movies: the best movies of 2002

by todd-nelson79 | created - 21 Feb 2011 | updated - 18 May 2011 | Public

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1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

PG-13 | 179 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

87 Metascore

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom

Votes: 1,781,884 | Gross: $342.55M

2. City of God (2002)

R | 130 min | Crime, Drama

79 Metascore

In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.

Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen

Votes: 800,051 | Gross: $7.56M

3. Spider-Man (2002)

PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

73 Metascore

After being bitten by a genetically-modified spider, a shy teenager gains spider-like abilities that he uses to fight injustice as a masked superhero and face a vengeful enemy.

Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco

Votes: 878,646 | Gross: $403.71M

4. The Bourne Identity (2002)

PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller

68 Metascore

A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and attempting to regain his memory.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Franka Potente, Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen

Votes: 575,838 | Gross: $121.66M

5. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

80 Metascore

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow

Votes: 583,861 | Gross: $132.07M

6. Chicago (2002)

PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical

81 Metascore

Two death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.

Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Taye Diggs

Votes: 243,179 | Gross: $170.69M

7. The Pianist (2002)

R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music

85 Metascore

During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox

Votes: 910,991 | Gross: $32.57M

8. Gangs of New York (2002)

R | 167 min | Crime, Drama

72 Metascore

In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent

Votes: 472,498 | Gross: $77.81M

9. Road to Perdition (2002)

R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

72 Metascore

A mob enforcer's son in 1930s Illinois witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.

Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Paul Newman

Votes: 284,338 | Gross: $104.45M

10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

PG | 161 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

63 Metascore

Harry Potter lives his second year at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione when a message on the wall announces that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The trio soon realize that, to save the school, it will take a lot of courage.

Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris

Votes: 691,694 | Gross: $261.99M

11. Adaptation. (2002)

R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama

83 Metascore

A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.

Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton

Votes: 202,904 | Gross: $22.25M

12. About Schmidt (2002)

R | 125 min | Drama

85 Metascore

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates

Votes: 133,523 | Gross: $65.02M

13. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

75 Metascore

Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen

Votes: 1,093,879 | Gross: $164.62M

14. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

PG | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

74 Metascore

A young and parentless girl adopts a 'dog' from the local pound, completely unaware that it's supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that's taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace.

Directors: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers

Votes: 211,365 | Gross: $145.79M

15. Super Troopers (2001)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

48 Metascore

Five Vermont state troopers, avid pranksters with a knack for screwing up, try to save their jobs and out-do the local police department by solving a crime.

Director: Jay Chandrasekhar | Stars: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, André Vippolis, Joey Kern

Votes: 112,900 | Gross: $18.49M

16. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

PG | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

54 Metascore

Ten years after initially meeting, Anakin Skywalker shares a forbidden romance with Padmé Amidala, while Obi-Wan Kenobi discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.

Director: George Lucas | Stars: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Lee

Votes: 758,243 | Gross: $310.68M

17. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

PG | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

62 Metascore

A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.

Director: Joel Zwick | Stars: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Christina Eleusiniotis

Votes: 144,512 | Gross: $241.44M

18. Unfaithful (2002)

R | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller

63 Metascore

A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan

Votes: 98,304 | Gross: $52.80M

19. Ice Age (2002)

PG | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

61 Metascore

The story revolves around sub-zero heroes: a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, a sloth and a prehistoric combination of a squirrel and rat, known as Scrat.

Directors: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha | Stars: Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Goran Visnjic

Votes: 518,618 | Gross: $176.39M

20. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

78 Metascore

Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews

Votes: 177,250 | Gross: $17.84M

21. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

51 Metascore

The Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan homeworld Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a peace treaty. Captain Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation once Praetor Shinzon plans to attack Earth.

Director: Stuart Baird | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton

Votes: 83,879 | Gross: $43.25M

22. Talk to Her (2002)

R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance

86 Metascore

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling

Votes: 117,446 | Gross: $9.36M

23. Die Another Day (2002)

PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

56 Metascore

James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.

Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens

Votes: 229,056 | Gross: $160.94M

24. Far from Heaven (2002)

PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Romance

84 Metascore

In 1950s Connecticut, a flustered housewife faces a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in the outside world.

Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson

Votes: 49,286 | Gross: $15.85M

25. National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)

R | 92 min | Comedy, Romance

26 Metascore

The most popular kid on campus meets a beautiful journalist who makes him realize that maybe he's afraid to graduate.

Director: Walt Becker | Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, Kal Penn

Votes: 115,268 | Gross: $21.01M



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