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TRACKING SHOTS Our favorite films of 2002 |
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| Michael Buck |
| 1. Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore).  In
his attempt to create a documentary in support of gun control, Michael Moore
came up with something much more interesting than the unsubtle political
rant he may have at first intended. This treatise on fear, consumption,
and social influences leaves the attentive viewer of any political persuasion
with lots to think about. After viewing this film, it will be difficult
to see the insipid local evening news "scare" stories the same way again.
The film is neatly summarized near its middle in a concise interview Moore
does with Marilyn Manson. If a reputed  demagogue
like Moore can create a thought-provoking look into some of the root causes
of violence in our culture by simply investigating them, imagine what else
is possible, if , culturally, we stop accepting spoon-fed answers to hard
questions. That is not to say that this film is without flaws. Moore still
includes too many "look at me" moments, and some of his linkages, while
intriguing, don't quite work. However, in a time when public policy seems
rather important, I have to choose imperfect relevance over more accomplished
fancy. |
2. Donnie Darko
(Richard Kelly). This brilliant genre blender is riveting from start to finish, and requires multiple viewings to mine all of its depth. Donnie is rescued from an odd death by a mysteriously supernatural figure, and is inexorably set on a course of action that may affect more than just his own fate. To say more would be unconscionable. Combining elements of science fiction, teen drama, religion, philosophy, and more, it's one of the most original films in years. The film sports an effectively moody original score, in addition to perfectly selected 80's underground popular music (Sure, "West End Girls" would have been far better than "Notorious", but budgets are budgets...). It also brings new names to watch: Richard Kelly, the director, and stars Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  It also
brings new names to watch: Richard Kelly, the director, and stars Jake and
Maggie Gyllenhaal. Terrific supporting turns from Mary McDonnell, Jena Malone,
Drew Barrymore, Beth Grant, Noah Wyle, and Katharine Ross are icing on the
already many-layered cake. |
3. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes).
Part Douglas Sirk homage, part social commentary, this film's over-the-top
stereotypes are balanced by great performances, and a simultaneously lovely
and frightening evocation of the 1950s, shadows of which still haunt us
today. Julianne Moore is elegant as the constrained housewife. Additionally
noteworthy is the supporting performance from Patricia Clarkson, as the
outwardly supportive, but irretrievably bigoted neighbor. 4. About a Boy (Chris & Paul Weitz). Hugh Grant, it can be argued, is overused as the romantic buffoon, but his manner is used in a new and pitch-perfect way here. This story is of a man who's managed not to realize that he's become a middle-aged teenager, a man gently akin to American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, in that there's nothing inside the shell. Happily for Grant's character Will, he encounters a somewhat lost boy (Nicholas Hoult) who helps to at least start Will's delayed entrance to the human race. This is a thoughtful portrait of a lost soul and his rescue. 5. The Pianist (Roman Polanski). It's another Holocaust drama, but rather than focusing on the shocking magnitude of the entirety of it, this film spends its time following the fortunes of one man, as he tries to survive it. Adrien Brody stars as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist. The film follows him as he and his family as they try to survive according to the rules of the Nazi ghettoes. The honest portrayals of violence will bring reminders of other holocaust films, but this time we see the dehumanization of a life in hiding, instead of life in the camps. |
6. L.I.E.
(Michael Cuesta). The film's
complicated and challenging portrayal of a pederast earned it an NC-17 rating,
even though there's no explicit content. The film is novel and daring in
that it portrays adolescent sexuality as the ambiguous, contradictory stage
that it is, and more significantly, describes intergenerational bonds as
more complicated than is usually seen in the shrill and hysterical harangues
normally done on the topic. The film would be even better, if it didn't
cop out with an ending that tries to appease those who will hate the film
anyway. A great debut performance from Paul Franklin Dano as the teen trying
to find support and his way in the world, and my favorite of several great
supporting turns from Brian Cox this year, as the conflicted man of mixed
motives. |
7. Y Tu Mamá
También (Alfonso Cuarón). What feels like every adolescent boy's dream road trip is tied to sociopolitical reality in Mexico, in this aggressively sexy road trip film. Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal portray the carefree, self- absorbed teens with contagious excitement, and Maribel Verdú is excellent as the older woman whose marriage is on the rocks, and decides to Carpe Diem with the young ones. The story packs a couple of surprises, but primarily is memorable for reminding us of ecstatic and maddening times that taught us something, and lasted all too short a time. 
