35 From 1: My Favorite Films From 2001
An uneven film that contains separate moments of good stuff. Enough of 'em, that, despite it's unstitched story flow, hits on a few certain plot points that were interesting enough to keep my attention. As a big fan of Stanley Kubrick's work, I can't help but look at this movie with the potential that it held if the original director had lived to make it.
But despite that, Steven Spielberg's effort at keeping A.I. alive is the main reason why this movie makes an appearance on this list.
I'm not usually a fan of Disney movies, particularly their animated stuff. Their stories are usually a bit too saccharine for my tastes, despite the polished smoothness of their art style.
However, coming along near the end of the their 2-D run, and at a time when the company seemed to decide that their homogenized brand could do with a bit of an edge, I enjoyed Atlantis with it's vast and sheer underwater visuals along with what seems to me like a little inspiration from comicbook illustrator Mike Mignola to their house style. And wouldn't you know it, just when they had me starting to warm to their stuff, they finally pull the plug to the hand-drawn animation department.
Kate & Leopold is not the first cinematic chronicle that is about a guy who travels from a distant period of time in order to steal the heart of an incredibly pretty female lead. The same theme can be seen in other films like Somewhere In Time, Happy Accidents, The Time Traveler's Wife, and to some extent, even the first Terminator movie.
I guess true love really is timeless. Well, at least in the movies it is.
"cleaning out" an old abandoned mental state hospital, where the walls have a tendency to whisper out your name and old patient session tapes that reveal the darkness that lays not only within those same walls, but also the darkness that dwells within your soul.
Ooooo....
scary....
Or maybe it is mainly just a romance film.
It's a friggin' chick flick and I'm a guy, so, what da hell do I know....
In this one, he portrays a teen who is committed to a juvenile psychiatric ward of a hospital after nearly beating to death a baseball teammate with a bat during one of their games.
Now he must learn to come to terms with his tendency toward short but violent outbursts, and in the process, finds himself forming relationships with the other patients, either as friends or as enemies.
In the first decade of the new millenium, following the rise of the subgenre now known as Chop Socky, the door was kicked wide open for other wacky wunderkind warriors like Stephen Chow, star and director of both Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, two films that have since become the staple of Socky cinema. Taking the absurdity of both the humor and the high kicks from this new style of Asian filmmaking, and cranking 'em up a notch, then placing the plots in unlikely settings, like say that of a soccer field, movies like these prove that when it comes taking Kung Fu to the next level, ya gotta be willing to do the Hustle.
For now, I'll just mention that it was a very good movie, good enough to make it this list.
It will probably get a better spot on this and I'll put in a better comment for this once I've watched it again.
A story that may seem somewhat simplistic at first,
but when combined with the background dramas of both the lead characters, along with those hinted at of the supporting characters, along with the blatant "not-so-blatant" metaphors that are the director's strong-suit (that is, it's his strong-suit only if he isn't directing a Hellboy movie),
The Devil's Backbone turns out to be a satisfyingly rich movie that goes more for creepy metaphysical melodrama than it does for in-your-face scare tactics.
It is well known within the comicbook community that famed writer Alan Moore does not approve of his films being made into films. And From Hell is a good example why. The four color printed form of this work has an intensity & deepness to it's mystery plot device that is impossible to capture within the limited timeframe of a movie.
However, if one were to watch this film without having read the comicbook series first, it can come off as a satisfying mystery tale with a unique speculation to the identity of the infamous London street killer known as Jack the Ripper.
I'll be honest with you guys....while "beautiful" isn't exactly the word I would use to describe my mind,
I doubt that anyone would kick it out bed for eating crackers.
Though, when I think about it,
it could stand to lose a few pounds.
Some lipstick probably wouldn't hurt it either.
A "spirited" journey, filled with really cool childlike fairytale visuals with a level of creativity that reminds us why mythic tales fascinated us so much during our young ages, yet with enough of a few dark undertones to keep the interest of that part of our spirits that were crushed by the reality of becoming an adult. Fantasy fun with a slight twist of macabre for the whole family.
A beastly creature is terrorizing the locals of the southern French province of Gévaudan. But is it an actual werewolf of many a folkloric legend 0r just an oversized man-eating wolf?
