2002: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by stooky on Wed, 06/02/2004 - 01:39
Tags:
- Great
- 13 Conversations About One Thing
- About A Boy
- Adaptation
- Atanarjuat The Fast Runner
- The Bourne Identity
- Chicago
- Dogtown & Z-Boys
- An Evening With Kevin Smith
- **Hilarious filmed "lecture" at various colleges all in one package. He's a fat man...who fields questions...and answers funnily. What more do you want?
- Far From Heaven
- The Pianist
- The Quiet American
- Spirited Away
- Sunshine State
- Talk To Her
- Y Tu Mama Tambien
- Very Good
- 24 Hour Party People
- About Schmidt
- Auto Focus
- Bowling For Columbine
- Frailty
- Frida
- Gangs Of New York
- The Good Girl
- Hero
- **Yeah yeah it was great, but I was still dissapointed by the Rashamonesque storyline. Whatever, so it should probably be in the great section but "Hero" can't cure cancer. So there. Heh.
- Ice Age
- Igby Goes Down
- Lilo & Stitch
- Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
- Lovely And Amazing
- **Sweetly bent ensemble piece owes a great deal of it's worthiness to an adorably dry sense of humor perfectly delivered by the cast. The film weaves together the interesting minor perils of the characters in a comfortable and emotionally satisfying way. A damn good film that kept me smiling the whole way through.
- Minority Report
- Morvern Callar
- **I'd been interested in seeing this film since I'd first heard the storyline. Yet the film defied my expectations, it's a slow, meandering character study much in the vein of Ruby In Paradise. I was initially thrown by the subtle, tentative direction, especially involving the subject matter. By the halfway point the film had begun to irritate me and I contemplated turning it off and saving the end for another day. But instead I laid on the floor with my bassett hound (who loves to snuggle until he gets hot then kicks like hell) and settled down into a half drowsy state then pressed play again. From that point on I was enraptured. The second half is far more impressive than the first, but I think that's intentional. Definately a film that needs to be seen while you're in a calm, receptive mood.
- Rabbit-Proof Fence
- The Salton Sea
- **Modernizing noir seldom works for several simple reasons; Directors either overwhelm the movie in sex or they skimp on atmosphere in favour of voice-overs and immensely complicated plotting. The Salton Sea in that regard is a wonderful recreation that perfectly balances style and substance, and wisely opts for overt romanticism over pure sex; instead using abrupt ultra-violence to modernize the genre. This tact allows the sullen, mysterious mood to shine through while amplifying a feeling of hidden dangers lurking within every layer of a complicated plot that remains lucid through it’s many machinations. This is due mainly to the superb script, which contains the diabolic combination of brilliant story-telling and witty dialogue. This seems to galvanize star Val Kilmer who delivers a riveting performance that evolves with the story, revealing layers of depth hidden within Danny Parker. The entire film revolves around his character-based revelations and Kilmer’s ability to nuance his performance to accompany every revelation is a textbook on great acting. Director D.J. Caruso moulds the film around this virtuoso turn, layering everything in beautiful reds and yellows suited to the pervasive mood of melancholy. Deftly backing his star with a great supporting group featuring Vincent D’Onofrio in a stellar overwrought performance as a nose-less psychopathic drug dealer. From the hypnotic opening sequence, using staccato cutting and voice-over to deconstruct the history of methamphetamine and the average drug addict or “tweakers” as Danny calls them, the film seems able to create something vibrantly new out of routine elements. The worst parts of the film contain scenes that fail this balancing act, resorting to cliché to push the story forward. Thankfully these are few and in an ironic twist tend to lead to some of the most effective moments in a thoroughly entertaining film that seeks to revolutionize film noir and inadvertently becomes a high point in it’s genre.
