(no subject)
THE YEAR IN MOVIES
While handfuls of small films this year warmed my soul and truly deserve as much enthusiastic support as they can garner, a good deal of my top ten list, like the lists of many critics, is occupied by blockbusters; Turns out the big studio films this year were surprisingly more entertaining, well-crafted, and exceptional than they have been in years, from COLD MOUNTAIN to FREAKY FRIDAY. And like 2001 and 2002, the sheer volume of notable films released this year is remarkable, thus the following exhaustive list of the many great movies of 2003, starting with my ten favorites.
THE TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2003:
1. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson)
When deciding to attend Trilogy Tuesday-- a marathon of all three LORD OF THE RINGS films on opening day of the third-- I was motivated by a vision of myself telling my grandchildren all about it. RETURN OF THE KING-- the best chapter of an epic trilogy that, on various scales of relativity, bests both THE GODFATHER and STAR WARS-- is not only an emotionally exhilarating tapestry of character and epic storytelling, nor merely a technological masterpiece, it is film history; The defining movie experience of my generation. I, for one, will never, ever forget it.
2. BIG FISH (Tim Burton)
The masterwork of one of cinema's most imaginative living storytellers, Tim Burton, foreshadowed only in the smaller emotional wells of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Coincidentally coming to him after the death of his own parents and upon the birth of a new child, it's his most personal and drastically mature film as well. Burton, with a big hand from screenwriter John August, negotiates the violent space between the magic of fantasy and the plain truth, and beautifully unveils a finale where the two eternally coexist.
3. KILL BILL: VOLUME ONE (Quentin Tarantino)
Tarantino's latest love letter to cinema-- a conglomeration of influences and dreams projected back outwards and multiplied-- is his most loaded, psychotic, and jaw-dropping. This is cinema as drug.
4. WHALE RIDER (Niki Caro)
I'm grateful that this film became the one I wanted to show to others this year-- I must have gone six extra times just to share this beautiful story: A turbulent coming-of-age of a culture and its most unlikely savior. Keisha Castle-Hughes' heartbreaking eleven-year-old performance, and the film itself, will probably be largely forgotten, only to become a greater, more precious treasure to discover.
5. MYSTIC RIVER (Clint Eastwood)
Clint Eastwood's great tragedy, starring the best American actor working today. A masterpiece of men and daughters, women and fathers, friends and enemies. We bear the burden of these characters' failings and flaws most heavily in the film's unnerving denoument, where we're reminded that nothing is more horrifying than the washing of the time's clean water.
6. 21 GRAMS (Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu)
A jigsaw puzzle that ultimately outlines an intersection of life forces. Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro completely carry this powerful film through Innaritu's complex, scrambled structure and finally to a hopeful conclusion where we're asked to consider an idea: What if the lost actually returns in the form of gain, and in even greater volumes?
7. FINDING NEMO (Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)
Since TOY STORY, Pixar has been known for their exceptional storytelling ability in childrens film, but Finding Nemo defied all categorizations and remains one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year for its heartbreaking story and its stunning technological palette. It's a huge leap forward for a studio that will undoubtedly be delivering groundbreaking cinema even as my future children grow up.
8. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola)
Sofia Coppola has blossomed as a writer and director with this poignant, touching film about the lost and found. Clearly, the film is empowered by Coppola's own travels abroad, and anyone who has experienced something similar understands these crossroads of life where both the young and old find themselves in this story. Wes Anderson rediscovered Bill Murray, but Sofia Coppola bested him by placing the actor center stage. What resulted was a career-defining performance.
9. THE LAST SAMURAI (Ed Zwick)
Even for someone who loves movies like GLADIATOR and who has consistently supported and admired Tom Cruise through his brave career choices in films like EYES WIDE SHUT , MAGNOLIA, and VANILLA SKY this beautiful epic film surpassed my expectations and put me back in touch with some important values that also enlightened the story's hero. I'll be pleasantly shocked if a film this anti-American gets any kind of Oscar attention this year.
10. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (Peter Weir)
Peter Weir's voyage at sea is a perfect example of how surprisingly good this year's large studio films ended up being. It's characters are authentic and developed, and its story shifts at every moment where the typical genre film would follow old suit. But more than anything, watching this film one becomes overwhelmed with a fascinating immersion into a fully detailed and meticulously realized historical world.
