My personal top twenty films of 2002...

[Guest Downhome]

Here are my top twenty favorite films of 2002, like you care. My real reason for posting this, is I'm currious as to what you think of them all...

 

1) The Pianist

 

2) Chicago

 

3) Adaption

 

4) One Hour Photo

 

5)Punch-Drunk Love

 

6) The Ring

 

7) The Hours

 

8) The Good Girl

 

9) Catch Me If You Can

 

10) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

 

11) Bowling for Columbine

 

12) About Schmidt

 

13) About a Boy

 

14) Road to Perdition

 

15) My Big Fat Greek Wedding

 

16) Minority Report

 

17) LOTR: The Two Towers

 

18) Spider-Man

 

19) Insomnia

 

20) Red Dragon

 

...so there ya go, have fun with that one.

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I don't even think I saw 20 movies this year. I'm slacking off.

 

I've seen about half of what's on your list, and excepting Minority Report and Two Towers, which I thought were really pinnacles of mediocrity, it looks solid. Probably the best film I saw this year was Miyazaki's Spirited Away, which was just wonderful in every conceivable way.

[Guest Downhome]

Probably the best film I saw this year was Miyazaki's Spirited Away, which was just wonderful in every conceivable way.

I have heard so much about that, but have no idea how so many have seen it. Where did you check it out at? What this film even about?

[Guest Lethargic]

1. Haven't seen.

 

2. Haven't seen.

 

3. Haven't seen.

 

4. Loved One Hour Photo. Deserve more recognition. First movie where I didn't want to strangle Robin Williams. Seriously, even during other movies that he's not in, I still can't stand him because he might have a cameo that I'm unaware of. But in this I thought he was brilliant. The overall movie was just great too. It seemed that no shot was wasted. Every single shot was for a reason.

 

5. Haven't seen.

 

6. Haven't seen.

 

7. Haven't seen.

 

8. Haven't seen.

 

9. Haven't seen.

 

10. Confessions is one of my favorites. I've been waiting for that movie for years after reading the book. I'm a huge Barris fan and the movie lived up to all my expectations and then some.

 

11. Haven't seen.

 

12. Haven't seen.

 

13. Haven't seen.

 

14. Haven't seen.

 

15. Haven't seen.

 

16. Haven't seen.

 

17. Haven't seen.

 

18. I'd say Spiderman is probably my third favorite comic book movie behind The Crow and the Rocketeer.

 

19. Insomnia was nowhere near as good as the original. I was pretty disappointed in it. It wasn't bad but didn't live up to my expectations after seeing the first one and seeing Nolan's previous movies.

 

20. Red Dragon was a worthless piece of crap directed by a worthless hack. It seemed like the entire thing was nearly a shot by shot, line by line remake of Manhunter except for the ending scene. The ending to Manhunter is one of my favorite movie endings ever. It was the one part I really wanted untouched and it was basically the only part that WAS touched. It was just a horrible attempt to suck some more cash out of a franchise that should've died after Hannibal.

 

In closing, I don't see a lot of new releases. haha

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I almost saw it when I was in New York in October, but missed it then. Caught in my hometown in Florida, at our art house theater, over Thanksgiving.

 

It's animated and from Japan, from Hiyao Miyazaki, the guy responsible for Princess Mononoke, among other films. It's basically about a young girl who finds herself caught in a sort of strange bathhouse for creatures, ghosts, and all sorts of fantastic things. The animation's astounding, and it's altogether a great and charming story. Miyazaki's animated films are really like none other; you should definitely check out Princess Mononoke if you've never seen that.

 

I imagine it should be out for rental pretty soon, since it's been on limited release for the past 6 months or so...

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

1. Haven't seen, want to.

 

2. Will not see, hate musicals.

 

3. Loved it, one of the best of 2002.

 

4. Loved it, one of the best of 2002.

 

5. Hated it. Thought it was pretentious and boring. Sandler can't act.

 

6. Liked it, even more than the original.

 

7. Haven't seen it. Looks kind of boring, will wait for video.

 

8. Liked it, but nothing memorable.

 

9. Loved it, very fun film with great acting.

 

10. Loved it, my favourite film of 2002.

 

11. Liked it, very entertaining.

 

12. Liked it, although it was very depressing. Great acting.

 

13. Haven't seen it, probably never will. Not a Hugh Grant fan.

 

14. Thought it was decent, but not that entertaining.

 

15. Liked it, very innocent and charming with a some good laughs.

 

16. Liked it. I really liked the F/X and the story.

 

17. Found it disappointing. Very boring at times, with zero character development.

 

18. Another disappointment. Willem Dafoe was great as the Goblin, and I liked J.K. Simmons as Jameson, but that's about it. Horrible CGI.

