Day 932: Top 25 Movies of 2003

After sifting through 150 movies I can say this: 2003 was an interesting year for movies.  For quite some time, most of the really well made movies were all heavy dramas and period films, but 2003 seemed to thumb its nose unapologetically to that idea.  Sure, 2003 gave us stirring dramas, but it also gave us some really great comedies, both thoughtful and over the top.  2003 gave us action movies that went beyond being a mindless waste of time (except for ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ and ‘Daredevil’).  And 2003 gave us the most important thing of all… family films… films the whole family can actually enjoy together, even the parents… and four of them made my top 25 for 2003.

Once again I have embedded links to trailers so if you’re reading via an RSS feed; you won’t be able to access them (schutzhappens.blogspot.com)

A Might Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. The film was directed (and co-written) by Christopher Guest. The film is thought to reference the 2003 tribute concert to folk music producer Harold Leventhal that reunited several of the folk groups that Leventhal had managed.

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American Splendor is a 2003 biopic about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life. It stars Paul Giamatti as Pekar and Hope Davis as Brabner. However, it also features appearances from Pekar and Brabner themselves (along with Toby Radloff), who discuss their lives, the comic books, and how it feels to be depicted onscreen by actors.

Film Note:  This movie came out a year before ‘Sideways’ (the movie that made Paul Giamatti a household name).  Now, I don’t like to play favorites with my lists… but ‘American Splendor’ isn’t a movie many people have seen, but you need to.  Harvey Pekar’s story is amazing and it’s a story you should know about.  In addition, the execution of the story is devilishly clever and effective.   

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Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, and Jessica Lange. Finney plays Edward Bloom, a former traveling salesman from the Southern United States with a gift for storytelling, now confined to his deathbed. Bloom's estranged son, a journalist played by Crudup, attempts to mend their relationship as his dying father relates tall tales of his eventful life as a young adult, played by Ewan McGregor.

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Daddy Day Care is a 2003 American comedy film, starring Eddie Murphy. It was written by Geoff Rodkey and was directed by Steve Carr. It was released in theaters on May 9, 2003. It was produced by Revolution Studios and released by Columbia Pictures.

Film Note: I am 100% certain this choice is the surprise pick for 2003.  I don’t know what to tell you.  Eddie is surrounded by a solid supporting cast (including Steve Zhan) and I thought it was really funny.  And I saw this WAY before I ever met Grayson.

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Dogville  is a 2003 philosophical drama written and directed by Lars von Trier, and starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, and James Caan. It is a parable that uses an extremely minimal, stage-like set to tell the story of Grace Mulligan (Kidman), a woman hiding from mobsters, who arrives in the small mountain town of Dogville and is provided refuge in return for physical labor. 

Film Note: This movie is wildly simple.  You’re either going to love it or hate it, but I will guarantee this, you haven’t seen anything like it.

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Elf is a 2003 comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, and Zooey Deschanel.

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Finding Nemo is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) who, along with a regal tang called Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), searches for his abducted son Nemo (voiced byAlexander Gould). Along the way Marlin learns to take risks and to let Nemo take care of himself.

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Identity is a 2003 thriller film, directed by James Mangold and written by Michael Cooney. The film stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, John C. McGinley and Amanda Peet. The plot was inspired by Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None.

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In America is a 2003 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan. The semi-autobiographical screenplay by Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kirsten focuses on an immigrant Irish family's efforts to survive in New York City, as seen through the eyes of the elder daughter. Film Note: I am in love with this movie.

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Kill Bill, Vol 1 is a two-part action thriller film released in 2003 and 2004 by writer-director Quentin Tarantino, and starring Uma Thurman as The Bride. 

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Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King  is a 2003 epic fantasy-adventure film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the concluding film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, following The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002).

Performance Spotlight:  Sean Aston = Amazing in this film.

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Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson and directed by Sofia Coppola; it was Coppola's second feature film, after The Virgin Suicides (1999). The film blends elements of comedy as well as more serious themes common in drama films. Upon release, the film was a major critical success, and went on to be nominated for four Academy Awards, including: Best Picture, Best Actor for Bill Murray, and Best Director for Sofia Coppola; Coppola won for Best Original Screenplay.

