2004 Film List

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Whew! It's official: after seeing Fat Albert and Million Dollar Baby tonight, I've now seen every wide release of 2004.

One will absolutely make my Top 10. The other jumps immediately onto my Bottom 10.

So Fat Albert was that good? I'd heard Oscar-caliber, but I had no idea.




ps - is it just me or do other people feel the need to sing the title "Million Dollar Baby" to the tune of "Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper.

Added: Wolfgang Becker's Goodbye Lenin!

~Edwin

Decided to wait until the last minute. As of 2004, I saw aproximately 75 films in the theatre. This list does not count films I saw more than once, or ones that watched on DVD even if they came out in 2004. Rest assured, 2005 will have that complete tally! Current order is aproximate order of viewing, hopefully soon, it will be in select categories for ratings, etc.


BIG FISH
ALONG CAME POLLY (aka BEN STILLER ROMANTIC COMEDY) (Universal)
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (New Line)
MYSTIC RIVER (Warner Bros.)
WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON! (DreamWorks)
THE BIG BOUNCE (Warner Bros.)
LOST IN TRANSLATION (Focus Features)
BARBERSHOP 2 (MGM)
MIRACLE (Buena Vista)
50 FIRST DATES (aka 50 FIRST KISSES) (Sony Pictures)
EUROTRIP (DreamWorks)
WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT (20th Fox)
BROKEN LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD (20th Fox)
HIDALGO (Buena Vista)
STARSKY & HUTCH (Warner Bros.)
SECRET WINDOW (Sony Pictures)
SPARTAN (Warner Bros.)
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Focus Features)
JERSEY GIRL (Miramax)
THE LADYKILLERS (remake) (Buena Vista)
SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED (Warner Bros.)
HELLBOY (Sony Pictures)
WALKING TALL (remake) (MGM)
ELLA ENCHANTED (Miramax)
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (20th Fox)
KILL BILL VOL. 2 (Miramax)
THE PUNISHER (Lions Gate)
MAN ON FIRE (20th Fox)
ENVY (DreamWorks)
MEAN GIRLS (Paramount)
NEW YORK MINUTE (Warner Bros.)
SUPER SIZE ME (IDP)
VAN HELSING (Universal)
TROY (Warner Bros.)
SHREK 2 (DreamWorks)
GARFIELD (20th Fox)
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (20th Fox)
DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (aka UNTITLED DODGEBALL MOVIE) (20th Fox)
THE TERMINAL (DreamWorks)
FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (Lions Gate/IFC Films)
SPIDER-MAN 2 (Sony Pictures)
KING ARTHUR (Buena Vista)
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (DreamWorks)
I, ROBOT (20th Fox)
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (Universal)
HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE (New Line)
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (remake) (Paramount)
THE VILLAGE (aka THE WOODS) (Buena Vista)
COLLATERAL (DreamWorks)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT (Buena Vista)
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (20th Fox
ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID (Sony Pictures)
PAPARAZZI (20th Fox)
WITHOUT A PADDLE (Paramount)
GARDEN STATE (Fox Searchlight)
HERO (Miramax)
LADDER 49 (Buena Vista)
SHARK TALE (aka SHARKSLAYER) (DreamWorks)
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (Paramount)
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Focus Features)
TAXI (remake) (20th Fox)
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (Universal)
RAY (Universal)
THE INCREDIBLES (Buena Vista)
AFTER THE SUNSET (New Line)
SEED OF CHUCKY (Focus Features)
NATIONAL TREASURE (Buena Vista)
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS (aka JOHN GRISHAM'S SKIPPING CHRISTMAS) (Sony Pictures)
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS THE MOVIE (Paramount)
THE POLAR EXPRESS (Warner Bros.)
BLADE: TRINITY (New Line)
FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (remake) (20th Fox)
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (Buena Vista)
MEET THE FOCKERS (Universal)

Final editions for this list:
The Aviator and Bad Education

I use this list for theatrical viewings in the calendar year. For future viewings see the '05 thread.

Rawson Marshall Thurber's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - Dodge this one if you can.

