Best Films of 2002

[tabuno]

While I have only seen about 1/4 of the movies out in 2002, here's my list of by top 10 favorite movies that were released this year:Best Movies of 2002

1. One Hour Photo (August - Robin Williams)
2. Frida (September - Salma Hayek)
3. Insomnia (May - Al Pacino, Robin Williams)
4. Death To Smoochy (March - Robin Williams)
5. Mostly Martha (August)
6. White Oleander (September - Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger)
7. Chicago (December - Not Even Seen Yet)
8. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (April)
9. Spirited Away (September)
10. Birthday Girl (February- Nicole Kidman)
11. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith)

I seem to like Robin Williams alot and Chicago without even seeing it.

[SinjinSB]

Top Ten of 2002
1) Rabbit-Proof Fence
2) Bowling for Columbine
3) The Pianist
4) Gangs of New York
5) Spider-Man
6) We Were Soldiers
7) Chicago
8) About Schmidt
9) Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
10) Minority Report

[Johann]

I'm so pumped for Gangs of New York. Can't wait to see some Day-Lewis butt-kickin'.

My favorites this year:

1. 8 Women (I hope this gets nominated for best foreign)
2. Frida (no comment)
3. Ararat
4. Bowling For Columbine
5. Igby Goes Down
6. Heaven
7. Punch Drunk Love
8. Auto Focus
9. 8 Mile (Yep, I thought this was pretty damn good)
10. Goldmember (just for the mini-me thrashing scene)

Oh yeah, and "Jackass" was a quality film. Laughed my hole off...Where else are you gonna get Buck Owens and Public Enemy on the same soundtrack?

[pmw]

Here's my list. Im hesitant to commit as there are a few things Id like to see before the end of the year (The Hours, Adaptation, Spider etc). A few festival screenings that I have left off for now as their actual release dates are in 2003, but had to include The Son as it's been released in Europe:

1. The Son (Jean Luc and Pierre Dardenne)
2. Spirited Away
3. Far From Heaven
4. Fast Runner and Russian Ark (tie)
5. Pumpkin
6. About Schmidt
7. Jackass
8. Biggie and Tupac
9. I am Trying to Break Your Heart
10. Femme Fatale

[Johann]

Pumpkin- is that the Christina Ricci flick? It never got a theatrical release here in Canada (and if it did, it was a short run) but the DVD is available. (I'll pick it up because I have a thing for Christina-ever since Buffalo 66)
About Schmidt looks fantasticaly funny- Jack is always good.
And I've gotta see this "Spirited Away" I hear so much about.

[pmw]

Pumpkin>

Christina Ricci plays a sorority sister who falls for her community service project, a mentally-challenged guy named Pumpkin. Really funny and pretty complex. The director is constantly shifting the film's moral viewpoint. Check it out.

Spirited Away>

Yeah, its a must see. The greatest animator in Japanese history. He's quite a character too. He recently told some Japanese press that trying to make a better future for our children is a load of crap. Something like "children grow up to be awful adults, so im not thinking about their future". Anyway, really nice film.

PS just added Fast Runner and I am Trying to Break Your Heart to the list as well.

P

[SinjinSB]

Originally posted by Johann
And I've gotta see this "Spirited Away" I hear so much about.
I saw the Japanese version. From one person I know who saw both, he says you should definitely try to see Japanese version.

[tabuno]

I haven't seen half the movies listed above/below. How do you people afford and find the time to go to all these movies? And where? Utah doesn't show all these films - Equilibrium was only shown in the top 20 markets which apparently Utah isn't one of them.

[BigBadB]

Well, the year of 2002 have brought some nice experiences in the movie theatres...
My definitive favourite is Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The man with no past) by Aki Kaurismäki. Fantastic movie. No further comments needed. It was _the_ outstanding movie experience of the year. Not haven seen Two Towers yet :)

Other good films: One Hour Photo, Insomnia, and some more. And positively surprised by the latest Star Wars. Not too good but by far better than the last! The Yoda scene is worth it all!!

[SinjinSB]

Yoda Kicks Butt!!

[pmw]

Originally posted by BigBadB

My definitive favourite is Mies vailla menneisyytt�E(The man with no past) by Aki Kaurismäki. Fantastic movie.

Agreed, this was a really good movie. Quite funny. At one point he is living in an old shipping container with a trusty dog and a jukebox. What a life! I wonder when this will be released in the US; I happened to catch it at a film fest.


Originally posted by tabuno
I haven't seen half the movies listed above/below. How do you people afford and find the time to go to all these movies? And where? Utah doesn't show all these films - Equilibrium was only shown in the top 20 markets which apparently Utah isn't one of them.

NY has a lot of stuff that comes through via festivals etc. But I think most of my favorites for this year were somewhat widely released. Which part of Utah are you in again?

[Johann]

Seeing these films on the big screen is what prompts me to find the time.
I only own DVD & VHS mats because I'm catching up on the history of film thru home video. There's no excuse why people shouldn't see films as they were originally intended.

NOTE: this message was for single people with no known commitments: children, mortgage, meaningful relationships, cats, dogs or other domestic pets (see section 5 re: large snakes & arachnids) and spend 8 hours a day immersed in film lore.

[ArpHagenbach]

2002 was hot as fuck:

1. Russian Ark
2. The Fast Runner
3. In Praise of Love
4. Far From Heaven
5. Time Out
6. Millennium Mambo
7. I'm Going Home / The Uncertainty Principle
8. Spirited Away
9. Merci Pour le Chocolat
10. O Fantasma

Runner's up (no particular order): Solaris, Femme Fatale, Gangs of New York, Adaptation, Blade 2, Jackass, Trouble Every Day, What Time Is It There?, ABC Africa, The Happiness of the Katakuris, R Xmas, Devils on the Doorstep, How To Draw a Bunny, Murderous Maids

Over-rated: Talk To Her, Punch-Drunk Love, Bowling For Columbine, The Hours, The Pianist

Best of 2003? Spider, Unknown Pleasures/Platform, The Son, Love and Diane, two Matrix films...

