originally jcphoenix entertainment
Unlike my esteemed peers, whom shall remain nameless to protect those whose only taste is in their mouths, my filmic calendar does not revolve around musicals or unusually tall red heads from Down Under. Well only a little bit around hot six foot red heads from Down Under. Therefore, I'm giving my Honourable Mention to the Hours. It has Nicole. And some other chicks. They want to talk about literature written by another. I think. What does it matter? It has Nicole.
It seems our honourable colleague has forgotten the single most important season of the cinema for the general audience: the Summer. One May release? Without further ado, the REAL top 10:
10. Spiderman: the ultimate little guy story. It has true love, mutants, evil geniuses, explosions, wrestling matches and of course, CGI swings through Manhattan and super slow-mo brawls. Probably the #1 gross of this summer if not for Star Wars. 
09. Spirited Away: If you haven't seen Princess Mononoke (and most of you haven't) then you are really missing out on an amazing movie experience. The critics all raved over it and the box office was the exact opposite of what it should be. Seldom is the movie where you can take young people and have both generations enjoy it. This is the anathema for the sickly sweet 'family' movies that we have here in North America.
08. Insomnia: Yes I confess. Any time you pack enough Oscars into a bill, it stirs up the inner psychic in me, who just wants to run out into the streets proclaiming the greatness of this movie and how it will be rewarded next spring. Lets just say it has the most potential. And Robin Williams as a craven serial killer. Goody.
07. Men In Black 2: MIB was one of the top grossing summer movies of its decade, and made Will Smith a star. It featured some absolutely amazing creatures courtesy of Rick Baker, and again, it was PG so the kids could come too. Don't think too much of lightning striking twice as much as, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
06. The Bourne Identity: Here we have one of Hollywood's best young stars, already an Oscar winner, completely decked out in an espionage thriller of Bondian proportions, written by the same guy that brought us Rising Sun. Exotic European locales, hot female lead, the man of mystery, broken bones, crashed-through windows, exploding cars and of course high tech gadgetry. This is the one movie I was looking forward to in the torpor that was last fall, before the Christmas Twins of Harry and Frodo. The timing may be off, but the curiosity is still piqued.
05. Signs: Once again, M. Night taps the collective unconscious of weird and will try to make a mint off it. Of course it doesn't hurt that the target of the weirdness this time is everyman ideal Mel Gibson. Mel could probably make insurance sexy and dramatic. Hopefully the dialogue and mood will be every bit as gloomy and tense as this film's predecessors.
04. Austin Powers: Goldmember: The same formula that will work for Spider-man and the Bourne Identity, only boiled down to its basic comedic elements and crystallized by some of the most outrageous and memorable characters ever to grace a movie screen. Groovy baby!
03. Minority Report: The highest ranking original American movie, a bit of an oxymoron nowadays. Spielberg has been slowly spiraling down into dystopia and futuristic visions of bleakness and amorality. Gone are the happy suburban families with the witty banter between loving parents and so-sweet-they-give-a-cavity-just-to-look-at kids. It's about freaking time. That might have gone over in the 80s, but we're in a new century here. This is the biggest question mark of the year. Play it straight, and fall flat on your face (A.I), or camp it up (Back to the Future)?
02. Hero: Crouching Tiger came out way too long ago. The world needs their fix of period costume drama mixed with kung fu in zero gravity. Well I need mine at least. Ang Lee is busy with the Hulk, and Yuen Wo Ping is tied up with the Matrix sequels so that leaves the rest of the Hong Kong film industry to make one movie. This is that movie. Entertainment by committee. Enough star wattage to shame Julia Roberts' smile. Jet Li reprising that pony tail from Once Upon a Time in China. No one should miss this.
01. Lord of the Rings 2/Star Wars 2: You take your pick. They both employ every known metaphor of fantasy: the Loner hero, the party of allies, the wise old dude, the unstoppable enemy, gorgeous, untouchable princesses, speeder/horse chases, wars of a couple thousand extras, and of course, loveable CGI characters for the kiddies. Ok well maybe Gollum isn't all that loveable. The certainty that each of these films will walk away with more money than every single person on my block is going to make in the next three centuries is as strong as the sun rising tomorrow. I hear they're calling the opening of each of these a national holiday, since everyone's going to cut to see them anyways. Star Wars 2 - LOTR: Two Towers -