8. Adaptation(Spike Jonze). Welcome back to the mind of Charlie Kaufman, the man who helped bring you into the mind of John Malkovich. This neurotic self-examination of the process of attempting to write is filled with industry insider jokes, but is ultimately very funny for those who can penetrate its understated shift from self-absorption to capitulation about two-thirds of the way through. Three of the year's best performances are given by Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, and a dual-role by Nicolas Cage. |
9. The Hours (Stephen Daldry). This
story of three parallel lives is moving in its telling of the necessity
of living the life that is your own, rather than one that seems to have
been prescribed for you. Sometimes the lives we lead are poisonous to ourselves,
and the choice (or lack thereof) between living a life whose every moment
is torture, and doing what is right for yourself, is shown as the usually
agonizing one it is. The three lead actresses (Kidman, Moore, and Streep)
are getting appropriate notices, but the supporting cast is strong here,
too. John C. Reilly caps a breakout year, and Ed Harris is breathtaking
as an anguished man living with AIDS. 10. The Good Girl (Miguel Arteta). Jennifer Anniston's portrayal of Justine, a woman who feels the ache of being just a little out of step with all of those around her, centers this simple, sad story. When Justine meets an eccentric co-worker (another great Jake Gyllenhaal performance), she finally finds some comfort in her bland, oblivious, empty world, only to find that she's providing more solace than she's getting. Her decision on how to resolve her extra-marital affair really makes this film, as it gives a little moral ambiguity to the character we've grown sympathetic to, even as it provides a way for her to deal with the world she feels apart from. |
| Thea |
1. The Two Towers
(Peter Jackson). My favorite
film of the year, and part two of what will likely be one of my favorite
film experiences ever when it's all done. This film (like the first) taps
into one of the basic reasons I love films. Total Escape. Taking me to another
world. I've heard people on both sides, saying it is a letdown from Fellowship,
or those who say it's better. For me it is simply equal, thrilling and
moving in different ways; flawed but with chill-enducing moments that completely
overshadow its mistakes. Plenty of highlights, but I'll focus on Gollum.
As wonderful as his "Oscar-clip" split personality scene is, the look he
gives when Frodo is luring him from the Forbidden Pool sums up why I think
he's such a wonderful creation. It is just a subtle look of distrust, something
I never imagined a CG character could pull off. I was mesmerized and moved
by him every second he was onscreen. |
2. Spirited Away
(Hayao Miyazaki). I want to see this again so badly, I really hope they release it again when it gets a Best Animated nomination. A gorgeous, original film. Weird in ways that most children's films would never attempt. Disturbing and haunting. One moment that sticks out is the haunted train ride. (And I thought taking the subway was a surreal experience.) I loved the images of the train moving across the water. 3. Minority Report (Steven Spielberg). 
Loved it despite its much-discussed flaws. I don't think it's either as
bad as some folks thought it was, or as great as some critics praised. It
was a just a good action movie, with what I thought was a well-played star
turn from Tom Cruise, and a great performance from Samantha Morton. |
 4.
About Schmidt (Alexander Payne)The reason to love this film is Jack Nicholson's performance. The clever use of voiceover serves as a good joke that really brings the film (and his performance) home. I wish that the rest of the characters moved me more, or seemed more real. But maybe that's the point, that it's About Jack. 5. Chicago (Rob Marshall). Pure entertainment. I liked the cynicism of one of the last lines and wish the film had even more of that attitude. It seemed like they had a good time filming it, and I enjoyed watching it. 6. Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuarón). Funny and well acted coming of age story, with an underlying sadness--made clearer in its final moments. 7. Lilo & Stitch (Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders). Another kid's film that didn't coddle its target audience. For all its unreal qualities, the relationship between Lilo and her big sis was moving and realistic in ways that most children's films shy away from. And Elvis rules. 8. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese). Can you say flawed masterpiece? Both riveting and boring and I'm not sure how that happened, but that's how it struck me. I was interested and caught up, but I wanted it to end, and I had no desire to see it again. 
9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets(Chris Columbus). I think Alfonso Cuarón will do wonders with the third film. But I thought this was a decent adaptation. Continued to enjoy the child actors, and thought Kenneth Branagh gave a wonderfully smug performance. The villains are a bit too sniveling, but from what I recall, pretty close to the book. |
| Ed Owens |
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Top Three: Also-Ran: |
Movies I enjoyed more than I probably should have: The jury's still out: |
| Pat Padua |
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1. Punch-Drunk
Love (Paul Thomas Anderson). |
1. Far From Heaven
(Todd Haynes).
Perhaps the most amazing thing of all about Todd Haynes' meticulously faithful
pastiche of Douglas Sirk-style 1950's melodramas, is that it never sacrifices
emotional resonance for mere technical homage. Thanks to superb performances
by Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Patricia Clarkson,
Haynes' film is ultimately as deeply devastating as it is stylistically
ravishing. |
2. In
Praise of Love (Jean-Luc Godard).