[Ricardo]

ooh, I really loved these 5 films.


Men in Black 2
Scooby Doo
Resident Evil
The Scorpion King
Crossroads (go Britney!)

They really were fantastic.

<Awaits ironic response>

[Ricardo]

Originally posted by ArpHagenbach

Over-rated: Talk To Her, Punch-Drunk Love, Bowling For Columbine, The Hours, The Pianist

Best of 2003? Spider, Unknown Pleasures/Platform, The Son, Love and Diane, two Matrix films...


How can you say Talk To Her was over-rated. Why, I should take you down to the docks and sort you out a little.

[ArpHagenbach]

I love Almodovar, but this one is hideously misogynistic - and those dances are whack! Everyone was bamboozled on this one.

[Johann]

ooh, I really loved these 5 films.


Men in Black 2
Scooby Doo
Resident Evil
The Scorpion King
Crossroads


Cheeky monkey.

[Ricardo]

Well, I suppose you have to give the public what they want, and if credit is what matters, i'll take credit.

No seriously, Scooby Doo was great. It really was. Now...... am i still joking? Je suis monsieur mysterie........

[Johann]

Those films have an audience, and while they are not my particular taste, I welcome "blockbusters" because they generate lots of dinero. (which allows Harvey Weinstein to bank on projects like Gangs of New York)

If these "hollywood" movies were flops, THEN there would be a problem. case in point: Emmerich's Godzilla (ID4 gave this guy a false sense of security. ROLAND! There was nothing else to see in the summer of 1996! (not to mention Will Smith was Mr. Popularity)That's my theory, anyway.

[Chris Knipp]

I finally closed out my Best Lists last week, even though 2002 contenders are actually still being released locally. Here are my lists (in alphabetical order):


Ten Best US:

ADAPTATION
THE BELIEVER
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
CHICAGO
THE GOOD GIRL
IGBY GOES DOWN
LORD OF THE RINGS II
ONE HOUR PHOTO
PERSONAL VELOCITY
PUNCH DRUNK LOVE

Ten Best Foreign:

ALL OR NOTHING
ATANARJUAT -- THE FAST RUNNER
EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO
THE PIANIST
LA PIANISTE
THE SON'S ROOM (LA STANZA DEL FIGLIO)
READ MY LIPS (SUR MES LEVRES) + TIME OUT
TALK TO HER
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN


I have additional lists of must-sees and wish-I'd-seens that I'll spare you, but I'll give my US Most Overrated List:

ABOUT SCHMIDT
FAR FROM HEAVEN
THE HOURS
THE ROAD TO PERDITION

I know there will be strong disagreements on these. Bear in mind that I think they should be seen; I just don't buy the audience ratings or the interpretations being put on these four films. Interest in THE ROAD TO PERDITION may be waning, but the other three are riding high.

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND makes me more and more a Charlie Kaufman fan, and it could have been on my 2002 lists, but it didn’t open in the Bay Area till yesterday. So goes the distribution system.

[tabuno]

I must say this person knows movie "class" when he experiences it.

[Johann]

From your lists Chris, I sense you prefer films that have better production value than acting. SO DO I

[pmw]

Thus far we've had fairly different takes on a few of the goods/bads from this year: igby, punch drunk love, talk to her, about schmidt, far from heaven. BUT, Adaptation is where we come together. Really enjoyed the ideas and the construction.
Cheers!
P

[Chris Knipp]

What about "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"? It's that one made me realize I really like this Charlie Kaufman guy.

[tabuno]

I saw "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" over the weekend as well as "Adaptations" earlier this month and I'm really, really impressed. Both movies are among my favorites during the past year. Both have really unique plots, twists, great characters, substantive and meaningful.

[Chris Knipp]

I think you really have to know where Charlie Kaufman’s coming from to appreciate his screenplays. When I saw “Being John Malkovitch “ I was prejudiced against it due to all the hype about how hip it was but more and more I’m catching on that Charlie is all about a meta-fiction kind of thing – something I know about from books. The twists are new and fresh, though, and it's cool that the best people are hot to work with him.

Only good can come out of this.

[Johann]

I'm happy that Richard Gere got the golden globe this year. I know Nic Cage is great in Adaptation (I'm seeing it tonight), but I find that his roles have too much "Nicolas" in them.
Bringing Out The Dead aside (I love that movie), his performances seem too smooth, too easy, and I don't think he has reams of acting talent. I saw the trailer for Captain Corelli's Mandolin and started laughing. This flick just reeks of "trying too hard".
Cage's films are good at best (Wild at Heart & Raising Arizona were above avg.) and I feel he has a long way to go before he can call himself a "skilled actor". (Oscar be damned)

[miseenscene]

Cage is one of numerous big name actors who play the same side of themselves in every film, to some degree. Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Nick Nolte... these guys make a living playing themselves. To some extent, I think every actor and actress does that. The truly chameleonlike ones are so "out there," they almost never make it big because they're NOT recognizable.

I actually thought Cage did a good job playing off his neuroses in "Adaptation." he milks them in every film, but his variance between Donald and Charlie allowed for a wide range of Cage-isms to come out. I don't think he'll get any major awards for it, but he deserves the recognition.

[tabuno]

miseenscene - I agree. Nicholas Cage in playing these two different roles in the same movie, especially in such close proximity and give and take, takes more than basic acting. Such acting does deserve recognition.

[Chris Knipp]

Yes and he had good material to work with, plus there was a strong contrast between the two twin brothers, and it wasn't so hard for Cage to make the distinction for us, though no doubt about the fact that he makes it well. In "Dead Ringers," the creepy Cronenberg movie about the drug addict gynecologist twins both played by Jeremy Irons, it wasn't so easy to tell them apart, but the effect was still compelling and weird to watch them together. Did you see it?

