Film critic picks best, worst films of 2003
2003 ranks as a year when old-school talents showed the world that they could still create a buzz despite society’s emphasis on youth. The late J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973 at age 81 and penned the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, reigned as box-office monarch thanks to “The Return of the King,” a towering epic directed by 42-year-old Peter Jackson. Clint Eastwood, 73 and still going strong, created “Mystic River,” one of the most disturbing works in Hollywood’s history.
The youth movement was also well represented in some of the best movies of the last 12 months.
Quentin Tarantino, who created a sensation with “Pulp Fiction” and then dropped out of filmmaking after “Jackie Brown,” revived his directing career with “Kill Bill Vol. 1,” a bloody good cinematic show. Nicole Kidman and Jude Law infused “Cold Mountain” with enough passionate heat to melt an iceberg, and director Sofia Coppola transformed 53-year-old comic actor Bill Murray into a performing powerhouse and a highly unlikely sex symbol during “Lost in Translation.”
One veteran talent didn’t fare as well last year.
Harrison Ford hit bottom with “Hollywood Homicide,” a comedy disaster with as much appeal as spending a weekend in Saddam Hussein’s spider hole. He was joined in the misfire parade by Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix Revolutions”), Reese Witherspoon (“Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”), Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez (“Gigli”) and – in two bombs – Angelina Jolie (“Beyond Borders” and “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”).
Here’s a look back at the 10 Best and 12 Worst (Dirty Dozen) films of 2003.
Best Films of the Year
1. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”: Rarely does a highly anticipated film live up to its advance buzz, but this time, the cinematic work surpassed it. Visually spectacular and emotionally charged, the final installment in director Peter Jackson’s $330 million adaptation of the Middle Earth trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien provides a spectacular finish to one of the most challenging cinematic series in Hollywood’s history. Although boasting cutting-edge visuals, the PG-13 picture succeeds due to its focus on the fellowship between the characters – brave fighters, good friends and loyal subjects – willing to sacrifice their lives and undertake extremely dangerous tasks for the greater good. Bravo.
2. “Mystic River”: Based on Dennis Lehane’s crime novel, this unsettling drama deals with an emotionally devastating, 25-year-old event shared by a trio of Irish men (Sean Penn of “I am Sam,’ Tim Robbins of “The Shawshank Redemption’ and Kevin Bacon of “A Few Good Men’) who were boyhood buddies. Their friendship shattered when one of them was abducted by two pedophiles (while the other two children innocently watched) and then was held captive for four days. Their lives intersect in their working class Boston neighborhood again years later when the daughter of one of the friends is murdered and ghosts from the past appear to hint at the killer’s identity. With great care and intelligence, Clint Eastwood directed the simultaneously bleak and brilliant picture, which is on a par with his Oscar-winning work “Unforgiven” (1992) and explodes with jarring power due to the performances by Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney.
3. “Cold Mountain”: Like Eastwood, director Anthony Minghella (“The English Patient”) brings a master’s hand to this adaptation of North Carolina writer Charles Frazier’s novel about a Confederate soldier (Jude Law) who deserts near the end of the war. He then begins an arduous journey across a frigid and deadly landscape to be reunited with a woman (Nicole Kidman) whose memory helped him to survive the war. Renee Zellweger wisely took a supporting role as a feisty mountain woman and will no doubt be rewarded with an Oscar as best supporting actress. Despite numerous downbeat moments, the R-rated film ultimately touches the heart as Minghella shows how love can triumph over any distance and through any hardship.
4. “Kill Bill Vol. 1″: Viewers either loved or despised this outrageous R-rated work, which marked a screen return for incredibly talented movie-geek-turned-filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. He created this revenge drama – starring Uma Thurman as a samurai-sword wielding avenger dubbed The Bride” – as a tribute to the type of over-the-top action and martial arts films he viewed in the 1970s at grind-house theaters. His dazzling effort made his fans wish that time would fly until Feb. 20, when “Vol. 2” arrives.
5. “Thirteen”: During this equally riveting and shocking tale, a seventh-grade student (Evan Rachel Wood’) experiments with oral sex, stealing, huffing spray cans, taking drugs, getting piercings and cutting herself. Debuting director Catherine Hardwicke, who wrote the script with the film’s co-star, 13-year-old Nikki Reed, pulls no punches. The edgy R-rated melodrama shows how girls still in middle school have become slaves to fashion and victims of unrealistic expectations based on physical attributes rather than intellectual criteria or emotional maturity.
6. “Lost in Translation”: A fading movie star (Bill Murray) looking back on his life and wondering what might have been and a recently married young woman (Scarlett Johansson) looking ahead and wondering what the future might hold strike up an unexpected relationship while suffering jet lag during a Tokyo visit. The subtle R-rated work by director Sofia Coppola requires viewers to surrender to the offbeat mood and try to absorb the nuances of the appealing characters who are at very difficult points in their lives but still find common ground.
7. “Elephant”: The 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, which claimed the lives of 13 people, inspired this equally unsettling and daring picture. Non-professional performers play the roles of students going through what seems like an ordinary day until two armed young men confront them. The low-budget work, directed by Gus Van Sant, never provides any answers for the senseless acts of violence, an approach that proves intensely disturbing. (The title refers to a problem that exists for so long that people no longer see it.)
