Best Films of 2001

Well here it is - the last Top Ten list for the 2001 movie year. We all have jobs and stuff so we can't see everything a month before it's release. That means we ask for a little extra time to put our lists together. In the end, the people most interested in the results are those who actually put together a list and that means nobody really cares about the delay.

Despite the runaway winner in the top slot, this year was - by most accounts - a fine year for film if you could slog your way through the summer crap (see the bottom ten list for details). No fewer than 47 films received at least an honorable mention and 28 received multiple nominations (for the rules, you can see the introduction to last year's list). Thirteen individuals voted for this year's top films and here are the results:

1. Fellowship of the Ring

   Is this really any surprise? We wouldn't be much of a Science Fiction club if we didn't actually pick this as the best film of the year. Given the film also received 13 Oscar nominations and a bunch of other awards, maybe us geeks can feel just a little bit vindicated. The film was a runaway winner with seven first place votes and a winning margin of 35 points (by contrast, last year's winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won by a margin of 16 points).

   The Movie was three hours long and at the end all I could think was "it's over already?" - Pat Wick

   Visually Perfect - Ishmael Williams

   Absolutely a feast for the eyes - Deb Bloom

2. Moulin Rouge

   The film snuck up on most of us. The trailer didn't look very good and the radio kept playing that Lady Marmalade song. Then a couple people went to see it. And they told their friends to see it. And they told their friends to see it RIGHT NOW. Now it is the #2 MISFITS pick for 2001.

   It is like an old MGM musical on speed and just a little bit of acid - Tim Wick

   Ewan and Nicole nailed every number and every note with perfect Execution - Adam Kooyer

   I'm ashamed of the Academy [of motion picture arts and sciences] that it can nominate this brilliant, original film and somehow think that the man who conceived it, wrote it and envisioned it [Baz Luhrman] - somehow had nothing to do with making it a great film - Windy Merrill.

3. Shrek

   Disney would do well to beware the animation factory that is DreamWorks. Last year they were responsible for MISFITS #2 choice, Chicken Run. This year they land at #3 with their sly retelling of the oft re-told Beauty and the Beast story.

   Excellent animation and humorous spoofs of fairy tales - David Kingsley

   Funny, Imaginative and Durable - George Richard

   Pure fun - Deb Bloom

4. Amelie

   What can we say except there were a lot of us that absolutely loved this film? Audrey Tautou had a pixiesh charm that was impossible to resist. This was the lowest ranked film to receive a first place vote.

   This film is as smart as it is sweet - Adam Kooyer

   Since I saw this film, I always take a moment to look at the audience while I am watching a movie. See this film and you will know why - Tim Wick

   This is a movie that puts a glow around the world after you've left the theatre - Windy Merrill

5. The Dish

   It seems that to know this film was to love the film. Despite landing on several year end top ten lists, it seems that this movie has been discovered by many people when they were forced to watch it on video by someone who had already been converted.

   I liken this film to the best parts of Contact and Apollo 13 - Ishmael Williams

   I've been force feeding [The Dish] to all my friends because they need to see it - Tim Wick

   A nifty little film - Pat Wick

6. In The Bedroom

   Ranked extremely high by all voters who saw the film, this movie may well have scored much higher had it been seen by more members of our voting pool. It is remarkable that a movie such as this could be powerful enough to beat out more geek oriented fare like Harry Potter and Monsters, Inc. That speaks volumes about the film.

   One of the quietest, slowest, most gentle movies of the year - and one of the most traumatic - Windy Merrill

   The ultimate resolution of the film will make you question your own moral point of view - Tim Wick

7. Ghost World

   Adapted from a popular comic book, Ghost World was a captivating experience for most voters. Thora Birch's wonderful lead performance could be seen as an affirmation of her work in American Beauty, an apology for her work in Dungeons & Dragons or perhaps a bit of both.

   A movie with good, quirky characters - David Kingsley

   An honest look at life after high school, and a reminder why we all rewrite this part of our lives after we get through it - Windy Merrill

8. Monsters, Inc

   Disney's Atlantis couldn't crack the top ten (and in fact did not receive a single vote) but they can still rely on Pixar to keep their animation legend alive. What other animated film would throw in a joke about Ray Harryhausen?

   What more could you expect of a film? - Adam Kooyer

   I cared more about these characters than the ones in Shrek - Ishmael Williams

9. Vanilla Sky

   Evidence that we here at MISFITS are tragically out of step with the critics, this panned film struck a chord with most of us. Was it as bad as the critics say? Most of us think not.

