2003 was the year that Lord of the Rings received its due as Return of the King cleaned house at the Oscars. However, Sophia Coppolla’s Lost in Translation won the hearts of critics, earning it the number one spot on our list.
40. demonlover (33 lists; 6 top spots)
“It’s an exasperating, irresistible, must-see mess of a movie about life in the modern world and so very good that even when its story finally crashes and burns the filmmaking remains unscathed.” — Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
39. Irreversible (34 lists; 3 top spots)
“I hope people who go to see this don’t walk out in the first ten minutes or after that scene, because I think you have to experience the entire film. And then you can decide whether or not you’re offended by it.” — Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
38. X2: X-Men United (35 lists)
“There’s much to applaud in a superhero movie that takes aim at mortal problems — from hate, prejudice and intolerance to hyper-surveillance and the corrupting influence of power — and hits most of its targets.” — Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
37. Love Actually (36 lists; 1 top spot)
“There are times when all of this goodwill feels a tad forced and artificial, but, on balance, Love Actually is appealing and genial with plenty of solid laughs, and worthy of a recommendation for those who appreciate this kind of thing.” — James Berardinelli, ReelViews
36. Raising Victor Vargas (36 lists; 2 top spots)
“For those sick of the tired conventions of ‘rom-coms’ (as Hollywood wags call romantic comedies), Vargas is a refreshing cure, frank about healthy teenage curiosity and sexuality in ways that don’t make them punchlines to smutty jokes.” — Carey Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
35. Bus 174 (37 lists; 2 top spots)
“What starts off as a documentary about a hostage crisis in Rio de Janeiro deepens with every passing minute. By the end, you realize you’ve seen an extraordinary movie, easily one of the best of the year.” — Desson Thomson, Washington Post
34. Spider (37 lists; 8 top spots)
“More poetic than clinical in its approach to schizophrenia, suffused with existential dread, this evocation of psychological torment is both sensationally grim and exquisitely realized.” — J. Hoberman, Village Voice
33. The Son (40 lists; 2 top spots)
“It needs no insight or explanation. It sees everything and explains all. It is as assured and flawless a telling of sadness and joy as I have ever seen.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
32. The Man Without a Past (41 lists; 2 top spots)
“[Kaurismaki's] a humanist bearing witness to the human parade. To be part of that parade is to be touched by his perspective, and to have your world altered — magically, fleetingly, memorably.” — Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
31. 28 Days Later (42 lists; 1 top spot)
“It’s a zombie movie to make you forget how boring and simple-minded monster movies have become or, better yet, to make you remember how good monster movies can be.” — Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
30. Pirates of the Caribbean (46 lists; 1 top spot)
“While the plot and action are all deliberately familiar, director Gore Verbinski steers a continual course for sheer, mindless, rope-swinging, crow’s-nest-hollering summer fun.” — Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
29. The Magdalene Sisters (49 lists; 1 top spot)
“A story like this one could easily succumb to outraged melodrama, but not only does Mullan keep the drama human-sized, he even leavens it with the humor that one can easily believe had to be summoned to endure such misguided and malicious treatment.” — Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
28. The Barbarian Invasions (50 lists; 5 top spots)
“While it would seem like an unlikely candidate for a sequel, The Barbarian Invasions at least revives its talky debates over the things that matter: politics, literature, love, friendship and, of course, sex.” — Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
27. A Mighty Wind (51 lists; 2 top spots)
“Genuine appreciation of the movie comes in recognizing the careful evocation of the sights, sounds and emotions of the early ’60s — sans the politics, which are curiously MIA — and not from hooting at the hicks.” — Peter Howell, Toronto Star
26. The Triplets of Belleville (52 lists; 2 top spots)
“It’s impossible to watch this movie without gasping at its graphics, and yet we’re so drawn into Chomet’s way of seeing that, after a while, his genius erases the distinction between animation and live action.” — Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
25. Thirteen (54 lists; 2 top spots)
“Wood is superb at delineating Tracy’s slide into desperate incoherence, but equally impressive is Reed, who has to conceal her writer’s intelligence in playing a character who’s entirely instinctive and unreflective.” — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
24. Bad Santa (55 lists; 1 top spot)
“This is a superb stink bomb of an entertainment, generously larded with jokes about alcoholics, short people, dim children and the kind of sexual congress that until recently was illegal in nine states.” — Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
23. Shattered Glass (56 lists; 1 top spot)
“Hayden Christensen strikes all the right notes as the talented, charming and very cloying Stephen Glass, who made a huge splash at the New Republic magazine in the late 1990s with colorful stories.” — Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
22. Big Fish (58 lists; 3 top spots)
“Not only is Mr. Burton at the top of his form in endowing his tallest stories and wildest magical conceits with emotional conviction, but he is aided by a superb acting ensemble that never loses its footing in the treacherous swamps of make-believe.” — Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
21. Dirty Pretty Things (61 lists; 4 top spots)
“It offers as its hero an extraordinary fellow: He’s an authentic moral being who, though the universe has gone all twisty-crazy into greed, mendacity and manipulation, nevertheless clings to his own code.” — Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
