Best/Worst Movies of 2003

[Ned]

I also think that Open Range and Antoine Fisher were two very very good movies.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Ned


The new movie, Missing, carries on the Hollywood tradition of respect for Native religions and apparent hostility to Christianity.

You're not saying that respect for Amerindians means that it has to entail disrespect for Christianity, right?

[Dis]

Originally posted by Ned


No, I believe that was a Vulcan God.

it was ALL gods- including the Klingon god.

[Ned]

MrFun, No. But people are constantly reporting just how much Hollywood hates Republicans and the so-called religious right. The truth is that Hollywood is anti-Christian. You will hardly ever see a Christian protrayed by Hollywood as anything other than a bible-thumping bigot.

[Dis]

you are showing your conservatism Ned. Next thing you will be saying the media is liberal.

Not all Hollywood is anti-christian. Did you watch Signs? And that movie was made by an Indian guy- though he did go to catholic school.

Did you watch the Apostle?

What about Mel Gibson's latest movie?

[Japher]

Hollywood + Politics = Bullsheit

everyone knows that, and that is why we got laughed at for Arnold. what the rest of the world doesn't know is how active Arnie is and was in politics over the past decade, as well as his buisness mindedness.

You get A-holes like Tim RObbins and Morgan FReeman spouting off making them all look like idiots, when in fact they are only a small minority... It's the case with MOST stereotypes.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Dissident
you are showing your conservatism Ned. Next thing you will be saying the media is liberal.

Not all Hollywood is anti-christian. Did you watch Signs? And that movie was made by an Indian guy- though he did go to catholic school.

Did you watch the Apostle?

What about Mel Gibson's latest movie?

You cite two Mel Gibson projects. The man is a very devout Catholic from Australia. He is the exception, not the rule.

Most of the stars are far left. Most of studios are leftist. Lieberman is an anathema to Hollywood because he is conservative.

And while they may like to say they are liberals, they are not. They are libertines.

Def of Liberal: a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity.

Definition of Libertinism: a: licentiousness conduct: marked disregard of conventional moral restraints b: freethinking in religious matters especially excessive or blameworthy freethinking of this kind

[The Emperor Fabulous]

You have a highly skewed definition of Liberal

AND it is not related to this thread

That, my friend, is a double bogie

[Ned]

I took my definition from Webster's unabridged. I know today's liberals have nothing in common with the definition. Today's liberals are socialists, by and large.

[Uncle Sparky]

Best Movies of 2003 (no particular order)

1. Finding Nemo
2. Pirates of the Carribean
3. Phone Booth
4. Kill Bill Vol. 1
5. X-Men United
6. Mystic River
7. Secondhand Lions
8. Master and Commander
9. Elf
10. City of God

Worst Movies of 2003 (had low expectations and they still didn't meet them)

1. Cat in the Hat
2. Bruce Almighty
3. Matrix (III)

Most Disappointing (had high expectations; movies failed miserably)

1. The Hulk
2. Matrix II
3. Intolerable Cruelty
4. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Generally, more hits than misses. Still waiting for LoTR !

[Uncle Sparky]

Was The Circle this year or last year ? I liked it !

[Ned]

I guess a lot of people liked Finding Nemo. I didn't. But it would be interesting to see if it gets a best picture nomination.

Uncle Sparky, did you see any of Open Range, Antoine Fisher or Lost in Translation?

[Uncle Sparky]

Uncle Sparky, did you see any of Open Range, Antoine Fisher or Lost in Translation?

Ned : The first 2 are on my "to see on video" list and I haven't seen Lost in Translation yet. I also still need to see Love Actually.

[Jac de Molay]

I'm still holding out hope for Tom Cruise's scenery-chewing epic, Dances with Samurais, to take the big Raspberry this year.

[Mercator]

These are the films I've seen this year...

Brilliant
Dolls
Spirited Away
Pirates of the Caribbean

Great
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Punch-Drunk Love
8 Mile
Catch Me If You Can
The Matrix Reloaded

Good
Phone Booth
The Matrix Revolutions
Bruce Almighty
Interstella 5555
The Ring

Mediocre
Amen.
Die Another Day


I will be seeing "Finding Nemo" next Tuesday. I'll also see the final LOTR, but that might end up being in January.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Ned
MrFun, No. But people are constantly reporting just how much Hollywood hates Republicans and the so-called religious right. The truth is that Hollywood is anti-Christian. You will hardly ever see a Christian protrayed by Hollywood as anything other than a bible-thumping bigot.

Eh -- I wouldn't go that far, Ned. Liberalism does make up a substantial amount of Hollywood's celebrity and production culture, but don't you think you're exaggerating??

