As with every other major newspaper, magazine, and website etc, etc, we too have produced a review of the year - though call us crazy, but we thought we'd wait until it actually ended before we presented you with our best of lists for 2001. And as we wildly disagree with each other much of the time, each writer has listed their own choices for their best tv, film and music of the year... Enjoy!
FILMS OF THE YEAR
1) Amelie - Touching, odd, and unique, and impossible not to be seduced by - romantic comedy at it’s finest.
2) Shadow of the Vampire – Deranged, darkly humoured horror which was much underrated on its release. And Willem Dafoe’s performance is easily the best of the year.
3) The Man Who Wasn’t There – The Coen’s showing their serious side for the first time in a while; beautifully shot, and whilst not their best work, still easily one of the finest of 2001's releases.
5) One Night At McCool’s – Super cool comedy-thriller, with all concerned turning in career bests.
6) Almost Famous – Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical tale of life on the road as a music journalist. A little too sentimental at times, but still a lot of fun.
7) Bridget Jones’s Diary – Great, if a little over neurotic, rom-com, which would be higher up on the list if I was able to get over my annoyance over how ridiculously dull Colin Firth’s character is. But I can’t. Sorry.
8) Lord of the Rings – An hour too long, but still partly wonderful. This years second biggest disappointment.
9) Ghostworld – And now we start to struggle – and a sign of how average 2001 was, as this overrated, not nearly as funny as the comic book it was based on, but enjoyable at times, film makes the list.
10) Ginger Snaps – Candian werewolf tale, darkly comic, and theres some startling imagery throughout, but it’s crap ending spoils things a little. Still, definitely worth viewing.
Also rans: Shrek, The Dish, The Parole Officer, Jurassic Park 3, Blow.
Worst of the Year: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Late Night Shopping.
Alex Finch.
2) Bridget Jones' Diary - The book was pretty good, the film exceedingly well done.
3) The Others - Shades of The Sixth Sense, but a top-notch ghost story.
4) Jurassic Park III - The only summer "block-buster" to really hit the spot.
5) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - The book was exceedingly good, the film pretty well done.
7) Cats & Dogs - Anti-feline propaganda, but good fun for kids.
8) Mike Bassett: England Manager - Mockumentary that had a healthy laugh-count.
9) Enigma - Decent enough thriller (but only in the list because I've yet to see Moulin Rouge, Amelie or The Man Who Wasn't There)
10) Planet of the Apes - Flawed but mostly endearing remake.
Chris Denton.
2) The Man Who Wasn't There - Even though this was arguably the Coen Brothers weakest film to date, there were some great strengths: Jon Polito in a wig; The boss of the barber's; The storyline.
3) Kiss of the Dragon - The best action film this year. Jet Li, Bridget Fonda and Tchery Karyo are all brilliant
5) Swordfish - Nonsense. Action Nonsense. Brilliant Action Nonsense. As the viewer, you go from the insightful opening to sex, violence, and computers - nothing more. Well put together, and full of top quality effects. Accept it as mindless fluff, get past that, and enjoy the film.
Craig Aston.
2) Harry Potter - the Wizard Of Oz for a new generation (and that's a real compliment from the girl who wrote to "Jim'll Fix It" to ask if I could BE Dorothy) - it made me feel ten years old again and the cutesy kids managed not to get on my nerves which was a bonus.
4) Bridget Jones Diary - the ultimate "girls night in with a bottle of pop and a family pack of Walkers" movie - one of the only films this year to work better on dvd/video.
5) Moulin Rouge - a feast of colour and song - old fashioned, cutting edge and quirky all at once.
Worst film of the year: A.I. - proving why a twist of "then the super-advanced alien stylee androids come" isn't big or clever. RUBBISH!
Johanna Payton.
1) The Office - we've all worked there and we've all given David Brent the finger behind his back - how can such a contemptible character be so hilarious? Genius. Ricky Gervais has the best comedy teeth in the world and I'm convinced that's his secret. The ten-o-lady's are essential viewing companions for this one.
2) Big Brother 2 - How I laughed. How I cried. How I got totally obsessed (again) to the point of throwing a Big Brother party for the finale. Oh dear.
4) Coronation Street - Janice and Dennis, Maxine and Dr. Matt, Maxine and meat, Sally and Martin, Alma and cancer, David Platt (the genius enfant terrible!), Dev and Deirdre for Christ's sake!!....2001 reminded me why I've always loved this soap and always will.
5) Home And Away - oh yes. I do sit in front of the anti-Neighbours every Saturday, nursing my hangover with the marathon omnibus on Channel 5. Great TV for a delicate head. And Donald Fisher.
Johanna Payton.
2) The Mark Thomas Product - The political crusader/comedian returned with a thought-provoking and hilarious six part comedy series. Michael Meacher, Adidas, Jazzy Books, The Tube, Richard Caborn.
