tatooed on my brain, for better or for worse.
#02. A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Flying through the frozen city.
#03. Mulholland Drive - Club Silencio.
#04. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - "Drums...drums, in the deep."
#05. The Man Who Wasn't There - The car sails through the air; the hubcap takes a trip.
#06. Memento - "I'm chasing this guy. No, he's chasing me."
#07. A.I. Artificial Intelligence - David falls and plunges into the ocean.
#08. The Princess and the Warrior - Emergency tracheotomy.
#09. Donnie Darko - Revelations.
#10. Ghost World - White trash with nun-chucks at the convenient store.

Honorable mentions include: Chase through the kingdom of doors from Monsters, Inc.; the piano playing scene from The Others; the main titles from Amelie; the car crash from Amores Perros; and a slew of scenes from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

(Note: This list will likely change as I remember more scenes that I love.

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Repertory - The ten best older films I saw for the first time in 2001

#01. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Comments coming.
#02. The Decalogue (Dekalog) - Comments coming.
#03. Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) - Comments coming.
#04. A Man Escaped (Un Condamné à mort s'est éschappé) - Comments coming.
#05. Greed - Comments coming.
#06. Sansho the Bailiff (Sanshô dayû) - Comments coming.
#07. Ordet - Comments coming.
#08. Come and See (Idi i smotri) - Comments coming.
#09. The Godfather - Comments coming.
#10. Letter From an Unknown Woman - Comments coming.

_____________________________

Awards

Best Picture: Mulholland Drive; Runners-Up – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Donnie Darko
Best Director: David Lynch, Mulholland Drive; Runners-Up - Wes Anderson, The Royal Tenenbaums and Robert Altman, Gosford Park
Best Actor: Haley Joel Osmet, A.I. Artificial Intelligence; Runners-Up – Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums and Tom Wilkinson, In The Bedroom
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive; Runners-Up – Nicole Kidman, The Others and Audrey Tautou, Amélie
Best Supporting Actor: Ian McKellen, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; Runners-Up – Jude Law, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Steve Buscemi, Ghost World
Best Supporting Actress: Frances O’Connor, A.I. Artificial Intelligence; Runners-Up – Scarlett Johansson, Ghost World and Alakina Mann, The Others
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, The Man Who Wasn’t There; Runners-Up – Christopher Doyle, In the Mood for Love and Javier Aguirresarobe, The Others
Best Original Screenplay: David Lynch, Mulholland Drive; Runners-Up – Joel and Ethan Coen, The Man Who Wasn’t There and Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko
Best Adapted Screenplay: Memento; Runners-Up – Ghost World and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Best Original Score: Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; Runners-Up – Yann Tiersen, Amélie and John Williams, A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Best Visual Effects: A.I. Artificial Intelligence; Runners-up – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Best Make-Up: Planet of the Apes; Runners-Up – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

A.I. Artificial Intelligence is the best film I have seen so far this year.

American Pie 2 is the worst film I have seen this (perhaps any) year.

Complete list to follow soon.

Last Updated: January 5, 2002

Top Ten of 2001







1: Memento
2: Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
3: In the Bedroom
4: Der Krieger und die Kaiserin
5: Mulholland Drive
6: The Royal Tenenbaums
7: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
8: Moulin Rouge
9: The Deep End
10: Sexy Beast

Honorable Mentions:

A.I. - Artificial Intelligence, A Beautiful Mind, The Crimson Rivers, Vanilla Sky, Made, Amores Perros, The Others, Ghost World, Ocean's Eleven, Series 7: The Contenders

Worst of 2001:

Driven, Pearl Harbor, Mummy Returns, Tomb Raider, Planet of the Apes, Ali, Behind Enemy Lines

Haven't seen yet that could crack the top ten: The Man Who Wasn't There, Black Hawk Down, Monster's Ball, The Devil's Backbone, Gosford Park, In the Mood for Love, Donnie Darko

Updated Top 10

(Last update: 1/21/2002)
1. Memento
2. Black Hawk Down
3. Sexy Beast
4. Royal Tenenbaums
5. Apocolypse Now Redux
6. Amelie
7. The Others
8. Training Day
9. A Beautiful Mind
10. Shrek

Haven't Seen: Ali, Monster, Inc. Moulin Rouge, In the Bedroom, Gosford Park, Spy Games, Mulholland Drive.

Worst Movies (luckily I think I just didn't go to a lot of what seemed to be obvious bombs, like Freddie Got Fingered. That is why I only have 7. There are many movies that I kinda liked so I don't really want to put them on a worst list. The movies in this list made me ill.).....

1. Hannibal
2. The Musketeer
3. Original Sin
4. Pearl Harbor
5. Planet of the Apes
6. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
7. Hearts in Atlantis

1. Mulholland Drive Without a doubt, the best film of the year. even though, choices 2 and 3 were so closely behind it. Mulholland drive, a dark mystery love story, set in the city of dreams.
From the very start of this movie, you are intranced and drawn into the story and its characters. Every step of the way, this movie makes you think even after you left the theater. A definate triumph for Lynch.

DIRECTING-Lynch should get best director, even though I feel like Baz Luhrmann might be getting it. Like Twin Peaks, Lynch directs and creates in his unique stylized vision, that draws us into a twisted, puzzling, surreal world. Each one of his characters are more mysterious after the next one.

ACTING-Naomi Watts is absolutely amazing on screen. To go into exact detail will ruin alot of the surprises in this movie. But, lets just say that I was shocked. I'd love for her to win an oscar for this, but would be satisifed with a nomination.

MUSIC-Angelo Badalamenti's score is haunting and mysterious and closely resembles his Twin Peaks score. This defininately deserves an oscar.




2. Amélie (Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le) What can I say, this movie charmed me. Do you know what its like to fall in love the first time? Well, after watching this movie, thats what I felt like. Probally one of the best romantic comedies.
If you must see one french film, this is it. 100% sure this will win best foreign film.

DIRECTING-Jean-Pierre Jeunet is simply marvalous at moving the camera. He plays with the camera in a jokingly way, while being serious at the same time. His added charm of sound effects and humor add the beauty to his filmmaking. Next to Moulin Rouge, this is the most beautiful looking film I've seen this year.

ACTING-Audrey Tautou brings her beauty and grace to the screen. You really fall in love with her everytime she smiles or smirks at the camera.