~Edwin

Criteria: USA/Canada first screening

Sorted Alphabetically:
9/10 3-Iron (Bin-jip)
6/10 50 First Dates
6/10 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
5/10 Bad Education ( Mala educación, La )
6/10 Before Sunset
6/10 Breaking News (Dai si gein)
7/10 Bush's Brain
4/10 Calvaire
7/10 Clean
7/10 Closer
7/10 Collateral
7/10 Control Room
7/10 Creep
5/10 Day After Tomorrow, The
6/10 Dead Birds
6/10 Días de Santiago
6/10 Dirty Shame, A
7/10 Eros
9/10 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6/10 Fahrenheit 9/11
7/10 Garden State
6/10 Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
6/10 Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
5/10 Gunner Palace
6/10 Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
5/10 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
5/10 Haven
6/10 Hellboy
8/10 House of Flying Daggers ( Shi mian mai fu )
7/10 I Heart Huckabees
7/10 Incredibles, The
6/10 Jersey Girl
7/10 Kill Bill: Vol. 2
7/10 Ladykillers, The
9/10 Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The
5/10 Low Life (Haryu insaeng)
6/10 Machinist, The
7/10 Magic Kitchen
7/10 Manchurian Candidate, The
7/10 Maria Full of Grace
6/10 Mean Girls
8/10 Men Suddenly in Black
6/10 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
7/10 Million Dollar Baby
7/10 Millions
6/10 Miracle
6/10 Napoleon Dynamite
8/10 Nobody Knows (Dare mo shiranai)
3/10 Notre musique
8/10 Oldboy
6/10 Overture, The (Hom rong)
6/10 P.S.
7/10 Palindromes
6/10 Phil the Alien
6/10 Primer
8/10 Private
8/10 Rahtree: Flower of the Night (Buppah Rahtree )
4/10 Salvador Allende
7/10 Saw
5/10 ScaredSacred
7/10 Sideways
7/10 Silver City
6/10 Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
6/10 Spartan
7/10 Spider-Man 2
6/10 Starsky & Hutch
7/10 Steamboy
6/10 Super Size Me
7/10 Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
8/10 Team America: World Police
7/10 Terminal, The
6/10 Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family
6/10 Throw Down ( Yau doh lung fu bong )
5/10 Trauma
4/10 Tropical Malady ( Sud pralad )
7/10 Twilight Samurai, The (Tasogare seibei)
7/10 Undertow
5/10 Village, The
4/10 Whole Ten Yards, The
6/10 Woodsman, The
7/10 Year of the Yao, The
7/10 Zebraman

Notable films released this year that I've seen but don't meet the first screening criteria:
7/10 Baadasssss! (How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass)
8/10 Coffee and Cigarettes
7/10 Corporation, The
8/10 Dogville
3/10 Good Bye,Dragon Inn (Bu san)
6/10 Gozu (Gokudo Kyofu Daigekijo: Gozu)
8/10 Hero
8/10 Last Life in the Universe
7/10 My Architect: A Son's Journey
7/10 Nothing
7/10 Oasis
6/10 Osama
6/10 Return, The (Vozvrashcheniye)
7/10 Robot Stories
7/10 Shaolin Soccer (Siu lam juk kau)
8/10 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
7/10 Touching the Void
10/10 Yes Men, The
7/10 Zatoichi
7/10 Zhou Yu's Train(Zhou Yu de huo che)

Previous Year's Film Lists:
2000 List
2001 List
2002 List
2003 List
2004 List

Previous Years Top 10 Lists:
2000 Top 10(same as the 2000 list)
2001 Top 10
2002 Top 10
2003 Top 10 (must not have made a separate post)
2004 Top 10

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The Aviator
9.5 of 10
A very powerful epic about one of the greatest Americans you could ever imagine, a truly inconic character. The scope of the film is fantastic and Leonardo shows his stuff with this highly complex character. Blanchett's Hepburn is also dynamite.

The look of the film is strangely not stamped with a Scorsese feel to the degree of most of his films, perhaps because of the star character or the period aspects. However, the direction is still outstanding. One of his better efforts.

The only flaw is some scenes simply running too long which really hurts at times because the film also covers so many different areas that it strains the audience a bit.


The Life Aquatic with Team Zissou
9 of 10
Classic Wes Anderson except for one thing, the film is extremely dark for him. Both humor and drama are at times so dark that I thought maybe there was a trick being played. The film also has some issues with a slightly awkward finish and some inconsistant pacing.

