Our Top 10's of 2001 -- Time To Throw Down - Page 3

Updated 17 Feb 2002: The list has stayed the same but I've filled in a couple reviews.

I will get around to filling in the rest of my reviews as time warrents...additionally, please see the following for further info on my movie opinions:

The 2001 movies thread
The 2002 movies thread
The 2002 Oscars Predictions
The 2002 Oscars Discussion Thread

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1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - 95%
My official review can be found here.

2. Memento - 95%
(Review upcoming)

3. Amélie - 90%
(Review upcoming)

4. Happy Accidents - 90%
I saw this movie back in September, during the California HTF Meet in Hollywood. I am basically going on memory, but I believe Marissa Tomei's performance in this movie is significantly better than that of In the Bedroom (though admittedly her role in the latter was much more in the background than this movie). The story (which I don't want to spoil; best to go in this movie not knowing much more than it's a story of an improbable relationship made more difficult by ... something weird -- the story is told in a quirky-comedic sort of way, primarily from Tomei's character, and from this, you never know how to really view the male protagonist; this works well in the film's favor. The conclusion of the story, however, felt like it should have been (or actually was) different than the one give; I'm not the only one who commented on this. Despite that, the ending still works well in the context (just not as well as what some others have mentioned in this thread.
The acting (Tomei, as mentioned, and the rest of the cast) is top-notch, and the cinematography enhances well the flow of the story. I highly recommend this movie -- if anybody can find it! I'm praying for a Criterion DVD release, and soon!

5. Moulin Rouge - 90%
My informal review/comments can be found in this thread.

6. A Beautiful Mind - 90%
(Review upcoming)

7. The Royal Tenenbaums - 90%
(Review upcoming)

8. Ghost World - 90%
(Review upcoming)

9. In the Bedroom - 85%
My official review can be found in the 2001 Film List thread.

10. The Others - 85%
(Review upcoming)

It's great to see Final Fantasy in some people's top ten. I thought I was the only one who would have it in there.

Jason, nice place on your list to put In the Bedroom. I'll have to see The Royal Tenenbaums again to see if it makes my top ten.

~T

Jason Whyte said:
Good. Focus is a mediocre, ham-fisted film.

The Lord of the Rings

The first 2 hours or so were simply amazing. As exciting and as well crafted a film as I've seen in ages. The energy seemed boundless and each turn was for the better. The last hour, however, stole alot of thunder from the film. Dragged mercilessly and embarked on a 40 minute journey that could easily have been pared to half that.



Bruce

[font=]I as well have changed my top 10 due to seeing Royal Tenenbaums[/font]

Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring
Vanilla Sky
Moulin Rouge
Beautiful Mind
Royal Tenenbaums
Hearts in Atlantis
Hannibal
Black Hawk Down
Tomb Raider/Original Sin
The Pledge
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
A.I.
Monster Inc.

Many of my faves are listed, but one of the WORST had to be; "Behind Enemy Lines."

To much unbelievable action, and, it seemed as if the director was trying to impress us with constant music/editing style changes, etc etc etc.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this has gotta be one of the hardest year-end lists I've ever composed! There were so many great films this year. I really felt sad about having to knock The Others into the runners-up slot; it's a movie I love!

In comparison to last year, #9 and #10 on that list were both 3 out of 4* films in my book, and comprising a runners-up list was a mundane affair. This year, it's possible that by the time I've seen all the movies I still need to see, the ENTIRE list will be comprised of 4* films (8 are currently). This is quite an oddity for my lists. 2000 only had two 4* films, and 1999 only had four 4* films (and I still stick by that after having seen many, many more films from those respective years).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I thought 2001 was a wonderful year for movie-watching; a giant leap over 2000 and a respectable step up from 1999. And there's still so much left to see!

Another agreement with Jason. Multiple viewings really let the film shine, which I think is a sign of a detailed and nuanced film. Sounds like top 10 material to me.

Isn't Rat Race going to make it into anyone's Top Ten List? Sure, it's not fine cinema but, man, it sure was funny.