MUSIC-Yann Tiersen's score really makes you feel like your in Paris. Definitely addicting.

SPECIAL CREDIT-goes to André Dussollier as the narrator. I just loved hearing his voice as he tells the story.


3. Moulin Rouge A carnavalistic eye-candy movie. This movie is powerful. Everything is so intoxicating, as if you had your own taste of Absenthe. Colors are bright and vivid. Costumes are elegant and sexy. Sets are glamorous and really dazzles you as the camera pans to show you every corner of the rooms. This movie has the right mixture of comedy, drama and romance.
Simply the best Musical love story.

DIRECTING-Baz Luhrmann's fast paced directing and editing is amazing to see, but will agree with Jason, that sometimes it moves so fast or is edited so fast, that you don't get enough time to see all the amazing things. Even more amazing is the way he captures the dance sequences.

ACTING-DAMN! Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor sure know how to carry a tune. Especially McGregor's high note solo parts. Nichole Kidman is very sexy and at times humorous. She's a shoe in for an oscar, even though, I'd like to see Namoi Watts get it. I'd also like to mention that John Leguizamo & Jim Broadbent were very entertaining in their roles.

MUSIC-Turn up the DTS sound, because this music is PULSATING! Humorous and romantic no matter how you see it, the music is addictive and memorable.
Especially the song "Come What May" which is a shoe in for an oscar.

4. Donnie Darko A dark, eerie and yet funny movie, that is so hard to explain, that it almost gives Mulholland Drive a run for it's money. The movie may have a few flaws to it, but is overlooked just because the movie really draws you in from the engrossing story to just about every terrific performance in this movie.
But the real joy, or should I saw terrifying moments of this film was the haunting musical score and the morbid 'bunny' character(especially when he speaks).
A MOVIE THAT WAS MISSED AND SHOULDN'T BE!!



5. Memento A brain twister that keeps you guessing and re-guessing untill the final shot. but, you still have to put it together after the movies end. A very interesting story that makes you want to solve it. Like NOlan's other film, "Following" he uses tricky editing, flashbacks, double/triple takes, all in a nonsequencial form.

DIRECTING-Christopher Nolan structires his film, giving you the feeling of Amnesia, right along with Guy Pearce. Marvelous techniques used. Definitley original in any sense.

EDITING-Dody Dorns editing, helps your confusion even more. Credit to him, as it must have been hell tryiing to edit the film together.

6. Monster's Ball An emotionally charged film with two seperate lives that seem to "mesh" very well into one. The story moves at a terrific pace, and you can't help wonder how the stroy will end or how much worse, things could get for the main characters. Even though the story ends, not quite how some people want it to, I think it had a "solid" ending to the way the story played out. As it leaves room for interpitation. Sometimes it's better, not to be told everything.

MY INTERPRETATION OF THE END= In the last shot, when Halle Berry joins Billy Bob on the porch, she never mentions Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)


7.The Royal Tenenbaums A great ensamble of actors in a simple little masterpiece, that has humor and heart. Characters are well defined and you actually care about the ones that behave bad.

DIRECTING Wes Anderson out does himself again. He brillantlly sets up the shots as if each frame of film is a photograph. He seems to have every painting or nick nack, placed so perfectly in every shot. The use of paintings and drawings help signify his scenes.

ACTING A great ensamble of acting is seen here. But big credit goes towards Gene Hackman who brillantly plays Mr. Royal. But, I did find that Bill Murray and Danny Glover might have been underused a little.

MUSIC Wes Anderson knows how to surround his movie with music, each to heighten his scenes. very clever! I especially liked the "It's Christmas Time"(Charlie Brown), everytime there was a signifigant scene for Gwyneth Paltrow.

SPECIAL CREDIT Goes to Alec Baldwin for PERFECT narration reading. Without his reading, the movie would feel a little empty.


8. Ghost World A terrific find and rare delight. One of the best 'growing -up' movies I've seen. The movie is very funny, with even some characters(and their discussions) I can relate too. But, I will agree with some people, and say the ending started to slow down a little, but it sure didn't weaken my love for this film.

ACTING-Thora Birch is probally one of the few teen actors/actresses that could pull this off, without looking too teennie-boppy. She meshes well in her discussions with Scarlett Johansson(another great young talent) and Steve Buscemi. It would be nice if she got a nod at Oscar time.

SCRIPT-I haven't read the comic, but this was a well written and truthful scrpit, that doesn't suffer from the "Can't Buy Me Love" syndrome.(note:The Can't Buy Me Love syndrome refers to the hundreds of teen movies that all have the same, 'who's taking who to prom' or the 'I can make you popular, just by changing your clothes' or the ever popular, 'I can become popular if I date the cheerleader/jock')





9. The Man Who Wasn't There An excellent film-noir, with a dramatic, yet funny way of telling a crime/drama. Even though some people think the ending may seem a little 'out of place', I think it fit in kinda nicely, with the Coen Bros. style.

DIRECTING & WRITTING-Coen Brothers do it again. Their direction is truly one of a kind. They can be weird, but in a serious sense. They use the light and shadows in their favor, in this terrific looking film. I really felt like I was being devloped into the 1940's. The screenplay was well structured and ended up telling the story very well. Completely satisifed from both of their fields.

Cinematography-Roger Deakins cinematography is wonderful to look at. He really makes a black and white film look spectacular. Cities, people and even rooms/corner of rooms look so remarkable. Roger and Coen's truly are a great match. Definite nod at Oscar time.

ACTING-This film is really full of great performances. Everybody seemed to have thier shinning moment.
Billy Bob Thornton-Great narration and acting. Even him just standing and stare into the camera was great.
Frances McDormand-another fine perfomance, even though I liked her better in Fargo/Almost Famous
James Gandolfini-Another great performance, even though he has little screen time.
Tony Shalhoub-Probally the best one on screen. Probally one of the best characters this year in movies. I really hope he gets a nod at Oscar time.
Scarlett Johansson-Definitely beautiful and talented. She brought a charming grace to the film. She also had the cetain, 'stare at the camera' look, that I really fell in love with.

10. Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition Sadly, a movie not alot of people will be seeing. Some people thought that Titanic was a horrific ordeal. Some also think that Alive! was another one. But what these men had to go through and endure was pure torture. Probally the best docummentry I've seen to date.