But for the most part the film is chock-full of the best sort of dry humor that Anderson and Murray can provide. Willem Dafoe also gets a fun turn with his quirky German and supporters like Huston and Blanchett show some nice mixes of drama and comedy. But its Murray that steals the show with his rather unlikeable yet funny Zissou.

It's quirky and dry enough that non-Anderson fans might not like it or might not even get it, but if you enjoyed Bottle Rocket then this is probably for you (keep that dark edge thing in mind however). The small audience I saw it with was laughing out loud many times during the film.

Also a good film if you like your David Bowie songs.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - Will Ferrell again carries a movie with a few hilarious scenes strung between the shotgunning hit and miss jokes, ho-hum direction, and ugly look typical of comedy in the last few years. Again I suppose it's entertaining enough given it's lowbrow goals, but Ferrell is starting to wear thin for me. B

Next Up: Garden State

Zhang Yimou's House Of Flying Daggers


Next Up: Phantom Of The Opera

~Edwin

Added what will prove to be '04's final "wide release": the surprisingly superior In Good Company. I dug it a lot.

Garden State - Another overdose of Hollywood self-absorbtion made watchable only by Natalie Portman's smile. Nothing about it feels genuine, from Braff's "poor little rich kid" hangdog looks to the overly formal dialogue. This was so boring and inertly scripted that I was reduced to hoping that the Netflix envelope was wrong and it would be shorter than printed. Thankfully, it was. C- (probably should be worse, but I didn't actively hate it)

Next Up: Twilight Samurai

The Terminal
4 of 10
Beautifully directed, well acted, great art direction and cinematography.

Horrible, horrible script. Dialog isn't too bad, but the entire premise and the efforts to maintain that premise and any tension within it are extremely poor. None of the motivations are believable for the context and it undermines every scene.

Toward the end Spielberg again gets schmaltzy like he tends to, which does't help, but Niccol (or someone) still give the story a less Hollywood ending (or maybe semi-downer is the new H'wood).

Gervasi helped Niccol with S1m0ne and that story also pushed the boundries of absurdity. In that case I think the film committed to it thanks to Niccol's direction. But here a similar far fetched story is mis-married with Spielberg's more realistic approach to it. SS also struggles to pay off on the absurdist comedy (as I read some of the gags) by underplaying their silliness.


And that's how talented people can make a bad film without actually doing technically bad work.

(note: I reconsidered and changed from 3.5 to 4, as this film was not worse than 13 Going on 30 to me ).

Added 6 movies to my list and rearranged it into alphabetical order so it's easier for me to keep track of what I've seen.

Closer **** - Mike Nichols terrific dialogue driven film contains some of the best acting of the year from Natalie Portman and especially Clive Owen. Natalie Portman as a stripper is hotter than Elisha Cuthbert as a porn star. There, I said it, whatcha gonna do?

Ocean's 12 *** - Breezy sequel from Steven Soderbergh. Terrific cast and chemistry. It's not as tightly plotted as last time around. I figured out the "surprise" cameo at the end the first time we hear the guys voice.

Sideways **** - The first masterpiece I've seen since LOTR:ROTK. When I hit 40 movies in the next week, this will be #1 on my Top 10 of 2004 List(unless something else knocks it out, such as M$B). Giamatti, Haden Church, Madsen, and Oh all knock it out of the park. Wonderful script, plenty of humor, perfect dramatic moments, all combine to produce what is so far the best movie of 2004. Oscar nominations all around.

Starsky and Hutch *** - Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are hilarious in this big screen adaptation of the 1970's TV show. What happens with the car at the end, I actually cheered for in the theater.

13 Going on 30 - *** 21st century Big that relies on the charm of Jennifer Garner to succeed and it does. Jennifer carries this movie on her shoulders. It's nowhere near as good as Big. Mark Ruffalo continues to show why he's one of the best character actors in the business, with this role, ESOTSM, and Collateral.

Touching the Void **** - Astounding documentary about two guys who climb a mountain on its steepest face and the trials and tribulations they go through doing it. Even though the guys survive, it was still suspenseful watching this movie.

