City Of God (2002)
Directed by: Kátia Lund & Fernando Meirelles
Written by: Paulo Lins & Bráulio Mantovani
Starring: Matheus Nachtergaele, Seu Jorge, & Alexandre Rodrigues

Summary:
Buscapé (Rodrigues) has spent his life in one of the roughest areas in Rio de Janeiro. Against all odds, he follows his dreams of becoming a photographer, which grants him the means to tell the story of the "Cidade de Deus", the housing project where he and his friends grew up.

My View:
Definitely one of the years best, and is on most critics lists so far. The most amazing thing about this picture (and there are many) are the dazzling, lush visuals that Meirelles and Lund have achieved, the results are true cinematic treats. Also the often shocking and always compelling storyline is crushingly contrasted by the sun-drenched visuals and upbeat soundtrack. I can't say enough good things about the camera work and cinematography, which perform things in this film that are very original and have never been seen before.

An all-round, technically masterful treatment of excellent subject matter which deserves all the critical praise it has received.

Signs (2002)
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, & Cherry Jones

Summary:
In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a five-hundred-foot crop circle is found on the farm of Graham Hess (Gibson), the town's reverend. The circles cause a media frenzy and test Hess's faith as he journeys to find out the truth behind the crop circles.

My View:
One of the most talked about and disputed films of the year. People either loved it or hated it. I loved it!

This is one of the most suspenseful movies I've ever seen period. Shyamalan can create more drama, and tension with his camera work than most movies can with any kind of special effects.

The cast is brilliant, from Mel right down to the two little kids. This flick also has a great pace to it, showing us a little at a time but not making us wait too long for a pay off. My recommendation, watch this movie for what it is, and don't critic it to death. You can find flaws in any movie, but it takes all the enjoyment out of it.

Gangs Of New York (2002)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Jay Cocks
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, & John C. Reilly

Summary:
The film starts in 1846 and ends in 1863 with the draft riots. The setting is New York's five points, the most violent part of the world at the time. The story is risen out of the conflicts between the white Anglo-Saxon "natives" and the Irish immigrants coming into the five points. One boy needs to avenge the death of his father...

My View:
This is just a great film. The kind of flick that that doesn't hold anything back; the violence, the lifestyles these characters live, and like always Mr. Scorsese leaves you with an array of sinful images.

The costuming and cinematography were brilliant, the sets built by hand are amazing, and the actors give performances of a lifetime. Scorsese has directed the film which should definitely be up for the running in the best picture category this year. While no review would be complete with out mentioning Daniel Day-Lewis's brilliant portrayal as Bill the Butcher. If he was not nominated this year for some kind of award, then it proves every single award for film is a sham.

Ararat (2002)
Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Written by: Atom Egoyan
Starring: David Alpay, Arsinée Khanjian, Christopher Plummer, & Eric Bogosian

Summary:
A film within a film, this is a contemporary story of the making of a historical epic about the Armenian holocaust between 1915 and 1918. The story line follows how making the film transforms the life of an 18-year-old man hired as a driver on the production.

My View:
This is definitely the best picture from Canada this year. Being Canadian myself I always try and expose as much Canadian cinema as possible. Atom Egoyan depicts the heartless and brutal first act of genocide against the Turkish-Armenians in the twentieth century in this picture, and it's done brilliantly.

Adaptation (2002)
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Susan Orlean & Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, & Tilda Swinton

Summary:
An account of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's (Cage) attempt to adapt Susan Orlean's (Streep) non-fiction book The Orchid Thief, which is the story of John Laroche (Cooper), a plant dealer who clones rare orchids then sells them to collectors. We see the action of the book as we see Kaufman struggle to adapt it into a movie. This is presumably a somewhat true story, as Charlie Kaufman is the real life screenwriter of Adaptation.

My View:
From the minds that brought us into the mind of John Malkovich in the fantastically absurdly "Being John Malkovich" warp reality with even more zeal in the perplexing, and yet entirely enjoyable "Adaptation."

I know that comedies don't win best picture Oscars, but Adaptation is one of the smartest and funniest comedies that I've ever seen! I can't say enough good words about this movie. Like About Schmidt, Adaptation may succeed in gently leading the general audience in an edgier direction, and this time the result is much more fun.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, & Luis Guzmán

Summary:
Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a small business owner with seven sisters whose abuse has kept him alone and unable to fall in love. When a harmonium and a mysterious woman (Emily Watson) enter his life, his romantic journey begins.