And here are the many other movies from this year that I give honorable mention:
COLD MOUNTAIN (Anthony Minghella), LOVE ACTUALLY (Richard Curtis), IRREVERSIBLE (Gaspar Noe), GERRY (Gus Van Sant), IN AMERICA (Jim Sheridan), 28 DAYS LATER (Danny Boyle), ALL THE REAL GIRLS (David Gordon Green), SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (Nancy Myers), DOWN WITH LOVE (Peyton Reed), ELEPHANT (Gus Van Sant), HOLES (Andrew Davis), THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (Sylvain Chomet), PETER PAN (P.J. Hogan), THE SCHOOL OF ROCK (Richard Linklater), MATCHSTICK MEN (Ridley Scott), HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (Vadim Perelman), ELF (Jon Favreau), PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (Gore Verbinski), THE MISSING (Ron Howard), SWIMMING POOL (Francois Ozon), CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (Andrew Jarecki), SHATTERED GLASS (Billy Ray), A MIGHTY WIND (Christopher Guest), THE MATRIX RELOADED (Andy and Larry Warcowski) and AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini).
Best Male Performance: Sean Penn, MYSTIC RIVER and 21 GRAMS.
Best Female Performance: Keisha Castle-Hughes, WHALE RIDER
Ten Movies I Didn't Get to See and Wish I Did:
DEMONLOVER, THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, THE STATION AGENT, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, THIRTEEN, THE MAGDELINE SISTERS, THE COMPANY, THE FOG OF WAR, MONSTER..
Best Score: Howard Shore, RETURN OF THE KING
Best Poster(s): LOST IN TRANSLATION
Best Trailers: ELEPHANT, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Best Twist: MATCHSTICK MEN
Best Opening Credits: IRREVERSIBLE
Cinematography: HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, RETURN OF THE KING
Art Direction: THE CAT IN THE HAT, RETURN OF THE KING
Best 2002 Movies Seen Widely This Year: SPIDER, WINGED MIGRATION, SPELLBOUND
Best 2004 Movie I Saw This Year: DOGVILLE
Strangest Trend of the Year: Movies set in, around, or featuring bodies of water (MYSTIC RIVER, THE SEA, SWIMMING POOL, BIG FISH, WHALE RIDER, FINDING NEMO, MASTER AND COMMANDER, THE PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN)
Biggest Waste of Ten Bucks (actually, ten Euros): DREAMCATCHER
Biggest Disappointment: THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
Give It a Second Chance: HULK
Most Interesting 2003 Artifact: GIGLI
My Current Gut for Oscar Night: RETURN OF THE KING, Peter Jackson, Bill Murray, Charlize Theron, Renee Zelwegger, Albert Finney.
Classic Movie Moments of the Year:
1. Zooey Deschanel sings "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" with New Yorkers in Central Park in ELF.
2. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson whisper goodbye in LOST IN TRANSLATION.
3. Frodo sails away in LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING.
4. Ewan McGreggor and Renee Zelwegger (of MOULIN ROUGE and CHICAGO) sing "Here's to Love" over the closing credits of DOWN WITH LOVE.
5. Jack and Diane falling in love in SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE.
And for those who made it this far, my top ten most anticipated movies of 2004:
-THE LIFE AQUATIC: Wes Anderson finally puts Bill Murray front and center for the fourth film in a career that gets greater with each entry.
-HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN - In a brilliant decision, they signed Alfonso Cuaron to helm the adaptation of the third Harry Potter book, bigger and better than the first two combined.
-KILL BILL: VOLUME 2: The spaghetti-western counterpart to this year's Vol. 1.
-A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT: Amelie's Jean Pierre Juenet brings Audrey Tautou and Matteu Kassovitz with him into the darkness of war.
-ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: Michel Gondry directing a Charlie Kaufman script starring Jim Carrey as a guy who scientifically removes the memory of his ex-girlfriend, Kate Winslet.
-SPIDER-MAN 2: With Alfred Molina as Doc Ock.
-THE BROTHERS GRIMM: Terry Gilliam's believe-it-when-we-see-it return!
-OCEAN'S TWELVE: I loved Ocean's Eleven as a perfect stand-alone film, but Soderbergh never does wrong.
-SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW: A glorious looking throwback adventure movie with Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.
-THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST: Mel Gibson's epic of Christ's final two days, largely dialogue-free.
Plus TROY, KING ARTHUR, THE POLAR EXPRESS, Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES, Ales Proyas' I ROBOT, The Coens' THE LADYKILLERS, Scorsese's THE AVIATOR, Spielberg's TERMINAL, Shamaylan's THE VILLAGE, and the long-awaited MEET THE FOCKERS.
