Don Hosek - Movies I've seen in 2002

Each movie's given with a quickie review and the date that I've seen it. They're listed from best to worst. If a film has a number in brackets after the title, that indicates a film I've seen more than once, and which viewing I'm listing. I'd also point out that I do see revival and repertory stuff so not every film on the list will be a 2002 release. It will, however, be a film I saw projected on a screen in a dark room filled with strangers. Titles in bold are movies in which Macintosh computers make an appearance. [F] indicates a film I saw at the Chicago International Film Festival.

  1. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (7/11) A great tribute to movie lovers
  2. Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (6/18) Wonderfully thought-provoking film
  3. Minority Report (6/26) Wow--two great Spielberg SciFi films in a row. I'm impressed.
  4. Amélie (2/22) It just makes me smile
  5. Vanilla Sky (1/29) Intriguing thriller/mystery, although it followed its original amazingly closely
  6. Full Frontal (8/12) Confusing at first, but a brilliant piece of filmmaking
  7. Insomnia (5/24) Another great thriller mystery, also remaking a foreign film
  8. One Hour Photo (9/3) Incredible acting by Robin Williams
  9. Rabbit-Proof Fence (10/16) Amazing true story about Australian practices that continued until disturbingly recently
  10. Bowling for Columbine (11/3) One of Michael Moore's best
  11. Y tu mama tambien (5/30) Good, but not so much as the hype would have you believe
  12. A Beautiful Mind (6/12) More about mental illness than mathematics, quite gripping
  13. The Road to Perdition (9/13) Irish guys wacking people... I like it.
  14. Frida (11/27) Beautiful imagery
  15. Murder by Numbers (4/22) Underrated thriller
  16. The Believer (6/20) Interesting look into the racist mind
  17. Changing Lanes (4/19) An enjoyable look at men behaving badly. Spoiled a bit by the conclusion.
  18. About a Boy (5/29) An improvement over the novel, unlike the last film based on one of Hornby's works
  19. Waking Life (6/6) Definitely one to see again
  20. Metropolis (8/13) Incredible images but many parts have not aged well
  21. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (7/3) Some of the twists were clearly jerking us around, but still an impressive film.
  22. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (11/30) Having read the book, it seems like the film makers are helping curb some of J.K. Rowling's excesses
  23. Punch Drunk Love (11/15) I think I'm becoming an Adam Sandler fan. Not enough to see that Hannukah movie though.
  24. Spider-Man (5/6) One of the best superhero films in a while
  25. Enigma (5/23) Interesting film about WWII code breakers
  26. Divine Intervention (10/12) I'm still not sure what it was about, but I enjoyed it anyway
  27. El Hijo de la Novia (6/5) Intriguing drama about aging parents
  28. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (5/10) No plot, but still fun
  29. Gosford Park (2/16) Enjoyable period piece
  30. The Importance of Being Earnest (6/3) Well-executed Wilde
  31. The Emperor's New Clothes (6/28) Fun historical revision
  32. The Royal Tenenbaums (1/5) Felt very Salinger-esque
  33. Lucia y el Sexo (7/26) Interesting story between the copious amounts of sex
  34. Red Dragon (10/15) Better than Hannibal, at least
  35. The Bourne Identity (6/14) Decent action film
  36. CQ (6/5) Didn't live up to the ambitions, but they were admirable ambitions
  37. The Sum of All Fears (6/3) As long as you don't view this as somehow a continuation of previous Jack Ryan films, it's fine
  38. Simone (9/12) Interesting concept, but poor execution
  39. Happenstance (5/17) Enjoyable vehicle for Audrey Tautou
  40. Safety Last (7/19) Delightful Harold Lloyd silent film
  41. Sunshine State (7/7) OK, but I would have liked to have had more Alan King
  42. Death to Smoochy (4/8) A bit uneven at times, but great fun
  43. Bad Company (6/7) By the numbers fish out of water film. Falls apart a bit in the third act
  44. Men in Black II (7/4) Lost much of the magic from the original, but still worth watching
  45. Panic Room (4/2) I expect better from Fincher. The gimmick shots were nice though.
  46. Showtime (4/9) Decent buddy comedy
  47. Suicide Club (10/15) Incoherent, frequently disturbing.
  48. Life or Something Like It (5/6) Decent romantic comedy
  49. American Chai (6/26) Needed more music. How do you make a movie about a musician and leave out the music?
  50. Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones [1] (5/23) Not as bad as Star Wars 1, but that's not saying much
  51. Kissing Jessica Stein (3/21) Fair bedroom farce
  52. Human Nature (4/15) A lot of wasted potential
  53. Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones [2] (6/14) I ended up seeing it twice. Re-viewing only emphasized how empty the film was and the missed opportunities in the story (imagine if Count Dushku were actually a good guy!)
  54. No Such Thing (4/10) I think that there was an attempt to be "deep" here, but it seems to have been a failure.
  55. Home Movie (7/11) Disappointing documentary on interesting homes
  56. In the Bedroom (3/1) Left me bored much of the time.
  57. Hollywood Ending (5/8) Perhaps Woody was really blind when he made this...
  58. Monster's Ball (4/11) Not even a naked Halle Berry could rescue this from dullness
  59. Chelsea Walls (6/8) Draggy and uninteresting
  60. The Piano Teacher (5/16) Nothing remotely appealing about this film.
  61. ABC Africa (6/20) I felt like I was watching someone's vacation film
  62. The Sweetest Thing (4/12) Completely forgettable. In fact, I completely forgot it until I started typing this page