 

19. Liked it. Very good atmosphere and amazing performances. I thought it was better than the original.

 

20. Liked it. Very formula, but I still enjoyed it.

 

Wow, I've seen most of them.

[Guest Ravenbomb]

no Gangs of New York?

 

Oh, and yes, The Ring was awesome. 10 more days!

[Guest Downhome]

no Gangs of New York?

No, I found that movie very subpar as an overall film. My favorite aspect of it was Daniel Day Lewis, he was fantastic. The film itself just seemd very rushed, story wise, and the such. I can understand that though, as they wrote, and re-wrote the script, MANY times AS they filmed it, and it's very obvious to me.

 

I enjoyed it, but not all that much.

[Guest 5_moves_of_doom]

Probably the best film I saw this year was Miyazaki's Spirited Away, which was just wonderful in every conceivable way.

Though that was actually released initially in 2001. In Japan at least, I think.

 

Hence, TNT > Eddie Mac.

[Guest TheCynicalHateMongerFromHell]

no Gangs of New York?

No, I found that movie very subpar as an overall film. My favorite aspect of it was Daniel Day Lewis, he was fantastic. The film itself just seemd very rushed, story wise, and the such. I can understand that though, as they wrote, and re-wrote the script, MANY times AS they filmed it, and it's very obvious to me.

 

I enjoyed it, but not all that much.

Rushed? it was 3 hours long.

[Guest Downhome]

no Gangs of New York?

No, I found that movie very subpar as an overall film. My favorite aspect of it was Daniel Day Lewis, he was fantastic. The film itself just seemd very rushed, story wise, and the such. I can understand that though, as they wrote, and re-wrote the script, MANY times AS they filmed it, and it's very obvious to me.

 

I enjoyed it, but not all that much.

Rushed? it was 3 hours long.

Not as in what was shown on the screen, as in it's length. I mean the script/story, and whatnot. The people involved in making it has even said in the past it was a big mess of a filmmaking process.

[Guest red_file]

Omitting those I did not see.

 

3) Adaption - easily the best movie of 2002.

 

4) One Hour Photo - very good. The pacing of it was what really struck me as well done. I think Williams' creepy performance was overshadowed by the fact that it's not his norm, but it was handled well.

 

5)Punch-Drunk Love - not good. The tone was rather wonky throughout, and I found Sandler more annoying than usual and didn't believe that was the intention. The romance left me cold as well.

 

6) The Ring - decent but it left me wanting to see the Japanese original.

 

7) The Hours - it managed the impossible: it was worse than the book. The cast was fine; it just wasn't a good experiment.

 

9) Catch Me If You Can - lots of fun. The first thing I've enjoyed with DiCaprio in a while. Mmm, Walken. A very pleasant, light movie. Extremely well put together.

 

10) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would.

 

11) Bowling for Columbine - as always, a very well made documentary. I doubt that it'd be effective for anything, but what doc really is? The balance of humor seemed better in this than even in his previous work.

 

12) About Schmidt - like with One Hour Photo, it seemed the film got more press about the actor taking on a different role than the actual movie. It was decent, but it struck me as the type of story I'd rather read than watch. Enjoyable in an arms length kind of way.

 

13) About a Boy - hated it the first time I saw it because it was too English. I was expecting something along the lines of High Fidelity and was disappointed. The second viewing was much better, and I'm looking forward to seeing it a third time.

 

14) Road to Perdition - Disliked. Strongly. Everyone seemed to try very hard and the struggle showed.

 

15) My Big Fat Greek Wedding - very enjoyable and simple. Everything about it seemed effortless. Though I did keep waiting for a snag that never came.

 

16) Minority Report - the world building was impressive. I liked bits, but the tone dictated that it end differently than it did. I came out disappointed, but it's improved in my memory. Perhaps a second viewing will be better.

 

17) LOTR: The Two Towers - disliked it but not as much as I disliked the first.