I think Cage is quite a good actor, admirable for his willingness to take risks and his dedication and energy, but not supremely gifted as some are, and so sometimes he seems to be working too hard. "Adaptation" made use of that, because the sad sack frustrated brother, Charlie Kaufman, was always working hard and getting nowhere. If you ask me it was the more laid back brother Donald that was more of a stretch for Nick – but that was the secondary character.

A lot of the best movie actors, the matinee idols everybody loves, just played themselves. You have to hold back in movies, not project too much, not be stagey. There's a video of a movie acting class taught by Michael Caine -- a master of the craft -- that explains this very well. Daniel Day-Lewis is a wonderful actor -- he has played so many different roles and done them well -- a real chameleon type -- but by the same token that may not be completely cinematic, and maybe his performance in "Gangs of New York" which everybody is raving about is a bit too actor-y. Working a little hard, but still with a lot of panache. I didn't completely like the character. I thought it was put together piece by piece and you could see the separate parts. You can see that when people comment on the voice and accent, the moustache, the gestures, etc. -- they see the separate parts because it isn't entirely a unified whole. I like Johnny Depp better because he has played a lot of different roles but he's laid back in all of them. Even as Hunter S. Thompson he is pretty laid back, you feel he's just having a good laugh. In "Dead Man" he's very neutral, deadpan, like Buster Keaton, and that is his greatest role. I think Caine would approve of his performance there. But my idea of a great chameleon performance in a movie where the actor disappears into the role is Leo Di Caprio in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Scorsese said he didn’t know Di Caprio wasn’t a retarded boy when he saw the movie. I didn’t either.

I wouldn't say Jack Nicholson always plays himself but that at a certain point he began doing so, when he became a big star, and his personality began to dominate. But not always even now. I don't buy that he disappears into "About Schmidt," but I do think he disappeared into that Sean Penn movie a couple of years ago--"The Pledge", which is a wonderful performance in a fine movie.

Sure, every actor is "playing himself" -- playing himself as he would be if he were that person in that situation. But nobody is King Lear, so "playing yourself" in King Lear is still a big stretch for anybody. It's a feat of the imagination, even if it comes out of you. Where else is it going to come from?

Well, then you get into English (technical) vs. American (method) acting. According to English style, it doesn’t come out of you, because it’s somebody else, so you have to create the character out of technique. But it's an artificial distinction to separate technical from method acting. All the distinctions about acting are artificial. Acting is fundamentally a mystery. It comes down to instinct -- and technique, always both.

I’m just throwing this out for anyone to comment.

[Mark Dujsik]

Late but ready nonetheless:

10. About Schmidt
9. Changing Lanes
8. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
7. Frailty
6. Catch Me If You Can
5. Chicago
4. Signs
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2. Minority Report
1. Bowling for Columbine

Of course, this list (or any, for that matter) means nothing without justification, so here's where I plug my site again:

The 10 Best Films of 2002 (http://mark-reviews-movies.tripod.com/features/10best/10best2002.htm)

You get an introduction, reasons behind each choice, a special mention, and all the honorable mentions. What a deal! :)

[tabuno]

Mark Dujsik wrote about Signs as his fourth best movie of 2002


M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs solidifies what everyone suspected back in 1999. This is the work of brilliant filmmaker. The film forces us to confront our greatest fears and hopes for and about the unknown, but it also works as a purely unnerving exercise in suspense, atmosphere, and simple storytelling. Shyamalan’s script expertly weaves tension, humor, and domestic drama into an entirely convincing look at one family on the edge of crumbling and, through them, a world on the brink of possible destruction. The build is slow, meticulous, and almost unbearable, and the payoff is absolutely ingenious in the way it ties the ends of two mythical conflicts together without relying on a twist ending. Mel Gibson’s performance as a man of lost faith and total dedication to his surviving family is intelligent and sympathetic. Everything falls into place here, thanks to the best work to date of a now mature and completely assured filmmaker.

I'm fascinated by how many people really liked "Signs," but the plot flaws particularly as it regards the absence of local law enforcement presence later in the movie, the use of the extraneous character in the role of a brother, the limp ending that doesn't really have the same power as H.G. Wells "The War of the Worlds," and the aliens themselves and how close up they don't appear to really to be credible as opposed to what is seen on the telecasts shown in the movie - all makes for a rather weak movie that doesn't deserve as much credit for being one of the best films of 2002.

[Chris Knipp]

I agree with tabuno

"Signs" doesn't quite work for the reasons you mentioned.

But I also agree with Mark Dujsik

Shyamalan is a gifted filmmaker who uses the great cinematic conventions powerfully and knows how to construct a movie according to the classic mold.

In retrospect, while "Signs" has all the earmarks of mainstream perfection, it wasn't his best effort after all.

Maybe what's holding him back from achieving the promise of greatness is this:

There's something hokey -- and occasionally defective -- about his screenplays. Maybe he just ought to have a little more help in writing them.

[Mark Dujsik]

Originally posted by tabuno
I'm fascinated by how many people really liked "Signs," but the plot flaws particularly as it regards the absence of local law enforcement presence later in the movie, the use of the extraneous character in the role of a brother, the limp ending that doesn't really have the same power as H.G. Wells "The War of the Worlds," and the aliens themselves and how close up they don't appear to really to be credible as opposed to what is seen on the telecasts shown in the movie - all makes for a rather weak movie that doesn't deserve as much credit for being one of the best films of 2002.

What local law enforcement? It's a small town, they're probably with their own families or at least useless against the aliens. In all seriousness, though, did you really wonder, "Where are the cops?" while you watching the film near the end? The brother is hardly extraneous. He's there for support for the family, and he serves as the antithesis to Gibson's character in regards to faith. If you had said (or mean) that his role as comic relief was extraneous, I would have disagreed with you, but I would have seen where you were coming from. I haven't read War of the Worlds (never got to it), but the ending to me just completely works. As for the aliens, we only see one, and when it comes down to it, that scene is not about an alien, just as the film is not really about alien invasion. And it's Night's first try at CGI, so we should cut him some slack. :)

[Mark Dujsik]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Shyamalan is a gifted filmmaker who uses the great cinematic conventions powerfully and knows how to construct a movie according to the classic mold.

