Your Top Ten Films of 2003 (and honorable mentions)

Edited because I thought of something better.

In no particular order (except number one):

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Just the joys of it being the last of the LotR trilogy, as well as having some great battle scenes.

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (U.S. Release)

Great anime movie, essentially a long episode of the series. Good music, good story, good movie.

X2: X-Men United

One word: "Bub."

Lost In Translation

A good Bill Murray film, loved it!

All I Want

A really good movie, full of comedy and romance. Elijah Wood, Franka Potente, and Mandy Moore are great in this movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

So much better than I ever expected. Funny, heartwarming, and filled with action.

The Matrix Reloaded

Much beter than Revolutions IMO.

Teminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Not really my favorite at all, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

S.W.A.T.

What can I say, I have a thing for the M4 Carbine.

And the number one movie of the year:

The Last Samurai

To be honest, I was afraid of this movie. I was worried about Cruise (who I'm not a huge fan of), I was worried that the Japanese culture would be butchered, I was worried about history being butchered. But in the end, it worked out better than I could ever have hoped.




Anata baka?!

 

1) Lost in Translation - Wow. Just... wow. This is just a perfect quiet picture of loneliness and friendship and love and life and aging and ... *sigh.* It's funny and sad and touching and AMAZINGLY intimate. Strong performances from Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray and very strong, confident direction by Sofia Coppola. Best movie of the year.

2) 21 Grams - Well-done exploration of grief and faith and loss, through scattered impressions and dislocated scenes. Benecio Del Toro completely owns this movie as the born-again ex-con, though Naomi Watts manages to hold her own. Sean Penn is a bit overshadowed here, though, and the opening and closing monologues are overkill for me.

3) 28 Days Later - This is one of the scariest movies i've ever seen in my entire life. The opening sequence of an empty London with GY!BE's "East Hastings" droning on in the background is an instant classic, but it just gets better from there. The tunnel sequence and the final bloodbath in the fortified house are perfect, but best of all is the unbearable psychological pressure of the whole situation and the horrible things it makes people do. Jim's parents' suicide note, the story about the rush to the train station, and the whole sickening scenario with ... umm, reproductive concerns. the whole exchange between the two women about the Valium ("i'm just trying to make it so you don't care") made me want to curl up in a ball and die.

4) The Station Agent - Another quiet character piece, shot strangely close to the town where i grew up and revolving around three solid main performances and really strong supporting work.

5) Big Fish - One of Tim Burton's best movies (probably third after Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands), a fable about tall tales and the people who tell them. Albert Finney is perfect, and the sequence in North Korea with the ventriloquist, the fight with the night-vision goggles, and the conjoined twins has to be seen to be believed. All the stories are weird and funny and touching, and everyone I went with was crying their eyes out in the end. We had a big group hug in the lobby afterward. May be a bit too sentimental, self-indulgent, and schmaltzy for some people.

6) Irreversible - I've been watching gory movies my whole life, and I have never, ever seen anything like the scene with the fire extinguisher. I thought I was so desensitized to screen violence until I saw (and heard) that, and yet it still managed to bring me close the point of actually throwing up on myself. The rape scene was almost as bad in some ways, worse in others. And yet, it's not all about the shock value. Noe's backwards structure puts you at a weird distance from the other scenes, which are progressively lighter and lighter until the amazingly tender scenes which are chronologically first, and casts everything in a weird light. You can't fully allow yourself to enjoy their happiness, knowing what you know and they don't about how it will all turn out for them. It's a fantastic, thought-provoking movie that touches a lot of raw nerves.

7) Kill Bill: Volume 1 - Energetic kinetic spectacle and incredibly sharp and sassy homage to classic martial arts movies. The Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves is one of the best action sequences ever. QT gets a lot of credit for the excellent directing, and also for taking his work in a bold new direction.

8) Bend it Like Beckham - What My Big Fat Greek Wedding would have been if it hadn't sucked. Great coming-of-age movie which handles the racial/ethnic issues with sensitivity, respect, and brains. Just a really smart movie all around.

i still haven't seen a few movies which might make my list once i do, such as Monster, House of Sand and Fog, A Mighty Wind, Elephant, and Bad Santa.

also, honorable mentions go to:

- every moment Johnny Depp was onscreen in Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Upon a Time In Mexico

- the comic-book style frames and split screens in The H

 

I haven't seen many movies this year, so this is my small list in no particular preferences (except for the two first ones).