There are only two men who can find out,
and one them is the dude who hosts Iron Chef America!
Not since the Wolf-Man took on Abbott & Costello has there been such a clash of legendary titans!
In K-Pax, Kevin Spacey is "Prot", a "wandering spirit" who is either a mental patient masquerading as an alien
or
an alien masquerading as a mental patient.
As a film, K-PAX weaves through it's various "less epic" identities of E.T., Starman, and even of a fluffier version of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
But, as with most sci-fi movies with the "aliens walking amongst humans to better understan humankind" theme, it tries to end with a life-lesson that teaches us more about us than it does "them".
In this case, no matter how crazy our individualized inner-scars can make us,
sometimes, all we need is a hopeful hand extended in friendship to help brings us back down to Earth.
And if that lesson comes off sounding as a bit too "spacey-headed", please take into account what Hollywood writers of these types of scripts have in common with people from K-Pax: They both tend to be a buncha distant souls that live amongst the stars.
The Dali-esque/surreal journey through time travel of a high school teenager turned reluctant "superhero" Donnie Darko and his spiritual sidekick Frank the bunny.
Believe me, despite having the ability to perceive warps in the time-stream,
these two guys ain't no dynamic duo.
decided to check the rest of the series that had been released up to that time.
And while this first chapter isn't as tightly molded in it's story as it's follow ups, as part of the whole of the Harry Potter film series,
The Sorcerer(Philosopher's) Stone still has more than enough to be enjoyed even by those of us whose adolescence would require a lot of twists on the ol' time-turner pendant.
As the story unfolds, secrets begin to emerge, from the servants, from the family, and from the house itself.
Saying to much else risks the chance of revealing spoilers, which, are apparent as the nature of this movie is one that is already widely known.
Taking advantage of Nicole Kidman's old skool natural beauty (obviously, this is before her face became hidden under layers of plastic surgery), The Others is a New Millenial film that presents itself as a classic gothic horror that writers like Edgar Allen Poe could only dream of as coming to life. Suiting itself as the background for a ghost tale in which the old formulas of Victorian style designed manors set in foggy English countrysides set the tone of leading, then misleading the viewer, this is a piece of cinema that manages to provide the kind of shakes and shudders that have been the tradition of spooky stories for so many centuries.
In this same year, I saw movie called Ghost World, which quickly became one of my fave flix of '01. And while there are several reasons why I liked that film, my eyes could not help but bulge at the beauteous actress that Scarlett Johansson was sprouting into. And I also noticed that, during this time period she seemed to be quite the darling of the indie film circuit.
Which prompted me to see An American Rhapsody when I saw what her name was in the credits.
Also starring the ever rapturous Nastassja Kinski, this movie tells the tale of the difficulties that can result from cultural assimilation, even if the move is from the greyness of oppressive communism to the more sunny sided liberation of Democracy.
then you've really got it made.
This is an independent movie that often tends to get overlooked because of the more well-known Faveau/Vaughn indie efort, Swingers.
And while I like that film too, I thought this one was just a tiny bit better, not just story-wise but more in particular, in terms of it's comedy angle.
And to be honest, prolly the best one the ol' Vinster has starred in up to date. However since dis list is about my fave flicks of 2001, then for the 2001 movie season, it only comes in at #16.
And sure, maybe it's not the top ten, but still, it made it on this list. And that's still pretty good.
Seriously.
A French film of such a picturesque quality, both in it's scenery as in it's colorful storyline, that one can't help but walk away from this movie with a smile that may contain that certain je ne sais quoi.
Frailty is a movie that proves that the only thing better than a high quality serial killer flick is a high quality serial killer flick with a twist ending.
And with a partner who's just as down and as dirty, the only way to determine whether or not you've got a passing grade is if you're still alive at the end of the day.
Regardless, he has since become one of my favorite directors of contemporary cinema. As a matter of fact, two of his most recent works, Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest Hotel are, IMO, two of the best films of this decade.
Anderson has a style of storytelling and art direction that is unique, understated, and blends well with the underlying dysfunctional drama that he likes to add into the mix. It's a brand of film-making that will probably never be suited for mass consumption, but it definitely has the potential to satisfy the appetite for those of us movie lovers who, every once in a while, just wanna expand our palettes beyond that of a typical popcorn flick.
