Movie Picks of 2003

  • Most surprising film of the year: Rivers and Tides
    • I really expected this one to be a complete snoozer, but it was so
      beautiful I watched most of it with my jaw dropped.
  • Most disappointing film: Spider
    • I was disillusioned with Cronenberg after eXistenZ, but this film was
      just ho-hum.
  • Saddest film: Lost in La Mancha
    • I love Terry Gilliam and it is so sad to see his creation squashed by
      various forces. This documentary does a great job of putting you in
      Gilliam’s head.
  • Most surprising B-movie (non-horror): Poolhall Junkies
    • Sure, it’s a cheesy mix of Rounders and The Color of Money, but
      a campy Christopher Walken performance makes the film a must-rent
  • Most surprising B-movie (horror): House of 1000 Corpses
    • Hey, I have to admit that I didn’t give Rob Zombie a fair shake. I
      expected him to pooch it and he completely delivered.
  • Best Christopher Guest Movies: A Mighty Wind and Spellbound
    • Sure, Spellbound might not have ACTUALLY been directed by Christopher Guest, and it’s not a mockumentary, but that doesn’t change the fact that it very well COULD be.
  • Best coming-of-age film: Whale Rider
    • You just gotta love those Maori!
  • Best Use of Digital Video: 28 Days Later
    • DV gave this film the immediacy of a nightly news report, and
      contributed to the overall spooky nature of this film.
  • Best Use of Johnny Depp: Pirates of the Caribbean
    • Come on, he rocked.
  • Film which made me feel guilty for not surfing: Step Into Liquid
    • I never got into Endless Summer, but Step Into Liquid is a masterpiece
      and makes a part of me wish I grew up in California.
  • Best Horror Film: Freddy vs. Jason
    • This is definitely a biased category for me, but fuck it.
  • Best use of Bill Murray in ages: Lost in Translation
    • I didn’t see Charlie’s Angels 2 because Bill Murray wasn’t in it.
  • Best Kids Movie That Adults Should See: School of Rock
    • The people behind School of Rock took a formula that has been done over
      and over and over again and turned it into something fresh.
  • Best referential homage-fest: Kill Bill Vol. 1
    • Quentin Tarantino did an amazing job of distilling his thousands of
      sources and inspiration down into a hip, fun, exciting movie. I can’t
      wait to see the second half.
  • Best Reissue: Alien: Director’s Cut
    • It was tough picking between Alien and Scarface, but really, Alien is
      the scariest movie ever made, and doesn’t feel dated one bit. Scarface
      is just as amazing, but I am simply more attached to Alien.
  • Best completion of a Trilogy: Return of the King
    • Peter Jackson has made some of my favorite films (Bad Taste, Dead Alive, Meet the Feebles…). When I heard he was going to be tackling LotR, I really didn’t think he was up to the task. He showed me.
  • Worst completition of a Trilogy: Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions
    • I liked the second film, and enjoyed the third film, but Corinna summed
      it up perfectly when she said that if they felt the need to make a
      sequel they should have combined these two films into one. I love the
      first film, but the two sequels released this year were a disappointment
      (if not still enjoyable).
  • Worst film of the year: Gerry and Friday Night (tie)
    • I just can’t pick. Both of these films are complete wastes of time.

6 thoughts on “Movie Picks of 2003

    1. Man! This I have got to see. I saw the preview and it caught my eye, I saw it was showing at some theaters here and almost gravitated towards it. Now I’ve gotta see it =)

      btw, sean your movie viewage is staggering, cool list! I’ll never catch up, I still haven’t seen Return of the King =\

      1. Whale Rider is out on DVD now, so you should definitely go rent it (unless you can still find a theater showing it….)

        As far as my movie viewage goes, there are a lot more where that came from. Those are just the notable ones i saw this year. I should make a list of all the movies i watched in the theater this year…

        1. Now that I have web access from home due to some super awesome guy that set it up for me, I think you should allocate some space for a webpage that we can update with all the movies we see. We can have our own Corinna and Sean thumbs up and thumbs down thing. Wouldn’t that be AWESOME! ;)

          House of a 1000 Corpses was definitely the best “new” horror movie I saw this year. I noticed the Hours and Love Actually didn’t make your list, but I would name the former as the best and most meaningful tearjerker of the year, and the latter as the most surprisingly rewarding and enjoyable English/Hollywood movie of the year.

          1. Now that I have web access from home due to some super awesome guy that set it up for me, I think you should allocate some space for a webpage that we can update with all the movies we see. We can have our own Corinna and Sean thumbs up and thumbs down thing. Wouldn’t that be AWESOME! ;)

            We’ll see about that… That sounds like it would require effort. As it is now I can just post in my journal about movies I see. :P

            I didn’t see Love Actually, but I just forgot about The Hours. It was a really good movie, but it came out in 2002, which is why when I scanned the “films that came out in 2003” list I wasn’t reminded of it.

            1. The Hours and Love Actually were both great, if you ask me. I loved the hours absolutely and was completely surprised with the effects of Love Actually. :) Nice work… I love the list. I’ll check out your movie list now too. PeaCE OUT, punk rocker.

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