Best films of 2002, revised

This is mostly for posterity’s sake, and because I quite enjoy writing about film, but here for your consideration are my ten best of 2002. You’ll note that I said 2002 and not 2003. The latter is coming — I just need time to view everything!

I posted a tenuous list back of films back around Oscar time on the PlinkoMedia message board, but saw so many 2002 films after publishing that it’s woefully incomplete. So here, in descending order from least to most favourite, are my top 10 films of so so long ago.

10. Spider-Man
I tend to always reserve one spot for a film that, while it may not have the strongest script or the best acting, really succeeds in just flat-out entertaining me. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man has some woefully cheesy dialogue (Peter’s little pontification about Mary Jane in Aunt May’s hospital room is the best example) and the acting isn’t anything to write home about. Couple those with some shaky CG effects, and you begin to wonder why this film is on my list at all. But come on, it’s Spider-Man — hero to millions and more importantly me. All criticisms seem minor in the face of Raimi’s greatest achievement with this film — he brought this beloved cultural icon to life and did it with style, grace and incredible success.

9. Catch Me If You Can
Spielberg’s best movie of the year. It’s a fun, well-crafted story that sees great performances all around. Christopher Walken steals the show as the down-on-his-luck father, and DiCaprio proves himself to be far more than a one-trick pony. It’s marred by what’s become a fairly typical problem for Spielberg: he doesn’t know when to end his films.

8. About Schmidt
I saw Something’s Gotta Give recently and while I thought it was a strong romantic comedy, I was a bit disappointed to see Jack Nicholson return to his big grin, always-sneering, eyebrow-centric style of acting. In Schmidt, he rules the film as a truly sympathetic and relatable character. Framing the film as a series of letters to an ‘adopted’ child in a third world country is a reallly neat device and it works well. My only complaint is that I never understood why Hope Davis would marry such a hick.

7. Y Tu Mama Tambien
Yeah, if viewed from a distance it may seem like Spanish porn. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve never had a friend that I felt close enough to any of my friends to lounge around naked at the pool with them. But still, this film boasts really unique and appealing narration and an ending I really didn’t see coming. It’s essentially an intelligent take on the teenage road movie, and it’s one I’d recommend.

6. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
George Clooney’s directorial debut. (And if reports are to be believed, the only directorial work we’ll ever see from him) Yeah, it has Drew Barrymore, but so does Donnie Darko and I didn’t hear anyone complaining. Sam Rockwell is unbelievably good as our gameshow host/secret agent, and the script from Charlie Kaufman is, as we’ve come to expect from Kaufman, very very good.

5. The Quiet American
Brendan Fraser, you’re better than anyone will ever know. He and Michael Caine play off one another excellently in this Vietnam-era movie about love, relationships and getting shot at on rivers. Beautiful cinematography, and Caine absolutely earns his Oscar nom in every scene.

4. The Pianist
There have been no shortage of films about the Holocaust, but Roman Polanski’s semi-autobigraphical look at a Jewish family in Poland is unquestionably one of the best. Adrien Brody brings so much to his role. I knew that this film was meant to be on this list during one of the final scenes — when Brody emerges from his hideout in the broken city wearing an SS Officer’s jacket. When he’s almost shot by his Russian rescuers, I remember just silently pleading with the film to let him live. That, friends, is good filmmaking.

3. Adaptation
Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman bring us another brilliantly witty and intellectually complex film. Adaptation is about the creative process, and how it can be such a struggle, and its insight into that process is one unmatched by any other film I’ve seen (Moulin Rouge is the only other film I can think of that comes close). Even Nicolas Cage, who is constantly up there on my “Most despised actor” list, turns in an amazing performance, playing two characters and making them seem utterly distinct from one another. Much has been said about the film’s ending, but I thought it made complete sense when looked at with the rest of the film as a whole.

2. Punch Drunk Love
A slow, seemingly plotless film starring Adam Sandler succeeds in bringing new levels to the romantic comedy. Director Paul Thomas Anderson pushes Sandler’s acting further than anyone thought possible, and Barry Egan is an instantly empathetic character to a legion of shy, socially awkward teenagers. Try watching it and just focusing on Anderson’s score — it conveys almost as much as the dialogue does. Anderson is undoubtedly my favourite director working today and I’ll follow his work wherever it happens to go.

1. Igby Goes Down
Perhaps this should be my sentimental pick instead of Spider-Man, considering it wasn’t an altogether well-reviewed film, and it certainly lacks some of the artistry of other films on this list. However, I feel an instant bond to coming-of-age films and was especially moved by Kieran Culkin’s Igby and his struggle to find his place against a privelaged upbringing, a domineering mother and a schizophrenic father. Plus it has Jeff Goldblum AND Bill Pullman, so it is kind of like Independence Day 2!

Could have been on the list: Talk to Her, Bowling for Columbine, Frida, Road to Perdition, Minority Report, Signs, The Hours

Worst of that year: We Were Soldiers, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Thoughts or perhaps comments? 2002 was a pretty good year for films, looking back. I think 2003 is even better! That will be a fun list. You just wait, gentle readers.

Matt