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2001:
The Year in Film
In our
group estimation, these are the best films of the year!
Contributors include Troy, Shawn,
Russ, Kyle and Li
Troy's Picks for Best Films of 2001
For the
most part, 2001 will be remembered as the year of the "explanation
movie". Whether you needed background on Middle Earth, were
expected to watch a film unfold backwards, make leaps in time,
faith and logic, or just understand that those were robots
and not aliens at the end of "A.I.", it seemed that most films
of worth not only invited, but demanded, discussion. Here's
my big five.
5.
Shrek
Okay, so this one isn't quite a mind-bender. It was just
laugh out-loud funny. Of course, you need to know your fairy
tales or Disney films to get the jokes, but they came so fast
and at so many levels that you were bound to find something
funny. The voices were great, with Mike Myers ringing yet
a third character (after the Dad in "So I Married an Axe Murderer"
and Fat Bastard in "AP2") from his Scots accent. Besides,
any film with a gingerbread man tortured in a glass of milk
deserves mention. My favorite scene? The wolf in grandma's
clothing simply asking, "What?"
4.
Donnie Darko
Joining the lofty company of this year's explanafest,
yet not quite hitting as highly, is the memorable and imminently
watchable Donnie Darko. While not as narratively cohesive
as some of the other films out this year, it contains rock-solid
acting from a fine cast, some great moments, and more than
its share of fine ideas. You may have heard of this film as
the dark cousin to Harvey, with the titular teen taking dark
and destructive advice from a grotesque rabbit that only he
can see. However, it's much more than that. Unfortunately,
it never quite adds up, but as a portrait of disaffected youth,
it's solid cinema.
3.
Memento
A steel trap powered by a Swiss watch, Memento works so
perfectly precisely because it works so perfectly. Edited
with laser-edged sharpness and acted prodigiously by Guy Pearce
(with Joey Pants and Carrie Anne Moss in support), this reversed
tale gave us one of the best mysteries in years. The concept
of a man with no memory has been done before in any variety
of ways, but Pearce's portrayal of a man so driven that he
tattoos clues on himself sets the film above even its original
premise.
2.
Mulholland Drive
I lavished praise on this film when I first saw it, and
retrospect only makes it grow in my mind. Obviously a modern
noir classic from the wizard of weird, David Lynch, this Hollywood
parable of broken dreams plays like a nightmare symphony.
In many ways, Lynch's movies are like music: you can't explain
why they resonate emotionally, so why try? Amazingly, the
jagged narrative's reversals and leaps in time actually make
sense if you turn it over very carefully. Some people complain
if they have to "work" at their movies (that's why they make
"Pearl Harbor"), but I happen to find incredible rewards in
piecing the puzzle together. At the heart of this modern wonder
is the performance of Naomi Watts. As she runs from sweet
to seductive to struggling, I finally understood what was
meant by bravura acting. She, and the film itself, is incredible.
1.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
After months and months of waiting, trailers, internet
rumors, and wild speculation, what we were left with was one
spectacularly entertaining film, simultaneously crafted with
love and intelligence and shot through a filter of high-octane
excitement and artistic commitment. It's obvious to even the
most rank amateur that LOTR:FOTR is a champion achievement.
Eschewing traditional environs by shooting in New Zealand,
and shafting the titans of Lucasfilm for his own special effects,
Peter Jackson boldly stepped in the maelstrom to bring his
fierce vision of Tolkien's epic to marvelous life. Perhaps
the most significant effect of the film is that it not only
won over its ready-made audience, but dazzled the critics
(thus far, it earned Best Film nods from The American Film
Institute, Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, and has
garnered four Golden Globe nominations).
For this reviewer, every note of the film was pitch-perfect.
The acting was uniformly excellent, as each member of the
cast brought that simplest of things: conviction. When Christopher
Lee is being an evil bastard, you believe him. When Sean Astin
breaks your heart as he vigorously and tearfully reiterates
his promise to stay by Frodo's side, you believe him. And
when Ian McKellan stands astride the Bridge of Khaza-Dum and
commands of the Balrog, "You shall not pass!", you damn sure
believe him. This is a movie of moments, woven into a wonderous
tapestry by a director that made has made alternately fun
(Bad Taste, Dead Alive) and intelligent (Heavenly Creatures)
film in the past, now working at the height of his power.