In retrospect, while "Signs" has all the earmarks of mainstream perfection, it wasn't his best effort after all.

Maybe what's holding him back from achieving the promise of greatness is this:

There's something hokey -- and occasionally defective -- about his screenplays. Maybe he just ought to have a little more help in writing them.

Well the material he's covered in his past three films is inherently hokey, but what he's done with all three of them is to take that material and make it about one specific person coming to grips with it.

Just curious, what do you think is his best effort so far? If we don't count Signs, I'd say Unbreakable.

[Chris Knipp]

I would say "The Sixth Sense," because I like Haley Joel Osment, an amazing young actor, and his relationship with Bruce Willis's character. But "Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" are about on a par. Shyamalan's still young and I keep thinking he's a big, not fully formed talent, and I'm still hoping he's going to "grow up" intellectually, and start looking at life without these gimmicky supernatural plots. I may be wrong. I may be looking for something that will never come. We'll see. I'm still eager to see whatever he does anyway, because I see a lot of talent there.

[tabuno]

Originally Posted by Mark Dujsik
What local law enforcement? It's a small town, they're probably with their own families or at least useless against the aliens. In all seriousness, though, did you really wonder, "Where are the cops?" while you watching the film near the end? The brother is hardly extraneous. He's there for support for the family, and he serves as the antithesis to Gibson's character in regards to faith. If you had said (or mean) that his role as comic relief was extraneous, I would have disagreed with you, but I would have seen where you were coming from. I haven't read War of the Worlds (never got to it), but the ending to me just completely works. As for the aliens, we only see one, and when it comes down to it, that scene is not about an alien, just as the film is not really about alien invasion. And it's Night's first try at CGI, so we should cut him some slack. :)

(1) The local law enforcement, Officer Paski who was so prominent in the first half of the movie suddenly drops off the face of the earth in the movie, someone who seems to sincerely care about the people in her small town. It is just because it is a small town, how they all look out for each other, that her absence is strangely missed. It would be expected that she would have made one last call, to check on the Hess family and let them know what she knew.

(2) What made "The Others" with Nicole Kidman so successful was the intimate focus on her as a mother and her two little children. I found the brother in "Signs" distracting, an added excessive baggage that really wasn't needed. It would have been much more scarier having Mel Gibson having to face the unknown all by himself with his children. With the brother there it seemed to deflate the potential horror-thriller element that the movie could have been.

(3) The single alien - the ending is just too pat nowadays. The sophistication by which the alien population dominated the earth is so staggering that the concept of water which is obvious that the earth is composed most of and the cloud covering and weather patterns, again so obvious make the ending all too unbelievable. Again the alien doesn't seem to reflect at all what happened to the rest of the world outside. It's almost as if we're seeing two different movies, one not related to the other. The whole assumption that the aliens were bad appeared reversed as it seems that Mel Gibson was more of the aggressor from the get go. No wonder the alien was mad and hostile. For me, Signs was about the answer to the crop sitings, without the Aliens, their explanation, there is no movie. No serious Aliens, no serious movie.

[Mark Dujsik]

Originally posted by tabuno
(1) The local law enforcement, Officer Paski who was so prominent in the first half of the movie suddenly drops off the face of the earth in the movie, someone who seems to sincerely care about the people in her small town. It is just because it is a small town, how they all look out for each other, that her absence is strangely missed. It would be expected that she would have made one last call, to check on the Hess family and let them know what she knew.

Fair enough. I'll pay attention when I watch it again, but I've seen it three times now, and it never bothered me.


(2) What made "The Others" with Nicole Kidman so successful was the intimate focus on her as a mother and her two little children. I found the brother in "Signs" distracting, an added excessive baggage that really wasn't needed. It would have been much more scarier having Mel Gibson having to face the unknown all by himself with his children. With the brother there it seemed to deflate the potential horror-thriller element that the movie could have been.

Not sure what you mean. Do you mean that there was a sense of security with him around? Perhaps, though, he is just as scared as everyone else around him. And I thought the family dynamics were especially developed and were at the heart of the film.


(3) The single alien - the ending is just too pat nowadays. The sophistication by which the alien population dominated the earth is so staggering that the concept of water which is obvious that the earth is composed most of and the cloud covering and weather patterns, again so obvious make the ending all too unbelievable. Again the alien doesn't seem to reflect at all what happened to the rest of the world outside. It's almost as if we're seeing two different movies, one not related to the other. The whole assumption that the aliens were bad appeared reversed as it seems that Mel Gibson was more of the aggressor from the get go. No wonder the alien was mad and hostile. For me, Signs was about the answer to the crop sitings, without the Aliens, their explanation, there is no movie. No serious Aliens, no serious movie.

Has anyone thought that perhaps the reason the aliens came to Earth was to take specimens to discover why we are immune to water, since our planet and its atmosphere is composed primarily of it? The alien is cut off from the rest of what's going on in the world outside. They left behind their wounded. Well, the aliens are bad because they killed people, although, it'd be ironic if Gibson's poor intergalactic social skills helped incite a full-blown invasion.

And if the movie was about crop signs and aliens for you, well then, you're right, there is no movie.

[oscar jubis]

The last two lists posted (ArpHagenbach and Mark Dujsik) represent film buffs at opposing poles. Arp's list contains a single english language film (the lovely Far from Heaven) and Mark D ignores there are films being made outside of Hollywood, California. Chris Knipp has a list for U.S.-made films and one for foreign-made (not foreign language like the Academy). Pmw's list is nicely balanced. I hope I like "The Son" as much as he does ( I loved Promesse and Rosetta). At least two call "The Hours" overrated; I'll wait 'til it wins the Oscar to do so. As usual, I'll wait a coupla weeks to post my list while I watch my faves again (to make sure). And, I have decided to listen to Mr. Dujsik and give "Signs" a chance, even though I didn't even like 6th Sense much. His choice of "Bowling" for #1 and inclusion of the underrated "Minority Report" are appreciated.

