Mike's top 10 films of 2002

The trick, as it is every year, is to decide which films are eligible for the list. Should I only include films that I saw in 2002, or should I only include films that are officially (according to some reputable authority) films of 2002? I have decided to do both.

For many more top 10 lists, click here.

Any comments should be addressed to Mike Weston at mike@misosoup.com.

Top 10 (or 11) films I saw during 2002

These are the best films I saw for the first time in 2002. It includes some 2001 films that I saw early in 2002 (and were also on my 2001 top ten list), and excludes some 2002 films that I did not have a chance to see before the year ended.

When I started the year, I aimed to reserve my highest 4 star rating for films that deserve to go on this list, and I came surprisingly close. I awarded 4 stars to a total of 11 films during the year (plus one more that I had first seen in 2001). Here they are, ranked starting with the best:

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (English title: Spirited Away, seen 11/22/2002, 2:05, rated PG, dubbed)
Lantana (seen 1/16/2002, 2:01, rated R)
Stanza del figlio, La (English title: The Son's Room, seen 4/3/2002, 1:39, rated R, in Italian with subtitles)
All or Nothing (seen 11/14/2002, 2:08, rated R)
Far from Heaven (seen 12/22/2002, 1:47, rated PG-13)
Minority Report (seen 8/11/2002, 2:25, rated PG-13)
Road to Perdition (seen 7/8/2002, 1:59, rated R)
Spellbound (seen 11/3/2002, 1:35, unrated)
No Man's Land (seen 1/15/2002, 1:38, rated R, in Bosnian/etc. with subtitles)
Black Hawk Down (seen 2/17/2002, 2:23, rated R)
Moonlight Mile (seen 10/29/2002, 1:52, rated PG-13)

Bottom 10 (or 11) films I saw during 2002

While I'm at it, here are the worst films I saw in 2002, ranked starting from the worst:

Yok mang (English title: Desire, seen 11/3/2002, 1:25, unrated, in Korean with subtitles)
Misanthrope, The (seen 2/28/2002, 1:25, unrated)
Pier Paolo Pasolini (seen 4/28/2002, 1:30, unrated, in Italian and French with subtitles)
Let's Love Hong Kong (seen 11/7/2002, 1:22, unrated, in Cantonese with subtitles)
GeGe (seen 2/27/2002, 1:30, unrated, in Mandarin with subtitles)
Princess D (seen 11/5/2002, 1:37, unrated, in Cantonese and Mandarin with subtitles)
Wa dong ren (English title: The Rules of the Game, seen 11/4/2002, 1:43, unrated, in Mandarin with subtitles)
Apsolutnih sto (English title: Absolute Hundred, seen 2/28/2002, 1:33, unrated, in Serbo-Croatian with subtitles)
Collateral Damage (seen 2/16/2002, 1:55, rated R)
Aswesuma (English title: The Compensation, seen 2/24/2002, 1:52, unrated, in Sinhala with subtitles)
XXX (seen 8/17/2002, 1:51, rated PG-13)

Top 10 (or 9) AMPAS films of 2002

This section is my choice for the best films that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, the Oscar® people) define as films released during 2002. Here they are, ranked starting from the best:

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (English title: Spirited Away, seen 11/22/2002, 2:05, rated PG, dubbed)
Stanza del figlio, La (English title: The Son's Room, seen 4/3/2002, 1:39, rated R, in Italian with subtitles)
All or Nothing (seen 11/14/2002, 2:08, rated R)
Far from Heaven (seen 12/22/2002, 1:47, rated PG-13)
Minority Report (seen 8/11/2002, 2:25, rated PG-13)
Pianist, The (seen 2/20/2003, 2:28, rated R, in English and German with subtitles)
Chicago (seen 3/20/2003, 1:53, rated PG-13)
Road to Perdition (seen 7/8/2002, 1:59, rated R)
Moonlight Mile (seen 10/29/2002, 1:52, rated PG-13)

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