This documentry was great to watch. Filled with old footage, photos, maps, drawings and relatives of the expenditioners. This movie really put you in your seat as you listend to what these men experienced. These men suffered horribly and you felt it. If you love history tales, this is a movie you will simply love.





SPECIAL CREDIT Goes to Liam Neeson, for a well read narration. He tells the story well and never dulls it out.



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The Bottom Top 10 + some(in no particular order)
Lord of the Rings:FOTR/Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Gosford Park
Audition
Enemy at the Gates
Happy Accidents
Shipping News
Tape
Road Home
Bridget Jones's Diary
Baby Boy
Hedwig and the Angry Inch



THE ABSOULTE WORST(there were so many bad films, I did the Ebert thing and seperated them into catagories)

From SNL to SHIT!
Animal-Rob Snyder just isn't funny as acting like different animals, well he did get one animal right. He did act like a jackass!

Joe Dirt-David Spade has reached a new low in comedy. what's so funny about a dog's set of balls frozen to a porch or Spade pissing on a fire and have the fire run up the urine stream?-tasteless comedy

Corky Romano-Chris Katan is VERY annoying, childish, and plain STUPID!

From musicians to starDUM!
On the Line-N'STINK boys in a mindless romantic comedy. Whats worse then the movie? The trailer that shows EVERYTHING, even the ending within the whole ninty seconds.

Glitter-Mariah isn't sexy. So, why do they dress her up and present her as a sex symbol? Her acting is even worse. Watching Mariah act is like watching a little chipmunk go for a nut.

Bones-Snoop Dog in a truly horrible horror movie, probally one of the worst ever.He needs to stick to more movies like Baby Boy.

Canadian SMELL-O-dramas
Ginger Snaps-Just one bad horror movie with a prolonged ending

Deeply-Kirsten Dunst in a very boring story. The whole 'curse' element was terrible, as it had nothing to do with the movie.

THE HORROR!-kill me now!
Thir13en Ghosts-Loud,obnoxious editing, terrible casting and a horrorific story

Valentine-What was the point of this movie? who was the killer? do I care? NOPE!

GROSS OUTS!
Bubble Boy-A movie that offends every ethnic race and is filled with plain stupid-ass things that makes you wonder why Hollywood makes this sort of crap.

Freddy Got Fingered-An offensive, gross movie that insults the viewer. Obviously Tom Green needs to grow-up! Who in their right mind thinks that masturbating an elephant and horse and wearing a skin of a dead animal is funny?

Tomcats-A movie that tries SO hard to be like American Pie and fails SO miserably. It gives males a bad name.

Say it Isn't So-A waste of talent by many actors and tries to be like a Farrelly's Brothers movie and doesn't even come close to one of their worst movies.






(Choices in red are my predictions)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Russell Crowe
Sean Penn
Will Smith
Denzel Washington
Tom Wilkinson

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jim Broadbent
Ethan Hawke
Ben Kingsley
Ian McKellen
Jon Voight

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Halle Berry
Judi Dench
Nicole Kidman
Sissy Spacek
Renée Zellweger

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Connelly
Helen Mirren
Maggie Smith
Marisa Tomei
Kate Winslet

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS
MONSTERS, INC.
SHREK

ART DIRECTION
AMÉLIE
GOSFORD PARK
HARRY POTTER AND
THE SORCERER'S STONE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MOULIN ROUGE

CINEMATOGRAPHY
AMÉLIE
BLACK HAWK DOWN
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
MOULIN ROUGE

COSTUME DESIGN
THE AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE
GOSFORD PARK
HARRY POTTER AND
THE SORCERER'S STONE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MOULIN ROUGE

DIRECTING
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
BLACK HAWK DOWN
GOSFORD PARK
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MULHOLLAND DRIVE

FILM EDITING
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
BLACK HAWK DOWN
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MEMENTO
MOULIN ROUGE

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AMÉLIE
ELLING
LAGAAN
NO MAN'S LAND
SON OF THE BRIDE

MAKEUP
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MOULIN ROUGE

MUSIC (SCORE)
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
HARRY POTTER AND
THE SORCERER'S STONE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MONSTERS, INC.

MUSIC (SONG)
KATE & LEOPOLD
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MONSTERS, INC.
PEARL HARBOR
VANILLA SKY

BEST PICTURE
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
GOSFORD PARK
IN THE BEDROOM
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MOULIN ROUGE

SOUND
AMÉLIE
BLACK HAWK DOWN
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
MOULIN ROUGE
PEARL HARBOR

SOUND EDITING
MONSTERS, INC.
PEARL HARBOR

VISUAL EFFECTS
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
PEARL HARBOR

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
GHOST WORLD
IN THE BEDROOM
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
SHREK

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
AMÉLIE
GOSFORD PARK
MEMENTO
MONSTER'S BALL
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

There are a few I still haven't seen: Amelie, Monsters Ball, etc.. but here goes nothing



1: Waking Life
2: Vanilla Sky
3: In The Bedroom
4: Black Hawk Down
5: The Deep End
6: The Royal Tenn.
7: LOTR
8: Training Day
9: Memento
10: A Beautiful Mind


Honorable ment.
The Man Who Wasn't there, Harry Potter, A.I., Amores Perros, Divided We Fall, Mulholland Dr.

Kevin

Nick’s Top 10 of 2001

Last Updated: 26th July, 2003

1. Mulholland Drive

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

3. The Royal Tenenbaums

4. Moulin Rouge!

5. Black Hawk Down

6. Amélie (Le, Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain)

7. A.I Artifical Intelligence

8. Hedwig and the Angry Inch

9. The Man Who Wasn't There

10. Ghost World

I'm still working on it, but my sig has my top 30.

LIST OF TOP 10 FILMS

1. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)
2. Memento
3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
4. Mulholland Drive
5. Moulin Rouge!
6. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
7. Amores Perros (Love's A Bitch)
8. Dut yeung nin wa (In the Mood for Love)
9. In The Bedroom
10. Black Hawk Down

LIST OF BOTTOM 10 FILMS

1. The Animal
2. Tomb Raider
3. Original Sin
4. The Mummy Returns
5. Evolution
6. Heartbreakers
7. Kiss Of The Dragon
8. Ginger Snaps
9. The Fast And The Furious
10. Les Rivières pourpres (The Crimson Rivers)

Jason, I edited to remove Traffic and add A Beautiful Mind. The website I used for movie listings had Traffic coming out in March 2001.

