The Best

“Finding Nemo”

A landmark film from the animation geniuses of Pixar, who turn in their best project to date by being the anti-contemporary film: “Nemo” is void of trick endings, false suspense and wooden performances. Say what you will about Pixar following suit in each of their movies — characters who get lost or kidnapped, rescued by those who are put in the most extreme of circumstances — “Finding Nemo” is a juggernaut of sheer entertainment.

“City of God”

A richly layered film about a group of young Brazilians who are given a single choice in life: Rob or be robbed. A truly memorable film illustrating the loss of innocence, the brutality of man, a struggle for power and an escape from madness, “City of God” paints a portrait many other young directors try — and fail — to do. Lacking larger-than-life characters and snide ambition, it encompasses a world of violence so real it becomes scary.

“A Mighty Wind”

Christopher Guest and company score again in this uproarious mockumentary about folk singers who come together to honor the man who made them famous. The approach is a bit softer than in Guest’s previous efforts, “Waiting for Guffman” and “Best in Show,” but “A Mighty Wind” shares a bit more of a heart. Plenty of sight gags, one-liners and uniformly joyful, inspired performances enhance this nutty piece of comedic bliss.

… and the worst

The first major release of 2003 spoke on behalf of what was to come: “Just Married” pitted two unlikeable characters, played by Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy, on a honeymoon from Hell. To think anyone would want to watch Ken and Barbie, or should I say Rain Man and Jennifer Tilly twice removed, duke it out for painful laughs is a head scratcher . . .

“The Life of David Gale,” the king of all crapfests, demonstrated just because you’re a double Oscar-winner doesn’t mean you can’t be placed in one of the most predictable, dishonest and baldly acted films of all time . . .

Speaking of Oscar winners, Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro and fluke luck director William Friedkin hack their way – literally – through “The Hunted,” a MacGyver meets “Rambo” onslaught of the most unbelievable of action movies posing as legit entertainment.

No “worst list” would be complete without “Dumb and Dumberer,” and not because it was the stupidest idea on the planet, but because it lacked the comedic fierceness of its original, a.k.a. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

Dear guys who made this crap: Hearing a profane Bob Saget was funny the first two times when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” (when he was still on “Full House”) and when he provided the biggest laugh in “Half Baked.”

The string of obscenities maybe would have been funny if they snagged Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell. Just a suggestion.

That or don’t make garbage. Oh, wait. They did.

Winners and Losers

Good for the biz: “Finding Nemo” has been the year’s biggest hit, both critically and commercially. After having accumulated $274,936,974 in seven weeks, it had surpassed “The Matrix Reloaded,” which had then accumulated $268,979,763 in nine weeks. Both are currently the eighteenth and nineteenth highest domestic grossing films of all time, respectively, with “Finding Nemo” likely to surpass “The Lion King” ($328,423,001) as the highest grossing animated film.

Not so good: Nine other movies, including “Anger Management” ($133 million) and “Bringing Down the House” ($132 million), have also grossed more than $100 million this year.

Guilty pleasure: “Old School:” It’s not “Animal House,” but it sure wants to be. The first-time experience of watching Will Ferrell do what he does best — make an ass out of himself — is hilarious. Take out every scene with Craig Kilborn or “we couldn’t afford Renee Zellweger” actress Ellen Pompeo, and this would have been a major camp classic instead of a minor.

Teaser trailers: Go to a string of movies, and you’re going to see the same ones endlessly advertised. This is why the gurus behind “Terminator 3” promotions such as trailers and TV spots deserve a big congrats for providing great ads, keeping their viewers guessing about the plot (the movie could have been about renegade bakers given the ambiguity of the ads), and not revealing important details or presenting the same preview over and over again.

The Great Big Hype: “Terminator 3” actually lived up to its hype — not an easy task after a director switch, 12 years between sequels, half of the cast not showing up and a 55-year-old heart patient portraying a superhero.