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Love Actually is a 2003 romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress. The ensemble cast is composed predominantly of British actors.

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Master and Commander: Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios. The film's plot and characters are adapted from three novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series.

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Mystic River is an American author. He has written several award-winning novels, including A Drink Before the War and the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film.

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Open Range is a 2003 American Western film co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. Starring alongside Costner are Robert Duvall and Annette Bening.

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Pieces of April is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges. April Burns, the eldest daughter in a highly dysfunctional family, lives in a small tenement apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with her boyfriend Bobby. Although estranged from her family, she opts to invite them for Thanksgiving dinner, probably the last for her mother Joy, who has breast cancer.

Film Note: This is a wonderfully beautiful film.

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Pirate of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride atDisney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The story follows blacksmith Will Turner(Orlando Bloom) and pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

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Runaway Jury is a 2003 American drama/thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz. It is an adaptation of John Grisham's novel The Runaway Jury.

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School of Rock is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black. The main plot follows hard rock singer and guitarist, Dewey Finn (portrayed by Black), who is unanimously kicked out of his band and subsequently disguises himself as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school and forms a band of fifth-grade students to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands so he can pay his rent for his apartment.

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Seabiscuit is a 2003 American drama film based on the best-selling novel Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The film is loosely based on the life and racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized and overlooked thoroughbred race horse, whose unexpected successes made him a hugely popular media sensation in the United States near the end of the Great Depression.

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Second Hand Lions is a 2003 American family film written and directed by Tim McCanlies. It tells the story of an introverted young man (Haley Joel Osment) who is sent to live with his eccentric uncles (Robert Duvall and Michael Caine) on a farm in the U.S. state of Texas.

Film Note: Oddly enough, ‘Second Hand Lions’ is almost identical, in theme, to ‘Big Fish’.  Same year, same idea, two great movies that make each idea feel different.

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The Italian Job is a 2003 heist film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, and Donald Sutherland. It is an American remake of the 1969 British film of the same name, and is about a team of thieves who plan to steal gold bullion from a former associate who double crossed them.

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The Station Agent is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy's script about a man who seeks solitude in an abandoned train station in Newfoundland, New Jersey won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Film Note: I had no idea what I was getting into when I first watched this… it left me speechless… so I just watched it again.

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The Triplets of Belleville is a 2003 animated surreal adventure film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. It was released as Belleville Rendez-vous in the United Kingdom. 

Film Note: Okay… so this movie is pretty strange, but oddly brilliant and VERY fun.  There isn’t much dialogue but the visuals are all you need.

Day 931: 83rd Best Picture, Best Director, and Harry Potter

About a week ago I shared my first impressions of the 83^rd annual Oscar nominations… however; I hadn’t seen all the movies on the list so my ability to speculate at that time was hampered.

Now that I’ve seen all 10 Best Picture and 5 Best Director nominations… I feel like I can weight in a little better… not that anyone cares, but this little movie mission of mine is a nice distraction… and Lord knows I need a distraction… so bear with me here.

BEST PICTURE

As it stands now, my personal favorite movie of the year is still ‘127 Hours’, however the odds of it winning Best Picture (or anything else) is slim to none. 

So, last week I predicted Best Picture as a tossup between ‘The Social Network’ and ‘The King’s Speech’ (even though I hadn’t seen ‘The King’s Speech’ yet).  And now that I HAVE seen the latter, I still believe it’s a tossup (like last year’s ‘Avatar’ v. ‘The Hurt Locker’ show down… which was hard to predict)… however, personally, I would give the edge to ‘The King’s Speech’.  There is nothing to dislike.  It’s just a delightfully well made film in the style of ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and ‘Forrest Gump’.  It is the kind of film made specifically to win awards produced by Harvey Weinstein… a producer has a knack for backing films that not only get nominated… but win awards (‘Shakespeare in Love’ is one of his).

