Seabiscuit (2003)
Directed by: Gary Ross
Written by: Laura Hillenbrand & Gary Ross
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Tobey Maguire, & William H. Macy

Summary:
A half-blind ex-prizefighter (Maguire) and mustang breaker (Cooper) team up with a millionaire (Bridges) and his rough-hewn, undersized horse, Seabiscuit. The men bring Seabiscuit incredible heights, helping him earn Horse of the Year honors in 1938. Based on a true story.

My View:
Not caring to see this film, I was dragged by my horse loving girlfriend and was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved every minute of it. Seabiscuit is an underdog story with tons of heart that never falls victim to tacky cliches. It seems I wasn't alone in my love for the film as it's box office expectations were blown away and it became one of the biggest hits of the year with audiences everywhere.

The acting is superb, with Chris Cooper, in my view giving the best performance of the film. The score couldn't be more perfect and the documentary style beginning set the tone for the rest of the picture brilliantly. The race scenes were the most intense horse racing scenes I've ever seen in any film.

Seabiscuit definitely had the most heart of any film last year, just like the little horse that no one said could win.

Whale Rider (2003)
Directed by: Niki Caro
Written by: Witi Ihimaera & Niki Caro
Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, & Vicky Haughton

Summary:
On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

My View:
I initially thought that this film looked kind of boring, but when I actually sat down to watch it I couldn't believe how captivating the story was. Keisha Castle-Hughes definitely deserved her oscar nomination. Our hearts ache for this child as she desperately tries to step into the role she was born to be.

Roger Ebert called Whale Rider one of the best family films he had ever seen, but it was given a PG-13 rating for a "momentary drug reference". The reference is a small pipe seen on screen for half a second, if you blinked you'd miss it. I agree with him that this is a great family film, but kids won't get to experience it until they're older with this terrible rating system that we have.

Mystic River (2003)
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Written by: Dennis Lehane & Brian Helgeland
Starring: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, & Laurence Fishburne

Summary:
Childhood friends Jimmy Marcus (Penn), Sean Devine (Bacon) and Dave Boyle (Robbins) reunite following the death of Jimmy's oldest daughter, Katie (Rossum). Sean's a police detective on the case, gathering difficult and disturbing evidence; he's also tasked with handling Jimmy's rage and need for retribution.

My View:
Mystic River is one of the year's best films and one of the main reasons of that is the performances. With an all star cast like this how can the performances not be the strong point. Sean Penn leads the pack with an incredibly emotional performance as a father whose daughter is found dead.

In many ways Mystic River is at it's core a detective film. The plot is intriguing and we wonder what really has happened, but it looks closer to the characters and their emotions. The dialogue is suspenseful between characters when they are explaining what they are feeling and what they really think.

Director Clint Eastwood has made a movie with a creepy atmosphere and a dark tone, that will keep you putting together the pieces the entire time.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Directed by: Peter Weir
Written by: Patrick O'Brian & Peter Weir
Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, & Edward Woodall

Summary:
During the Napoleonic Wars, a British frigate, HMS Surprise, and a much larger French warship, the Acheron, with greater fire power, stalk each other off of the coast of South America. Russell Crowe brings great intensity to the role of Captain Jack Aubrey. Lucky Jack, as he is referred to by his crew, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain.

My View:
Master and Commander has quite simply the best nautical battles I've ever seen put to film. Everything from the cinematography to the sound editing captures all the action brilliantly. The cat and mouse game played by these two ships and their captains is riveting, but we all know I'm a sucker for this stuff.

Weir's goal was to submerge the audience in the life aboard an early 19th century battleship. He does this perfectly, right down to using an actor who has made historical films his specialty. Crowe is so good at jumping back in time with his roles, his character of Aubry is exactly how I'd envision the captain of an english battleship. He's strong, brave, and intelligent and his love for his friend and crew shines through all his actions. Bettany is a nice counterpart to Crowe's authoritative stance, and they both make good on the picture's central idea, that the friendship forged between these two men is what really drove the heart of the H.M.S. Surprise.

American Splendor (2003)
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
Written by: Harvey Pekar, Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, & Harvey Pekar

Summary:
Harvey Pekar is file clerk at the local VA hospital. His interactions with his co-workers offer some relief from the monotony, and their discussions encompass everything from music to the decline of American culture to new flavors of jellybeans and life itself. At home, Harvey fills his days with reading, writing and listening to jazz. His apartment is filled with thousands of books and LPs, and he regularly scours Cleveland's thrift stores and garage sales for more, savoring the rare joy of a 25-cent find. It is at one of these junk sales that Harvey meets Robert Crumb, a greeting card artist and music enthusiast.

My View:
What I loved about American Splendor was the way it was presented as half biopic and half documentary about Harvey Pekar. The story cuts through scenes of Harvey's life where he's played perfectly by Paul Giamatti, and interviews with the real Harvey. I never read his comic or knew anything about him before watching this film. Once I had I knew that anyone could relate to this guy, which is why him and his comic are so popular. He finds the comedy in every day life, that we all think only ourselves see.

Seeing the real Pekar in the movie as well is a nice comparison between real life and fantasy. We see how crazy the real guy is so the scenes shown in the film can't be far from the truth.

