A complete year at the movies

JAKARTA (JP): What is your favorite movie this year? Is it the one with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton punching each other's face? Or the one showing Mr. DiCaprio running around on the beach in his shorts? Or is it the one which shows five extremely attractive women shaking their stuff as waitresses in an eccentric bar in New York City?

Audiences across the country can choose their favorites from at least 140 titles screened at mainstream theaters which is still monopolized by the Studio 21 chain this year.

Below are reviews of the 10 best films which received regular screening at mainstream film theaters in the year 2000.

1. Gladiator. A grand spectacle set during Roman times which tells the story of a great Roman general being cast away by the emperor's villainous heir. Filled with heart-pounding battle scenes and great drama. Russel Crowe is in top form as the great general.

This is the best film of the year shown at theaters here.

2. Boys Don't Cry. A nail-biting, provocative film based on a true story about a troubled Nebraskan girl with a sexual identity crisis. The film features the Oscar-winning performance of Hillary Swank as a girl who goes around dating other girls who think she is a boy. In the end these relationships meet a tragic fate.

The film will glue you to your seat even after the end credit begins to roll.

3. Children of Heaven. Iranian filmmakers put themselves on the world map once again with this moving yet simple story about a 10 years old boy from a poor family who loses his little sister's shoes and must find a way to make her able to go to school.

This film proves that you can make a film about poverty and still make it crowd-pleasing.

4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This is not your average kung fu film. Directed by noted drama director Ang Lee, this beautiful film intertwines amazing fighting scenes with moving human drama.

While being funny and intriguing, the film also features Chow Yun-Fat who is crowned by many as the coolest actor in the world today.

5. The Insider. A former researcher of a giant tobacco company goes to a TV journalist from Sixty Minutes to reveal the truth about the company's product which is harmful to its consumers. Executives at the television station which air the program however do not dare to show it.

Al Pacino and Russel Crowe who play the journalist and the insider respectively give a powerhouse acting performance in this engaging film which is based on a true story.

6. Erin Brockovich. Julia Roberts stars as a tough single mother with three kids to raise. Having no luck in her previous job, she becomes a research assistant at a law firm and ends up leading the biggest class action lawsuit ever filed in the U.S against a giant company responsible for dumping toxic waste near a small community.

7. Fight Club. Director David Fincher is not losing his edge. After the highly intriguing Seven in 1995, which is the best thriller in years and still unsurpassed today, and the darkly enjoyable The Game, he directed this stylish, highly original piece which could knock audiences off their seats.

Edward Norton is an ultra-bored man who meets the super-cool, fearless man, Brad Pitt, and soon turns his life upside down. Not everyones taste but for those seeking a different cinematic experience they should not miss this one.

8. Three Kings. This original but underrated film tells the story of three American soldiers who are on their own mission at the end of the gulf war to seek gold that was stolen by Iraqi soldiers from the Kuwaits.

George Clooney teams up with Mark Wahlberg and Ice T as soldiers who turn out not to be as dishonorable as they first appear to be.

9. American Beauty. Even though dysfunctional families are a common phenomenon in any society, a film about one is always interesting because it feels like looking into a mirror and can make us laugh at ourselves.

This entry is supported with wonderful performances, particularly from Kevin Spacey as a repressed husband who finally finds his own enlightenment.

10. Run Lola Run. A brilliant cinematic exercise made in Germany tells the story of a red punk-haired young woman who runs and runs throughout the movie to get her boyfriend out of trouble.

So little plot, but so much substance, great fun. (Joko EH Anwar)