In some alternate universe my 2003 movie list is filled with good movies. Unfortunately, we’ve got to take things as they are. During the past year I somehow gave up on movies. Certainly, it’s been a steady decline over the past few years.
Two thousand three saw me hitting rock bottom and during Christmas Eve dinner I finally declared to everyone at the table that I’d decided TV was my new hobby. I now fully embrace television as the thing I do with my free time, as the thing I study and obsess over. This movie list reflects that (and, no, that doesn’t mean THE REAL CANCUN and THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE MOVIE made my list). This list lets you know just when I felt like leaving the apartment to actually go see a movie. This movie list is incredibly short. This movie list includes the second Matrix movie because that movie screened at a theatre less than a ten minute walk from my apartment. And I was in the mood for popcorn.
1. All the Real Girls – Even though it’s number one on my list, I don’t think ALL THE REAL GIRLS was the best movie of 2003. ALL THE REAL GIRLS has heart. It’s the movie I didn’t see until the end of December. It’s the movie I was afraid to go see in the theatre. I read a few articles about the film when it was released this past spring. I knew it was from the director of GEORGE WASHINGTION, which I liked, but didn’t love. I knew that the story was a collaborative effort between writers and actors. I pressed play on the DVD player knowing the film would be rather light on plot and move at an interesting, atypical pace. I expected dialogue that tripped over itself. I wanted real passion and intensity. I wanted to watch the actors exchange their dialogue as if they were real people, I wanted that dialogue exchanged in the same manner that real people talk. And I got that. But all of it was awkward. And off, just slightly off. And that’s what makes the films of David Gordon Green work for me. They’re filled with effort and an overly sentimental heart. I could cry and be sad in the privacy of my own home. I was afraid to do that in the movie theatre.
2. City of God – With four Academy Award nominations, CITY OF GOD is the surprise film of the Oscar season and no one is really talking about it! I can’t understand why. Why wasn’t this film at the top of every critic’s year-end list? The film is now back in theatres. If you haven’t seen it, I urge you to do so this very second. No other film from 2003 ended and had me thinking "Wow! That was the best movie I’ve seen in years. I am seriously going to recommend this movie to all my friends." And that’s what I did. Sometimes I tried to play down my hype. When I did so my friends came back to me and said I didn’t play it up enough. This Brazilian film picks up where LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and PULP FICTION left off. It combines a television commercial-like modern look of saturated colors and quick cuts with an engrossing tale about a friendly kid growing up in the slums of Brazil. The film covers the history of the neighborhood and it’s descent into gang warfare and the rise of the drug trade. The film is fascinating, violent and absolutely gorgeous.
3. Old School – Re-watching movies or television shows isn’t something I do on a regular basis. I’ve only seen OLD SCHOOL once and I have no real desire to see it again. I saw it on a Saturday morning the first weekend it played in theatres. It hit all the right comic notes from beginning to end. Do you know how rare it is for a comedy to do that? When was the last time you saw a movie filled with jokes that didn’t fall apart in the final thirty minutes? The dialogue is witty and the jokes are clever. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Okay, I’ll see this one again soon.
4. School of Rock – How in the world is Jack Black going to follow up his role in SCHOOL OF ROCK? After his brilliant summation of all things Jack Black as Dewey Finn, it’s time to return to roles like the darker character he played in JESUS’ SON. SCHOOL OF ROCK is so much fun. This movie makes me wish I had a ten-year old son or daughter who was interested in learning how to play the guitar.
5. Spellbound – I want to say this movie felt too opportunistic. I want to say it took advantage of these pre-teens who compete in spelling bees. I want to say it existed just so we could laugh at how silly spelling bee kids are. But there was warmth and emotion and edge of your seat thrills. Something I never expected, even though I spent most of the summer hearing about how good this movie was.
6. Dirty Pretty Things – This is the only "adult" movie I saw all year. By "adult" I mean that it deals with themes and stories that adults face. Immigration and black market organ trading. Well. I guess I’m a little off. Did people flock to this even though it starred that woman who was in AMELIE? I don’t think so. This is one of those films that somehow gets silly at the end, yet doesn’t get silly at the end. Even though I’ve never read his work, the story feels very John le Carre. Do you know what I mean? It’s one of those adult stories that appears in hardcover books you buy at airports? And yet, it’s done with panache and serious acting chops. My thoughts are very mixed up about this movie. I think I’m trying very hard to like it more than I actually did.
7. American Splendor – Yeah, I liked this movie. For me AMERICAN SPLENDOR is a tough film to be passionate about. It’s not one of those "love it or hate it" movies. It’s easy to totally respect Paul Giamatti’s performance. He’s amazing as Harvey Pekar. And the movie is funny. The comic-book nature and the reality vs. the scripted world is interesting. But I can’t rave about this movie to anyone. All I can say is "yeah, you should see this."
8. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – Can I praise a movie on production values alone? I think I may have actually heard the phrase "swab the decks" uttered about one third of the way in. That’s when it dawned on me that I just needed to sit back and enjoy MASTER AND COMMANDER as a movie about life on a ship. I’ve never given much thought to nautical warfare, but I’m glad I got to do so with this movie. Watching two ships duke it out in different surroundings (fog, the darkness of night, etc.) is a lot of fun! The movie’s good, but it certainly isn’t Oscar material.
9. Matchstick Men – I want movies like this to appear twice a month at the box office. It’s so good. MATCHSTICK MEN is the kind of movie that everyone can get behind. Smart enough. Fun enough. Acted well enough. It doesn’t change the world. It doesn’t try to change the structure of filmmaking. It’s just a good caper film. If Hollywood released movies in this vein (but not necessarily heist movies) on a regular basis, audiences would return to the theatres.
10. 28 Days Later – Video never looked so good. Why was there so much hype about different endings to this movie? I enjoyed it. Didn’t love it. I can’t even remember what I said about the movie as I left the theatre. I remember walking from the movie theatre to a bar and maybe discussing bubble tea. I can’t remember if I had popcorn at the bar or not. I know I had two or three beers and that I was sort of relieved when my night ended.
11. X-Men 2: X-Men United – It took me a few weeks to get into the theatre to see this movie. Whenever I saw the title written down I’d read it as X-Men Untied. Subconsciously, I wanted it to be about the disbanding of the X-Men and their disillusionment about being heroes. Perhaps we’ll wait for the third episode to explore those themes. Was the brief appearance of the metal skinned Colussus everyone else’s favorite part?
12. Kill Bill: Volume 1 – The more my friends keep telling me how much they liked it, the higher it goes on my list. I loved the sound design. It was raw and comic-book-y at the same time.
13. Swimming Pool – Now that Janet Jackson’s breast has been bared at the Super Bowl it feels wrong to write about boobs, but SWIMMING POOL, besides being a quiet horror story of (un)reality, also seeks to be a quiet study of the female form and the nature of women and the competition they feel between each other (while at different stages of their lives).
14. Bad Santa – I want Billy Bob to be in three or four movies a year. You sort of want him to be your big screen buddy that you’re slightly nervous around. The lines he pulls off in BAD SANTA are awesome. And I think I’ve fallen more in love with Lauren Graham after her off-kilter performance as a woman who fancies Santa Claus a little too much.
15. Cold Mountain – There’s a scene where a turkey is shot. The digital effect of the feathers flying is the most ridiculous thing I saw on film this year.
16. Step into Liquid – During the past two months I feel like I’ve heard a lot about surfing being tough to get into – about the "locals only" attitude. STEP INTO LIQUID approaches the sport/hobby/lifestyle with a much friendlier attitude – that surfing takes place everywhere. Unfortunately, only 20 minutes of this movie are interesting. The rest of it is uninspiring, with uninspiring music. I wanted THE ENDLESS SUMMER. I got SURF NAZIS MUST DIE without all the "cult coolness."
17. Hulk – As soon as we saw the digital Hulk during that Super Bowl commercial a year ago we knew this movie was going to suck. We crossed our fingers and hoped Ang Lee could save the digital mess that was HULK with a great story. He didn’t.
18. Finding Nemo – I don’t like nice. Come on people! What’s so special about this movie? It’s too cute for my tastes. The only scenes I liked were the ones in the dentist’s office. I should’ve skipped this movie and just waited to get my animation fix with THE INCREDIBLES.
19. Matrix Reloaded – "Snooze Fest" seems to be the phrase of the moment. And it couldn’t be better applied to anything but MATRIX RELOADED. Have fight scenes ever been so long and boring? Yes, they have been. And they were the fight scenes my friends and I choreographed and videotaped when we were 14! If someone ever catches me watching MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, you have my permission to spike my next drink with poison.
20. Lilya 4-Ever – I haven’t given this movie any thought whatsoever since walking out of the theatre. I pretty much refused to talk about it because I thought it was so bad. After TOGETHER, LILYA 4-EVER is such a letdown. It contains none of the humor or verve of Lukas Moodysson’s previous films (including SHOW ME LOVE). The only thought I have now is "What is L. Moodysson working on next?" Thanks to the miracle of the internet, finding the answer is easy. UNTITLED LUKAS MOODYSSON PROJECT (2004). I am expecting something worthwhile.
2003
LISTS
dan
sujan
sarah f.
mitch
marc
jeremy
jim
amy r.
matt b.
shawn
