1. The Cell (2000)
It's easy to dismiss this one as "The Matrix meets Silence of the Lambs," but the director put a lot of thought into the visuals and the story is both well-paced and absorbing.
I miss this phase of Jennifer Lopez's career. Around this time she was more focused on acting, and her music career, her modeling career, and her public image didn't factor so much into the equation.
Fun Fact: Matrix comparisons aside, a lot of this movie was inspired by 1984's Dreamscape.
2. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
I was surprised by how much I liked this movie. Texas-born Renee Zellweger (who I often confuse with Reese Witherspoon), should have won an Oscar playing the lead, but oh well, she won an Oscar years later for Judy so I guess it doesn't matter now. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth (another Oscar-winner) play stereotypical roles as Bridget Jones's competing suitors, but they do a lot with the parts they're given.
Fun Fact: Colin Firth also played "Mr. Darcy" in a TV adaptation of Jane Austin's novel, years before Bridget Jones entered production.
3. The Cat Returns (2002)
A high school student saves a cat's life with unexpected consequences in this Studio Ghibli production. After some of the crushingly serious films reviewed in this entry this one was like a breath of fresh air. I look forward to seeing more movies like it.
4. The Opportunists (2000)*
Christopher Walken stars as a safecracker forced by circumstance into one more job. It's very low budget but I never felt bored by it. The scenes between Walken and costar Cyndi Lauper are the highlight of the film.
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5. Lakeboat (2000)
Life aboard the Seaway Queen, a freighter plying the waters between the U.S. and Canada. Lakeboat was adapted from a David Mamet play, it very much feels like a David Mamet play, and even though I'm not a big fan of either David Mamet or plays I still found myself charmed by Lakeboat. Some of the dialogue is surprisingly funny and Robert Forster is great as a man adrift in more ways than one.
6. The Gathering Storm (2002)
Albert Finney stars as Winston Churchill, leading an all-star British cast in this tale of Britain waking up to the reality of another world war. It's on the slow side but worth the effort.
Fun Fact: Tom Hiddleston plays Churchill's son Randolph. The Gathering Storm was his fourth TV movie. He wouldn't appear on the big screen until 2007's Unrelated.
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7. Prison Song (2001)
The lives of black men in and out of prison. There are some great scenes in this movie, and also some great performances from the leads, but the songs are a puzzling inclusion and some of the minor players aren't up to the task.
Fun Fact 1: Snow is in this. Anyone else remember Snow?
Fun Fact 2: Director Darnell Martin is, in fact, a lady.
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8. Tart (2001)
A decent movie marred by a bad title and a misleading ad campaign. Given the existence of Whore this ad campaign would have led people to the conclusion that Tart is about a "loose woman," when this is actually far from the case. To the contrary, she's just another teenager trying to fit in with upper class peers. It's not a bad movie, though the relationship between the protagonist and her mother could have been demonstrated a lot better.
Fun Fact 1: Anna Paquin dropped out of the lead role to do X-Men.
Fun Fact 2: Scott Thompson, of Kids in the Hall fame, appears in this as "Kenny."
9. Laguna (a.k.a. "Vendetta") (2001)
A very young Henry Cavill hides out in a Venetian hotel from the mobsters who killed his father. This was Cavill's first movie, and his inexperience in front of the camera shows. There's not much info on this movie online.
The love scene in the cupola, by the way, is RIDICULOUS.
10. Little Secrets (2001)
Evan Rachel Wood stars as an abnormally self-possessed teenager serving as the neighborhood child therapist. None of the young people in this movie seem especially young, and certain plot elements are incredibly contrived, but it's a decent effort as Disney-adjacent films go.
11. Princess of Thieves (2001)
Keira Knightley plays Robin Hood's daughter in this lower budget Disney TV movie that tried and failed to ride 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' coattails. It's not bad so much as extremely derivative. I'm guessing much of the budget went toward costumes, props and horses.
This movie is very early in Knightley's career. Many consider her breakout role to be 2002's Bend It Like Beckham, and aside from a few brief appearances Princess of Thieves was her third feature film.
