Tim Wick's Films of 2000

Well, I somehow managed to squeak 60 Y2K releases into my life.

2000 started out very slow and made me wonder if we could be looking at one hell of a bad movie year. I was still renting some 1999 movies that would have made a strong push for my top ten (The Straight Story and American Movie being tops) while watching a string of disappointing theatrical releases. Somehow, around August, we started to get lucky. As a result, I find myself with ten strong films on my list and about five others that I am saddened I must leave off. Although I think that my 1999 top ten would beat out all but the top two or three choices from this year, I still expect that most of these films will find their way into my permanent library (my number one film already has).

I've missed a few films that might have made my list. Notably absent are Almost Famous, Requiem for a Dream and You can count on me. I don't know those films would have made my list, but I'm bummed they didn't get the chance. No doubt all of them will find their way into my VCR in the next 12 months.

Here we go:

1. Chicken Run - A delight from the opening homage to The Great Escape through the closing credits, this movie could signal an animation powerhouse that may rival Disney for a few years. The movie does a wonderful job of honoring other adventure films from the aforementioned Great Escape to Braveheart, Raiders of the Lost Ark and even Star Wars. The film also features one of the more hummable scores of the year. Aardamn animation rules!

2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Technically a better film than Chicken Run but the other one just brought a bigger grin to my face. This movie was possibly the most hyped film of the year and was in danger of being a let down as a result. Instead, it surpassed even my lofty expectations as the characters soared across trees and rooftops. If it has been a long time since you have seen something truly fresh and new, you need to see this movie.

3. Traffic - Gritty and angry, this film dares to look you in the face and tell you that everything the government is telling you about the war on drugs is wrong. Then it tells you that the government isn't lying to you, they just don't get it. Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Catherine Zeta Jones and captivating newcomer Erika Christenson headline a powerful cast that is somehow even better than the sum of it's parts. The movie will make you think and it should make you talk. In a perfect world, this movie would also convince you to act.

4. Unbreakable - The movie requires intense patience, which may be why some people didn't like it. We want movies like this to be kinetic and fast, not slow and methodical. It is precisely this paradox that made this movie such a powerful experience for me. Like The Sixth Sense, it should not be discussed in detail until it has been watched.

5. Cast Away - Don't listen to the critics who tell you this is a decent movie that is carried by a powerful performance. The performance of Tom Hanks is not in dispute, but the film has far more to say than I think most critics realize. The pay off for this movie is in the final third of the film. The eventual resolution will break your heart even as it fills you with joy. Best supporting actor nod should go to Wilson.

6. The Gift - This film gave me the creeps. I was creeped out by the fact that Keanu Reeves gave a wonderful performance, but that's not what I mean. The atmosphere of this film is one of constant danger. Everyone in this movie has a secret and none of them are pretty. By setting it in the bayou, the isolation of the characters is accentuated and your dread for all of them is heightened. Sold short by a lot of critics, but a powerful film for me.

7. Return to Me - I am almost embarrassed to put this rather formulaic romantic comedy on my top ten, but the fact is that the film was that good. David Duchovny and Minne Driver made a convincing couple and the movie is filled with humor that doesn't feel forced or tacked on. The people in this movie are real and it makes the movie work on a level that few romantic comedies can achieve. Charming is an awful word to use when describing a movie, but it really fits this one.

8. Charlie's Angels - Not a great film, but a great MOVIE. Blatantly self depreciating and filled with comic touches intended to remind you that you shouldn't take any of this too seriously. Girl power has three new faces.

9. Nurse Betty - It is hard to go wrong with Rene Zellweger and Morgan Freeman as leads in a film and this movie certainly doesn't disappoint. The lines between reality and fantasy blur for both main characters in this movie. There is something desperate in the fantasy world that both characters create and yet it is something we can all relate to.

10. The Emperor's New Groove - AM I NUTS????? Maybe, but I can't get away from the fact that no movie made me laugh louder or more often that this overlooked homage to the Looney Tunes of the 50's. The Disney execs hated it and spent time and money promoting 102 Dalmatians while this movie was hardly mentioned. As a result, it was the worst showing for a Disney animated feature since before The Little Mermaid. I pushed worthy films off my list to put this one on my top ten, but I can't get away from the fact that I loved it and I will watch it over and over again.

Honorable Mention:

Wonder Boys - I fought to keep this film on my top ten, but it finally got pushed off late in the year. It is a quirky screwball comedy that isn't for most people. If you are lucky, however, it is for you.

O Brother Where Art Thou? - George Clooney is winning me over with each successive role. How can you not love this movie? How can you - as Entertainment Weekly did - rank this the worst movie of the year? The narrative is nearly non existent but who cares? This is a Coen brothers comedy. Fasten your seatbelt, engage your brain and be ready for some fun.

Snatch - Pulp Fictionesque film from Mr. Madonna. Brad Pitt does a good turn as a bare fisted boxer who manages to be harder to understand than the cockney brits he is surrounded with.

X-Men - Finally - a comic book movie made by someone who truly loves comic books. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are perfect adversaries as Professor X and Magneto. Hugh Jackman IS Wolverine. Bring on the sequel!

And now for the worst:

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - This might not measure up as the worst film on my list, but films that truly piss me off get extra "bad movie points". To take a charming tale of the true spirit of Christmas and turn it into this piece of excrement is the greatest travesty that I can imagine. Jim Carrey is not the problem, believe it or not, he is simply a symptom of one of the most misguided interpretations of a children's story I've ever seen. That this film was the top box office draw for 2000 is not a surprise, but it's a disappointment.

2. Scary Movie - a comedy that tries to hard too be funny, it's bound to fail. The humor cannot even be ranked as juvenile because I know juveniles who could have written better humor. In fairness, I'm not a horror movie fan. I watched this movie with horror movie fans, however, and they all thought it stunk.

3. Coyote Ugly - Everybody who had anything to do with this film should be embarrassed. I'm embarrassed that I spent time watching it. I'm embarrassed that I have to think about this film long enough to write that I'm embarrassed it exists.

4. Mission to Mars - For a long time, I thought nothing could top this crap fest. Although I was proven wrong, it not mean this film could be forced off my bottom five. The story is stupid, the ending is idiotic and the special effects belong in a movie made 40 years ago. I take that back. Forbidden Planet was made about 40 years ago and it's special effects are pretty darn good. I could fill a page with a list of plot holes, but I've invested too much time in this movie already.

5. Dinosaur - How deep has Disney sunk for this movie to be their hallmark animated feature while they all but deny the existence of The Emporer's new Groove? The story is neither new nor interesting. The animation is impressive, but good animation does not make a good movie. In the case of this movie, that is obvious.

Dishonorable mentions go to Battlefield Earth, Gone in Sixty Seconds and Reindeer Games.