Al's Top Rated Films: 2001

The whole Broken Lizard comedy team is on fire in this hilarious crime comedy. They are easily one of my favorite comedy collectives, and I hope they keep making movies. Excellent story about a bunch of Vermont state troopers who are hilariously bad at their jobs, and must resort to doing some actual police work to save their jobs when budget cuts threaten to wipe out the whole department, and from a team of cold-hearted local cops that are sabotaging them at every turn. When they find the local cops are actually involved in crime involving drugs and a couple murders, they spring into action to serve justice and save their jobs. Erik Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen, and Brian Cox all deliver excellent lead performances. Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen, Michael Weaver, Philippe Brenninkmeyer, Maria Tornberg, and plenty others had great supporting roles.

Fantastic biopic from Ron Howard on the unstable life of world-renowned mathematician John Nash. From his astonishing early discoveries, to his gripping bout with schizophrenia, to overcoming the odds and winning the Nobel Prize—Russell Crowe captured it all perfectly and delivered the best performance of his career. Jennifer Connelly also turned out arguably her best performance as well. Both had great chemistry and interactions together. Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Josh Lucas, Ed Harris, Christopher Plummer, Judd Hirsch, David B. Allen, Michael Esper all had excellent roles among a great supporting cast.

Powerful and underrated drama from Richard Linklater that's set entirely in a single hotel room with a cast of only three characters. Old buddies Jon and Vince meet up in a Michigan hotel where they plan to catch up and attend a local film festival that Jon is featured in. However, Vince has different ideas about their meeting, and underhandedly presses Jon to confront some very painful memories he shared with his ex-girlfriend Amy from high school 10 years earlier. After getting Jon to admit to the incident, Vince reveals he deviously recorded their conversation on the tape, and sets up a nerve-racking confrontation when between them when he invites Amy over to the hotel to catch up, and subsequently relive the painful past events. Ethan Hawke (Vince), Robert Sean Leonard (Jon), and Uma Thurman (Amy) all delivered fantastic lead performances, and arguably some of the strongest of their careers.

Fantastic historical baseball biography on the 1961 season of New York Yankees Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, and their battle to break Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs. While Roger Maris was uneasy around the press and often looked surly on the field, Mickey Mantle was loved by everyone, which had the press pitting the two against each other in the media, creating heavy stress amongst the two. Regardless, they remained great friends (even living together), and a true redemption story takes place when Mickey Mantle's health issues hit hard, and he's forced to retire—making Maris the true star of the team. Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane both deliver the best performances I've seen from them. They had great interaction throughout the picture. Bruce McGill, Chris Bauer, Anthony Michael Hall, Richard Masur, Jennifer Crystal Foley, Christopher McDonald, Bob Gunton, Donald Moffat, and many others had excellent supporting roles.

Great crime drama and biopic about a man named George Jung—from his troubled upbringing in the 1950s, to his marijuana dealing days with his buddy Tuna in 1960s California, to getting busted and going to prison where he learns everything about cocaine from his cell-mate Diego Delgado, to them both becoming cocaine kingpins in America, and their eventual dealings with Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, which leads to a unrecoverable path of destruction. Johnny Depp arguably delivers his best lead performance. He was excellent throughout. Franka Potente, Penélope Cruz, Paul Reubens, Jordi Mollà, Ray Liotta, and Ethan Suplee all had noteworthy supporting roles, among others.

Great action-packed crime drama about a rookie cop's first 24-hours on the job in the crime and drug-infested streets of South Central Los Angeles, with a veteran narcotics officer who has questionable ethics and a reputation for mistreating suspects and victims; which presents several struggles as the day moves forward. Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke both deliver excellent lead performances. Scott Glenn, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tom Berenger, and others had very nice roles among the solid supporting cast.

Mysterious sci-fi drama about a troubled teenager who has a friend named Frank—a 6-foot tall rabbit that only he can see, and tells him that the world will end in 28 days, and manipulates him into committing a series of crimes. And he questions his own sanity as the end of the world gets closer. Jake Gyllenhaal delivered a great and unique lead performance. Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, James Duval, Drew Barrymore, Daveigh Chase, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Patrick Swayze, Katharine Ross, and others had great roles among a solid supporting cast.

