The Royal Tenenbaums

One of the first of many tight races, we chose to narrowly honor Wes Anderson's quirky family drama (I maintain that isn't really a comedy, and that's not a criticism) over the first installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the modern-noir Memento. The Royal Tenenbaums was able to establish a larger grassroots support versus the populist Lord of the Rings, which received more first place votes. Memento actually received more votes than any other honoree in any category (15) but failed to capture high placements and missed out on the big prize. Black Hawk Down's depiction of a failed US army raid in Somalia captured fourth place, with a surprise finish in fifth place (at least to me) by the modern French fable Amélie. I had expected Moulin Rouge! to place better, but it failed to break out of a narrow passionate group and just missed this top five.

Top Five
Film	Total Points
The Royal Tenenbaums	199
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	188
Memento	187
Black Hawk Down	134
Amélie	118

Candidates receiving first place votes
Film	Number of First Place Votes
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	4
The Royal Tenenbaums	3
Memento	3
Moulin Rouge!	2
Black Hawk Down	1
Amélie	1
A Beautiful Mind	1
Hedwig and the Angry Inch	1
The Deep End	1
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	1
startup.com	1
In the Mood for Love	1
Focus	1

Other films receiving votes
Monsters, Inc.; Mulholland Drive; The Others; Ocean's 11; A.I. Artificial Intelligence; Shrek; Waking Life; The Man Who Wasn't There; Bridget Jones's Diary; Vanilla Sky; Ghost World; Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; The Devil's Backbone; Enemy at the Gates; Gosford Park; Lunch with Charles; THe Vertical Ray of the Sun; Va Savoir; The Road Home; Tears of the Black Tiger; Spy Game; Save the Last Dance; crazy/beautiful; Ali; Keep the River on Your Right; With a Friend Like Harry; Soul Survivors; Sexy Beast; The Dish; The Caveman's Valentine; In the Bedroom; Time and Tide; Angel Eyes; Training Day; Shallow Hal; Hearts in Atlantis; Blow; Lantana