I base this solely on how much I enjoyed watching the films.
Socially irredeemable trash and deep meaningful artistic works both made this
list. That's just the way my tastes are. Anyway, have fun with the
list but don't take it too seriously. After all, it's just one guy's
opinion.
(tie) 'American Splendor' and 'LOTR: Return of the King' – Two very different
movies, both as good as it gets. ‘American Splendor’ captures the drama and
humor of everyday life, and ‘Return of the King’ creates a fully realized
fantasy world that still finds room for emotion and characterization.
'Ararat' (released late 2002, but didn’t play Cleveland until 2003) A great
movie about how perceptions shape reality, and so much more. When director
Atom Egoyan is on (‘Exotica’, ‘The Sweet Hereafter’, and this flick), no one’s
better.
‘Lost in Translation’ – A romantic comedy that’s actually good. Imagine that.
'28
Days Later' – Best zombie film in years, even if it doesn’t really have
any zombies.
‘Capturing the Friedmans’ – Disturbing documentary of the year.
'May' – ‘Frankenstein’ meets ‘Repulsion’. A great blend of straight forward
and psychological horror styles.
'Weather Underground' – Another great documentary. A fascinating portrait of
a chaotic time in American history, and some of the forgotten people who (for
better or worse) helped shape it.
‘Schlock – The Secret History of American Cinema’ – (Almost) everything you
ever wanted to know about trash film. The interviews with exploitation icons
like Doris Wishman, David Friedman, and Harry Novak are priceless. Yep,
another doc.
‘Swimming Pool’ – A great “head game” mystery film with gorgeous
cinematography and plenty of sex. Charlotte Rampling is excellent in the lead
role.
'X-Men 2' – The superhero movie done right. Nothing deep, just lots of fun.
'The Trials of Henry Kissinger' – What can I say, it was a good year for
documentaries. The cuddly grandfather of politics or a war criminal on the
loose? Watch this and decide for yourself.
‘Cabin Fever’ – The movie Rob Zombie wishes he could have made. Captures the
real essence of seventies drive-in horror.
'Mike Yokahama' – Surreal Japanese mystery/comedy/mindfuck.
'A
Mighty Wind' – The Spinal Tap guys take a stab at folk music. Not laugh out
loud funny, but you’ll have a smile on your face the whole way through.
‘Monster’ – Great performance by Charleze Theron, and the movie’s not bad,
either.
‘Holes’ – A modern live-action kid flick as good as classics like ‘Willy
Wonka’.
‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ – Joe R. Lansdale’s twisted writings finally make it to the big
screen, with Bruce Campbell as Elvis, Ossie Davis as JFK, and a soul-sucking
mummy in a cowboy hat.
‘Hey, Stop Stabbing Me!’ – A bizarre, no budget comedy without stars that has
more creativity and laughs than a whole year’s worth of Hollywood gross-out
“laugh riots” featuring ex-SNL cast members.
‘Demon Summer’ – A no-budget wonder that overcomes its obstacles to deliver
some genuinely effective fright scenes. Not perfect, but solidly
entertaining.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ – Mindless entertainment with a great performances
from Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush.
Of course
there are still a number of movies that I should have seen but didn’t get around
to yet, mainly because I chose to waste my time and money on a lot of mediocre
horror movies instead. It’s a sickness, I can’t help myself. So in case I wind
up liking ’21 Grams’, ‘Mystic River’, ‘Casa de los Babys’, ‘City of God’, ‘The
Backyard’, ‘Elephant’, ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, ‘Kill Bill Vol. 1’,
‘Irreversible’, ‘Man on the Train’, ‘Whale Rider’, ‘The Fog of War’, ‘Spider’,
‘Looney Tunes Back in Action’, ‘Spellbound’, or something else released in 2003
that I’m not even expecting to be good, better than some of the titles on this
list, my apologies to those involved in advance.
