Ok here is my list! Another drop in the bucket of pointlessness. I don’t follow the "Only in theaters" approach, my only rule is it has to be 2002 release that you saw in 2002. And sadly no scan of my saved ticket stubs either. I did note how I saw them with Theatre represented by (T) and DVD rentals with (R). A few notes: Notice the amount of foreign films, 4. A new high for me. They also rank pretty high if you’ll notice. Am I growing up? Maybe I am not a cinema Xenophobe! Also I still haven’t seen some stuff that might have ranked high or that I want to see very soon either on screen or DVD
My 2002 Still need to see list: (order not important):
About Schmidt
Standing On the Shoulders of Motown
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Harry Potter 2
Dogtown and Z Boys
Reign of Fire
Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
The Kid Stays in the Picture
Martin Lawrence Live Run Tel Dat
24 Hour Party People
Amy’s Orgasm
Punch Drunk Love
Real Woman Have Curves
Jackass
Minority Report
Catch Me If You Can
30. (R) Chelsea Walls: Ethan Hawk and his Wife Uma Thurman just bought an island apparently. Please stay there. Hawk is as good a director as he is novelist.
29. (T) XXX: I guess I once said this was the worst movie of all time. I am prone to those kinds of superlatives. With reflection it wasn’t even the worst movie of year. But it is still unwatchable. Some like it’s "so bad its good" appeal but that kind of justification bothers me. Let those people forever watch Dude, Where’s My Car. The most misogynistic movie in years. Notice I didn’t say ever…
28. (R) The Sweetest Thing: Wow the bottom of my list is bad. I was actually offended by this movie. Women can do toilet humor but this movie doesn’t prove it.
27. (T) Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood: OK I liked the books, sue me! I was trying to bond with My Lady (a woman who sat through Dungeons & Dragons with me in the Theatre for which I owe her greatly.) I went into this with MIND OPEN. It sucked. The old ladies drove me batty and Sandra Bullock has got to the most unappealing actress working.
26. (R) CQ: I was bored silly by this bad fake art film. Billy Zane is in it! Nuff said. This Coppola needs to stick with videos.
25. (R) Pumpkin: Christina Ricci please eat, and please read the scripts first.
24. (R) Hollywood Ending: Horrible, worst Woodman movie ever
23. (R) Austin Powers 3: OK I was a big fan of the first movie and thought this one was going to be better the Heather Graham debacle. Man was I wrong. Mike Meyers time for a new character. Your funny, I trust you.
22. (R) Kissing Jessica Stein: Lesbians, how insulting was this movie? I did like the dude from Showtime’s "The Street".
21. (T) The Good Girl: Um, this caused quite a row with me and My Lady (and most frequent movie partner) when she liked it and I didn’t. I felt, and still do, that it was mocking the subjects (small town life) and was mean spirited. She thought I was a cantankerous over educated underpaid loudmouth jerk as I remember it. That doesn’t mean Zooey Deschanel wasn’t hysterical or that other good actors didn’t shine. One actor who didn’t shine was current "It" boy (at least with My Lady) Jake Gyllenhaal, yuck.
20. (T) About A Boy: Great book, mediocre movie. Hugh Grant must be stopped. I will kick box anyone who says this was better than High Fidelity in terms of Nick Hornsby adaptations.
19. (R) Orange County: I AM NOT JACK BLACK
18. (R) Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys: I had no idea this movie had anything to do with Comic Books when I brought this home from a solo trip to Cinematique, a fact My Lady still doesn’t believe. I should have liked this a lot better. Didn’t like Jodie Foster and that tainted everything for me. She wasn’t hateful enough to want to have eaten by a leopard. The animation by Todd McFarlane did kick ass.
17. (T) Deuce’s Wild: OK I will admit this wasn’t a very good movie. But it was violent, set in Brooklyn, and had lots of Sopranos cameos. Also I was with my 15-year-old brother at the Mall and we always have a blast.
16. (R) Ice Age: Funniest thing Denis Leary has
been involved with in a long time, not to mention Ray Romano and John Leguizamo.
Basically the same plot as Monsters Inc.
15. (R) Brotherhood of the Wolf: Pretty good for a French movie! Liked the Native American dude and the mood of the film. Basically the same plot as Tim Burton’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
14. (T) The Ring: This was me and My Lady's late night creature feature on Halloween. It was fun and did what it was supposed to. Plus Naomi Watts is hot!
13. (T) Y Tu Mama Tambien: Lots to like: Mexico, cinematography funny jokes, and threesomes. But the last 20 minutes sucked.
12. (T) Road To Perdition: Paul Newman was amazing. He is the best ever. Not the most psychedelic movie…
11. (T) Am I Trying To Break Your Heart: Best movie about a dysfunctional band since the Beatles’ Let It Be. And I have met the manager and he is not sleazy nor was he edited that way. I also went to the premiere and that was fun so maybe that raised it a few slots. Also had a few surreal rock moments like watching hack music writer David Fricke (the guy who got famous covering Curt Cobains death) watch himself wax pathetic about the band. He had the goofiest smile. But the topper is watching Jeff Tweedy race out of the theatre to have a cigarette after watching himself whine, puke rock, and baby-sit on the big screen. Can you imagine watching that kind of movie about yourself in a packed theater of strangers and sycophants!?!?! He was immediately mobbed by fan boys outside. How can you not understand to leave the dude alone 2 minutes after seeing the movie?