While handfuls of small films this year warmed my soul and truly deserve as much enthusiastic support as they can garner, a good deal of my top ten list, like the lists of many critics, is occupied by blockbusters; Turns out the big studio films this year were surprisingly more entertaining, well-crafted, and exceptional than they have been in years, from COLD MOUNTAIN to FREAKY FRIDAY. And like 2001 and 2002, the sheer volume of notable films released this year is remarkable, thus the following exhaustive list of the many great movies of 2003, starting with my ten favorites.
THE TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2003:
1. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson)
When deciding to attend Trilogy Tuesday-- a marathon of all three LORD OF THE RINGS films on opening day of the third-- I was motivated by a vision of myself telling my grandchildren all about it. RETURN OF THE KING-- the best chapter of an epic trilogy that, on various scales of relativity, bests both THE GODFATHER and STAR WARS-- is not only an emotionally exhilarating tapestry of character and epic storytelling, nor merely a technological masterpiece, it is film history; The defining movie experience of my generation. I, for one, will never, ever forget it.
2. BIG FISH (Tim Burton)
The masterwork of one of cinema's most imaginative living storytellers, Tim Burton, foreshadowed only in the smaller emotional wells of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Coincidentally coming to him after the death of his own parents and upon the birth of a new child, it's his most personal and drastically mature film as well. Burton, with a big hand from screenwriter John August, negotiates the violent space between the magic of fantasy and the plain truth, and beautifully unveils a finale where the two eternally coexist.
3. KILL BILL: VOLUME ONE (Quentin Tarantino)
Tarantino's latest love letter to cinema-- a conglomeration of influences and dreams projected back outwards and multiplied-- is his most loaded, psychotic, and jaw-dropping. This is cinema as drug.
4. WHALE RIDER (Niki Caro)
I'm grateful that this film became the one I wanted to show to others this year-- I must have gone six extra times just to share this beautiful story: A turbulent coming-of-age of a culture and its most unlikely savior. Keisha Castle-Hughes' heartbreaking eleven-year-old performance, and the film itself, will probably be largely forgotten, only to become a greater, more precious treasure to discover.
5. MYSTIC RIVER (Clint Eastwood)
Clint Eastwood's great tragedy, starring the best American actor working today. A masterpiece of men and daughters, women and fathers, friends and enemies. We bear the burden of these characters' failings and flaws most heavily in the film's unnerving denoument, where we're reminded that nothing is more horrifying than the washing of the time's clean water.
6. 21 GRAMS (Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu)
A jigsaw puzzle that ultimately outlines an intersection of life forces. Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro completely carry this powerful film through Innaritu's complex, scrambled structure and finally to a hopeful conclusion where we're asked to consider an idea: What if the lost actually returns in the form of gain, and in even greater volumes?
7. FINDING NEMO (Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)
Since TOY STORY, Pixar has been known for their exceptional storytelling ability in childrens film, but Finding Nemo defied all categorizations and remains one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year for its heartbreaking story and its stunning technological palette. It's a huge leap forward for a studio that will undoubtedly be delivering groundbreaking cinema even as my future children grow up.
8. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola)
Sofia Coppola has blossomed as a writer and director with this poignant, touching film about the lost and found. Clearly, the film is empowered by Coppola's own travels abroad, and anyone who has experienced something similar understands these crossroads of life where both the young and old find themselves in this story. Wes Anderson rediscovered Bill Murray, but Sofia Coppola bested him by placing the actor center stage. What resulted was a career-defining performance.
9. THE LAST SAMURAI (Ed Zwick)
Even for someone who loves movies like GLADIATOR and who has consistently supported and admired Tom Cruise through his brave career choices in films like EYES WIDE SHUT , MAGNOLIA, and VANILLA SKY this beautiful epic film surpassed my expectations and put me back in touch with some important values that also enlightened the story's hero. I'll be pleasantly shocked if a film this anti-American gets any kind of Oscar attention this year.
10. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (Peter Weir)
Peter Weir's voyage at sea is a perfect example of how surprisingly good this year's large studio films ended up being. It's characters are authentic and developed, and its story shifts at every moment where the typical genre film would follow old suit. But more than anything, watching this film one becomes overwhelmed with a fascinating immersion into a fully detailed and meticulously realized historical world.