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - I'm a fan of Tolkien's works and I loved the first two movies that PJ made. I liked the battle scenes and the scenes in general. The sound effects were great also, and Gimli was still there with his funny quotes.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Special Edition - I enjoyed the theaterical version of Two Towers, but in my opinion the special edition is way better, as they explain some scenes and has more funny scenes.

Pirates of the Caribbeans: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Wonderful movie. Entertaining and had a nice choice of cast.

Taxi 3 - Not bad, better than my expectations. Though I still prefer Taxi 2.

Finding Nemo - Another wonderful movie. A movie filled with laughing moments, and the story line was just wonderful, I really enjoyed watching it.

As for my honorable mentions I guess I could give one to Blizzard for being a nice Christmas Holiday movie to watch.

Dashing through the snow, with a broken pair of skies?

 

i've really got to see Finding Nemo. i almost saw it on a flight, but i was too absorbed in my book to watch it. my girlfriend loved it though, and i keep hearing good things about it.

 

1. Pirates of the Carribean (Johnny Depp stole the show! My new favorite movie)

2. Return of the King (Do I really need a reason for this one? Simply amazing movie!)

3. X-Men 2: United (Much better than the lackluster prequel, can't wait for the next one!)

4. 28 Days Later (Surprisingly scary)

5. Bruce Almighty (Very funny movie, and it's always nice to see Jennifer Aniston)

6. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (another pleasant surprise; not nearly as good as Cameron's movies, but enjoyable nonetheless)

7. The Matrix: Revolutions (not as good as the first one, but not bad)

8. Finding Nemo (cute movie, I really wasn't expecting to like it, but I was pleasantly surprised)

9. Seabiscuit

10. Kill Bill: Vol I (very surprising, as I'm not a very big fan of Uma Thurman; great fight sequences!)

 

i've really got to see Finding Nemo. i almost saw it on a flight, but i was too absorbed in my book to watch it. my girlfriend loved it though, and i keep hearing good things about it.

You really must see it.

It should probably win Best Picture of the year, though it won't since it's animated.

 

1. Return of the King-probably my favorite film now.
2. X-Men 2- Great movie. One of the best comic book movies ever(although thats not saying much)
3. Hulk-not quite as good as X2, but in my opinion very underrated.
4. Daredevil- It had plently of stupid moments, but it also had some good moments that made up for the cheesy parts like the rain scene and the park scene.
5. Terminator 3- It was better than I expected it to be. I especially liked the ending and that they didn't save the world this time. It was a nice twist.
6. Matrix Reloaded-I liked the action scenes. Not as good as the first.

Those are the only films from this year that I can remember seeing.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Special Edition - I enjoyed the theaterical version of Two Towers, but in my opinion the special edition is way better, as they explain some scenes and has more funny scenes.

I agree. The Boromir scene alone greatly improves an already excellent film. I guess I would add the Two Towers Extended Edition to my list.

 

I didn't think this year had very many, but here goes:

1. Shattered Glass. Hayden Christensen gives an astounding performance as the pathological liar reporter Stephen Glass, who wrote fictional articles and passed them off as real in order to impress both his parents and his colleagues (and probably himself). Although we don't condone what he did, we are able to sympathize when his world comes crashing down around him after his editor, Chuck Lane (another great performance by Peter Sarsgaard) uncovers Glass's constant deceptions.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp--need I say more? A fairly good portrayal of the pirating business as well--my school even used it as an eighth-grade social studies lesson.

3. Daredevil. I got dragged to this one by the hubby, whose crush on Jennifer Garner knows no bounds, and wasn't expecting to like it, but I was impressed. It was the best Marvel Comics series I've seen on screen so far, and it had some great lines. ("Is this what a guy has to do to get your name?" "You should try getting my number.")

4. The Hulk. Another one I wasn't really expecting to like but it was very well done, and a good psychological portrayal of both Bruce and David Banner.

5. Return of the King. I was disappointed that it wasn't more like the book, but it was cinematically well-done.

 

Hmm...a social studies lesson?
That's odd. Though it was a great yarn and I really enjoyed it, it wasn't terribly historically accurate.

 

1) Finding Nemo
This movie was sooooo cute and enjoyable. I haven't enjoyed a Disney/Pixar movie as much as this since the original Toy Story

2) 28 Days Later
Although this came out in 2002 in the UK I only saw it this year and it has got to be my favourite horror movie. It's so gritty and all throughout I had this feeling of "this could really happen". Superb British horror. Loved it

3) Bruce Almighty
Jim Carey is a nut and this film, although incredibly mushy at points, was highly enjoyable. Hilarious. Loved it.