Arguably the greatest and most influential filmmaker still working today, Godard directs his most accomplished and provocative film in decades. An enigmatic, melancholy elegy for love, history, memory, and cinema, In Praise of Love reestablishes Godard among the front ranks of the medium's most vital practitioners.  |
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3. What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-Liang) |
6. The
Fast Runner (Zacharias Kunuk). 
To my mind, no film that I saw all year broke more new ground than this
vast, unforgettable Inuit-language epic. Forget Lord of the Rings
-- Kunuk's flawless recreation of ancient myth is as engrossingly timeless
as any film I can recall. |
7. Solaris
(Steven Soderbergh).  Who'd
have guessed that famed actor's director Soderbergh would make his finest
film to date with an icily cerebral, moodily poetic unofficial remake of
a Tarkovsky classic? What is, perhaps, even more surprising is how remarkably
well Soderbergh's work fares alongside that of his predecessor. |
| 8. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke). Decidedly not for the faint of heart, Michael Haneke's austere, often-shocking adaptation of Elfried Jelinek's semi-autobiographical novel features the performance of the year (and of her career) by the immensely courageous Isabelle Huppert as a masochistic, deeply disturbed piano instructor at the Vienna Conservatory. Considering the nature of her work here, Huppert-- arguably the greatest actress working in film today -- will almost definitely not win an Academy Award, but, dammit, she should! 9. Adaptation (Spike Jonze). Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze's second collaboration proved to be as exhilaratingly original as their first. A far more personal affair for Kaufman than the deliriously odd Being John Malkovich, Adaptation is, perhaps, the most dizzying, brilliant cinematic vehicle for creative block since Fellini struggled to follow-up La Dolce Vita. 10. Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair). As exuberantly colorful as that other 2002 ethnic "wedding" film is the stuff of standard-issue Hollywood fluff, Nair's most thoroughly successful film to date is a joyous celebration of her heritage, and the most fun I had at a movie theatre all year. |
| Roxy Everybody's complaining that it was a bad year for film. But when I sat down to make my list, I easily came up with 57 films worth seeing. Well, here's the top 10: |
| 1. 13 Conversations
About One Thing (Jill Sprecher).  Hands-down
best script of the year (by sisters Jill and Karen Sprecher) manages to
be both an entertaining story and a thought piece touching on many of mankind's
major issues: trust, ethics, free will, the meaning of life. Oscar-caliber
performance by Alan Arkin anchors a rock-solid cast including Matthew McConaughey
and Clea Du Vall. |
2. Far From Heaven
(Todd Haynes). '50s look with '90s issues, this homage to the films of Douglas Sirk is one of the best-looking films of this or any year. Strong performances by Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid and Dennis Haysbert will let you overlook the fact that it's basically a soaper. 3. Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes). Paul Newman shines as a mafia don in a sumptuously-filmed period piece. Tom Hanks plays an unaccustomed bad guy role as Newman's protégé. |
| 4. The Pianist (Roman Polanski). Polanski returns to Poland after 40 years to film - brilliantly - this true story of a Jewish musician for Warsaw radio, and his struggle to survive the Holocaust. Adrien Brody should be nominated for his transcendent performance. 
5. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki). Miyazaki's stunning "last film" is a prime example from the reigning master of Japanese anime. A little dark for the very young, but a must-see for everyone else. 6. Talk to Her ( Pedro Almodóvar). A meditation on love, loss and life from the Spanish master Almodóvar that manages to be wacky, touching and profound all at once. Stars Javier Cámara and Darío Grandinetti. |
7. The
Hours (Stephen Daldry). No
one will be afraid of Virginia Woolf after seeing this tour-de-force performance
by Nicole Kidman, supported brilliantly by Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore
and Ed Harris. Michael Cunningham's impossible-to-translate novel (or so
I thought) has been beautifully scripted by David Hare and directed by Stephen
Daldry. 8. Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce). The Aussies treated their native populations as badly as we norteamericanos did, but man's (or, in this case, girls') indomitable spirit and thirst for freedom takes wing in this terrific fact-based film directed by Phillip Noyce. Stars Everlyn Sampi and Kenneth Branagh. |
9. Gangs
of New York (Martin Scorsese). As a lesson in cinematic technique, this was worth the two-year wait. Martin Scorsese likes, and is clearly master of, the epic genre. This tale of the Irish mafia stars Leonardo di Caprio and Cameron Diaz. You'll want to boo Daniel Day-Lewis' pennydreadful-type villain. 10. Frida (Julie Taymor).  Beautifully
constructed, imaginatively photographed look at some of the life, but mostly
the tempestuous marriage of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. You may
not learn a lot about Frida's art, but you'll be captivated by the look
and feel director Julie Taymor gives this piece. A pleasure to watch. |
| Nathaniel Rogers |
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1. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes).
