Lists of the Top 10 Movies in 2003 from Daily
Arts staffers

Click "http://www.michigandaily.com/pages/pdf/2004-01-16ff.pdf">here
to see the complete 2003 Movies Friday Focus page.

Todd Weiser, Daily Arts
Editor

 #1 The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King — The rare case of a triumphant
cinematic vision, complete with inimitable WETA computer magic and
affectionate storytelling execution, eradicating a few, trivial
blemishes. Can the cinematic experience of a lifetime really be
over?

 #2 Lost in Translation
— Sofia Coppola’s second feature has the feel of a
timeless album that you throw on whenever the right mood hits you.
No plot tricks are at play here, simply the understated emotion of
moments shared between two lives lost in transition.

 #3 Kill Bill: Volume 1
— A bloody good visual feast topped off with an
infectious love for the electrifying natural ecstasy of two hours
of cinema.

 # 4 Capturing the
Friedmans — How could a small Jewish family from Long
Island elicit so much conversation from audiences? A documentary
unlike any other with brutally intimate visuals and testimonials
continually graying whatever truth exists.

 #5 In America —
Perfectly personal in every way as tears stream from joy and grief
in tandem. Heartwarming is not always such a dirty word.

 #6 Irreversible
— In reverse, “Memento”-like fashion, French
director Gaspar Noe tests the limits of the art form and the limits
of an audience’s ability to handle ugliness; very difficult
and ultimately brilliant.

 #7 Finding Nemo
— The most touching “I love you” of 2003
curiously found itself between familial seafood in Sydney Harbor.
Going underwater, Pixar continues to hold the Castle Disney
afloat.

 #8 Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World — Crowe continues fighting
‘round the world, while Peter Weir captivatingly fills in the
deafening details of 1805 seafaring. Still, Paul Bettany’s
Darwinian ways and self-mutilation steal the thunder.

 #9 X2 — In a
year when comic book movies revealed their sometimes Hulk-sized
holes, “X2” gave fans hope that only the strong would
survive. I challenge you to find another action film that addresses
the issues of post-Sept. 11 America and homosexuality.

 #10 Winged Migration
— No complexity in this documentary —
“Friedmans” provided enough of that — just a
wonderfully visual intimacy with a globe’s worth of soaring
wonders.

Joel Hoard, Daily Arts
Writer

 #1 American Splendor
— “Splendor” takes the story of bitter and
cynical Cleveland file clerk-turned comic book writer Harvey Pekar,
blurs the line between fiction and documentary and oddly turns into
the most life-affirming film of the year.

 #2 A Mighty Wind
— When will America at large wake up and see Christopher
Guest et al. as the comedic geniuses they are? Oh, right, when they
acquire good taste (I’m just playin’, America. You know
I love you).

 #3 Capturing the Friedmans
— The scariest movie since “The Exorcist”
— made even scarier by the fact that it all really
happened.

#4 In America — Young
actresses Sarah and Emma Bolger show once again that foreign
children are better than American children at
everything.

 #5 Finding Nemo
— For some reason I cared more about little Nemo than I
do about most other films’ human characters. Is that
unhealthy?

 #6 Better Luck Tomorrow
— And to think that all that time I spent not studying in
high school I could have been committing fraud, dealing drugs and
killing people.