By Hook or by Crook (2001)

A landmark film in trans masculine representation. This is also funny, sexy, wacky, and very Gen X. Joan Jett sings the song over the credits – “Androgynous” – and also has a cameo as a woman who has a great time being robbed at a Costco.

O Fantasma (2000)

Sexy and weird, O Fantasma is a story of a young man's desperation as it grows and grows to a breaking point. It's about obsession and confusion and terror. This is a tragic film, but also so strange that it is constantly intriguing. The final act of this film manages to be both heartbreaking and bizarre. I really, really liked this.

I've been watching João Pedro Rodrigues's films on the Criterion Channel, since they're about to leave. The first film of his I saw was The Ornithologist, and it's so intriguing and surreal and wonderful. O Fantasma is really a masterpiece, though. I look forward to watching both Odete and To Die like a Man. I expect very queer things.

Late Marriage (2001)

First of all, I can't believe I am only now just seeing Mariage Tardif (חתונה מאוחרת), which was Lior Ashkenazi's breakout role! He is extraordinary in this, as is Ronit Elkabetz (may she rest in peace!). They're both great in everything, so I guess that's no surprise.

But also Late Marriage, as it was called in the US when it was released here in 2002, is very, very good. It's sexy and funny and complicated, and it's also quite explicit about its sexuality while never being pornographic. This is a very difficult film to watch, though, and I yelled at this film in a way that I don't usually yell at movies. The main character makes some awful, terrible decisions, and for me it was very hard to forgive him for these decisions and for being so horribly weak. I liked this character, of course – it's hard not to like Lior Ashkenazi – but the man he plays in this movie is a scumbag.

Hmmm... there is more to say. Late Marriage traffics in an amazing kind of awkwardness that I actually really loved. Dover Koshashvili's pacing and lingering here even feels uncinematic at times, and this approach is wonderfully unconventional. This really appealed to me.

Devdas (2002)

Devdas is one of my housemate's favorite movies. It felt to me like a fairly standard Bollywood melodrama that was enlivened by some great performances by Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, and Kiron Kher. I dunno, though. This didn't really have quite enough singing and dancing for my taste. And the sad ending was no fun. I firmly believe that if it's gonna be a melodrama it might as well end happily.

2002 In Review

LOVED
~ ~
1. The Hours
2. Gangs of New York
3. Ararat
4. City of God
5. Y Tu Mamá También
6. The Last Kiss
7. Talk to Her
8. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
9. Bloody Sunday
10. Far from Heaven
11. Spirited Away
12. Punch-drunk Love
13. Adaptation.
14. About a Boy

REALLY LIKED
~ ~
15. Russian Ark
16. Chicago
17. 8 Women
18. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
19. The Quiet American
20. The Pianist
21. The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers
22. Behind the Sun
23. Merci pour le Chocolat
24. Tadpole
25. Panic Room
Minority Report
Read My Lips
Late Marriage
By Hook or by Crook
Zus & Zo
His Secret Life
Lan Yu
Rabbit-proof Fence

LIKED
~ ~
Children of the Century
The Crime of Father Amaro
About Schmidt
Lilo & Stitch
Treasure Planet
Frida
Road to Perdition
Antwone Fisher
Unfaithful
Catch Me If You Can
Intacto
Solaris
The Bourne Identity
The Cherry Orchard
Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood
Austin Powers in Goldmember

LIKED MORE THAN I DISLIKED
~ ~
The Isle

BARELY LIKED MORE THAN I DISLIKED
~ ~
The Time Machine

DIDN'T LIKE
~ ~
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Secretary
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
The Man from Elysian Fields
Sunshine State
Possession
Reign of Fire
The Piano Teacher
The Importance of Being Earnest
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Lovely & Amazing
The Man Without a Past
8 Mile
Full Frontal
Signs
The Good Girl

HATED
~ ~
The Rules of Attraction
Ice Age
The Count of Monte Cristo

COMPLETE AND TOTAL WASTE OF TIME
~ ~
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Queen of the Damned