Dear all...
Well, here's my list. Once again, after I read Dan R.'s list of some 70 movies, I always feel like I must have seen more than the 30 something I list. But I can't come up with any others. I guess there are a bunch of films that officially came out in 1999 that I actually saw in 2000, but I can't work out which ones are which, so these are the ones released in 2000. Besides, 30 something ain't bad. It's a little over one every two weeks, and to be honest, when I looked through the list, there didn't seem to be that many that I wished I'd seen. Tao of Steve maybe, and Nurse Betty (although I'd hate to have my high opinion of Neil LaBute shattered). Anyway, here they are, in descending order...
33. Gladiator
The only movie I walked out on all year. What a waste of my precious dollars. We saw it at the Uptown on a huge huge screen, but still found ourselves shouting at the screen to give us some action for crying out loud. And then when they did, it was all so blurry I had no idea what was going on, only that some computers were involved. Russell Crowe is a man's man, but that Phoenix kid is just flat out lame.
32. Tube Tales
A collection of 10 short films about the subway in England. Contains one directed by Jude Law, one directed by Bob Hoskins, and one written by Amy Jenkins, the writer/creator of the ultimate TV series, England's "This Life." But even they couldn't save this collection of boring nonsense.
31. 1999 Madeline
What is up with the French? I know they get a bad rap for making those kind of inscrutable art films where not much happens and people speak in tortured, pause-ridden speeches. And I know that most French films aren't as bad as that. But every now and then you get one that re-enforces all those stereotypes and makes you give the screen the finger when it's over. This one got the finger big time baby. Only redeeming feature was the ridiculousness of seeing a terrible film you can't wait for the ending for, and it ends with the caption "To Be Continued." Utter crap.
30. The Way of the Gun
What the fuck? Was this movie coherent to anyone? I seem to remember it getting decent reviews, but I'll be damned if I could work out what the hell was going on half the time. It seemed like MacQuarrie, who wrote Ususal Suspects, wrote this film and then cut half of it out to make it confusing as hell. Can anyone rationally exlain the part where, in the midst of the car chase, the cars stop, get put into neutral, and then everyone starts pulling the cars along with their feet? If you can rationally explain it, I+IBg-ll give you a cool finski. This movie contains the most laughable-line-that-the-writer-wanted-you-to-take-seriously of the year: "They don't care about dying, just losing!" Eh?
29. Gigantic
FilmFest DC listed this as the latest film directed by Run Lola Run's Tom Tykwer, but actually, he just produced it. It was directed by some guy who is his friend and fellow X-Filme member, but you certainly couldn't tell from the film. It lacked any of the spark or life of Run Lola Run or Wintersleepers. A German guy is going off to join the Navy or something, and so some of his German friends decide to help him have the night of his life before he goes. Needless to say, they run into all kinds of German hi-jinks and meet lots of wacky German characters. Want an example of the lame kind of wacky German characters they meet? Try this: German stunt-car driving Elvis impersonators. Blech. Redeemed from not charting lower by an astonishing fooseball scene in the midst of the shitty film.
28. Yana's Friends
I swear to god we didn't see this Israli film because I have a friend named Yana. Swear. To. God. Instead, we saw it because it had a poster with two people having sex in gas masks on it. Man, sex in gas masks! That was pretty hot. The film? Oh, it was pretty dull.
27. Saving Grace
Why did I see this film? I think there was nothing else on or something. Oh well. Throw it into the pile of movies from the UK that try for that small-town quirky love-of-life but life-is-hard comedy/dramas epitomized by The Full Monty. Sure, there were some funny Cheech-and- Chong-esque bits where the gentle local townsfolk end up drinking lots of pot tea and turn wacky, but it wasn't fun enough to warrant the rest of the movie.
26. High Fidelity
Bah. See lengthy e-mail debate circa last March for more info. Decent movie, John Cusak did as well as he could, Jack Black was brilliant, it was nice to hear Belle and Sebastian and the beta Band name-dropped in a movie, but those factors alone do not a good film make.
25. Cast Away
When I first heard about this film, I thought "Why would I want to watch Tom Hanks alone for two hours on an island?" Then when I saw the previews, I saw that they were going to deal with the psychological repercussions of his return, and I got intrigued. When I saw the film, it was almost opposite. The island stuff with just Hanks was wonderful, and the rest with Helen Hunt kind of blew. That Helen Hunt, man. I guess if you need an actress to play a pointy, skinny, squinty woman with an extremely fake southern accent, you just gotta cast Helen Hunt. Meanwhile, I could watch hour after hour of Hanks on the island. Some people complain about the device of giving him a "friend" to talk to, but I buy it 100%. Unsung highlight of the film: the plane crash. Unsung lowlight of the film: the framing device with the package. What was that?
