| 
| 
10. “The Deep End” Tilda Swinton gives the performance of her career as a mother who must cover up the murder of her gay son’s lover in her backyard. In true Hitchcockian fashion, watch the way the ordinary Swinton finds herself falling deeper and deeper into extraordinary circumstances (i.e.: the cover-up), and then observe how clever the film is to bring her out.
9. “Spy Kids” Robert Rodriguez would probably be the last person you’d expect to see a children’s movie from, but the wild imagination and fun he inserts in “Spy Kids” is dead-on for both parents and kids. You can tell Rodriguez was smiling when he wrote the film, and the actors are having a lot fun with the story and gadgets they get to play with. Antonio Banderas and Alan Cummings star, but the kids and toys steal the show.
8. “Sexy Beast” Call it Ben Kingsley as the anti-Gandhi, with a fine performance by Ray Winston as the smarmy, innocent scoundrel Gal being sucked back in to the gangster world by Kingsley’s Don Logan. You know a movie is clicking on all cylinders when two grown men have a conversation as follows: Don: “Come to London with me!” Gal: “No!” Don: “Yes!” Gal: “NO!” Don: “YES!” and it is completely within the constructs of the movie.
7. “A Beautiful Mind” Ron Howard moves to the upper-echelon of Hollywood directors with the story of John Forbes Nash, a Nobel-Prize winning schizophrenic mathematician whose story is one of triumph and heartache. Howard smartly constructs the drama as the story of one man’s journey against a powerful disease, and wisely avoids allowing it to degenerate into a man-on-the-run psycho thriller (which easily could have happened). Howard, Crowe and Jennifer Connelly as Nash’s wife Alicia will lead the pack when Oscar nominations are announced in February.
6. “The Pledge” Director Sean Penn’s neo-gothic, noir-ish thriller starring Jack Nicholson as a man so obsessed to fulfill a promise it drives him crazy went largely unnoticed upon it’s release last January, but is definitely worth checking out on video/DVD. Nicholson is at his best as the tortured centerpiece, and Penn’s wife Robin Wright Penn appears half way through to give Nicholson more than he can handle – though all seems fine most of the time.
5. “The Man Who Wasn’t There” The Coen Brothers’ ode to the great film noir movies of the 1940s is dead on, complete with a muted visual style that also seems to sparkle on screen. The blank expression on Billy Bob Thornton’s face is one for the ages, as is Tony Shaloub’s performance as the lawyer who glistens with lines like: “I’m a lawyer. You’re a barber. You know nothing. Keep your mouth shut.”
4. “Amelie” Audrey Tautou reminds us of the vivacious Audrey Hepburn as she struts around the idyllic streets of Paris making everyone’s life better but her own. That is, until she meets Nino, the soon-to-be boy of her dreams. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet constructs the film in such a way that he makes the audience want them to get together just as much as the characters do--a very difficult task to accomplish.
3. “Shrek” Not only did it push the limits of computer animation to the next level, it also recaptured our imagination and longing for the long lost fairy tales of our youth. Combined with a soundtrack of some of the most beloved rock and roll songs of all time, "Shrek" has been a classic since it hit theaters in May.
2. “Memento” What a bold decision by writer/director Christopher Nolan to tell the story in reverse chronological order, starting with the conclusion and working forward. Thoroughly engaging with solid performances, the true genius of the film comes as we realize the story may be told backward, but we’re still on the edge of our seat until the very end.
1. “Moulin Rouge” Easily the best film of the year. Its glittering sets and costumes, razor-sharp writing, and extravagant music and dance sequences remind us of how much fun the movies can be when the imagination is allowed to run wild. It also proves that a recycled story (as the love story is) can still be extremely entertaining when surrounded by originality. This one has originality to spare. If you like music, love, dancing, extravagant colors, costumes, and fantastical fun, you’ll love “Moulin Rouge.” This film is for anyone who has ever been in love, listened to pop music, and dared to try and live in their dreams.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| Next > |
|---|