4) Pirates of the Carribean
Another silly yet hugely enjoyable action/adventure movie. Orlando was nice to look at, Johnny Depp was GREAT and Keira Knightley is entirely too pretty for someone who's only a few months older than me

5) Return of the King
Don't get me wrong, I think the LOTR films are amazing but my love for these films just seemed to dry up after TTT for some reason and while ROTK was a superb film it wasn't my favourite of this year.

6) Bulletproof Monk
Seann William Scott...ahhhhhhh. Er...I mean, a silly but hugely enjoyable kung-fu action movie Rah! Watched it on the flight to the US 3 times (my other choice was Anger Management and I can't sit through movies with Adam Sandler)

For me the biggest disappointment this year were the two Matrix sequels. They were badly made, hyped up WAY too much and were a huge let down after the original.

 

My favourite movie this year was either Master and Commander or About Schmidt. The former portrayed, with great accuracy, life about a warship in the early 1800's. And the battle scenes with the Acheron kicked rear, too
The latter was, well, brilliance.

Others I liked, in no particular order:
Bruce Almighty Two words: Jim Carrey.
Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp turned this from a potential crapfest into a great yarn.
ROTK Massively overhyped, but, nonetheless, a memorable movie.

That's all the movies I can remember seeing and actually liking.

The biggest waste of my money and time was:
Daredevil I don't know why I allowed myself to be conned into seeing this by my friends. As a rule, I normally hate comic book movies. But this was so bloody moronic, it made me yearn for Peter Parker.

 

Yeah, Daredevil was baaaad.

But I had to see it because Jennifer Garner ROCKS in Alias

 

1.Return of the King: Not quite as good as Two Towers, but easily the best of 2003. I'm sad to see the trilogy end.

2. X-Men United: Officially made the X-Men a worthy franchise.

3. Kill Bill: Tarantino returns with a vengeance.

4. T3: Not quite Cameron quality, but still pure Terminator action

5. Matrix Revolutions: worthy ending to the series, especially after the letdown that was Reloaded.

 

1 LOTR: ROTK

2 Martix Revolutions

3 Finding Nemo

4 Matrix Reloaded

5 Pirates OTC

6 Holes

7 T-3

8 X-2



Uh... I only saw eight movies this year.

 

I can`t believe no-one`s even MENTIONED Underworld!! This film is definitely my most enjoyable cinema experience of last year! I went in thinking it would be kinda "cheesy" but it was SO well-done, effects, acting AND plot are all surprisingly first-class!!


Apart from that, ROTK, T3 and Pirates were all amazing as well. I felt both Matrix films were a horrible let-down, shoulda just left it as one film IMHO.

 

I'll bite....

ROTK-while, as an avid reader of all things Tolkien, I couldn't help but gripe at the changes made, the film itself comes straight home. Superb attention to detail not only in effects, but characters, emotion, and tension make this an instant classic. Absolutely fantastic and a defining film for our generation.

28 Days Later-I'm surprised more people didn't like this film, although that tends to happen with indepedent movies sometimes. Dark, edgy, and surprisingly realistic in its' portrayal of the aftermath of a disaster in Great Britain. The film's primary message-that all our pretenses of 'civility' are very, very superficial and can come unraveled in a heartbeat-is so shocking and real that I walked out of that theater with chills in broad daylight. The first movie since Event Horizon to give me nightmares-and I had them for well over a month.

TTT:SE-this should have been the theatrical release. The original cut just doesn't do the story the same justice. Better depth, enhanced tension, just more, and in a good way. Excellent.

Pirates-plain old fun. Johnny Depp is outstanding. I expected a lot less from this movie, and ended up loving it.

What else did I see this year? Oh yeah....

Bend it Like Beckham-would've been higher up on my list but I'm really into sci-fi/horror so it ended up here. An engaging tale of coming-of-age. I tend to really enjoy British films, and this is no exception. Outstanding.

Hmm, I'm running out of ideas. Ten is a lot, and I haven't been to too many movies since my internship started.

If I think of any more I'll post them here.

Peace,

V-03

 

Hmm, the films of last year? *digs out all the old cinema tickets to remember what films she saw*
(some of these films might be 2002 films for people in the US, sometimes they take a while to come here to Sweden )

Right. In no particular order, 'cause I can't decide what order I should put them in...

