Here are the 5 best movies I saw this year, in order of their greatness.
1. Mystic River - Acting rarely gets that good. I continue to be haunted by those characters. Fantastic film, all around. The movie almost affected me physically. When Tim Robbins starts talking about vampires and werewolves to his wife, in the middle of the night ... and it is as though the mask is taken off ... and you see the horror in his soul ... The first time I saw that scene I thought I was going to stop breathing altogether.
2. American Splendor - SUCH a wonderful movie. About Harvey Pekar, star of a comic book drawn by Robert Crumb, called "American Splendor". He's just a shlump, a file clerk, a hypochondriac, a pessimist ... American Splendor tells his story. It is hilarious, touching ... and I loved seeing Paul Giamatti, this great character actor who has been in 1000 movies, be given a lead. And a romantic lead no less! See it, if you haven't already.
3. In America - Jim Sheridan's semi-autobiographical story about an Irish family, coming to live in NYC in the 1990s. The story of immigrants, told in a modern setting. There is a mother and father and 2 young daughters, played by real-life sisters. You can't even call these girls "child actors" because you never ever catch them acting. The entire movie has a documentary feel. The family lost a son, and each member deals with it in their own way. The family is haunted. Damaged. They try to go on. The movie is funny, touching, interesting ... a great film. I loved every second of it.
4. 21 Grams - Sean Penn's 1-2 punch, with Mystic River. The character he plays in this film is completely different from the guy he plays in Mystic River. If there is a more gifted actor working on the planet right now, you would have to work hard to convince me of it. Additionally: Naomi Watts has this power as an actress - it's the kind of acting which clutches you at your throat. It doesn't look like acting. It looks REAL. Great story, told non-chronologically - The story unfolds mysteriously. You have to have patience. I love acting because of the kind of stuff you see in this movie. Total transformation.
5. Return of the King - A magnificent accomplishment. An entire world created. You believe that what you are looking at is real, and 3-D ... even though your brain knows it is mostly digital. But the special effects do not take away from the performances. Wonderful and real characters created. I cared about them all.
Posted by sheilaI am adding a comment to my own post because I am lazy.
I cannot believe I left off "Lost in Translation".
That is definitely one of the best movies I saw this year.
Posted by: red at December 28, 2003 10:34 PMYou cared about all the characters in ROTK? Even Sauron?
Posted by: Emily at December 29, 2003 1:51 PMI thought that Sauron was one of the most deeply sympathetic characters ever to be put on the screen.
I could feel his pain.
He obviously suffered from a lack of validation from the other wizards. He over-compensated, poor thing.
Posted by: red at December 29, 2003 2:17 PMWell, being a the Dark Lord of all evil is not without its burdens, I suppose.
Posted by: Emily at December 29, 2003 2:36 PMI watched the film and looked for the "root cause" of Sauron.
Posted by: red at December 29, 2003 2:38 PMTee-hee. Perhaps the folks of Gondor and Rohan should have spent more time asking themselves "why do they hate us?", instead of fighting. I'm sure Saruman and the Orcs would have been just fine with sitting down and chatting about their differences over a nice cup of tea.
Damn imperialist fellowship.
Posted by: Emily at December 29, 2003 2:59 PM