Here are the top ten movies I saw in 2003 (some may have been released in 2002) - in alphabetical order:
25th Hour (director: Spike Lee; writer: David Benioff)
Adaptation (director: Spike Jonze; writer: Charlie Kaufman)
City of God / Cidade de Deus (directors: Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles; writer: Bráulio Mantovani)
Cypher (director: Vincenzo Natali; writer: Brian King)
In America (director: Jim Sheridan; writers: Jim, Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan)
Intermission (director: John Crowley; writer: Mark O'Rowe)
Kill Bill vol. 1 (director: Quentin Tarantino; writers: Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman)
Pirates of the Caribbean (director: Gore Verbinski; writers: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio)
The Return of the King (director: Peter Jackson; writers: Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson)
Spirited Away / Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (director: Hayao Miyazaki; writer: Hayao Miyazaki)
Of them all, I would have to single out 25th Hour as the most impressive film I watched in 2003.
Article comments
1 - Jonathan
Ugh spirited away? I really didn't like that movie at all.
What about Gangs of New york? I really liked that one too.
2 - visualsimplicity
Any reason why you thought 25th Hour is the best of 2003 (for some reason I some how thought this came out at the end of 2002). I thought it was a huge disappointment, especially the cop out ending. I also thought it was one of those movies that was trying too hard to be profound that it was obvious and a little painful. The acting was superb though, except Anna Paquin, can't stand her.
3 - Maura
Tastes vary of course. This is the list of movies that stand out in my mind, and I don't expect everyone to agree.
I really enjoyed Spirited Away, while on the other hand I found Gangs of New York to be patchy and overblown. Daniel Day Lewis was spectacular, deserving of an Oscar, but he really showed up Leonardo DiCaprio's performance - his fresh-faced acting did not work for me. There were some wonderful set pieces, but the film never really knew where it was going, and overall was not cohesive. Of course, that's just my opinion! ;)
25th Hour, was, to my mind, a wonderful examination of issues to do with regret, nostalia, grief, and growing up. You can read my review here, and see why I rated it so highly.
As you might have noticed, I stated at the top that some of the films may have come out in 2002, but I saw them in 2003. I live in Ireland and movies are released here anything up to three-four months after their release date in the USA.
4 - visualsimplicity
I see, nice, I noticed I actually commented on your review. Anyway, I wasn't insulting your opinion, just wanted to hear your reasons as to why you made the choice you made. Oh and I did read your comment about 2002, I was just trying to pinpoint for myself when I saw the film.
5 - Maura
Hey Jack,
Don't worry I didn't take offense or think you were insulting my opinion. People have different tastes (someone out there probably liked Battlefield Earth, the freak), so there's nothing to be fussed about. :)
Happy New Year!
6 - Steve Rhodes
That is one difference between the top ten list of (many) critics and moviegoers (except those who live in NY and LA).
Critics see all the movies aiming towards awards at the end of the year (or earlier at film fests). And they get lots of hype, but most people can't see them until January, February or even later (if they even come to a theater near you at all).
One critic for the Bay Guardian even included a few films at the end of his list from last year that never were released in theaters.