The Usual Choices
Chicago (Rob Marshall)
Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes)
Gangs of New York (Martin Scorcese)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson)
The Pianist (Roman Polanski)
But how about...
Ripley's Game (Liliana Cavani)
Brightly lit with gorgeous colour and classy surroundings, this movie is the definitive version of Patricia Highsmith's "man without a conscience" Tom Ripley because John Malkovich is the definitive Ripley. OMG. Like Heath Ledger as The Joker and Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, once seen, all other versions shrivel in comparison and will eternally do so. John is human ice, his pulse, I am sure, rarely going over 50 beats per minute, even when pummeling, garrotting or squeezing on the bear trap as the poor unfortunate screams. And as the machinations of assassination are put into place, the film makes clear that Ripley is not evil necessarily...he is probably just a higher order of being. Riveting and revolting at the same time, he's just a man taking care of business.
...and what about...
Spider (David Cronenberg)
Cross Franz Kafka with Minette Walters and you'd end up with something like this: a psychological murder-mystery that unravels along with the main character, right before your eyes. The "story" goes like this: a mental patient moves to a halfway house and relives the "something dreadful" that happened in his childhood...that's pretty much it. Throw in lotsa gloom, an industrial setting, sounds which weigh you down, and scenes from a past which may or may not be real and you have entered the netherworld of Nightmare Art. And this time it works...you really do want to know the truth about what happened to this dear little boy and how he grew to become this walking mess.
...not to mention...
Star Trek: Nemesis (Stuart Baird)
I have absolutely no idea why this part of the Trekkie franchise is so poorly regarded...to me, it's excitingly staged and interestingly dark in mood. Some great actions scenes here (love the dune buggies!) and an appropriate amount of shit is blown up. Tom Hardy makes a terrific villain (not up to the frightening standard of the Borg though), and for him to play a young (and psychotic) clone of Picard is a nifty twist. In the original Star Trek series, the plots were always secondary to the interaction of the characters, but this Next Generation crew are closer to flesh than cartoon...and admittedly not as memorable. But still...this film deserves to be in the same fan-lauded company as Wrath of Khan, Undiscovered Country and First Contact.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (Lone Scherfig)
This starts off as dark comedy, shifts to a cuckoldy romance, ends sad and tragic...which could still work if you had some sort of attachment to the people involved. But this bunch of Ingmar Bergman extras are gloomy, quiet and vaguely annoying. A film which is structured around suicide, mental illness, loneliness, loss and impending death is surely never going to be too uplifting, and, when laced with artificially-quirky characters, soundtrack music of the "feel-this-now" kind and a colour palette of greys and greys, all you leave with is about an extra ten pounds of sheer depression. Does it tell you anything about the Human Condition?...of course it does, but...is there anything else on?
My Top 10 Films of 2002
 |
| A double yolker. |
#02 A 25th Hour (Lee)
#03 A Spider (Cronenberg)
#04 A About Schmidt (Payne)
#05 A- About a Boy (Weitz; Weitz)
#06 A- The Good Girl (Arteta)
#07 A- Star Trek: Nemesis (Baird)
#08 A- Insomnia (Nolan)
#09 A- White Oleander (Kosminsky)
#10 A- Secretary (Shainberg)
Overflow: More A-/B+ Films
#11 A- Rabbit-Proof Fence (Noyce)
#12 A- Far From Heaven (Haynes)
#13 A- Minority Report (Spielberg)
#14 A- 8 Mile (Hanson)
#15 A- Adaptation (Jonze)
#16 B+ The Tracker (de Heer)
#17 B+ Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Clooney)
#18 B+ One Hour Photo (Romanek)
#19 B+ Black and White (Lahiff)
#20 B+ Nicholas Nickleby (McGrath)
#21 B+ 28 Days Later (Boyle)
#22 B+ The Pianist (Polanski)
#23 B+ In America (Sheridan)
#24 B+ The Magdalene Sisters (Mullan)
#25 B+ The Hours (Daldry)
#26 B+ Panic Room (Fincher)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> B Auto Focus [interesting, but afterwards I had to have a shower]
> B Igby Goes Down [I had no attachment to any of the characters, which was probably intentional, but still...]