8. “The Human Stain”: Based on Philip Roth’s novel, this perceptive drama revolves around the fallout that occurs when a respected New England college professor (Anthony Hopkins), who hides a family secret, is wrongly accused of racism during these politically correct times. What he initially views as a personal tragedy eventually leads him to a new, albeit short-lived life.
9. “The Magdalene Sisters”: This frighteningly believable, fact-based tale chronicles the horrors inflicted upon teenage girls by the Sisters of Mercy who ran a slave-labor laundry at Mary Magdalene Asylums in Ireland. Set in the 1960s, this stark R-rated drama, directed by Scottish filmmaker Peter Mullen, paints an ugly portrait of the treatment of young women who are sent to laundries – most often by their own families – as punishment for their sexual “sins.’ Those include anything from glancing at a group of boys to having a child out of wedlock. The victims are physically beaten, emotionally abused and psychologically shattered while working endless hours and subjected to hateful treatment designed to inflict maximum guilt and pain.
10.”Finding Nemo”: Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, who enjoyed huge success with the computer-animated smashes “Toy Story,’ “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life’ and “Monsters, Inc.,” re-teamed with this uplifting underwater tale. The colorful G-rated production follows a meek father fish who risks all by swimming into dangerous waters to rescue his lost son. The animators gave the touching tale enough heart to hook viewers of all ages.
The Dirty Dozen (12 worst films)
1. “Hollywood Homicide”: After the dismal failure of “K-19: The Widowmaker,’ which cast him as the somber captain of a Soviet submarine, Harrison Ford felt ready to loosen up. He made a big mistake by starring as an aging policeman in this action-comedy misfire that has him running in circles and looking more like Barney Fife than Indiana Jones.
2. “Gigli”: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez – better known in gossip columns as Ben & Jen – left all of their heat in their trailers. The half-baked comedy, which has them as mobsters kidnapping the mentally challenged brother of a government official, proves as scary as Glen Campbell’s mug shot.
3. “The Matrix Revolutions”: Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his cohorts – including Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) – attempt to terminate the rise of the machines once and for all in this uneven final installment of “The Matrix’ trilogy, created by filmmaking brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski. Although benefiting from some touching moments involving love, friendship, sacrifice and faith, the lackluster digital effects during attacks by thousands of soaring Sentinels prove mind-numbingly repetitious and the story simply gets lost in cyberspace.
4. “Timeline”: If the makers of this fantasy film can ever travel back in time, they’d be wise to destroy any documents that link them to this cinematic waste. Based on the bestseller by Michael Crichton, this uninspired adventure tale concerns some brilliant student archaeologists who agree to embark on a dangerous rescue mission that requires them to zoom back to 14th century feudal France. Soon after, the characters must run for their lives as they encounter lethal medieval warriors armed with swords, shields, clubs and bows and face disgruntled viewers who cheer each time one of the contemporary characters bites the dust.
5. “The Life of David Gale”: The controversial subject of capital punishment anchors this preachy melodrama about a disgraced Harvard-educated philosophy professor (Kevin Spacey) who’s convicted of murder in Texas and has four days remaining until his execution. The result is a misguided film more manipulative than a high-pressure salesman pushing vacation time-shares.
6. “Gods and Generals”: This overblown prequel of the stunning 1993 epic “Gettysburg’ focuses on the South as Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall’) and Gen. “Stonewall’ Jackson (Stephen Lang’) prepare to lead their forces into the War Between the States. Ted Turner bankrolled the $54 million production, which runs almost four hours, and he should personally pay viewers for the time they wasted watching it.
7. “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”: Screen favorite Reese Witherspoon recreates her brilliant, fashion-obsessed lawyer, Elle Woods, in this sadly misguided sequel that has the character traveling to Washington, D.C., to fight for animal rights. The theme about saving mistreated canines is worth applauding, but the flat film quickly becomes more tiresome than a Chihuahua that won’t stop barking.
8. “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”: The hard-bodied video-game character (again played by Angelina Jolie) returns for another adventure, this one a $100 million production involving an underwater temple containing a priceless object of power. Jolie is ready for action, but director Jan De Bont, who added so much excitement in “Speed,’ just lets her run in circles and destroys the franchise.
9. “Beyond Borders”: The premise of people suffering in faraway countries is used as a springboard for a romance between an unenlightened American woman (Angelina Jolie again) and a dashing doctor (Clive Owen) in this distasteful production. Directed by Martin Campbell, the $60 million tale quickly jumps between locations such as Ethiopia, Cambodia and Chechnya, an approach that leaves viewers feeling more jet lagged.
10.”Cold Creek Manor”: A well-off Manhattan couple (Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid) move to a rural area and then worry about a crazed madman (Stephen Dorff) who might attack them and really fear that their property value might plummet. Real estate agents might have been terrified, but no one else was.
11. “Alex & Emma”: Romance may be in the air, but unfortunately, but there’s no passion on the screen during this bland romantic comedy with Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson. It’s as appealing as being alone on Valentine’s Day.
12. “Dr. Seuss’ the Cat in the Hat”: Mike Meyers thought a good way to update the children’s classic was to throw in a prostitute reference. The sound you hear is Dr. Seuss spinning in his grave.