bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 ::

2003 in review, part 1: movies
As the calendar year draws to a close, and I grow increasingly bored with the usual stuff I blog about, I hereby proclaim myself bloggedy blog's pop culture savant-in-residence and offer the first of several installments of pop culture observations regarding the past year.

In this first installment, I present my picks for the best movies of 2003. But before I do, a disclaimer: I didn't see too many movies this year. Fact is, I don't watch more than a dozen movies in an average year anymore. Who has time these days? You could probably find hundreds of thousands of bloggers who are more qualified than I to write about cinema. But -- I have a blog, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Without further ado, I present to you:

Bloggedy Blog's Top 5 Movies of 2003

5. The Matrix Reloaded. This, the second installment in the Matrix trilogy, is flashier than the first movie by several orders of magnitude. The "burly brawl," in which Neo dukes it out with a hundred agent Smiths, is a significant technical achievement, and it alone is worth the price of admission -- and worth the big-screen viewing. The chase scene was pretty good, too, from a technical standpoint. But cinematic sleight-of-hand cannot compensate for a weak story, and the story of Reloaded, while not necessarily weak, pales when compared to the original. Like all sequels (with the exception of The Godfather, Part II), Reloaded was a letdown. I haven't even bothered to see The Matrix: Revolutions on the big screen, although I'm sure I'll rent it one of these days.

4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Russell Crowe is a terrific actor. As Captain Jack Aubrey, he carries the day in this swashbuckler. Directed by Peter Wier, whose work I first discovered with the 1981 drama about World War I, Gallipoli.

3. Adaptation. I'm a writer, and I love movies about writers -- even bad movies about writers. (Henry & June, anyone?) But Adaptation, which came out in 2002 but I didn't see it until it played at our campus' free film festival this past fall, is a good movie about a writer. One of Nicholas Cage's best roles, in my opinion. Directed by the quirky Spike Jonze.

2. Bruce Almighty. From a spiritual perspective, Bruce Almighty was the movie of the year. (Or, if allegory is your thing, the runner-up to No. 1, below.) My thoughts about it were published in the June issue of Next Wave.

1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. I won't get to see this until Saturday at the earliest -- but I already know it's going to be the best movie of the year.

Movies I'd planned to see this past year, but never got around to: X2; Spellbound (documentary about spelling bees, which never made it to Rolla, Missouri); A Mighty Wind; Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (I know my wife wouldn't let me watch this one -- too violent and she hates Quentin Tarentino -- but I still want to sneak out and see it someday). That's about all that I can think of.

Coming next in of "2003 in review": either music or music videos.

:: Andrew 16:00 + ::
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