2001 was a pretty darn good year...I like my top 10 a lot. It's super idiosyncratic, and probably closer to a "favorites" list than a "best" list, but I did hate/dislike a lot of the critics' darlings of this year (Ghost World, Amelie, Donnie Darko...).
Best Picture
1. Moulin Rouge!
2. In the Bedroom
3. Lantana
4. Gosford Park
5. In the Mood for Love
6. Shrek (it's become trendy to hate this movie, but I will always love it)
7. Memento
8. Zoolander (!) (it was my favorite movie until like...last year, when I started seriously wathcing movies. I can't help it.)
9. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Bridget Jones' Diary
Best Director
1. Baz Lurhmann for Moulin Rouge!
2. David Lynch for Mulholland Dr.
3. Robert Altman for Gosford Park
4. Wong Kar Wai for In the Mood for Love
5. Stephen Spielberg for AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Christopher Nolan for Memento
7. Todd Field for In the Bedroom
8. Alejandro Amenábar for The Others
9. Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Wes Anderson for The Royal Tenenbaums
Best Actor (GREAT year, and I stand by my #1 100%)
1. Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind
2. Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom
3. Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge!
4. Denzel Washington in Training Day
5. Haley Joel Osment in AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Tony Leung in In the Mood for Love
7. Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko
8. Anthony LaPaglia in Lantana
9. Eric Bana in Chopper
10. Jack Nicholson in The Pledge
Best Actress
1. Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr.
2. Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!
3. Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones' Diary (one of the best comedic performances maybe ever)
4. Charlotte Rampling in Under the Sand
5. Nicole Kidman in The Others
6. Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love
7. Lena Endre in Faithless
8. Sissy Spacek in In the Bedroom
9. Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde
10. Brooke Smith in Series 7: The Contenders
Best Supporting Actor
1. Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast
2. Ian McKellen in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Steve Buscemi in Ghost World
4. Jim Broadbent in Moulin Rouge!
5. Jude Law in AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Brian Cox in L.I.E.
7. Jim Broadbent in Iris
8. Tony Shaloub in The Man Who Wasn't There
9. Owen Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums
10. Justin Theroux in Mulholland Dr.
Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly belongs nowhere near this list)
1. Kate Winslet in Iris
2. Marisa Tomei in In the Bedroom
3. Laura Elena Harring in Mulholland Dr.
4. Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Helen Mirren in Gosford Park
6. Kerry Armstrong in Lantana
7. Maggie Smith in Gosford Park
8. Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World
9. Uma Thurman in Tape
10. Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky
Best Screenplay
1. Lantana
2. In the Bedroom
3. Gosford Park
4. Memento
5. Shrek
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Together
8. Mulholland Dr.
9. Sexy Beast
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
You probably haven't seen or maybe even heard of Lantana...and that's silly. Go see it now.