My View:
Another great offering from P.T. Anderson. People made the mistake of lumping this film with other Sandler movies, but it's not at all.

Punch Drunk Love isn't a typical Sandler movie – it's sophisticated and more clever, but also darker and more conflicted. I also found it a little uglier. This is a very well made movie, and the unpleasantness is conveyed mostly through cinematic techniques that are hard to write about without good notes.

I already knew that P.T. Anderson was an incredibly gifted filmmaker, but this just puts him even higher on my list.

Minority Report (2002)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Philip K. Dick & Scott Frank
Starring: Tom Cruise, Max von Sydow, Colin Farrell, & Samantha Morton

Summary:
Based on a Philip K. Dick short story, Minority Report is about a cop in the future working in a division of the police department that arrests killers before they commit the crimes courtesy of some future viewing technology. Cruise's character has the tables turned on him when he is accused of a future crime and must find out what brought it about and stop it before it can happen.

My View:
I saw this flick in the theatre when it came out and it's a very enjoyable and entertaining film. This film is almost an attack on the consumer world, with it's government controlled look at the future. Minority Report is at its heart a whodunit. The science fiction, outside of the PreCogs, is just a part of the scenery. Passive retinal scans constantly monitor citizen movements and are used to tailor a deluge of personal advertising. Highways have gone vertical. Police use personal jet packs. Spielberg's vision of the future is not as dark as Blade Runner, but it's still not very appealing.

The bottom line with Minority Report is that it is another total triumph for master director Steven Spielberg, who takes advantage of numerous special effects AND a wonderful story. It is one of the years best!

The Pianist (2002)
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Ronald Harwood & Wladyslaw Szpilman
Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, & Maureen Lipman

Summary:
A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.

My View:
There are a lot of holocaust movies out there, and many of them would hard to beat, for example Schindler's List. Watching The Pianist, it seems too take a whole new approach to this subject. It's much more grim than most, (I know it's hard to believe but it is) but again remains encouraging and hopeful.

Polanski himself is a Holocaust survivor who experienced intense loss, and you get a real feeling for this when you watch it. No emotional scene was cheesy, no scene appears "staged", no over dramatized acting, no tear jerking violins. And the result: an even more emotionally moving piece.

Bowling For Columbine (2002)
Directed by: Michael Moore
Written by: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore, Various Celebrities

Summary:
The United States of America is notorious for its astronomical number of people killed by firearms for a developed nation without a civil war. With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of this bloodshed. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage. In order to arrive at a possible explanation, Michael Moore takes on a deeper examination of America's culture of fear, bigotry and violence in a nation with widespread gun ownership. Furthermore, he seeks to investigate and confront the powerful elite political and corporate interests fanning this culture for their own unscrupulous gain.

My View:
Yes it's a documentary, but probably the best one I've seen in years. This is a brilliant documentary with a very a serious subject, yet it's presented with a very smart humor that keeps us watching.

It raises very valid points about gun control, while always raising the question of why guns are such a major part of American society. It was recently named the best documentary of all time by the International Documentary Association, so go see it.

Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Written by: J.R.R. Tolkien & Frances Walsh
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, & Orlando Bloom

Summary:
Sauron's forces increase. His allies grow. The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form. Saruman's army of Uruk Hai is ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected. A number of new allies join with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Pippin and Merry. And they must defend Rohan and attack Isengard. Yet, while all this is going on, Sauron's troops mass toward the City of Gondor, for the War of the Ring is about to begin.

My View:
I don't think people will fully realize the epic the Peter Jackson has created for them until the third and final installment Return Of The King comes out in 2003. This was obviously the toughest film in the trilogy to make because it has to definite starting or ending, but Jackson pulls it off brilliantly.

A lot of people are on the fence with this one but Jackson really id do another amazing job. I find myself getting really drawn into the story now, and the character development is brilliant. I think they've done a great job adapting the book to the screen. I know some hardcore fans were disappointed but they have to realize not everything can be left in.

Definitely the best film of the year, and I hope this year it does even better at the Oscars.