The MRFH 2003 Revue

2003 was a great year for me, and a very mediocre year for movies. I’d say it was a cruddy year, looking at such cinematic masterpieces as From Justin to Kelly, Gigli, and Matrix: Revolutions, but a year that brought us such gems as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Bend it Like Beckham, and Down With Love can’t be all bad. Heck, if you look at that list, it almost looks balanced! It’s hard to say it was either, although I could have done with a few more movies in the gem category and a few less in the not-with-a-ten-foot-pole category.

To be honest, my personal movie year was filled with more good movie moments than bad. Perhaps this is because I no longer live in State College, where I can see movies for free through the Graduate Student Association, or for five bucks at the theater two blocks away. Plus, I now live with my husband and have a life, so the idea of seeing Boat Trip on a Saturday night is no longer appealing, because even ordering out for Chinese food and watching TV sounds more attractive. We read reviews a bit more, because when you have to pay almost 10 bucks a PERSON for a night at the movies, then you want the movie you’re seeing to be good. So I can safely say my husband (and moving away from a college town) is the reason I’ve seen fewer bad movies this year. Thanks hon.

Not all films are equal in weight. They can make ten Honey's, but that won’t outweigh the fact that Return of the King came out this year, and it’s Return of the King I’ll remember. Plus, I just don’t have the money to see all the movies that were critically acclaimed (or completely bombed) this year. So instead of making sweeping generalizations, here’s my top twenty most memorable movie moments of the year. Some good, some bad, but these are the ones that actually stick out in my mind:

She calls Mufasa "Moofie"

• Discussing Bend It Like Beckham with my 60-something boss -- Yes, those of you across the sea, this is a 2003 moment for those of us in the United States. For once, you got a good movie long, long before we did. But we finally got it, and it was wonderful. And how many movies can both you and your conservative boss recommend to an entire table?

• Chris Cooper winning “Best Supporting Actor” for Adaptation -- About time he was recognized! Honorary mention goes to Michael Moore and his war commentary. If nothing else, he started another intelligent debate on the Forums.

• The trailer for Bulletproof Monk -- Chow Yun Fat and Stifler in the same movie. We still haven’t seen it, but that pairing just has to be the most bizarre pairing in recent cinematic history. Seriously.

• The ending of Lilo and Stitch -- Yeah, yeah, I’m being sentimental. It’s the movie I reviewed for my application for MRFH.

• Gollum’s acceptance speech at the MTV Movie Awards -- If you haven’t seen this, you must. Especially when he tells Peter Jackson to, erm, well, never mind. Check it out on The Two Towers DVD.

• Stifler eats a “truffle” in American Wedding -- If crass humor is done just right, I’ll admit it can be really, really funny. I loved American Pie, and even American Pie 2 was surprisingly good. So we were game for seeing American Wedding. We figured it would be good, brainless summer fun. But then we heard about this scene, and that’s what kept us from seeing it. Who wants to pay money to puke?

• Barbara and Catcher/Zip talk on the phone in Down With Love -- The timing was hysterical. The innuendo was a riot. The entire movie was fun, sweet, and clever, with excellent acting. My only complaint is with the idiot who decided this should be buried in the summer releases. Honestly.

• Dorie remembers P. Sherman 42 Wallabee Way, Sydney in Finding Nemo (Summer) -- There were a lot of great moments in Finding Nemo, I admit. Bruce the shark, Mount Wannahockaloogie, speaking Whale, and Crush the sea turtle all rank high with me. But I have to confess, when we got our new address, I went a bit Dorie-esque…. So, this moment’s a bit personal.

• The interns dance to “Who Let the Dogs Out” in Legally Blonde 2 -- I loved Legally Blonde. But I honestly couldn’t see where they’d go with a sequel. I did see it, and it varied from mildly amusing to excruciatingly painful, and I just wonder… who put the subliminal messages in the advertising campaign? That HAS to be the only reason I saw it.

• Logan tells Bobby’s parents he teaches art in X2 -- I am not a comic book fan. Or a graphic novel fan, if you insist that there’s a difference. But X-Men just drew me in, and I think I might have been even more excited than my husband about seeing X2. I was not let down. When’s the third one coming?

• The rave/extended sex scene in Matrix Reloaded -- Ugh. Painful. Kill me now!

• Seabiscuit and Red crossing the finish line in Seabusciut -- Any of the times. Of course, I’m a sucker for any movie that shows Saratoga. Not that I’ve ever won any money there, thank you. I’m lucky if my jockey can even stay on the horse.

• Mufasa dies in The Lion King -- It finally came out on DVD. One of our all time favorite movies. I’ve seen it hundreds of times, but I still cry when Simba finds his father and nuzzles under his paw.

• The concert in School of Rock -- Yes, I love cheesy endings that take the form of the cast performing a giant musical number. Finally, after a summer of largely cruddy movies, we got a good one.

• When my husband asked me if I liked Lost In Translation -- Normally, I hesitate on my answer if I wasn’t crazy about it. But for me, it was a definite “no.” It wasn’t a bad movie, I guess, but I hated it. Too bad it will win awards out the wazoo. (Except Bill Murray, who will really deserve it.)

• The Oracle Explains that Neo and Agent Smith are two halves of a balanced equation in Matrix Revolutions -- This is where I guessed the end of Matrix: Revolutions. This was when I knew the movie was truly going to suck as badly as everyone said it did. So sad. So disappointing. At least it made me look up vitriol.

• Hugh Grant dances around to “Jump” in Love Actually -- Doesn’t quite go up there with Kevin Kline dancing to “I Will Survive” in In and Out, but it’s still a great moment.

• Tom Cruise dresses for the battle in The Last Samurai ­- This particular scene was powerful, erotic, and intense. I loved this scene, even more than the ensuing battle.

• “No Ticket!” in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -- Yes! It’s finally out on DVD!

• Faramir’s doomed charge in Return of the King -- Yes, all right, I kind of have a thing for Faramir. But that doomed charge, with Pippen singing over it, and the Steward eating as well… wow. Best scene in the movie, to my mind. Although Aragorn drawing Narsil was pretty cool too.

2004 is here now, and although it’s a year that won’t contain a Lord of the Rings movie, there’s plenty to look forward to. (Aside from the all-day extended edition Lord of the Rings party we’re having in November or December.) Big Fish, Spiderman 2, Return of the King sweeping the Oscars… hey, a girl can dream, right? Right.

Happy 2004!

My Top Ten:
10. School of Rock
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
8. Finding Nemo
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (DVD)
6. X2
5. The Lion King (DVD)
4. Down With Love
3. Love Actually
2. Bend It Like Beckham
1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King