I haven't yet seen Black Hawk Down so this list may still change.

My top 10:

1. Lord Of The Rings
2. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
3. Memento
4. Apocalypse Now Redux
5. Vanilla Sky
6. Enemy At The Gates
7. A Beautiful Mind
8. The Others
9. Training Day
10. ALI

My WORST top ten is:

1. Crocodile Dundee in LA
2. The Ghosts Of Mars
3. The Musketeer
4. 15 Minutes
5. Tomb Raider
6. Driven
7. American Outlaws
8. 3000 Miles To Graceland
9. The One
10. Exit Wounds

Seth's semi-official final top 10
Surprise - Donnie Darko hits my top 10
(getting closer to being final- btw I had to refresh to get my pictures to change as they were cached)


1. Memento - Fav scene - The ending speech by Pearce.

Some called it gimmick, but that is truely a mistake. The "gimmick" is simply another hierarchy of knowledge technique, not unlike North by Northwest or Maltese Falcon. Sure it's unique in how it is done, but the basic premise of keeping the audience in the dark goes hand in hand with any good investigative narrative. While the film doesn't look film noir, the story almost feels it. Pearce is a big part of that, bringing his troubled hero to full 3-D life. By the time we understand the story we also understand the emotions his character must deal with constantly. His final monologue brings it home in a way that instantly burned into my memory.
"Now, where was I?"


2. Amelie - Fav scene - Maybe the toys talking about Amelie being in love, or any scene with her smile in it.

The film has a "guys film" sense of coolness to it. Showy techniques, funny narrative devices. Yet it serves a beautiful story of a female romantic dreamer. To me it felt like a melding of old fashioned female romance with old fashioned guy film fun. In some ways it has the innocent meddling of a "Forrest Gump" with a lot less of the sap. Tautou brings such a beautiful innocence to the screen that you can't help falling in love with her and her ways. And the touring of Paris ain't half bad for the cinematography either.


3. The Fellowship of the Ring - Fav scene - The second the drum hits in Moria and Boromir's last stand starting with the tracking shot following his horn blowing.

Okay, it's got some first time flaws, but once I saw it a couple more times I started to notice how much baggage I had brought to the first viewing. Suddenly I saw the film as PJ wanted it, a tale aboud a wizard and troubled hero who both die trying to change the world. A film about a Fellowship that will come together and then fall apart. It has made me rethink how I think about the books, and that is some achievement considering the books. Something this big, this well done, this moving at times, is more than a film, it's a spectacle.


4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Fav scene - Tough call. Wig in a box or Sugar Daddy I guess.

James Cameron Mitchell. Need I say more. He acts, he directs, he sings. He sings well. This film feels like it ran for 2 years off-Broadway, the poise is clearly there. Still, it's a tricky thing to translate it to the screen and JCM did it. The character is DEEP, the songs are FUN, the visual style is EXCITING. And we have real progression for a character that while clearly "different" is no less real. I don't know all the details behind the creation, but the truth that eminates tells me that someone involved lived something like this at some point. It's that honest.


5. Moulin Rouge - Fav scene - The Elephant Love Song, especially the moment of the starburst heart-shaped light explodes from the window behind them.

Baz had a vision. And from the minute the little man begins conducting you are brought into it. Every device, every look, every cut seemed to serve that same uproarious, bawdy, sexy, funny, cartoonish musical ideal. That such a singular vision could be brought to the screen is a tribute to Baz's artistry and smarts. Supurb acting and some especially moving singing from Ewan pushed this right to the top. Oscar calliber filmmaking on all levels.


6. Black Hawk Down - Fav scene - This may be "wrong" of me, but my favorite moment is the most Hollywood scene, when the special ops sneak up, wire choke some militia and then turn the cannon on other militia. What can I say, I needed a "win" at that point.

This is all Ridley Scott. His action cinematography is much better than Gladiator (less choppy). The film is tight as hell and feels very accurate in it's depticions. It plays well as a "then this happened" type of narrative, in fact it is this form at it's very best. The devastation of the situation is overwhelming and brought to the screen with an unflinching yet unglorified eye.


7. Donnie Darko - Fav scene - The effects scenes when Frank is talking to Donnie early on, there is something captivating about Frank's voice and it uses the surrounds very well.

Here's a film that I let slip by at the theaters and upon renting the DVD I really regretted that fact. The film defies genres, instead walking along parallel lines. Is it horror, a pyscho thriller, the story of an irreverent teen putting the world in it's place (ala Rushmore)...? All of these at once? The film doesn't let you know, at least until the end when everything is totally resolved. There are a few indulgent 80's music scenes that go beyond serving the film, but that can be forgiven. Also, the acting is top notch, extremely well done.


8. Waking Life - Fav scene - When the guy explains that you know you are in a dream when the numbers on the clock are fuzzy.

I realize some people just didn't dig this, it didn't click with them. But for me the philosophical story was right up my alley. The investigative technique of having Willey trying to discover just what the heck is going on kept me glued to each moment. And then there is the art. Breathtaking to me. I expected basic rotoscoping, but they took the chance to tailor each scenes art to the mood and the effect is amazingly inspired.


9. The Royal Tenenbaums - Fav scene - Listening to the Rolling Stones album in the tent, or maybe the Ramones sequence of Paltrow's history.

While Smith (below) is being outrageous, Anderson is using his dry wit to perfection. His characters feel warm, lovable, yet appropriately flawed like real people. His humor is the humor of everyday life, rather than moments that we could never imagine happening (funny or not). Hackman gobbles up the opportunity to strut his stuff as much as Murray did in Rushmore. Another masterpiece for Wes.


10. No Man's Land - Fav scene - A great ending moment...and any of the stuff with the UN sergeant who was excellent.

Part dark comedy, part war commentary this film has tons of heart. It's well filmed with excellent acting on all parts. At times it felt almost like "Gods Must Be Crazy" (2nd half) in it's style/tone, though I'm not sure why. The look perhaps?

Anyway, the film is enjoyable on several levels with an interesting script that manages to avoid relying on a cynical tone to make it's point. It's more about respect for the protagonists than dislike of any "antagonist" (if there really are any).


