Lord
of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingMovies2001
Lord
of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Ten seconds into the final credits Jamie turned to me and said the movie we had just watched would make a great one hour television drama. I couldn't agree more. I'd spent much of the movie thinking the same thing. I wish HBO had made this as a 12 episode maxi-series (as we used to say in the comic book world). Of course, I also think all the money spent for the three Lord of the Rings films should have been poured into those television dramas. Visually, everything was stunning. Only the line about dwarf tossing removed me from the realm created by Peter Jackson. The battle scenes kept getting better until the final battle in the woods. I'll happily look forward to seeing the next two movies, but what does it say about me that in the theatre I got most excited when I saw the Spider-Man trailer? (In Attendance - Jamie) Year End Ranking: 15
Black
Hawk Down
Guns. Lots of guns. Good. Eric Bana - can't wait for him in The Incredible Hulk. Dan and I left Brooklyn at 8:45am on a Sunday morning to see the first show of the day. And the tickets weren't even available at a reduced rate. It wasn't sold out, but the theatre was crowded and I got reacquainted with the large screens at the Loews Lincoln Square. Black Hawk Down didn't strike the right cord with me during the last three minutes, but other than that I was totally with the movie. I found myself completely absorbed and able to follow all the action. Some scenes got a bit dull, of course. I can't decide how this movie will be perceived in five years. I feel like the director wanted to make more of a statement that just doesn't seem to come through on a first viewing. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 14
Gosford
Park
After traveling from midtown we found tickets available for Gosford Park. I hadn't read too much about it. I got excited when I saw Kelly Macdonald's name in the credits. She pretty much stole my attention away from all of Trainspotting. I can't complain about her acting in this newest Robert Altman film. All I can find to complain about is the lack of Altman-esque touches. When I go to a Robert Altman film I want to feel like I'm being transported into that mythical Robert Altman world. I crave more than overlapping dialogue. I want tricky, playful camera work. I want characters who dance about and do odd things. None of them were found in the upper class dinner party. None of those characters were found in the servants of those upper class guests. I'll have to read a few reviews by the major critics and figure out what they're raving about. (In Attendance - Dan, Mitch) Year End Ranking: 22
Behind
Enemy Lines
So much fun....I left full of energy. More than surprised at how enjoyable the movie was. I was about to type that any movie with a guy who tries to look like Elvis is okay in my book but I realized that 3000 Miles to Graceland was released earlier year. And I really shouldn't make any snap judgments about Elvis look-a-likes until I see that movie. Behind Enemy Lines doesn't out gun Top Gun, but it proves to be a more grown-up cousin. (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah) Year End Ranking: 10
Metropolis
Amazing. (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah, Jamie)
Amelie
Cute - very cute. The film is imbued with an incredibly playful spirit and I wanted so much to be blown away. I walked home from the theatre with very few comments in mind. It was good. I liked it. It just didn't have the magic I was hoping for. I bet if I see it again 8 months from now, I'll find that magic. It's in there, I'm sure of it. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 7
Shallow Hal
I find Jack Black completely irresistible. Well, that's a lie. I still haven't seen Saving Silverman. And, to be honest, I'm not as much a fan of Tenacious D as everyone else. Like Me, Myself and Irene, Shallow Hal starts well and just can't maintain the laughs for the final half. But I enjoyed myself. A fine, fine bargain matinee. I just got weirded out during the final credit sequence - the photos/videos of the crew members seemed to really drive home some obvious, sentimental point that we're all people and what counts is what's on the inside, not what we look like. A little to schmaltzy for my tastes. (In Attendance - Dan, Jamie, Mitch) Year End Ranking: 28
Waking Life
Jamie, Dan and I agreed that Waking Life is a nice compliment to Slacker. Granted, we haven't seen Slacker in years. Waking Life is more focused than Linklater's first film. The conversations, while still graduate school like, maintain a consistency which allows the animation to mutate to a greater extent. That rotoscoping technique works really well and I look forward to a behind the scenes "how they did it" segment on the dvd. As expected, I left the movie feeling completely talked out (the same feeling I had with Before Sunrise). What I didn't expect was running into hundreds of people in BAM's lobby. That crowd added to the dream state that Waking Life lulled me into. It's filled with nuggets of conversation that are sort of fun to repeat to friends, albeit in a lame fashion. (In Attendance - Dan, Jamie, Beth) Year End Ranking: 11
Donnie Darko
Honestly, the creature in Donnie Darko doesn't look like a bunny to me. Bunnies are pink and look friendly. Or menacing. Not weird. I found Drew Barrymore's performance annoying - it looked out of place and her gestures (hand on hip, removal of glasses) felt too actorly. On the whole, I enjoyed myself thanks to Dan having lowered my expectations. I can't say I've put the whole story together, but this feels like the year of movies when things happen and don't have an exact story line. Or maybe I'm just not too interested in discussing it. Oh, this is a movie set in October 1988 about a high school kid who takes medication to deal with his mental illness. (In Attendance - Shawn) Year End Ranking: 19
Ginger
Snaps
Now available on video in Canada, Ginger Snaps could have been this year's Pups! A rethought final twenty minutes and an editor willing to trim 15 minutes could have saved this film from becoming the huge disappointment it was. My eyes wouldn't leave the screen once the action started. Forty-five minutes into the story of a teenage girl becoming a werewolf and I told myself that I was riveted. I was already placing the film on my year end best of list. The dialogue and characters and motions and locations - everything works. The parents are great. And then it falls apart. (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah) Year End Ranking: 9
Mulholland
Drive
Somehow a short story materialized on the hard drive of my computer:
He cupped his blankets imagining her beside him…. This was ridiculous. He could go anywhere he wanted. He had loved Susan and given her up because of fear. The demons weren't out get him. The iron moved again. THE DEMONS AREN'T OUT TO GET ME! He packed a small bag of things from his apartment in Fresno. He jumped in his station-wagon, the safest car on the road, and barreled down the I 5 at 80 miles per hour at two in the morning. !
