(December 29 , 2001) -- The movies of the modern age can be divided -- increasingly -- into two distinct categories. "Shrek" and "Amelie" simply aren't on the same shelf.
On one hand, you have highly commercial films that are likely to play on a thousand or more multiplex screens, and depend heavily on a strong opening weekend. They're typically made with substantial budgets, go through intense demographic scrutiny and test screenings, and are aimed at the broadest possible public.
In many cases, such films are as familiar as your route to the theater and as stale as the day-old popcorn yuo eat when you get there.
But occasionally, artful filmmakers work through the process to create memorable and exciting fare. Such films typically get lots of consideration for Oscars and top-ten lists, and allow studio executives to be proud of how they make their money.
But there's another whole category of movies -- films that come out of a more independent tradition, are typically made for lower budgets and without extensive demographic screening, and usually earn their reputation as film festivals before moving on to the nation's art houses.
Certainly, the lines get blurred. Occasionally, independent filmmakers like the Coen brothers work for a major studio; or a big-time Hollywood filmmaker creates an odd-ball curio with very little popcorn appeal. In the lists that follow, a few of the films could certainly jump from one list to the other.
My choice for movie of the year -- Steven Spielberg's "Artificial Intelligence: AI" -- is just such a film. (Maybe that's because of its split personality. It began life as a project of the late Stanley Kubrick. It's part Kubrick, part Spielberg.)
So I've decided to present my choices for best films of 2001 on two lists -- representing the multiplex studio fare and the art house independent and foreign titles.
First, movies that deserve FRESH popcorn:
1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: AI, the most under-appreciated film of the year, a stunning and deeply affecting study of the nature of humanity. True, audiences dismissed or disliked the film in droves; partly because of the misguided marketing that promised cuddly cuteness. With all due respect, such audiences were wrong. It's a masterpiece.
2. A BEAUTIFUL MIND, a moving saga about a man with REAL intelligence, John Forbes Nash Jr., who overcame schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize.
3. MOULIN ROUGE, another under-appreciated gem, a highly original and stunning looking musical.
4. BLACK HAWK DOWN, a powerful modern war movie, free of judgements, pronouncements or sentiment, and loaded with relevance to the new style warfare and tribal adversaries of the 21 century.
5. HARRY POTTER, a faithful, fun-filled adaptation of the oh-so-popular book on wizards, witches and wonder.
6. IN THE BEDROOM, a wrenching tale of a New England family, torn by tragedy and dark passions.
7. THE SHIPPING NEWS, an affecting, literate story of personal redemption, in a hard and frosty Newfoundland fishing village.
8. LORD OF THE RINGS: The FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, another rousing tale of wizards and wonder, darker and more action-packed that "Potter."
9. SHREK, the year's best comedy, a very clever computer-animated fractured fairytale.
10. MONSTERS, INC., another nearly as good animated saga, an imaginative story about the things that go bump in the night in our childhood dreams.
Now for the movies best seen with cappuccino and a biscotto:
1. AMELIE, the art house film of the year, a lovely, amusing, romantic fable of pure joy.
2. NO MAN'S LAND, the first Bosnian film with a shot at an Oscar, an intense and sometimes darkly funny anti-war saga about two opposing combatants, trapped together in a trench.
3. IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, Wong Kar-wai's lush, up-close tale of romance and infidelity, spotlighting the small details and near-misses that mark our lives.
4. THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, a subtle and smart John Le Carre story of a washed-up spy whose delusions of grandeur lead to trouble.
5. FAITHLESS, a heartwrenching confessional from the legendary Ingmar Bergman, created from his script by one of his most popular and talented students, actor-turned-director, Liv Ullmann.
6. SEXY BEAST, a gritty, clever, and surprisingly romantic British gangster saga, with a knockout portrayal by Ben Kingsley.
7. THE ENDURANCE: SHACKLETON'S LEGENDARY ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, the year's best documentary, the story of the most amazing survival-and-rescue mission in history.
8. INNOCENCE, Paul Cox's intimate portrait of rekindled love, late in life.
9. MEMENTO, a clever mystery whose most memorable trait is its backwards storytelling technique.
10. THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, the Coen brothers' artful take on film noir, about a barber whose schemes backfire, horribly.
When you mention the best, people also want to know about the worst. As a guy who spends a lot of time in theaters, I try my best to forget the awful films as soon as possible. Why waste the time remembering them?
Still, I looked back over 2001 and found a half-dozen disasters worth chastizing one more time. They are:
1. TOWN AND COUNTRY, a no-laughs ensemble comedy with a prestigious cast (including Warren Beatty). The studio kept it on the shelf for many months before releasing it. It should have stayed on that shelf forever.
2. SAVING SILVERMAN. You know you're in trouble when the film's highlight is a cameo appearance by Neil Diamond.
3. HOW HIGH, a stupid drug comedy that goes up in smoke. You can Bogart THIS joint all you want.
4. FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN, a breakthrough computer animated film, in terms of realism, it forgot to include an intriguing story or characters worth caring about.
5. ONE NIGHT AT McCOOL'S, an overheated saga about a sexy woman and the three men who have different memories of her. I'm working to have no memory of the film.
6. SWEET NOVEMBER, a bittersweet romance that fails to bloom, despite lots of manure.
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