Preliminary favorites of 2003

Of the movies I saw in 2003, which always seems to be fewer than I'd like but more than most people who aren't movie critics, my favorites were the following:

• Lost in Translation


• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King


• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World


• Mystic River


• Thirteen


• Finding Nemo


• Whale Rider


• American Splendor


• City of God


• The Italian Job


• Ping Pong


• So Close

Other movies I enjoyed that are worth seeing for one reason or another:

• 28 Days


• Winged Migration


• Girl with a Pearl Earring


• The Last Samurai


• Kill Bill Vol. 1


• School of Rock


• Open Range


• Swimming Pool


• Pirates of the Caribbean


• 25th Hour


• Seabiscuit

My favorite books of 2003, from the disappointingly short list of books I managed to finish this past year:

• Old School by Tobias Wolff


• Moneyball by Michael Lewis


• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown


• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon


• Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins


• Blankets: An Illustrated Novel by Craig Thompson