I have no idea how it got there or what it has to do with anything. I certainly didn't write it. It was saved to the desktop in April, 2000. I don't know how it got there. The fact that it's on my computer makes no sense to me. Mulholland Drive reminded me how much I love the David Lynch universe. I just feel at home there and safe - it's as if the director has taken care of every detail. And I'm okay with not understanding things. I feel like I don't have to worry. He's thought about it so I don't have to. (In Attendance - Dan, Jamie) Year End Ranking: 2
From
Hell
I took over the counter allergy medicine before leaving my apartment and dozed off during ten minutes of the middle of t he movie. My hopes were too high. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 32
Va
Savoir
Long and satisfying. (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah) Year End Ranking: 18 Unlike a lot of movies this year, Va Savior gets better in the final 20 minutes. The various characters circling around the film's theatre setting come together for wacky, adult French comedy.
Joy
Ride
Trucks. CB radios. Kids on the run! (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 20 This is what Saturday afternoons should be about - watching entertaining young actors have fun. Sitting in the multiplex and enjoying my popcorn I responded to this movie. My eyes darted around and I was into the action. That was totally more than I expected.
Lisa
Picard is Famous
I laughed. (In Attendance - Beth) Year End Ranking: 25 I swear I laughed. I can't remember too much of how I reacted, though. Like a lot of movies this year, I was with Lisa Picard is Famous until the final 20 minutes. The cameos were fun. The story structure work. And Dan was able to convince me that it wasn't as dull as I thought based on the assumption that when I view this movie five years from now I won't find it so bad.
Together
Another stunning, real, worldly movie from the director of Show Me Love. (In Attendance - Chris L, Mary,Jamie, Amy, Donovan, Chris M.) Year End Ranking: 1 This was my favorite movie of 2001. It was such fun. And there were moments that made me cringe. I hope Lukas Moodysson continues to make movies on a frequent basis. He grasps the way humans intereact and is able to place them in situations that are dramatic, funny and cinematic.
Sweet
Smell of Success
A classic. (In Attendance - Dan)
The Deep End
Aargh! Looks pretty. Good acting. Terribly implausible story. I almost convinced myself to buy into things, but then I had to retreat. Lake Tahoe is a great backdrop, though. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 30
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
I enjoyed the songs more than I thought I would. That enjoyment of the songs made watching the movie a very pleasurable experience. (In Attendance - Jamie, Julienne) Year End Ranking: 13
Ghost
World
Amazing! The best movie of the summer. Steve Buscemi is back! (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah) Year End Ranking: 5 Somehow I can't remember how this movie felt or how I reacted to it, but I remember thinking that it was spot on. It captured being too smart for high school incredibly well. I still haven't read the original source material, but I can't imagine a better translation of images from comic books to movies. The pacing. The color. And now I'm anxious to see Steve Buscemi get an Academy Award.