It's breathtaking, monumental, and above all, entertaining.
Worst:
Moulin Rogue
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: very few movies
have put me off as badly as this. I especially disliked "MRs"
bastardization of popular songs. You probably could have used
Kurt Cobain's spinning corpse as a turbine to power the whole
of Seattle if he'd heard a bunch of fat men in tuxedos singing
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" to the Tammy Faye Bakker make-up
clients simultaneously gyrating to "Lady Marmalade". I don't
know what it is about love stories starring whores, but from
"Pretty Woman" to this, I've never been a fan. I flatly hated
it.
Shawn's
Picks for Best Films of 2001
I found
this to be one of the best years in recent memory for great
movies.
5.
Donnie Darko
This movie should be epitomized as John Hughes meets David
Lynch. Writer/director Richard Kelly's debut is a great 1980's
time capsule, wrapped around an incredibly dark but cleverly
humorous and schizo storyline. Great stuff.
4.
Ghost World
It's a damn shame that more people didn't see Terry
Zwigoff's adaptation of Daniel Clowes brilliant comic book.
Ghost World looks at that awkward time after high school through
the eyes of a countercultural girl and her friends with wonderful
results. Steve Buscemi is tremendous as a middle-aged record
obsessive, while Thora Birch carries on in her typically unique
fashion. Catch this on DVD if you missed it. You'll be glad
you did.
3.
Memento
Christopher Nolan's groundbreaking account of a man with no
short term memory is an edge-of-your-seat mesmorising adventure.
Technically this one was released to a few markets in late
2000, but it didn't hit the rest of the country until late
spring 2001. Why must we always wait so long for the good
movies?? The original short story, written by Christopher's
brother Johnathan Nolan, is still available at Esquire
Magazine.
2.
Mulholland Drive
Naomi Watts is a revelation in this time-bending, Hollywood
mystery, and certainly deserves a Best Actress nomination.
This film stays with you for a long time; very rarely do I
continually come up with ideas for weeks after about what
I'd watched. I feel that the film makes almost perfection
sense after a bit of analysis..but getting there is half the
fun. A flawless effort from the greatest visionary directory
of our time.
1.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
I
was all set to name Mulholland Drive the best picture of 2001..until
I saw this. Peter Jackson and crew pulled off a miracle in
lovingly adapting the book as they have. They successfully
streamlined it, while adding character depth and a sense of
constant movement and exitement. Even while watching it, I
couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching the best epic
fantasy adventure ever put to film. The casting and acting
was pitch perfect, while the effects are tremendous and add
to the story rather than detracting. Jackson has raised the
bar for the fantasy epic. I can't wait until the next one.
Honorable
Mentions: Shrek, Monsters Inc.
Russ'
Picks for Best Films of 2001
5.
Planet of the Apes
I was with this movie until the last two minutes, upon which
I believed (the first time I saw it) that Tim Burton actually
defecated on a typewriter ribbon and used a Smith-Corona to
hammer out the final sequence in his own waste materials.
Since then, I've realized that a lousy, lousy ending is no
excuse to excuse this film for the great special effects.
You actually believe these are apes instead of twenty Roddy
McDowell clones wearing some flimsy latex on their face and
walking upright like a man. For all their supposed civility,
these new apes are abrupt and animalistic towards each other,
and they actually have quite a bit of a culture to them. It's
really a shame they had to have the schlock shock ending at
the end that made absolutely no sense though.
4.
Swordfish
Halle Berry's breasts notwithstanding, this was the year's
true explosive big-budget action movie (not that piece of
crap set in Hawaii on December 1941). Lots of thrills with
Hugh Jackman as a computer hacker playing two ends against
the middle to score some cash and get his daughter back from
his porn queen ex-wife. John Travolta saves himself a little
bit from his poncy villain in Battlefield Earth to play a
somewhat less poncy villain named Gabriel who seems to have
his finger in everything. This is one of the few movies since
Matrix to rip off the "bullet time" effect and have it serve
a useful purpose.