 

18) Spider-Man - very much enjoyed. With the exception of Dunst and the rooftop discussion, I can't think of anything that was actively bad about it. The Raimi touches were nice, and it ended just as it should've.

 

19) Insomnia - good, but lacking something.

 

20) Red Dragon - surprisingly good and redeeming the mess that was Hannibal.

[Guest Vyce]

My GOD.

 

The LOTR hate is unbelievable.

 

You people are INSANE.

 

INSANE I TELLS YOU.

[Guest DrTom]

DH, I didn't see a lot of those, so I really can't comment on the list as a whole. I tend to think The Two Towers got something of a raw deal. but since I've seen less than half the movies you rated above it, it's hard to quibble over.

 

Here are my Top Five of 2002:

 

5. Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind

4. The Bourne Identity

3. Spider-Man

2. Road To Perdition

1. The Two Towers (by a whisker)

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Vyce, it just ain't that good. Big battles are neat, but just like the new Star Wars movies, the scripts are character deficient. I admire the actors for doing what they can with the epic sprawl, but the meat just isn't there.

 

Two Towers was much better than Fellowship, but still not very good from where I sit. On a 1-10 scale I call Fellowship a 4 and Two Towers a 6.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I thought TT was really poorly directed (yes, he did have a ton of footage to use, but that's no excuse IMO). A lot of useless shots, and I didn't like the way they handled Gollums 'liberation'. However, I totally dug the last hour or so of the movie.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I think Peter Jackson did a decent directing job of reigning in everything, but editing is really where Two Towers fails. Anything but crisp, never subtle, and harping way too long on Walking Ents and Mopey Elves. For me, some of those poor choices really dragged the energy out of the bigger story threads.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Ok, then I really meant bad editing

 

RRR: Not a film student...Not by a long shot.

[Guest Downhome]

Oh my God, I thought that FOTR is the one that REALLY suffered in editing. Ugh, I could have done a better job in theory at making that film flow a hell of a lot better.

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

No, I found that movie very subpar as an overall film. My favorite aspect of it was Daniel Day Lewis, he was fantastic. The film itself just seemd very rushed, story wise, and the such. I can understand that though, as they wrote, and re-wrote the script, MANY times AS they filmed it, and it's very obvious to me.

 

I enjoyed it, but not all that much.

Gawd, I don't know how you could feel this way about Gangs of New York but put the godawful Punch Drunk Love in your top 5! Oh well, I guess that's what makes us all different.

[Guest chirs3]

The ones I've seen:

 

2) Chicago - Yes! Awesome movie.

 

3) Adaption - Good, but I wouldn't pin it as one of the best of the year. Maybe the very bottom of a top-20 list...

 

6) The Ring - Eh...

 

9) Catch Me If You Can - Good movie... probably has a spot in a top-20...

 

15) My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Yes indeedy. Good surprise, this movie was.

 

16) Minority Report - Ugh. Don't get me started.

 

17) LOTR: The Two Towers - Not as good as Fellowship, but still one of the better movies of '02.

 

18) Spider-Man - Agreed.

 

20) Red Dragon - Good, but doesn't have a place on a tops list, I don't think.

 

Yea...

[Guest Downhome]

No, I found that movie very subpar as an overall film. My favorite aspect of it was Daniel Day Lewis, he was fantastic. The film itself just seemd very rushed, story wise, and the such. I can understand that though, as they wrote, and re-wrote the script, MANY times AS they filmed it, and it's very obvious to me.

 

I enjoyed it, but not all that much.

Gawd, I don't know how you could feel this way about Gangs of New York but put the godawful Punch Drunk Love in your top 5! Oh well, I guess that's what makes us all different.

Different indeed, without it the world would be a VERY borring place. Even the script for "Love" was much better put together, in terms of structure and whatnot. My problem with "Gangs" is that it was a mess in the writing, they should have waited untill they had a script which they had faith in, BEFORE they began filming, because as they did it they basicly wrote WHILE they filmed, more so than more films do, and that is what hurt that one.

[Guest red_file]

My problem with "Gangs" is that it was a mess in the writing, they should have waited untill they had a script which they had faith in, BEFORE they began filming, because as they did it they basicly wrote WHILE they filmed, more so than more films do, and that is what hurt that one.

 

Feh. Worked for Casablanca and countless other very good movies during the studio system.