What are your Top 5 movies from each year, 97 onwards...

Your Top 5 films from;

1997
98
99
2000
01
02


I'm really curious to see this to hopefully add weight to a new theory I came up with, so I'm eager to see people's picks. Well???

1999

01. Magnolia by Paul Thomas Anderson
02. Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick
03. Being John Malkovich by Spike Jonze
04. Run Lola Run by Tom Tykwer
05. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Anthony Minghella


2000

01. American Psycho by Mary Harron
02. Requiem For A Dream by Darren Aronofsky
03. Dancer In The Dark by Lars Von Trier
04. Traffic by Steven Soderbergh
05. Almost Famous by Cameron Crowe


2001

01. Amelie by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
02. The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson
03. Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann
04. Mulholland Drive by David Lynch
05. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring by Peter Jackson


2002

01. Punch-Drunk Love by Paul Thomas Anderson
02. The Quiet American by Phillip Noyce
03. Bowling For Columbine by Michael Moore
04. The Pianist by Roman Polanski
05. The Hours by Stephen Daldry

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My lists aren't really in order of preference (except for my first 2 choices of 2001), I hope that doesn't screw up your study.

1997
Happy Together - Wong Kar-Wai
Mother and Son - Alexander Sokurov
The Sweet Hereafter - Atom Egoyan
Jackie Brown - Quentin Tarantino
The Apostle - Robert Duvall

1998
Rushmore - Wes Anderson
There's Something About Mary - Peter & Bobby Farrelly
The Thin Red Line - Terence Malick
Flowers of Shanghai - Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Velvet Goldmine - Todd Haynes

1999
Being John Malkovich - Spike Jonze
Eyes Wide Shut - Stanley Kubrick
Three Kings - David O. Russell
Magnolia - P.T. Anderson
Bringing Out the Dead - Martin Scorsese

2000
Beau Travail - Claire Denis
The Wind Will Carry Us - Abbas Kiarostami
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee
Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai - Jim Jarmusch
Yi Yi - Edward Yang

2001
1. A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Steven Spielberg
In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar-Wai
Mulholland Dr. - David Lynch
Waking Life - Richard Linklater
Vanilla Sky - Cameron Crowe

2002
Y tu mama Tambien - Alfonso Cuaron
Punch-Drunk Love - P.T. Anderson
What Time is it There? - Tsai Ming-Liang
Russian Ark - Alexander Sokurov
The Fast Runner - Zacharias Kunuk

2002 honorable mention: Minority Report and Catch Me if You Can. Along with A.I., the best movies of Spielberg's career.

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There is no particular order to the lists, and there are still a lot of films from these years that Kong needs to see so these lists are in no way official, or set in stone. Oh yeah, some are incomplete as well.

2002
The Fast Runner
The Pianist
Monsoon Wedding
Punch-Drunk Love
Spirited Away

2001
Mulholland Dr.
Memento
Black Hawk Down
In the Mood For Love
Ghost World

2000
Requiem for a Dream
You Can Count on Me
High Fidelity
Castaway

1999
Magnolia
Fight Club
Bringing Out the Dead
Toy Story 2

1998
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line
The Big Lebowski
Pleasantville
Smoke Signals

1997
Happy Together
Taste of Cherry
The Ice Storm
In the Company of Men
Deconstructing Harry

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Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) was 2001, Steve [and Kong]. Unless you go based on when it was released in your area. As opposed to basing it on year of production. Either way.

Carry on.


1997

01. Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson
02. As Good As It Gets by James L. Brooks]
03. Jackie Brown by Quentin Tarantino
04. L.A. Confidential by Curtis Hanson
05. The Full Monty by Peter Cattaneo


1998

01. La Vita è bella by Roberto Beningi
02. The Truman Show by Peter Weir
03. The Big Lebowski by Joel Coen
04. Shakespeare In Love by John Madden
05. Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg

[NOTE: Have not seen Rushmore, nor Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, both of which I must.]

Kong put that on his 2002 list as well. Kong assumes that Steve, like Kong's self, is going by release dates. Have you seen the film Silver? What are your thoughts on it?

Steve, Kong noticed you listed The Wind Will Carry Us as one of you favorites. What did you think of Taste of Cherry? It's also nice to see another fan of Happy Together.

