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It's the end of the year, so it's that time again: best and worst lists. I luckily have not seen that many real bad movies, though The Wild Wild West surely fits the bill (stupid racist trash, but hey that's just in my humble opinion), so I will only speak of the best movies of the year. Let it be known that this list is not only (mostly) limited by the films I saw (which includes some that not that many people did), but is only my opinion. Though I have a high opinion of my opinion on any given day, I am modest and realistic to understand of its limitations. My email address is supplied to reaffirm this fact, if need be.
I have been told that Tarzan and Toy Story 2 are both two very good movies by people whose opinion are worth noting. On the other hand, the same person who praised the latter movie, noted that Pokemon was uh stupid, an opinion shared by the children she took (those who remained awake). This is good to hear, since the show sounds ridiculous, even if someone who signed my guestbook likes it and has a site
about it that those who are interested in the show should go to. At any rate, the best two animated films I saw in the movies were Princess Mononoke and Perfect Blue (this is not an adult film but is meant for adults), both well animated with interesting points of view.
Lately, there has been reassurgance of the horror movie starting with Scream and similar films; one of the most talked about movies of the year was Sixth Sense (haven't seen it, but Silence of The Echoes was pretty good). I did see The Blair Witch Project, which remains scary imho even if it has been overplayed; it also has a good companion book. A couple other movies in this genre are worth mentioning, even if they are not "great" movies: The Rage: Carrie 2 (great lead performance and good website, especially since I won a cd and cap on it) and The Mummy (great 'B' movie, lots of fun, if too violent in a couple scenes).
I include in this category films produced by other than major film companies and/or those films with a limited release, films that often are well worth seeing, but not seen enough by the general public. One of the best in this category is surely Being John Malkovich with John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and guess who; this movie is downright goofy at times, but also has a serious message to tell. Another good film is Limbo, a John Sayles film, a writer, director and producer of a number of fine films, as well as worked on many others many have heard of :) Also very good are Rosetta a foreign film about a girl of 17 trying to hold on to a job and be someone, Topsy Turvy about the making of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, and Boys Don't Cry a heartbreaking true story of a struggle of a woman to have her own identity. Oh, Sticky Fingers Of Time, a time travel love story, is also worthy getting your hands on. Finally, let's throw in another foreign film -- Run Lola Run, three looks on how a young German woman deals with her boyfriend losing mob money with lots of kinetic camera action and an easy to take storyline.
Some of the other movies on this page have comedy elements, but I see the remaining movies on this list I made are all comedies. Mumford is somewhat weird movie about a "therapist" counseling some ah off kilter residents in a small town. 10 Things I Hate About You is an amiable teen comedy modelled on Shakespeare's "Taming Of the Shrew" with good performances. Finally, it really does not belong on this page, but 3 To Tango kind of grows on you, especially given Matthew Perry's charming performance. I did not see American Pie, the latest film in the Something About Mary mold, but it also got some high praise.
Actually, there is one more film to fit in, namely, Three Kings, a Desert Storm movie with an edge. It has its share of rah rah crowd pleasing components like George Clooney, but some scenes definitely force you to think -- maybe not what some want when they go to the movies, but its nice when a movie meant for wide audiences manages to do it. As a final note, besides the fact that I surely missed a favorite of one person or the other, is that American Beauty has gotten high praise, but it looks rather depressing and sordid so I did not watch it.