I saw a lot of good films this year. Here are films 11-30.
11-15
Muholland Drive, Monsters Ball, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Pledge, Princess and the Warrior

16-20
The Others, The Man Who Wasn't There, A.I., Gosford Park, Bully

21-25
In the Bedroom, Sexy Beast, Harry Potter, The Deep End, Bridget Jones's Diary

26-30
Ghost World, A Beautiful Mind, Monsters Inc., Shrek, Anniversary Party


Seen - 101 films
Critical films left to see:
Ali
L.I.E.
Iris

Well, it's hardly a surprise to anyone who's seen my entry in the 2001 Film List thread. Updates will be made as necessary, obviously this doesn't include movies I haven't seen, and I'm using (general) Academy Eligibility Rules.

Top Ten (Plus)

1. A.I. - Might as well chisel this one in in stone. I'll admit certain biases, and intelligently made science fiction, with a fully-realized world, is something we don't see enough of. And all the Spielberg vs. Kubrick arguments this one dredged up missed the point - it's great science fiction, with big ideas, astounding visuals, great performances, and, perhaps most importantly, a final act that smashes through the "been there, seen that" mindset of today's more cynical audience to generate the sense of wonder and awe that infused sf's golden age.

2. The Man Who Wasn't There - Deserving of a spot in the top ten for its cinematography alone, the Coens' latest is a sharp comedy noir about the dangers of a life without passion. The noir tale is punctuated with absurdity, the look is fabulous, and the performances by all, especially Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Shaloub, are top-notch.

3. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie in the USA) - You may be noticing a trend toward visually inventive movies in my top ten. Film is an inherently visual medium, though, but what we see on the screen isn't necessarily what makes Amélie great - it's an almost complete lack of cynicism, the willingness to find delight in everything, and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's skill at presenting that to the audience without making it saccharine. It is, for lack of a better word, joy.

4. Happy Accidents - Happy Accidents is a difficult film to recommend without spoiling one of its biggest plot points (the poster, for example, doesn't even try), but is nevertheless an easy film to recommend. The core of the film is the relationship between Ruby (Marisa Tomei) and Sam (Vincent D'onofrio), who are respectively co-dependent and eccentric to the point of possibly being insane. Brad Anderson sets up intriguing questions, and is sly enough not to tip his hand to the answers until what is, for my money, the year's best ending.

4A. Acts Of Worship - Possibly ineligible because it's a film which played the festival circuit during 2001 but didn't, as far as I can tell, have a real theatrical release. A festival may be the best setting for this one, though. Between them, writer/director Rosemary Rodriguez and star Ana Reeder craft a sharp portrait of the indignity and, worse, banality of drug addiction that will, unfortunately, only be seen by those who want to see it, rather than those that need to.

5. Lantana - A film about intersecting marriages under stress, Lantana features a number of fine performances, good direction, and a script that may rely a little too much on coincidence but does it to keep the size of the ensemble down to a manageable level.

6. Moulin Rouge - I am not, in general, a fan of the musical as a genre - it has to be done exactly right, or it becomes torturous, and not enough are done exactly right. Somehow, everything comes together here - the story is operatic, the style is MTV, and the actual music is from all over the twentieth century. Stir in fantastic production design and a performance that I didn't realize Nicole Kidman had in her, and the result is a stunning spectacle that, in the end, dragged me into its world and made me excited to be in it.

7. Vanilla Sky - The rare remake that transcends its source material, Vanilla Sky is structurally an almost line-for-line copy of Abre Los Ojos, but Crowe gives it postmodern edge with his own ideas about how pop culture permeates our minds, and tweaks the characters to make them both more likable and more cruel. If the end contains too much mincing detail, well, he's trying to make a movie for the same audience that rejected A.I.; cut him some slack.

8. The Royal Tenenbaums - A bitter family drama disguised as a screwball comedy, Tenenbaums continually catches the audience off-balance. The characters are wonderful creations, oftentimes managing to be charming and loathsome at the same time. It doesn't allow for easy answers, and has many heavy moments while still being very entertaining.

8A. Le Pact des Loups (Brotherhood Of The Wolf in the USA) - An adventure movie that could quite possibly also land on my "Best of 2002" list, when it gets its American theatrical release. It's got everything you need for good escapist fun - dashing heroes, pretty girls, fierce beasts and dangerous men - without the lame dialogue, idiot plots, and general malaise that makes most action movies suck. The style of the moive blends French sophistication, Hollywood gloss, and Hong Kong energy for the best action movie in what may be years. It's making the rounds now, so don't miss it - it kicks ass.

9. The Pledge - A promising start to the year, Sean Penn's chilling tale of obsession serves up an unusually reserved Jack Nicholson as a retired detective who will go to frightening lengths to catch a serial killer.

10. Last Orders - An all-star ensemble, led by Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and Ray Winstone, remembers a man, Jack (Michael Caine), after he passes on. Among the "present-day" actors, there's not a less-than-great performance in the bunch; the younger ones aren't quite at their level, but all in all, this is a near-perfect piece that will probably get buried in the U.S. because its late-December "Oscar run" backfired.

Bottom Ten (Plus)

n-9. The Fast And The Furious - Vin Diesel needs better representation. Or at least better co-stars; his charisma so overwhelms Paul Walker's lack thereof that any scenes without Vin (like, the ones which are supposed to advance the plot) seem plodding.

n-8. Heartbreakers - All I ask for is one character to care about. Just one. Let me love them, hate them, be amused by them, or just want to see them on screen. Sadly, all that's left here is Ray Liotta's mildly amusing small-time gangster and Jennifer Love Hewitt's breasts. The rest of this alleged comedy is simply repugnant and ugly.

n-7. Waking Life (animated) - FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO SOMETHING RESEMBLING ANYTHING!!! Okay, that phrase was actually yelled during a midnight screening of Galaxina, but the sentiment is accurate. An hour and a half of pretentious talk which detracts from the really quite incredible (if occasionally nausea-inducing) animation.

n-6. Monkeybone - An example of neat ideas that just never quite gel, and parts which need just the right actors (but don't have them). Then, to make it worse, there isn't quite enough money to execute it well, and the result after that gets mauled in the editing room. Sometimes a movie just can't catch a break.

n-5. The Mummy Returns - I liked Sommers's The Mummy, but this sequel has little of that movie's charm, unfinished effects, and never slows down for a breath no matter how necessary it is.

