Y Tu Mamá También (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Writer: Alfonso Cuaron, Carlos Cuaron
Stars: Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Maribel Verdu

Y Tu Mama Tambien is the best road trip movie I have ever seen. It's a masterful telling of a wild and crazy period in the lives of two young men and a middle-aged woman. Every now and then I come across a film that makes me feel elated for days after watching it. This is one of those movies. My favourite stories are ones that really capture the human condition, ones that tell real stories about real people. Sure, this is fiction, but that doesn't make the journey of these three lost characters any less meaningful (or beautiful for that matter). I love this film so much that I feel anything I write would be inadequate in doing it justice. It's a raw and confronting film, but one that grows on you as its tale unfolds. This is not a film to everyone's taste, but it happened to be just perfect for me.

Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001) - ★★★½

Director: Dae-Seung Kim
Writers: Eun-nim Ko
Stars: Byung-hun Lee, Eun-ju Lee, Hyeon-soo Yeo, Soo-hyun Hong, Mi-seon Jeon

What if our souls lived on after we die, and the people who touched our souls will reunite with us in another life? That's the key theme to this unique and beautiful film. It's hard for me to find words to describe how I feel about Bungee Jumping of Their Own. It's certainly different, yet I can already tell that I'll never forget it. It's not a film about a gay or straight relationship, it's about the eternal love that two people share. It's a bold film that has many masterful elements and many flaws. I didn't realise how much this film moved me until I found out the leading actress, Eun-ju Lee, committed suicide in 2005. The news broke my heart... I really liked this film. If I look at it from an unbiased point of view, it was a good film that could have been better.

Millennium Actress (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: Satoshi Kon
Writers: Satoshi Kon, Sadayuki Murai

Millennium Actress is a masterful film that's in a league of its own. Have you ever seen a movie so beautiful that the images and music alone can make you cry? I've only seen one or two movies that have ever done that to me, and this film has just been added to that list. It's one of the only movies that has ever rendered me helpless to control my emotions. I was overwhelmingly happy with the magnificent story, stunning imagery, and beautiful music, yet I was overwhelmingly sad at the heart-wrenching moments that took place from start to finish. I literally cried for the last 3 minutes of the film, non-stop. Then after that, I couldn't stop crying for another 20 minutes. I didn't cry because it was in any way a tragic film, nor was it one of the most heartbreaking stories I've ever seen... I cried because of how beautiful this film was altogether. I have to say, it's one of the most memorable movie-going experiences I've ever been through. It made the emotions pour out of me as strong as they ever have. After the first viewing, I already know that Millennium Actress is one of my all time favourite movies. Heck, it's one of the greatest movies ever made.

The Fluffer (2001) - ★★★

Director: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Writers: Wash Westmoreland
Stars: Michael Cunio, Scott Gurney, Roxanne Day, Richard Riehle, Tim Bagley, Adina Porter, Robert Walden, Deborah Harry

Every once and a while, a movie really surprises me. The Fluffer surprised me because it turned out to be pretty good. I've been watching low-budget LGBTI films recently, and to be perfectly honest, most of them sucked balls... (not literally). Anyways, I think this is a pretty solid drama in terms of acting and storyline. It's far from perfect, but hey, anything's better than the movie Latter Days. There are two things that stand out to me in this film. One: Adina Porter's great performance as Silver, and Two: Scott Gurney's perfect body. Everything else is pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff, but I'm just ecstatic that I enjoyed seeing Fluffer from start to finish!

Mulholland Drive (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: David Lynch
Writer: David Lynch
Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Monty Montgomery, Mark Pellegrino

Mulholland Drive is a wild and wickedly entertaining movie! The first time I saw this film, my exact words were, "What the f*** just happened?" I got the gist of what had transpired, but I couldn't connect many of the angles in the story. So I looked up the explanation, breathed a sigh of relief and understood much of what I had seen. Today I saw this movie for the second time with the explanation in mind. All I have to say is, what a masterpiece. 

Amelie (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writers: Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Screenplay)
Stars: Audrey Tautou, Matthieu Kassovitz, Jamel Debbouze, Serge Merlin

Amelie takes you to a world you wish you could be with characters you wish you knew. It's clever, funny, sweet and always intriguing. From the very first scene it sucks you into a magical, romantic France. This is one of those movies where you catch yourself grinning like an idiot over and over. It's perfect in its own quirky little way.

Moulin Rouge! (2001) - ★★★★

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearson
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh


What can I say about Moulin Rouge? The movie has beautiful music, outstanding costumes, amazing use of visual effects and pretty good acting. Somehow this movie managed to pull at my heart-strings, and that's why I love it.

The story of Moulin Rouge begins by spoiling the ending for you, which does nothing but leave a constant cloud of depression over the viewer's head, knowing that the love is doomed. It's like making a movie about Romeo and Juliet but telling us how it ends before it has even started. That was the one thing that annoyed me about this movie.

Now to the good parts. The beautiful Nicole Kidman is casted perfectly as 'The Sparkling Diamond', Satine; a courtisan of rich men. Ewan Mcgregor and his puppy dog eyes played Christian, a poor writer that falls in love with Satine through a big misunderstanding of identities; which leads Satine to fall for him after a beautiful rendition of Elton John's 'Your Song.' The best thing about these two is that they had great chemistry. They were funny and heart-shattering at the same time. Jim Broadbent was also spectacular as Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge. Personally, he was the highlight of the movie for me.

I cannot write a review about the Moulin Rouge without complimenting the brilliant costumes, the great song selections and remarkable hand built sets. This movie aimed to be seen as a classic among other musicals. While I do not agree that it is one of the greatest musicals of all time, I do agree that it is one of the best in the last 20 years. Moulin Rouge will be a delight for any fan of musicals, romance and drama.

Spirited Away (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writers: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers

Arguably Studio Ghibli's greatest creation from the great mind of Hayao Miyazaki, there is only one word that can truly describe Spirited Away, magic. The movie entails a young girl named Chihiro, who is moving to a new town with her parents. Spirited Away is a film that is very to the point with no boring introductions or set-ups. We are sucked right into the story when the family takes a detour through what they think is an old abandoned amusement park. It is actually a sort of spa for the spirits, a place where spirits can bathe and be pampered.

Chihiro is employed to work for the owner of the spa, a witch named Ubaba, in return for not being turned into a pig like her parents. This brilliant movie focuses mainly on the magic of the characters through their differences being so unimaginably unique and strange. We the viewers cannot help but root for Chihiro to find her way back home with her parents, but at the same time we don't want her and Haku to have to leave each other.

Many amazingly visual and well thought-out events happen in this movie, but the ending is something to be admired. After a tear-jerking goodbye between Haku and Chihiro, she cannot turn around to take one last look at the world she's been a part of for what seems like months or else she won't be able to leave. This led me to question whether I wanted her to leave this beautiful world or whether I wanted her to return to the dull normal world.

Through the whole experience, Chihiro appears to have emerged a stronger, older and more intelligent girl than she was when she first started. Spirited Away is an inspiring movie from a creative genius that entails a remarkable story of adventure, love and strength in the face of adversity.