My Favourite Movies of 2001
I have ranked them according to my personal taste--depending on how they played to my senses. However, I have rated them with a degree of professionalism--with a critical view. Hence, the conflicts, i.e. some of my personally top-ranking movies may have fewer stars while some of the bottom-ranking movies may have more stars. Note: Ranking is subject to change, until the end of this year, and as I am able to see more new releases.
1) A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor
My Review: Like James Cameron's Titanic or Spielberg's Schindler's List, Spielberg's thought-provoking film about an intelligent robot-child's quest to become a "real" boy is unprecedented in cinematic style and hence unlike any movie I ever saw before. The chills and the effect the film had in reaching down to the very depths of my emotional being is testimony to the unique pole that this film deserves to stand on. Whatever controversies the film stirred, it is the juxtaposition of optimism and pessimism, and of hope and doom, and the engaging pace and unexpected twists in the plot that bring about this unique effect on me.
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2) Shrek
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
Voices of: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow
My Review: Not since 1991's Beauty and the Beast or 1989's The Little Mermaid has an animated movie given me such a sweet "feel good" feeling as did Shrek. Like most moviegoers, I was humored by the poking fun at Disney's favorite fairy tales and the talkative donkey (excellently voiced by Eddie Murphy who, if the Academy gave Oscars for voice-overs, should get one for this), but it was the moving love story, combined with the almost-human expressions of the characters (including the wonderfully "acted" Shrek character who was voiced as humanly as possible by Mike Myers), and the right combination of other characters, animation, film's pace, editing and the rock soundtrack, which made Shrek one of the most enjoyable movies in a long long time.
Director: Stephen Sommers
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, John Hannah
My Review: The Mummy Returns qualifies to the best standards that I can expect from a fantasy; mummies, pygmies, and that lovely sight of the floating dirigible just made my day! Director Stephen Sommers seems to have finally reached the pinnacle of directing what with the furious pace, slick editing, and non-stop action that quite almost matched with that of Speed.
Director: John Madden
Cast : Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale
My Review: Forbidden love, cultures at odds, dying traditions, betrayal, treachery, and a host of other numerous themes that haunt my soul make this film one of the most moving films I've seen this year. Penelope Cruz's strong performance, a haunting score, an engaging slow pace, and the lovely cinematography by John Toll (who earlier won Oscars for his cinematographic work on Braveheart and Legends of the Fall) make this film one of the most enduring movies of 2001.
7) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
My Review: Whatever faults lay with the animation of the characters in failing to make them look realistically human, it more than made up from the wonderful art direction which made this film to have one of the most haunting atmospheres in any film I have ever seen. I loved the pace of the film, the sound effects, and the way the film was carried. And like that moment when Jack and Rose "flew" on the bow of the Titanic, the scene where Aki and her Ben-Affleck-like ex-lover, floating in zero gravity, kissed near the window of the spaceship with the dark sky and glittering stars in the background to a soft haunting music is one of the most enduring romantic moments I have ever seen on the big screen. The film's mood of impending doom juxtaposed with hope stirs the kind of fantastic emotions that only a movie of this nature can offer.
My Review: One of the best love stories of the year. A realistic look at the gulf between cultures and how it overshadows human love and relationships. A haunting movie that creates genuine feelings and emotes sincere concern for the two young leads as they fight the world--and themselves--to be together at whatever cost.
4) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin
My Review: There is a lot of technical aspects -- like cinematography, art direction, sound, sound editing and Howard Shore's moving score -- which cinematically elevates The Fellowship of the Ring to heights which make it look even more epic and larger than Titanic, but the fact that the movie does not rise above its road picture/buddy adventure story is its major downfall. You enjoy it only for the duration it plays.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepherd
My Review: It is unfair to compare this movie with Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's enduring classic which deserves to stand on a pole of its own. Ridley Scott deserves credit for enacting a movie that is both a cinematic adrenaline rush and an enduring epic drama where human emotions run deep, where the nobility of the human spirit is once again laid bare in dire circumstances. Film editing, cinematography, and Hans Zimmer's haunting score all make up to give one hell of a cinematic time that is sure to last on the viewer's mind far far longer than its somewhat short two-hour running time. Perhaps, Peter Jackson should have had some tips from Scott to make his Fellowship of the Ring as enduring as Black Hawk.