[font=]I too have made the Royal Tenenbaums switch! It might go even higher after I see it again and see Gosford Park on Friday![/font]

Updated my list...Moulin Rouge now sits entrenched in the No. 1 spot, bumping The Road Home off the list. I am pondering the location of The Center of the World...but, it was pretty uneven to be a top 10 film.

Bruce

I've generally avoided the movies really being trashed here (as they were by most critics), so I have a very short list of worsts.

My Bottom 2:
Pearl Harbor
Swordfish

Yet to see (with a good chance some of these will crack my Top 10): Gosford Park, A Beautiful Mind, Black Hawk Down, Charlotte Gray, In the Bedroom, No Man's Land, The Man Who Wasn't There, Monster's Ball, Mulholland Drive, and The Majestic.

My Top 10:
10. Ocean's 11
9. The Score
8. Vanilla Sky
7. Monsters Inc.
6. Bridget Jones' Diary
5. The Deep End
4. Amelie
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Moulin Rouge
1. Shrek

Honorable Mention: Bandits, Spy Game

Thought this thread needed a little bump.

Also, I updated my post with a selection of my 10 favorite individual scenes from 2001 films. I probably forgot a great number in compiling it, and there are certainly other scenes I loved a great deal but didn't make it onto the list, but as it stands those are the ones that I still play over and over in my head.

Today I'm off to see Fat Girl (wish me luck, Jason ), The Devil's Backbone, and either Charlotte Gray or Pinero (haven't decided yet), so my list might see more changes later on.

Still kicking some stuff around and I want to see In the Bedroom, Gosford Park and maybe Ali before I put down my first list, just because they are all in town right now and are "front runners". Normally I would just do a list and then edited it as I see stuff, but I will be doing that for Monster's Ball and Black Hawk Down already so...

I did get A Beautiful Mind in. Might be in my 10, I have to think about it.

The Dish

Funny, and a very good production. It took me awhile to track this one down as only one video store was carrying this title and it was out every time I stopped in for it. I consider that a damn shame cause this was one of the most enjoyable films I've watched in awhile. Sam Neill was steady but understated...the real stars were Roy Billing and Taylor Kane as the Mayor and the Security Guard, respectively. Their humor and comic timing were priceless and added a great touch of light-heartedness at exactly the right times. Not that the film was any kind of downer...it was just great to have a consistently funny film that didn't try to be a vehicle for public agenda.

The Dish

Bruce

Start-up.com

I was really looking forward to this one...and it was somewhat of a let down. I knew it was a documentary, of sorts, but some parts were so dragged out, they took the legs right out from the movie. And, some of the more compelling aspects weren't even touched upon. For instance, the former mayor of Atlanta (forgot the name) becomes a member of the board for this company...but later, he is nowhere to be found and his absence isn't even touched upon nor hinted at. Perhaps he was just in the background, perhaps he was fired, perhaps he quit...who knows. They went to alot of hoopla to introduce him in the film and then his subsequent disappearance was a bit puzzling. Is that nit-picking? Sure. But, it also showed holes in a movie that wanted to glorify the mean spirited tactics of the CEO, that wanted to convince the viewer that aside from some "small" problems and an unforseeable market collapse, this company would've been extraordinarily lucrative. But, the movie was used to pull the wool over your eyes. While seeing the people working in the cut-throat, shark infested waters of Venture Capitolism was, at time, awesome...other times, it was too exclusive and close-doored to the truth. I would recommend it...but, it does have flaws that hurt its credibility.

Start-up.com

Bruce

Bump.

This thread really should stay stick till the Oscars are over I think. It's the sort of thread that no one should be adding anything to and it will end it's run basically once the Oscars hit and we compare our picks with their picks.


Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and put down my first list with a few left to see - Ali, In the Bedroom, Gosford Park, Black Hawk Down, Monsters Ball

Okay, here we go, the first early results from our top 10's. Don't worry, this will get adjusted when some people (ahem, Tino and Mark) get their lists in fully and others rearrange theirs. Just make it easy on me and only use your original list post for your list. Shouldn't be a big deal but last year a couple of people reposted their list on each change and I had trouble with the bookkeeping.

Again, this is just for fun, no wagering.

The point of this is mainly to understand how a group like the Academy can "dis" your favorite, etc. simply by soliciting the opinions of a group. We all think we are thoughtful film viewers, yet our lists are highly varied. So the summation shows us what we as a group think, which is what you will be seeing during the Oscars, Golden Globes (I think ), AFI, etc.

Points are 10 for #1 to 1 for #10. I average when people have ties, or when Edwin doesn't rank son of a...

Recapping last years final group list (we had more lists last year than so far this year):

Traffic 336
CTHD 321
Almost Famous 283
Requiem FAD 279
High Fidelity 169

YC Count on Me 144
Gladiator 139
Dancer/Dark 124
Wonder Boys 119
Oh Brother, WAT 117

Erin B was 11th, but not that close


So far this year:

Memento 278.5
Moulin Rouge 213.5
FOTR 198
A.I. 186
Muholland Drive 179

Royal Tenenbaums 145
Ameilie 143
Man Who Wasn't There 90
Vanilla Sky 70
A Beautiful Mind 62


Not surprisingly, the top 10 in terms of list appearances follows the same order:

Memento 35
MR 34
FOTR 28
AI 25
Muholland 23
RT 23
Amelie 21

The one film that is lower on the totals than on the appearances list is Ocean's 11, which simply means that many people saw it as a good film, but not upper list caliber.

Discounting the films that show up on less than 5 lists we have our Top AVERAGE rank films. I use this to help look at films that aren't getting seen yet (like Count on Me, Yi Yi, Requiem last year). This year it would be things like In the Bedroom, Hedwig, or Monsters Ball.

One surprising note is how strong Memento is doing in this area too.

Memento 8.0
Muholland 7.8
A.I. 7.4
FOTR 7.1
In the Bedroom 7.0

Amelie 6.8
Moulin Rouge 6.3
RTs 6.3
AN:Redux 6.0
Amores Perros 5.8

Comparing to last years leaders in this field:
Yi Yi 8.0
Requiem 7.8
Dancer/Dark 7.3
CTHD 7.3
Traffic 7.3

So we see some similar numbers except for one thing, Yi Yi only made a few lists, but Memento is everywhere.

My summary at this point is to say that Memento is this years Requiem (a film that DID make a lot of lists here last year). The 7.8 to 8.0 difference isn't much. And like Requiem, Memento is going to get some token nod (screenwriting) but be overlooked other than that.

I think A.I. is also a bit in that hole it seems.

So I think our lists do show that FOTR and Moulin Rouge do have legitimate shots at the big Oscar.

We will see how our lists change during the next few weeks of releases (Black Hawk Down, In the Bedroom, Monsters Ball).

However, it really looks like OUR Oscar goes to Memento at this point. I can't complain, it's what I had at #1. If only the Oscar noms list would look like our top 5 list. That I could live with...and who knows, this year it might.

Anyway, I will wait a few weeks and then recalc the stats, although I won't repost the 2000 stats.

Thanks Seth. Most enlightening.

FINAL LIST - updated Feb. 10, 2002:

1. Memento - A+
2. Amelie - A
3. A Beautiful Mind - A
4. Vanilla Sky - A
5. The Road Home - A
6. A.I. - A-
7. Monster's Ball - A-
8 Ghost World - A-
9. Shrek - B+
10 Training Day - B+

Updating my list with Black Hawk Down, it's going in at #6 when I get the chance to edit my post.

Aaron, I've added your list to our totals. Feel free to come back and edit it whenever you need to.

Great summary Seth, cool stuff, though it is always disappointing to hear films like Yi Yi, Hedwig, or In the Bedroom not widely seen.

Updated my list slotting In The Bedroom in at #3. Not quite perfect, but really really good.

Rob