With names like Gene Hackman, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Angelica Houston,
it's no surprise that as far as dark comedies go,
The Tenenbaums are what you might call the royal family of aristocratic and eccentric dysfunction.
Mulholland Dr. is a road whose journey leads down the kind of very dark and dreamlike path that only Mr. lynch can provide.
Done very much in the same flair of Twin Peaks. But this time, with lesbians!
Actually, while I consider David Lynch to be the modern master of surrealism, the truth is, when I look over this list, I noticed that with films like Waking Life, Amelie, Donnie Darko, Spirited Away and this one, 2001 seems to be the year of surreal spiced cinema. And if not full-fledged surrealism, then with the addition of Ghost World, The Man Who Wasn't There, Session 9, From Hell, even Spieberg's A.I. (with it's slight Kubrick aftertaste), it's definitely a year with it's fair share of quirk.
In other words, this is a movie that is so good on a thespian level, that it's one of those that is always so hard for me to describe it's quality because it's beyond my ability to use of prose. So I end up having to steal other reviewers words in order to accomplish what I can't.
In short, if you like watching actors using their skills on the highest level, then watch In The Bedroom.
On the other hand, if you prefer watching superheros or robots or Bruce Willis blowing shit up,
then don't.
A Hollywood anniversary party that shows how underlying suppressed feelings can just suddenly bubble up and reveal themselves to those who spend years immersing themselves into the Tinseltown culture of shallowness and the L.A. style of distorted political correctness.
I remember as a kid reading a three book fantasy novel series called Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, and how much it blew my mind. The attention to detail that was paid to the world building of sword & sorcery setting in another dimension, the mystical creatures and hierarchy of humanoid type life forms, even the way the dynamics of "magic" worked there, it was all so extensive, expansive, and made me almost believe that such an otherworldly universe could exist.
As a result I began to read other fantasy novel series that followed pretty much the same formula of creating an existence that laid beyond ours.
However, even back then, I knew it would be impossible to adapt any of published books into film because the world of motion pictures was not equipped to make such worlds "come alive"
Sure, there were a few attempts here and there.... the obvious ones who the Ray Harryhausen stop-motioned centered flicks of the 60's and 70's. There was the animated, yet truncated version of The Lord of the Rings from 1978. And other sporadic efforts that came later, like Ladyhawke, Legend, Clash of the Titans and Willow. But even with cutting edge technology that could create sagas for the sci-fi genre, such as Star Wars and Star Trek, were not enough to create a sword & sorcery film that could completely immerse viewers into that kind of setting, which should be filled with creatures of mythological stature and magicks of spellbinding wonder.
Then, in 2001, Peter Jackson took a massive leap from a middle-sized career in filmmaking that he had established up to that point, into the uber-ambitious production of making LotR one of the biggest franchises in the history of cinema.
Ten minutes in the Fellowship of the Ring, I was pretty sure that he had accomplished what I had been waiting for almost all my life as fandom-based nerd. Driven by the writer/director's aspiring vision, and backed with the budget that only a blockbuster could command, from the very first frame to very last one, this was a cinematic experience filled to the brim with special effects and visuals that were even more amazing, more meticulous, and more grand than anyone could have expected.
By the time of the third installment, Return of the KIng, it was now evident that being able to see wizards, faeries, hobbits and bug-eyed emo moppets running around side by side with dragons, Orcs, giant spiders, walking trees, and walrogs, Middle-Earth was no longer limited to our imaginations to visualize. The world of motion pictures has now reached a point in history when it possible to make such things come to life on the silver screen, or at the very least, streamed on our personal devices. Sure, kept in perspective, movies are nreally just escapist entertainment with the purpose of allowing us to kill a couple of hours. But from here on end, with the critical, commercial, and for the purposes of this discussion, the technical success of the Lord of the Rings films, they are almost a window to a universe that before, only existed only our heads.
L.I.E. is a exemplary example of the potential that can be reached with the type of stories and themes that can only be captured through the use modern independent films. And along with other indie flicks that were released in the early 2000's (Ghost World, Tape, Manic, Donnie Darko, etc.), it showed the particular kind of promise that, IMO, laid ahead for those movies that prefer to journey through the road less traveled.
Starring Linkletter favorite Ethan Hawke, along with his then wife, Uma Thurman, tight and terse dialogue drive the story of Tape, a film about three old high school friends who meet up in a motel room to reminisce about old times. The reunion soon turns dark as it reveals deep secrets with deep consequences that have yet to be settled. It is a twist of events that quickly threaten not only to severe the ties that bound their friendships, but also the future pathway of their lives.
Starting with his very first movie project, 1990's Slacker, screenwriter/director Richard Linkletter has harnessed and honed his own unique brand of filmmaking, which includes a pretty heavy slant towards the philosophical. From my point of view, I honestly thought that he had incorporated it at a zenith level with his first installment into his famous romance "Before Trilogy", Before Sunrise. Not just in terms of content, but also in terms of delivery.
But then, in 2001, came this film, Waking Life, which not only uses philosophy as a central theme of the movie, but even moreso, uses it as the only theme of the movie.
The plot presented here isn't so much a linear storyline of which comprise what we're used to seeing in a typical wide release motion picture, but more of a collection of intellect-driven musings on the whole "what does it all mean" type of discussion. It is a patchwork of existentialistic narratives strung together in a manner that only Linkletter himself could have pulled off. And what I mean by that is that it not only does it succeed on the whole as a piece of watchable cinema, it does so with an engaging enthusiasm. Unlike those rare previous attempts of capturing philosophical introspections on film, such as My Dinner With Andre, Waking Life tries to make this kind of "thing" more digestible for wider audiences by focusing more on the questions that are asked at the beginning of such conversations instead of the answers which ultimately result after long periods of pondering and reflection. And it's not just because of RL's ability to make this kind of subject matter interesting to listen to. In Waking Life, the semi-autuer decides to present the visuals with a type of then-new style of animation called Rotoscoping, in which digital paint is overlayed the real life images. Personally, I think it's a animation technique that only works in a very rare instances, but fortunately enough, this is one of those instances. It gives the movie an overall semi expressionistc look that helps to enhance lucid dreamlike quality of the narrative.
In the end, what we're given with this film is a refreshing, vividly colored, mind-delving,alternative to the same ol' same ol' formula that continually saturates the market and gives the brain a front row seat instead having it wait outside of the lobby doors.
that the man in question was there.
I know, cuz I saw this movie.
And don't worry, I'm not giving anything away by saying that.
Let me also add that, as far as the rating for this movie goes,
Billy Bob's performance is great, as usual,
James Gando is cool, as usual
and Scarlett Jo is simply gorgeous, as usual.
Over-all, a top notch quality pic from the Bros. Coen.
As usual.
Now I always been a big fan of Dan Clowes' comics, mainly because his work definitely subscribed to the idea of having a "style that was all his own". When it comes to the so-called "alternative" genre, for my money, Clowes' style seems to fit in even more effectively in the medium of film than it does in the comic-book version (and don't get me wrong, his printed works mold into the genre quite successfully). From my point of view, his movies bring a well-welcomed shot of something new and different to the experience of viewing just as effectively as his comics bring to the experience of reading.
Okay, so let's be honest here, how hard is it to put George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Don Chido, Bernie Mac into a Steven Soderberg movie and not have it ending up being one of the coolest, if not THE coolest movie of the New Millenium?
(Actually, now that I think about it, it's not all that hard really. Just make it two sequels later, add the typically overblown acting antics of Al Pacino into the mix, dump Julia Roberts and scrape together a story that barely makes any sense and wha-la, there you have it....
the death of a forced fed franchise. One that should've been left alone in the first place. But, as the saying goes, I digress....) Leading this really cool cast of heavyweights, is George Clooney, who for most of the time that his career was its height was being compared to Hollywood icon Cary Grant. For me, I'm not sure how well that kind of comparison holds up, but if there was a movie that could come close to that validating that comparison, IMO, it would be this one.
A reboot of a classic heist film that was done by the classic cadre of cool known as the Rat Pack (I'm not gonna take up any space explaing who the Rat Pack were, but if you're young reader who doesn't know, google it, and you'll see why the running theme of being cool applies here), the cast that was assembled here does a great job of carrying on the tradition, especially when it includes veterans Elliott Gould and Carl Reiner, not to mention what I consider to be an underrated and scene stealing performance by Don Cheadle.