24. Dancer in the Dark
Had been on a bit of a Lars von Trier kick, (finally) saw Breaking the Waves, saw The Kingdom mini-series (4 stars for weirdness), saw Zentropa again. Went with a group to see Dancer in the Dark, hoping for similar experience to above. O.k., definately respect von Trier for trying to shake up some boundaries (musical, shot in video, Bjork), but I think he critically blew it in the story. (If you haven't seen it and are planning to, stop reading now.) The moment when Bjork kills the St. Elsewhere guy just doesn't ring true. The movie up until then hadn't given me enough to make me believe that she'd do it. And unfortunately, everything that happens after that is predicated on your believeing that she would've done it. Plus, a lot of the ending felt like cheap emotional maniputation. Half our group came out crying, the other half came out a bit pissed off. I was pissed. And as for Bjork, yeah she was good, but as Mike H. pointed out, she was just kind of being weird, and its pretty easy to act weird because the audience has no reference. Plus, I think Bjork maybe is just kind of weird.
23. Two Family House
Sure, it was a pleasant New Yawk-ish story, complete with overacting and more accents than you could shake a stick at. But as pure sort of escapist entertainment, it wasn't bad. It had a nice Sunday afternoon watching a movie with your parents feel (which is how I saw it, by the way). That main guy acted well, and the whole production had a sort of nice sunny hazy glow over it. Decent.
22. American Psycho
Hmmm. Well, parts of it certainly had me laughing out loud (the business cards for example), and certain parts had me gaping at stark and beautiful frame compositions, but then a bunch of parts left me sort of saying "So?" Was worth the price of admission just to see Christian Bale's speech about Phil Collins and Genesis, and the way he ends by saying "This...is Sussidio" and then kicks on the song. Boo-ya!
21. Croupier
The critical hype for this film absolutely overwhelmed me, so I went to see it expecting to be transformed. Didn't get transformed. Instead, sat in a theatre and saw a fairly intriguing film with fantastic performances by the actors. The critics all keep going on and on about the existential nihilism of the main character, but I just saw shallow aloofness. Still better than most of the junk out there, but wayyyy overhyped.
20. Boiler Room
Actually pretty cool, despite all the hype and/or anti-hype. I wasn't pleased with the whole Ron Rifkin father subplot, but I guess it was needed. Certainly derivative, but ballsy enough to flaunt it's derivative-ness in the Wall Street quoting scene and Ben Affleck's Glengarry bit. One complaint +IBQ the makeup job on Ribisi was so horribly OBVIOUS! There was no way they could've made him get any paler or with more dark crap around his eyes.
19. Chicken Run
Those wacky brits at Aardman have made what must be the most fun film in a genre not usually explored by filmmakers: the animated Chicken movie with Holocaust overtones. Why didn't it seem as fun as the Wallace and Gromit films? Maybe because they had to change their whole pacing style to maintain a feature-length film? I'm not sure. It was still good and fun, just not out of your mind fun, like Wallace and Gromit.
18. East is East
Saw this as the opening movie for FilmFest DC, so it cost $50 and had this big reception thing after and the director came and spoke before it screened. Pretty good movie, fairly fun, not worth $50 for it and champagne from plastic cups. Om Puri as the main character was fantastic +IBQ an interesting reversal from his character in Such a Long Journey. The film also did a really good job of balancing the comedy/drama, and staying true to both moods.
17. Almost Famous
I saw the preview for this film and thought "That film is going to suck, but I'm going to see it anyway." And I'm not sure if it's because I had such low expectations or because the film was actually pretty good, but I liked it quite a bit. Billy Crudup is so good you want him to become a real-life rock star so he can show Bono and those other pretty-boys how it's done...
16. Ghengis Blues
Documentary about Paul Pena, an old, blind blues guy who wrote (Big Old) Jet Airliner and some other 70's hits for Steve Miller and others. Pena hears Tuvan throat singing one day and decides he's going to do it. This film follows him as he goes to visit Tuva and participate in their throat singing competition. Fascinating for its travelogue aspects, and poignant for its portrayal of Pena, who is by turns depressed, ecstatic, frightened, ill, and transformed by the experience. The travelogue bits could've been trimmed down a bit, but maybe that's just the editor in me talking.
