Russell Smith

Near Misses: Moulin Rouge, Pitch People, The Others, The Shipping News, Shrek

Most Overrated Films: Blow, Mulholland Drive

Most Underrated Films: Pitch People, Vertical Ray of the Sun, With a Friend Like Harry…

Acting Kudos — Male: Denzel Washington (Training Day), Robert De Niro (The Score), Ethan Hawke (Tape, Training Day)

Acting Kudos — Female: Charlotte Rampling (Under the Sand), Thora Birch (Ghost World), Leelee Sobieski (My First Mister)

Best Director: Richard Linklater (Waking Life), Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World), Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast)

Best Screenplay: Daniel Clowes & Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World), Stephen Belber (Tape), Richard Linklater (Waking Life)

Worst Film: The Wash. Further proof, if more was really needed, that the enchantments of the dope-smoking ne’er-do-well lifestyle are best appreciated from within.

Wild Card: Chrome-Domed Comeback Codgers of the Year: Marlon Brando (The Score), Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast), Michael Jordan (Washington Wizards)

This article appears in 2001.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.

Steve Davis has written film reviews for The Austin Chronicle off and on since the early years of its publication. He holds a B.S. degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas, and a J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...