Excellent historical drama and biography from Frank Pierson set in Berlin, January 1942, just after the United States enters World War II. S.S. General Heydrich and his associate Lieutenant Colonel Eichmann hold a conference with Germany's top senior Nazi officials to discuss the "storage problem" they have with the Jewish people throughout Europe, and how they intend to handle the "evacuation" of Jews and Germans that are part Jewish. The tension rises when these officials are pitched the idea of using gas chambers to annihilate the entire population of Jews, as they reinterpret and ignore laws set in place to prevent such radical action. But it becomes very clear early on in the meeting that there isn't much choice to be had, and that Hitler's one-sided orders will be the ones carried out. Fascinating story, and superbly done. It reminds me a bit of the excellent simplicity of "12 Angry Men" (1957), as the whole movie takes place in a tension-filled room. Kenneth Branagh delivered an excellent lead performance along with Stanley Tucci. Barnaby Kay, Colin Firth, Nicholas Woodeson, David Threlfall,Ian McNeice, Ben Daniels, Ewan Stewart, Peter Sullivan, Brian Pettifer, Kevin McNally, Jonathan Coy, Owen Teale, and Brendan Coyle all had excellent roles.

Very touching drama about a man with the mental capacity of a 7-year old who fights to keep custody of his 7-year old daughter. It also follows the highly-respected lawyer he hired to try his case; who has plenty of family issues of her own. After a reluctant start to the process, they end up forming a special friendship and bond. Iconic and superb performance from Sean Penn. Michelle Pfeiffer also delivers one of her best roles ever. Dakota Fanning was perfect as Lucy. Laura Dern, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff, and many others had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent crime thriller about a can-man named Danny Ocean who's planning to simultaneously knock off 3 Las Vegas casinos with a the help of 9-man team he's assembled. The star-studded cast really made this film so entertaining and fun to watch. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts all deliver great lead performances. Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Carl Reiner, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, and others had very nice roles among a great supporting cast.

Excellent sci-fi mystery/drama from Iain Softley that follows a mysterious man who appears out of nowhere at New York Central station and claims to a visitor from another planet. He's immediately detained by police and admitted to the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan, where Dr. Mark Powell is tasked to oversee his case. Powell learns his name is Prot, and claims to be an extraterrestrial from the planet 'K-PAX', 1,000 light years away in the Lyra constellation. He is so articulate and convincing that several of the institute's patients and reputable scientists believe his story, and he helps several of the patients cure their conditions. However, Powell finds a pretty big incident that occurred 5 years previously that may be able to unlock the mystery to Prot's existence. Inspiring and well done story all around, with a fantastic cast. Kevin Spacey delivers one of his best lead performances. He was perfect for the role. The same could be said for Jeff Bridges's excellent lead role. Mary McCormack, Alfre Woodard, David Patrick Kelly, Saul Williams, Peter Gerety, Celia Weston, Ajay Naidu, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama from Henry Bean that follows a deeply troubled and highly intelligent young Jewish man named Danny Balint, who's struggled with Jewish beliefs and ideals since he was a child. Over the years fury and anger has built up inside of him, and he lives by a brutal anti-Semitic philosophy that includes killing Jews and bringing back the Nazi standard of purity to the world. When tension builds after joining a fascist organization, he starts to suffer with the ideas he has supported, and the pressure becomes impossible to handle. The film is a bit low-budget, but the story and acting is powerful and very well done throughout. 21-year-old Ryan Gosling delivered a fantastic early lead performance. Summer Phoenix, Garret Dillahunt, Billy Zane, Theresa Russell, Joel Marsh Garland, Peter Meadows, and others also had great supporting roles.

Very powerful drama that follows troubled an angry and depressed teenager who lands himself in a psych ward after viciously attacking and nearly killing another student with a baseball bat. Inside he meets many young people with similar issues stemming from childhood trauma, anger, and hopelessness. Through time many get to know and respect one another; but any of them can be set-off through the simplest of interactions. Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivered one of his most layered and intense lead performances. Don Cheadle was also superb as the counselor to all the kids. Michael Bacall and Zooey Deschanel also had excellent story arcs. Sara Rivas, Elden Henson, Cody Lightning, Blayne Weaver, and others had excellent supporting roles.

