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My Top Ten of 2001
10. Ali (***1/2 out of ****)
Yes, "Ali" had its flaws and some scenes went on far too long, most notably the scene where he is running in Africa, but this was an entertaining, and yet a serious look at one of the greatest black men of All-Time. The fights scenes were choreographed beautifully and I thought Michael Mann did a great job at directing, yet again, taking an important 10 years of Ali's life and wonderfully and carefully re-telling it to the audience. Will Smith WAS Ali in every respect, down to the voice and the swagger Ali had and Jon Voight WAS Howard Cossell. Their on-screen chemistry was great! This film really taught me a lot about Muhammed Ali as a person and a fighter that I didn't know before. A great blockbuster biography!
9. Black Hawk Down (***1/2)
This war movie was one of the most intense and graphic war movies ever made, if not the most intense and graphic war movie ever made. Ridley Scott didn't develop characters or get into the politics of the war, but that was not his intent in making the movie. He wanted to show people how gruesome and deadly warfare really is and he successfully did that, in creating the most graphic war movie to ever be made. The special effects were amazing and the story was engaging and very tragic and sad. He definitely succedded in creating a horrific vision of war that I will never forget.
8. The Others (****)
One of the most terrifying and suprising horror films ever made, and did so without the special effects that directors so heavily rely on nowadays. I thought the lighting and the dark scenery really helped and made it all the more terrifying. The final surprise, in my opinion, was even more shocking than the one in "The Sixth Sense", my jaw was still on the floor by the time the end credits rolled around. Nicole Kidmen delivered another great performance, and her facial expressions really made it seem all the more real and spooky, making her one of the most versatile and great actresses of our time. The two kids, also delivered wonderful performances, as the scared, innocent children and their facial expressions were priceless. A classic horror film without needing the use of special effects and even more shocking than "The Sixth Sense", hard to imagine nowadays, eh??
7. The Royal Tenenbaums (****)
This movie was absolutely hilarious, yet also sad and touching at the same time, rare for a comedy. But that is what makes this movie so great. This is a movie about the Tenenbaums, all once prodigys in one form or another and now are one, big dysfunctional family living together. This is an all-star cast, where each actor/actress deliver magnificent performances, each being downright hilarious, yet each having major problems at the same time. Gene Hackmen gives one of the best male performances of the year, and its a travesty he wasn't nominated for Best Actor and either Stiller or Owen Wilson should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. This is one of the greatest satires of all-time and easily one of the best movies of 2001, a CLASSIC!
6. In the Bedroom (****)
This was an incredibly tense and extremely realistic portrayal of the effect a tragedy has on a close family. It shows how the bonds of marriage can be stretched to the extreme. The scenes where neither the mother or the father would talk to each other were extremely tense and also tragic. The acting in the movie was first-rate. Tom Wilkenson, gave an Oscar-worthy performance as the intelligent, soft-spoken, caring father who really doesn't deal with their great loss until the very end of the movie; he's constantly on the move so that he doesn't allow himself time to think about their loss. Sissy Spacek, gives the audience yet another great and realistic performance as the mother who wears her emotions on her sleeve and can't get beyond the death of her son until justice prevails; like most mothers would be like. A great and realistic look at tragedy and the effect that tragedy has on loved ones!
5. Memento (****)
This was one of the most original and inventive movies I have ever seen, and I loved it because of that! It tells the story backwards, and therefore I was engulfed in the movie and wanted to know what would happen next....errr first! Guy Pearce did a wonderful job portraying Leonard, a guy who couldn't remember what happened 20 minutes earlier, or could he, and just wanted to block certain things out? We will never know, I guess, what the intent of Christopher Nolan was, but the ambiguity of the ending is part of what makes "Memento" unforgettable (no pun intended). It also showed the disloyalty of friends because of the way Teddy and the Carrie Anne Moss character would constantly deceive him to get what they wanted. This was just an incredibly original film that I will never forget (Again NO pun intended)!
