The Top (and Bottom) Films of 2003
It is my tradition and my pleasure to rank my favorite films of the year, and today's the day. But first, let us remember for one last time, the stinkers of the year
Here are the five worst films for 2003:
# 5 Cat In The Hat There were worse movies, but this movie makes the bottom 5 for completely ripping the soul out of the beloved children's book and turning it into a crude Mike Myers skit.
# 4 Dumb and Dumerer: When Harry Met Lloyd is a mind-numbingly stupid and insulting piece of garbage that is totally devoid of anything even close to a laugh.
#3 is the tortuous God's and Generals which lasts a 3 hours and 49 minutes! It is amateurish, horribly directed and there is no editing anywhere in sight.
# 2 Gigli is bad, crude, offensive, downright painful and features some of the worst dialogue I have ever heard in a movie. But it's not the worst of the year,
That honor goes to the absolutely horrible Marci X. This starred Damon Wayans and Lisa Kudrow, and featured a rap song called "the power in my pants." This movie is so bad it is a complete embarrassment for everyone involved including the audience!
And now we turn to the cream of the crop…These are my picks for the years 10 best films…
#10 is Pirates of the Caribbean. I had more fun watching this than I've had in a film in years and Johnny Depp's performance is nothing short of great!
#9 Something's Gotta Give Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton make this movie delightful, funny and romantic.
#8 Lost In Translation Bill Murray gives the performance of his career and Sophia Coppola establishes herself as a top-rate writer and film maker.
#7 In America Jim Sheridan's semi-autobiographical story of immigrating to America is warm, poignant, and very moving.
#6 Mystic River Clint Eastwood's Direction and searing performances from the entire cast make for a truly remarkable film.
#5 House of Sand and Fog is an extraordinary film that has perhaps the best performances of the year from Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly.
#4 Whale Rider 12 year old Keisha Castle Hughes turns in a stunning performance and carries this movie about ancient tradition that crashes into modern day life in New Zealand.
#3 The Last Samurai is a completely engrossing movie that should win at least a few awards, most notably Ken Watanabe for best supporting actor.
#2 Seabiscuit is inspirational and moving. I was completely enraptured and drawn in by this film about the little horse that could.
And even with all of these truly great films, the number one movie for 2003 is
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King easily the best film of 2003. It represents all that film making can be. It pulls you into middle earth and doesn't let you go until it's time to say goodbye. And it does that with the grandest style and best movie making technique of any film this year.
And I can't wrap this up without a couple of Honorable Mentions:
A Mighty Wind is one of my sentimental favorites. It's very funny and one of the films on my Christmas list. (and yes, I got it!)
Confidence is inventive, and smart, with a great script, and terrific performances from every single member of the cast.
Monster is a film about a difficult subject, but features a jaw dropping Charlize Theron in the best performance by an actress this year.
2003 top 10 films
# 1 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
#2 Seabiscuit
#3 Last Samurai
#4 Whale Rider
#5 House of Sand and Fog
#6 Mystic River
#7 In America
#8 Lost In Translation
#9 Something's Gotta Give
#10 Pirates of the Caribbean
Bottom 5 Worst Films of 2003
#1 Marci X
#2 Gigli
#3 God's and Generals
# 4 Dumb and Dumerer: When Harry Met Lloyd
# 5 Cat In The Hat
