2003 Top Movies

It's not that often that a film comes around and totally floors me in the highest aspects that I expect of a great film as Cidade de Deus did. And it's not that often that I get so engrossed and extremely excited by such a film that had stayed in my memory for many days after with its powerful images, dialogues, characters, and deft direction. Combined with the flawless performances, some brilliant soundtracks, sharp editing, and dazzling cinematography, first-time director Fernando Meirelles has delivered to me an unforgettable cinematic experience that I'll treasure for a long time to come. Obrigado Fernando!

I don't think there's any shame to be making a song and dance about this spectacular film as it is deserving of high praise and its Oscar trophy for the 2002 Best Picture. It's dazzling, glitzy, glamorise, and extravagant but most of all... dynamic. Rob Marshall, take a bow.

Not a Tolkein fan but a solid movie.

I've been one of the few that did not actually enjoy the first two chapters of Fellowship and Two Towers but it is safe to say that The Return of the King has come to the fore on this occasion. The film this time around seemed to have an urgency to it that was lacking in the first two episodes and as such the pacing is more viewer-friendly, even if the movie clocked in at over three hours long. Director Peter Jackson furthers his vision with this film and united with the great efforts from his trusted actors and crew they've created a grand picture of true epic proportions that IMO the Academy will have little hesitation in honoring as their best for 2003.

Better Luck Tomorrow is a movie that I have a lot of time for. It is a striking movie that was both heartfelt and haunting in its conclusion. Had it not been for the great performance from Parry Chen and writer/director Justin Lin, the film would have suffered into a cliche about your average ethnic minority/high school/teenage angst. One of the scenes that I love and was most mesmerizing was the "graduation photo shoot" sequence.

If you've seen Lost in Translation and had the opinion that nothing much happens in the movie except for two lonely Americans in a foreign country trying to make a break for a place of more familiar faces and surroundings than you're right and didn't miss much of what was portrayed on screen. This was also my reaction to the movie on initial viewing but to reject the film on surface level will only cheat your emotions of understanding. The heart of the movie did not strike me until days later when reflecting back on the ending where Bob and Charlotte embrace each other and depart with a sense of more purpose and direction ahead. The performances from Bill Murray and the gorgeous Scarlett Johnansson are so sublime that you want to belong in the moment.

The more I think about this movie the more I'm warming up to it. This coming-of-age romance is a gentle film that is both authentic and genuine due to the honest and raw performances from the two main leads in focus.

Overwhelmed!! Tarantino movies are like bubble gum for the artistic senses... no matter how many times you chew on it, it never seems to lose its flavour! The soundtrack within the movie is once again the highlight of this enthralling film, a splendid mixture of 70's music, Japanese folk, and Spaghetti Western tunes that truly heightens the scenes/characters.

There was a sense of tension that I felt while watching The Pianist but the movie is not a thriller as such. It plays more like a documentary as we observe the oppressed situations and surroundings through the views of the pianist - Wladyslaw Szpilman. Once awhile you get jolted back with the realisation of a gun to the head or a similar graphical execution. The production design and scenery were also outstanding.

However, the movie lost some of its realism by having the Polish, German, & Russian people speak english and not their own language.

Seabiscuit is an uplifting film that will undoubtly please the audiences. Although the movie starts off leisurely with the introduction of the four main leads (owner, trainer, jockey, & horse), it sustains a fascinating second and third stretch with an energectic finish - albeit sentimental. But that was also the style of the horse's racing pattern, winning over the crowd with his big heart.

This movie won me over with its big heart and inspiring tale that was uplifting and a crowd-pleaser. Seabiscuit had avoided the common pitfalls of being too manipulative and sentimental to be enjoyed from barrier to post. All the main leads were great with the standout coming from Chris Cooper and William H. Macy.

This movie was bizarre but in a good and enchanting way. The soundtrack and music even more so and really occupies your mind well after seeing it. Adam Sandler's performance was a welcoming turn from his tiresome moronic characters that he often plays.