- Secretary
- Spider-Man
- Standing In The Shadows Of Motown
- War Photographer
- We Were Soldiers
- Good
- 8 Mile
- All Or Nothing
- Austin Powers In Goldmember
- Barbershop
- Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
- Harry Potter Adn The Chamber Of Secrets
- The Hours
- The Housekeeper
- **Enjoyable lightweight film about an old guy, his young housekeeper and their "wild" affair. It's like a twinky, in film form.
- The Importance Of Being Earnest
- Insomnia
- **Although this film is in the Good section go directly to the incredible original which is so superior in every way it renders this version practically useless.
- Jackass: The Movie
- Kissing Jessica Stein
- Les Turbulence Des Fluids/ Chaos & Desire
- **Canadian cinema is innately bizarre, blending realism and surrealism as if they were one entity and creating characters whose peculiarities rule their personalities. Chaos And Desire fits this mould perfectly, which makes the film quite standard while it achieves a certain amount of entertainment. Revered seismologist Alice returns to her hometown of Baie-Comeau where the tide has ceased to come in and the townsfolk are eliciting some rather odd behaviour. She’s greeted by a lusting lesbian (Woohoo I got to type it) college girl friend and a stridently off-centre stud whose name has been torn from every phone book in town. The plot spirals into absurdities involving nuns, sleepwalkers, the smell of sex and acts of God before revealing what is certainly one of the most embarrassing scenes of full frontal nudity ever filmed; a rather dubious honour indeed. The comfortable vibe that emanates from every scene keeps these wide-ranging elements in check and eventually makes for an entertaining, rather romantic film. I can think of worse ways to enjoy a pleasant night at home.
- Metropolis
- Monsoon Wedding
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- Punch Drunk Love
- Resident Evil Commentary
- Road To Perdition
- Roger Dodger
- Russian Ark
- Signs
- Super Troopers
- Undercover Brother
- Unfaithful
- Welcome To Collinwood
- Guilty Pleasures
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
- **It brought out the horny cave-man who enjoys seeing scantily clad women fighting and being bathed in water. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. shame factor= 9.5
- Equilibrium
- **shame factor= 2.5
- Reign In Fire
- **shame factor= 7
- Average
- 8 Women
- Blood Work
- Blue Crush
- The Emperor's New Clothes
- The Eye
- **Cantonese Sixth Sense for middle aged women who harbor a secret love for blind people and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not actually manages some good creepy scares when not shifting into maudlin gear (that’s somewhere between 2nd and 3rd). The first half contains all the best scenes, all nicely shot and harboring a bunch of spooky junk we don’t understand. About the time the film-makers decide we should know what’s going on the film degrades into a cranky Touched By An Angel episode complete with dorky ghost-based theatrics. Then ends with a fine bit of grand guignol that’s vicerally exciting as apposed to most of the film. Personally I would’ve liked to see more of the floating old guy with punctured head in the elevator but that’s just me, I’m sure there’s a market for extra-sensory soap opera since it made oodles of dough in the foreign market. And for all the men out there the female leads a hottie and that certainly doesn't hinder the movie either.
- Femme Fatale
- Gangster No. 1
- Last Orders
- The Mothman Prophecies
- Murder By Numbers
- Narc
- One Hour Photo
- Panic Room
- Possession
- The Ring
- Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams
- Storytelling
- **I broke down and finally watched the "new" Todd Solondz and I was mildly impressed and greatly disapointed at the same time. Each scene grinds down the characters characters being focussed upon, their every subtle flaw being adressed and magnified. It's a fine piece of satire but how in the hell are you supposed to enjoy it. I loved his earlier films for exactly the same reasons, so I am confused. I'll try to explain what I think was the problem, Todd's storytelling seems a bit trite much like his main characters the story seems unable to grasp the deeper life of each character. I just didn't enjoy this shooting gallery of 2 dimensional buffoons.
- Wendigo
- Dissapointing
- Blade 2
- Eight Legged Freaks
- Enough
- The Four Feathers
- Fulltime Killer
- **Generally awful movie saved by the inspired performance of one Andy Lau.
