Andrew Schwarz

2004 Film List

Last Updated: December 31, 2004
Total Eligible Films: 58
Last Seen: Meet the Fockers
--------------------------------------------------------
2004 Eligible Releases
Title, Rating (Director, Running Time, Country)

50 First Dates D (Peter Segal, 99 min., USA)
Against the Ropes D (Charles Dutton, 111 min., USA)
Along Came Polly B- (John Hamburg, 90 min., USA)
Anchorman B+ (Adam McKay, 91 min., USA)
The Big Bounce C (George Armitage, 88 min., USA)
Blade: Trinity B (David S. Goyer, 106 min., USA)
The Bourne Supremacy B+ (Paul Greengrass, 110 min., USA)
The Butterfly Effect B+ (Eric Bress & J. Mackeye Gruber, 116 min., USA)
The Chronicles of Riddick B+ (David Twohy, 119 min., USA)
Club Dread B+ (Jay Chandrasekhar, 105 min., USA)
Coffee and Cigarettes B- (Jim Jarmusch, 95 min., USA)
Collateral A (Michael Mann, 120 min., USA)
Darkness B (Jaume Balagueró, 102 min., USA/Spain)
Dawn of the Dead B+ (Zack Snyder, 97 min., USA)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog's Story B (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 92 min., USA)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind A- (Michel Gondry, 108 min., USA)
Euro Trip C+ (Jeff Schaffer, 100 mins., USA)
Fahrenheit 9/11 D (Michael Moore, 122 min., USA)
Garden State A (Zach Braff, 109 min., USA)
The Gathering B- (Brian Gilbert, 90 min., UK)
The Girl Next Door B+ (Luke Greenfield, 109 min., USA)
Godsend D+ (Nick Hamm, 102 min., USA)
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle B+ (Danny Leiner, 88 min., USA)
Hellboy A- (Guillermo del Toro, 132 min., USA)
I, Robot B (Alex Proyas, 105 min., USA)
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead B- (Mike Hodges, 103 min., UK)
The Incredibles A (Brad Bird, 121 min., USA)
Infernal Affairs A- (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, 97 min., Hong Kong)
Kill Bill - Volume 2 A (Quentin Tarantino, 132 min., USA)
The Ladykillers B (Joel & Ethan Coen, 100 min., USA)
The Machinist A (Brad Anderson, 102 min., USA/Spain)
The Manchurian Candidate C+ (Jonathan Demme, 130 min., USA)
Man on Fire B+ (Tony Scott, 143 min., USA)
Meet the Fockers C (Jay Roach, 115 min., USA)
Napoleon Dynamite A- (Jared Hess, 86 min., USA)
Ocean's Twelve B+ (Steven Soderbergh, 120 min., USA)
Oldboy A- (Chan-wook Park, 120 min., South Korea)
Open Water C (Chris Kentis, 81 min., USA)
The Perfect Score C+ (Brian Robbins, 92 min., USA)
The Punisher C+ (Jonathan Hensleigh, 124 min., USA)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse D (Alexander Witt, 94 min., USA)
Saw A- (James Wan, 100 min., USA)
Secret Window C- (David Koepp, 106 min., USA)
Shaolin Soccer C+ (Lee Lik Chi & Stephen Chow, 102 min., Hong Kong)
Shaun of the Dead B (Edgar Wright, 99 min., UK)
Shrek 2 C+ (Andrew Adamson, 92 min., USA)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow B+ (Kerry Conran, 107 min., USA)
Spartan A- (David Mamet, 106 min., USA)
Stander B- (Bronwen Hughes, 111 min., South Africa)
Stark Raving Mad B (Drew Daywalt & David Schneider, 103 min., USA)
Starsky & Hutch C- (Todd Philips, 101 min., USA)
Suspect Zero C- (E. Elias Merhige, 99 min., USA)
Taking Lives C (DJ Caruso, 105 min., USA)
Team America A- (Trey Parker, 107 min., USA)
The Terminal B+ (Steven Spielberg, 128 min., USA)
The Village C- (M. Night Shyamalan, 120 min., USA)
Torque D+ (Joseph Kahn, 81 min., USA)
Troy C+ (Wolfgang Petersen, 162 min., USA)
Walking Tall C (Kevin Bray, 80 min., USA)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ineligible 2004 Films
Title, Rating (Director, Running Time, Country)

Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King A (Peter Jackson, 200 min., New Zealand)
Lost in Translation A (Sofia Coppola, 104 min., USA)