The Return of the King
Being a Tolkien fanatic since the age of 9, I had really looked forward to this film, and I was not disappointed. Simply stunning. One of my alltime favourites now.

Pirates of the Caribbean
The first time I saw it I was a little disappointed, since all my friends had said it was so great, but the second time I just sat back and enjoyed it. Sure, it's not a deep film, but very enjoying.

Spirited Away
Wonderful film. I absolutely loved it. So beautiful...

Finding Nemo
Very cute, very funny, very enjoyable. Loved the sharks...

X-men 2
Great film, better than the first one. Want the DVD now...

Most confusing films of the year: Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. I didn't understand a thing about these movies until some friends explained them to me.

 

1)The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2)Gods and Generals
3)Pirates of the Caribbean
4)Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
5)The Last Samurai
6)The Matrix Revolutions
7)Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
8)X2: X-Men United
9)Seabiscuit
10)Kill Bill

 

1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2. Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World
3. Pirates of the Carribean
4. X2: X-Men United
5. Finding Nemo
6. The Incredible Hulk
7. School of Rock
8. S.W.A.T.
9. American Wedding
10. League of Extraordinary Gentleman

There are some suprises on that list. It was really hard to come up with 10 since there were so many sucky movies this year.

 

Films that I really liked:

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King - I didn't leave the theater with quite the same feeling as FOTR or TTT, but an awesome film nonetheless. Of course, the EE should make it better.

Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World - Wow, this was a fantastic voyage. Oscar-worthy. Russell Crowe in action.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl - One of the best "summer fun" films in ages.

Secondhand Lions - I love Robert Duvall's acting. A humorous, heart-warming film.


There were several that I'll wait to see on dvd.

 

1. Last Samurai - like others was scared to death by 1. tom cruise being in it, 2. butchering of samurai culture, and 3. Hollywoodizeing everything. But it turned out wounderful, absolutely loved this film.

2. RotK, spectaculat end to a spectacular trilogy, but didnt live up to the hype for me, had so much more potential. Can't wait for the EE.

3/4. Matrix Rel/rev. unlike the masses i loved the ambiguity of these films that cause me brain to actually work, not just spoon fed me. A bit over the top, but still excellent saga.

5. 28 days later. Pure genious. loved every minute of this movie. well packaged, filmed, and written.

6. School of Rock, what can i say jack black might be the funniest man in hollywood, excluding jim carrey. great comedy for the whole fam.

7. X2- the first was mediocre at best, but this one came through in spades. Good story, good action, and a ending that has x fans wanting for more. Biggest draw back, no beast.


8.Kill Bill. Cant say this enough I HATE TARATINO, i think he is a putz. Yet KB is hear in my top ten, i dont know why it is, but i loved this movie, a very stylish b movie.

 

1. Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl Disney's best movie ever. The cast was picked perfectly. I can't imagine anybody else playing Captain Jack Sparrow. Amazing special effects and an awesome soundtrack makes this the best movie of the year.
2. The Last Samurai A beautiful film, truely showing the honor in Samurai. Tom Cruise portrayed his character perfectly. Breath-taking battle scenes, and a excellent story line.
3.X-Men 2 : X-Men United One of the best sequels of all time. I loved how Hugh Jackman played Wolverine, showing a much more fierce side ( if that's possible ) than in the first film. Lots of action, drama, and some funny scenes.
4.The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King An awesome conclusion to one of the best trilogys ever created. Beautiful story, filled with drama, action, and comedy. Loved the whole battle at Minis Tirith, and the final end of the Ring of power.
5.The Matrix Reloaded Further explained the Matrix, with a much more complicated story line. Neo kicks some serious ass in this one. The amazing freeway chase scene showed the abilites of today's technology.
6.School of RockJack Black is hilarious! And awesome movie that shows the true meaning of rock n' roll. Plus, those kids were funny. Little rascals.
7.Kill Bill : Volume 1 Tarantino's 4th film is a knockout! With excessive and irrelivent gore, this film truely has Tarantino written all over it. In blood.
8.The Matrix Revolutions A confusing and sad conclusion to a very good trilogy. The final showdown in the rian was brilliant, along with the battle at the docks.
9.Bruce Almighty Jim Carrey has done it again! Hilarious! It would be scary to see him with God's powers.
10.Big Fish Tim Burton returns with this excellent fantasy film. Ewan McGregor plays his character well. Impressive film.