n-4. Swordfish - How does crap like this get made? Seriously. It's not exploiting a property, it's not a good script, and the big action set-piece could be incorporated in another movie with ease. It is a venal hateful mess of a movie that everyone involved will scratch off their resumés by the end of the year.

n-4A. Sam The Man - Take a loathsome main character, a script that goes nowhere, a cast that should know better, and low-resolution digital video, mix them up, and you get this disaster. It played at the Boston Film Festival but has yet to receive a general release. Pray that it doesn't.

n-4B. Edges Of The Lord - One of the most staggeringly well-produced pieces of garbage one ever will see. The tech credits, the acting, the direction - all fantastic. And yet, the base idea is so utterly repugnant - the adventures of a Jewish city boy hiding in a Polish Catholic village during the Holocaust, and his foster brother who thinks he's Jesus - that I found myself staring in open-mouthed shock that someone assumed that there was an audience for it. It's a case of the surface being so repulsive that it overwhelms any other virtues the moive may have.

n-3. Tomb Raider - It's never a good sign when the principle topic of conversation overheard after an action movie is not the story, or a particular scene, or how cool a character is. What's truly frightening is that the discussion of the heroine's breasts didn't focus on merit, or even the natural/silicone question, but on whether or not they were accurate. That's when you know a movie has nothing going for it.

n-2. One Night At McCool's - Another entry in the "repugnant movie about unpleasant people" derby. No reason to care about the characters, and the story isn't creative enough to work on a fun-to-see-it-unfold level.

n-1. 3000 Miles To Graceland - Okay, Kurt Russell riffing on Elvis and Kevin Costner as a villain; both of these have potential. A heck of a supporting cast, too. What went wrong? I'd argue that the violence is too pervasive to be exciting and too realistic to be entertaining; Graceland just doesn't have the sense of fun that makes something like Brotherhood of the Wolf such a treat.

n. Planet Of The Apes - I can't even discuss the end rationally; it always ends up as a rant. Even before then, though, the story is terrible, the acting is flat, the satire of the book and first movie version is non-existant, and I'm never convinced that the movie has any reason to exist other than employing Stan Winston. This movie requires complete and utter passivity to enjoy the limited joys of the ape suits and soaking in Estella Warren's good looks; sadly, it occasionally tries to show how clever it is, calling attention to its utter and complete stupidity. A more pure waste of time, I can't immediately recall.

TOP TEN OF 2001
1) Memento

2) Amelie
A delightful French confection, Amelie is probably the most charming and infectious film I've seen in the past few years. Like some wild collaboration between Billy Wilder and Luis Bunuel, Amelie is at its core a simple love story, spiked with surreal cinematography, restless (yet never show-offy) direction and situations that are outlandish, yet seem logical in this film's world. Audrey Tautou is utterly perfect in the title role; I cannot think of anyone else who could pull off the required innocence, craftiness, shyness, and charm required, yet do it all with a wink to the audience; the supporting cast shines as well.

Whether riffing on a popular urban legend (the traveling gnome), using TV clips to show the joys of the outside world or deploying a series of mind-bending visual tricks, Amelie does it all, and does it perfectly. Thank you Jean-Pierre Jeunet: you have made one of the finest films I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.

3) The Others
4) Ghost World
5) Lost and Delirious
6) In the Bedroom

7) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings
Well, Peter Jackson has done the impossible: he has adapted J.R.R. Tolkein's massive literary trilogy and pulled it off without turning it into an incomprehensible mess (though I still love Bakshi's version ). A feast for the senses, Fellowship strips away the unecessary material from Tolkein's novel (Tom Bombadil, the many songs, etc.) and keeps the focus tight on the physical and psychological journey of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who encounters wizards, trolls, orcs and elves, oh my!

Though the film drags a bit towards the end, and has an anti-climatic (yet logical) conclusion, Fellowship is still one of the most amazing cinematic achievements in recent history. Acted by a pitch-perfect cast and directed by Jackson with a tremendous visual flair (along with the help of seamless special effects and exceptional set design), Fellowship is a beautiful piece of work, and one that will be remembered for years to come.

8) Series 7: The Contenders
A savage satire of television, Series 7 is like some bleakly comic version of "Survivor," where contestants set out to win through any means necessary. Director Daniel Minahan has crafted something that is both a wicked commentary and at the same time a dangerous look at what is considered "entertainment." Welcome to the Network of our generation.

9) The Royal Tenenbaums
10) Moulin Rouge

BOTTOM TEN OF 2001
1) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
After Mission to Mars, the most souless, vile, piece-of-shit, what-the-hell-were-they-thinking, money wasting, boring, scare-the-small-children, brain sucking, horrifying, makes-you-lose-all-faith-in-the-film-industry piece of cinematic bad hoodoo I've ever seen!

2) Monkeybone
Oh, what a waste of cinematic potential. Veering between extreme stupidity and extreme obnoxiousness, Monkeybone sounded like something right up Henry Selick's alley--a sideways approach to a relatively bizarre concept. But somehow, it all went wrong: the direction (lifeless), the performances (EVERYONE is annoying), the music (grating) and the structure (very jarring editing, though this may be more 20th Century Fox's fault than Selick's). Despite the short running time, Monkeybone dragged on forever, extending concepts past their breaking point; Chris Kattan's character is a good example of this. A movie to avoid like the plague.

3) Scary Movie 2
The first, despite the critical bashings, was actually rather funny, mostly out of its sheer audacity. The second fails on every level...this is a prime example of make-a-quick-buck filmmaking. 85% of the references will be outdated by the time it hits stores ("The Weakest Link," Firestone Tires, etc.), while other gags just drag on for an eternity (the bit at the dinner table with Chris Eliot's deformed hand). A rather funny bit on the deaths of black characters in horror movies and Kathleen Robertson's ample cleavage are the only saving graces.

4) Pearl Harbor
SEE Ben Affleck try to be sensitive. FEEL the fake emotion trying to be manipulated by director Michael Bay and screenwriter Randall Wallace. HEAR the mind-numbing, ear-bleeding soundscape, augmented by Hans Zimmer's sappier-than-syrup score. And witness how Pearl Harbor has become the Saving Private Ryan of 2001: a shallow, poor film that reduces a historical event to a cinematic cliché.

5) A.I. - Artificial Intelligence
It's a sad commentary on the state of movies today when a film like A.I. is considered "intelligent and challenging." When I originally saw it, A.I. was an OK film; however, the more I thought about it, the more its flaws became more apparent and the more I hated it.