Dana Fillhart

Latest Update:23January2005:30Films Seen (Average Score:84.7%)



5 Most Recent Films (with reviews, if present)
The Manchurian Candidate, seen at home on DVD, 22 Jan 2005


Shaun of the Dead, seen at home on DVD, 22 Jan 2005


Million Dollar Baby, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 15 Jan 2005


Ocean's Twelve, seen at Loews Theatres Wayne, Wayne NJ, 31 Dec 2004


Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, seen at Loews East Hanover, East Hanover NJ, 23 Dec 2004




By ranking

#	Title	Rating
1()	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	90%
2()	Ying xiong (Hero)	90%
3()	The Incredibles	90%
4()	Shi mian mai fu (House of Flying Daggers)	90%
5()	The Bourne Supremacy	90%
6()	The Village	90%
7()	The Polar Express: IMAX 3-D	90%
8()	The Polar Express	90%
9()	Spider-Man 2	90%
10()	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	90%
11()	The Butterfly Effect	90%
12()	Million Dollar Baby	85%
13()	Collateral	85%
14()	Siu lam juk kau (Shaolin Soccer)	85%
15()	Kill Bill: Volume 2	85%
16()	Shrek 2	85%
17()	The Terminal	85%
18()	The Grudge	85%
19()	Fahrenheit 9/11	80%
20()	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	80%
21()	The Manchurian Candidate	80%
22()	Meet the Fockers	80%
23()	National Treasure	80%
24()	Shaun of the Dead	80%
25()	Troy	80%
26()	Barbershop 2: Back in Business	80%
27()	Hellboy	80%
28()	Ocean's Twelve	80%
29()	Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	80%
30()	The Day After Tomorrow	75%

By Date Seen

#	Year	Title	Feature Type	Date Seen
1	2004	The Manchurian Candidate	Full-length Film	22 Jan 2005
2	2004	Shaun of the Dead	Full-length Film	22 Jan 2005
3	2004	Million Dollar Baby	Full-length Film	15 Jan 2005
4	2004	Ocean's Twelve	Full-length Film	31 Dec 2004
5	2004	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	Full-length Film	23 Dec 2004
6	2004	Meet the Fockers	Full-length Film	12 Dec 2004
7	2004	Shi mian mai fu (House of Flying Daggers)	Full-length Film	11 Dec 2004
8	2004	The Polar Express: IMAX 3-D	Full-length Film	04 Dec 2004
9	2004	The Polar Express	Full-length Film	25 Nov 2004
10	2004	The Grudge	Full-length Film	21 Nov 2004
11	2004	National Treasure	Full-length Film	20 Nov 2004
12	2004	The Incredibles	Full-length Film	07 Nov 2004
13	2003	Ying xiong (Hero)	Full-length Film	28 Aug 2004
14	2004	Collateral	Full-length Film	08 Aug 2004
15	2004	The Village	Full-length Film	07 Aug 2004
16	2004	The Bourne Supremacy	Full-length Film	31 Jul 2004
17	2004	Shrek 2	Full-length Film	24 Jul 2004
18	2004	Spider-Man 2	Full-length Film	01 Jul 2004
19	2004	Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	Full-length Film	27 Jun 2004
20	2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Full-length Film	26 Jun 2004
21	2004	The Terminal	Full-length Film	26 Jun 2004
22	2004	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Full-length Film	04 Jun 2004
23	2004	The Day After Tomorrow	Full-length Film	28 May 2004
24	2004	Troy	Full-length Film	14 May 2004
25	2004	Kill Bill: Volume 2	Full-length Film	16 Apr 2004
26	2004	Hellboy	Full-length Film	09 Apr 2004
27	2003	Siu lam juk kau (Shaolin Soccer)	Full-length Film	03 Apr 2004
28	2004	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	Full-length Film	19 Mar 2004
29	2004	The Butterfly Effect	Full-length Film	10 Feb 2004
30	2004	Barbershop 2: Back in Business	Full-length Film	07 Feb 2004

Top 15 greatest film moments of 2004:

Spoiler:

15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 09. 08. 07. 06. 05. 04. 03. The sounds of 9/11 to a pitch-black screen, Fahrenheit 9/11 02. "Expecto Patronum!", the second time around. Sheer film beauty. Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban 01.

Top 15 funniest lines/moments of 2004 films:

Spoiler:

15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 09. 08. 07. 06. 05. 04. 03. 02. The second senator interviewed by Moore; the expression on his face when it sinks in what Moore is asking him . . . priceless! Fahrenheit 9/11 01.