Good but not in the league of greatness like "Do The Right Thing". Excellent performances all around, with standouts from Pepper, Hoffman & Pacquin. Some great sequences, particularly the "F%#$ Y@&" monologue that rivals the same outburst from DtRT, and the peculiar relationship/tension between Jacob & Mary in the nightclub was just a superb scene.

This latest offering from Spike Lee is a mesmerizing affair of friendship, loyalty, and comradely. The performances were uniformly outstanding from Norton, Pepper, Hoffman & Pacquin while the dialogue was another added strength of this movie.

Matchstick Men is not only entertaining but offers educational references that viewers can take with them 'in case'... they happen to come across such individuals/groups. The performances from the three main leads were great, in particular of Cage (in which I've become to loathed as an actor but has come good in his last two movies) where you become to feel for his downfall. Matchstick Men is a casual viewing movie from a Director - Ridley Scott, probably the hardest working Director in Hollywood - who even not in his top form can skillfully produce such an enjoyable movie as this.

Contrived ending but overall the movie was engaging and played out like a slow and sexy strip tease that only disappointed to the ending. The Gyllenhaal siblings do have a talent for playing weird and suppressed characters (Jake in 'Donnie Darko' & 'The Good Girl' while Maggie in this movie)

For those who enjoyed Training Day, Narc would be easily watchable for you. The performances of Jason Patric and particularly Ray Liotta will have you glued to the very end.

Much like Happiness I think Irreversible is the same kinda film that it would be hard to recommend. You can come to admire and respect the film-making techniques of this movie but I think it'll either offend or disgust many that you don't want to be the person responsible for their walkouts and hatred of the images they'll be seeing on screen. So be warned, this movie is not the kind of movie you should bring your family to see and it is definitely the "anti-first-date" movie.

Irreversible is indeed a powerful movie but also profoundly 'ugly' - one you'll have trouble in watching it the first time let alone a repeated viewing.

The storytelling style is very much similar to Memento but the similarities stops there.

It does have two most unrelenting scenes you'll ever see in film history. But to get through to those scenes, viewers must put up with a jolting hand-held camera scene that rivals The Blair Witch Project for most nauseating in recent memory. It only last for the first 20 minutes or so though and the technique does have motif and becomes very effective in showcasing our protagonist's rage.

Soft-core porn/erotica; though it does have some content to its style so it's worth a screening... I guess

The plot is as small as the phone booth that Colin Farrell occupies thoughtout the whole movie. Although Farrell's and Keifer's performances was good, no one else really gets a chance to do much because of the one-concept-idea of the script. Enjoyable but is easily forgotten.

With such a promising ensemble cast and a credible writer of such top films as Four Weddings & A Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones Diary, it was rather a disappointment. The film wants to be so many things and with a promising introduction setting up for an emotional charge by the end, Love Actually failed to deliver on all nine (interwoven) cylinders. And though the films does not take itself seriously as it is predominantly a romantic comedy, at times I'd wished that there were some dramatic composure with certain scenes and characters. Sure, the movie is set to please and bring a smile on many faces but I doubt that it has the true qualities to leave an everlasting one. Pretentious, Actually.

If you've seen the trailer for this movie, then you've seen this movie. One or two chuckles but not that funny at all.

I don't remember this John Leguizamo movie ever receiving a theatrical release. Good thing because it would've saved many viewers their money and time. One word of caution; avoid the trailer at all cost if you really want to enjoy the turn-in-events in the movie that happens in the final act. Another negative was the voice-over narrative by John Leguizamo who plays the leading character. That technique did not work for me here and when the ending of the movie came it was just totally the stupidest thing of I've seen.

For those who hated Bullet Proof Monk then you'll have a real hard time enjoying this movie. Only plus I can give with this movie was wathching Claire Forlani & Christy Chung in action - 'chicks who can kick'

With a strong ensemble cast and a skilled Director, one would think that this movie would be delivered as one of the great action/thrillers of the year but it became far too complicated with too many twists and deception that I could not care for towards the end. It probably read much better conceptually as a script then what was translated on screen.

The music is inspirational with the beats every bit of it contagious but the documentary film-making was dull and ineffective. This is the case where the music and soundtrack spoke through the screen but leaves little for the visuals and storytelling.