Sequels: Need a bigger sign that Hollywood is standing on the toothpicks of originality? Nearly 20 sequels or remakes, only two of which have even been worth seeing, have littered the summer lineup. It’s a sad, sad day when one realizes “2 Fast 2 Furious” is one of the two worth seeing.

Comedies that aren’t funny: Whether suffering from jokes everyone has heard before (“Hollywood Homicide”), starting on a high note and going south from there (“Anger Management” and “Dumb and Dumberer”), providing just one good laugh (“Legally Blonde 2”), not being funny at all (“Just Married,” “Alex and Emma”) or provoking the question “Is this really happening?” (“Bringing Down the House”), the supposed mainstream comedies Hollywood has produced have been migraine-inducing messes of extended “Saturday Night Live” skits.

Fallen star rising: With help from that wunderkind called plastic surgery and a boyfriend controversy that skyrocketed her to nearly every tabloid cover in the country, Demi Moore has revitalized her career after a six-year hiatus. The offers, according to her agent, are apparently rolling in — start an office pool on when she’ll ditch Ashton.

Winners of the Year:

Moonlighters: The actors and actresses who’ve only popped up periodically over the last five years or so are coming back full force: Ray Liotta, in a career high that should have happened after “GoodFellas,” almost has a new movie out every three months. Ellen DeGeneres, disappearing into standup after yet another failing of her TV gig, provided the biggest laughs in “Finding Nemo.” Most welcome is Ah-nuld — who told you he’d be back — after a line of duds in “Terminator 3.”

Losers of the Year:

Hollywood Legends: Either they realize they haven’t been nominated for Oscars in years, or they just know they can make an easy payday by doing stuff that is way below them. Dustin Hoffman, appearing as an annoying — a euphemism, that is — gangster with a ferocious appetite for rampant gum chewing in “Confidence” and Al Pacino, ruining an otherwise decent movie with his token loud, “hoo-ah” style scene-stealing, ass-chewing scenery speech at the end of “The Recruit,” have both made complete asses out of themselves. Think it’s a glitch for Pacino? Think again — he has a supporting role in the already panned “Gigli” starring Ben Affleck and J-to-da-L-O. Don’t be fooled by the rocks that he’s got — he’s still, he’s still Alfredo from the block.

2003 Oscar Watch

Even though there have been a few good movies released this year, don’t expect to see even the best of them floundering come Oscar time. “Finding Nemo,” unless a small miracle happens, will probably only be considered for the best animated feature Oscar. Even though “Beauty and the Beast” nabbed a best picture nomination 12 years ago, don’t count on repeat success for “Nemo” unless there’s a severe drought of good movies at the end of the year.

If the Oscars were held today, the race would be among the guys. 2002 was a great year for women roles, and although only halfway there, the male performances have had more to consider than female roles.

Kurt Russell gave the performance of his career in the strongly underrated “Dark Blue,” a film that didn’t even break $10 million in its theatrical run. As a corrupt cop, he mirrors a similar role of Al Pacino in last year’s also underrated, also unrecognized “Insomnia.”

Also good was Colin Farrell in both “The Recruit” and especially “Phone Booth.” In the case of the former, he just held a silly movie afloat, and saved “Phone Booth” in a performance much better than the film deserved.

Jim Carrey also deserves accolades for “Bruce Almighty,” a surprisingly very entertaining and thought-provoking movie in disguise as a slapstick comedy. Although callous at moments, Carrey is perfect for the material.

The female roles have been a competition for the worst.

Leading the pack is Kate Hudson, who, with “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Alex and Emma” provides proof of the need for her to step out of the shadow of her mom and tackle less obvious projects. The sad thing is Goldie Hawn would have been much more believable in both of Hudson’s films this year.

Queen Latifah was simply awful in “Bringing Down the House,” playing up to stereotype for absolutely no reason. Racial stereotypes have worked in the past, but feel tired and offensive in this drivel. To Latifah: Your fifteen minutes are up — quit bragging about your Oscar nomination or you’ll be Queen No-teeth-ah. Not to mention No-job-‘neath-ya.

— Stories by Ryan Curell, Arts and Entertainment Editor for the Daily