What's in a Movie Year - 2000

Taking a look at the year 2000, picking my 10 favorite movies from that year in random order.
 

High Fidelity
This film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s bestseller of the same name is not set in London but in Chicago. There Rob runs a record store, which is only visit by the true purists. The wandering thirty-something has an almost sickly record collection and consistently categorizes according to a top five, whether it’s music or women. When girlfriend Laura trades him in for another, Rob finds out there’s more to it than collecting vinyl. It’s a fun comedy, with one of my favorite movie characters ever played by John Cusack and some great supporting roles by Jack Black and Tim Robbins.
 

Requiem for a Dream
Widowed and unorthodox mother Sara Goldfarb is firmly convinced that she wull be invited to one of her favorite TV shows. She swallows amphetamines to lose weight, so she can wear het red dress when the big day comes. Son Harry, like his friends, is also on drugs. It’s a smart big-cuty story by Darren Aronofsky and it uses hypnotic imagery and music. A fantastic movie, with some disturbing scenes that makes it hard to watch. But a definite must-see.
 

Unbreakable
David Dunne is a security guard who realizes after an accident that he is never sick and never got hurt. He’s unbreakable. He meets the owner of a comic book store, who is the complete opposite: he has an extremely fragile body. Visually “Unbreakable” is very intriguing and the story is really strong. One of M. Night Shyamalan’s best film to date.
 

Snatch
A crime comedy in which the story of Franky Four Fingers is interwoven with storylines around Bullet Teeth Toney and the boxing Irish gypsy Mickey. Franky steals the diamonds where the American Avi and the Russian criminal Boris the Blade are looking for. Director Guy Ritchie is a fun film, in the style of his earlier succession “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. It’s dazzling, funny and edgy. I especially love Brad Pitt as the boxer, with a crazy Irish accent.
 

O Brother, Where art Thou?
A magnificently played and photographed adaptation of Homer’s epic Odyssey, starring George Clooney as Everett Ulysses. At the end of the thirties he escapes from a chain gang with loser Delmar and hot head Pete. According to a blind prophet they will find a fortune, but not the fortune they are looking for. Chained together they head for the adventure and meet a cyclops, sirens and a devilish lawman. The film also has a beautiful soundtrack. One of the most underappreciated films by the Coen Brothers I believe.
 

Gladiator
Roman general Maximus defeats a northern barbarian army, but is then betrayed by Emperor Commodus. He is sold as a slave and then has to work as a gladiator. Although historically not accurate, “Gladiator” is a beautiful film with a great performance by Russel Crowe.
 

Cast Away
FedEx manager Chuck Noland ends up on an uninhabited island after a plane crash and spends years in solitude. Due to loneliness Chuck starts talking to a Volleyball, which he calls Wilson. Probably two thirds of this film contains constant music, which is highly unusual for a big Hollywood movie. Since it’s mainly Tom Hanks on screen, and only he can make us cry over a volleyball.
 

American Psycho
Director Mary Harron decided to adapt the controversial book “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis. The book has excessive violence and although the film is also very violent, it stayed relatively mild compared to the novel. The film is about the white-collar serial killer Patrick Bateman, as a symbol of the cynical, greedy eighties. But the horrific violence is not explicitly shown. Christian Bale is fantastic in his role, one of his best performances.
 

Billy Elliot
A young boy in a deprived British neighborhood can’t box, be he can dance. It’s a form of expression not accepted here for men. The boy is forbidden to dance, but he perseveres anyway. Billy eventually succeeds and has a better relationship with the people around him. “Billy Elliot” shows a well-known formula, but fortunately a sympathetic one.  
 

Final Destination
Alex feels disaster is in the air, on the eve of a flight and school trip to Paris. Everywhere he looks, Alex sees and feels signs of something bad happening on the flight. When panicking on the actual plane, he and some of his classmates are taken of the flight. And soon after the plane takes off, it explodes. It sets the tone of a film that shows a lot can go wrong in life. Since they have cheated death, death is coming for them one by one. It’s started a series, but this is still the best. And it has some gruesome and original deaths in it.

 

Top 5 Thursday: Hottest Male Characters in Horror Movies

Since it is October and it’s the month of Halloween, I decided to share with you a top 5 featuring horror movies. Well, I do it my way. I focused on the hottest male movie characters in horror movies. Here they are.