   It's not the movie you think it is - George Richard

   This film plays with your perceptions and expects you to be paying attention - Tim Wick

10. The Royal Tennenbaums

    Laugh out loud funny with genuinely tragic moments - Windy Merrill

    Very dark, very light - I loved it - Deb Bloom

11. Memento

    OK, raise your hand if you saw this movie and you can't figure out where Guy Pearce is on the list of best actor nominees. Noirish and captivating, the movie needs to be watched at least twice to really get a good idea what is going on.

    Unique, unprecedented, humorous, striking, mesmerizing, surprising, non-linear, pick and adjective and see it - George Richard

12. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    You didn't think we would forget about this one, did you? We all read the book. We all saw the movie and we all enjoyed it.

    A faithful enough adaptation of the book - Mike Lee

13. The Others

    This creepy haunted house picture was one of those films that gained momentum the more people talked about it. Atmospheric and boasting Nicole Kidman's second best performance of the year, it is well worth the rental.

    Nicole Kidman shows the depth and style that makes her one of the best and most desirable actress on screen today - George Richard

14. A Beautiful Mind

    The film only made two voters' lists but left a pretty strong impression on them. Ron Howard's take on schizophrenia was certainly a favorite of the Academy and MISFITS as well.

    Russell Crowe gave a great performance - David Kingsley

15. Mulholland Drive

    Probably the most challenging film on the list, the movie did not allow itself to be easily dissected or understood. Maybe that is why we liked it.

    Anyone who likes to have their films to have a beginning, middle and end will be frustrated by the nearly complete lack of beginning or end and an over abundance of middle…..I have been thinking about it ever since I saw it - Tim Wick

Honorable Mentions

• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

  Just barely landed in 16th place because of low overall placement. Kevin Smith was aiming his humor right at the members of MISFITS and he hit home. Surprised?

  There are times when my life feels like a Kevin Smith film - Mike Lee

• The Majestic

  Another critical failure, this film didn't make most peoples lists, but racked up a lot of honorable mentions (four) and that means it deserves one here.

  Only in 2001 could this gem be kept off my top ten - Windy Merrill

• A.I: Artificial Intelligence

  The film created a pretty big rift between the people who thought it was brilliant and the people who thought it was awful. Those who thought it was brilliant voted for the film, but overall ranking kept it out of the top fifteen (it had the most votes of any film ranked below 15). For the discussion it generated, we confer an honorable mention on A.I.

  The parts that fall short are all the more glaring because they are in the same film with moments that are pure cinematic genius - Tim Wick

Worst Films of 2001

Well, not every movie released in 2001 was a good movie. It seems that the members of MISFITS saw their share of bad films that (tragically) included several genre titles. But the worst films rise to the top and this year's worst film was not (thankfully) a science fiction film. Here are the worst five films of the year:

1. Glitter

   It may be hard to believe that enough of us saw this film but many of us are drawn to films that are going to be awful. If your goal is to see one of the most awful films ever made then this movie should be near the top of your list!

   The studio that released this should spend time in the cultural penalty box - Windy Merrill

   This film has no logical reason for existing - Tim Wick

2. Tomb Raider

   Keeping the "video games make bad movies" curse going strong, Tomb Raider finished a strong second.

   Hey, all I have to say is that I hope when my palatial estate is besieged by dozens of ninja like raiders (and I win hands down) is that they remove all of their dead (and the blood) leaving me to only deal with the shattered plaster, marble and glass - Pat Wick

   When I can count the action sequences on one hand and I don't even need one finger to count the sequences I acutally LIKED - well we are talking about a movie that can't live up to it's most basic promise. - Tim Wick

3. Pearl Harbor

   In addition to being bad, this film was also very long!

   Went on needlessly long - David Kingsley

4. John Carpenters Ghosts of Mars

   All in favor of asking John Carpenter to rest on his laurels and never make another movie so we won't be subject to the like of Vampires and Ghosts of Mars please say "aye!"

   Vengeful Martian Ghosts! Oh My! - Adam Kooyer

5. The Musketeer

   Would this film have been higher on the list had a few of us not seen it opening day and quickly warned everyone else away from a film that wrested the "Worst Swashbuckler ever" title away from Cutthroat Island? The world may never know.

   When the bad guy dies at the end and your boyfriend leans over to ask "How'd that happen" you know you've got a problem - Windy Merrill