2002 Film List (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

Gangs of New York - An epic history lesson I enjoyed for showing me things I'd previously read about. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is what everyone says it is. The film suffers by trying to touch too many bases, the awful score and questionable musical selections, and the rather awkward scenes of passion between Diaz and DiCaprio. I was also disappointed the revenge flick part of the story was so basic. The grade is kind of up in the air, I liked it too much for a B, but it had too many problems for a B+...., I guess I'll cave and give it a weak B+
Now Catch Me If You Can OTOH was fantastic. A deftly handled con game that was a load of fun to watch unfold. I found it exceedingly well visualized and paced, except possibly for the very end "is he reformed or will he run again" scene. This might just be DiCaprio's best performance to date and as others have said, Tom Hank's supporting turn is a welcome surprise. The opening titles are a joy and John Williams' score is very fine. A friend and I saw this and Gangs back-to-back and when this was over we turned to each other and said "that was better than Gangs" A-

 

[Jason Seaver]

A pretty good weekend at the movies, made possible by missing the bus to Portland and thus not being able to go to my high-school reunion (and if I hear that [none of your business] was there, single, and looking to connect with someone while I would have been the only unattached guy there...).
Two Weeks' Notice is a pleasant romantic comedy, which does the most important thing well: Bullock and Grant are right for their characters and fun to watch together. That the movie seems to get lost in the middle and is never sure what to do with Alicia Witt's character makes it just a fun evening's entertainment rather than one of the great examples of its genre, but it works just the same. :star::star::star:
Empire is, in a weird way, something of a coming of age movie, well-enough played with more intelligence than its crime drama exterior would indicate. Not much more, though - I would have liked to see more of Leguizamo's character displaying the business instincts he seems to have in the voiceovers. :star::star:¾
Finally got to see Spirited Away now that it popped up in Japanese closer than Brookline. It's one of my favorite films of the year, with each frame a thing of beauty that adds up to an even more astounding whole. It caps off what is (for me) the best year for animation in recent memory. :star::star::star::star:
Talk To Her is a great film, and I love it, and there's no way I will ever convince people I know that they should see it. It's amazing, though, that a drama with such dark subject matter contains what is, for my money, the funniest sequence of the year (the silent movie pastiche). :star::star::star:½
Catch Me If You Can is a little bloated - that first act was a real let-down from the bouncy title sequence. Once you get into it, though, it's a fun little caper movie which is certainly not as slight as most of that species. Not as ambitious (or brilliant) as Spielberg's last two, but much more accessible. :star::star::star:¼
And now, to update the Top-10 List to include Spirited Away...

 

[Joshua_Y]

Heres my list:

Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones(22 Showings) - 15/10

Lord of the Rings The Two Towers (9 Showings. Hope to get up to 15) - 15/10

Road to Perdition (2 Showings) - 10/10

Signs (3 Showings) - 10/10

Die Another Day (3 Showings) - 10/10

Catch Me if you Can - 10/10

Gangs of New York - 10/10

Minority Report - 10/10

Solaris - 10/10

The Ring (3 Showings) - 10/10

Panic Room - 9/10

Jackass: the movie (2 Showings) - 9.5/10

Punch-Drunk Love (2 Showings) - 10/10

Red Dragon (3 Showings) - 10/10

The Bourne Identity - 9/10

Insomnia - 9.5/10

Spider-Man (5 Showings) - 9.5/10

Blade II - 10/10

Two Weeks Notice - 8.5/10

Maid in Manhatten - 8.5/10

Mr. Deeds - 8.5/10

AP: Goldmember - 9/10

Men In Black II - 6.5/10

xXx (2 Showings) - 9/10

About a Boy - 10/10

Bad Company - 8.5/10

Big Trouble - 9/10

We Were Soldiers - 10/10

Blood Work - 9/10

Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le pacte des loups) - 10/10

Changing Lanes - 10/10

Count of Monte Cristo - 9.5/10

Collateral Damage - 8.5/10

Death To Smoochy - 10/10

Eight Legged Freaks - 9/10

40 Days and 40 Nights - 7.5/10

The Four Feathers - 1/10

Frailty - 10/10

Ice Age (2 Showings) - 9.5/10

K-19 - 9/10

Life Or Something Like It - 9/10

The Mothman Prophecies - 9/10

The New Guy - 8/10

One Hour Photo - 10/10

Reign Of Fire - 9/10

Resident Evil - 9/10

The Rookie - 9.5/10

Scooby Doo - 0/10

Serving Sara - 6/10

S1m0ne - 9.5/10

Solaris - 10/10

Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams - 8.5/10

Stealing Harvard - 7.5/10

The Sum Of All Fears (2 Showings) - 9.5/10

Super Troopers - 9.5/10

Sweet Home Alabama - 9/10

The Time Machine - 7/10

The Transporter - 9/10

The Tuxedo - 8.5/10

Undercover Brother - 8.5/10

Windtalkers (2 Showings) - 10/10

Black Hawk Down (2001) - 10/10

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - 3/10

 

[Craig S]

Updated my list after a great afternoon at the Greenway (one of Houston's art houses).
First, I finally caught Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine (8/10), a truly thought-provoking docu undermined only by the grandstanding of Mr. Moore himself (I docked the film a whole star for just the incredibly self-serving scene where he comforts the school principal). Flaws aside, EVERY thinking American needs to see this film.
Next on the docket was Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven (9/10). I honestly went into this expecting mainly a stylistic exercise, but the film really got to me, thanks mainly to the outstanding performance by Julianne Moore. Nice work by the two Dennis's as well. And yes, as an exercise in style, the film is brilliant, with Oscar-quality cinematography, costuming, & art direction.
Finally, Australia's Phillip Noyce uncovers a shameful episode in his country's history in Rabbit-Proof Fence (8/10), the story of three girls who walk 1500 miles to get home after escaping from an internment camp for "half-caste" (half Aborigine, half white) children. Noyce cast the film largely with non-acting Aborigines, and gets amazing, natural performances out of every one. There are also a couple of standout performances by experienced actors - Kenneth Brannagh as the "villain", who genuinely seems to believe he is helping the native children, and David Gulpilil, first seen in the classic Walkabout, who turns in incredibly subtle work as the tracker trying to find the girls. Seek this one out - it is a gem.

 

[Eric Howell]