3.
Moulin Rouge
I hated this movie when I saw it at first because of the obscene
abuse of modern music. After it settled awhile, though, I
realized that the movie had one of my favorite things in it:
people pining for each other in song while moodily strutting
about operatically. I still don't like the fact that the songs
lacked originality (while the sole original piece in the film
was utterly forgettable), but for the most part, they were
twisted around or slowed down to fit the film at particular
moments. The dance numbers had a manic, frenzied pace to them
that really conveyed the hedonistic "Bohemian" lifestyle of
the time, especially the opening can-can sequence. The sets
and costuming were loud, opulent, and colorful, and despite
my feverish attempts to hate this movie, I've still got some
of the songs rolling around in my head.
2.
Vanilla Sky
If there's any movie this year that should win an Oscar for
best screenplay, this is it. It follows in the tradition of
films like "The Sixth Sense" and "Fight Club" that take an
hour and 45 minutes to tell you what the world is like, and
then pulls the rug out from under you in the last 15 minutes
and throws you for a complete loop. Yet, it explained everything
that happened and everything still makes sense. This one deserves
a repeat viewing after you see it just to see if you can pick
out all the clues. I never thought much of Tom Cruise as an
actor, but he's great in this one, as are the rest of the
cast: Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Jason Lee, and Kurt Russell.
There's a little bit of everything here for everyone: love,
dreams, reality, and insanity.
1.
Shrek
While Disney was busy trotting out Atlantis this summer and
working on the unwanted sequel to Peter Pan, Dreamworks had
the highest-grossing film of the year and proved they own
the technology to create the most realistic animation to date.
The story is fresh and original, yet simple, but the best
part is the tongue-in-cheek approach. It's a fairy tale that
(in itself) satirizes fairy tales. Plus, they have a wrestling
scene where Shrek busts out the folding chairs and tables,
so he can't be all that bad.
Honorable Mentions:
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Yeah, I know... this is the movie that everybody was supposed
to love when it came out. So what? This movie proved why books
exist, because when a movie bogs you down with details, it
becomes less of a movie and more of an exercise in keeping
score. Hell, they couldn't even get half the details across
anyways, because I couldn't tell you who half the guys in
the fellowship were because their names were mentioned once
or twice and never referred to again. They probably could
have cut down a half-hour in the movie with all the swooping
into Mordor sequences when they had to show you what the orcs
were up to or "this is the latest thing that Frodo is scared
of or depressed about right now and he still hasn't gotten
over the last six things he was worrying about". If the script
follows the book closely (I never read it), then I'm not sure
this is a story that's suitable for translation to film. Better
to wait until the video comes out and fast-forward through
all the slow parts. Otherwise, you'll get about two hours
into it and wonder when the hell it's going to be over. The
only thing that really saves this film are the great performances,
the special effects, about four or five fight scenes, and
a great chase scene on horseback. Other than that, not a whole
hell of a lot happens.
From Hell
I haven't completely read Alan Moore's original graphic novel
this was based from, but as a film by itself, it certainly
makes me believe that Johnny Depp has found his niche in dark,
Victorian settings (as his performance in "Sleepy Hollow"
also proved) as well as drug addicts (as in "Blow" and "Fear
& Loathing in Las Vegas"), so hell... why not combine the
two? The mood of the movie was excellent, and it showcased
a grey and dreary London by day and a scary, shadowy town
full of vice by night. Not a lot of suspense in this one,
but the mystery is a good one and proves you don't need AK-47's
and lasers to make a good genre movie.
Better
Late Than Never Award (For 2000):
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I wish I had seen this in time for last year's awards. I love
the Coen Brothers, because if you pull a piece on Jesus, he'll
stick it up your ass and pull the trigger until it goes click.
Really, this movie touched a lot of chords. Not only is it
funny and full of slapstick, but they really captured the
era of the depressed South and the role that music (especially
spiritual music) played for people that were going through
some rough times. The music itself is addictive, and it's
good old-fashioned American music that is country without
being melodramatic and spiritual without beating you in the
head with a bible. Great performances all around, and especially
with a subplot of the stereotypical governor of Mississippi
running for re-election and sweating that he would lose to
the Reform candidate. This is a movie you can watch with your
parents and not think their taste in movies is lousy.
