2003
Big Fish
Directed By: Tim Burton"An ebullient tall tale about the magic of imagination and the power of myth."
Lessons of Darkness, Nick Schager
A truly emotional and magical masterpiece by Tim Burton
*****
Mystic River
Directed By: Clint Eastwood"River leads moviegoers on a suspense-filled, sometimes painful adventure marked by great performances."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert
A powerfully-acted movie; incredible performance from all cast
*****
City of God (Cidade De Deus)
Directed By: Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund"Easily the best gangster flick since Goodfellas."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bob Longino
One of the best gangster movies ever; full of energy and brutal viloence and above all, based on a shocking true story
*****
Finding Nemo
Directed by: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich"...of those rare movies where I wanted to sit in the front row and let the images wash out to the edges of my field of vision."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert
My all-time favorite animated movie; visaully and emotionally rich, and entertaining for the whole family
*****
Kill Bill
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino"...no one combines tension and release, violence and humor, dialogue and action and music and pictures the way (Tarantino) does."
Chicago Tribune, Mark Caro
Another insanely entertaining and violent epic by Tarantino and remarkable performance by Uma Thurman
*****
I'm Not Scared (Io Non Ho Paura)
Directed by: Gabriele Salvatores"The beautiful photography will have you booking flights to Sicily, while the unsentimental rites-of-passage drama can't fail to touch your heart."
Empire Magazine, Miles Fielder
An Italian masterpiece by Salvatores, with a very profound finale.
*****
2004
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by: Michel Gondry"...a radical example of Maze Cinema, that style in which the story coils back upon itself..."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert
One of my favorite romantic movies; a fresh, clever and imaginative one with outstanding performances from Carrey and Winslet
*****
Million Dollar Baby
Directed by: Clint Eastwood"...a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert
One of my all-time favorite movies; perfectly written by Paul Haggis with great dialogues and brilliant performance by all actors
*****
The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de Motocicleta)
Directed by: Walter Salles"...beautiful, with strong acting, breathtaking location cinematography and a vibrant story"
Reno Gazette-Journal, Forrest Hartman
An entertaining and thought-provoking journey with the young Che Guevara with very beautiful sceneries
*****
Hotel Rwanda
Directed by: Terry George"...a calm, riveting ground-zero look at a terrible slice of history."
Chicago Tribune, Michael Wilmington
A personally real eye-opener for the horrible events that took place in Rwanda in 1994 and how the whole world shamefully turned its face away then
*****
2005
Crash
Directed by: Paul Haggis"...literate, engrossing and occasionally funny look at race relations in Los Angeles."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
The racial issues depicted in this movie are expressed so truthfully that they can be applied everywhere in our lives not just in Los Angeles
*****
Cinderella Man
Directed by: Ron Howard"Here is a movie where a good man prevails in a world where every day is an invitation to despair..."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert
A truly moving and inspirational movie by Howard-Crowe partnership, not as brilliant as "A Beautiful Mind" but definitely worth booking a place in this list