Bully
Ahh, Larry Clark is at it again. He made another movie sometime after 1995, but this is, I think, some sort of warped sequel to Kids, a film many reacted to the way I reacted to Bully. For the first time since seeing Indecent Exposure I walked out of a movie I'd paid to see. Well, upon recollection there may be one or two others. I was in Seattle and had thought I had nothing better to do on a Wednesday evening. I was a few hours from meeting friends at a bar in Capitol Hill - no reason not to see a movie, right? The Egyptian is a cavernous theatre which could be the ideal place to see a big summer blockbuster, or some great old film. That wasn't the case with this one - I was a single guy in my 20's sitting in a theatre with other single guys (ages 18 - 60). I was a bit disturbed by that. Were we all there to leer at teenagers? That was all Clark seemed to be doing. He put his camera in places that directors don't normally place cameras. Unfortunately, Bully doesn't have the same vibrancy as Kids. This film had no spark. It was just kids in the Florida suburbs. Upon reflection, it reminds me a bit of Trans. Anyway, I walked out after 50 minutes or so. I had to meet some old friends at a bar. Year End Ranking: 34
Legally
Blonde
Finally! Some humor at the movies. Real humor. Actual Comedy! And one of the Wilson brothers - as Mitch said: It's tough for a movie to be bad when there's a Wilson brother in it. Reese Witherspoon is perfect for the lead. Is it too early to call this the comedy hit of the summer? (In Attendance - Sarah, Mitch) Year End Ranking: 16
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
The debate in The New York Press over this movie has been fun to read. Armond White wrote about how great the movie is in two consecutive columns. In his column the following week, Matt Zoller Seitz called A.W. on his Spielberg fascination and worship. I'm in the same camp as MZS, especially when he comments on the E.T. moon. And it's going to sound terrible when I mention that I totally dug the teddy bear. I thought it was cute. The Osment kid was scary...but I think that was his purpose. Whatever, the movie wasn't terrible. (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah) Year End Ranking: 24
The Anniversary Party
Such fun! Great cast! Completely enjoyable (except for all the extra over acting in the last twenty minutes). I'm so glad I saw this. As someone suggested to me, it helps restore your faith in summer movies. (In Attendance - Jim) Year End Ranking: 12 Some have complained about the look of the digital video and I can understand that. It would have been a much richer more engrossing movie had that clarity of film been present on screen. But I tend to side with the directors on this film - shooting it on digital video allows for much more varied and risky performances from the cast. There's a scene in a closet that simply blew me away - it may be one of my favorite scenes of the year.
Moulin Rouge
"I should have known better. I should have known better." I chatted that phrase through the entire two hours. I really don't like singing and dancing. I knew this film contained singing and dancing. What was I thinking? I didn't like Romeo + Juliet. As expected, the directing was good. The acting was good. This kind of movie is not my thing and I completely hated spending two hours watching Moulin Rouge. After the movie Dan reminded me that in interviews Baz Luhrmann has described the film as a giant tribute to the Bollywood spectacular. Fine. I still should have known better. While watching all the singing of late 20th century rock hits, I couldn't stop thinking of the audience for this film. The perfect audience is 16 year old girls who think they're smart, yet spend way too much time in ballet class. Terrible dialogue. Annoying camera/computer movements. Great, extravagant costumes. I just couldn't take it and I want to completely forget about this movie. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 26
George
Washington
The portrayal of the American South in this film is amazing. The outskirts of a small North Carolina town are home to George and his other friends (all in their young teens). Although this was Dan's favorite film of 2000, I can't agree with that judgment. I do agree this is a movie worth seeing. The dialogue is a bit painful in places and some of the scenes don't flow smoothly (especially one involving a few tv reporters). But once you get past those minor criticisms, the movie evolves at just the right pace. It's the well composed feel of this film and the unheard of cast that remind me of Thirteen, which also explores adolescence in the South. Parts of George Washington left me stunned. And other parts filled me with a quiet happiness and desire to drive a motorbike over slightly hilly roads during the hot summer. (In Attendance - Dan, Jamie, Sarah, Jim, Luke)
Shrek
It was a matinee screening. How could I resist? Shrek is turning into the summer movie of 2001 - and seeing the commercials for Tomb Raider haven't changed my mind. Ugh. Yep. Fine animation, but a bit too much talk of donkey and dragon sex. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 17
Pearl Harbor
Ben Affleck is so dreamy. And he's a guy's guy - shooting down planes and getting the girl. And I was completely wrong about my guesses of the American flag's appearance. I was expecting one every five minutes and didn't see the first for at least half an hour. Michael Bay didn't come through for me like he did in Armageddon. But, as everyone has commented, the battle scene is spectacular (if any 30 minutes of film could sell me on a Play Station 2, I think this would be the 30 minutes that would do it). But where was the blood? Why did it take so many hours tell this lame story? Why was the dialogue so stilted? And why was I never really that bored? I came out feeling like I didn't waste my money due to my low expectations. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 29
Performance
The last 45 minutes of this film are so worth it! Mick Jagger = Icon. Wow. I spent the first 30 minutes nervous about what I'd gotten myself into, but then the movie's craziness kicked in. This is certainly something worth watching late at night with the lights off and the alcohol flowing. (In Attendance - Chris M.)
