Once again it's time for me to sum up my list of the best movies of 2003. Winner: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Although I thought this was the weakest of Peter Jackson's movies in the trilogy, the sheer weight of everything he did in the previous two movies carried this movie across the finish line for a firm first place. Even without using the previous two movies as momentum-bearing crutches, this movie features so many great moments it's almost guaranteed to be in this slot. Heck, the attack of the men of Rohan was one of the best cavalry charges I'd ever seen... And if you ask me, this was the movie that sets the standard for castle falling apart when the evil mastermind dies. Wow, talk about stepping on the Mordor tourism dollars. 2nd: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Sure, this isn't a retelling of The Far Side of the World, in fact, there's very little of the tenth O'Brian book in this movie... but there is a whole lot of the entire series in the movie. Being a huge O'Brian fan I loved all the bits and pieces scavenged from all the novels and seeded into the one movie; every little character from the series given his place, his lines and his mannerisms... a delight for this fan. Plus the visuals were an absolute treat. 3rd: The Last Samurai I wasn't expecting to see a Tom Cruise movie this high in the list, but this was a damn fine movie. Solid in action, characters, special effects and filmography. I was told that the martial arts featured in the film were top of the line, and I was not disappointed (well, ok, I was disappointed in the inaccuracy in the various non-martial weapons featured in the movie, but I understand the sacrifices that had to be made for the plot of the movie). 4th: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Wonderful performance of a right rememberable pirate by Johnny Depp. Sure the ending was a little weak, and the logic was convoluted... but we're talking zombie pirates here... and zombie pirate logic. Voot! 5th: Mystic River Powerful and disturbing, definitely not a movie I'd chose to see -- It's not a feel good movie. But the acting is superior, and the story is nice and rich. The Matrix Revolutions Well, most people were disappointed by the final two movies in the Matrix trilogy, but not me. I liked the 3rd much more than the 2nd (but less than the first)... and I just loved the last stand scene in the loading bay... with the huge mechas and the sentinels. Sure the sentinels weren't really attacking in any logical or strategic manner, who cares, did you see them? All oily and undulating and squiddy... mmmm, techosquids. Calendar Girls We'd just had to stomach Tim Burton's sell out, Big Fish, and so we'd thought we'd clear our palettes and see the movie next door. Boy did this do the trick. Finding Nemo Light hearted, funny, with wonderful voice acting -- especially on the part of Ellen DeGeneres. X-Men 2: X-Men United Not as good as X-Men 1, but still a nice little adventure romp. The thing that impressed me the most with this movie is how seamlessly the special effects were woven into the movie. Nothing seemed blatantly out of place (well, except maybe Pyro's big scene) and everything looked really clean. If my vote counted for anything, this movie'd get the Special Effects Oscar for the year. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 It's interesting to remember that this is only Tarantino's fourth movie directorship (he's mostly just well known for writing). As such, we'll, lets just say this movie would have ranked higher if he'd gotten one of his previous directors (Rodriguez, Stone or Scott) to conduct this one. Still, it's a fine little fu-filled adventure with Uma Thurman crunching her way through a four course meal of revenge. The second part is high on my hype-list of movies I'm eagerly awaiting. Just for kicks and giggles, here's the list of all the movies I seen that were released in 2003; ranked from the worst to the best, in my humble opinion: Bringing Down the House American Wedding S.W.A.T. Looney Tunes: Back in Action Brother Bear I Capture the Castle 2 Fast 2 Furious Biker Boyz In Hell Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle A Man Apart Down with Love Alex and Emma Hollywood Homicide A Guy Thing Batman: Dead End Basic The Core Once Upon a Time in Mexico Big Fish Tears of the Sun Bad Boys II Cradle 2 the Grave A Mighty Wind Shanghai Knights Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines The School of Rock The In-Laws Beyond Re-Animator The Recruit Underworld Step Into Liquid Paycheck How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Anger Management Bulletproof Monk The Italian Job Lost in Translation Mona Lisa Smile The Order The Matrix Reloaded Dreamcatcher Intolerable Cruelty Elf Holes The Hunted The Rundown Animatrix Confidence The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen American Splendor Freddy Vs. Jason Daredevil Identity Bruce Almighty Hulk Kill Bill: Vol. 1 X-Men 2: X-Men United Calendar Girls Finding Nemo The Matrix Revolutions Mystic River Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl The Last Samurai Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Columns by jasona