"BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - PART II - FILMS

Welcome back to the slightly belated second section of digitaltaco.com's "best thing ever awards." Today, we're looking at the best films that hit theaters in 2003... that i happened to see. unfortunately, this will the hardest section of the awards for me, as i've been to the cinema fewer times this year than in probably the past ten. and if my choices appear to be a bit mainstream, i apologize. i did get introduced to a bunch of great new pictures this year on dvd, but i'll get to that later. for now, my film picks for 2003.

THE 1ST ANNUAL DIGITALTACO.COM "BEST THING EVER AWARDS" - 2003

FILMS:

• sofia coppola's "lost in translation:" i don't care how "cool" it is to like this film right now... in fact, i don't care if the film is so well liked that it's not cool to like it anymore. to be blunt, "lost in translation" sits with "rushmore" at the absolute top of my list of favorite films. while i didn't see much of anything else in theaters this year, i did see miss coppola's latest five times... i also picked up the dvd last week (i've got my sources...) and have since seen it at least another six times since then. if you're reading this site, then you've probably already seen it... and if you haven't, go buy that dvd. the special features are quite well done, as well.

  oh, and if you're one of those that doubts sofia's quality as a writer/director, and you feel that she likely had tons of talented help crafting this piece... i both agree and disagree... yet, i would still enjoy this picture... whoever is responsible, i salute you. it's exactly what i want to see. in fact, the first thing i said after watching the film for the first time was that i was kind of glad i ended up in the gaming industry instead of making it as a filmmaker. nobody's doing good gaming television... on the other hand, somebody crafted the exact film i would've made. tokyo? check. bill murray? check. the lovely and until now underrated miss johansson? check. kevin goddamn shields? CHECK! a genius DP... and the most beautiful subtle screenplay and direction i've seen in awhile. yup, i like it a bit.

  oh and sofia? i'd like to know how you knew that my bloody valentine + a drowsy cab ride + tokyo's streets during the evening would make such a perfect combination. i knew... how did you!?

• quentin tarantino's "kill bill: volume 1:" i loved this film the first time i saw it, but i had to go back again to be sure. and yeah, it's slick. i hardly know where to begin -- mostly because it's been months since i watched the film -- but i don't know. it's just a smart film. it's always catching you off guard.... always trying something new... something silly... the dialogue, while sparse, is entertaining to me... i know some aren't down with getting "these other piggies wigglin'" but i sure am...

  the soundtrack is totally genius, in my opinion. the two standout moments for me are when uma is choosing her sword (seriously, hilariously awesome) and when oren ishii and her crew make their entrance at the restaurant/club thing. seriously, that's the slickest entrance since the brothers decide to join the team in "shaolin soccer." thank god for rza.

  and yeah... so we're all still waiting to see "volume 2." man, does that seem to chafe people. the split doesn't really bother me. why? i fully enjoyed the first bit... and i'm glad that i'll get to watch more in a few months. sure, the story's not completed in "volume 1," and everybody likes to talk about conspiracy theories and miramax charging us all twice, etc, etc. none of that bothers me. i just like the film. it's fun.

i'm only prepared to call out those two films. in fact, the only other film i'd even consider from 2003 was "winged migration." it's great... really... see it. oh, and "return of the king" is solid as well.

tomorrow: best albums ever.