5. Seth Gecko (George Clooney in “From Dusk Till Dawn”)
Seth Gecko manages to charm you and you almost forget that he is a criminal. And although I’m not much a tattoo kind of girl, his is pretty awesome. And sexy.

4. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale in “American Psycho”)
Patrick Bateman is exactly the kind of man I would never date: a yuppie, narcissistic and vain man. But he is attractive.

3. Curt (Chris Hemsworth in “Cabin in the Woods”)
Curt is kind of a douche, the jock of the group. But come on, it’s Chris Hemsworth who plays him. I just had to put him on the list.

2. George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds in “The Amityville Horror”)
I don’t know why George Lutz is in this film shirtless so often, but I’m not complaining. George eventually turns into a psychopath, but he still got the looks.

1. Jerry (Colin Farrell in “Fight Night”)
I’ve never liked the swoony vampires, that don’t want to kill people. I liked the bad boys. Having Jerry as your neighbor is not that bad, weren’t it for the fact that he is an evil vampire. A hot evil vampire.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Jerry (Colin Farrell in “Fright Night”), Nick Jones (Chad Michael Murray in “House of Wax”)

Marry, Kiss, Cliff - Round 5

Round 5: Jerry Maguire (“Jerry Maguire”), Ted Stroehmann (“There’s Something About Mary”) and Patrick Bateman (“American Psycho”)

Marry: I think you could call yourself very lucky if Ted Stroehmann is your husband. Although he isn’t always very lucky himself. Well, neither am I so we would understand each other. Ted is such a sweet man.

Kiss: Jerry Maguire is kind of a player, but also has a soft side. If he would tell me “you complete me”, I would melt…

Cliff: I would easily push Patrick Bateman of a cliff. He’s a yuppie, obsessed with his own appearance and, oh yeah, he’s insane! I wouldn’t want him to chase me with a chainsaw.

Top 5 Thursday: Movies from 2000

Another year of movies, this time 2000. Here are the best movies from that year in my opinion.

5. Return to Me
Maybe just a guilty pleasure, but I always liked this romantic comedy. I think especially Minnie Driver’s character warms your heart.

4. Cast Away
Tom Hanks’ performance is phenomenal, as always… When you just read the synopsis you think how can a man who’s been stranded on a deserted island with a volleyball called Wilson be interesting. Well, Mr. Hanks does it!

3. Memento
The way the story is told is so original. At first you don’t know what the hell is going on, but eventually all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

2. American Psycho
A total mindfuck in the end. Did he actually kill all those people? Patrick Bateman is so self-obsessed, that I actually have to dislike him. But he is so cynical, that he’s one of the best created movie characters.

1. High Fidelity
This is actually in my top five of all-time favorites. John Cusack is one of my weaknesses whom I think is underappreciated. My brother doesn’t get his appeal like I do, but I just love this guy. Especially in “High Fidelity”, where he makes lists of everything, just like moi!

They Almost Made the Top 5: Shanghai Noon, X-Men, Billy Elliot, Snatch, Chocolat, O Brother, Where Art Thou and Memento

Top 5 Thursday: Christian Bale Movies

Christian Bale is a fantastic actor. Not the happiest chuck, but very persuasive and real. Also an actor who will go all the way for a role. I enjoy watching him, his performance, his characters. I ranked my favorite movies for you. And probably surprising, but none of the Batman movies are on this list.

5. Equilibrium
I have seen this movie so many times, I stopped counting. It was compaired to "The Matrix" al lot, but (and please don't kill me), this one is so much better. I think it's just taste. I like the concept and the original fighting scenes this movie has.

4. The Machinist
Fascinating! You get all the answers at the end. Great performance by Christian, and this is one of these movies where he did everything to do the job right.

3. American Psycho
Another amazing performance, a real psycho. In the end you still don't really know if he really did it all or it was just in his head. Mindfuck!

2. The Prestige
Christian tops his co-star Hugh Jackman. Brilliant acting. And a nice twist in the end. I always like that.

1. Empire of the Sun
He was just a kid, but you could already see that this was going to be a big one. Thank God he wasn't just another childstar. This is such a beautiful movie.

They almost made the top 5: Rescue Dawn, 3:10 to Yuma, Batman Begins