[tabuno]

I haven't come across many people who didn't like "Sixth Sense" and then compared to "Signs" that's even more surprising. "Sixth Sense" had a great deal of suspense, tingling of horror without the overblown, extravagance as well as good characterization and exposure to the main actors and a killer ending.

On another note, Mark Dujsik deserves a lot of credit for being good at discussing movies. He makes sense and really knows how to get points across and take in and explore and expand on new information at the same time.

[Mark Dujsik]

Originally posted by oscar jubis
The last two lists posted (ArpHagenbach and Mark Dujsik) represent film buffs at opposing poles. Arp's list contains a single english language film (the lovely Far from Heaven) and Mark D ignores there are films being made outside of Hollywood, California. Chris Knipp has a list for U.S.-made films and one for foreign-made (not foreign language like the Academy). Pmw's list is nicely balanced. I hope I like "The Son" as much as he does ( I loved Promesse and Rosetta). At least two call "The Hours" overrated; I'll wait 'til it wins the Oscar to do so. As usual, I'll wait a coupla weeks to post my list while I watch my faves again (to make sure). And, I have decided to listen to Mr. Dujsik and give "Signs" a chance, even though I didn't even like 6th Sense much. His choice of "Bowling" for #1 and inclusion of the underrated "Minority Report" are appreciated.

Another reason is that I have not seen most of the films on ArpHagenbach's list (I did see The Fast Runner, and well... let's not bring that up...). It's hard for me to see foreign films from my location, and of the few I did see, only Y Tu Mamá También made my honorable mention list. Anyway, 10 Best Lists are fun, aren't they?

The Hours is just mediocre and, as much as I hate the word, "overrated."

[Mark Dujsik]

Originally posted by tabuno
On another note, Mark Dujsik deserves a lot of credit for being good at discussing movies. He makes sense and really knows how to get points across and take in and explore and expand on new information at the same time.

Hey, at least people here are open to discussion, as compared to the majority of folks over at the RT forums...

[Chris Knipp]

One reason there are never two identical ten best lists is we all have different tastes, but another equally important one is that we simply don’t see the same movies. Of Mark Dujsik’s ten best I missed “Frailty.” I started to list the others from ten best lists in this forum that I hadn’t seen and I stopped at twelve. Most of these are somewhat odd choices, not occurring on many lists, but we all have those. “Russian Ark” is on a number of professional print critics’ ten best lists, but it has yet to open here. So it goes. Of the four NYTimes movie critics' ten best lists, I have missed about half of the movies listed on each. Living in NYC and going to film festivals gives you an advantage I don't have.

I agree that lists are fun. I like seeing lists people make of the ten worst, the ten funniest, the ten stupidest, the ten with the best acting, and on and on, though I like best rating for overall artistic merit and am happy to focus on that.

My ideal is not to see every movie, which would be impossible, but to see as many as I can that are truly worth seeing. It’s also valuable to see some bad ones, just as it’s worthwhile to hear bad musicians or watch (or be) amateur athletes, to appreciate those with the most talent, the most skill, and the most originality a little better. I also want to understand what's popular, whether good or bad, what expresses the times and what influences how people think and respond. And I’m happiest when a popular mainstream movie is really, really good.

Since we can’t see all the movies out there, it’s good that some of you see the ones I miss. That robs us of the level playing field film festivals and the Academy Awards arbitrarily set up for their juries and panels, but it’s not all bad. We can point to gems like “Pumpkin” that others miss.

Pardon my ignorance, but what are these RT Forums you are referring to, Mark?

[Chris Knipp]

Here is an example of some fun lists I just came accross. I don't know the writer: http://www.movie-source.com/zeditorials/03_january27.shtml

[Mark Dujsik]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Pardon my ignorance, but what are these RT Forums you are referring to, Mark?

Rotten Tomatoes.

Be sure to see Frailty.

[Chris Knipp]

I got this some time ago and did see Frailty, a powerful film which disturbed me very much but ultimately didn't win me over as a fan.

[oscar jubis]

The films listed below amount to approx. one film per week, a reasonable diet for film buffs. These are my must-see films, divided into english language and foreign language regardless of provenance. As pointed out by Johann, 2002 was the year of the political film. I watched most of the top films twice. If you don't like subtitles,I think you missed out in 2002. If I was to come up with a combined list my top 4-6 would be foreign. I cannot remember this happening before. The runners-up and honorable mentions are listed alphabetically.

1. BLOODY SUNDAY (Greengrass, Ire/Uk)
2. ARARAT (Egoyan,Canada)
THE PIANIST (Polanski,UK/Pol/Fra/Ger)
4. ALL OR NOTHING (Leigh,UK)
FAR FROM HEAVEN (Haynes,US)
6. ADAPTATION (Jonze,US)
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (Moore,US)
GANGS OF NEW YORK (Scorsese,US/Ita)
LOTR:THE TWO TOWERS (Jackson,US/NZe/Ger)
THE 25TH HOUR (Lee,US)
THE QUIET AMERICAN (Noyce,UK/Aus)

RUNNERS UP: Minority Report, 13 Conversations About One Thing, The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein, Kwik Stop, Femme Fatale, The Hours, Rabbit Proof Fence, Sleepy-Time Gal, Sunshine State, The Trials of Henry Kissinger.