[centrifuge]

Originally posted by Ned
I also think that Open Range and Antoine Fisher were two very very good movies.

Yet two others that I forgot to put on my list, I agree both were good movies.

did the " Life of David Gayle" come out in 2003? If so it's on my recommended list as well. I thought it was an excellent film.

[Boris Godunov]

Ned, can you do anything without turning it into a rant against liberals? This myopic hatred of yours crossed into pathetic territory long ago.

It's a thread about movies.

[monolith94]

"I'm still holding out hope for Tom Cruise's scenery-chewing epic, Dances with Samurais, to take the big Raspberry this year."

Don't hold your breath - judging by the trailers and the early reviews of the film, it looks absolutely wonderful.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by monolith94
Don't hold your breath - judging by the trailers and the early reviews of the film, it looks absolutely wonderful.

You're always so prone to exaggeration!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheLastSamurai-1127779/

69% is good, but not "wonderful." Most of the positive reviews even point out that it's far from a wonderful film.

It looks to me like another run-of-the-mill period epic. Since the last one of those I saw was Gladiator, and that got great reviews, I'm not hopeful.

[Jac de Molay]

Great. Another Tom Cruise movie where his Magic Teeth and Man-Tits save the day.

[holds breath]

[Ned]

Originally posted by MrFun


Eh -- I wouldn't go that far, Ned. Liberalism does make up a substantial amount of Hollywood's celebrity and production culture, but don't you think you're exaggerating??

Yes and no. There are a few social conservatives in Hollywood, such as Gibson. Schwarzennegger is a mixed bag - socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

But, I think Star Trek and the new Missing movie represents the norm of Hollywood. Hollywood shows enormous respect for Native religions and even minority religions like Judaism. (There are a lot of movies about the Holocaust.) But these same shows seem to protray that the majority are atheists because they have no religion at all. Now the contrast between the two treatments seems to endorse atheism while "respecting" the "culture" of minorities.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


Ned, can you do anything without turning it into a rant against liberals? This myopic hatred of yours crossed into pathetic territory long ago.

It's a thread about movies.

Boris, sorry, but I am passionate on the subject as you can tell. I personally am an agnostic (Catholic, but not really) and am pro-choice to an extent. I guess that places me slightly on the liberal side of the fence socially. However I do see an all-out attack on Christianity from the left that I deeply resent. Hollywood is the source of a lot of this anti-Christian belief system.

I would have said nothing at all about this until the topic of Missing came up. The movie appears to be, as I said, a glorification of Indian spiritualism.

[monolith94]

"Epic filmmaking at its absolute finest."

"The most staggeringly beautiful cinematography of the year makes The Last Samurai a visual feast."

"The Last Samurai is a nearly perfect example of it's genre and is certainly one of the best offerings of 2003."

Also, I think it's worthy of note that the newspaper with the best reviewers in the business, the New York Times, has given it quite a positive review. In addition, most of the reviews which bash the film do so because of the oh-so-popular Tom Cruise backlash, calling it a prestige peice (I don't think it is) and deriding him, rather than the movie. I've only seen two negative reviews that focus on the movie rather than Cruise.

Of course, there's only one critic I trust, and that's A.O. Scott. He hasn't given his opinion of the film, so I'm going to go watch it with an open mind.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Ned
I would have said nothing at all about this until the topic of Missing came up. The movie appears to be, as I said, a glorification of Indian spiritualism.

Yet you haven't seen it. How are you qualified to make such a claim?

Even if it's glorifying Native American spiritualism, so what? That doesn't make it a de facto attack on Christianity, does it?

[MRT144]

boris, you forget, youre either with us, or against us. you cant be with us if you support crazy indian voodoo.

[MrFun]

How nice -- degrading Amerindian culture to "crazy Indian voodoo."


Maybe my Catholic upbringing was based on nothing but "crazy Anglo-Saxon voodoo?"

[MRT144]

mr fun, do i have to put smilies in everything for you to pick up on the humor?

[Dr Strangelove]

Best Movies of 2003
(not necessarily in order)
Far From Heaven
Master and Commander
Spirited Away
Secondhand Lions
Chicago

Worst Movies of 2003
(not necessarily in order)
Sinbad
About Schmidt
Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals

-Gods and Generals wins the L. Reifensthal (sp) Propaganda Award though, with attached oak leaf clusters for senselessly propagandizing a cause dead for more than one hundred years.
-Ted Turner calls Christianity a religion for losers? JEEEZZZ Ted, I mean, I mean JEEEEZZZZZZUUSSSSS Ted.

[monolith94]

yeah, about schmidt WAS pretty bad

Far From Heaven, Spirited Away and Chicago were all 2002 releases though.

For you, I reccomend the Pianist. I think you'll like it.