When I was 5 years old, I thought the year 2000 would find me tooling around
with a jetpack, battling the evil forces that threatened to dominate the world.
Instead, I've spent the past year watching a lot of movies. And though many
of the best films I saw came and went with little fanfare, overshadowed by blockbusters
like Gladiator and Charlie's Angels, most of them are now available
on video. Here are my favorite films of 2000--in alphabetical order.
Chicken Run--Who would have thought that animated chickens could
be so entertaining? Years from now, when people talk about classic films for
the whole family, this will be one of them.
Color of Paradise--Truth be told, this Iranian film was the most
surprising--and thereby the best--movie I saw in 2000. Director Majid Majidi's
tale of a young blind boy who returns to live with the father who is ashamed
of him, is profound in its simplistic beauty and poetic in its vision.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon--No, it's not the greatest kung-fu
movie of all time--that would be Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon or Jet
Li's Fist of Legend--but Crouching Tiger is one of the best films
of 2000. Michelle Yeoh is mesmerizing as a powerful warrior whose heart yearns
for a man she can never have (Chow Yun Fat).
High Fidelity--I know. I know. Everyone else picked this film
too. But I liked it.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?--It's the Coen Brothers. What more
do I need to say?
Pitch Black--Above all else, films are supposed to entertain.
And though it looked like just another rip-off of Aliens, Pitch Black
surprised a lot of people--including me--by turning out to be one of the most
mindlessly entertaining films of the year.
Sound and Fury--The ongoing debate within the deaf community
over an operation that can restore hearing is at the heart of Josh Aronson's
documentary. This film is easily the most thought-provoking and emotionally
charged film I saw all year; it stuck with me for weeks after watching it.
The Terrorist--Cinematographer-turned-director Santosh Sivan
brought us this intense character study of a beautiful young terrorist who discovers
the joys of life after being sent on a suicide mission.
Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes and Girl Next
Door--I can't decide between this pair of documentaries that strips
bare (pun intended) the porn industry. It's a tie.
The Way of the Gun--A lot of critics failed to see the beauty
of this ultra-violent action film. They also failed to appreciated The Wild
Bunch the first time around, and now Peckinpah's film is considered a classic.
David Walker's 10 Honorable Mentions for
Best of Y2K:
Best in Show,
Cecil B. DeMented,
Croupier, East Is East,
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,
Non-Stop, Nurse Betty,
The Woman Chaser,
Unbreakable,
You Can Count on Me
David Walker's 10 Worst Films of Y2K:
The Art of War,
Boys and Girls,
Duets,
Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,
Held Up,
The
Legend of BaggerVance,
Requiem for a Dream,
Shaft,
Trois,
Trixie
THE COLOR OF PARADISE: One of Y2K's best films.