I Slept,
I Cried, I Kissed $8 Goodbye:
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
I don't know why I was convinced to see this pile of garbage,
but half of the people involved were the same people that
made me go see that dungheap "Charlie's Angels" last year,
so go figure. Angelina Jolie spends the whole movie smirking,
bending over, thinking about her character's dad played by
her real-life dad, and doing cartwheels. If renting the video
game to kill Lara Croft repeatedly would only serve as a sort
of catharsis... but, no. I really couldn't tell you what happens
in the movie, except they end up going all over the world
to track down parts to some time machine in the arctic that's
aligned with the stars or some bullshit like that. Ecch. Remind
me to let ME pick the movie next time.
Kyle's
Film Picks for 2001
"Some Films You Should See"
I hesitate
to call this a best of 2001 list, there are too many films
of note I haven't seen yet (Mulholland Drive, In the Bedroom,
Vanilla Sky, Ghost World, Sexy Beast…the list goes in…) nevertheless,
here are some films from the past year I consider must -sees,
in no particular order:
Memento:
Christopher Nolan's clever reverse narrative is so riveting,
you completely forget that there's not much else in this film
(the ending, to me especially, didn't really come together).
A film that doesn't stand up nearly as well on repeated viewings,
Memento was still a cool, intelligent ride the first time
around. Perhaps a bit overrated as a whole, still one of the
year's best.
Amelie:
Jean Pierre Jeunet's feel-good film doesn't seem too much
like the bizarre fairy tales he told in The City of Lost Children,
and Delicatessen, but the amiable amelie is a top notch contemporary
fairy tale nonetheless. The film may seem a trifle shallow
at first, but Jeunet's film is actually a very clever comedic
study in the everyday tragedy of people crippled by misdirected
attentions and priorities. More than a film that simply and
blandly says "take time to enjoy the simple things", this
flashy fable is also conscious that a fixation on the simple
pleasures can be just as bad. Hollywood long lost its touch
for making authentically warm and sentimental films. Good
thing they remember in France.
The
Brotherhood of The Wolf:
Without a doubt, the best 18th century French martial arts
werewolf film ever made, Brotherhood is a hong-kong style
collision of genres and sensibilities that grinds the Mummy
franchise into corpse dust.
Over-directed in places and sometimes very loose with the
details, Brotherhood is full of cool surprises and perfectly
walks the line between go-for-broke audacity, and self conscious
silliness, yet never slips into trivializing itself. Well-acted
and written with a clever wit seldom seen in action movies,
this lavish period horror flick is equal parts Hammer Film,
Tsui Hark Kung-Fu flick, and John Carpenter-style horror-adventure-comedy.
In a year where people turned out in droves to see the entertaining
but uninspired The Mummy Returns, and John Carpenter fumbled
once again with Ghosts of Mars, Brotherhood is the premiere
popcorn flick of the year. Didn't know those frogs had it
in 'em.
Monsters
Inc.: To me, everything Shrek was not. Beautifully animated,
sincere and highly inventive, Monsters Inc. rockets Pixar
another hundred years ahead of everybody else doing CGI animated
features (witness the peanut shaped geometric clunkiness of
Jimmy Neutron…or the blocky, jerky denizens of Shrek). Long
after the wink-wink, nudge-nudge humor of Shrek has gone stale
( I say in about 2 to 5 years) kids and adults will still
be watching Monsters Inc.
Harry
Potter and The Sorceror's Stone: Not an expansive, re-defining
adaption like TheFellowship Of The Ring, Harry Potter the
film, like the magical paintings in the novel itself, is a
like joyful set of moving illustrations for the book. Like
FOTR, this movie argues that there should be a separate academy
award for casting directors. Every role is near-perfect and
the young actors are all outstanding. Only the weak rendering
of the film's centerpiece action scene (the Quidditch match),
and the film's apathy towards the character's classroom exploits
will leave fans wanting. Great fun nonetheless.