20. The Fog of War (65 lists; 3 top spots)
“[Morris] gave him a stage — and Mr. McNamara took it — to chart the tragedy of Vietnam and prove that war is too complex, too dangerous for fallible human beings in power to know what they’re doing.” — Jane Sumner, Dallas Morning News
19. House of Sand and Fog (70 lists; 2 top spots)
“It’s a story that haunts long after it’s seen, not just because we’re overpowered by what happens to its characters but because, if we’re honest, we see how all of it, even the worst of it, could happen to us.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
18. School of Rock (73 lists; 2 top spots)
“Black is still a happy geek in perpetual overdrive, only now he draws on his musical skill, and his hipster shamelessness, to deliver the acting equivalent of a perfect power chord crunched with a demon smile.” — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
17. Spellbound (77 lists; 3 top spots)
“These determined, sometimes-obsessed kids stick with you, presenting a portrait of America as a melting pot unified in determination and a hefty serving of alphabet soup.” — Michael Caro, Chicago Tribune
16. Seabiscuit (86 lists; 5 top spots)
“Seabiscuit the movie gets it right — not only providing exciting, saddle’s-eye-view racing scenes, but also recalling the Depression era when ‘the Biscuit’ came from behind and gave the suffering nation hope.” — Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
15. Whale Rider (87 lists; 5 top spots)
“When the words ‘Dedicated to those who came before’ appear on screen at the close, you can almost feel all those ancestors joining modern audiences in applauding what has been accomplished here.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
14. Cold Mountain (101 lists; 6 top spots)
“That the film Cold Mountain is so much better than the best-selling Charles Frazier novel makes it quite the rare thing — only The Godfather comes immediately to mind as an example of a major movie that so surpasses its source material.” — John Anderson, Newsday
13. The Station Agent (102 lists; 5 top spots)
“For 88 all-too-brief minutes, we get to hang out with very companionable people, eavesdrop on their small talk and come to know them intimately, perhaps more intimately than we can get to know our own family members.” — Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
12. City of God (103 lists; 9 top spots)
“As the movie’s frenetic visual rhythms and mood swings synchronize with the zany, adrenaline-fueled impulsiveness of its lost youth on the rampage, you may find yourself getting lost in this teeming netherworld.” — Stephen Holden, New York Times
11. Elephant (104 lists; 12 top spots)
“The most fluid of films, it glides through its 81 minutes with a mesmerizing ease, skating on smooth tracking shots down the corridors of an American high school and into the heart of an American malaise.” — Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
10. 21 Grams (106 lists; 6 top spots)
“Watts, Penn and Del Toro have all been brilliant before, and if we’re lucky, they will all be brilliant again. But to watch these three — working alone and in tandem — is to experience the strange, at times frightening alchemy of screen acting.” — Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
9. In America (106 lists; 6 top spots)
“A big little movie, a fictionalized memoir that transcends the personal to become universal — its grubby verve touched with a sense of wonder and magic, its mundane actions given an all-too-rare spiritual resonance.” — Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
8. Master and Commander (138 lists; 11 top spots)
“Beautifully directed and acted, sumptuously costumed and rigged, with no less a man than Russell Crowe filling out the Captain’s britches, this is mythmaking all dressed up and demanding a snappy salute — heck, it’s a Boy’s Own adventure to die for.” — Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
7. Capturing the Friedmans (146 lists; 15 top spots)
“In the end, while Jarecki may not be able to answer our most basic questions about the guilt or innocence of the Friedmans, he makes a profound statement that, in situations like this, no one can be completely innocent and everyone is a victim.” — James Berardinelli, ReelViews
6. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (148 lists; 11 top spots)
“Kill Bill: Volume 1 shows Quentin Tarantino so effortlessly and brilliantly in command of his technique that he reminds me of a virtuoso violinist racing through Flight of the Bumble Bee …” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
5. Finding Nemo (201 lists; 11 top spots)
“Finding Nemo will engross kids with its absorbing story, brightly drawn characters and lively action, and grown-ups will be equally entertained by the film’s subtle humor and the sophistication of its visuals.” — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
4. American Splendor (216 lists; 20 top spots)
“There’s a tremendous amount of cultural vitality out there in the land of the losers; American Splendor is one of the first and best films to capitalize fully on this phenomenon.” — Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
3. Mystic River (220 lists; 42 top spots)
“The experience of being so absorbed in a movie and the lives of the people in it, of trusting a director and a writer and actors to take me places completely unexpected, is so rare that I savored every unexpected turn and twist.” — Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (278 lists; 92 top spots)
“Insanely spectacular and never less than absorbing, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King not only fully celebrates J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic literary work but fully explains Jackson’s outsized obsession with bringing it to the screen.” — Joe Baltake Sacramento Bee
1. Lost in Translation (321 lists; 53 top spots)
“The joys of Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation come from watching Murray modify his trademark passive- aggressive style into played-straight comic bewilderment — and to marvel at his slim new picture- of-health appearance.” — Mike Clark, USA Today