4. A Beautiful Mind (****)
This truly was a touching, sad, and hart-warming tale of John Nash, a paranoid-schizophrenic, who had and still has one of the greatest mathematical minds ever and how he suffered through so many years of schizophrenia. I love how Ron Howard showed us what John Nash could see, it was amazing to me! I was also stunned at how John could see all of those unreal scenes, like the deserted house, and think its like a secret government building, I was just amazed because I have NEVER dealt with a schizophrenic person before! But it was extremely sad at how he almost lost everything as a result of that disease. Russell Crowe, again gave a magnificent performance as the brilliant and conflicted Nash, and he should easily win Best Actor and Jennifer Connelly gave a superb performance as his forgiving and loving wife, and she should be rewarded with the Best Supporting Actress Award. It was a touching tale of how love conquered all, even if it isn't entirely how it went down in the Nash household in real-life!
3. Lord of the Rings (****)
This wasn't just a movie, this was an EXPERIENCE! I was in Middle Earth for those three hours and this was a visually spectacular film. I was wide-eyed at much of the scenery; the waterfalls, the elaborate architecture, and the grassy landscapes. The visuals were breath-taking and the characters came to life before my very eyes. The special effects were simply amazing and Peter Jackson deserves an academy for this gigantic achievement. Sir Ian McKellan deserves to win Best Supporting Actor because he WAS Gandalf! The rest of the acting was very good, but NOT great, in my opinion, but this movie was amazing because of the special effects and the visuals and the story line. I am NOT a big fantasy fan, but I really LOVED this movie. An EXPERIENCE I will NOT soon forget!
2. Monster's Ball (****)
WARNING: Do NOT see this movie if you are at a depressed stage in your life because this is probably one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen! This is one of the MOST depressing and disturbing movies I have ever seen, yet it is so realistic and and a wonderful work of art at the same time, that it is simply one of the BEST films of the year! This is the story of an inter-racial relationship between a white-racist prision guard (Thorton) and a single black poor mother (Berry) who slowly start to fall deeply in love with each other under tragic circumstances that I will not reveal. They both had dismal and miserable pasts and need love in their lives so badly. Thorton's character Hank felt hatred for everyone around, most especially his son who was not as mean and tough as him and therefore he hated him. But slowly, you start to see his character change into a loving, caring man who just needed to be loved! Its a WONDERFUL and TRAGIC and DEPRESSING AND REALISTIC movie all at once, and it is a film that toyed with every emotion I had and I loved it because of that! A MUST-SEE MOVIE!
And my #1 Movie is.....
Moulin Rouge!
This movie was Spectacular, Spectacular! It was a movie about freedom, beauty, truth, and above all else LOVE! I wanted to be a Boheimian entertainer and part of the Children of the Revolution for that brief two hours! This was a cinematic experience, much like LotR, the music, the scenery, the cinematography, the color, the art and costume design was all breathtaking and incredible! Nicole Kidmen and Ewen McGregor gave two performances that I will NEVER forget! There voices were amazing and I fell in love with the movie as soon as I heard Christian's voice! I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I sang, this movie played with every emotion of mine and I loved it for doing it, much like "Monster's Ball"! This was what movies should be like, entertaining and fun, isn't that why we all go to the movies to begin with? I will NEVER forget this movie, one of my FAVORITE movies of ALL-TIME! This is a love-it or hate-it type of movie, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
Honerable Mention
11. Gosford Park- A Great ensamble cast, and a great look at society and social structure during this time period. And it also has a great whodunit murder mystery with a couple of nice surprises at the end!
12. Ocean's 11- Just an entertaining and fun theft movie and wonderfully directed by Soderbraugh with a great A-List Cast, you can't ask for more!
13. Shrek- A great family movie with laughs for children of all ages! A nice story and a great group of voices made for a very entertaining movie, not to mention the breathtaking computer animation, the most stunning I've ever seen!
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