Hilarious comedy drama from Wes Anderson about unconventional and dysfunctional family full of unique characters with different skillsets and point of accomplishment. After separating himself from his family for 22 years, the father of the family (Royal) returns to set things right with the family. All the characters were very interesting. Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, and Danny Glover all deliver great lead performances. Kumar Pallana, Alec Baldwin, Grant Rosenmeyer, Jonah Meyerson, Irina Gorovaia, Arianna Turturro, and plenty others had nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Hilarious comedy that follows the gorgeous and distinguished blonde Delta Nu sorority queen Elle Woods, who majors in fashion merchandising and expects her boyfriend Warner to propose marriage to her any day. When Warner unexpectedly breaks up with Elle because she not smart or "serious" enough to join him on his career path as a lawyer to Harvard Law and beyond, she makes it her mission to study hard enough to and make her way to Harvard Law in an attempt to win Warner back. But as time moves on, she finds that she actually loves law school, and battles with Warner's new fiancé along with Warner's immaturity. What I expected to be a silly coming-of-age romantic drama transforms into a great film about empowering women. Reese Witherspoon arguably delivers her greatest lead performance. Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, and Jennifer Coolidge also had great starring roles. Victor Garber, Ali Larter, Holland Taylor, Jessica Cauffiel, Alanna Ubach, Linda Cardellini, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent sequel to the classic crime thriller "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Ridley Scott handles the direction this time, with the story set 10 years after the events of the first film, and finds the escaped cannibalistic murderer Dr. Hannibal Lecter posing as a museum curator in Italy, and still remains one of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives. Meanwhile, F.B.I. agent Clarice Starling catches heat from the bureau for leading a botched investigation which results in several deaths, and also connects with the severely disfigured sole survivor of Lecter's killings, Mason Verger, who plans to use Starling to lure Lecter out of hiding so he can take his revenge against him. Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman all had excellent lead performances. Giancarlo Giannini, Ray Liotta, Frankie Faison, Francesca Neri, Zeljko Ivanek, and others also had great supporting roles.

Hilarious comedy from Kevin Smith, and one of his best films. Since his films are continuations of story-lines and characters from his previous films, this was a fun ride to conclude and celebrate a lot of those characters—and to give Jay and Silent Bob the spotlight for once. Nice story which finds the best buds working to stop a film adaptation of the "Bluntman and Chronic" comics that are based on their lives, because they say it will ruin their reputation. Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith are at the top of their game, and both deliver great lead performances. Shannon Elizabeth, Seann William Scott, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Will Ferrell, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jeff Anderson, Brian O'Halloran, George Carlin, Carrie Fisher, and many others had great supporting roles and cameos throughout.

Excellent action-packed prison thriller from Rod Lurie that follows a famous and highly respected Lieutenant General named Eugene Irwin who's being sentenced to a 10-year stretch in a maximum security military prison for a war crime. The prison is ran by the ruthless commandant Colonel Winter, who believes in using heavy discipline and negative reinforcement to keep the prisoners in line. Irwin is immediately critical of Winter's methods, and the prisoners start to rally behind him as he starts to do things that defy Winter's rules. Before long, tensions rise to the point that finds the prisoners following Irwin's lead to take control of the prison and rise up against Winter's savage methods. This wasn't the most original story, but it was cleverly written, had excellent action, and a great cast all around. Just a very nice entertaining action flick. Robert Redford and James Gandolfini both deliver excellent lead performances. Mark Ruffalo and Steve Burton also had great starring roles. Clifton Collins Jr., Brian Goodman, Delroy Lindo, Paul Calderon, Frank Military, Robin Wright, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Great crime drama and a nice directorial debut from Bill Paxton (1 of only 2 movies he directed) about a peculiar man who confesses to the FBI after 20 years that he and his brother were serial killers throughout Texas that were fueled by visions and messages from their religious fanatic father. Flashbacks were used nicely to tell the story. Nice thriller with some haunting vibes. Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey both deliver great lead performances. Powers Boothe, Matt O'Leary, Jeremy Sumpter, Alan Davidson, and Cynthia Ettinger all had very nice supporting roles.

Inspiring drama that follows a 76-year-old brickmaker named Henry Cobb who's coping with the loss of his wife, and finds himself being cornered out of his business when a larger corporation is trying to take over the contract for one of the many buildings in town that he's historically supplied bricks for. Meanwhile, the man makes friends with a troubled 13-year-old boy who is fascinated with him, and wants to help him finish hand-making the 22,000 bricks needed for the job. Tensions rise when we learn the boy's father is the foreman of the corporate brick company trying to take over Henry's business. Very well done TV movie for the whole family. Fans of Sidney Poitier will be very pleased to see him delivering such a great performance for his last movie role. Jay O. Sanders, Cody Newton, Wendy Crewson, and Piper Laurie also had great supporting roles.

Superb documentary about the invention and history of turntablism. It's mainly centered around hip-hop DJs, and how many have re-invented the game when it comes to scratching, beat-juggling, and creative production. Great interviews and commentary from several legends of the game. DJ Q-bert, Rob Swift and the X-ecutioners, Steve Dee, Cut Chemist and NuMark (of Jurassic 5), DJ Craze, The Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters, The Beat Junkies (including Babu of Dilated Peoples), Z-trip, DJ Premier (Gang Starr), DJ Swamp (Beck), MixMasterMike (Beastie Boys), Jazzy Jay, GrandWizard Theodore, and many other legends weigh in on the topic.