Spy
Kids: A film that proves you should never judge a movie
by its fast-food tie-ins alone. Obscured by Happy Meal promotions
and all the usual kiddy-hype, it was easy to write Spy Kids
off as another Disney-fied excursion into groin kicks and
fart jokes. Audiences who gave this film a chance, however,
found something else all together. Spy Kids features two kid
protagonists who actually act like real kids, squabble like
real kids and talk and have all the silly fears and embarrassments
of real kids, cool gadgets that are equal parts Mission Impossible
and fischer-price, and a snappy, fun story complete with cool
villains and pint-sized action. The action packed film avoids
real violence in such a totally accessible and clever way,
it maintains its excitement yet its non threatening tone never
seems forced or corny. Spy Kids is also a rare live action
kid movie that doesn't have a vested interest in making adults
and parents look like complete jackasses. In short, its funny,
smart and exciting. Maybe the best kid film of the last 5
years.
Hedwig
and The Angry Inch: I put this on the list as an antidote
to Moulin Rouge. Hedwig is a film with outstanding ORIGINAL
music (I would definitely put the soundtrack among the best
rock albums of the past five years), engaging characters that
are well performed, and a clever story that serves as something
more than a prop for garish visuals. Hedwig's story of a botched
sex-change operation, musical plagiarism and the fall of the
berlin wall is a rock odyssey in direct line of descent from
the greatest and most ridiculous mythic excesses of Ziggy
Stardust era David Bowie. Funny and joyfully weird, yet tragic
and poetic, Hedwig is this year's real musical.
The
Man Who Wasn't There: If you picture the films of the
Coen brothers as a bunch of people at a party telling funny
stories, The Man Who Wasn't There is the guy who suddenly
starts talking about his grandmother dying of cancer and brings
the conversation to a dead halt. A cold and unsettling journey
into existentialism via the archetype of the film noir, The
Man Who Wasn't There is the Coen's deepest and darkest film
to date. Billy Bob Thornton's performance is so in tune with
what the film is truly about, one wonders if the Coen's didn't
perform some sort of mind-meld with the folksy thespian to
make such a performance possible. Man's only flaw is the coldness
and distance it must establish to communicate its themes.
Although, in deep examination, the film is intellectually
dazzling on many levels, its initial lack of emotional engagement
may leave viewers unwilling to go back and think about the
film in depth. Of course, there's also a cast of oddball Coen-style
characters too, and black-and-white cinematography by Roger
Deakins that will break your heart, making the film a must
see, even if it does leave some people cold and detached.
The
Devil's Backbone: Simply the best horror movie made since
The Sixth Sense, Guillermo Del Toro's uncompromising ghost
story is a fright film that relies on real mystery, beautifully
drawn characters, and a real concern at exploring the true
dark forces of the human soul to tell its tale.
This story of lost children in a haunted orphanage during
the Spanish Civil War is that highest form of all true horror
films, the kind where the supernatural is not used to simply
evoke chills, but also to explore the most terrible realities
of the real world and the soul. This movie is not an extended
excuse for an empty "shock" ending, it's an atmospheric and
bittersweet journey into both the power and myth of childhood
innocence and the corrupting power of war and oppression on
all those without it. Destined to be one of the greatest ghost
stories of all time, pray this one gets a wider release.
Lord
of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring: Peter Jackson's
film imbues Tolkien's work with all the emotional and philosophical
resonance that often got lost in the richly detailed history
and exposition of the original novels. FOTR's framing of Tolkien's
saga as a work of gravity and moral weight should forever
close the argument over whether The Lord of the Rings is great
literature or merely popular fiction. Fans who nitpick too
much over the omissions are the same as the critics who can't
see that The Lord Of The Rings is about much more than monsters,
swordfights and Tom Bombadil. The best thing to happen to
popular imagination since Star Wars. It doesn't get any better
than this.
Li'
Picks for Best Films of 2001
Fellowship
of the Ring, for being true to the epic, not the prose
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, for being true to the
prose
Moulin
Rouge, for being what it was, whatever that is
Jay
& Silent Bob Strike Back, for obvious reasons
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