I want to see Cold Mountain alot, and it looks like it'll be in my list somewhere.

PS - My 3000th post!

 

Well, I'll have to do this according to how much I liked them, not according to how much critics liked them. So here goes:

1. Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Just a fun flick. Johnny Depp is a riot, Keira Knightley is a quintessential feisty heroine, and Orlando Bloom is...well, Orlando Bloom!

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: I had to see it 3 time to take everything in. My only disappointment was the end; it dragged on a bit too long. But beautifully done and just as much about the story among the characters as it is about epic battles and special effects. Plus, a few shout-outs to Star Wars were evident, and I thought that was pretty cool of Peter Jackson.

3. Peter Pan: I went to see this for my son's benefit, and wound up thoroughly enjoying it. It was pretty visually stunning, and the kid who plays Peter (Jeremy something) had such a mischievous seductiveness about him, it was easy to see why the three Darling children would find it difficult to leave Neverland.

4. Bend It Like Beckham: I was surprised that this film actually made it to my neck of the woods, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great coming-of-age flick that demonstrates, in truth, what many teen girls (and boys) experience--wanting to take your own path when your parents want you to take theirs.

5. Kill Bill: Volume 1: Surprisingly, my husband refused to see this with me. But I enjoyed the heck out of it. Gratuitously violent, yes, but it's so cartoonish that it's hard to be freaked out. And movies that actually feature females kicking ass rather than waiting to be rescued are always good for me. I absolutely loved the visuals and the sword fights. (Lots of sword fighting in movies this year, wasn't there?)

My biggest disappointments (or, why did I spend $7.50 on this?): Duplex, View from the Top, and Basic

My What's the Big Freaking Deal experience: Lost in Translation. Don't get me wrong--I thought it was good enough, but I don't understand why it's the recipient of so much critical drool.

Films that would likely be on my list, had I seen them yet: The Last Samurai, Cold Mountain, Big Fish, Shattered Glass, Seabiscuit and Calendar Girls.

 

Well, I saw plenty of movies this year and there are still more I have to see so I don't know if I can come up with ten best but here goes (in no particular order):

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Curiously I found it slightly unsatisfying mainly due to having been awed by the first two movies. The sense of wonder has diminshed. However, put them all together and it is a great and worthy epic that will stand the test of time.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Despite the excessive title it is probably the best movie overall I saw in 2003, especially if you have an appreciation for naval history.

Pirates of the Caribbean
A fairly standard action movie elevated solely on the basis of Johnny Depp. A jolly good time nonetheless.

A Mighty Wind
Perhaps the funniest movie of the year but you have to be a fan of the Christopher Guest/Eugene Levy style of humour.

Finding Nemo
Good fun for any age.

Seabiscuit
Okay, it tends towards manipulative drama but it still pushes all the right buttons. If you can't smile at the end you have no heart.

Movies I haven't seen likely to be on the list: Mystic River, Cold Mountain, Shattered Glass.

4 hours I'd like back: The Matrix movies. A perfect example of ego run amok as the Wachowskis took a brilliant concept and turned it into a convoluted, dull mess. Sure, it looked good but I didn't care what happened to anybody or anything in the films. I'll take The Matrix as a stand alone movie and pretend 2 and 3 never happened.

 

1. Millenium Actress

Just a great, great movie from Satoshi Kon. I'm amazed to see that no one else has mentioned it yet (unless I skipped a list somewhere down the line). SEE THIS MOVIE NOW!

2. Finding Nemo

Need I say more?

3. Lost in Translation

4. Big Fish

5. American Splendor

6. Whale Rider

7. In America

8. The Last Samurai

9. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

10. Kill Bill Vol. 1

I'm not sure if this film deserves to be added to my favorite films of the year list; it is expertly made and very stylized and a good deal of fun, but the characters were so broadly sketched and realized that there were times when I felt as if I was watching someone play an arcade game. I felt no emotional attachment to these characters what so ever, but I did enjoy the action while it lasted. Kill Bill is above all else, a loving tribute to those action packed splatter house films, but I do have to wonder why Tarantino would bother to just go through the motions and not add any juice or spice to these kinds of films.

As for not having ROTK on my list, I've made it clear that I appreciate Jackson's LOTR as a very well made series of actioin or monster movies, but as a true representation of what the LOTR books are, for me, he really missed the mark and you really have no idea how much I wanted to love these films.