HONORABLE MENTION: The Good Girl, About Schmidt, 8 Mile, Catch me if you Can, The Cat's Meow, Changing Lanes, Chicago, Frida,Insomnia,Road to Perdition
BEST REVIVAL: The Restored METROPOLIS by Fritz Lang.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE TOP 10

1. LIFELINES (Erice/Spain)
TIME OUT (Cantet,Fra)
3. ATANARJUAT, The Fast Runner (Kunuk,Can)
IN PRAISE OF LOVE (Godard, Fra/Swi)
SPIRITED AWAY (Miyazaki,Jap)
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (Cuaron,Mex/US)
7. TALK TO HER (Almodovar,Spa)
I'M GOING HOME (De Oliveira,Port/Fra)
9. BLACKBOARDS (Makhmalbaf, Iran)
MARI IYAGI (Seong-Kang, S.Kor)
MILLENIUM MAMBO (Hou-Hsien,Taiwan)
THE SON'S ROOM (Moretti,Ita/Fra)
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (Ming-liang,Tai/Chi)


RUNNERS UP:
Bunuel and King Solomon's Table (Spa), How I killed My Father (Fra), Kandahar (Iran), Lady and The Duke (Fra), Late Marriage (Isr), Piano Teacher (Fra), Read My Lips (Fra), Tell Me Something (S.Kor), Devils in the Doorstep (China).

HONORABLE MENTION:
8 Women, Heaven, I'm Taraneh 15, Intacto, The Isle, Lan Yu, Monsoon Wedding, Secret Ballot, To Be and To Have, Warm Water Under the Red Bridge.

FAVORITE PERFORMANCES
MALE: Aurelien Recoing(Time Out), Samuel L. Jackson(Changing Lanes), Michel Piccoli(I'm Going Home), Daniel Day Lewis(GoNY), Jack Nicholson,Schmidt), Benjamin Pratt(Pinero)
SUPPORTING: Chris Cooper(Adaptation), Paul Newman(Road), John Malkovich(I'm Going Home), Brad Dourif(LOTR), Dennis Quaid(Adaptation)

FEMALE: Julianne Moore(F.F.Heaven), Meryl Streep(Adaptation), Isabelle Huppert(Piano Teacher), Jacqueline Bisset(Sleepy Time Gal), Maribel Verdu(Y tu Mama)
SUPPORTING: Samantha Morton(Minority), Queen Latifah and C.Zeta-Jones(Chicago), the entire cast of 8 Women.

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks for reviving this long-lived thread.

Our tastes are very similar, yours and mine, as I had already noticed.

I like just about everything you have chosen to list that I have seen. I haven't seen 25th Hour, Sleepy-Time Girl (never even heard of it), Femme Fatale, or Trials of Henry Kissinger. I would have listed Catch Me If You Can and Chicago, and not put Minority Report in the top ten. In your foreign list I haven't seen Mari Iyagi or Millenium Mambo (or heard of them) or I'm Going Home. I'm not so keen on Spirited Away (but I should have seen the Japanese version), and I wouldn't rate Gangs of New York and Minority Report in the top category. There are some in your foreign runners-up that I haven't seen. I'd consider Va Savoir as being 2001.

I can't find anything at all to argue with you about, though: you've included many of my favorites.

This thread is too long now for me to keep complete track of, but I see that there are some interesting variations.

tabuno, who says she can't see a lot of the stuff we're talking about, has a very feminine list. Those who get to film festivals, like PMW, tend to include more exotica. Those who strive for hipness like a lot of the Village Voice critics like to throw in outrageous pop items like Jackass: The Movie. (But I haven't seen it; maybe it's amazing.) I like to work within the mainstream but throw in the exotica that I really believe in, such as What Time Is It Now? I'm surprised at the guy --Ricardo-- who said Talk to Her, Punch-Drunk Love, Bowling for Columbine, The Hours, and The Pianist were all overrated, but he shows signs of liking to shock. There's a chance of offending somebody with that list, though I've come to his way of thinking about The Hours. (Just as it ain't over till it's over, a movie ain't overrated till it's overrated.)

I also agree with the person (replying to tabuno ) who said this list-making is for single people without pets who've got lots of free time. I plead guilty on all counts. Even tabuno must plead guilty to squandering many happy hours contributing to these forums.

But as I've been saying, no matter how much time you have, you can't see everything other people see when they see it. For instance the San Francisco Bay Area where I live is a pretty good movie-going area but The Son is only now about to open here. And Spider just opened in Berkeley last week. I'd certainly have put it in my 2002 lists somewhere but it's too late now; the balcony is closed. So it goes in the chaos of movie-distribution-land.

[miseenscene]

I'd have thought San Fran would be ahead of the game. Here in Pittsburgh, we get most foreign films for a few days at least, but the matter of keeping track of them and making time in a busy week to see something that won't be around next week results in my missing a lot of great films. Talk to Her has been here for a couple weeks already and I still haven't had a chance to check it out... Thank God for the video rental store in the trendy college section of town that stocks a decent selection of indie and foreign DVDs...

And I think you can also add a subclassification of posters to this forum: People Who Aren't Single But Have a Lot of Free Time at Work.

By the way, having seen less than half the films on Oscar's list, I still wouldn't put Minority Report in my top 10 if I could help it. In fact, I hate to say it but, scanning through the list, 2002 looks pretty thin from a "lasting classics" sort of POV...

[Chris Knipp]

I know. But the only towns that really get most of the openings are NYC and LA, not San Francisco. The Son is running only one week I find, and if I want to see it I have to go today or tomorrow. It may come back, though. Over a month later, and City of God has not come over from SF to Berkeley as I'd assumed. We're dealing with an ephemeral art in more ways than one.

As for "lasting classics," that's not really something you can be clear about till later. But The Pianist and Catch Me If You Can will stick around a while in my opinion, and Y Tu Mama Tambien is a classic.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Our tastes are very similar, yours and mine, as I had already noticed.
Maybe even more so: I think Igby, Confessions, Padre Amaro, and One hr Photo are solid.

