wow--i can't believe i saw so few movies this year

here's my list:

10. vanilla sky--continued the family tradition of going to a movie on christmas day ("jewish day at the movies," as my father calls it) and was rewarded w/ this overblown piece of garbage--absolutely the worst movie i've seen since eyes wide shut--kept feeling really sad every time tom cruise's face would go back to normal--boy is he the worst ever or what?

9. what's the worst that could happen?--saw this movie with my mom--it was a classic case of wanting to go to the movies and just getting tickets for whatever film is starting next. my mom and i usually have good judgment, but not this time. the guy who plays the gay police investigator is pretty funny, but that's about it.

8. planet of the apes--really offensive to me, being a pretty big fan of the original, which needless to say is a smidge more complex than this update. thinnest of stories, marky mark wasted, and the cheapest of performances by gary oldman. and what's with the nonsensical ending?

7. the pledge--too long and slow, and sean penn's wife really sucks, but nonetheless it worked for me. suspenseful, complex, and beautifully shot--"the conversation" set in the pacific northwest.

6. apocalypse now--coppola's second best movie (after "the conversation"), but probably a better film in '79 than in '01. it's cool to see how wise coppola was even in the druggy 70's in eliminating the boring narrative distractions, but not so cool to see him reinsert the sucky parts twenty years later.

5. blow--some cool guys wearing cool clothes and doing cool stuff do and sell lots of drugs and...well...it doesn't really work out too well in the end. looked great, and johnny depp is just fantastic.

4. rat race--it's "it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world"......w/o buddy hackett, jimmy durante, and buster keaton. maybe i'm a sucker for slapstick, and maybe i'm the only person in the country to have seen this movie, but it's really funny...except for whoopi goldberg. it is getting pretty tough to stomach cuba gooding, though.

3. harry potter--many people whose opinions i respect thought this sucked, but i was totally captivated by this movie. it could have gone on for 10 hours and i would have wanted more--was totally feeling the magic. then again, i hadn't read the book beforehand.

2. shrek--i'll see any movie w/ eddie murphy--he f-in' rocks.

1. lord of the rings--great action, scary monsters, good v. evil, neat weapons and stuff. $300 million well spent. already in line for volume 2.