Loved Atanarjuat. Blew me away on many a different level. The digital photography was just astounding, and not in a warm way or anything, but it a harsh and cold way, which was something I wasn't expecting. The sequence in which Atanarjuat runs, well...

...it will go down in history.

Good to hear.

When Kong went to the theater to watch it, he wasn't expecting anything great out of the cinematography. Knowing it was done digitally, and assuming that the landscape would be monotonous and drab, Kong's expectation for the visuals were pretty low, but it ended up knocking Kong flat on his hairy ass in that department, and basically in all the other departments as well.

If I were going by year of production, wouldn't that make Gangs of New York a 2001 movie too?

The Taste of Cherry bored the hell out of me. I love what Kiarostami does with documentary but I thought that movie was pretty much impenetrable. I've watched it three times now, once on a DVD projected digitally across a 20 foot wall, and I still can't figure it out. Some parts are interesting, but mostly it feels like Kiarostami giving himself fellatio. Bo-oring. The Wind Will Carry Us, though, held my interest long after it ended - I think it's because I found a lot of humor in it, whereas Cherry's somber tone gave me a headache. My favorite Kiarostami movie is still Close-up, though. That's the definitive movie for me, it sums up everything I love about cinema from that part of the world.

Happy Together is a wonderful love story, I've spent the past year defending it on other boards and haven't found anyone else who likes it. I doff my hat.

Forget that I said production. That isn't what I really meant. I meant like the original premiere. I mean, Punch-Drunk Love didn't open here until May this year, but it is undoubtedly a 2002 movie, no? Atanarjuat first screened at Cannes in 2001.

Fair enough. I was just going by release date in NY/LA.

Yes. It's Kong's favorite Kar-Wai film so far. (Kong's also seen In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Ashes of Time, and Days of Being Wild)

Kong is eagerly awaiting 2046.

In some respects are tastes are very different, and in others they are very similar. At any rate, Kong has developed much respect for you.

Just caught this now, I'm kinda late -

Thanks, & the same to you.

In the Mood for Love is my favorite, but I love everything he's done. Have you seen Fallen Angels? That's a great one too.

Fallen Angels has been on Kong's to see list for a while now.

1997
1. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
2. As Good As It Gets (James L. Brooks)
3. Men With Guns (John Sayles)
4. In the Company of Men (Neil LaBute)
5. Insomnia (Erik Skjoldbjaerg)

1998
1. Rushmore (Wes Anderson)
2. The Thin Red Line (Terry Malick)
3. The Big Lebowski (Joel & Ethan Coen)
4. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam)
5. The Butcher Boy (Neil Jordan)

1999
1. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
2. Fight Club (David Fincher)
3. Being JohnMalkovich (Spike Jonze)
4. The Limey (Steven Soderbergh)
5. Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer)



2000
1. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)
2. Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson)
3. Shadow of the Vampire (E. Elias Merhige)
4. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel & Ethan Coen)
5. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)

2001
1. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
2. Memento (Christopher Nolan)
3. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)
4. Gosford Park (Robert Altman)
5. The Pledge (Sean Penn)

2002
1. Adaptation (Spike Jonze)
2. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese)
3. Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore)
4. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar)
5. Frida (Julie Taymor)

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

1999
Dogma
The Matrix
Run Lola Run
Fight Club
Being John Malkovich

2000
Requiem for a Dream
Malena
American Psycho
Unbreakable
Gladiator

2001
Kiss of the Dragon
Donnie Darko
Spiderman
AI
Ghost World

2002
Phone Booth
Signs
25th Hour
Equilibrium

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1997
Boogie Nights
L.A. Confidential
As Good As It Gets
Titanic
Donnie Brasco

1998
A Simple Plan
Dark City
Saving Private Ryan
Rushmore
The Big Lebowski

1999
Affliction
American Beauty
Being John Malkovich
Bringing Out The Dead
The Green Mile

2000
Almost Famous
Titus
Wonder Boys
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Shadow of the Vampire

2001
Memento
Ghost World
In The Bedroom
Mulholland Drive
The Royal Tennenbaums

2002
Adaptation
Punch-drunk Love
Frailty
We Were Soldiers
Signs

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