- House Of Fools
- **Watched on a whim and summarily unimpressed by the incoherent story, over-acting and general disaray of the film-making. I would have liked a tidier film, instead what I got was this...thing. Who knows. Apparently people loved it on the film festival circuit, so as they say, make up your own mind. It didn't bowl me over. A critical note: The inclusion of Bryan Adams (and his music) in a film is never a good thing.
- Like Mike
- Maid In Manhattan
- Red Dragon
- The Rules Of Attraction
- Solaris
- Suicide Club
- **Japanese gore flick that doesn't work cus it tries to be psychological but fails. The gore's pretty good though, some almost stomach churning scenes give the film punch, but then looses steam with boring talking scenes and pointless drivel. Too bad, it could've been a good one.
- They
- Treasure Planet
- Cellar Dwellers
- Below
- Collateral Damage
- Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood
- Ghost Ship
- Master Of Disguise
- National Lampoon's Van Wilder
- Orange County
- Rollerball
- Scooby-Doo
- The Truth About Charlie
- XXX
- The Wild Dogs
- **A truly terrible film saved by a few scenes of geniune interest involving puppy dogs and a guy in a bathhouse; A dwarf who's pretty darn rockin'; And a legless boy, woman relationship. (Overall about 10 minutes of the film.) Long, boring and infuriatingly dumb film that is horny and confused most of time. And when it's not you get the feeling that you're being preached at. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I have not idea what the film was about so who the f**k cares. Avoid...at all costs.
- The Big Stink
- Bad Company
- FeardotCom
- Jason X
- Mr. Deeds
- Resident Evil
- The Transporter
- Unfortunately Haven’t Seen
- All About Lily Chou-Chou
- Catch Me If You Can
- Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
- Nine Queens
- Read My Lips
- Secret Ballot
Cloned From:
I'm happy that the top is starting to outweigh the bottom on these lists. I sure watched enough s**t movies in my youth. I think I've finally figured out where all the time went, what a waste. These listings are making me kinda sad.
Tallyho
:?(
Hey man, you're dragging me down! I've only started watching movies at such a good clip, and what's worse I'm at an age when I should know better. Are you telling me to quit? :-)
"There's no such thing as a bad experience." (tried to find the source of that quote and failed - any ideas?)
I'm a moody bloke. Don't stop, onward to pillage the hoards of unsuspecting movies.
I came to the realization that watching movies that I would put in the Cellar Dwellers catagory is a BIG waste of time. And with sites like Rotten Tomatoes & Metacritic it's almost inescusable. I coulda learned another language in the time it took me to watch that crap.
I have no idea where that exact quote comes from (sounds philosophical), but,
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." Oscar Wilde
Tallyho
:?)
Ah! I misunderstood. I thought you were lamenting so much time spent on movies in general, not just the bad ones. I feel much better now.
:?V <---Vague stook
Tallyho
:?)
Stooky, i just sat down to watch 'About Schmidt '
and loved it. at times it was abit slow but i loved the jokes, and the style reminded me of a 'Wes Anderson' film-jack was top notch.
i know its pretty much top of your list but id like to know what you thought about it (its high & low points)
oh well bb & take care
Give me a few days and I'll get back to you About Schmidt (snicker snicker).
Tallyho
:?)
lol very funny, i only got it today! lol ok cant wait
About Schmidt: Or I just saw a Kathy Bates naked and I'm not sure whether I'm frightened, blind or creepily turned on. Hooya.
I'll split up my conclusions into 4 seperate parts to make it easier on myself. That and my review writing has gone to the dogs.
1. Schmidt- Jack Nicholson's finest performance of his career, and I'm not being a fanboy saying that. He manipulates his face like a master of silent cinema, you can almost hear every fleeting thought. Vocally he's perfect, the way he rambles sentenses and stresses unimportant words to communicate Schmidt's complex, anal inner life. He cut out the eye-brows for the most part, and I can only say "Thank the lord!". And above all his sweet almost childish interpretation of his character makes him endearing even when his moral gumption deserts him. It's a great perf and carries most of the weight of the film.