Lost In Translation (2003)
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Written by: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi, & Akiko Takeshita

Summary:
Americans abroad, almost innocents. Charlotte, fresh out of Yale with a degree in philosophy, is in Tokyo with her husband, a photographer whose work takes him away that week. She's adrift, her soul on ice. Bob, mid-50s, a semi-retired movie star, is there to make $2 million doing a whiskey ad. At home are a wife and young children, but he's jaded and melancholy. Both are jet-lagged, and Tokyo's culture and language push them further off kilter. When they meet in the hotel bar and spend their free time together for a few days, possibilities arise amidst the losses. Their friendship becomes an experience: does he have something to teach; can she reconnect him to life?

My View:
I love Lost In Translation for many reasons but the main one is Scarlett Johanson. I've been a diehard fan of hers ever since Ghostworld, and I just have one question. Could she be any more freakin beautiful or talented? I love her subtle way of acting especially in this film. With every slight body movement or small facial expression, she can display exactly what her character is feeling.

Bill Murray is amazing here as well. His subtle wit brings more hilarity than any film trying to be an outright comedy. His relationship with Charlotte is the most sincere and convincing relationship I seen on screen in years.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino & Uma Thurman
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Sonny Chiba, & Chiaki Kuriyama

Summary:
Uma Thurman stars in Quentin Tarantino's fourth film venture, Kill Bill. Thurman plays a character known as the Bride, a pregnant assassin who is shot by her boss, Bill (David Carradine), on her wedding day, leaving herself and the wedding guests lying for dead. She survives and after being in a coma for five years, she wakes to seek revenge on her co-workers and boss who had attacked her. She sets out to strike down her once fellow assassins, leaving Bill for last.

My View:
There was not a cooler f&*$#ing film released this year, and every fanboy on this earth knows exactly what I'm talking about. Tarantino's tribute to old grindhouse and exploitation films could not be more on the money, right down to the incredibly fake but cool as hell spraying fountains of blood. Kill Bill Vol. 1 reminds me more of a live action anime film, but because we are dealing with real people you get way more emotionally involved with the characters.

I think this is one of Thurman's best performances ever, as she shows nothing but anguish of the loss of her old life and bitter revenge that obsesses her new life. This is one tough lady who I'd hate to cross paths with.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, & Keira Knightley

Summary:
After the Governer's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, is kidnapped by the Pirate Captain Barbossa, Elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner must team up with rogue pirate Jack Sparrow to save her. Little do they know that these pirates are cursed. Forced to exist between living and dead, and only revealing their skeleton forms in the moonlight, the pirates intend to use Elizabeth's blood and necklace (a part of their curse) to return to their normal state.

My View:
Quite simply the best pirate film I've ever seen, and being a kind of connoisseur of the genre I would like to think my opinion important. It succeeds by having the spirit, story, and great performances of older pirate films, mixed with today's special effects, which are breath taking. It also mixed a bit of fantasy into the story with the "curse" and undead pirates. This is something that you don't see in a lot of pirate films.

Pirates Of The Caribbean is worth a look, even if you aren't into pirates, for Johnny Depp's performance alone. Pirates were the rockstars of their time, and Depp's performance was based on rockstar Keith Richards. Let's just say that it's nothing short of brilliant, I mean that man deserves an oscar nomination or something. Depp's performance adds greatly to the comedic element of the film. The great thing about Pirates Of The Caribbean is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Considering that it's based on a theme park ride at Disney world, a serious story never entered the minds of the writers.

Monster (2003)
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Written by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, & Lee Tergesen

Summary:
A dark tale based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, one of America's first female serial killers. Wuornos had a difficult and cruel childhood plagued by abuse and drug use in Michigan. She became a prostitute by the age of thirteen, the same year she became pregnant. She eventually moved to Florida where she began earning a living as a highway prostitute--servicing the desires of semi-truck drivers. The tale focuses on the nine month period between 1989 and 1990, during which Wuornos had a lesbian relationship with a woman named Selby. And during that very same time, she also began murdering any of her clientele who attempted to rape her. This turned the tables on a rather common phenomena of female highway prostitutes being the victims of serial killers--instead Wuornos, herself, carried out the deeds of a cold-blooded killer.

My View:
We all know that Theron won the oscar for best actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Theron expresses this woman's horrific life history without softening her terrifying, dead-eyed stare. Her win was all but secured when the film was released, but the film itself is amazing on top of her performance. Ricci gives probably the best performance of her career as well. The overall mood of the picture is devastating as we see Wuornos's life play out from one horrific event to the next. The film would have succeeded without Theron's gripping performance, which is a testament to director Patty Jenkins. This is a film that will stick with you long after the credits roll.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Written by: J.R.R. Tolkien & Frances Walsh
Starring: Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, & Viggo Mortensen

Summary:
The Fellowship divides to conquer as Frodo and Sam, with the help and hindrance of Gollum, continue their way to Mount Doom. Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith to help defend Gondor while Merry remains with Eowyn and the other Rohan fighters. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli seek aid from those that live in the Cursed Mountains. All these battles have one goal in mind: distract the Eye of Sauron and buy Frodo a little more time to destroy the ring.

My View:
Almost 400 million dollars domestically, 11 academy awards, and number 1 in DVD sales, yes folks it's The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. The final installment in this trilogy is also the best film of the all of them as well. What else is there to say about the greatest fantasy film of all time. It deserved every cent and all the praise it received. The only award it should have got and didn't was Sean Astin for best supporting actor.

The most impressive thing about the movie is the sheer scale. There isn't a small or simple scene in it. It often includes thousands of digital characters combined with filmed actors and action, sweeping landscapes, and dozens of things happening at once. This is a good reason to see it in theatres; even on DVD, there's little details that you can only catch when it's on a massive screen. I can't wait for the extended edition DVD.