Sleepy-Time Girl (never even heard of it)
Jacqueline Bisset plays a Fla DJ once known as sleepy-time gal, now a Bay Area resident, who may not have enough time to tidy up the loose ends and Martha Plimpton, as the girl she gave up for adoption who longs to meet her (and a whole lot more in 94 mins). Chris Munch, the director, is best known for The Hours and The Times, the brilliant 70 min riff on the John Lennon-Brian Epstein relationship. It's out on video.

I would have listed Catch Me If You Can and Chicago, and not put Minority Report in the top ten.
Allow me a few comments about MR, the one film to significantly improve in my estimation after a second viewing . The film does require a suspension of disbelief ("3 oracles deliver their auguries in the form of coloured wooden balls"The Guardian). Its narrative thrust prevents deep analysis at times, some ideas are underdeveloped. This is an ambitious film with recognizable flaws. The second viewing is recommended because Spielberg gives us more to look at than we can possibly absorb. I suddenly noticed the riches it offers. Samantha Morton evoking both Falconetti's Joan of Arc and 2001's Star-child. The prescience and import of addressing the issue of pre-emptive justice. The way it makes you realize the intrusive, assaultive nature of advertisement and how we become increasingly tolerant of it. The way-cool vertical freeway chase scene. That astonishing spiderobot search for Mr. inside a dwelling. Spielberg having a " Cronenberg moment"? Our hero trying to retrieve his eyeballs before these roll down into the sewer. There's more, and remember MR would be close to #20 if I combine lists. It is not a masterpiece.

In your foreign list I haven't seen Mari Iyagi or Millenium Mambo (or heard of them) or I'm Going Home. I'm not so keen on Spirited Away (but I should have seen the Japanese version)
The Japanese language Spirited Away is not significantly different. Actually the dubbed version allows more time for your eyes to marvel at the animation It may be where we part company, Chris. Mari aka My Beautiful Girl is also an animated fantasy/romance/coming-of-age, but more melancholy and spare. I imported the dvd from Asia with thoughts of reselling and couldn't part with it.

Millenium Mambo is like a sedate version of Kar-Wai's Chungking Express. I waste no opportunity to hail director Hou-Hsien from Taiwan although I fear ridicule. Many don't know what to do with the time and freedom he gives us to decide what to look at and where the story is. Hou is the least manipulative narrative filmmaker alive. The Puppetmaster is his most accessible. Flowers of Shanghai is an absolute must for Barry Lyndon fans.

I'd consider Va Savoir as being 2001.
Maybe I should edit my 2001 list to include it.


I also agree with the person who said this list-making is for single people without pets who've got lots of free time. I plead guilty on all counts.
Long time ago, I decided to sacrifice an hour+ of sleep daily to the cinema gods.

[tabuno]

I hope that nobody tells my parents that I'm a girl.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
the only towns that really get most of the openings are NYC and LA, not San Francisco.
Absolutely, but I think that larger cities like SFA that attract new immigrants provide more opportunities to sample foreign fare than smaller cities with less fluid migration patterns, like Pitt. For instance, I've attended screenings here in which I am practically the only non-jew, or non portuguese-speaker in the room, or part of a hetero minority. I'll tell you another advantage, you can walk into a store and buy any Chinese film released in the past 5 years, maybe Miseenscene cannot.


As for "lasting classics," that's not really something you can be clear about till later. But The Pianist and Catch Me If You Can will stick around a while in my opinion, and Y Tu Mama Tambien is a classic.
I concluded the 2002 classics have subtitles. Otherwise, Bloody Sunday and The Pianist have the best chance in my opinion. I kinda feel bad that the best known holocaust film to date has an Aryan for a hero. Maybe I prefer the film with a Jew for a survivor.
Y Tu Mama Tambien is so graceful, seemingly effortless, light yet rich, both a sex farce and a neo-realist road flick. Like a horny Jules et Jim con chile.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by tabuno
I hope that nobody tells my parents that I'm a girl.
haha Chris probably figured ending the user name with an o to make it sound masculine was part of a ploy to deceive us. But You do have a feminine side, don't you Tab? Maybe we all do I mean...y'all do.

[Johann]

Flowers of Shanghai- a must see for Barry Lyndon fans? Now I'm curious. Please explain oscar.

I'm upset that George Butler's documentary "The Endurance" was not nominated for best doc. feature this year. I was completely absorbed in this tragic/triumphant story about Shackleton's failed antarctic expedition narrated by Liam Neeson. The photography was absolutely breathtaking. Glorious shots of ice floes coinciding with archive footage of the disasterous trip. It re-affirmed my lust for life when the survivors reached that outpost... Anyone see it?

[miseenscene]

Pittsburgh's not exactly a hotbed of immigration, no. I'd be shocked to see a Chinese film on sale anywhere, period, unless it was a PVT copy of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... We do have a pretty good repertory conduit, though, with three different theaters showing classic films on a regular basis. Just passed up a chance to see Kubrick's The Killing on the big screen yesterday...

Incidentally, I passed it up to watch No Such Thing on DVD. I'm a Hal Hartley fan, and thought this was typically brilliant. His style is not always subtle, but definitely rich in small touches. Heavy-handed morality fables juxtaposed with extended dialogue-free shots, big on sarcasm and irony without losing touch of humanity -- in fact, arguing angrily for it in the face of heartlessness -- leads me to believe Hartley is greatly underseen and underappreciated, and far more important than he's given credit for.

[Chris Knipp]

You may like this piece about the decline in Big Apple moviegoing experiences from Molly Haskell, Andrew Sarris's wife, from the March 14, 2003 New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/14/movies/14MOLL.html

It is certainly true that projection has declined. The people up there don't know what they're doing half the time and hardly care.

[Johann]

On more than one occasion I've talked to theatre managers about the quality of the picture being projected-and usually get looks of "who the hell are you?" in return.

Nobody seems to complain if prints are scratched or spliced horribly, or if the sound levels are shit or don't match the image.
This happens FAR too often (at least in Canada) and I blame the guy in the projection booth. He inspects prints, splices them, and threads them through the projector. Why do they hire people who don't care? The vibe I get is "it's just a movie, relax" from these uppity managers. It pisses me off.