Planned criteria: First screaning Canada/USA.
My Top Ten:
Bowling for Columbine 9/10
Punch Drunk Love 8/10
Sweatbox 8/10
Spirited Away 8/10
Lost in La Mancha 8/10
Volcano High 8/10
Sweet Sixteen 7+/10
A Peck on the Cheek 7+/10
Signs 7+/10
Catch Me if You Can 7+/10
The list:
11'9"01 6+/10
13 Conversations About One Thing 7-/10
24 Hour Party People 6/10
25th Hour 6+/10
8 Mile 6+/10
A Peck on the Cheek 7+/10
About a Boy 6+/10
About Schmidt 6+/10
Adaptation 7/10
Alive 6/10
All or Nothing 7+/10
Ararat 6-/10
Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner 7/10
Austin Powers in Goldmember 6-/10
Auto Focus 6/10
Badass Cinema (Short Film) 7+/10
Barber Shop 6/10
Below 7/10
Bend It Like Beckham 6+/10
Best of Times 5/10
Big Fat Liar 6/-10
Big Trouble 7-/10
Birthday Girl 6/10
Blade 2 6/10
Blood Work 5+/10
Bourne Identity, the 6/10
Bowling for Columbine 9/10
Brotherhood of the Wolf 6/10
Bubba Ho-tep 7+/10
Cabin Fever 6/10
Catch Me if You Can 7+/10
Cat's Meow 5/10
Champion 6/10
Changing Lanes 7-/10
Chicago 7+/10
City By The Sea 6/10
City of God 7+/10
Clockstoppers 5/10
Cofessions of a Dangerous Mind 6/10
Collateral Damage 5+/10
Count of Monte Cristo 6+/10
CQ 6/10
Death to Smoochy 6/10
Dirty Deeds 7+/10
Dirty Pretty Things 7/10
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 6/10
Dogtown and Z-Boys 7/10
Drumline 6/10
Elling 7/10
Emperor's New Clothes, the 6/10
Eye, The 7-/10
Far From Heaven 6-/10
Femme Fatale 7/10
Frailty 7+/10
Frida 6/10
Full Frontal 5/10
Gangs Of New York 6/10
Ginostra 5/10
Good Girl, The 6/10
Happy Times 7/10
Heaven 7/10
High Crimes 6/10
Hollywood Ending 6/10
Horns and Halos 7-/10
Hours, The 5+/10
Hukkle 6-/10
Human Nature 6/10
Ice Age 6/10
Igby Goes Down 6+/10
I'm the Father 5/10
Importance of Being Earnest 6/10
Insomnia 6/10
Irréversible 4/10
Italian For Beginners 7/10
Japon 1/10
Jet Lag 6+/10
Kissing Jessica Stein 7/10
Last Great Wilderness, The 6-/10
Le Neg 5/10
Lilo and Stitch 6/10
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 7+/10
Lost in La Mancha 8/10
Man Without a Past 7-/10
Max 6-/10
Maid in Manhattan 5/10
Metropolis 6/10
Minority Report 7/10
Monsoon Wedding 6/10
Moonlight Mile 6/10
Mr. Deeds 6-/10
Murder By Numbers 5/10
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 6/10
My Little Eye 7/10
Narc 6/10
One Hour Photo 7-/10
One Night the Moon (Short film) 7+/10
Panic Room 7/10
Pianist, The 7/10
Punch Drunk Love 8/10
Quiet American, The 6+/10
Rabbit Proof Fence 7+/10
Red Dragon 6/10
Resident Evil 6/10
Respirio 6/10
Ring, The 6/10
Road To Perdition 6+/10
Rookie, The 6/10
Salton Sea, The 6/10
Scotland PA 6-/10
Secretary 6/10
Shalin Soccer 7/10
Signs 7+/10
Simone 6/10
Solaris 6+/10
Spider 6/10
Spider-Man 7+/10
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron 6-/10
Spirited Away 8/10
Spun 6/10
Standing in the Shadows of Motown 7+/10
Star Trek: Nemesis 5/10
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones 6/10
Storytelling 6-/10
Sunshine State 6/10
Super Troopers 6/10
Sweatbox 8/10
Sweet Sixteen 7+/10
Sympathy for Mr Vengence 6/10
Talk to Her 7-/10
Treasure Planet 6/10
Try Seventeen 7/10
Undercover Brother 6/10
Unfaithful 6/10
Volcano High 8/10
Vulgar 5+/10
Wasabi 6+/10
Welcome to Collinwood 6/10
What Time Is It There? 6+/10
White Oleander 6+/10
XXX 6/10
Y Tu Mama Tambien 7-/10

 

[Kristian]

It's been nearly two weeks since I made an update post about my list, so there's a lot to mention. I'll try to keep it brief.
Adaptation (***½) - The most original movie of the year, as well as one of the funniest. If Charlie Kaufman doesn't win the Oscar for his screenplay, it will be one of the biggest snubs in award history.
Antwone Fisher (***) - A good film that suffers a bit from having been considered an Oscar contender for so long. I'm looking forward to seeing more films from Denzel the director, though.
Catch Me If You Can (****) - Not only is it one of the most entertaining movies of the year, but its dramatic weight (the theme of loneliness and broken family that is at the heart of most of Spielberg's films) sets it apart from other light romps. DiCaprio really should get more recognition for his work here, as he makes us care about Frank Abagnale even at his lowest points.
Chicago (**½) - All style and no substance is how I would describe this film. I originally gave this *** for the spectacle of some of the musical numbers, hoping the film as a whole would get better the more I thought about it. The opposite happened.
Drumline (**) - From the reviews, I was expecting a solid alternative to all the other teen movies, but it turned out to be a loud and obnoxious mess. There is energy in those drum scenes, but it gets tiring to see so many of these scenes one after the other.
Evelyn (***) - As others have said, this is an endearing movie that manages to entertain even though the story is very predictable. This caps off an unusually good year for live-action family films.
Gangs of New York (***½) - The very definition of a flawed masterpiece. There are several things about this film that didn't work for me, but there are so many other moments of sheer brilliance and power, that I couldn't help but love the film in the end.
Talk to Her (***½) - I need to dwell on this movie more before I can talk about it. All I can say right now is that it's a very hypnotic and absorbing piece of filmmaking thanks to Almodovar's direction.
Downgraded: Star Trek: Nemesis, from a *** to a **½, after a very dissapointing second viewing. I remember that when I first saw Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, I saw the movie again just a few hours later and it remained just as fresh and fun as the first time. Not so with Nemesis, sadly.

 

[JohnS]

Back with a nice size update.
Buying the Cow * Besides myself and Matthew Chmiel, are we the only ones who saw this??
anyway, I'm afraid I'm on the complete opposite of Matthew on this little flick.
Again we get Ryan "Van Wilder" Reynolds in another embarrassing and unfunny role, but the good thing is his situations are less gross. But again I will say more embarrassing.
PLEASE SKIP THIS MOVIE!
Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course *
A film that shouldn't have been made.
But still better than Crocodile Dundee 3.
I think the only reason they had the portly aussie gun toting woman, was for some kind of comic relief.
Also, why couldn't they keep the whole movie in widescreen?
They still had to keep a portion of the movie, as if we were still watching it from the TV.
Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever *
A movie that could have been SO MUCH better, if they only stopped long enough to give us a better story, more time to know the characters(and give them more depth).
Yet they thought it would be better to just worry about pyrotechnics and gunfire.(which reminds me, when did Ecks & Sever find all this time in the movie to setup the numerous pounds of explosives and set it up so neatly, like they were in a Home Alone movie.)
Plus why did they title this the way they did?
After watching the movie, it should have been titled Ballistic Ecks & Sever Vs. Bad Guys
My Wife is an Actress ***
A very pleasant romantic comedy.
That has alot of charm to it, but lacks a good ending.
Adventures of Pluto Nash *
A movie that is not entirely as bad as you might think or as people tell you.
Yeah there are alot of problems and bad looking sets, but there does seem to be some potential, if they gave it another 4-5 years.
Plus I think the movie is entirely casted wrong.
Blood Work **
A movie that was setup good and a nice pace, but seemed to skew off course in the last half hour or so.
I really wished they gave us more of a beginning with the killer and him leaving Eastwood the secret codes.
Paul Rodriguez didn't fit well in the movie, the only reason I see that they had him in the movie, was that they needed an actor of his ethnicity.
xXx ***
Overall a fun, adrenaline pumped ride.
Vin Desel is a great secret agent.
Everything in this movie(stunts, story, action) was much better and everything seemed much more believable, then the disappointing Die Another Day.
I updated and finalized my first time list with 101 movies this year.
I added
Jin-Roh
The Third Man
Time After Time
Hudsucker Proxy

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Updated with Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York.
~Edwin

 

[Jason Seaver]

Updated with a couple more:
Antwone Fisher is really quite good. Maybe not quite "great", and maybe I wouldn't have liked it as much if I didn't know it was autobiographical, but I think I would have still enjoyed it - I like good people in bad situations overcoming obstacles, and Denzel Washington coaxes good performances out of his cast of relative newcomers (look out for Derek Luke and Joy Bryant; they're going places. Not just BikerBoyz, either). :star::star::star:½
Besotted, on the other hand, is crap. It's evidence that I should stop trying to see every local independant film that gets any sort of run, for every Brad Anderson with Session 9 and Next Stop Wonderland, there's a dozen Holly Hardmans with the likes of Besotted. This movie uses a "clever" device - the writer/director plays a "sorceress" who is apparently controlling the fates of several people in a Cape Cod town - the drains most of the characters of any interest. The only actor and character who winds up being at all interesting is Susan Gibney's lobsterwoman Vickie (who not-coincidentally is one of the few that doesn't know about the sorceress). Anyway... Crap. :star:
So, anyway, we have a relatively rare case of a top-10 movie and a bottom-10 movie being seen within 24 hours of each other here.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Rated Pedro Almodovar's Talk To Her and added comments in the indie thread.
~Edwin

 

[Seth Paxton]

Mr. Deeds
2 of 10
I'm a big Sandler fan, but this is a bigger misfire than Little Nicky. Yes the stupid voice is gone. Sandler is back to being his best character - the lovable good guy underdog with a knack for punching someone out. In that regard this could have been just as solid as Happy Gilmore.
BUT...some horrifyingly bad writing for most of the film just ruins it. Real groaner type jokes had me scratching my head right from the start. Even the funny trailer jokes are mostly worse when placed in context. Terrible timing and structure. Worst of all is that in there somewhere was the chance for a great comedy. A lot of wasted talent and story potential.

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Updated my list with the fun Spielberg flick, Catch Me If You Can (85%; that's THREE 2002 Spielberg releases in my top 20 this year!)

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Updated my list again with About Schmidt, an 85%, and a great vehicle for a subdued Nicholson.

 

[Lowell_B]

Updated my list with:
Adaptation. (***1/2 / ****)
While Adaptation isn't a home run in the vein of Being John Malkovich, it's a solid triple. (Okay sorry for the baseball analogy )
Highly original and very funny, Adaptation is marred by a weak third act which sadly drags the movie down. Nevertheless, it's still a really good movie which will probably slip into the bottom of my top 10 list.
Catch Me If You Can (***1/2 / ****)
Who really cares that it's not as serious as some of Spielberg's latest efforts, anytime a movie is as entertaining and funny as this he can go on making movies like this for the rest of his days. Definately one of the best of the year and the 2nd of 2 fantastic movies Spielberg has made this year.
Lowell

 

[Jason Seaver]

Updated with Gangs Of New York, which I enjoyed the heck out of until the end, where Scorcese seems to forget what story he wants to tell. Lands just outside my top 10. :star::star::star:½
Updated with The Pianist, a very uneven film that is sometimes arresting but sometimes distant. :star::star::star:
And, gads, I've had enough "based on a true story" to last a lifetime in the last few weeks in Antwone Fisher, Evelyn, Catch Me If You Can, Gangs Of New York(?), The Pianist... Make something up, darn it!

 

[Seth Paxton]

I saw Catch Me If You Can again, no change in my opinion of very good but slightly flawed.
On to the new film, copied from the review thread:
Chicago
10 of 10
This is not Moulin Rouge, a musical I happened to love. However, it carries the same power, the same lust for life, the same energy as that film, albeit in a jazzier stage-like package. As a musical brought to film it's divine, making the most of the unique medium and it's ability to cut between reality and fantasy.
The songs were already top notch as the accolades the stage show received could attest to, but the performances here will still surprise you. Most of all Richard Gere nearly steals the show with 2 of the best sequences as the clever, controlling, fast-on-his-feet defense lawyer. That's not to say the Zeta-Jones, Zellweger, Latifah, and even John C. Reilly don't impress almost as much with their numbers.
A good musical makes you want the next song to start up right after the last one ended. For me, this film did that. Jazzy, sexy, cool, fun, all in the spirit of Fosse of course.
If you like musicals at all, this is a homerun for you. If you normally hate them then this is a maybe. If you liked Moulin Rouge you may or may not like this one so give it a shot. And if you like hot girls in sexy outfits doing sexy dances...definitely the flick for you.
Has to be a front runner for this year's Best Pix Oscar.

 

[JohnS]

Well,
I only have one update.
I'm SO far behind, haven't seen anything new yet.
I'm going to seriously try for Monday, don't know if I will get around to it this week, since I have to leave for Omaha due to my grandmother passing away.
But here's my one update
Happy Times ***1/2
Coming from the same director as "The Road Home", I had very high hopes for this movie.
I really liked this movie all the way through, even the ending, which it may seem like it's a cliffhanger type ending, and somewhat unexplained as to why the main chartacter gets hit by car, whether it be intentional or unintentional
I liked the main character, he's cheap but caring.
The relationship between the main character and the blind girl is great too.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Updated with About Schmidt. :star::star::star:¼

 

[John Spencer]

Updated with Chicago and Far From Heaven. Both movies were good, but I didn't like them well enough to shuffle my current top ten list.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Updated with The Two Towers - a film that succeeds on its own. A visually arresting film that manages to entertain.
~Edwin