BEST OF 2001

A WAKING LIFE – Hands down, the best film of the year! Richard Linklatter’s sequel (of sorts) to Slacker is brilliant on so many levels, it would take hours to even begin to dissect. Suffice it to say, A Waking Life is a film about the workings of the human intellect told through combining pseudo-documentary footage with mind-blowing animation. The movie is almost impossible to describe and it may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but for those who are sick of Hollywood pandering and cliché, A Waking Life is an exhilarating, boldly original head-trip. A film I can’t wait to see again and again.

MOULIN ROUGE – If pure originality were the only criteria for great filmmaking, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge would probably be considered one of the greatest films ever made. Unfortunately, a formulaic plot and some really awkward pacing bog it down severely. Still, Moulin Rouge is a wildly original picture that takes immense chances. The musical numbers are as stunning as anything Hollywood has ever produced; and the art direction and cinematography are pure genius. This is gutsy filmmaking that pays off so richly on the visual and stylistic end, that it’s easy to forgive its missteps. Enjoy it over a glass of absinthe.

LORD OF THE RINGS – I never read Tolkien’s opus, so I don’t have any pre-conceptions about what this film is “supposed” to be like. What it is like is stunning. Peter Jackson seems to have mastered the art of integrating special effects into an engaging story. Except for a slow first hour, this epic cooks with multi-dimensional characters, breathtaking action, and unforgettable visuals. This is grand-scale filmmaking that (ahem) dwarfs any other film this year. I’m already looking forward to the next installments.

MEMENTO – O.K., this is unquestionably a gimmick movie. So what!? I’ll take an engaging gimmick versus a dull cliché any day. And this story about a man with memory loss told backwards is a hell of lot more effective than most of what passes for suspense these days. Christopher Nolan’s Memento succeeds in being the best true film noir in recent years, and that’s saying something for a rather crowded genre. It’s a film about identity, destiny, and life’s purpose told in a way that often confuses, but never loses its audience. An instant classic.

BATTLE ROYALE – First of all, I don’t even think this film was released in 2001. Second, it’s never been released in this country – theatrically or on video - and probably never will be. Why? Because it’s offensive, violent and vicious. A satire of reality television, teen soap operas, and the education system; Battle Royale gets major kicks out of crossing lines and pushing buttons. Juvenile delinquents are forced to kill one another for survival on a booby-trapped island. Lord of the Flies meets Survivor with automatic weapons… one of the best films you may never get to see.

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA – A bit of a long shot here, but I’m a huge John Boorman fan. A poet of the male psyche, Boorman finds a perfect balance between humor and suspense in this John LaCarre spy yarn. The script is smart, the pace is fast, and Pierce Brosnan gives a great performance as a nasty version of James Bond. What never ceases to amaze throughout the proceedings is Boorman’s perfect control of the medium.

OCEANS ELEVEN – A “super movie”. The kind of film they used to make in the ‘60’s with Steve McQueen and James Coburn, but have become impossible in this day due to out-of-control egos and salaries. It took George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh to pull this unbelievable cast together and it’s a gas from the first frame to the last. Fun in the very best sense of the word… and the heist itself is way more involving than any of the other heist films to come out this year. It’s good to know that Hollywood can still make escapist entertainment at this level of craftsmanship.

MADE – Jon Favreau’s directing debut and follow-up to Swingers is superior in almost every way. This is a pure character film with Favreau and Vince Vaughn bickering their way through the New York underworld. Forget the plot and enjoy the writing and improvisation. A loose and energetic film that deserved more attention than it got.

BLACK HAWK DOWN – The best Ridley Scott film in years. Both brutal and exhilarating, Black Hawk Down traces every minute on the battle of Mogadishu in what may be one of the longest and most relentless sustained action sequences in film history. Light on jingoism and heavy on action, Scott’s film is a flawlessly executed meditation on modern combat. The film took some criticism for making Samalis faceless. I say; let the Samalis make their own version of the battle… this one is for us, and it makes Saving Private Ryan look like a Woody Allen film.

THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS – The slickest comedy of the year. Wes Anderson gathers a brilliant cast capped off by Gene Hackman at his disarming best. This is quirky stuff, but it has a lot of heart, some big laughs, and – like all the best comedies – genuine emotion. This film will grow in stature with subsequent viewings; it’s layered, nuanced, and well written. Another classic in the making.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND – Sure it’s over-rated. And once the central gimmick is resolved, Ron Howard’s bio of Nobel winner John Nash becomes just that; a standard bio. One can also take exception with the factual inaccuracies of the third act… but screw it! This is an assured, smart movie with a brilliant central performance by Russell Crowe (if he doesn’t win an Oscar for this, I’m throwing out my copy of Gladiator). Oh yeah, and Jennifer Connely is the most beautiful woman on the planet.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF – I enjoyed this French confection way more than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A hybrid of Hammer horror flicks, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, Hong Kong chop-saki, and a dash of both Oliver Stone and Scooby Doo… Brotherhood is surprisingly engaging for most of its running time (about 20 minutes too long if you ask me, but that’s OK). The action rocks, the cinematography looks good, and the plot doesn’t pander to the dumb-ass. This may not appeal to everybody, but it’s a film that, on its own terms succeeds beautifully. I wish the French would make more of this kind of stuff.

AMORES PERROS - Alejandro González Iñárritu skillfully weaves three related tales connected by a car crash. The film is almost dizzying in its style and the performances shine all around. But it’s the direction that really shines as Iñárritu casts his magic with amazing confidence and breathless energy. Here is a talent to watch.

SEXY BEAST – One of the slickest, most original gangster flicks to come out of England - or any country - in many years. Jonathan Glazer directs a tale of a retired gangster (the awesome Ray Winstone) bullied back for one more heist by a high-ranking psychopath (Ben Kingsley in the film’s showiest, most surprising turn). Kingsley got all the press, but all the performances shine. Pay special attention to Ian McShane as a Godfather with some serious secrets and a unique sense of justice. A terrific genre film with some real surprises and a sense of humor that turns out to be the biggest surprise of all.

FILMS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE LIST, BUT WEREN’T VERY GOOD.

A.I. – Here’s a prime example of why great directors shouldn’t collaborate. A drawn-out, self satisfied mess; A.I. doesn’t know what the hell it’s about. Is it a fairy tale, a parable on family love, or a meditation on religion? Nobody seems to know; certainly not Spielberg. Sure, the film looks great, but is utterly unbalanced in tone and philosophy. A kid’s movie that no kid can hope to understand or even sit through. If you want to explore issues of artificial soul, watch Bladerunner or some select episodes of Star Trek TNG. Let’s just be thankful that Stanley wasn’t alive to see this fiasco.

PEARL HARBOR – It’s fashionable to rank on this film, but come on! Did they not read this script? This is pure soap opera crap! The attack itself if brilliantly executed, but the rest of the film is a lumbering mess. And Ben Affleck’s performance deserves special mention as one of the worst of the century (“Somebody get me to a plane!”). And the saddest thing is after September 11, we could have really used an intelligent film about Pearl Harbor.

VANILLA SKY – Cameron Crowe’s cover version of the Spanish original is slick but kind of pointless. (Remakes never deserve as much praise as original films anyway.) Actually Vanilla Sky is entertaining. It moves along nicely, is shot beautifully by John Toll, and has some nice work by Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell and Cruise himself. But by the time it’s all over and the big surprise is finally revealed, one essentially wonders what the whole point was. And anybody who thought this film was too complicated must have dosed off or something, because it’s ridiculously straightforward. All in all, one of Crowe’s weakest efforts to date, yet still surprisingly watchable.