Previous Reviews (Click to reveal)

Meet the Fockers, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 12 Dec 2004


Shi mian mai fu (House of Flying Daggers), seen at United Artist Theatres, 13th St./Union Square, Manhattan NY, 11 Dec 2004


The Polar Express: IMAX 3-D, seen at Regal Channelside 9 & Imax, Tampa FL, 04 Dec 2004


The Polar Express, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 25 Nov 2004


The Grudge, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 21 Nov 2004


National Treasure, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 20 Nov 2004


The Incredibles, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 07 Nov 2004


Ying xiong (Hero), seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 28 Aug 2004


Collateral, seen at Loews Plaza 8 Theatre, Secaucus NJ, 08 Aug 2004
Very solid film with a very Mann-ly direction style (sorry, bad pun ). This is definitely an actor-showcase film, and Cruise and Foxx certainly do not disappoint. The story is fairly straightforward, and Mann plays it that way throughout. He does try a little too hard at times to convince the viewer that Foxx's Max has no other alternative than to remain under Cruise's Vincent, but there were a few choices here and there that strained believability, and some too-obvious narrowing of options. Still, the story's execution was handled very well, and its style -- gritty, almost noir-ish -- is a welcome change from the typical next-scene-must-top-the-previous action movie (okay, it kind-of hearkens back to 80's action films). 85%, a thumbs-up, and my recommendation to see it.


The Village, seen at Regal Cinemas Hadley, South Plainfield NJ, 07 Aug 2004
A wonderful -- if unusual -- entry from Shyamalan -- which, by the way, is both its blessing and its curse. This is, above all things, a human drama, and on that level it works extremely well, especially in Shyamalan's hands. The horror aspects, which were (as one would expect) played up in the trailers and commercials, are important but secondary to the human element of the story. And that is what I mean by "its curse." Due to Shyamalan's reputation, the primary story is likely to be overlooked in favor of the horror elements or the expectation of a twist. Unfortunately, the story develops a certain handling of language from its primary characters that at best is awkward and mostly can be off-putting, and with one paying attention to other elements, the purpose of this tactic could easily be overlooked, and worse, it can be considered a significant weakness. Additionally, the story is of a type that's either like-it-or-hate-it.

Fortunately (for me), I was on the "like it" camp -- it affected me a good deal. Byrce Howard's portrayal of blind Ivy Walker is a terrific rookie performance, one well worth remembering in my opinion. All the big-name actors also turn in strong performances -- in fact, the only weak acting point is (once more) Shyamalan and his too-wooden expository that also felt too close to Deus-ex in the loose-end explanations ("planes diverted", e.g.).

The cinematography is fantastic -- it sets up the mood and setting very well. Acting, as I mentioned, is solid, and the direction is superb. I give the film a 90% -- if the horror elements had felt less contrived I probably would have given it a 95% and a shot at #1 for the year.

(Additional note: For the first time in several years I was successful in keeping 100% away from anything resembling a plot point or other type of spoiler for the film -- I was subscribed to the Village Discussion Thread here but when reviews started popping up and responses to them appeared, I tuned out. I'm very glad I did, and now, after writing the above review, I'm taking my time to catch up on that thread and other reviews).


The Bourne Supremacy, seen at Loews Plaza 8 Theatre, Secaucus NJ, 31 Jul 2004


Shrek 2, seen at White Marlin Mall Theater, West Ocean City MD, 24 Jul 2004


Spider-Man 2, seen at Loews East Hanover, East Hanover NJ, 01 Jul 2004
A fantastic film, definitely one of the rarer sequels better than the original. I enjoyed nearly every part of the film, although Raimi still needs to better handle the slower points of the film -- like the first, when it gets slow, it does drag.
I liked Mary Jane's character a LOT more in this one, and I liked Maguire's Peter Parker even more as well. One thing I liked a great deal was a certain piece of information given to Mary Jane's character in the latter part of the film -- I can't explain why I loved it without ruining certain things for those who've not seen it yet, but I'll just say that IT'S ABOUT FRIGGIN' TIME something like this happens in comic book adaptation. On the other end of the spectrum, though, we have the Osborne Jr. character, who SHOULD have been able to deduce certain things, but remains stubbornly set upon his path -- this irritates me to no end, ESPECIALLY with the last few minutes of the film.
The rest of the film was a real joy ride. The subway scene evoked a few tears from me (as it did with my sister, who lives 3000 miles away from me and saw it with her 2 boys a day before I did). I liked the metaphor between Parker's psychological state to his abilities, but I think it got a little heavy-handed with the psychologist scene. And I most enjoyed the supporting cast -- they truly shine alongside Maguire in this film.
Special effects were *mostly* oustanding -- Doc Oc's arms were extremely well-done. Movement through the skyscrapers, while *far* superior to the first one, still had some problems here and there, as did some of the scenes of the bad guy grabbing Peter's aunt and jumping around the buildings.
Overall I give it a 90%, and a very high recommendation to see it, more than once if you can.


Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, seen at Regal Cinemas Hadley, South Plainfield NJ, 27 Jun 2004
Decent, fun flick, with Ben Stiller in an atypical Stiller role (as as the "bad guy") but very typical Stiller comedy. While I don't think I ever felt a ROFL moment, the film was full of good chuckles and mindless popcorn fun throughout. Maybe not worth a full price viewing, but definitely worth a matinee. 80%.


Fahrenheit 9/11, seen at Loews Cineplex, New Brunswick NJ, 26 Jun 2004
Pretty good documentary from Moore, a bit better than Bowling for Columbine but still a little too much on the Moore-ness, if that makes any sense. The film makes a very strong case connecting the dots between the Bush family and the bin Ladin/royal Saudi families, but it gets mired in too much off-the-main-point seriousness with the Iraq material. Several times I laughed -- most of the time along with a moderate-sized but "into it" audience, but a couple times I laughed when nobody else did (like when Moore played some of the music of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" when he was showing the paper detailing Bush's National Guard service dates). I also found the film straying too much from the topic of its title, and would've wanted more (a lot more) dealing with the Patriot Act and its effect on civil liberties, as well as other matters that arose within our government from the 9/11 attacks.
One other note -- a technical one -- I found the video sources, blown up to film grade presentation, to be sometimes distracting.
Overall, I give the film an 80% (B-) (the same grade I gave BFC, but I think it's slightly better), and applaud Moore's tireless effort to bring to the screen the heavy subject matter that many others wouldn't dare touch, but I still wish for him to review his script material a little more thoroughly to make it tighter and try to stay on the mark of the subject.


The Terminal, seen at Loews Cineplex, New Brunswick NJ, 26 Jun 2004
While this one's not quite as good as Catch Me If You Can, it still is a quite enjoyable trip. Tom Hanks plays a pretty believable Russian from the "country" (at least I don't think it's a real country in real life) of Krakozia, a land thrown into war while Hanks' character, Navorski, is traveling to the US; while en-route, the US withdraws official recognition of Krakozia, which places Navorski in a bureaucratic no-man's-land: trapped within a New York international terminal. Stanley Tucci plays Dixon, a cross-all-T's-dot-all-I's stiff bureaucrat who is irritated with Navorski's status, and tries several tricks -- within the bounds of the law, always within those bounds -- to get Navorski to leave his terminal. When Navorski's innocence precludes him from doing what Dixon wants, Dixon uses his authority to make Navorski's stay as uncomfortable as he can.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hanks' portrayal -- especially his evolution of English -- and I did enjoy Zeta-Jones' acting, but I found just about the entire supporting cast one-dimensional, the only bright spot being officer Torres (Zoe Saldana). Spielberg doesn't hold back on the schmaltz, and, while the score didn't force it too much, many moments (mostly in the third act) were a little bit bash-you-over-the-head-ish. Still, Spielberg's direction is very solid even if he doesn't break through the Spielbergian mold he's trapped himself within, and the results are worthy of my recommendation to see it. 85%.