The
Aviator's Wife
I think it's time for serious growth in my dvd collection. This Eric Rohmer film is just amazing. And I'm kicking myself for not seeing more of his films that recently played at BAM (and Film Forum before that). I sat captivated in my seat as the extended park scene played out: A man following a woman. An encounter with another woman. The sight of another man. The American couple taking photos by the lake. Rohmer crafts an excellent space - it's like really being there - yet having multiple views. His characters are in the real world, interacting with each other and their environment. Walking and talking and exploring. And we're with them. (In Attendance - Dan, Sarah)
Lakeboat (Sun 4/22/01)
College guy on a boat. Saw it at The Screening Room. Lost my ticket. Not too worried about losing the memory of seeing this movie. There were one or two interesting characters. One or two interesting conversations. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 33
Pollock
Why did I wait so long to see this movie? It filled me with the feeling that I've got to hang out with artists. Painters. Sculptors. People who think BIG. A brilliant sense of excitement. Should I go back and revise my top ten of 2000 list? Ed Harris and the rest of the cast are inspirational. The story is amazing. One doesn't expect to get chills watching an actor re-create the process of drip painting. (In Attendance - Jim, Anne)
Memento
The moment I got home from seeing Memento I had to start devouring all the reviews and articles about the film I could find! I can't stop telling everyone to race out and see this movie right away. Mitch, Dan, Sarah and I couldn't stop talking about the movie. It manages to present a fairly straightforward story in a most complex fashion. As I was watching it, I couldn't wait to hear about America's reaction. I've not heard of the distributor but I hope they can get it into hundreds of theatres over the next few months. The word of mouth should be phenomenal.(In Attendance - Dan, Sarah, Mitch) Year End Ranking: 4 It's now January 2002 and I can't believe I haven't seen this movie a second time! I'm so bad at re-watching movies.
American Desi
I had a fun time watching this movie, even if watching it made me feel a little silly for laughing at some the gags - sort of like a toned-down tv broadcast of Porky's. What I found interesting was a moment halfway through the movie when I could distinctly tell that I'm not 100% familiar with Indian culture (obvious understatement). Something happened on screen and most of the people in the audiences laughed. I had no idea what they were laughing about. Other than the lead actor looking 27 instead of the proposed 19, this a fun, light hearted movie that seems to deal with a very real situation (growing up Indian while going to college in the US). Of course, I'm ready for a serious movie that covers similar subject matter. Year End Ranking: 27
Bad
Company
What are the French thinking? You know it's time to wonder about a movie when you're going to see it the last night of it's scheduled run at the Film Forum and it's not being held over. This recent French film is about some high school kids who do some very bad things - but they things they do (a scheme involving public bathroom prostitution and plane tickets to Jamaica) just don't seem that shocking. Dan read that this film was like an episode of "My So-Called Life" gone crazy. I was expecting too much craziness. A few scenes were done well and I was engaged for maybe the middle third of the movie. When I exit a movie and say "at least it looked nice and was shot well" I think I shouldn't have been there in the first place. (In Attendance - Dan) Year End Ranking: 31
Before
Night Falls
Javier Bardem. Javier Bardem. I can't stop saying the lead actors name. This film from the director of Basquiat is far-reaching and pretty damn good. Serious yet still fun, Before Night Falls is one of those movies that makes me wish I read more often. I left not feeling like enough of an intellectual to actually discuss the movie afterward. (In Attendance - Payal)
The
Devil in a Blue Dress
Not bad. Not bad. Dan and I concluded a double-feature Monday with this stylish 1995 murder-mystery. Denzel Washington & Don Cheadle. I'm embarrassed I never considered it as a video rental. (In Attendance - Dan)
If....
Boring. With flashes of brilliance and fun. The kids have the run of their boarding school. Worth seeing for Malcolm McDowell 1969 performance. (In Attendance - Dan)
O
Brother Where Art Thou
The Coen brothers are at it again and with George Clooney they've found a fun lead actor. A romp! (In Attendance - Jamie)
Traffic
Overdone? I'm a complete fan of Steven Soderbergh and I read way too much about this film before it's release. There were so many interviews making me itchy to watch the film. Three sets of stories photographed in different hues provide the structure. Benicio Del Toro better get the Oscar. Michael Douglas bothered me less than normal. But all those oranges in Mexico and Blues in Ohio! It was just too much. I read one review that suggested the Catherine Zeta-Jones story line was too "Miami Vice" and I agree. We'll see if it hold up to Matt Zoller Seitz's HBO test: is it engrossing when it airs on the cable channel, or will I be able to flip past without a second thought? (In Attendance - Mom and Dad)