Now, real contender’s aside, I have only found one film that I believe deserved a Best Picture courtesy nomination that was snubbed.  Now, it’s not the kind of film you might think.  I’m not talking about a movie that contains amazing Oscar nominated performances like ‘Rabbit Hole’ or ‘Blue Valentine’.  No… I’m talking about a completely different kind of movie.  A movie that will show off my total inner geek… I’m talking about ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1’.   

Yes, I’ve read all the books and yes, I would probably weep openly if I heard J.K. Rowling is releasing an eighth book in the series… but the movies, as a whole, have been a bit of a disappointment for me… that is until now… and I’m not surprised.  There has been an industry rumor surrounding the Harry Potter movies since the adaptation of the fourth book… and I’m not sure how accurate it is, but based on the two movie adaptation of the seventh and final book in the series I’m putting a certain amount of stock into the rumor I’m about to share.

The ‘legend’ all starts with screenwriter Steve Kloves, who worked closely with Rowlings adapting six of the seven books, (all but Book 5: ‘The Order of the Phoenix’).    His adaptations for the first two books were pretty straight forward and successful… however, Kloves was pretty open about his frustrations in adapting the third book, ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’, the point of the story where it becomes much darker, more complicated, and less family-fare.  And then, when it came time to adapt Book 4: ‘Goblet of Fire’, Kloves became very vocal about how the adaption of the book should be handled.  Kloves felt the story was too big for one movie and by cutting it down would cause continuity problems with the subsequent films.  So, he approached ‘Goblet of Fire’ director Mike Newell with an idea of making the book into two movies, with the first ending when Harry’s name is pulled from the Goblet.  Based on the rumor, Newell liked the idea and proposed it to the producers sighting the success of the Summer and Fall releases of The Matrix sequels in 2003.  Evidently, the producers weren’t interested in discussing the idea believing making two movies now would force them to make two for each of the remaining books.  They simply said, ‘Seven books, seven movies.”  And supposedly, Kloves, who had become very attached to the project, was less than pleased when the producers dismissed the idea so quickly.  And this is where the story takes two different paths.

Although, the reports surrounding the adaption of Book 5, ‘Order of the Phoenix’, states Kloves was unavailable due to the writers’ strike, the rumor goes on to say that Kloves attempted, once again, to talk the producers into breaking Book 5 up into two movies… and when his suggestion fell on deaf ears he used the strike as a way to separate himself from the project.

Then, in 2007, coinciding with the release of ‘Order of the Phoenix’, the final book, ‘The Deathly Hallows’, appeared in book stores…. At which point, according to the rumor, the producers realized they couldn’t finish the series properly with a total of seven movies… so they lured Kloves back to adapt the final two books into three movies.

I don’t know about the rest of you… but I always found the pacing of the Harry Potter movies to be insanely fast… Too fast.  Especially as they grew up… where the books were very thoughtfully paced, the movies were frantic as if they were trying to cram in as much information as possible into two and half hours… which is what they were trying to do.

But now, as a result of breaking ‘Deathy Hallows’ into two movies the pacing and tone of the films pretty much matches that of the book.  It’s REALLY good.  It’s great.  It’s what the series should have been ever since ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’.  And the film series has set itself up for an AMAZING end.  Although ‘Deathly Hallows, Part 1’ was overlooked this year… if Part 2 is anything like it… I would like to see a courtesy Best Picture nomination at the 84^th Academy Awards.

BEST DIRECTOR

Just like Best Picture and what I said last week, this category is between David Fincher (The Social Network) and Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).  However, unlike Best Picture, I’m giving David Fincher the edge this time.  Why?  Well… sometimes you have to look beyond the specific projects and focus on the nominee’s body of work.

‘The King’s Speech’ is great and Tom Hooper deserves the nomination, but this is only his third feature film.  Up until a little over a year ago Hooper has been, almost exclusively, a television director.  The Academy very rarely gives the Directing award to someone without an extensive resume… wins like Sam Mendes, who won for his directorial debut ‘American Beauty’, is very rare.

That said, this is David Fincher’s second Directing nomination, including ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’.  Plus he’s been at the helm of numerous critically acclaimed movies like ‘Seven’, ‘Fight Club’, ‘Panic Room’, and ‘Zodiac’.  The guy makes excellent, thought provoking movies.  His resume gives him a distinct edge.

