2001: A Film Odyssey
Jesse Walker is back with his top films of 2001. (https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2021/12/blog-post.html)
And unlike 2001 (see previous post), this year has a lot to offer. Here are Jesse's top ten:
1. Mulholland Drive
2. Spirited Away
3. Y Tu Mama Tambien
4. Sex And Lucia
5. The Man Who Wasn't There
6. Donnie Darko
7. The Office
8. Waking Life
9. The Soprano 3
10. Lantana
1 might be the best of the decade. (Let me repeat a story about seeing the film. I was standing outside the theatre buying a ticket when someone drove by and shouted at me "that is the worst film I've ever seen." I guess David Lynch can stir up the passions.)
2 is one of Miyazaki's best, which means it's one of the best in general.
3 also makes my top ten. Haven't seen 4. 5 I appreciate a bit more than I did back then, but still can't give it a thumbs up (though I especially like Tony Shalhoub in it). 6 I have never liked and have not grown to appreciate over the years.
Jesse and I have a longstanding disagreement over listing TV shows in movie lists. He makes his argument that 7 is like a movie anyway, but I'm not buying it. (I'm buying it even less for 9.)
8 is another dream film, but no 1. 10 I liked.
Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:
11. The Pledge
12. Storytelling
13. Claire
14. Amelie
15. Gosford Park
16. The Others
17. Ghost World
18. Buffy The Vampire Slayer 5
19. The Last Words Of Dutch Shultz
20. What Time Is It There?
Haven't seen 13, 19 or 20. Still haven't managed to watch all of 11. 18 is a TV show.
12 seemed to be minor Todd Solondz but has emerged as perhaps one of his best. 14 is a lot of fun. I'm not a fan of 15, which is now seen, I suppose, as a dry run for Downton Abbey. 16 is okay. 17 should be in the top ten.
Here are some other films that might have made my top ten or twenty:
Ocean's Eleven
Hedwig And The Angry Inch
Lovely And Amazing
Monsoon Wedding
Winger Migration
Other films I liked:
Monsters Inc., Shrek, The Anniversary Party, Haiku Tunnel, Sexy Beast, Rat Race, Memento
Other films of note (some of which I sort of like):
A Beautiful Mind (the big Oscar winner), Harry Potter And The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (huge hit), The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Rings (huge hit), Pearl Harbor, The Mummy Returns, Jurassic Park III, Planet Of The Apes, Hannibal, Monsters Ball, In The Bedroom, The Royal Tenenbaums, Iris, Avalon, CQ, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Freddy Got Fingered, Human Nature, In Praise Of Love, Invincible, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Joe Somebody. Lagaan, Legally Blonde, The Mexican, One Night At McCool's, Pottie Tang, Shackelton's Antarctic Adventure, Shallow Hal, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, The Shipping News, Spy Kids, Va Savoir, Moulin Rouge!, Wet Hot American Summer, Zoolander, Black Hawk Down, Ali, I Am Sam, Training Day, Kate & Leopold, Vanilla Sky
posted by LAGuy @ 10:30 AM
4 Comments:
Wow. It's hard to believe this was 20 years ago.
What a year.
I still remember walking out of Spirited Away with my terrified 5-year-old son. He turned to me and said: "That was great. I never want to see that again." (By the way, this was a 2003 release in the US.)
I hated Gosford Park. It's vastly less interesting than a lot of Altman flops that no one remembers (Health or Secret Honor, anyone?)
Memento would have cracked my top 10.
Yes, I could have said quite a bit more about Gosford Park. It struck me as a middling episode of Masterpiece Theatre. Sure, it had a lot of character, as many Altman films do, but didn't have the Altman spirit.
I like how harsh Miyazaki's films are. I think kids can take it. (Though maybe not five-year-olds.)
Memento is a bit cold, but then, you could say that about any Nolan. In fact, I wonder if this isn't his best--he didn't have the money to make it too big, so the puzzle aspect came to the fore.
For the record: Memento was #7 on my 2000 list. (I go by first screening, not U.S. release. That also explains why I have Spirited Away here, not 2003.)
As far as Altman goes, I'd say Secret Honor is better than Gosford Park and that Gosford Park was better than Health. (And Health isn't bad, though some of its subplots could've been profitably pruned.) Altman is my favorite post-studio-system American director, so even his B-level work is often going to make it into my honorable mentions.
My daughter turned 3 earlier this year and we've watched a lot of Miyazaki over the last few years (the first movies I exposed her to were all Kung fu, she seemed to enjoy all the movement and choreography). Spirited away was in the rotation but then we went without seeing it for a while and came back to it a couple weeks ago. I wouldn't say it was a disaster (she wanted to keep watching) but I think she found the whole thing overwhelming, and pretty upsetting at a few points. Probably won't be going back to it for a while. I guess she reached a point where she could actually understand some of what was going on and it freaked her out. Still, it's a great film and very high on my list for the year and for the decade. Mulholland Drive I saw once, around when it came out, and liked it a lot, but don't remember very much of it anymore. Then again, I don't remember more than bits and pieces of most of the movies I've seen only once (which is most of the movies I've seen), so it's managed to stay on my list through the years. Maybe I'll see it again someday and its place will be more secure.
Haven't seen Y Tu Mama Tambien. Sex and Lucia is on my list. Haven't seen Waking Life or past the first episode of The Sopranos (not much of a TV guy). If we are counting TV The Office would make my top 20. I've caught parts of Lantana here and there. Remember liking The Man Who Wasn't There and Donnie Darko, but I don't think they made a big impression even at the time.
The Pledge... I think I like The Crossing Guard more, but that one definitely feels more theatrical, whereas this feels more cinematic, if that makes sense. Pretty high on my list. Love Altman but only liked Gosford Park. Anyway, here's my list.
1. No Such Thing
2. Spirited Away
3. Fellowship of the Ring
4. Wet Hot American Summer
5. The Pledge
6. Full Time Killer
7. Sex and Lucia
8. Mulholland Drive
9. Scary Movie 2
10. Amelie
Others I liked (only vaguely ordered):
Visible Secret; Dogtown and Z-Boys; Warm Water Under a Red Bridge; Lagaan; Millennium Actress; Saving Silverman; Moulin Rouge!; Gosford Park; Charotte Gray; La Brassiere; The 0thers; Whale Hunt; Monsters, Inc.; Shaolin Soccer; Metropolis; The Man Who Wasn’t There; Ghost World; Avalon; Black Hawk Down; Quitting; Visitor Q; Thir13en Ghosts; The Royal Tennenbaums;
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