5 Movies in 2003

Sunday, January 4, 2004 » list movies thought

Here is my trendy top five list of movies I saw last year.

#5 - X2: X-Men United
The first X-Men surprised me with how good it was, especially for a comic book movie. I can't recall if X2's title was supposed to imply X-Men squared, but that would have been accurate. X2 had more action, more intrigue and, most importantly, more mutants doing their thing. Hugh Jackman completely stole the show again, even despite Alan Cumming's amazing Nightcrawler. Hopefully in X3 they'll be able to work in a little more of Cyclops and Professor X.

#4 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Uhaghh longest movie title ever. I have my suspicions that this was actually just an above-average summer action flick, but then I remember: It's all about Captain Jack Sparrow. Klaus Badelt's score didn't exactly hurt this one, either.

#3 - Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns
This was just a very fun documentary on one of my favorite bands. Probably the most amazing part is that, yes, they really are just as weird behind the scenes.

#2 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
This goes without saying: Return of the King is the perfect ending to an amazing movie trilogy. I was definitely skeptical when I heard they were filming all three of them, let alone back to back, but Peter Jackson and his crew (not to mention the fine, fine ensemble cast) really pulled through. And, I think it's telling of just how well everything came together when the longest of the three films ended up feeling like the shortest. Still, I wish they had decided to give the trilogy the Best Picture Oscar back when Fellowship came out, because this year it really ought to go to...

#1 - The Last Samurai
Wow, this is an incredible movie. I can't think of many movies where I've left the theater feeling as completely blown away as this one left me. (Matchstick Men made a similar, yet decidedly different impact.) The entire film is so carefully and beautifully shot, and the final scenes are some of the most powerful to appear on the screen this year, thanks to fine acting all around. If you haven't seen this one yet, you should try to before it leaves theaters. I can almost guarantee it won't be as impressive on the small screen.

And now, a quick mention of five movies I wish I had seen:

Bubba Ho-tep - Seriously, this was supposed to come out somewhere on Earth, right?

Lost in Translation - I loved Bill Murray in Ghostbusters and The Man Who Knew Too Little, and I can't wait to see his antics in Japan!

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - I cannot tell a lie. My primary motivation for seeing this is to hear Klaus Badelt's soundtrack.

Once upon a Time in Mexico - I like action scenes.

Paycheck - Sure, it has motorcycle vs. window, but does it have motorcycle vs. motorcycle??

And that's all I have to say about that.