Top Ten Films of 2002
2002 had a lot happen in it, but nothing I felt like typing out. I think 2001 just overshadowed it and there was a lot of focus happening towards that.
Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man, Star Wars, Men in Black, and James Bond dominate the money and My Big Fat Greek Wedding makes over 350 million worldwide.
11-25
Auto Focus (Directed by Paul Schrader)
Death to Smoochy (Directed by Danny DeVito)
Gangs of New York (Directed by Martin Scorsese) - HBO Max
Insomnia (Directed by Christopher Nolan) - HBO Max
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (Directed by Steve Oedekerk) - Hulu
Mr. Deeds (Directed by Steven Brill) - Netflix
Phonebooth (Directed by Joel Schumacher)
Red Dragon (Directed by Brett Ratner) - Netflix
Road to Perdition (Directed by Sam Mendes)
Spider (Directed by David Cronenberg)
The Hours (Directed by Stephen Daldry) - Criterion Channel
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Directed by Peter Jackson) - HBO Max
The Sweetest Thing (Directed by Roger Kumble)
Unfaithful (Directed by Adrian Lyne)
We Were Soldiers (Directed by Randall Wallace)
top ten
10. Panic Room (Directed by David Fincher)
One of Fincher’s lesser movies that I watched last year and enjoyed much more than I remembered. His love of CGI movements through time and houses began with Fight Club and continues hard here. He got his late night thriller out of the way before the masterpiece in 2007 showed up. Excited to get to that.
9. Jackass: The Movie (Directed by Jeff Tremaine)
Just a punk rock movie if there was one. A real DIY fun house of weird dumb silliness that rules so hard. I recommend binging all these again. The feeling of aging and sadness will take over by the end and you’ll be surprised how resonant these movies can feel as you get older. Or just watch some guys get hit in the balls.
8. Signs (Directed by M. Night Shyamalan) - HBO Max
M. Night has a lot of detractors, and I get that, but this movie is pure atmosphere excellence. Some of it doesn’t work but it is funnier than you remember. This guy has a real sense of humor. Gibson and Phoenix are two wild actors playing big and reserved sometimes in the same moment. Go watch it again.
7. 25th Hour (Directed by Spike Lee)
Some say this is the best New York and 9/11 movie and I am not qualified to say but I can imagine how that is the case. Ed Norton has a monologue that is an all timer and the rest of the cast is great. If you haven’t seen this try to find it and rent it sometime.
6. Morvern Callar (Directed by Lynne Ramsay) - Amazon Prime
A tough movie to recommend, especially during tough times, but it hits hard. A soft and quiet movie of deep depression and strength. An all time performance by Samantha Morton, and the beginning of Lynne Ramsay’s career of nothing but pure greatness.
5. Catch Me If You Can (Directed by Steven Spielberg)
Another universal favorite. I think anyone can watch this. A great family movie but also a movie to really think about. Popcorn entertainment with some thought. Spielberg is at his best here. Endlessly watchable. I consider The Wolf of Wall Street the gross weirdo evil cousin to this one.
4. Solaris (Directed by Steven Soderbergh)
The remake I like more than the original. He cut the original in half, added movie stars, and made the emotional scenes stronger. I connect to this. One of the great space movies of the 21st century. Very underrated because it was such a low rated movie by audiences back then but it is Clooney’s Ad Astra.
3. Adaptation (Directed by Spike Jonze)
In normal years this would be my number 1, but not in a top heavy year like 2002. Nicolas Cage is great as Charlie Kaufman and his fictional brother. Brian Cox has an incredible scene I think about often. Chris Cooper, and Meryl Streep just eating scenes. A great movie about writers block and creativity.
2. Love Liza (Directed by Todd Louiso) - Amazon Prime
The most unknown movie on this list and I might be it’s biggest fan in the world. At least in the top ten. Philip Seymour Hoffman in maybe his best performance as a man reeling from a tragedy and getting into motorized toy planes. It is a labor of love and a movie of deep feeling I don’t recommend in hard times. Beautiful film though.
1. Punch-Drunk Love (Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) - HBO
Just gets better all the time. Sandler’s best work, and PTA can’t make a true comedy but he can make this. The sweetest, funniest, and oddest mix of filmmaking and performance. The score is lovely, cast is fantastic, and I think condenses what love can do down to its essence better than almost any movie. That’s that.