10. (T) Star Wars: Attack of Clones: How does anyone watch Hayden Christianson on a screen test and say, "That’s our guy!" My dad, the original Star Wars expert, thinks that Lucas shouldn’t even had made these new movies "Who cares how he became Darth Vader". I can’t go that far, but there is a sense that Lucas has tarnished the memories and magic of the original Star Wars. Still there was a lot to like and I still need to see it a second time. I did download the second half from Kazza.com. That was pretty cool. The fact that I can do that is more Sci-Fi than anything Lucas can throw at us. The Jango/Boba Fett storyline was great and I wonder why not make a movie about them. Big Ups to: Ewan McGregor, Digital Yoda, Christopher Lee (Bad Guy of the Year for his LOTR/Star Wars double-dip) and the special effects team.
9. (R) Barbershop: No bling bling is a good thing! Very funny, well-written movie that deals with a race issues more like regular folks than a Hollywood movie. Cedric the Entertainer is a talented actor and comedienne deserving all that Bud Light, McDonalds and Fox TV have to offer him. He’s my dawg!
8. (T/R) Sunshine State: Felt like an Altman movie, but better. Sayles is a great director and this movie and its slow pace really let the characters become real. Eddie Falco MUST get nominated for this and Angela Basset could kick Halle Berry’s ass any day any time. How was she not cast as Storm in the X-Men Movies? I loved the old blind dude from the Waltons. His rants were hysterical.
7. (T 2X) Spider Man: Much better
the second time around. Sam Raimi saved this film from a fate I suspect will
kill the upcoming Daredevil movie. It was fun, funny, exciting and really
captured the way a Spiderman movie should be. I LOVED the Pro Wrestling scene
and the scenes with the dude from OZ (see Dan’s list for his name). Two BIG
problems were Willem Dafoe and the horrendous Green Goblin costume (the scene
of him "submitting to the mask need to be cut). Also the end left me
cold, the Peter Parker of the comic books would never have passed up a chance
to make out!
6. (T) Talk To Her: OK the subject matter gave me a supreme case of the Heebie-Jeebies!!! Normally this can sink a film for me, but Almodovar is a master. He might be the best director on the planet. You actually feel his films intellectually and sensually. The colors, the shots, the acting he seems to capture warmth on film. The humanity in his characters is so real, even when he features cross dressers, necrophiliacs bondage freaks and other oddballs. I like that in theory I shouldn’t like anything about his films, but love everyone I have seen.
5. (T) Igby Goes Down: Wow did this cause a fuss. I really like this movie and am not afraid to admit it. Maybe that makes me an ignoramus. Maybe a lot of it has been done before, but I thought it was packed with laughs and certainly not deserving of the scorn from the movie police. Also any movie that features a pot smoking kid who always wears an army jacket, black chuck tailors and a redskin’s burgundy and gold scarf is A-OK in my book. I love jokes involving Dime Bags. I will gladly watch Igby while the rest of you chase around the next Charlie Kaufman script.
4. (T) Gangs of New York: Yes it has tragic flaws but I still think this was quite an achievement. My biggest beefs have more to do with Scorsese smashing a century worth of history into the mid 1860’s and the ridiculousness of casting Cameron Diaz. But there was so much to revel in, as I was transported back in time (the ultimate compliment on any period piece.) As BIG Hollywood movies go it was very good. I know Scosese is judged on a high level but this is better than anything he has done in a long while, dare I say Goodfellas?
3. (T) Monsoon Wedding: Movies about families are second only in my heart to films that feature sword fighting or guitars. This captured what its like to be in a family more than any other movie this year, and without having to be a hallmark card doing it. It was very funny and I really like the examinations of class (or in the case of India, Caste) that it hinted at. I didn’t love the molestation storyline as I think that has been overused but it was still a great film. Also this represented one of those occasions when I was proven wrong and loved it. I was dragged kicking and screaming to this by My Lady. About 3 minutes in I knew I would be eating a lot of crow that night, a taste of which I have acquired over my 30 years.
2. (T) Lovely & Amazing: I loved this movie. That’s all I really have to say.
1. (T 2X) The Two Towers: An achievement of filmmaking that cows all others. CGI Golem is incredible. The attention to detail is insane. I know I am obsessed and hobbits, elves and 3+ hour running times are not for everyone, but who else in modern filmmaking has had such stakes and delivered on all levels. The demands of the budget, the studio, the fans, the text, this was no easy feat to pull off, akin to making a realistic movie about Mount Olympus or the Bible. The public and academy fawned over Titanic and its effects or the choreographed battles of Braveheart, yet they both look like Saturday afternoon syndicated television compared to the LOTR Trilogy. He creates a believable world. Watch two seconds of the bonus material on the deluxe Fellowship DVD and you see why Jackson should be hailed as King of all the Land. The smug hipster backlash that it’s experiencing right now makes me want to spit blood.
2002
LISTS
dan
kevin
jeremy
alex
sujan
dave n.
sarah f.
juhi
genna
shawn
chris larry
mitch
chris m.
donovan
marc
jim