Where to start: the Chris Rock robot. The cartoony Dr. Know. William Hurt's beyond-zombie acting. The sledgehammer-like symbolism (see David's drowning for a good example). The pointless (and then some) final half hour. And finally, the realization that Steven Spielberg threw away several potentially interesting ideas and concepts to make nothing more than a hi-tech remake of Pinocchio.

6) Driven
Let me explain my disdain for Driven by saying this: I LIKE dumb movies. But not dumb movies that insult the audience's intelligence and take themselves seriously.

7) Blow

8) Freddy Got Fingered
Maybe Roger Ebert is right. Maybe in several years, this film will be recognized as a surrealist masterpiece, as the Bespectacled One wrote. But for right now, it's Grade-A crap; not only does it overstep the bounds of good taste, it gleefully runs right over the bounds and into another dimension, where a plot of land is urinated upon, thereby marking it as the new highest low in cinematic history. Grabbing a newborn by its umbilical cord and twirling it around (as Tom Green did in the film) is neither surreal nor funny...it's just pointless.

9) Tomb Raider
I am in the minority when I say that attempting to create detailed storylines for video games was one of the worst ideas ever. (If I want a deep, rich story I'll read a book or watch a film.) Likewise, trying to adapt a video game's plot to the screen is another "bright" idea that is guaranteed to fail. And Tomb Raider doesn't break the mold. While I want to shake the hand of the person who cast Angelina Jolie as Ms. Croft, I just wanna yell at everyone else involved with this production. A series of action pieces connected by the loosest of plots, chainsaw-like editing, and a general waste of time and talent for cast, crew and viewers. Oh well: at least the soundtrack was pretty decent.

10) Tomcats
Oh hell, you don't need to view my criticisms of this movie to find out why it was bad; just read the back of the video box and let logic take over.

I agree with you Kevin when you put this on your bottom ten list. This film was just too boring to give me any entertainment.

Tops:
1. LOTR
2. Memento
3-10?

My Top Ten:

1. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
2. Amelie
3. Mulholland Drive
4. Black Hawk Down
5. A.I. - Artificial Intelligence
6. Moulin Rouge
7. Ghost World
8. The Royal Tenenbaums
9. In The Bedroom
10. Memento

Honorable Mentions - worthy films that didn't quite make the final cut:

• Brotherhood Of The Wolf
• Monster's Ball
• Vanilla Sky
• A Beautiful Mind
• Shrek
• Monsters, Inc.
• Gosford Park
• The Man Who Wasn't There
• The Tailor Of Panama
• The Pledge

Even though 2001 has been decried as a bad year for film, there were still plenty of reasons to go to the movies. Here are the rest of my reasons (in alphabetical order):

Ali, The Deep End, Enemy At The Gates, Harry Potter & The Sorceror's Stone, Heist, K-Pax, Kate & Leopold, Ocean's Eleven, The Others, The Score, Sexy Beast, The Shipping News, Spy Game, Training Day

The following are 2001 films which I still hope to catch in the theater:

• Iris
• Lantana
• No Man's Land

The following are important films which I completely missed in the theaters, but will catch up with on DVD:

• Bridget Jones's Diary
• Hedwig & The Angry Inch
• Waking Life

Best Revival: Apocalypse Now Redux - While the worth of the extra footage is debateable, the chance to see a restored print of this masterpiece on the big screen was something no serious film fan could pass up.

Worst Revival: 2001: A Space Odyssey - This is the year 2001, and there's a newly restored print. Yet those of us who don't live in NYC, LA, or the DC did NOT get to see one of the greatest films of all time the way it should be seen. Absolutely unbelieveable. Way to go, Warner. Gee, you could never tell this company is now run by the goons who spawned one of the worst pieces of crap ever foisted on the American public (AOL).

I really try to avoid going to obviously bad movies - the Freddy Got Fingered's of the world won't get any of my money. The best I can do is a bottom five list, and some of these may go in the disappointment category as opposed to being really bad movies:

• Evolution
• Behind Enemy Lines
• Swordfish
• Pearl Harbor

And bringing up the rear:

America's Sweethearts

Yes, even worse than Pearl Harbor, because it wasted three talents who are usually quite adept at making entertaining films (John Cusack, Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal), and because it featured the most offensive performance of the year by Hank Azaria.

For the record, I have seen 57 films released in 2001.

Edited on 2/8 after seeing Ghost World (on DVD).

Mine:

Top 10
------
1. Moulin Rouge
2. Mulholland Drive
3. Memento
4. A Beautiful Mind
5. The Man Who Wasn't There
6. Black Hawk Down
7. The Royal Tenenbaums
8. The Pledge
9. In The Bedroom
10. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back


Bottom 10
---------
10. Say It Isn't So
9. Tomcats
8. 15 Minutes
7. Out Cold
6. Jeepers Creepers
5. Extreme Days
4. 3000 Miles to Graceland
3. Texas Rangers
2. Valentine
1. Freddy Got Fingered

Top 10 of 2001 Worldwide 1st Release

1. A.I.
T2. Mulholland Drive
T2. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
4. The Pledge
5. The Royal Tenenbaums
6. The Lord of the Rings
7. The Man Who Wasn't There
8. The Anniversary Party
9. Va Savoir
10. The Son's Room


Top 10 of 2001 Academy Rules

1. In The Mood For Love
2. A.I.
T3. Mulholland Drive
T3. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
5. The Pledge
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Lord of the Rings
8. The Man Who Wasn't There
9. Divided We Fall
10. The Anniversary Party

Here's my list, which will be appearing in the Dec. 27 issue of The Coast.

The Ten Best Movies of 2001:

1) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg)

Highly disputed, highly imaginative, A.I. is at once the year’s most meticulous and reckless offering. Developed by Stanley Kubrick and directed by Spielberg, the film’s three-act structure matches a human life-cycle as a boy-robot named David (Haley Joel Osment) who’s programmed to love is abandoned by his owner, and sets off on a quest across post-apocalyptic vistas to find her again. Spielberg places faith in science fiction, fairy tales, and repressed childhood longings to deliver a philosophical examination on the possibility of maintaining dreams in a world that seeks to exploit and commodify its every fascination. The journey is frightening, visually extraordinary, and profound (particularly in the revelation of the narrator’s identity and the controversial denouement). Judging by the disgraceful reviews in mainstream publications--critics would rather stand derisively over Spielberg films than confront them intelligently–it may be decades before A.I. gets its due. But such clueless resistance also accompanied every relevant film in the Kubrick canon. Fantasy or not, no motion picture of 2001 was this moving, painful, or serious.

2) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)

The first chapter in Tolkien’s trilogy hits the screen with such vigor, it threatens to destroy the forgiving passivity that Hollywood blockbusters generally require from audiences. Jackson’s work of pure cinema is stuffed to the breaking point with fantastic moments and memorable sights, yet manages to retain Tolkien’s lyricism and emotion. Enthrallingly realized, Fellowship revives the act of filmgoing. It can’t be viewed so much as experienced.

3) Mulholland Drive (David Lynch)

Efforts to contextualize Lynch’s work within the dull framework of most other films ("It’s all a nightmare." "The main character is tripping on drugs.") are useless. Once again, Lynch’s mastery of expressionism penetrates the very heart of unspoken longing. Characters fade in and out of each other, experiencing the happiest and saddest moments of their lives as though on a predestined course set by Mulholland Drive’s impossible timeline. It all spirals toward a startling vision: Los Angeles as the beginning and end of all dreams.

4) The Man Who Wasn’t There (Joel Coen)

A film made with such attentive precision that it’s destined to become a classic. As Ed Crane, a Santa Rosa barber involved in a murder case, Billy Bob Thornton delivers the standout performance of his career, playing a character oblivious to the mere fact that he’s living. The flm’s continuous sights of exhaled smoke, and the chopping of hair develop into potent symbols of Ed’s lack of impact on Earth. From their masterful control of shadow as a human eraser, to the surreal power of its final moments, the Coen brothers stray from their typical comic cleverness to deliver a genuine Existential commentary.

5) El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil’s Backbone) (Guillermo del Toro)

Cronos and Mimic were enjoyable, but nothing indicated that del Toro could achieve something of this magnitude. Set during the Spanish Civil War, the story’s told from the perspective of 12-year old Carlos (Fernando Tielve) who’s sent to a boys’ orphanage after his parents deaths. Like A.I., Diablo builds on lessons of pop-mythology (horror movies, comic books) as ammunition against real world sorrow. There’s ferocious, uncompromising evil in the movie, dead relics of the past, and the threat of impending Fascist defeat. The boys band together in a resistant willpower, which del Toro beautifully articulates in an abstract scene where a bomb falls from the night sky, implementing itself unexploded in the ground inches from where one of them is standing (one of the great images of contemporary cinema). Haunting, heartbreaking, overwhelmingly powerful.

6) Hua yang nian hua (In the Mood for Love) (Wong Kar-wei)

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung play almost-lovers, both have spouses who are away, but their natures cast them as helpless victims of desire. The film is visually breathtaking, painting an oil-canvas of Hong Kong that’s removed of life beyond two people who are removed of expression. Beautifully evocative. The first film I’ve seen to fulfill the subgenre of domestic-noir.

7) Joy Ride (John Dahl)

A superb thriller. Joy Ride spins the teen-scream fad on its head, upping the suspense, and delivering the finest example of pure genre filmmaking this year. Dahl’s "everywhere and nowhere" stalker is an irate truck driver, and the empty highways are photographed as chilling landscapes of mortality. More shocking is Joy Ride’s literacy, transforming its road pursuits into something nobody could have expected: a ferocious metaphor for predatory sex.

8) Spy Kids (Robert Rodriguez)

I’d call it The Goonies of the Pokemon generation, except (nostalgia notwithstanding) Goonies is nowhere near this good. Rodriguez’s exciting, imaginatively bizarre, sugar-fueled adventure pillages espionage films with a knowingness that raises fast-food gluttony to the level of high art. Spy Kids recalls when Saturday morning TV seemed to tell the most important stories in the world, and for its whole duration it recreates that importance with unblinking elation.

9) We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n’ Roll (Penelope Spheeris)

A better rockumentary than Woodstock, it will be tragic if We Sold Our Souls is denied a theatrical release. At first, Penelope Spheeris’s look at Ozzfest feels exploitive–the fans she interviews include a mentally challenged man and a burn victim. But the decadence soon attains a familial comfort reflecting the disenfranchised-unity that draws fans to heavy metal in the first place. Sure, its fun to see Rob Zombie babysit Ozzy Osborne’s kids, and the musical performances (including Primus, Buckethead, The Deftones, Slayer, Slipknot, and Black Sabbath itself) are captured with dinosaur-stomping intensity. But it’s Spheeris’s will to honourably uncover metal’s lure that makes this explosive cinema.

10) Amélie (Jean Pierre Jeunet)

A film of magic and innocence set in a sanitized Paris, France, Amélie is both an affable comic charmer and an extraordinary feat of technical filmmaking. Director Jeunet’s restless camera tackles his story’s concepts of infinite possibility, and star Audrey Tautou fills the title role by resurrecting the expressive facial acting that’s pretty much been dead since the silent-era. Yeah, French movies can be wacky, but Amélie is full of wacky goodness.

The next 10 best(alphabetical):

Amores perros, Freddy Got Fingered, From Hell, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Memento, Moulin Rouge, The Others, The Pledge, Sexy Beast, Waking Life

Top 10 List

(also, placeholder for now, still have to see three films yet, that could be in the running)

This year has not been as good, or finished as good, as I had hoped. *shrug* that's how it goes sometimes.

But, for all the bottom ten lists here, I'm really shocked that one film doesn't basically dominate them: Freddy Got Fingered. I will assume it doesn't because people couldn't drag themselves to go see this utter piece of ****.

Either that, or they are giving it redeeming credit by basically destroying Tom Greene's career, which is a perk.

Here are my picks for the best of 2001:

1) Mulholland Drive (Easily the best film of the year, and also my new favorite Lynch film!)
2) Donnie Darko
3) Memento
4) The Others
5) Vanilla Sky
6) The Devil's Backbone
7) Ginger Snaps
8) Black Hawk Down
9) Series 7
10) A Beautiful Mind

Worst films 2001:

1) The Musketeer
2) Soul Survivors
3) Waking Life
4) Double Take
5) Shrek
6) Tomcats
7) Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson's only awful film.)
8) The Forsaken
9) Fast and the Furious
10) The Mummy Returns