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2003 - A Year That Made Me Want to Hop a Plane for New ZealandOct 13 '08 (Updated Aug 28 '09) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line The last year for Lord of the Rings has a lot of other good movies to recommend it as well. 2003 was a big year for me. It was the year I graduated from college. It was also the year that the final installment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy hit theaters. I watched the buzz for the movie build and cheered when its momentum carried it to an astounding 11 Oscars. I still have the magnificent full-color, two-page ad from The New York Times, featuring 20 cast members and lavish praise from critics, hanging on my bedroom wall. Every movie of that year was lead-up to the completion of the trilogy. Return of the King - What a finale it was! I'm still undecided as to whether I prefer this or Fellowship, but despite some eyebrow-raising deviations, this has so much to recommend it. The gorgeous music, in particular the addition of the Gondorian flute, the end-credits theme and the way it merged so beautifully with the hobbits' theme, and Pippin's devastating serenade to the deranged Denethor. Indeed, I was surprised to find myself as moved by Pippin in the third film as I was by Sam, whose "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you" moment is perhaps the most crucial scene in the trilogy. I also loved the extended denouement; I heard several unfavorable comparisons to The Wizard of Oz, but a nine-hour epic deserves a little winding-down time. And I can't tell you how pleased I was that the final line remained intact. Big Fish - If nothing else, this Tim Burton film is eye-catching, with alluring visuals of which ABC's Pushing Daisies reminds me. The flashback scenes are impossibly vibrant, to match the Kodachrome recollections of the larger-than-life main character. Ewan McGregor is at his most charming; it's nice to see him smile so expansively when he always seems so serious as Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's interesting that this movie was released the same year as Second-Hand Lions, as both deal so much with fabled histories and the unclear line between truth and fiction. Bruce Almighty - I first learned of this movie at a 2002 Don McLean concert in Buffalo. The band opening for him was local, and in introducing a song they had written about playing God, they mentioned that Jim Carrey was going to be in a movie set in Buffalo in which his character is briefly given God's powers. It wound up being the only 2003 movie I saw opening night; even Return of the King waited until after Christmas. While the movie has its off-color moments, I found it to be generally reverential rather than blasphemous, and I found Morgan Freeman's portrayal respectful. It's a movie that invites audiences to explore important theological questions while getting a laugh or two along the way. Calendar Girls - The lush English countryside is just one of the beauties on display in this touching film that celebrates friendship, family and femininity. Based on a true story, it's about a group of older women who take on an unusual fundraising project, ruffling plenty of feathers as they produce a calendar featuring themselves engaged in a variety of typical household activities - wearing nothing. There's a ripple of naughtiness throughout the film, but it's all very tasteful, and the calendar's unintended consequences make for a compelling story. Cold Mountain - Easily the most depressing among my favorites of the year. In fact, I hesitated over whether to list this, but its epic scope, its gorgeous scenery, its stirring music and its outstanding performances compel me to include it. Nicole Kidman is impressive as always, and Jude Law vanishes into his taciturn role, unrecognizable as the smarmy robot in A. I., where I first encountered him. Lest the whole thing get too grim, Renee Zellweger's spunky performance provides the perfect amount of comic relief. Finding Nemo - Perhaps the most visually pleasing Pixar film to date. The movie is absolutely gorgeous, a wonderland of tropical seascapes teeming with aquatic life of every description. The animation is outstanding. But it's the heartfelt father-son story and the quirky Pixar touches that keep this quest story exciting from start to finish. Extra kudos to Ellen Degeneres for her voice work, which steals the show much as Robin Williams' did in Aladdin. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Oh, what fun it is to watch Johnny Depp swagger across the screen as Captain Jack Sparrow! His performance is mesmerizing, particularly in this first installment when the character was so fresh and novel. A rip-roaring adventure with a terrific cast and plenty of swashbuckling antics and spooky special effects, I rate this one the best of the piratey bunch, a super stand-alone film. The School of Rock - Schlubby Jack Black blunders his way into a job teaching music to privileged youngsters. They're snobby; he's clueless. As in all such movies, however, it isn't long before they start learning from each other. The kids loosen up, their unqualified teacher learns to care about someone besides himself, and the audience gets to listen to some terrific music. Besides, it's a hoot. Second-Hand Lions - I liked this even better than Big Fish. The fact that it assembles three of my favorite actors - Haley Joel Osment, Robert Duvall and Michael Caine - doesn't hurt. A gawky lad with a self-absorbed (and self-destructive) mom gets dumped with his eccentric bachelor uncles for the summer. Slowly they warm toward one another, finding new passions and unearthing old ones. Like Big Fish, this reminds me of Pushing Daisies, but for a different reason; the reclusive brothers are much like Chuck's aunts, hiding from the world, one nursing more bitterness than the other, both rejuvenated by the arrival of a young stranger who turns out to need them. Of all the movies of 2003, this is the one that was most unjustly overlooked. Whale Rider - I often comment on the fact that Lord of the Rings so gloriously showcases New Zealand, probably driving thousands of tourists there every year. But in this movie, New Zealand isn't serving as a beloved fictional landscape. Here, we actually see the country as itself. This lengthy film offers a fascinating peek into Maori culture and mythology, telling the powerful, life-affirming tale of a young girl struggling to find her place within a patriarchal world. The themes of family, ecological responsibility, spirituality and community entwine in a movie buoyed by the extraordinary performance of its young star. And so the list begins and ends with New Zealand, with a fair bit of globe-trotting in between. 2003: a year of adventure. Other 2003 Movies I've Reviewed: Elf * Bringing Down the House * Jungle Book 2 * Alex and Emma * Daddy Day Care Best of Lists: 1999 * 2000 * 2001 * 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007 * 2008  |
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