Seeking out the

5000 greatest films

in a century of cinema

Films of 2002

This year's list to of films is up to date, but no reviews have been posted yet.

2002 was one of those years in the early Aughts where I thought my devotion to cinema might be on the wane. Most of the acclaimed films did little for me. Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt, Nia Vardalos' My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, John Sayles' Sunshine Stateand Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away all left me feeling underwhelmed. I actively disliked the year’s biggest Oscar winner, Rob Marshall's absurdly overrated Chicago, and had hostel feelings towards the feeble offerings of Steven Soderbergh, Sam Mendes, George Clooney, and M. Night Shyamalan. Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood, two directors whose films I enjoy even when they're weak, delivered bigger than usual disappointments, Steven Spielberg released one winner and one stinker, and Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman created one of my top ten least favorite films of all time. The big box office movies The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Spider-Man  left me cold, as did the final Pierce Brosnan James Bond film, Die Another Day--arguably the worst entree in the entire 007 series. I hesitate to even mention the abomination that is Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

2002 is not a year I look forward to revisiting anytime soon to write capsule reviews about each film. I have a feeling that, apart from the few four-star pictures on my list) this year will remain relatively free of reviews for many decades.