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Movie Archives:
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Alphabetical
Laurence Station's
Best Films of 2003
Top 10:
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A
triumphant conclusion to an epic trilogy. King not only delivers
the requisite emotional oomph, but cements Lord's status as one
of the all-time film classics.
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Captures
the ennui and detachment of Americans abroad in a wonderfully
understated, "Is this-is-all-there-is?" manner. Veteran Bill Murray's
never been better, while ingénue Scarlett Johansson displays a candor
and composure that belie her tender years.
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 3.
American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman,
Robert Pulcini, USA)
Quirky
and visually clever, American Splendor respects the life and work
of Harvey Pekar, never cheapening his story with too obvious-sight gags
or easy-out verbal slights.
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 4.
Monster (Patty Jenkins, USA)
Charlize
Theron turns in a career-making performance, with an underappreciated
but no less important assist from Christina Ricci. Monster is a
gritty, dirt-under-the-nails actor's film that resonates because of the
passion of its two leads.
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Sylvain
Chomet creates an amazing visual treat, mixing familiar plot elements
(kidnapping, gangsters, shootouts) with a bizarre, mostly dialogue-free
world populated by faded Depression-era stars, a porcine dog fascinated
by trains, and athletes forced into a life-or-death bicycling
competition.
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There are
no easy answers when dealing with Cold Warrior Robert S. McNamara, but
director Morris achieves as up close and personal a look at this complex
man as we're likely to get. And that is no small achievement.
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Hayden
Christensen validates his acting chops, but this film belongs to Peter
Sarsgaard as a conflicted editor forced to "out" a fraudulent writer.
Shattered Glass is a penetrating look at the perils and pressures of
high-stakes journalism, where credibility, not newsstand sales, is
everything.
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 8.
Finding Nemo
(Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, USA)
Similar to Triplets in terms of its
"little boy lost" plot structure, only with eye-popping computer
animation, wonderful voice acting, and a rather pat, toothless
conclusion.
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A painstakingly accurate look at life on the high seas during the
Napoleonic era. The lack of character development is thankfully offset
by the exciting, "you are there" quality of its sterling technical
craftsmanship.
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 10.
21
Grams (Alejandro González Iñárritu, USA)
Incredibly flawed but still emotionally resonate look at the fickle
nature of fate, coincidences and just plain bad choices. Like Monster,
21 Grams is an actor's movie, through and through.
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The Good
Thief (Neil Jordan, France / UK / Ireland) See this one
for Nick Nolte's performance as a damaged, over-the-hill art thief. The
Nice and Monte Carlo settings are eye-candy bonuses.
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Raising
Victor Vargas (Peter Sollett, USA) A refreshing
examination of poor people that never once draws overt attention to this
fact. Sollett is interested in the interactions between people and the
complicated messiness of young love. A humble, unassuming gem of a
movie.
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