However… I am still very disappointed by the snubs of Danny Boyle (127 Hours) and Christopher Nolan (Inception).  Both movies were tremendously directed and if either were up against Fincher… I wouldn’t be able to predict who would come out on top… not that I have any real ability to predict now… but we’ll see how close I am on February 27^th.

Day 930: Top 25 Movies of 2002

For 2002 I started with a list of 175 movies… and 2002 was actually a really good year for film.  It took me quite some time to whittle the list down to the 25 best.

In alphabetical order (also, if you are reading via RSS feeds, I have the trailers embedded in the original post):

About Schmidt is a 2002 American drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson as Warren Schmidt and Hope Davis as his daughter Jeannie. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado. According to the special features on the DVD, a number of non-professional local residents appeared in the film, portraying their real-life professions. The actual Woodmen of the World headquarters building in Omaha was used in the film, and Jack Nicholson was made an honorary member of the company during filming.

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Adaptation is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. The film is based on Susan Orlean's non-fiction book The Orchid Thief through self-referential events. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Charlie and Donald Kaufman, Meryl Streep as Susan, with Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film tells the story of Charlie Kaufman's difficult struggle to adapt The Orchid Thief into a film. In addition, Orlean romances with John Laroche while Charlie enlists the help of his twin brother Donald.

Film Note:  Much like my opinion of James Franko and ‘127 Hours’, I’ve never been much of a Nicolas Cage fan… but his performance in ‘Adaptation’ is amazing.

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Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers and Archie Panjabi first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha. Its title comes from the football player David Beckham and his skill at scoring from free kicks by "bending" (curving) the ball past a wall of defenders.

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Big Trouble is an American comedic film based on the novel Big Trouble by Dave Barry. It was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and featured a large cast including Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Dennis Farina, Zooey Deschanel and Jason Lee. Like much of Barry's fiction, it follows a diverse group of people through a series of extremely strange and humorous situations against the backdrop of Miami.

Film Note:  I don’t know too many people who have seen this movie.  It’s pretty darn funny and shares a lot of the same heart and wit found in movies like ‘Get Shorty’.  The movie was originally slated for a Fall 2001 release, but due to some sensitive airplane content it was pushed back and opened in 2002 with little fanfare.

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Birthday Girl is a 2002 American-British FilmFour-backed film featuring Nicole Kidman as a Russian mail-order bride. It is directed by Jez Butterworth and stars Ben Chaplin and Vincent Cassel.

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Catch Me If You Can  is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor. His primary crime was check fraud; he became so skillful that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other check forgers. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale and Tom Hanks as Hanratty as well as Christopher Walken, Amy Adams, Martin Sheen, and Nathalie Baye.

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Chicago  is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz age Chicago. Directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall, and adapted for film by screenwriter Bill Condon, Chicago won six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture. The film was the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1969.

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Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 American biographical spy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Sam Rockwell portrays Barris under the direction of actor George Clooney. Supporting roles are provided by Drew Barrymore, Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Rutger Hauer.

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Death to Smoochy is a 2002 American dark comedy film directed by and starring Danny DeVito. It also stars Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, and Jon Stewart.

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Dirty Pretty Things  is a 2002 film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, a drama about two illegal immigrants in London. It was produced by the Celador Films production company.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award for "Best Independent British Film" in 2003.

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Dragonfly is a 2002 film directed by Tom Shadyac. The story is about a grieving doctor being contacted by his late wife through his patients' near-death experience.

Film Note:  I’m pretty sure this will be my ‘Huh, What?’ pick for 2002.  I know a lot of people who make fun of this movie… but I really like it.  And don’t let the trailer fool you… it’s not really the kind of ‘supernatural thriller’ it’s trying to make you think it is… it’s something completely different.  In a lot of ways, it’s a very beautiful film.

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Dummy is a 2002 comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Pritikin. It stars Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga and Jared Harris. The original music score is composed by Mike Ruekberg. The film is marketed with the tagline The story of a dummy and his man.

