Movie Listing (2002)

Year of many transitions...things were taking a turn from crappy to better than expected. To the movies:

My favorite movies of 2002:

Chicago: directed by Rob Marshall, starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere and Queen Latifah. Followed brilliantly on Moulin Rouge!'s footsteps, and sustained the musical flag hoisted by its predecessor. (Wow, that's tacky!). Anyway, the acting is brilliant down to a T; Queen Latifah is always great, and is naturally poised; Renée is an outstanding actress, and she really surprised me in a musical, didn't think she'd pull it off; Richard Gere, if not a great actor (I mean, c'mon!), at least renders a great tapping number. But for me, there's no one like Catherine Zeta-Jones. She was born for the role, she can do it all! Awesome movie, totally deserved the oscar.

The Lord of the Ring - The Two Towers: directed by Peter Jackson, starring Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen and co. The first was awesome, this one was even better. Yes, some scenes were just to much too take (for example, Legolas using a shield to skateboard down the stairs while shooting the orcs non-stop...) - but c'mon! That's the spirit! If one wants to see reality, then one should stay home and watch the news. More battles, great action scenes and new characters, such as the annoying Eowyn and the cute underrated Faramir. Besides, it's full of comedy, specially between Legolas and Gimli. Priceless scene:

Gimli: "I cannot jump the distance, you'll have to toss me. [Pause] Don't tell the elf."

Aragorn: "Not a word." Ha!  

Spider-man: directed by Sam Raimi, starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco. I say Tobey is a great Peter Parker, with the right nerd vibe the role asks for! I don't like the Mary-Jane of the movie, and sustain the girl chosen for him - at least for the 1st movie - should've been his unforgettable sweetheart Gwen Stacy. BUT I really like Kirsten Dunst, and she does a good job with the character she was given. The plot's really good, and the build-up of Spider-Man was really well-done. As a fan of the comics, kudos to Sam Raimi for the direction and David Koepp for the adaptation. Movie adaptations from comics have really improved this decade, for which me and all the other geeks and nerds are thankful for!

Catch Me If You Can: directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. I thought I'd see some light-hearted police-thief movie. I didn't. But I had to give it up for Spielberg. What a great movie! Tom Hanks did his thing, which he's terrific at, no comments necessary. Christopher Walken too, he wowed me alright with that performance. Now: DiCaprio only confirmed what I had suspected when I saw The Man in the Iron Mask, many years before: he's a great actor. He plays a really charming and at the same time touching Frank Abagnale Jr. When he calls Hanratty cus he feels lonely, and has no one else to call on Christmas Eve... awww! Same thing goes for when he runs away from the police and tries to see his mother, my heart just broke into a thousand pieces. Hands down to DiCaprio-Spielberg combo!

Bowling For Columbine: directed by Michael Moore. "At the Cannes film festival, the movie received a standing ovation that lasted 13 minutes."(www.imdb.com) Why? Yes, Michael Moore can a be a freaking pain in the ass; yes, his movies are biased and deceptive; YES, he yacks and annoys you into being tired of his talk. Yes, he SHOULD tone it down. But let's give it to him: the guy's got some fair points. The U.S. IS a nation under the grip of fear; the media IS sensationalist and DOES frown upon the wrong people. Not only the U.S., mind, this is sheer human nature! It happens world wide. The interview with Marilyn Manson? Wow, that guy's got some serious thinking going on, and then some. Moore does edit his movie in deceptive ways, and plays us like violins - he excells at that. But he strikes a chord. 

Others worthy of notice that year:

Cidade de Deus (City of God), Ice age, Phone Booth

What I regret having watched in 2002: 

Moonlight Mile: BOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIING!!!!!! Couldn't wait for it to be over - and I like my drama alright! The acting was really good, though.

The Sweetest Thing: talk about vulgar, jeez...the three actresses are capable of soooo much better... even Cameron Diaz.

Swimfan: cheap and stupid, not to mention cliché. Don't get me started on the bad acting.

Sweet Home Alabama: I was embarassed for Reese Witherspoon... the characters woke no sympathy in me - and I'm an easy target! And the whole story with the lightning... I was just sorry for everyone involved in the movie.

Blue Crush: it was a joke, right? It's gotta be meant for mocking. 

Crossroads: the winner of the year, for sure! The Oscar for "Worst Screenplay In Freaking Movie History" , "Crappiest Leading Actress" (actress, pfff), "Crappiest Supporting Role", "The Most Harrowing Soundtrack" and "Shittiest Movie Ever". Besides, evidently, "Special Award: You Managed To Beat Glitter".