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, seen at Regal Cinemas Hadley, South Plainfield NJ, 04 Jun 2004
I truly enjoyed this film, overall better than the previous two, but I do not feel the same about the direction given by Cuaron (comparing to Columbus) that many others feel. I think Cuaron gave two things to this film that push it to its status with me: One, he was able to elicit a greater range of acting ability from the primary actors than Columbus did (a (legitimate) argument can be made that because the children are getting older they are able to do better). The second is a better ability to bring out the soul of the books over Columbus -- part of this is due to Cuaron's directorial style, and part is due to a much superior editing skill. I also feel Cuaron's style hurt the film in a few places: One was the opening scene with the Dursleys -- the rawness of it was out of place, in my opinion (it worked for the rest of the film, though). Two, the muted colors hurt the film wherever the characters were in their uniforms -- things should've been more vibrant in certain scenes (e.g., the introduction to Buckbeak, the interior of Hogwarts, and *definitely* the outdoor Hogsmeade scenes, all should've been much more colorful). Three, no director (Columbus or Cuaron) STILL has yet to bring out the clues to the mystery enough that an observant watcher can properly guess the crux of the mystery (this one, like the others, the book was followed too closely to a T, and as such Hermione's actions seem too contrived, even with Ron's multiple "Where'd SHE come from?" comments). And lastly, Cuaron committed a major faux pas in changing the layout of the primary landmarks. Big no-no, even if it is visually more compelling -- too much has already been established on the layout of the first films to change these things.
These complaints, though, are MINOR. In so many ways Cuaron *nails* this story. I felt the same wonder and joy in this film with Harry's first ride with Buckbeak that I felt with Harry's introduction to Diagon Alley (from the first film) -- pure film magic. The scene of Harry (with Sirius) at the lake with the dementors -- EXACTLY as I envisioned it in the book, just perfect. The bridge talk with Lupin, beautiful. Loved the weeping willow and the birds (and the changing seasons used as indicators of time's passing). The Leaky Cauldron, while a little too raw for my liking, was directed brilliantly -- lots of moving camera action.
Overall I give this film a 90%, and definitely has a chance to make my top 10 for the year. Highly recommended, too.


The Day After Tomorrow, seen at Loews East Hanover, East Hanover NJ, 28 May 2004
What a cheesy disaster flick. There was very little that was memorable, save the f/x (and unfortunately every single one of them you'd already seen in the different previews). I'm not going to bother getting into the storyline; I'll just jump right to the atrocious aspects: The science, while plausible in a general sense, is laughable as it is portrayed in the movie (the overall ice-age-from-global-warming *could* happen -- in decades, certainly not in days), plus the whole bit with the super-cold, freeze-you-instantly-in-your-tracks ranges from a gross misrepresentation of physics to outright fantasy (which, by the way, I don't mind ... IF the film didn't try to suggest some scientific merit within the context of the film itself). On top of all of that, there is the bash-over-the-head political message -- horribly, atrociously handled, and I even *agree* with the message! That ought to tell you something: If I, as somebody who can accept any political "message" put in a film whether left, right, or otherwise, have a serious problem with this ... perhaps the best thing one can do is RUN AWAY FROM THIS FILM!
I give the film as high a rating as I do because not all of it is a loss. The effects, as I mentioned, are spectacular, especially the LA twisters. The characters are wholly one-dimensional (and oftentimes traits are introduced that lead nowhere, e.g. Sam Hall's I-got-an-F-because-I-memorized-all-the-formulas-and-didn't-need-to-write-them-down brilliance doesn't have a payoff), but some are endearing, such as the homeless man and dog (I'm happy they kept the manifestations of the tables-turned-on-the-rich-and-poor to a minimum with the main characters, but they did go overboard with the whole third-world-is-now-the-first-world bit), and Bilbo -- er, I mean, Terry at the weather station. Sam does prove to be resourceful, and Laura (Emmy Rossum) is certainly easy on the eyes. Unfortunately, too much of the teen interaction made the film feel like The Day After Dawson's Creek (ugh). Overall I give the film a 75%, but I will probably revisit this review later, and it has the high likelihood of dropping to 70% or even 65%.


Troy, seen at Loews East Hanover, East Hanover NJ, 14 May 2004


Kill Bill: Volume 2, seen at Loews East Hanover, East Hanover NJ, 16 Apr 2004


Hellboy, seen at AMC Clifton Commons, Clifton NJ, 09 Apr 2004


Siu lam juk kau (Shaolin Soccer), seen at AMC Empire 25, 42nd St., Manhattan NY, 03 Apr 2004


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, seen at Loews East Hanover, East Hanover NJ, 19 Mar 2004


The Butterfly Effect, seen at Other (Non-theatrical), 10 Feb 2004
I was actually VERY impressed with the story -- both premise AND execution. It is an extremely dark tale about a boy who has occassional blackouts, and the ability he discovers later in life to change his entire reality by going back into his past during those blackouts and altering events from the way they originally unfolded.
What amazed me was the multiple layers this story worked on, and how tight it was. First it works as a straight-up horror/thriller -- brought by the same crew that did Final Destination 2 (which I enjoyed a good deal); the writers keep upping the ante as the film goes, making you wonder just how it will end. The story also works as allegories on several fronts: Kutcher's Evan can be viewed as Christ-like (not just for the one effect he produced for his prison-mate in one scene, but also for his sacrifice to save the woman and baby...which he was actually ready to live with, until he saw the pain his mother was in), and he can be viewed as the ultimate tragic hero, for the supreme sacrifice (greater, I believe, than saving