The List

 

• 2003's Great Times
• 2003's Good Times
• 2003's Waste of Time, and
• 2003's I Had No Time, but I will sooner or later so chill!

 

Great Times

21 Grams

-Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu: By the end of the decade, this guy will be amongst the all time greatest

All the Real Girls

- Oh yeah, this David Gordon Green guy, he's good.  I likes A LOT!

City of God

-Brutal and beautiful.  Best Brazilian film since Pixote. 

Elephant

-Yeah I know there's the argument that Van Sant used a tragic event to show off his artsy camerawork and narrative construction, but nevertheless, this remains one amazingly moving and constructed film

Irreversible

-Caspar Noe may be trying to piss off lots of people, but he only seems to be pleasing us with an innovative and impactful film

Kill Bill Vol. 1

-Thanks for an ending that keeps us interested in what happens next rather than one that leaves you thinking: what the f***? Matrix: Reloaded anyone?

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

-Did what Godfather miserably failed at: delivering a third installment that surpasses the previous masterpieces in the trilogy…(and now the prequels!)

Lost in Translation

-I hear Sophia is getting a divorce…c’mon Spike she didn’t make you look like a total jerk.  Oh, and Bill Murray is great as the washed up movie star Bob Harris, but he’ll always be the charming, ghost chasing Dr. Peter Venkman to me.

Raising Victor Vargas

-Small movie, big heart.  Expresses so much with so little.

Spellbound

-This documentary was more nerve wrecking than my 1st grade spelling bee.  I finished 4th place without any practice, thank you very much.

 

 

Good Times

Better Luck Tomorrow

Finding Nemo

In America

The Matrix: Revolutions

May

School of Rock

Spun

Thirteen

28 Days Later

 

X2: X-Men United

Waste Of Time

The Eye

-Too much hype, very little scares

Freddy Vs. Jason

-This one is mostly a disappointment.  Hated hated hated hated the teens and lazy, boring script.

Fulltime Killer

-Misguided narrative that just cheated it’s way for surprises and more dumb surprises.

The Matrix: Reloaded

-Boring

The Real Cancun

-Really Boring

(I avoid bad films, the above should explain why)

 

Had No Time

American Splendor

Bad Santa

Bubba Ho-Tep

Bus 174

Intolerable Cruelty

Japon

Lilya 4Ever

Lost in La Mancha

The Man Without a Past

Mystic River

The Other Side of the Bed

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator

Ten

Winged Migration

Zero Day

 

Last minute stuff: The three best films that deserve a commercial release in the US soon

Man of the Year (Brazil)

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (South Korea)

 

The Baddest of the Badass

-Lil' Ze / Leonardo Firmino (City of God)

Even evil, raping, killing, drug lords cry when their best friend dies in their arms, but they move on and live to kill again another day

-The Bride / Uma Thurman (Kill Bill Vol. 1)

Just about anyone with a sword and their own theme music gets on this list

-Bob Harris / Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)

It's Bill being Bob -- or Bob being Bill?

-Jack Sparrow / Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Aspiring flamboyant pirates finally have someone to look up to

 

Defining Cinematic Moment of 2003

-The End of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Not only the most memorable event of 2003, but one of the most memorable in the history of cinema.