And here are the many other movies from this year that I give honorable mention:
COLD MOUNTAIN (Anthony Minghella), LOVE ACTUALLY (Richard Curtis), IRREVERSIBLE (Gaspar Noe), GERRY (Gus Van Sant), IN AMERICA (Jim Sheridan), 28 DAYS LATER (Danny Boyle), ALL THE REAL GIRLS (David Gordon Green), SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (Nancy Myers), DOWN WITH LOVE (Peyton Reed), ELEPHANT (Gus Van Sant), HOLES (Andrew Davis), THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (Sylvain Chomet), PETER PAN (P.J. Hogan), THE SCHOOL OF ROCK (Richard Linklater), MATCHSTICK MEN (Ridley Scott), HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (Vadim Perelman), ELF (Jon Favreau), PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (Gore Verbinski), THE MISSING (Ron Howard), SWIMMING POOL (Francois Ozon), CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (Andrew Jarecki), SHATTERED GLASS (Billy Ray), A MIGHTY WIND (Christopher Guest), THE MATRIX RELOADED (Andy and Larry Warcowski) and AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini).
Best Male Performance: Sean Penn, MYSTIC RIVER and 21 GRAMS.
Best Female Performance: Keisha Castle-Hughes, WHALE RIDER
Ten Movies I Didn't Get to See and Wish I Did:
DEMONLOVER, THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, THE STATION AGENT, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, THIRTEEN, THE MAGDELINE SISTERS, THE COMPANY, THE FOG OF WAR, MONSTER..
Best Score: Howard Shore, RETURN OF THE KING
Best Poster(s): LOST IN TRANSLATION
Best Trailers: ELEPHANT, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Best Twist: MATCHSTICK MEN
Best Opening Credits: IRREVERSIBLE
Cinematography: HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, RETURN OF THE KING
Art Direction: THE CAT IN THE HAT, RETURN OF THE KING
Best 2002 Movies Seen Widely This Year: SPIDER, WINGED MIGRATION, SPELLBOUND
Best 2004 Movie I Saw This Year: DOGVILLE
Strangest Trend of the Year: Movies set in, around, or featuring bodies of water (MYSTIC RIVER, THE SEA, SWIMMING POOL, BIG FISH, WHALE RIDER, FINDING NEMO, MASTER AND COMMANDER, THE PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN)
Biggest Waste of Ten Bucks (actually, ten Euros): DREAMCATCHER
Biggest Disappointment: THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
Give It a Second Chance: HULK
Most Interesting 2003 Artifact: GIGLI
My Current Gut for Oscar Night: RETURN OF THE KING, Peter Jackson, Bill Murray, Charlize Theron, Renee Zelwegger, Albert Finney.
Classic Movie Moments of the Year:
1. Zooey Deschanel sings "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" with New Yorkers in Central Park in ELF.
2. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson whisper goodbye in LOST IN TRANSLATION.
3. Frodo sails away in LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING.
4. Ewan McGreggor and Renee Zelwegger (of MOULIN ROUGE and CHICAGO) sing "Here's to Love" over the closing credits of DOWN WITH LOVE.
5. Jack and Diane falling in love in SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE.
And for those who made it this far, my top ten most anticipated movies of 2004:
-THE LIFE AQUATIC: Wes Anderson finally puts Bill Murray front and center for the fourth film in a career that gets greater with each entry.
-HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN - In a brilliant decision, they signed Alfonso Cuaron to helm the adaptation of the third Harry Potter book, bigger and better than the first two combined.
-KILL BILL: VOLUME 2: The spaghetti-western counterpart to this year's Vol. 1.
-A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT: Amelie's Jean Pierre Juenet brings Audrey Tautou and Matteu Kassovitz with him into the darkness of war.
-ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: Michel Gondry directing a Charlie Kaufman script starring Jim Carrey as a guy who scientifically removes the memory of his ex-girlfriend, Kate Winslet.
-SPIDER-MAN 2: With Alfred Molina as Doc Ock.
-THE BROTHERS GRIMM: Terry Gilliam's believe-it-when-we-see-it return!
-OCEAN'S TWELVE: I loved Ocean's Eleven as a perfect stand-alone film, but Soderbergh never does wrong.
-SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW: A glorious looking throwback adventure movie with Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.
-THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST: Mel Gibson's epic of Christ's final two days, largely dialogue-free.
Plus TROY, KING ARTHUR, THE POLAR EXPRESS, Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES, Ales Proyas' I ROBOT, The Coens' THE LADYKILLERS, Scorsese's THE AVIATOR, Spielberg's TERMINAL, Shamaylan's THE VILLAGE, and the long-awaited MEET THE FOCKERS.