In fact, "Apocalypse Now" actually showed up on some top ten lists. That's very indicative of what kind of year 2001 was.
Meanwhile, Hollywood could care less about good movies, since they are making so much money off bad ones! All year long the cycle of hype, huge opening weekend, bad word of mouth, and finally a quick trip to the dustbin of history, repeated itself as regularly as the tide. As you can see from the following list of films that grossed over the magic $100 million mark, the only movies that failed at this method of promotion were A.I. and Atlantis, so they must have sucked beyond compare. Here, then, is the TRUE story of the year in movies:
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $286 million
2. Shrek $267 million (note: was actually supposed to be good)
3. Monsters, Inc. $236 million (note: wasn't horrid)
4. Rush Hour 2 $226 million
5. The Mummy Returns $202 million
6. Pearl Harbor $198.5 million
7. Jurassic Park III $181 million
8. Planet of the Apes $180 million
9. Hannibal $165 million
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $154 million (note: was actually good)
11. American Pie 2 $145 million
12. The Fast and the Furious $144.5 million
13. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider $131.1 million
14. Ocean's Eleven $128 million
15. Dr. Dolittle 2 $112.9 million
16. Spy Kids $112.7 million (note: was for small children)
17. The Princess Diaries $108.1 million (note: was for small children)
Best of all, I only saw one bad movie this year, State and Main.
| Movies - in NO order | Comments |
| Together | "Wouldn't be on a top ten in your average year" -Sarah |
| Sexy Beast | Couldn't bring myself to say "2 for 'Sexy Beast' please" |
| Shrek | just never got around to it |
| Hedwig and the Angry Inch | just never got around to it |
| The Others | just never got around to it |
| Mulholland Drive | gun-shy after sitting through Lost Highway |
| The Anniversary Party | seemed like a B- sort of movie |
| Keep the River on Your Right | cannibal documentary? Hmmm. |
| Waking Life | just never got around to it |
| With a Friend Like Harry | seemed only okay |
| Under the Sand | wasn't sure if it was good or not |
| The Endurance | just never got around to it |
| Spring Forward | SNR liked. Made in 1999 and maybe never released? |
| Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat) | Czech movie about WWII; Oscar nominee |
| Big Eden | Made in 2000, Guthmann liked, possibly corny, about gays in Montana |
| The Deep End | Never heard of it. Body in a boat movie. |
| Das Experiment | German, may not have had a US release |
| Movies disqualified (not released in the first 355 days of 2001) | |
|---|---|
| Monster's Ball | Did anyone actually see this? |
| Lantana | Depressing? |
| The Royal Tenenbaums | Want to see |
| That Russell Crowe Movie | The one where he has a bump on his forehead |
| In the Bedroom | Lots of emoting, but maybe not memorable |
| Ali | Skippable |
| Gosford Park | I'm sort of at my lifetime Altman limit |
| I am Sam | Cannot imagine how insufferable this will be |
Traffic The Farmer's Wife Howard's End Time Bandits This is Spinal Tap Yi Yi Kindertransport: Into the Arms of Strangers O Brother, Where Art Thou State and Main Old Yeller Two of Hearts Cousins The Truth About Cats and Dogs The French Lieutenant's Woman The Remains of the Day 28 Up Gallipoli Amores Perros The Producers Pet Sematary Contact Dr. Strangelove Traffik Memento Rushmore Postcards From the Edge Wonder Boys In a Lonely Place The Mummy (the new one) The Virgin Suicides American Psycho Moulin Rouge Beau Travail My Name is Joe The Killing Lolita (the old one) American Beauty Shadow of the Vampire The Inheritors (Die Siebtelbauern) Eyes Wide Shut Dick Persona Midnight Express Three Kings Galaxy Quest Genghis Blues High Fidelity Badlands Days of Heaven Imagine The Closet Ghost World Dancer in the Dark Gunga Din Citizen Ruth Cat Ballou Storefront Hitchcock Meet the Parents Happiness Man on the Moon ...