Hilarious comedy adventure and a great early Pixar film. In the city of Monstropolis, monsters have to scare human children so that they scream in order to power the city through a lighting/scaring company known as Monsters Inc. When a 2-year-old baby girl finds a way into Monstropolis (where no humans exist), two employees for the company have to scrabble to get her back home, until they find she's part of a larger conspiracy. John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Mary Gibbs, Jennifer Tilly, Bob Peterson, John Ratzenberger, and many others had great voice performances among a solid supporting cast.

Great fantasy adventure that kicks off Peter Jackson's famed trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's original novel. The story follows a legendary magic ring that falls into the hands of a young Hobbit. After learning that the ring has the power to destroy the world, they conclude the ring must be destroyed as the set out on an heroic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it. This brand of fantasy just isn't my cup of tea, despite having an excellent story and performances throughout. It was very long at nearly 4 hours. Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, John Rhys-Davies, Cate Blanchett, and many others had great performances.

Great comedy adventure about a green ogre named Shrek who's peace and quiet is disrupted when the wicked Lord Farquaad banishes a bunch of fairy tale creatures to his swamp. Shrek strikes up an agreement with Lord Farquaa to embark on a quest to save Princess Fiona and get his home back, along with the rest of the fairy tale creatures. I thought Austin Powers was Mike Myers most known character, but Shrek may actually win that contest. Fun animated film throughout. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow all deliver great lead voice performances among a solid supporting cast.

Very nice sports biopic from Michael Mann on the life of boxing superstar Muhammad Ali. The story focuses on the success and controversy of his career from 1964–1974—from his extreme outspoken confidence, his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, his relationship with Malcolm X and role in the civil rights movement, to his refusal to join the military, which puts his career at risk. The movie runs a bit long, but it is well done overall. Will Smith delivers a very nice lead performance. Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, and many others had solid supporting roles.

Very nice mystery romance about a wealthy womanizer gets into a car accident after getting into the car with his sducidal ex-lover. She ends up dying, and he ends up getting reconstructive surgery after being terribly injured in the crash. After trying to move on with his life with a new girlfriend, strange incidents occur as he struggles with reality and his role in his ex-lover's death. Nicely done with a great soundtrack/score. Tom Cruise delivers a great lead performance. Cameron Diaz, Penélope Cruz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Timothy Spall, Tilda Swinton, and others had nice roles among the solid supporting cast.

Great action-packed crime adventure about a Los Angeles police officer who goes undercover and joins Dominic Toretto's expert street racing crew after they're suspected of breaking into trucks and stealing expensive electronic equipment. Things get complicated the undercover officer really starts to love street racing life, and also falls in love with Toretto's sister. Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster all deliver great lead performances among a solid supporting cast.

Hilarious comedy about VH1's three time male model of the year, Derek Zoolander. When his streak ends and he's down on his luck, a diabolical fashion big shot name Mugatu gives him a shot to hit star status again, only to find he has brainwashed him to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Ben Stiller delivered one of his best and most iconic lead performances. Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, and many of the celebrity cameos added greatly to the film.

Very nice crime thriller counter-terrorist team headed by a sophisticated man Gabriel Shear, who discovers a DEA/government secret and finds $9.5 billion is up for grabs if he can find the right hacker to break the encryption; and wants to use the money to finance their war against international terrorism. Nicely written and shot with an excellent soundtrack/score from Paul Oakenfold that keeps it moving along nicely. John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, and Don Cheadle all have very nice lead performances among a solid supporting cast.

Very funny and frosty sports comedy about a young snowboarder who works at a resort called Bull Mountain in Alaska, which is staffed with a bunch of party-loving snowboard bums. Everything is going great until the son of the late founder wants to transform it into a money-making tourist themed ski resort. Jason London delivered a very nice lead performance. Willie Garson, Lee Majors, Flex Alexander, A.J. Cook, David Denman, Caroline Dhavernas, Derek Hamilton, Zach Galifianakis, David Koechner, Victoria Silvstedt, and others had nice supporting roles.

Very nice crime comedy/adventure about a man who's forced by his mob boss to travel to Mexico to retrieve an invaluable antique pistol called "The Mexican" that's believed to carry a curse. At the same time, his girlfriend is against the idea and wants him to quit his criminal ways. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts both delivered great lead performances. They both had nice chemistry. James Gandolfini, J.K. Simmons, Bob Balaban, Gene Hackman, and others had nice supporting roles.

Very funny comedy adventure by David Spade about a mullet-sporting janitor named Joe Dirt who recounts his life story after being abandoned by his parents at the Grand Canyon, and follows his story as he tries to locate them as many hilarious scenarios present themselves along the way. While I didn't love the film, David Spade undoubtedly delivered an iconic and highly quotable performance for years to come. Brittany Daniel, Adam Beach, Christopher Walken, Jaime Pressly, Kid Rock, Erik Per Sullivan, Caroline Aaron, Fred Ward, and plenty others had nice supporting roles.