Films Of The Year?

Well, I saw it early this year and i thought American beauty was my fav movie of the year and the closest to the spirit of Billy Wilder i have seen in a long while Other good movies were "The talented Mr Ripley", "A room for Romeo Brass", "Three kings","The way of the gun"

Being John Malkovich (favourite moment: HIM: "I'm a puppeteer" HER: "Cheque!") Three Kings Chopper

I gather 'Reqium For A Dream' is quite the thing over in the States. We're a bit behind here.

Didn't like 'American Beauty' much but maybe I was just put off by the audience going "Yeah - go buddy!" when he threw crockery and stuff. I realise you shouldn't judge a film by its fans, but it put me off. That and the way the film seemed to cop out of providing any real resolution of Lester's 'crisis' in favour of having him die. Oh, sorry, maybe that's 'the point' and we're all supposed to go along with the weird kid's zen like take on the cosmos. Well fuck it, I've got things to do. No I haven't. Shit, I'm annoyed now. Maybe I'll watch it again.

Looking over a list of what's been released this year, the only ones I saw were: "American Psycho", "Gladiator", "Requiem for a Dream", "The Decline of Western Civilization Pt 3", "Mission Impossible 2", and "U-571". They were all garbage except for Requiem, which was great, Decline III, which was pretty interesting, and MI2 really wasn't so bad either.

Michael Winterbottom's "Wonderland" struck a new tone in cinematic depictions of London; neither Loach nor Greenaway, but rather the quotidian infused with a lush lyricism unseen since the days of Powell/Pressburger. Nyman's score for once seemed perfectly suited to tower block vistas of Kennington. "The Talented Mr Ripley" was my favourite US film this year - a flawed adaptation, but a more moving, mysterious meditation on the mystery of identity than either "American Beauty" or "Being John Malkovich". Finally, "In the Mood for Love" by Wong Kar Wei was a wonderfully melancholy moodfilm of quiet lives and missed opportunities, as visually *rich* a movie as any I've seen since the Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Even a twilight gale-blasted Tottenham Court Road seemed romantic after seeing it.

The Limey. Or was that last year?

top 5...gladiator, american psycho, unbreakable, wonder boys, and best in show. still very much want to see crouching tiger, hidden dragon. not a *bad* year, really, but compared to last year, it kinda sucked.

This is supposed to be my field, and having that conversation at the weekend I still kind of concur. The top ten isn't too difficult but picking one which is head and shoulders ahead is tricky.

I should pick Memento (or O Brother, Where Art Thou) because it hasn't come out in the States yet which is a magnificent reversal of fortune. Memento is a wonderful movie, but perhaps a wee bit too long & tricky for its own good. Ditto Magnolia, which is more of an odd cinematic experience. Timecode affected me an awful lot more than I expected. BJM & Three Kings too all came out in the best cinema month Britain has ever seen (March).

In the end though the films which made my heart leap this year were both bitter sweet romances. Woody Allen's "Sweet & Lowdown" (yeah I know you get your Woody films a year ahead of us in the US) was both funny and very touching. Une Liason Pornographique for a low key exploration of love and lies in an odd relationship. I urge anyone to see this little gem - and I don't mean the lettuce.

Ghost Dog gets my vote; damn near every frame is magic. In my little world, Forest Whitaker gets the Oscar nod for being so damn graceful. Not to mention the twisted humor throughout and Jarmusch's excellence. Virgin Suicides and Almost Famous follow close behind. Yes, Almost Famous. To hell with all of you.

American Movie (not to be confused with American Beauty...), Best In Show, Gladiator (though somehow feeling somewhat pathetic and sad for liking so much), Unbreakable. I've not seen Crouching Tiger... yet, but I'm fairly certain it will be on the list when it does.

I really loved Ratcatcher and You Can Count on Me. Jesus Son was good, and Chuck and Buck. The dance sequence in Water Drops on Burning Rocks was probably my favorite cinematic moment of the year, though the rest of it was pretty good, too.

Hello? Did no one see Nagisa Ohshima's "Gohatto"?

well i WOULD have seen Requim for a dream but they were only lettig people 17 and over into th movie theatre and were ACTUALLY checking ID's so i was screwed on seeing that in the theatre.... on my list, American Beauty, Traffic, Duece Bigalo Male Gigalo(i;m sorry i thougt this was hillarious, one of the few comedys to come out last year that actually made me laugh,... god i have horrid spelling) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Eyes Wide Shut.

i'd have to second that deuce bigalow male gigolo nomination. you'd think a film that emphasizes male prostitution twice in the title and has two taglines on the movie poster would be bad, but you're all wrong. the film is hilarious.

although i posted on this thread way too late, my favs were requiem for a dream, in the mood for love, and shadow of a vampire.

I saw Malkovich in 1999 while in the US and I saw it again earlier this year. Fantastic, fantastic film. I enjoyed Traffic a lot, perhaps for cinematography and direction more than script. The use of Brian Eno's "An Ending (Ascent)" at the close of the film was most affecting. I was a bit underwhelmed by Crouching Tiger, and I enjoyed railing on it when I was in the presence of a friend who disliked Traffic. I should grant it a repeat viewing before passing final judgement. However, these are all last year's movies, if not earlier. This year, like the pubgoers, I've enjoyed a couple of films but nothing has set my head spinning.

Hmmm, I missed this thread the first time around and, not checking it's original date, I assumed it was a recent one. Anyway, what have your favourite films been THIS year, ILE?

ILE can't hear you, Mitch. You're trapped, small and alone, and surrounded by herds and angry ILM.

Ans = Pokémon 3: the Spell of the Unown

Especially as it was set in the small town of GREENFIELD. That = cool.

"Crouching tiger hidden dragon". Possibly the only decent movie I saw in the cinema this year. "Memento" was pretty good too, if a bit over- rated.

Best of 2001: American Pie 2, The Pledge, The Road Home, in that order.

MOULIN ROUGE

Where else could i find a pastiche gobbling pomo busby berkly wonder with a rape scene midway through.

I don't believe I've seen any movies this year besides Josie and the Pussycats. So, therefore, that is the best movie of the year, proven by science.

Josie was way good, as was tons of Hollywood drivel. So was The Widow of Ste. Pierre. Nonetheless, this is the worst year for art films ever.

Art films = crap

Kids blockbusters = fantastic

I wish something as great as the Breakfast Club would come out. They should just rerelease American Psycho because that was really good.

"Ghost World". I swear it's about Ally. "The Pledge" was dire humorless sludge like all movies Sean Penn directs are - and based on a book by Friedrich Durrenmatt! So much potential!

Sean Penn's my favorite director - more dire, humorless, and sludgy than most arthouse filmmakers, but as easy to digest as lemon meringue pie (where Penn's films' unrelenting grief = the way that meringue tastes mercilessly sweeter than anything in the world). His movies are like if Pepsi made spritzers.

He's not as great as that guy that did Spice World.

Josie Rocks. Rachael Leigh Cook Rules My [New] School.

So you love That Darn Cat, Ally? It is one of Christina Ricci's best films, but I think you're overrating it nonetheless.

Shamefully I did not see that one. You'd think I would, being it's about a darned cat and all.

My dad liked Spice World and Josie. Prove = best films ever.