Movie List Project 2003

On January 1, I resolved to keep track of all of the movies I saw in 2003, and list them from most favorite to least favorite, along with a brief review. My rating system is based on TiVo's Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down system. (Three Thumbs up is the best, Three Thumbs down is the worst.)

There are two orders to the list:

  1. Chronological List -- bottom of the page
  2. Ordered List (favorite to least favorite) -- top of the page

    The Ordered List

    From best to worst:

    1. Chicago (IMDB)
      While not as visually dazzling as Moulin Rouge, this is a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable movie. The singing and dancing of the three leads never seems 100% convincing, and dispels suspension of disbelief -- I'm always aware it's Richard Gere there instead of a headline-grabbing lawyer -- but the clever juxtaposition of the nightclub and the court system wins you over. The charm and attraction of the leads and the time-proven catchiness of the numbers doesn't hurt.
      Two Thumbs Up

    2. Catch Me If You Can (IMDB)
      Spielberg displays some unusual directing tics here: The camera angles are distracting, and a few times I found myself focusing on an unexpected fixation on a gratuitous personality quirk exhibited by a minor character. This could have been a tighter movie. But the subject material is engaging, Hanks is mesmerizing, DiCaprio looks the part, and the recreation of '60s locales, hairstyles, costumes and attitudes is a kick.
      Two Thumbs Up

    3. Adaptation (IMDB)
      This is a clever, absorbing and unique film that collapses a little under the weight of its own awareness. The third act is intended to be a self-parody; but, in the same way that when you look at a mirror in the mirror you see mirrors stretching off to infinity, you can't get to the end of it all. So the pretense becomes almost pretentious. However, the performances are ingenious, and it is funny; the creativity is refreshing enough to make this an enjoyable experience.
      One Thumb Up

    4. Gangs of New York (IMDB)
      Indulgent and disappointing. When I saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers last year, I hardly felt the three-hour length. This film feels like four hours. DiCaprio is upstaged by history and Daniel Day-Lewis, in that order, and his character Amsterdam (!)'s Hamlet-like indecision of how to respond to the slaughter of his father at the hands of Day-Lewis' viciously eccentric Bill the Butcher (!) is wearying. While some of the individual scenes shine and move well enough to remind you who is at the helm, most of this movie is hard to watch. I did like Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly and Liam Neeson in their relatively small roles.
      One Thumb Down

    5. The Recruit (IMDB)
      Mildly entertaining but also frustrating and more or less preposterous. Pacino's in fine form, and Farrell can act, but the best parts of this movie were in the previews.
      One Thumb Down


    Chronological List of Movies

    Date
    		Movie
    		Comment
    10-Jan-2003 Chicago Kimi and I saw this at Century Shoreline.
    20-Jan-2003 Catch Me If You Can Kimi and I caught this one at AMC Mercado on a Monday night. (Mmmm, Tomatinas.)
    8-Feb-2003 Gangs of New York Friday night Tomatina and Mercado. Kimi hated this one so much that she gets to pick the next three movies.
    21-Feb-2003 Adaptation Friday night, Kimi and I head to Century Shoreline and eat lots o' candy.
    22-Feb-2003 The Recruit The next day, Dad and I caught The Recruit at Shoreline.
    28-Mar-2003 The Hours On Tivo day, Kimi and I were caught up at the Shoreline by The Hours.
    5-Apr-2003 Cowboy Bebop The Towne was the place to be on Saturday night (but oops, we missed a party we wanted to go to).
    13-Apr-2003 Better Luck Tomorrow Sunday night, the day after seeing Tori at the San Jose Performing Arts Center around the corner, we jetted over to Camera One.
    19-Apr-2003 Bulletproof Monk Ok, Dad was desperate to see a movie up in Elk Grove, so my brother Harry, my father and I settled on this one.
    25-Apr-2003 A Mighty Wind Beth, Kyrie, Grace, Albert and I piled in for dinner at Thai Bowl and then A Mighty Wind at the CineArts in Palo Alto.
    26-Apr-2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Yes, I did see this before, when it came out, but I wanted to see it again and Jose hadn't seen it, so we caught it at the Saratoga AMC 16.
    3-May-2003 X2: X-Men United Harry, Mom & Dad and I had an old-fashioned Saturday matinee at Shoreline.
    9-May-2003 Identity Friday night date night for Kimi and me at Shoreline (with Japanese food before).
    16-May-2003 The Matrix: Reloaded [Kyrie, shown here expecting her twins (born on May 21), and Stephen, both dressed in black and with sunglasses, outside the Shoreline Cinema; photo by Kyrie.] The Friday of opening day at the 5:00 show (vacation day since there was a power outage at TiVo!) -- Kimi, Kyrie, Eric V., my sister Joanna and me, at Shoreline. Dressed in black. Followed by a trip to Yakko's, still the best Japanese restaurant near Castro. [Eric V. and Joanna, both dressed in black, at the Shoreline Cinema; photo by Kyrie.]
    29-May-2003 Spellbound With Kimi at Camera One.
    5-June-2003 The Matrix: Reloaded (again) Thursday morning at the AMC Mercado, since TiVo treated us to the movies. Why not? My review above reflects my thoughts after seeing it twice.
    13-August-2003 SWAT With Sam and Rob (Kimi's brothers) at the Mt. View Century 16.
    19-August-2003 Freddy vs. Jason With Kimi, Sam, Rob, and Miranda (Kimi's cousin) at the Mt. View Century 16. Don't ask why.
    22-August-2003 The Medallion With Sam and Rob and my brother Harry at the Mt. View Century 16.
    When did I see these?
    Seabiscuit
    28 Days Later
    Finding Nemo (in June in Seattle with Kimi, Tomi & Sam)
    Kill Bill Vol. 1 (sometime quite a bit after it came out with Kimi at Century 16)
    Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines with Rob and Sam and Kimi at Century 16 on 7/3/03
    Whale Rider
    American Splendor, 9/21, with Kimi at Cinearts Palo Alto Square
    Lost in Translation, 10/11 with Kimi at Century 16
    Intolerable Cruelty, 10/16, with Kimi at Century 16
    Love Actually, 11/08, with Kyrie, Kimi and Beth at Century 16
    Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, Thanksgiving Day, with Kimi, Foot, John & Sam, in Tacoma, WA
    Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 12/20/03, Hacienda 20 (IMAX) with Kimi, Sam and Rob
    Last Samurai at AMC with Rob and Sam, 12/31/03
    The Cooler, with Kimi, 1/14/04 at Century 16
    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Kimi (and Liz/Min) at AMC on 3/26/04
    Dawn of the Dead, 3/21/04, at Century 16 with Harry, Meg & Ben
    Touching the Void, 3/30/04, at the Aquarius in Palo Alto with Kimi
    Shaolin Soccer, 4/2/04 at Camera 7 Campbell with Rob, Harry, Teresa and Kimi
    Kill Bill Vol 2. 4/18/04 at AMC Mercado 20 with Kimi
    Not as fun, revelatory, quirky, or fast-paced as the first part. Perhaps more interesting, and filmed with its influences a little more reverently thanked; Uma's performance is more three dimensional at least. As a package the two are worth seeing but I wish I could have given Quentin some advice on how to make the second part seem to have deeper revelations and be less by-the-numbers. The whole journey is sol linear; and the only real surprises are in part one.
    Zeigen's Dilemma
      E. Stephen Mack (estephen@emf.net)