Film Note:  Oddly enough, ‘Dummy’ came of the same year as ‘The Pianist’, the movie that won Adrien Brody an Oscar and made him a household name.  That’s the great thing about my crazy method of picking my favorite 25 movies.  ‘The Pianist’, although a great movie… not one I would want to watch as much as ‘Dummy’.

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Gerry is a 2002 film directed by Gus Van Sant, starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who also co-wrote the film with Van Sant. It is the first film of Van Sant's "Death Trilogy", three films based on deaths that occurred in real life, and is succeeded by Elephant and Last Days.

Film Note: I have to admit something.  I HATED this movie when I first saw it.  But that’s not saying a whole lot, I didn’t like ‘The Royal Tennenbaums’ or ‘The Big Lebowski’ when I first saw them… but now their two of my all time favorites… in short… I tend to give movies a second chance… and ‘Gerry’ is one of them.  The films cinematography and score are amazing, but I didn’t really ‘get’ the story until I found out it was based on a true events… and then I ‘got’ it.  That said… I am still surprised ‘Gerry’ made it all way to the top 25… but hey… I made the rules and ‘Gerry’ prevailed so it deserves to be here.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  is a 2002 fantasy-adventure film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same nameby J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, and is written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. The film starsDaniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint andEmma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley andHermione Granger. The supporting cast features Richard Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs, Christian Coulson andRobbie Coltrane.

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Hero is a 2002 Chinese-Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. Starring Jet Li as the nameless protagonist, the film is based on the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC.
Hero was first released in China on October 24, 2002.  At that time, it was the most expensive project and the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history. Miramax Films owned the American market distribution rights, but delayed the release of the film for nearly two years. It was finally presented by Quentin Tarantino to American theaters on August 27, 2004.

Film Note: We could totally learn a thing or two about making action movies from the Chinese.  The fight scenes in ‘Hero’ are more like watching a painting than it is a movie.  It’s so fluid and rich.

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Insomnia is a 2002 American thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. It is a remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. The film was released on 24 May 2002.

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Panic Room is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by David Koepp. The film stars Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam, Kristen Stewart, and Patrick Bauchau. The story concerns a mother and daughter taking refuge in a safe room during a break-in of their home by three armed robbers who are after millions of dollars stored in a safe.

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Punch-Drunk Love  is an American romantic comedy written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear.

Film Notes: I just love this film.  Don’t ask me why… I just do.

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Road to Perdition is a 2002 American period drama film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig. The plot, taking place during the Great Depression, follows a mob enforcer and his son as they seek vengeance against a mobster who murdered the rest of their family.

Performance Spotlight: Jude Law.  For the second list in a row, Jude gets a tip of the hat for another stellar performance.

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Secretary is a 2002dominant/submissive-themed romantic comedy-drama film directed by Steven Shainberg. It stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway and James Spader as E. Edward Grey. The film is based on a short story from Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill.

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Signs is a 2002 American science fiction thriller film directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It was adapted from a screenplay also written by Shyamalan. Executive producers for the film comprised, Shyamalan, Frank Marshall,  Kathleen Kennedy, and Sam Mercer. The story focuses on a former priest named Grahan Hess, who discovers a series of crop circles in his cornfield. Hess slowly becomes convinced that the phenomena is a result of extraterrestrial life. Veteran actors Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin star in principal roles. Signs explores faith, kinship and extraterrestrial life.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers  is a 2002 fantasy-adventure film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the second film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy that was preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and concluded with The Return of the King(2003).

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The Rookie is a 2002 drama sports film directed by John Lee Hancock. It is based on the true story of Jim Morris, who had a brief but famous Major League Baseball career. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, and Brian Cox.

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Welcome to Collinwood  is a 2002 American crime comedy film about five small-time criminals, from the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland, who try to organize one last big job. The story is a remake of the 1958 Italian film I soliti ignoti by Mario Monicelli.

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Whale Rider  is a 2002 New Zealand drama film directed by Niki Caro, based on the novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a 12-year-old girl struggling to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather Koro believes that this is a role reserved for males only.