Mario Van Peeble's Baadasssss! - Pic rightfully earns a spot in my Top 15.

~Edwin

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My multiple attempts to watch The Phantom Of The Opera has been thwarted primarily by weather. Still hoping to catch it within the next week though.

~Edwin

God is trying to tell you something.

Maybe so, Seth.

Robert Greenwald's Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism

~Edwin

Updated my list with 2 more movies, bringing my total to 38. Only 2 more to go to post a Top 10 list!

Friday Night Lights *** 1/2 - The best football movie since Any Given Sunday. Billy Bob Thornton is terrific as the level headed coach of the Permian Panthers in football obsessed Odessa Texas. Tug McGraw is virtually unrecognizeable as the dad of one of the players. I can see why he wears a hat in concerts. Derek Luke gives the best performance of all the players. The football scene were very well done, although a little over the top, but what else do you expect? A football movie that is not so much about football, but about the lives in between the games.

Kinsey **** - Liam Neeson gives what should be an Oscar nominated performance in this enthralling drama about a man who quite possibly was the only person who could have done what he did. Laura Linney gives another fine performance as his wife who is probably the only person who could have stayed with him. I liked how the movie didn't demonize Dr. Kinsey's priest father. Far too often, the clergy is shown in a unflattering light in the movies. If Liam Neeson doesn't get nominated, it won't be because he doesn't deserve it, it'll be because the field is too damn strong this year.

I've seen 40 films so far and they're all sorted out by rating in the top ten thread. Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda and Phantom of the Opera all still need to be attended soon...

My 2005 Top Ten list

The Twilight Samurai - This very fine film (actually a 2002 release in Japan) is really more of a family melodrama than a traditional samurai film. In telling a moving story about a widowed father discovering the joys of parenthood and risking his tenuous status to defend a childhood friend from her abusive husband, it shows aspects of family life not usually seen in Japanese cinema. Interweaving the domestic with political intrigue brought about by the oncoming Japanese unification, the film generally strikes a satisfying balance between the personal and more dramatic story elements. I wasn't overly fond of the drawn out finale, but otherwise this is one of the better "new" films I've seen lately. B+

Next Up: more catch up reviews, Troy, Phantom of the Opera, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

..

Finally...

Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of The Opera

~Edwin

(Deep breath)

#136: House of Flying Daggers - ½ - Beautiful, with a stronger story than Hero, but surprisingly CGI-intensive action
#137: A Thief of Time - ½ - The most recent PBS adaptation of the Chee/Leaphorn mysteries is capable but not as strong as Coyote Waits
#138: Blade: Trinity - - Ryan Reynolds appears to be the only one making an effort here.
#139: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - ½ - Bill Murray just keeps getting better and better.
#140: Fidning Neverland - - Depp is wonderful in a movie about the drive to create.
#141: A Very Long Engagement - - I'm growing to despise Audrey Tautou like more mainstream snobs despise Tom Cruise.
#142: A Series of Unfortunate Events - ½ - Harry Potter wishes he were as smart and resourceful as these kids, and Jim Carrey gets to let loose.
#143: Hotel Rwanda - - A star-making performance by Don Cheadle in a movie that never hits a wrong note.
#144: Million Dollar Baby - ½ - And this from someone who hates boxing and strongly disagrees with the movie's last act.
#145: Ocean's Twelve - ¾ - We expect better from this group.
#146: Spanglish - ½ - I honestly would never have guessed Sandler and Leoni had these performances in them, and Paz Vega is fantastic in any language.

Added a few:

The Final Cut - Compelling premise and Robin Williams in the lead...but damn it's dry and pretty boring, too.

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy - So confused and scattershot that it feels like a movie comprised entirely of deleted sce...what's that? Oh, OK. Pretty funny flick then.

Coronado - DTV adventure silliness. Beware.

Added: Jorgen Leth and Lars von Trier's The Five Obstructions

~Edwin

Added:

Maria Full of Grace - *** 1/2 - Catalina Sandina Moreno gives a terrific debut performance as a Colombian teenager who wants to go to American in search of a better life. What she encounters isn't exactly the American Dream, and neither is the journey. A unique look at the drug trade from the bottom, it is meticulous and harrowing. Catalina should, but probably won't get an Oscar nomination for her stunning debut.