#5 - "Black Hawk Down" - Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Sam Shapard, Ewen Bremner. Directed by Ridley Scott. Scott's stunningly graphic and emotional film experience follows marines in Somalia in 1993 on a failed mission that was meant to take half an hour but ended up much longer and much more tragic than anyone could have imagined. The war images in Scott's masterpiece are some of the very best ever put on film (maybe the best). "Black Hawk Down" is packed with 144 minutes of painfully realistic brutality, making for possibly the best war movie since "Patton" (1970). Read the full review.
#4 - "Waking Life" - Animated, with the voices of Wiley Wiggins, Bill Wise, Richard Linklater, Speed Levitch, Guy Forsyth, and others. Directed by Richard Linklater. "Waking Life" is an independent animated feature that is as much a visual experience as it is an experience for the mind. Linklater's screenplay poses intriguing questions and theories about life, dreams, God, etc. We are also treated to thought-provoking conversations and strangely interesting angry tirades. A must see for anyone who is intrigued by the difference (or lack of difference) between our waking lives and our dreams. Read the full review.
#3 - "A Beautiful Mind" - Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jeniffer Connelly, Paul Bettany. Directed by Ron Howard. 2001's Oscar-winner for Best Picture of the year might not quite be number one, but is certainly a noteworthy effort from director Ron Howard. Russell Crowe is John Nash, the great mathematician and problem-solver, crippled by schizophrenia. The film contains surprise after surprise as we realize how bad the man's condition really is. Stunning performances and a screenplay to match make "A Beautiful Mind" a beautiful movie (I'm sure no one's ever used THAT one before). Not reviewed.
#2 - "Vanilla Sky" - Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee. Directed by Cameron Crowe. "This is a revolution of the mind." So say a few of Crowe's characters in "Vanilla Sky," and boy, were they ever right. Like "Waking Life," Crowe's film examines the line between life and dreams, and manages to keep us guessing for its entire runtime and even beyond. "Vanilla Sky" is a man's long, strange trip through his subconscious, with witty dialogue, an awesome soundtrack, and what I believe is one of the great endings in film history. See it twice, because even if you think you get it, you probably don't. Read the full review.
#1 - "The Royal Tenenbaums" - Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow. Directed by Wes Anderson. This is a controversial choice, since most people I know who saw it didn't like it at all. But I really think that this is one of the most imaginative, smart, and delightfully quirky movies that I've seen. Gene Hackman is Royal Tenenbaum, who, after 22 years of abscence, tricks his unusual family into believing that he is dying so that they will give him somewhere to stay. While staying with his family, Royal bonds with his grandchildren while trying to convince everyone else to forgive him. Anderson tells a considerably strange tale with a brilliant screenplay (co-written by Owen Wilson) resulting in a funny, intelligent, and touching masterpiece. Read the full review.
Other movies I admired from last year include "Shallow Hal", "Ocean's Eleven", "Monster's Ball", "Shrek", "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", and a few more. But as for the Top 5, that's it. E-mail me is you have some kind of opinion, whether it be negative or positive. But I doubt that there will be many positive comments.
