CaptainD's Top Ten Movies of 2002
Feb 23 '05 (Updated Oct 27 '06)
The Bottom Line My top twelve from 2002 - need I say more?
Well here they are, my top ten (update: twelve...) films of 2002 (in reverse order):
12
Catch Me If You Can
Genre: Biopic comedy
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: 12A (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken
Length: 141 minutes
Synopsis: Based on the true life story of con artist extraordinaire Frank Abagnale Jr (Di Caprio), this follows his life course from early childhood to successful fraudster, and his pursuit by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks), who eventually manages to arrest him. But the story doesn’t end there…
Verdict: Not bad, a bit humdrum till the final section when the film really takes off.
11
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams
Genre: Kids’ action / comedy movie
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Rating: PG
Starring: Daryl Sabara, Alexa Vega, Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino,
Length: 99 minutes
Synopsis: In a reverse of the plot of the first film, this time the parents have to rescue the kids from a strange island.
Verdict: It’s all good fun but with the emphasis shifted onto special effects and gadgets, the sequel loses much of the charm of the first film. Quite funny though and definitely entertaining, though less so than the first (for adults at least).
10
Spider-Man
Genre: Superhero
Director: Sam Raimi
Rating: 12A (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Tobey McGuire, Kirsten Dunst, William Dafoe
Length: 121 minutes
Synopsis: Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider and, as is the way, develops superpowers instead of dying. Then it’s off to fight crime and particularly the Green Goblin…
Verdict: This first outing for Tobey McGuire as the swinging superhero is pretty good, though I felt it was overly violent. Enjoyable if you like superhero movies.
9
Chicago
Genre: Musical
Director: Rob Marshall
Rating: 12A (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, Richard Gere
Length: 113 minutes
Synopsis: A musical based on the hit theatre production.
Verdict: Though it lacks any truly memorable songs, Chicago features some spectacular choreography, good performances by both lead actresses and Gere, and some of the best satirical criticism of the entertainment world since All About Eve (though it falls some way short of that film).
8
Minority Report
Genre: Sci-fi thriller
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: 12 (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow , Colin Farrell
Length: 145 minutes
Synopsis: The chief of the Pre-Crime unit gets implicated in a murder himself. The race is on for him to find out who set him up and clear his name, as well as uncover the secret flaw in the system... A thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi action thriller that doesn't dumb down the scenario too much. Not quite as atmospheric as Bladerunner but then few films are.
7
Bend It Like Beckham
Genre: Sport movie / Romantic comedy
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Rating: 12 (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Parmider Nagra, Kierra Knightly, Jonathon Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kher
Length: 112 minutes
Synopsis: An Indian girl playing football? Her family abhor the idea and do everything possible to stop her. But sometimes you just have to follow your dream…
Verdict: A highly enjoyable social satire with energetic performances all round, this was one of the surprise hits of 2002 – and it was filmed very close to where I used to live!
6
Two Weeks Notice
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Mark Lawrence
Rating: 12A (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock, Alicia Witt
Length: 101 minutes
Synopsis: A very unlikely couple are thrown together by circumstance, but their animosity slowly fades away as they get to know each other…
Verdict: This would have been a fairly pedestrian and formulaic romantic comedy if not for some excellent dialogue that wouldn’t feel out of place in one of the classic Cary Grant comedies. It’s a pity this quality of witty dialogue is so lacking in the vast majority of movies these days… even sadder that so many of the best lines were completely lost on most of the audience! (“Why did I get involved in podiatry?” … “Because I love children!”)
5
White Oleander
Genre: Character Study / Drama
Studio: Pandora / arner Brothers
Director: Peter Kosminsky
Rating: 12 (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Alison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Robin wright Penn
Synopsis: A mother's love can be both beautiful and poisonous... as a young girl called Astrid (Lohman) finds out when her mother Ingrid (Pfieffer) is sent to jail for a crime of passion...
Verdict: An excellent character study that falls into none of the usual traps of over-sentimentality and demonising of men that many films with predominantly female casts trip over themselves to fall into. Superbly directed and brilliantly acted. I hadn't really been expecting to like this one but I thought it was truly excellent.
4
Ice Age
Genre: Animated Comedy
Studio: Dreamworks
Director: Chris Wedge & Carlos Saldanha
Rating: U (UK) PG (USA)
Starring (Voices): Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary
Synopsis: An ice age is coming, and a couple of animals find themselves in the unlikely position of saving not only themselves but the infant one of the most dangerous creatures of all… humans.
Verdict: A wonderful animated movie, this has the added quality of being heart-warming and… well… nice, as well as funny and entertaining.
3
Nicholas Nickleby
Genre: Period Drama
Director: Douglas McGrath
Rating: PG
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Anne Hathaway, Christopher Plummmer
Length: 132 minutes
Synopsis: Based on the Charles Dickens novel of an orphan making his way in the world and finding out about his past, this is a literal translation of the book without any attempt to modernise it.
Verdict: I’m not a great fan of Dickens and wasn’t really expecting to enjoy this, so I approached it with great caution. However, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable films of the year. Impressive performances and a script that never disappoints combined with effective period costumes and sets made this arguably the best film version of a Dickens novel yet made.
2
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Genre: Biopic
Director: Phillip Noyce
Rating: PG
Starring: Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan, David Gilpili, Kenneth Branagh
Length: 94 minutes
Synopsis: The story (based on a true event) of two girls’ escape from the English colonists along the “rabbit-proof fence” that ran right the way down Australia.
Verdict: Impossible fights against the establishment always make for a good story, and this one has the added benefit of being based on something that really happened. The girls in the main roles are fabulous, and though he plays a relatively minor (albeit important) character, Branagh’s performance must rank as one of his best. I admit I’m not really a fan of his, but his portrayal of an arrogant man who nevertheless genuinely believes that what he is doing is in the Aborigines’ best interests is quite touching. The photography in this film ranks, as far as I’m concerned anyway, as some of the best in cinema history.
JOINT
Somehow I'd forgotten this was done in 2002, I was about to put it in my 2001 list when I realised my mistake!!
About A Boy
Fenre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Rating: 12 (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Weisz
Length: 101 minutes
Synopsis: When a childess bachelor named Will who's always refused to grow up decides to join a single parents group in order to meet more women, he gets a lot more than he bargains for. Young Marcus, an unhappy child whose mother attempted suicide, begins to look upon him as a role model but ends up teaching Will a lot about being an adult. Things get a lot more complicated when both Will and Marcus start becoming interested in unavailable women, and Marcus' mother becomes very suspicious of Will... Okay that makes it sound pretty awful, but this is a very, very funny film with a great musical scaore by Badly Drawn Boy. Also my No.1 romantic comedy, it never fails to have me in hysterics.
1
Lord of the Rings - Two Towers
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Peter Jackson
Rating: 12A (UK) PG-13 (USA)
Starring: Elisha Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis
Length:179 minutes
Synopsis: The second part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The fellowship of the ring split up, with Frodo and Sam heading towards Mordor (meeting Gollum along the way), and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli chasing after the Orcs from Isengard who have captured Merry and Pippin.
Verdict: This was always going to be my top film from 2002 and in my opinion is by far the best of the three Lord of the Rings films. (And no matter how much hype has been built up about the battle scene in Minas Tirith in The Return of the King, I still prefer the battle for Helm’s Deep in this one.) The changes from the book that were made were logical and in keeping with the spirit of the great book, something which I didn’t feel was the case in the final film of the trilogy. The Two Towers is as close to perfection as action film-making gets. (My sisters went to see it at the cinema over 20 times! – that’s certainly never happened before or since…) A truly outstanding film.
My Top Ten Lists:
Top Ten Movies of 2003
The Top Ten Movies of All Time
Romantic Comedies
Science Fiction Films
Top Ten Star Trek Movies
Top Ten Science Fiction Series
Animated Movies
Top Ten Spoof Movies
Top Ten Musicals
Top Ten Superhero Movies
CaptainD
http://www.darscom.net
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