2. The Filmmaking - An interesting attempt to follow the life of an "average" person. The story is well written and conceived (ie. The events seem plausible and the film maintains a consistant theme or feeling through to the end.) the script is well-written but can be trite or predictable sometimes. The direction is a tad heavy-handed at times seeking trite allegory to dismiss plot deviations or condescend to certain characters. The voice-over is funny and entertaining but I'm not sure if it's inclusion doesn't hurt the film. Dermot Mulroney is not that good. And most of the extended family are the brunt of simple, easy laughs. Relating a tendency for the film to slip into sit-com formula in major scenes. Kathy Bates is outstanding as the strong free-spirited mother as is Hope Davis as his daughter. I love the way the plot evolves and the startling and sweet-natured first hour. I'm not as happy with the second half.
3. Other - The visuals are fine, as bland as the characters they contain. The film contains small scenes of pure brilliance, for example: When he confesses his deluded love to a woman he hardly knows on a motor home and her reaction. The incredibly funny letters he writes to ndugu don't really help the film in any way other than to communicate the main characters deluded world view. It's meaningless considering Nicholson's performance is so great.
4. My Reaction - I saw it in the theatre and was bowled over by the beginning, but as the movie progressed there was nothing deeper. The contentment with using it's characters for cheap laughs didn't thrill me. Still I enjoyed the arc of the story and laughed along while he communicated his anger to ndugu. And the fact that the very last scene is incredibly heartfelt doesn't hurt either...Overall, very good.
What's your opinion? Do you disagree?
Tallyho
:?)
i agree with all your points. i Think all the aspects of the movie did compliment eachother, as you say, the dull settings to the main character.
i thought hope davis' character was abit to over-the top at times in the sense that at times she was so nasty and mean to Warren that you thought welll 'having just lost her mother and warren his wife, would she reallly be SO ratty?' well maybe but all she cared about was her wedding. when he told her he was comming early to see her, she was nothing but nasy. maybe people would be in that situation i dont know.
oh, and was the point of Ndugu's last letter (The one with the pic) to show he effected some ones life? maybe but im not sure what it was trying to say.
so in all i loved the movie it was stylish and original- oh the letter he sends to Ndugu, mouthing off the guy who took over his job was SO FUNNY!!!
ok take care bb
Several subtle points to explain Hope Davis' character.
Warren made a conscious effort to avoid his wife while she was alive. In effect he became a workaholic to avoid his nasty family. Warren's wife hates him and on a subliminal level he gets that. When she dies Warren tries to rekindle a relationship with his daughter but since he was never present in her life there's no real connection. Plus the fact that she was privee to her mothers not so veiled animosity towards Warren. His daughter basically wants him to go away and is incredibly offended by the fact that he's actually relieved his wife died.
Warren has been searching his entire life for some kind of connection and that picture symbolizes his attainment of his dream, no matter how small an accomplishment it is.
Tallyho
:?)
"Experience is the worst teacher, it gives the examination before the lesson." - ?
So there's been two Insomnias. D'oh!
Disagree re Red Dragon, but I have a thing for Hannibal Lecter.
Disagree re Below, but I have a thing for submarine movies.
And they're titled exactly the same. I recommend the 98 version, definately an experience. The acting's great here but it just can't match the earlier movie.
Red Dragon would have to depend on personal feelings. I'm one of the people who felt it was a meek shadow of "Manhunter". And I hated the ending...o the bad ending.
Below? seriously? ghosts and submarine and silliness? you liked?
T'ho
:?)
Re: Charlie's Angels. The cave man gets no respect. Maybe it's not a good film, but it's damn fine entertainment for many of us.
Amen.
:?)
Lol. And all God's people said... "AMEN."
What did you think of The Salton Sea?
I'll write a review later today.
T'ho
:?)