During the previews of 8 Mile the film MELTED on screen. While I loved the Brakhage-ness of it, I got pretty annoyed after 15 minutes of no restart. I was just about to ask for my money back when it began again-with the first few minutes missing!
For the majority of "Ronin", reel changes had about 3-5 seconds of dialogue cut off. These things SHOULD NOT happen.

I understand why Kubrick made sure his films were projected as he wanted. Wouldn't you?

[Chris Knipp]

Isn't this part of the process initiated by the spread of cineplexes? More auditoriums mean more work for less trained worse paid people who aren't important any more the way the operator of a sole projection booth was, and they can't even be on hand in any one booth. Besides which, the whole way projectors work and are loaded is different (there was once a New Yorker article about this) and causes more wear on the film. I don't agree with all the NYT article's nostalgia, though. I think more movies are available more often than in the past and I like that.

[miseenscene]

I agree with the poor projectionist arguments -- there's a theater here in Pittsburgh where I've seen damaged prints more often than not, including a green line running through every reel of The Green Mile and sound that amounted to static throughout most of Any Given Sunday (yes, I know, I wasn't missing much).

Another downside to the multiplex issue is the waste of more screens on fewer films. If a Loew's has 20 screens, it should have 20 films showing, shouldn't it? Instead, we get two or three theaters each showing Daredevil, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Hunted. No wonder box office performance is so inflated. It's already an arbitrary figure to begin with due to swollen ticket prices, as opposed to counting actual tickets sold. But now meager films stand to gain from overexposure simply because theater chains are reluctant to fill their five or six extra theaters with foreign, repertory or independent films and instead pander to the bored teenage populace who won't wait around an extra half hour to see Old School.

Films are sold as mass-produced product rather than individual flavors carefully marketed to receptive audiences. No wonder theater employees have the "it's just a movie" attitude.

[Chris Knipp]

You put it well. But not all young cineplex employees have a "it's just a movie" attitude. Some love movies and are eager to discuss them--in the better class of cineplexes, that is.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Johann
Flowers of Shanghai- a must see for Barry Lyndon fans? Now I'm curious.
I stand by my comment. Both transport you back in time to a rarified, stylized environment, maintain a luxurious pacing, and feature lighting that bathes everything in a soft burnt-orange tone.These comment written about Kubrick's film apply also to Flowers of Shanghai:"each shot framed as a lovely painting emphasizing the non-action of the period".
By the way, I made a truly bizarre connection tonight. I was watching Griffith's Broken Blossoms and looking at Lillian Gish I realized how much Sheryl Lee looks like her. Then I realized Ms. Lee, In Twin Peaks:Fire Walk with Me, is also abused and murdered by her monster Dad.
By the Way 2: I really felt uncomfortable, when watching this silent classic, with the racism in it. Not necessarily Anglos playing minority characters (the Chinese protagonist, an African extra), not a brute using racial slurs, but things like our innocent heroine naming her sweetheart "Chinky". This protagonist is solely known in the titles as... Yellow Man.



I'm upset that George Butler's documentary "The Endurance" was not nominated for best doc. feature this year.
Johann, was it a regular theatrical release?

P.S. I hope my response to tabuno's post was appropriate. I thought it was a bit funny and not offensive but not sure.

[Johann]

Well I gotta check out Flowers of Shanghai NOW. That sounds right up my alley. The Endurance was not a wide release, but it should have been. (Like Bowling For Columbine) It played for a month at one of our art-houses. Awesome doc. It felt like I was on the expedition. (I would not have liked eating my dog to survive, tho.)

Yes, Griffith & the racism issue again. I was uncomfortable with Broken Blossoms as well. I believe the original title was "The Chink and the Girl" or something like that..Shame!!

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Johann
Well I gotta check out Flowers of Shanghai NOW.
Overstock.com will mail a new dvd to you for $11.09. Deepdiscountdvd sold out but always worth checking out.


Yes, Griffith & the racism issue again. I was uncomfortable with Broken Blossoms as well. I believe the original title was "The Chink and the Girl" or something like that..Shame!!
Exactamundo! Yet I am re-viewing his films. I saw 'em in a film hx class 20+ years ago. Johann, please lemme know if you have watched Birth, Intolerance, etc. on dvd. How is the quality of image? Did you like the restored Intolerance? Is the budget release of Birth from a good print? For example, I found the budget "Golem" dvd decent enough, but this is not always the case.

[Johann]

I have seen Birth of a Nation on DVD but not Intolerance. The restored Kino vhs was a specatcular copy. Highly recommended.
The BOAN dvd was fine-it wasn't pristine, but I could tell the image was clearer than the vhs. The best restorations for silents that I have seen are Haxan:Witchcraft Through The Ages (Criterion-which I plan to buy soon), Foolish Wives and The Passion of Joan of Arc (also Criterion). I own Foolish Wives-which was restored BY HAND by Arthur Lennig- a historian and Stroheim expert. (It's expensive, but a must have imho)

I'm hoping to see G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box released soon as well as Murnau's Sunrise- I heard a rumour that they are working on it.
I love Pandora's Box: "ACHTUNG!- funny how you can always get whiskey on credit, but never bread!"

[rocketrogerhood]

Best Movie of 2002-Far from Heaven
Runners up-Y Tu Mamá También
-I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
-Bowling For Columbine
-Adaptation

Most Overrated-The Hours
Runners up-Lord of the Rings
-Good Girl
- About Schmidt

[treadman]

1. AUTO FOCUS
2. SPIRITED AWAY
3. ADAPTATION
4. ABOUT SCHMIDT
5. 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING
6. LAST ORDERS
7. MINORITY REPORT
8. FEMME FATALE
9. INSOMNIA
10. PUNCH DRUNK LOVE