Monday, April 22, 2013

The Otts in Film: 2001
2001

World-Wide Top Grossing Films
1.       Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
2.       The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3.       Monsters, Inc.
4.       Shrek
5.       Ocean’s Eleven
6.       Pearl Harbor
7.       The Mummy Returns
8.       Jurassic Park 3
9.       Planet of the Apes
10.   Hannibal

The first half of that list is defensible. The second half is best not looked at on a full stomach. Hannibal slips in as a last plea for a script-based serious film to post a big payday. In a global era, it’s just not possible…especially when that serious script-based film is terrible. 

Best Picture Nominees:
A Beautiful Mind
Gosford Park
In the Bedroom
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge!
Least Justifiable Nomination: In the Bedroom
And that’s why we have 10 nominations.

Most Overrated: Donnie Darko. That 80’s nostalgia indie flic that you had to be a teenager in the 80's to appreciate. I was a toddler.
Most Underrated (Then): The Mexican. Scoffed at for not living up to its cast, with lower expectations, it turns out to be surprisingly watchable on the small screen.
Most Underrated (Now):  Spy Game. Brad Pitt in a spy movie about the Lebanese Civil War, in Robert Redford’s last worthwhile appearance. And it’s good too.
Most Influential: Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings
Together, these two movies completely remade the business, making studio budget tentpoles stand on the sturdy concrete foundation of a fantasy series with teems of book-bearing fanboys. It’s hard to remember a time that half of Hollywood thought Lord of the Rings would flop and Return of the King would end up being the most expensive TV movie of all-time. As for Harry Potter specifically, it identified a huge market of kids who continue to pay through the nose for the ever more dismal Twilight and Hunger Games fantasy/sci-fi alter-world to their own lives. (I wasn't there for otts teenage nostalgia either. Why won't anyone sell me 90's nostalgia?)

Most Representative of the Decade:
Zoolander – which reminds me that I haven’t been flashing enough blue steel lately.

Best Scenes:
A Beautiful Mind – “Prisoner’s Dilemma”
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – “You Shall Not Pass”
The Man Who Wasn’t There – “The Uncertainty Principle”
Moulin Rouge – “Elephant love medley”
The Royal Tannenbaums – “You tryin’ to steal my woman?” (Tight second: Ritchie plays tennis)

WINNER: Prisoner's Dilemma

Best Movies:
1.       The Royal Tenenbaums
2.       Moulin Rouge
3.       Ocean’s Eleven
4.       The Man Who Wasn’t There
5.       Zoolander
6.       A Beautiful Mind
7.       Black Hawk Down
8.       Shaolin Soccer
9.       Shrek
10.   Lagaan

2 comments:

Alan Omand said...

Finally we agree on almost all points. Royal Tenenbaums still holds up.

Megan said...

Haha...zoolander! One of our favorites!