15. Erin Brockovich
Holy shit. I thought this film would blow, thought Sodebergh had finally lost it after making the stellar Out of Sight and The Limey. Instead, our Steve proved he can make blockbusters out of art films. Or vice versa. Either way, the film had exactly the right amount of mainstream Julia Roberts stuff, tempered with bits like the fantastic scene where the guy finds out his wife has cancer and is throwing rocks into the desert. No sound, very blue, jump cuts of him flinging rocks and screaming. Spellbinding. Oh and Julia's breasts should be nominated for an honorary Oscar.
14. Requiem For a Dream
No redemption for these junkies. Darren Aranovsky makes an MTV-era film where style is so much more important than content that it gets a bit difficult to care what's happening to the characters. Luckilly, the style is so visually arresting, he almost gets away with it. But if you start to think what the film is about, it gets pretty played out +IBQ the mom who's hoooked on TV so she won't go out, the junkies-in-love who betray each other for drugs, the life-in-the-fast-lane living for the moment, etc. Ellen Bustyn was phenomonal though. One of those performances where she comes out so stark and raw, you almost feel like you shouldn't be watching her.
13. The Virgin Suicides
Great, but slight. Sofia does a great job in handling that 70's film look and feel, and the acting was all right on, but I still wanted something more to push it from great movie to fantastic movie. I haven't read the book, but the film certainly had the feel of a rich novel, with just the right amounts of fun, seriousness, and awkward coming of age stuff. What the hell was Danny DeVito doing in it though?
12. Pups
Going to see it purely on Dan R.'s recommendation, I only knew that this film was pulled due to some ugly Columbine parallels and that it had Burt Reynolds in it. I was pleasantly surprised by a pretty kick-ass film with what must've seemed like a fairly original story when they wrote it. In the age of Columbine, it does seem a bit prophetic, but only a sort of cop-out ending prevents this film from being truely excellent. Burt Reynolds is so over-the-top, I can't tell if he's playing it straight or making fun of himself in a post-modern way. As Mike H. said, it doesn't really matter, just make sure you get out of his way as he chews up the scenery.
11. Such A Long Journey
Taking place in India during the early 60's (?), when they've just declared war with Pakistan, this movie did a great job of giving you the slice-of-life coupled with an intriguing story. Filled with beautiful moments and tragic moments, and all filmed in a loving golden brown hue that both romanticizes and makes the setting more realistic. The father from England's Buddha of Suburbia mini-series plays the father here, proving once again that if you need someone from India to play a father, he's your man.
10. Girl on the Bridge
Saw this on a whim and was totally enchanted. Black and white, completely inventive French film with an unusual love story. The ending didn't quite work, or it would've charted higher on my list. Had an amazing moment where the couple look at a rainbow in the distance (the film is in black and white) and talk about how beautiful it was. Caused Yana and I to get in a big debate about how Americans don't get European films the way Europeans do. I was trying to make the point that I thought it was meant to be a humorous moment +IBQ a rainbow in black and white! She thought is was meant to be tragic +IBQ a rainbow in black and white. We talked about how we should call up the director and ask him what he intended. Unfortunately, we actually missed our chance, because the director was in town about a month later to screen his new film (something about waiting for a Guillotine) and have a Q & A afterwards, but we didn't find out until it was over. Bah. Contender for best line of the year, after the couple have crashed their car and awaken from unconsciousness to darkness: Her: Where are we? Him: I don't know. Her: Are we in heaven? Him: I think we are. Her: Why's it so dark? Him: We got here late. Everything's closed.
9. American Hollow
Documentary by Rory Kennedy (yes, from those Kennedys) about a family living in the backwoods of Kentucky. Extremely interesting in an anthropological film way. You keep learning about this weird and odd culture, and then they keep reminding you that this isn't some foreign world, this is Kentucky. Line of the year contender, from the 18 year old son in the family to his mother, after he has punched a hole in a wall and is very upset about his girlfriend: "I'm just trying to be a man, mommy."
8. Time for Drunken Horses
Difficult and beautiful. Another film that Yana is convinced Americans see in a quite different way from the rest of the world. She wanted to be sure she was quoted as saying Americans see it "different," not "worse," or "more ignorantly," just "different." I sort of felt it was like a documentary and that it was amazing and heart-felt because it was real. There were some stunning images, and it really opened your eyes to the day-today struggle that is life. Did that sound cheezy? It wasn't meant to.
7. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Jarmush's best effort in years. The humor was right on, from the deadpan ice cream guy conversations to the mobsters being late on their rent. The samuri stuff was cool and fun, the action somehow exciting and deadpan, and the music grabbed you and wouldn't let go. Only complaint is that I thought Forrest Whittaker might not have been the best choice. Not sure why, either, maybe just that he was such an imposing presence and I figured Ghost Dog would be a bit more slight, a bit more blending in. Regardless, a great movie.
6. Tuvalu
Easily, the hands-down best silent, hand-tinted film from Sweden that was made this year. You should see it if you ever get a chance. It's really hard to describe. Yes, it's a silent film, containing nothing but sound effects and silent-film type over-acting. And it was funny as hell, with all kinds of weird slapstick. And it had a story, about a guy trying to save the swimming pool where he worked at the same time as trying to get the girl he was in love with. And it looked stunning, all shot in weird abandoned parts of Sweden, and then gorgeously hand-tinted with color washes. But somehow the sum of it transcended all those parts, and came together to make something really stunning. Had a look kind of like Delicatessen or Eraserhead, but with the slapstick of Buster Keaton. See it if you get a chance, I swear.
5. Chuck & Buck
Wow. I don't know what I was expecting, but I don't think it was this. Equal parts fascinating and REALLY disturbing, it's the kind of film where afterwards I felt rocked, but I'm not sure if I could really recommend it to anyone. Easily the best film to be shot on digital video concerning dysfunctional and/or disturbed friends with a happy ending.
4. You Can Count On Me
Wow. This movie kind of came out of nowhere for me. Mark Ruffalo (was I the only person in America who watched The Beat when it was on WB?) nails his performance, and acts almost as well as the young Culkin, who does his best to avoid slapping his cheeks and making that OH! face. Very well written, the film skirts the edge of all sorts of cliches (the no-good brother, the saintly sister, the drifter who comes into town and teaches everyone something about themselves) without actually falling into any. I am convinced this film has not had a better commercial reception because it has a terrible, terrible, generic title. If it had something sexy, a la American Beauty, I think it'd be a cinch for some Oscars.
3. Jesus' Son
Once again, Billy Crudup proves that the more shit you throw at him, the better he'll do. Spectacular movie. Finally a junkies-in-love movie with a bit of a redemptive ending. Definite contender for favorite line of the year award for after they see the naked woman in the parachute, they're sitting in the car and Dennis Leary pauses, smokes and says "That was my wife." Great great stuff. Jack Black again brilliant +IBQ when does this guy get a starring role? Put him and Phillip Sey Hof in a movie together as brothers and you're talking Oscars all round.
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
A Star Wars for the 00's. Big sweeping myths, a religious group of mystical warriors, magical swords, exotic locales, a warrior's code, an epic journey +IBQ Ang Lee steals back from Lucas everything Lucas stole form the samuri films to begin with. Yeah, when they first started flying over the rooftops, there were some laughs in the packed theatre, but if you kind of let yourself go with it, it worked beautifully. The fight sequences were like gorgeous ballet, and the emotional drama scenes were played perfectly. You could really tell that Lee had spent most of his career directing scenes where characters have all this emotion and can't let it out (a la Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility). An enigmatic ending and an epic scope make this one fine film. Left the theatre trying to do those fight moves and failing miserably. Best moment I didn't notice the first time, but picked up the second time I saw it: when young Jen is fighting all those weapon masters at the tavern (or saloon) one of the guys has an abacus as his weapon of choice. An abacus! Love it!
1. Time Code
Double wow. How could this film not be number one? When was the last time you saw a film that actually redefined the way in which you watch a movie? And not only managed to do that, but managed to tie that genre-busting form to a compelling story that leant itself to the new form created? Whew! I can barely re-read those last sentences without getting all tangled up in a web of esoteric pseudo-critic stuff. The point is this: Figgis had a great story and an unbelievable way to tell it. He pulled both off flawlessly. Number one film moment of the year +IBQ Julian Sands giving Steven Weber the ear massage while Webber briefs his group. My one regret is that we missed the screening where Figgis came to DC and mixed the sound between the four screens live, like a DJ. Why is it I always find out about this stuff after it happens? Anyway, if you haven't seen the film, see it now. Now.
