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[bryant]

I’d been thinking it wasn’t a great year in film, but looking back on it I was dead wrong. It was, in fact, a superb year in film. The disappointments of the Matrix sequels and The Hulk (which I liked, but it should have been so much more) kind of cast a pall on the summer for me, I think. And I wanted Demonlover and Bubba Ho-Tep to be excellent, and neither of them really made me get up and dance. Metaphorically speaking.

So I started putting together my favorite movies of 2003 list. I wound up this kind of decent list, but I wasn’t all that excited about it, and then I went back to look at my reviews from the blog. That reminded me of what I said in February and what I said in August and I got a lot more cheerful.

This is the list of my ten favorite movies of 2003. I didn’t see every movie I wanted to see, so I can’t claim it’s the ten best movies of 2003. I’m also being a little liberal about foreign flicks; if it was made in 2002 but was released in the US in 2003, or if it hasn’t been released in the US yet but I saw it in 2003, I’ll count it as a 2003 movie. Foreign movies from 2001 and earlier don’t make the cut, though. (Apologies, thus, to Vidocq, Battle Royale and Audition.)

Enough preamble; on to the lists. It’s my personal favorite ten movies, plus other movies I thought were really worthwhile but not quite good enough to crack the top ten, plus some movies I wish I’d seen but missed.

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Comments

[that-cad.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see that Lost in Translation made the Top Ten cut. I'd have been pissed had it not. ;)

[bryant]

I'd have been an idiot had it not. I went to four stores in the space of 20 minutes in order to pick up Virgin Suicides on New Year's Day before everything closed, because I wanted more of Sophia Coppola's work immediately.

[multiplexer.livejournal.com]

You missed out with American Splendor. I saw it and felt it was absolutely marvelously fantastic. Not just because it's about indie comic books, but because it cut in an out with the real Harvey Pekar.

Also, Whale Rider should somehow be in your Top 10. If you did not see it, it's on video so go rent it. Then readjust your Top 10 to include it. You should be well butt-kicked for missing it entirely. :)

[multiplexer.livejournal.com]

I see you DID mention Whale Rider and then said you didn't like it, so now I go thhhhhhhhhhhhhhhpt.

I agree about the last 20 minutes of Last Samauri, though.

[bryant]

I didn't even /see/ Whale Rider. I ignored it /completely/.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I must recommend Almodóvar's "Talk To Her". It is superb, and my top movie of the year.

[bryant]

Embarassingly, I've never been able to get into Almodovar. But I'll try again.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

If it's his wackiness that puts you off, this movie is, aside from a small, ultra-wacky vignette in the middle, very low on the wacky.