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2. Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuarón). Martijn ter Haar |
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1. The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein (John Gianvito). |
Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese). 
Undercover Brother (Malcolm D. Lee)
I've finally stopped thinking about this movie, even though I got to see
Emily Watson in the flesh last weekend. (Those eyes!) I'm all writ out
on it - at least until the DVD is released - so fuck critical distance:
I fell in love with this movie. It was one of two films to knock me out
last year, and fortunately it came after the punch of ...
2. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke). 
3. 24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom).
4. 
In
his directorial debut, Marshall has created a beautifully entertaining delicacy
for the senses. There may be a few finer films released in 2002, but none
come close to being as fun as this incredible musical. 
By now it's already clear that Y Tu Mamá También
has achieved classic foreign film status here in the United States. Alfonso
Cuarón's take on the rowdy road movie is one of those rare film experiences
where every element adds up to make the whole much greater than any of
its individual parts. It moves rapidly on several layers and works on
every last one of them: road movie, coming of age drama, teen sex comedy,
sociopolitical statement. The recipe itself is deceptively simple: One
gifted director + two randy boys + one woman with a secret + a mythical
beach = movie paradise. Like "Heaven's Mouth", the beach the boys invent
only to discover in reality, this movie is a more magical thing than even
Alfonso Cuaron probably imagined while dreaming it up. 
This film probably means more to me and my particular interests than it
will to most people, though on the other hand, I can't quite understand
how the only film this year that dealt with the effects of the Persian
Gulf war on everyday American people wouldn't matter to a lot of us. The
story follows the downward trajectory of three New Mexico residents in
the wake of the Gulf War: a woman whose children are the victim of a vicious
hate crime because their last name is Hussein; a high school student whose
increasing interest in peace activism leads him to run away from his sheltered
home; and a returning soldier who indulges in an empty existence while
trying to shake off the horrors he's witnessed. Made over 6 years and
13 credit cards, this film taps into a raw live-wire energy that means
everything to today's sorry state of independent filmmaking. Both the
characters and the film brandish a fierce, wounded innocence that gives
way to inconsolable rage at their own ineffectuality under the shadow
of war, modulated by some vivid musical and visual digressions, and culminating
in a finale of apocalyptic spectacle of fascination and horror. Gianvito's
first film is admittedly rough on the edges, which is probably why it
didn't pick up a distributor. But I've found those rough edges to have
taught me more about movies and moviemaking than anything else I've seen
this year. 
300 years of Russian history covered in a single 96 minute take traveling
through the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg - Sokurov's masterpiece
is much more than a cold technical exercise - it's a passionate and often
humorous, though melancholy, meditation on what Russia was, is and will
be. The gleeful melancholia is also generated through the restless camera
movement, and how it creates moments that come blindingly from out of
nowhere and then disappear into the void of history. This film really
nails a sense of instant discovery and instant loss that I think is central
to the art and beauty of the motion picture. 
A.k.a. Gangs of the Arctic Circle, this one got brownie points
by many critics for being the first movie produced and shot by the Inuit
people (when did we stop calling them Eskimos?), but there is much more
going on here than the creation of a trivia question. This film makes
as inspired a use of digital video as any feature I've seen, not only
because the sub-zero conditions made it impossible to shoot on film, but
in the way an ancient myth of timeless human frailty runs headlong into
the digital age, preserving a centuries-old tale and the cultural practices
of its time for future generations to remember. Only in the end credits,
when we see the preparations of the actors and crew, do we realize that
this is as much of a fiction and an anthropological project for them as
it is for us. (It also doesn't hurt that this film kicks the collective
butts of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in the mythical
action department.) 
It was hard not to see these films as being the attempts of two old masters
to redress the way Spielberg's Schindler's List converted
wartime atrocity into mass entertainment. To that end, both films fixed
on three crucial themes: survival, resistance, and freedom through artistic
expression. The 73-year-old Godard showed he was very much in tune with
the world - his film is dense with images that seem to carry an ongoing
conversation about the world's failure to truly learn from its own history,
and the failure of movies to do anything about it. Movies, which for Godard
once held an unlimited potential to liberate people from 
conventionality, have now become a chief means to oppress us: freedom
has become an advertising slogan for ideological mass consumption. Polanski's
film was more commercial, and yet strangely un-commercial in its matter-of-fact
telling of the horrors faced by a Jewish pianist who miraculously survived
the Holocaust. No camera tricks, no flashy dramatic moments; Polanski's
reverence for his subject matter was profoundly felt, and the result was
perhaps the most mature film he's ever made. Both films made a powerful
virtue out of the practice of helpless observation.