Best movies of 2003?

Alright folks, we’ve got about twenty days left in the year... just giving you some time to think if you haven't already.
In short: give me your top five movies of the year. Whatever moved you, broke you, or made you laugh... be subjective, be objective, I don't care.
The rule is simple: the movie had to hit US theaters or release on streaming/Blu-ray this year. Though, since most of you probably binged everything the second it dropped, you might already have your favorites lined up.
...
..so... go ahead.
I'm holding out for Kill Bill and Little Miss Sunshine before I make my final call.

I'm definitely going with Mystic River—as for the rest of the list, I'll have to chew on it for a bit before I send them over...

American Beauty
Vanilla Sky
Amélie
The Green Mile
...

5. The Searchers
4. Zatoichi
3. Noi Albinoi
2. Kill Bill

And ahead of them all, by far, Dogville...

Gary Sanchez said:American Beauty
Vanilla Sky
Amélie
The Green Mile
...

I don't know, did you actually watch these this year, or am I just living in some completely different dimension than you are?

I can’t even wrap my head around what I’ve watched since the ball dropped on New Year's—my brain is basically mush at this point—so here’s a quick rundown of what’s actually made it onto my screen over the last few months...

Mystic River – directed by Clint Eastwood
Zatoichi – the Kitano version
29 Palms – B. Dumont
Trilogy – Lucas Belvaux
The Client List – Sayles

Honestly, the biggest letdown was definitely Bertolucci's "The Dreamers."

restlessviper20 said:3. Reservoir Dogs
.

Honestly, such a killer movie😉 🙂

Gary Sanchez said:American Beauty
Vanilla Sky
Amelie
The Green Mile
...

Did you hit your head during Y2K or something? 😲

Kill Bill
regarding Schmidt
nothing short of paradise
The Pianist
Pirates—they were just a blast to watch.

Most of the movies you guys listed are actually from last year—well, except for Gary Sanchez, who seems to be digging up relics from the turn of the millennium...
In the States, we usually deal with a massive lag where hits don't even hit our theaters until a year after they've already been everywhere else.😕

Sophia Evans76 said:Most of the movies you guys listed came out last year (except for Gary Sanchez, who listed stuff from the early 2000s)... It’s weird how much of a delay there is with the US releases... 😕

At least three films on my list are from 2003, and I watched the other two just this year.
A lot of these movies arrive later, yet some actually drop before their global premieres, which is strange regardless...

Sophia Evans76 said:Most of the movies you guys listed actually came out last year (unless you count Gary Sanchez, who seems to be pulling titles from the previous millennium entirely)... the thing is, here in the States, we often see these hits lagging behind by a good chunk of time compared to when they first drop.😕

The whole trick is how movies released during the fall and winter seasons in the US—you know, those prestige films aiming for the major awards—don't really hit our local theaters until well after the Oscars have passed. It’s basically just a way to grab extra publicity or give them a little boost in viewership if they managed to snag a nomination. Around here, unless it's a massive blockbuster, the media coverage is pretty thin, and all the actual marketing is just concentrated in big cities like New York or LA.
Plus, our autumn and winter seasons are usually reserved for the summer blockbusters because everyone is away on vacation during the warmer months.

Honestly, the biggest mess this year was with "Bowling for Columbine" and "The Hours." Both of those were delayed significantly—especially the latter, which was held up for over six months due to Director Daldry's personal request—just so they could make sure they had a spot at the big festivals.

A lot of movies slated for release end up getting pushed back too, simply because they can't secure a decent slot in any theater (our national cinema chains have shrunk so shamefully over the last few years).

Justin Patel said:Three movies from my list date back to 2003, and I’ve already checked off two others just this year.
I mean, a ton of these come later, and some actually predate their US theatrical releases—it's all a bit weird regardless.

only 2 😉

Pirates and Kill Bill

Fine, let’s just go with whatever Richard Hernandez13 says, provided we get a few big Hollywood blockbusters out of the deal... but who cares.
The rule is simple: if it hit US theaters this year, it counts.
(I don't know why Justin Patel and the rest of them care if a movie came out last year when it only actually made its US debut this year)

Sophia Evans76 said:Only 2 😉

Pirates and Kill Bill

So, what did Niech Schmidt release this year?
Never mind, everyone in America showed up this year anyway...

redgull44 said:Did you actually watch these this year, or am I living in some alternate dimension?

Look, I only got around to watching those movies this year...😳 😳 😳 😳
Yeah, yeah... just kill me now.🙄 😁 😁 😁
I'm lagging behind... big time.
I've cleared out a ton of new releases too, but honestly? None of them really hit the mark for me.

HERO
DOGVILLE
RECONSTRUCTION

Still hunting for those last two. Watching Mystic River tonight—maybe that takes the fourth spot.

Honestly, Human Stain was my biggest letdown this year.

I've got Mystic River arriving this Friday, though I'll have to wait until the end of next month to finally catch Kill Bill. 😠

Noah Harris50 said:RECONSTRUCTION

.

I caught this flick at a film festival a while back... honestly, pretty intriguing stuff—aside from the whole Derrida and structuralist influence, it actually weaves in some Biblical themes too... you know, the story of Lot...

But my friend sitting right next to me in the theater wouldn't stop whispering about how mind-numbingly boring it was, calling it nothing more than pseudo-intellectual garbage... 😁

I did the exact same thing to her when we went to see that one Japanese "Vibrator" movie. 😁

Sophia Evans76 said:caught this flick at a festival once...

knew it, I freaking KNEW you saw it!!!! 🙂