CaptainD's Top Ten Movies of 2002Feb 23 '05 (Updated Oct 27 '06) Write an essay on this topic.
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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: The Top Ten Movies of All Time
Top Ten Science Fiction Series
Top Ten Superhero Movies
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