2000

The Best Films Of The Year:

1. You Can Count On Me
2. Wonder Boys
3. Requiem For A Dream
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
5. Amores Perros
6. Traffic
7. Billy Elliot
8. Almost Famous
9. High Fidelity
10. Gladiator

I had a difficult time ranking these top ten. I probably could shuffle around the top six. In the end, I quasi-ranked films in relation to the impact I received from them. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo give amazing performances in "You Can Count On Me". It also features the best of the Culkin clan (Rory). "Wonder Boys" had great performances and was nicely put together by director Curtis Hanson. "Requiem For A Dream" was a hard-hitting look at drug addiction. "Crouching Tiger" was one of those cinematic experiences you hope for when you put together so much talent. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that there were plenty of good films in 2000, from small independents to foreign films to big Hollywood productions. It was also nice to see such variety in this year's cinematic landscape. This was just before the remake craze hit Hollywood and the common denominator they look at was lowered even further.

The Worst Films Of The Year:

1. Scary Movie
2. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
3. The Flintstones - Viva Rock Vegas
4. Reindeer Games
5. Meet The Parents

Boy, were there some doozies this year. "Scary Movie" should have been titled Retarded Movie. It has some of the most unintelligent, crass and generally uninspired comedy I've ever seen. I love irreverent, un-PC comedy but this just pandered to the dumbest, broadest audience it could. That's right, I said it. If you liked this film, you are DUMB. Try watching "Caddyshack" or "Ghostbusters" and see what comedy should be. The other films on the list are also very, very bad. Ben Affleck scores another Worst Of The Year honor and I'd lump "Meet The Parents" into the same category as "Scary Movie", except at least in this film, they tried to make comedy from a somewhat original source. "Scary Movie" took other peoples' ideas and perverted them into crap.

The Most Horrible Films That Are Fun To Watch:

1. Dungeons & Dragons
2. The Skulls
3. Final Destination
4. Bring It On
5. Battlefield Earth

I bet you were expecting numbers one, two and five on the list above, but each of them can provide a great platform for some home MST3K action. I recommend creating your own drinking games and I'll give you some ideas. Every time Jeremy Irons goes over the top in "Dungeons and Dragons", drink. Every time Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker are on-screen together in "The Skulls", drink. And every time you see John Travolta or Forest Whitaker do anything in "Battlefield Earth", drink two. "Final Destination" wasn't necessarily that bad of a film, but it wasn't good either. It also scored many of the potentially up and coming young actor crowd. "Bring It On" is sort-of an anomaly. I love that film. It's not good. Don't get me wrong. But Kirsten Dunst isn't as annoying as usual, because it's probably close to her actual personality, and any film about high school cheerleading that takes itself that seriously gets my vote. Cheesy moment after cheesy moment. Guilty pleasure, I guess.

The Most Underrated Films Of The Year:

The Way Of The Gun
The Cell
The Broken Hearts Club
Chopper

I know what you're saying: How can any film with both Ryan Phillippe and Juliette Lewis be any good? But "The Way Of The Gun" is a good, gritty film about a kidnap plot gone to shit. It also features James Caan, Benicio Del Toro and Taye Diggs, who help balance out the expected initial misgivings about the aforementioned duo. As a bonus, it features Sarah Silverman in one of the best opening scenes I've ever witnessed. Let me put it this way, she's credited as "Raving Bitch".

As far as Jennifer Lopez is concerned, I'm not a huge fan. She was good in "Out of Sight" and she's fine in this. However, I put "The Cell" on this list for Vincent D'Onofrio and for the visuals. Some really great ideas and colors, this is a good film to test out that new plasma screen you have.

"The Broken Hearts Club" was a great film about some gay men trying to cope with a tragedy that befalls a friend of theirs. What I liked about this film was that it seemed like one of the first films dealing with homosexuality not as the subject, but as a part of the characters. While there are many scenes and discussions that are about the gay community, this isn't a film trying to convey an agenda or anything like that. This is just a good film about a group of friends who try to recapture their lives and friendships. It features a quality cast (Timothy Olyphant, Zach Braff, Dean Cain, Andrew Keegan, Nia Long, John Mahoney) who give nice performances. Gay or straight, go and find this film.

"Chopper" stars Eric Bana as Mark 'Chopper' Read, a notorious criminal in Australia. The movie is gritty and Read is probably certifiable but has a crazy sort of charm to him at the same time. This is Bana's best performance, among a host of good performances, and once your ear picks up on the Aussie slang, this is one of the can't miss movies of 2000.