3) OZ - A violent drama that makes you think, put simply. I'll be honest - i thought the show was dawdling until the character Simon Adebisi told fellow inmate Kareem Said, "The earth is about to quake. I came to warn you, take shelter.", regarding the supposed black rebellion. From there; it became a must-see drama, regained the brilliance seen in earlier seasons, and finished with a superb way of almost restoring peace, and killing off a major character in the process.
5) The Office - I think that technically Attention Scum and the Dave Gorman Collection were in Autumn 2000, and therefore would not qualify for the end of year review, even if one of them deserved a mention at the Comedy Awards this year. Regarding "The Office", it was largely hit and miss; but when it hit, it was superb. The episodes that hit were the first episode, the quiz episode, and the workshop episode. Ricky Gervais was of course brilliant, as was Mackenzie Crook, and is fortunately getting a second series.
Craig Aston.
2) The Office - Another spot-on satire.
3) The Premiership - Suicidal scheduling, killer programme.
4) BBC News Special 11/09/01 - Important news, well reported.
5) Banzai - The complete opposite of most light entertainment, because it's actually light and entertaining.
7) Buffy - In decline, but still worth watching if only for Spike. And the lesbianism.
8) Fear Factor - Challenge gameshow. What on Earth happened to this?
9) South Bank Show: J R R Tolkien - Loved the film, loved the documentary too.
10) Sky Sport Germany vs England - They definitely had it coming.
Chris Denton.
2) Brasseye Special – The much needed satire that offended millions who’d never seen it. Morris at his best.
4) Armadillo – BBC1 showed that they still able to produce intelligent, modern drama with this strong adaptation of William Boyd’s novel.
5) Spaced – Simon and Jessica’s adorably smart comedy wasn’t quite as strong in it’s second series, but still easily the best British sitcom produced this year.
6) Happiness - Paul Whitehouse proves that there is life post-The Fast Show - dark, and occasionally uncomfortable tv, but consistently funny and with a superb ensemble cast.
7) The Secret Life of Us - Smart, funny, and somewhat heartwarming Aussie drama. Proof (which was desperately needed) that Neighbours and Home and Away isn't the best tv Australia was capable of.
8) Band of Brothers - Okay, so at first all it seemed to be was a rehash of Saving Private Ryan, but as things progressed this developed in to a meaty, and refreshingly not too moralistic war drama.
9) Big Brother 2 - Not as good as the first series, but still the best example of how to do reality tv well.
10) The Mark Thomas Product - Political subversion at it's funniest. How can anyone not love Mark Thomas (well, bar Micheal Meacher, obv.)
Also rans: The Blue Planet, When Louis Met Paul and Debbie / The Hamiltons, Dalziel and Pascoe, Faking It, We Know Where You Live, Banzai.
Worst Tv: Lee Evans: So What Now? The Royal Variety Performance (and especially Cilla's bit), Soapstars, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Mr Charity, The Sketch Show, The Joy of Text, Survivor, Slap Bang, They Think It's All Over.
Alex Finch.
MUSIC OF THE YEAR: ALBUMS
1) The Strokes "Is This It" - yes the Stooges did it all years ago, but The Strokes do it SO well!
2) The Charlatans "Wonderland" - top band back on top form.
3) PJ Harvey - "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea" - well deserved Mercury winner.
4) Alien Ant Farm - "Anthology" - good clean fun.
5) David Kitt - "The Big Romance" - lo-fi folk for anyone who likes the idea, but hates David Gray.
2) Pulp – We Love Life
3) Mercury Rev – All is Dream
4) The Divine Comedy – Regeneration
5) Mull Historical Society - Loss
Alex Finch.
2) Tool - Lateralus
3) Neil Finn - One Nil
4) Daft Punk - Discovery
5) Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me
MUSIC OF THE YEAR: SINGLES
1) Gay Dad - Now, Always and Forever
2) Cake - Short Skirt, Long Jacket
3) Tool - Schism
4) 4Hero - Les Fleur
5) The Electric Soft Parade - Empty at the End
I went for the top 5 alternative singles: those that never made the top 40, even though they were superb enough to make it on a planet without kids being the focal point of the market, just good music.
Craig Aston.
2) The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
3) The Strokes - Last Nite
4) Mull Historical Society - I Tried
5) Pulp - The Trees / Sunrise
6) Belle and Sebastian - I’m Waking Up To Us
8) Mercury Rev - The Dark Is Rising
9) Super Furry Animals - Juxtaposed Wit U
10) The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
And they say that Indie’s dying…So, yeah, it wasn’t the greatest year albums wise, but it’s easily the best year for singles in decades, and this list could easily have been triple the size.
Alex Finch.
2) Radiohead - "Knives Out"
3) Turin Brakes - "Mind Over Money"
4) Travis - "Sing"
5) S Club 7 - "Don't Stop Movin" (no apologies - it's a bloody good tune!)
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