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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Copyright © 2002-2003 by Michael S. Weston. All rights reserved.