My Winners: The 2003 Retro Hollmann Awards

I watched 79 films from 2003. I nominated 33 of them. And now - 11 winners. Here they are:

The 2003 Retro Hollmann Awards Nominees

Here they are, 33 films across 18 categories - the nominees for the 2003 Retro Hollmann Awards:

My Top Ten of 2003

This was a tough field to narrow down, as this year was full of old favorites and new discoveries. Here’s to the ones that didn't make the final cut: 28 Days Later, Cold Mountain, Elephant, House of 1000 Corpses, The Last Samurai, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Phone Booth.

My Top Ten, in alphabetical order:

Best Director, 2003

What do you look for when it comes to “best” directing? I confess, for me it’s about consistency: all the performers, all the “crafts”, even the rhythm of the edit (not always under the aegis of the director, by the way), are on the same page, delivering the same tone. If it’s slow and meditative, you’re not bored, because everyone is doing their job to make that purposeful instead of plodding. If it’s broad and loud, no one is over-the-top but everyone is Stylized, Theatrical. You believe in the world of the film because the director has worked on every element to make it real.

I think that's what everyone was responding to in 2003 when Peter Jackson made his inevitable ascent to the Dolby stage, a consistency that spanned 438 days of shooting, three years of release (and reshoots), a cast and crew of thousands, and beaucoup box office. Everyone knew they were waiting for the third movie to give him his reward:

As you see, he wasn't the only nominee, and nobody turned in a bad movie. Ranking them is more a matter of who you love most than who you like least. Here they are, ranked from 5th to 1st. 

On the Defensive: 2003, Day One

The difficult thing about doing “retrospectives” of Oscar years is that, the closer you get to the contemporary timelines, the more you hear, “Oh, you didn’t watch [blankety blank] you have to watch [blankety blank]!” People can forgive missing a Bacall or two because, hey, those are old; tell people you missed Bringing Down the House and you might as well say you didn’t take the project seriously.

But I swear I did! Remember, I was a moviegoer in 2003, albeit still at the mercy of friends’ and parents’ availabilities: the closest theater was miles away and besides, I wasn’t exactly driving at 13/14 years old (nor am I at 35 years old). Point being, there were “popular” movies I missed then, there are “popular” movies I miss now - there are “popular” movies you miss now, admit it!

Ach, such a defensive way to begin this retrospective! The films we look at today cover the period from January 17 to April 25. There are thirteen in all. Four of them are new to me: Bend It Like Beckham, City of God, A Mighty Wind, and Phone Booth. The rest I’d seen before, though only three of them I’ve seen more than twice: Identity, House of 1000 Corpses, and Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie.

Let’s begin: