Of the movies I've seen this year, this is how they rank up with each other.

1. Finding Nemo

When it's all said and done, no movie had bigger heart, better visual effects, better music, better acting, and better story than 'Finding Nemo.' While not as good as either 'Toy Story' or 'The Lion King,' this is one of the greatest animated movies of all time. After multiple viewings, it holds up really well. When you add the fact that this was the number one money making movie of 2003, it goes to show you that I wasn't the only one who loved this movie.

2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Wow. This was a fantastic movie. At times the movie becomes a bit tedious and is weighed down by the movie makers and actors often times pretentious attitude towards the source material. Sometimes I just wanted to tell the people in the movie to lighten the hell up and have a little bit of fun. Despite that, there are many scenes that gave me major goosebumps. There are some fantastic scenes in this movie that will stick in your brain for a long time after viewing. Sean Astin deserves an Oscar for his role in the movie. He steals every scene he's in. This was the best third movie of any trilogy that's ever been made, but the "LOTR" is by no means the best trilogy ever made. It's the best fantasy trilogy ever made, but I don't dare utter 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Godfather' in the same sentence.

3. Lost in Translation

Sofia Coppola is really becoming a great director in her own right. It must be hard to be the son or daughter of the director of the Godfather movies, but Sofia Coppola is really becoming a pretty decent director. If there is one thing that she learned from her dad, it's how to pace a movie. 'Lost in Translation' took it's time and let the audience get invested in the actors. Some movies feel so rushed that it was nice finally seeing a movie that took a step back and took it's time. I thought that the movie was perfectly acted by Scarlett Johanson and Bill Murray. These two people have to carry the movie all by themselves and there is not one weak moment by either one of them. I think that Bill Murray, Scarlett Johanson, Sofia Coppola, and cinematographer Lance Acord deserve to get Academy nominations. As a side note, if you ever want to get a sense of what it feels like to be an American in modern day Japan, go see this movie. It really brought me back.


4. Whale Rider

This is my sleeper pick of the year. 'Whale Rider' came out of nowhere and stole everyone's hearts. It's just a great story coupled with great acting. You can't ask for more than that. If I was a voting member of the Academy, I'd give out a few awards in the acting category. Keisha Castle-Hughes stole the show. I did not see a single performance this entire year by an actress or actor that completely had me rattled afterwards. When she gave her monologue on the stage while her Grandfather was nowhere to be found, I was moved beyond words. It sounds cheesy, but I have not seen such a powerful single scene performance like that in a long, long time.

5. X-Men 2: X-Men United

'X2' was the most fun I've had at a movie since the last Star Wars movie. The only way to see a movie like this is to go on opening night with a theater full of rabid comic book geeks. Every time the audience would see something on screen that knocked their socks off, they'd cheer and applaud. It was my 2003 fun time at the movies event of the year. The movie itself was really fun and inventive. I am so glad that the 'X-Men' franchise is in good hands. As it is now, the 'X-Men' movies are the best comic book adaptations I've seen on the big screen. 'Spiderman' was good in 2002, so maybe I'll be changing my tune next year when 'Spiderman 2' comes out.

6. Kill Bill: Volume 1

'Kill Bill: volume 1' gets my style award. What the first volume lacks in substance, it more than makes up for in the style category. Every shot and every camera angle is perfectly crafted. Quentin Tarantino uses music better than anyone and this movie was no different. Although violent almost beyond belief, I never felt disturbed by what was happening on screen since it was filmed in an anime style.

7. Pirates of the Caribbean

'Pirates of the Caribbean' was an all around fun movie that benenfited from a stellar performance by Johnny Depp. Depp's Keith Richards meets Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow was worth the price of admission in and of itself. The performances by Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom were pretty solid as well. Geoffrey Rush gives a good performance too that reaches beyond mere Pirate imitating.

8. A Mighty Wind

Christopher Guest and crew can really do no wrong. They can get repetitive and formulaic, but you can't say that the movies they make aren't funny. 'A Mighty Wind' had stellar performances by everyone in the troupe, but the real standout of this movie were all of the brand new songs that they wrote specifically for the movie itself. I heard 'The Mighty Wind' soundtrack one time and thought that it stood really well on it's own two feet.

9. Matrix Reloaded

No movie released this year had more to live up to and had more riding on it than 'The Matrix Reloaded.' With 'LOTR,' we knew that the first and second movies were spectacular, and we knew that the source material was prime for a third movie, so we knew that movie was a sure thing. But with the 'Matrix' franchise, no one really knew quite how it was going to go down. This was a make or break movie. And while it was a pretty decent movie, it really disappointed on many levels. The acting in both the second and third 'Matrix' movies makes the acting in the Star Wars movies seem outstanding by comparison. The philosophy put forth in the movie was often equal parts confusing, intruiging, and elementary all at the same time. The action scenes were pretty well done and worth seeing, but nothing in either this movie or the third movie really push this franchise into "great" territory.

10. T3

This will always be known more as Schwarzenegger's last movie before he decided to become a politician instead of the third movie of the Terminator franchise. There really isn't much to say about this movie other than it did it's job of advancing the story well. The absolute highlight of the movie for me was seeing the final scene played out. It was really neat to see John Connor take his place as the leader of the resistance against the machines. I hope that the next (final) movie will be just as good. It'll be weird seeing a Terminator movie sans Arnold, but the way the story has progressed, he won't be needed for much.

11. Matrix Revolutions

While not what I would have wanted to see in a 'Matrix' movie, the third installment of the franchise was a lot of fun. It has some serious flaws that began with the second movie, but it was a very interesting movie. The highlight of the movie is the attack on Zion by the droid sentinels. It's a massive attack that once begun, has little let-up. Seriously flawed, but pretty fun at the same time.

12. The Italian Job

'The Italian Job' was a heckuva lot of fun. I really liked the lighthearted feel of this movie. There wasn't much violence and/or cussing. In many ways, this movie and 'Oceans 11' stand as distant cousins. The highlight of this movie has to be the kick ass mini-Cooper car chase. THAT is what a car chase is supposed to look like.

13. Freddy vs. Jason

I grew up with both of these movie franchises so it was a horror movie wet dream to see these two square off. I feel that 'F v J' was true to both storylines and gave both Freddy and Jason a chance to shine. The highlight of the movie is...well...anytime Freddy or Jason were on the screen together.

14. School of Rock

Jack Black finally got his own starring role and I wouldn't be surprised if this was his last. 'School of Rock' is a really funny and surprisingly sweet movie about a teacher who teaches his students the finer points of being an individual. But as good as Jack Black is in this movie, I can't see him doing much more than this type of role. His energy is endless, but his skills as an actor are not. With that being said, you don't go to see this movie to see Jack Black rock out as an actor, you see him to rock out. And rock out he does. The highlight of the movie is when Jack Black is showing his new student band the finer points of how to "look like" they're rocking out.

15. Something's Gotta Give

This was a really well done movie, but I felt that a lot of the jokes didn't hit me on the same level as they would, say a middle aged man or woman. A lot of the jokes and subject matter went right to my brain, where it'll stay until I'm old enough to get the joke. "Oh...I get it now." But to see two heavyweights like Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton on screen together was a delight. They are both, and have always been, at the top of their game. The highlight of the movie is anytime Jack and Diane would be on screen together. They had a real chemistry together that you can't fake.

16. Old School

This movie hearkens back to a time in the eighties when fraternity and sorority comedies were more common than Spielberg rip-offs. There really isn't much substance in this movie. But it is worth seeing if for nothing else other than seeing Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Luke Wilson do what they do best. The biggest stand outs of this movie are Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn. The highlights of this movie is anything that Will Ferrell does and Vince Vaughn's "ear muffs" bit.

17. Freaky Friday

'Freaky Friday' was a very funny and heartwarming tale that is a lot better than the 1970's movie of the same name. The main difference between this movie and the original was the performance of Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. They really outdid their "original" counterparts in the acting out like the other. While the original was cute, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Curtis were really able to pick up the mannerisms and eccentricities of the other. Jamie Lee Curtis gave a really outstanding performance and will hopefully receive an Academy Award nomination for her role. The highlight of the movie is probably the scene where Lindsay Lohan has to act like she's performing on stage even though she doesn't know what she's doing. Good stuff.

18. Elf

Here's a toast to Will Ferrell. May he take Mike Meyers place as the premier SNL breakout star. Will Ferrell has many tricks up his sleeve and is more versatile as a comic actor than Mike Meyers is. Will Ferrell was given one chance to shine and he shone brighter than them all. Who would have guessed that a movie like 'Elf' would go on to beat 'Matrix Revolutions' in overall box office. The main reason why people are coming to see this movie is because of Will Ferrell. They know that because of Will Ferrell, SNL was actually funny for a few seasons. Again, there wasn't too much substance to the movie. But I wasn't expecting much. What I was expecting was to see Will Ferrell act like Will Ferrell, and on that note, the movie succeeds brilliantly. The highlight was the snowball slow motion fight. That had me laughing harder than any other moment.

19. 28 Days Later

What's scariest about '28 Days Later' was not what the zombies did to the humans, but what the humans did to each other. There was nothing altogether inventive or fresh about what the zombies did to the people. What was new about this zombie movie was that it tied in a story of a post-apocalyptic London, with a story about a virus that turns people into zombies. So not only did you have the thematic elements of some other worldly force out to get you, you also had a taste of how people would treat each other if there really were only a handful of humans left alive. There were some cliche moments throughout the movie, but sometimes when you're caught up in an interesting story, you can look past the cliche. And a reason why cliche doesn't always suck, is because sometimes cliche works. The reason why it IS cliche, is because it's been proven to work. The highlight was the entire scene set at the military mansion. There were some really nice suspension played out to the fullest.

20. The Hulk

'The Hulk' should have been a grown up movie meets teeanger comic fan wetdream, instead of the intense personal and psychological drama that it turned out to be. 'The Hulk' is one of the few comic books that should stay clear away from 'Oedipus' and other Greek tragedies. The source material just does not warrant the Greek tragedy treatment. So what 'The Hulk' turned out to be was a movie that appealed to neither the hard core movie goer, or the casual adult movie goer. There were some really nice action moments throughout the movie, but the movie really got bogged down under it's own pretentiousness. The highlight of the movie was the genius editing to make the movie look like a comic book. Too bad the editing technique was wasted on a movie that felt like it wanted to distance itself as much as it could from a comic book.

21. Identity

'Identity' was 9/10's a great movie. For most of 'Identity' I was really liking what I was seeing. I mean, what's not to like about complete strangers getting picked off in the middle of a rainy night, in the middle of nowhere? The movie was genuinely intense and suspenseful until it got to the laughable ending. I don't feel like giving away the ending right here and now, but the ending had "hack" written all over it. That's too bad, this could have been a classic.

22. Cabin Fever

This movie appealed to the slasher gore freak in me. Plain and simple. There really isn't much too this movie other than people running around doing nasty shit to each other. But it was a bloody good time. Emphasis placed on blood. Lots of it. The most interesting aspect of this movie was that it was often times very surreal. There were moments in this movie that were so absurd that all I could do was throw my hands up and laugh.

23. Shanghai Knights

What's not to like about a movie with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. I'm not sure if it's this tandem or the Chris Tucker/Jackie Chan team that has better chemistry. It depends on the situation. What really stood out the most about this movie is that this movie finally started catering Chan's fight scenes to his age. It's as if he realized that he was getting older and past him prime, and changed the fight scenes to illustrate this. This isn't to say that the fight scenes were any less spectacular than his previous movies, it's just that they placed a lot more emphasis on playfulness instead of just good ol fashioned ass kickings.


24. Phone Booth

'Phone Booth' was equally parts interesting, and equal parts rip off. I thought that Colin Farrell did a decent job in his role, but the movie tried to do too many things at one time. I thought that a true artist would have found a way to shoot the entire movie from INSIDE the phone booth without having the outside distractions. It would have been an artsy move and would have required a little guts, but that movie would have been more interesting than this movie. This movie resorted to hack movie cliches. The most interesting parts of the movie were the scenes where Kiefer Sutherland and Colin Farrell were verbally sparring on the telephone. There were some good moments in this movie when these two people were acting with each other.

25. Once Upon a Time in Mexico

This movie was a major let down. 'Desperado' is one of my all-time favorite movies. It more style and pizzaz in it's closing credits than most movies have throughout their entire movie. But where 'Desperado' had jalapeno flavoring, 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico' was cooking with vanilla. I found most of the movie to be rather flat and boring. The few scenes where the Mariachi was actually able to go out and kick some butt were surprisingly boring. There were a few select moments that were inspired, but overall this movie was a letdown. The highlight of the movie was the scene where Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas were dispelling of a bunch of dudes in a bar using nothing but some knives hidden in Salma's garter. Good stuff.

26. Bruce Almighty

What should have been absolutely brilliant, was instead a moderately boring movie. Jim Carrey has all of god's powers for a week and what does he do? He makes his wife's breasts bigger?!?! He advances himself in his job?!?! That's it? You'd think that a movie about a human with a deity's powers would be a little more destructive. You'd think that a person having god's powers would result in some insane stuff happening. Countries being overthrown, the sun not rising on certain days, the earth not rotating, him receiving billions and billions of dollars. What do you expect from Tom Shadyac of 'Liar, Liar' and 'Ace Ventura' fame? Those movies were at times overly sweet and sentimental. In the right hands, 'Bruce Almighty' would have been spectacular. Too bad it played it safe.

27. Bad Boys II

'Bad Boys 2' was a pretty fun thrillride that went on way too long. It was fun seeing Will Smith and Martin Lawrence interact in this movie, but like I said, the movie went on just way too damn long. And you won't find a more homophobic, mysoginistic, and brutally violent movie all year. When it comes to realistic violence, this movie has 'Kill Bill' trumped with spades. Anything that you can imagine happening to the human body happens in this movie. Beheadings? Dismemberments? This movie has it all. And then some. The funniest scene of the movie was the scene where Martin Lawrence had mistakenly taken the ecstacy pills in the morgue. It was so un-p.c. that I had to laugh.

28. Spy Kids 3D

I think that the 'Spy Kids' movies are pretty entertaining and fun. 'Spy Kids 3D' was just as good as the other two movies, but it got really tiring watching this movie which is all in 3-D. It's real hard to make 3-D make good since it involves a dissolution of the colors on screen. And at times, I wanted nothing more than to just leave the theater and go home. But there were some really nice moments in this movie. I like the fact that Robert Rodriguez makes all of his own movies, directs them, writes them, does the scoring for, does the F/X for, and does all the editing. It really shows you what ONE director is capable of doing.

29. Charlies Angels: Full Throttle

This movie exists solely to see how many different situations the director could place the three leads. You name a situation, and these actressess find themselves in it. The 3 Angels are everything from "Baby Dolls," to Cops, to strippers, to surfers, to rockers, so on and so forth. I thought that it was a fun movie though. But don't expect anything more than a 2 hour music video if you should find yourself about to watch this movie.

30. The Core

Uhh...'The Core' was a B movie in every sense of the word. There were some pretty intense moments, but the concept is SOO far fetched that I couldn't really get past the basic premise. I liked that they tried to incorporate the "science" back into "science fiction," but let's be completely honest, geology is the most boring science there is. And any movie based on Geology will suffer by default of that fact. The effects were okay, but the acting was meh.

31. 2 Fast, 2 Furious

Umm....this movie about car chases had a lot of car chases, but the only one worth writing about was the chase against two other gangsters for their car. That was a pretty cool sequence. But everything else in this movie was pretty lame. Even by dumbed down standards. There was some nice eye candy in the movie though...I'm talking of the cars of course. ;-)

32. Stuck on You

Wow. This movie was flat. I thought that the Farrelly's would be able to have me laughing at a movie about 2 conjoined twins, but this movie was solidly flat. It was a good concept, but I couldn't tell when I was supposed to laugh or not. And with a comedy, that's suicide.

33. Jeepers Creepers 2

I would not have seen this movie if not for my brother. We all saw this movie because...well...I don't remember why we saw this movie. It was bad though. Bad acting, bad script, decent concept, horrible direction. Everything in this movie was downright laughable. If we weren't making fun of the movie the whole time, I'd think that it was a complete waste of time to watch this movie.