> B The Bourne Identity [an exciting-ish action flick with shaky camera, jump edits and lots of gasping]
> B The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [you'll need a shiraz in your hand, three in your gut & a neck-cushion]
> B S1m0ne [a brilliant idea that nearly overwhelms what is actually done with it]
> B Punch-Drunk Love [I'd appreciate it more if it wasn't an Adam Sandler movie]
> B Spider-Man [just a necessary warm-up for the excellence of #2]
> B Road to Perdition [Tom Hanks as a hitman-gangster...gimme a break...]
> B Signs [yet again, M Night Shyamalan starts with a good idea and goes one step too far out]
> B Whale Rider [so a kid rides a whale...big deal...]
> B Gangs of New York [the whole production is a little manic and a little silly]
> B Phone Booth [have you ever noticed that claustrophobic films always have a brief running-time?]
> B- 24 Hour Party People [docu-comedy about a UK musical movement which sprinted up into its own clacker]
> B- The Mothman Prophecies [wants to be psychologically creepy but is merely well-crafted and good-looking]
> B- Max [aka A Portrait of the Nazi Dictator as an Angry Young Bohemian]
> B- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones [personally, I think Jar Jar Binks is the fourth Stooge]
> B- Chicago [musical cynicism with too-jerky camerawork, mediocre choreography & a good lead performance]
> B- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [if you're a fan, it's pretty good; if you're not, it's not]
> B- Austin Powers in Goldmember [you will only want to watch it once]
> B- Die Another Day [Bond #20...not as good as Skyfall; about the same as Octopussy; better than Moonraker]
> C Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself [A Personal Unmentionable]
> C Unfaithful [aka Indiscretion of an American Wife...That Ruins Itself Two-Thirds of the Way Through]
> D The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys [booze & sex & drugs & crime & incest & death & superheroes among kids who should surely still just be climbing trees and drinking milkshakes]
> E Scooby-Doo [real dogshit...although the guy playing Shaggy is spot-on]
"Ah!..Sweet Mystery of Life...": 2002 Films I Apparently Still Need to See
All or Nothing (Leigh); Antwone Fisher (Washington); Barbershop (Story); Bend It Like Beckham (Chadha); Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg); Changing Lanes (Michell); The Count of Monte Cristo (Reynolds); Five Years / The Hidden (Wagner); Frida (Taymor); Gerry (Van Sant); The Good Thief (Jordan); The Hard Word (Roberts); Narc (Carnahan); Personal Velocity (Miller); The Reckoning (McGuigan); Roger Dodger (Kidd); Skins (Eyre); Sunshine State (Sayles); Tadpole (Winick)
Best Performances of 2002
Adrien Brody in The Pianist
Nicolas Cage in Adaptation
Chris Cooper in Adaptation
Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
Nicole Kidman in The Hours
Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven
Renee Zellweger in Chicago
Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago
But how about...
Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander
A film about the trials and tribulations of a troubled teen (what? again?), White Oleander is lifted heads 'n' shoulders out of the soapy mire (murder; shootings; prison; child sex abuse; suicide; bashings; abandonment; goth) by the power of the female cast...and Michelle tops all of them. A visual artist who poisons her lover (that'll teach him), she is the epitome of hard. Stunningly gorgeous as usual, Michelle grabs the role by the throat and throttles it...you'll believe every cynical, manipulative, bitter and brutal word that comes out of her mouth. Her eyes demand that you listen; her physical beauty convinces you to step closer; and then she speaks...whoa. A commanding performance in a perfectly acted movie.
...and what about...
Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl
Rewatching this movie, it makes me mad that Jen has wasted so much of her time / talent / life essence appearing in so much utter rom-com CRAP. This quirky little film (appropriately described as a dark comedy I guess, but it is more than that) features Jen front and centre as a bored shitless wife & shopping mart employee who just knows there is meant to be far more in Life. So, she takes one single risk (an affair with a young & mysterious man) and her life spirals off in all directions...most not good. Cheating, God, Catcher in the Rye, contemplated murder, food poisoning, pregnancy and fatal betrayal all line up in wait for her...funny, sad, tragic...Jen beautifully deals with them all.
...not to mention...
Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt
My second fave Jack performance (Chinatown still rules of course) and certainly the best in the tail-end of his career. His tendency to slide into overused mannerisms and tics has been largely suppressed here and Jack manages to play the character rather than just play Jack again again again. Combed-over, stout and liver-spotted, Jack faces an end-of-life crisis (retirement; grown-up & departed only child; who-is-this-old-woman-sleeping-next-to-me?) and goes on a road trip (childhood home; speaking to the stars; is this all there is?) His confessor is a sponsored third-world child...the only person he is totally honest with. Sad and funny as hell, Jack as Schmidt is the old man I already am.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York
Accents must be tricky...and once an actor has it nailed, they must hold it for the entirety of their performance. Even someone as great as Morgan Freeman doesn't have the knack for it as he showed in his otherwise gallant portrayal of Nelson Mandella in Invictus. Cameron suffers similarly in this...her accent (Irish? New American? Mongrel?) flipflaps off and on, sometimes even in mid-sentence as if it is looking for a dialect coach to roughen the vowels. Add to this the fact that Cameron seems to be the only grifter / pickpocket / lady of easy virtue who has access to a bath and to beauty accessories. A New York gal from the 1860's?...nah...dropped in straight from Charlie's Angels.
My 10 Favourite Performances of 2002
 |
| "I can take shorthand, work the copying machine, make coffee and carry two buckets of yak's milk up Kilimanjaro." |
#02 Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander
#03 J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man
#04 Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary
#05 Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl
#06 Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt
#07 David Gulpilil in The Tracker
#08 Diane Lane in Unfaithful
#09 Barry Pepper in 25th Hour
#10 Alison Lohman in White Oleander
Overflow: More List-Worthy Performances
#11 Sarah & Emma Bolger in In America
#12 Tom Hardy in Star Trek: Nemesis
#13 Renee Zellweger in Chicago
#14 Matthew Lillard in Scooby-Doo
#15 Jamie Bell in Nicholas Nickleby
#16 Robin Williams in One Hour Photo
#17 Al Pacino in Insomnia
#18 Lois Smith in Minority Report
#19 Sam Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
#20 Toni Collette in About a Boy
#21 Dougray Scott in Ripley's Game
#22 Nicolas Cage in Adaptation
#23 Michael Caine in Austin Powers in Goldmember
#24 Anne-Marie Duff & Nora-Jane Noone & Dorothy Duffy & Eileen Walsh in The Magdalene Sisters
#25 Tom Cruise in Minority Report
#26 Chris Cooper in Adaptation
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago [good dancin'; acceptable singin'; forced actin']
> Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven [didn't she already do the mousy wife thing in Safe?...and do it better?]
> Adrien Brody in The Pianist [yep, he serves the material...but the best lead male performance of the year?]
> Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider [what is the big deal?]
> Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York [more caricature than character]
> Nicole Kidman in The Hours [a one-note performance...no...no nose jokes]
And so...onto the annual awards (with a nod of appreciation to Danny Peary)...
The Alternate Oscars for 2002 are:
FILM of the YEAR
GOLD: Ripley's Game (Liliana Cavani)
SILVER: 25th Hour (Spike Lee)
BRONZE: Spider (David Cronenberg)
LEAD ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: John Malkovich (Ripley's Game)
SILVER: Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt)
BRONZE: David Gulpilil (The Tracker)
LEAD ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary)
SILVER: Jennifer Aniston (The Good Girl)
BRONZE: Diane Lane (Unfaithful)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man)
SILVER: Barry Pepper (25th Hour)
BRONZE: Tom Hardy (Star Trek: Nemesis)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Michelle Pfeiffer (White Oleander)
SILVER: Rachel Roberts (S1m0ne)
BRONZE: Lois Smith (Minority Report)
ENSEMBLE or PARTNERSHIP: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Anne-Marie Duff & Nora-Jane Noone & Dorothy Duffy & Eileen Walsh (The Magdalene Sisters)
SILVER: Nicole Kidman & Stephen Dillane & Miranda Richardson & Julianne Moore & John C. Reilly & Jack Rovello & Toni Collette & Meryl Streep & Ed Harris & Allison Janney & Claire Danes & Jeff Daniels (The Hours)
BRONZE: Jodie Foster & Kristen Stewart (Panic Room)
JUVENILE: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Sarah & Emma Bolger (In America)
SILVER: Jamie Bell (Nicholas Nickleby)
BRONZE: Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy)
The Alternate Razzies for 2002 are:
CRAP FILM of the YEAR
Scooby-Doo (Raja Gosnell)
CRAP MALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Tom Hanks (Road to Perdition)
CRAP FEMALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Cameron Diaz (Gangs of New York)