2001's Ocean's Eleven is truly a top quality remake and provides just the right amount of escapist-fare that one might expect when it comes to movie plots centered around unique get rich quick schemes with complex plans and entertaining follow throughs.
so far, as of yet, this is my favorite heist movie of all time.
Updated Entry:
- The Believer
Films from this year that I have not seen but am interested in seeing:
- Monsters Inc
Other Fave Movies Lists By Year:
1970
www.listal.com/list/10-70-my-fave-films
1971
www.listal.com/list/15-71-my-favorite-movies
1972
www.listal.com/list/15-72-my-favorite-films
1973
www.listal.com/list/20-73-my-favorite-films
1974
www.listal.com/list/films-of-1974
1975
www.listal.com/list/20-75-my-favorite-films
1976
www.listal.com/list/20-76-my-favorite-films
1977
www.listal.com/list/20-77-my-favorite-films
1978
www.listal.com/list/20-1978-my-favorite-films
1979
www.listal.com/list/20-79-my-favorite-films
1981
www.listal.com/list/25-81-my-favorite-films
1982
www.listal.com/list/25-82-my-favorite-films
1983
www.listal.com/list/25-83-my-favorite-films
1984
www.listal.com/list/25-84-my-favorite-films
1985
www.listal.com/list/25-85-my-favorite-films
1986
www.listal.com/list/25-86-my-favorite-films
1987
www.listal.com/list/25-87-my-favorite-films
1988
www.listal.com/list/25-88-my-favorite-films
1989
www.listal.com/list/25-89-my-favorite-films
1990
www.listal.com/list/30-90-my-favorite-films
1991
www.listal.com/list/30-91-my-favorite-films
1992
www.listal.com/list/30-92-my-favorite-films
1993
www.listal.com/list/30-93-my-favorite-films
1994
www.listal.com/list/30-94-my-favorite-films
1995
www.listal.com/list/30-95-my-favorite-films
1996
www.listal.com/list/30-96-my-favorite-films
1997
www.listal.com/list/30-97-my-favorite-films
1998
www.listal.com/list/30-98-my-favorite-films
1999
www.listal.com/list/30-99-my-favorite-films
2000
www.listal.com/list/35-00-my-favorite-films
2002
www.listal.com/list/35-2-my-favorite-films
2003
www.listal.com/list/35-3-my-favorite-films
Other lists by The Mighty Celestial:
My Top 20 Female Movie Bad-Asses www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-female
10 Movies That Feature A Dancin' Travolta In 'Em www.listal.com/list/my-list-9158
My Top 15 Guilty Pleasure Movies www.listal.com/list/guilty-pleasures-thecelestial
Can't We Be Dysfunctional Like A Normal Family? www.listal.com/list/dysfunctional-family-movies
A - Z
www.listal.com/list/ay-zee-my-favorite-films
My Favorite Movies By Genre:
WAATAAAH!! My Top 10 Favorite Martial Arts Flix!
www.listal.com/list/my-list-thecelestial
Science Fiction:
- When Aliens Attack ....Or At Least, Go Bad www.listal.com/list/aliens-attack-at-least-go
- Aliens Who Come In Peace www.listal.com/list/good-aliens
- Favorite Sci Fi's Of Like....Ever. www.listal.com/list/scifi-movies
Horror:
www.listal.com/list/my-top-ten-favorite-horror
- Run For Your Lives! My 25 Fave Giant Monster Films www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-favorite-giant
Comicbook:
- Superhero Movies www.listal.com/list/yep-am-huge-comicbook
- Non-Superhero Movies www.listal.com/list/my-favorite-nonsuperhero-comicbook-movies
My Top Favorite Westerns, Pard'ner www.listal.com/list/westerns-thecelestial
Romance:
- Romantic Comedies www.listal.com/list/my-top-30-romantic-comedies
- Straight-Up Romance www.listal.com/list/romance-movies
Animated:
- 3D www.listal.com/list/animate-this-my-favorite-animated
- 2D www.listal.com/list/my-favorite-animated-movies-thecelestial
Foreign:
- From Around The World www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-favorite-foriegn
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