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12. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
An inexplicably stupid pair of siblings try to evade a bat-like creature somewhere in Florida. It was fun seeing Justin Long in this, but it never manages to generate any tension and his character's choices are completely mystifying from the moment the killer truck shows up.
Fun Fact: Eileen Brennan is in this movie for a second.
13. Cor, Blimey! (2000)
An intermittent love affair develops between an older actor and a much younger actress in this British TV movie. The events depicted in this film reflect a real-life relationship between Sid James and Barbara Windsor, two cast members from the Carry On series. I found the accents a bit difficult, but the performances are good and its bawdy humor still resonates.
14. Swept Away (2002)
Madonna ends up marooned on a Mediterranean island with a hot, bearded Italian. Surprisingly enough Guy Ritchie directed this one, though it was an early effort and thus somewhat removed from the later movies that would truly cement his reputation.
Madonna isn't, by the way, the weak point of this movie. The real weak point is the script. It's a film that is trying to say something, but a film which can't quite get its point across. The changes of heart Madonna's character experiences are completely unconvincing, and these parts of the story will probably remind you of other, better movies like Cast Away and Get Help.
15. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
Reese Witherspoon returns home to the South to divorce an indecisive ex-husband.
Every single character in this movie, right down to Josh Lucas and his eminently punchable face, is annoying and deserves to die in a chemical fire. Most grating of all is Witherspoon, who despite being a completely manipulative bitch somehow rediscovers true love at the movie's conclusion.
Josh Lucas' character should have respected himself more and Patrick Dempsey deserved better. Even aside from all that, Sweet Home Alabama is a badly written movie populated by characters making inexplicable choices.
Fun Fact: Like Renee Zellweger (above), Reese Witherspoon also has a Best Actress Oscar to her credit. Witherspoon's was for Walk the Line.
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16. Get Carter (2000)
Sly Stallone stars as a Vegas tough guy back in town to solve the mystery of his estranged brother's murder.
It's an incredibly forgettable movie, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'd seen it before and somehow forgotten. Stallone does his Stallone thing throughout, and while he's doing it you can't help but wonder "Why?" as the minutes tick by.
It's a remake of a 70s classic which featured Michael Caine, who also appears briefly in this updated version. Just go watch the original - it's miles better.
Fun Fact: Stallone is convinced, to this very day, that his version is better than the original.
17. The Animal (2001)
Rob Schneider gets animal powers and fights crime. It's a movie that knows exactly what it is and who it's for. In tone it's a few notches less manic than the Ace Ventura movies, though its relatively sedate pace is more a negative than a positive. I didn't laugh, not even once, but at least it was over quickly.
A quarter of a century later a sequel is still in the works
18. Britannic (2000)
German saboteurs try (and possibly succeed) to sink a British hospital ship in this TV movie. Bonus points for Jacqueline Bisset, but the dialogue is unconvincing and those responsible for the script don't seem to have understood the time period.
For the record my grandpa served in the Air Force during World War II, and yes, that was the subsequent world war, but still. Espionage? That wasn't a subject to be taken so lightly.
Fun Fact 1: Working this gig got the director his following job, helming Megiddo: The Omega Code 2. That movie sounds so terrible I've GOT to see it.
Fun Fact 2: This film was largely an effort to cash in on Titanic's popularity. The Britannic and the Titanic were sister ships.
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19. Sacrifice (2000)
Michael Madsen stars as an escaped convict out to avenge his daughter's murder. I have no idea what Madsen was like as a person, but as an actor he deserved better than this. Then again, maybe it paid the bills between Quentin Tarantino movies.
R.I.P. Michael Madsen: he passed away last year.
20. The Right Temptation (2000)**
Rebecca DeMornay (or is it "DeHornay") stars with Dana Delaney (remember her?) and Kiefer Sutherland in this half-assed attempt at an erotic thriller. Some of the dialogue in this one is TRULY cringeworthy, and worst of all are the flashbacks detailing DeMornay's troubled past.
Fun Fact: This movie was filmed in Utah! I had no idea!
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*Wikipedia lists 1999 as the release date. It's a British-American production, so it's possible that it came out a year earlier or later in either country.
**Wikipedia lists 2001 as the release date.
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