2004 Film List (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

Open Water - A strong idea spoiled by mostly poor execution. The filmmakers simply didn't have enough confidence in their material and I would say underestimated audiences ability to handle it. Time and again just as the tension begins to build and my heart started beating a little faster, they deflate the tension by cutting to a "calm" scene. One would think that spending the night on your own in the open ocean would be absolutely terrifying, and yet this sequence is given perhaps 1 minute of screen time. The film isn't helped by the use of a truly awful score when silence and the sound of the ocean waves would have been far more effective. The leads are fine once they are done with going through the motions of the setup and get in the water, and do an adequate job with the material (my wife would disagree, she was rooting for the sharks).

The only thing that gave me positive feelings about the film was the ending/final 2-3 minutes which are surprisingly underplayed and strike a tone missing from the rest of the film. B-

Father And Son - Alexander Sokurov's follow-up to his breathtaking Mother And Son, is an artistic depiction of the paradoxical relationship between fathers and sons. Sokurov's camera eye is one of his best attributes and is on full display here, taking full advantage of his Portuguese locations and using lense distortion to give scenes a dream-like feeling. His themes bring out the universiality and timelessness of the competing emotions of love and disappointment at the heart of the relationship. However, unlike Mother and Son which concentrated our attention solely on two people and their relationship; Sokurov introduces other characters (a girlfriend and a young man searching for his own father) and external story elements that draw our attention, not to mention valuable screen time, away from the film's powerfully compelling central themes. B+

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

David Koepp's Secret Window - Just when you think there might be something original in this film comes an all too familiar and blase twist ending.

~Edwin

 

[Brook K]

The Passion of the Christ - I feel sorry for the performers in this film who are saddled with Mel Gibson's mediocre direction and conception that is to my way of thinking, misguided at best. His efforts to "punch up" a story whose singular power needs no such additions, combined with the use of the standard issue Hollywood Middle Eastern score, push the story uncomfortably close to camp territory. This film is the polar opposite of the elegant simplicity of Pasolini's Gospel According To St. Matthew - C

 

[Larry Vance]

Larry's 2004 Movie List

Offical Count: 86


Explaining the ratings...

***** - A 5 star movie would be considered one of, if not the best of the year. A wonderful and amazing movie experience in which I would call a must see for any movie fan. Films that fall under the 5 star rating are simply favorites of mine that I can watch over, and over, and over. Recommended to everyone. (Perfect/Supreb).

****½ - Nearly the same as a 5 star rating, but is missing something small. Still an amazing experience and recommendable to everyone, but not as favored as a 5 star movie. (Wonderful).

**** - Missing a little more, but still a very watch-able and enjoyable film that excels on many aspects. Surely recommendable. A semi-must see. (Great).

***½ - This is a movie that I thought was really good, but could've been better. There will be people who don't like it at all, but I can recommend this film with confidence that you'll find it entertaining, or thought provoking. (Very Good).

*** - Watch-able and enjoyable, but hit or miss. (Good).

**½ - A film that teeters on bad, to decent, to good. It has it's moments, and it is watch-able, but sometimes not worth a 2nd look. (Solid).

** - This also teeters from bad to decent, but almost never reaches the "good" stand point. Sometimes this movie isn't even watch-able, but it had one or two decent scenes or qualities. (Weak).

*½ - Stay away unless you are just curious. (Bad).

* - Sometimes funny because of how bad it is. Don't even watch if you are curious, just please - for all of mankind, don't see this film. (Awful).

ZERO - Worst Movie of the Year; possibly one of the worst movies in many years, or of all time. Complete and utter garbage. Stay far away. (Hideous).

================================================== ========

* * * * *
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

* * * * ½
• Collateral
• Hero (Ying xiong)
• Kill Bill: Volume 2
• Oldboy
• Shaun of the Dead
• Spider-Man 2

* * * *
• Bourne Supremacy, The
• Corporation, The
• Dead and Breakfast
• Immortel (ad vitam)
• Notebook, The
• Passion of the Christ, The
• Saints and Soldiers
• Saved!
• Spartan
• United States of Leland, The
• Village, The

* * * ½
• 24th Day, The
• Butterfly Effect, The
• Dawn of the Dead
• Girl Next Door, The
• Harold and Kumar Goto White Castle
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• I, Robot
• Manchurian Candidate, The
• Man on Fire
• Mean Girls
• Miracle
• Shrek 2
• Stander
• Terminal, The

* * *
• 13 Going On 30
• 50 First Dates
• Anchorman
• Around the World in 80 Days
• Chronicles of Riddick, The
• Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
• Hellboy
• In Enemy Hands
• Ladykillers, The
• Napoleon Dynamite
• One Point O
• Secret Window
• Seeing Other People
• Starsky and Hutch
• Taffic: The Mini-Series
• Troy
• Whole Ten Yards, The

* * ½
• Alone Came Polly
• Calcium Kid, The
• Coffee and Cigarettes
• Day After Tomorrow, The
• Jersey Girl
• King Arthur
• Mindhunters
• Open Water
• Punisher, The
• Stepford Wives, The
• Taking Lives

* *
• Barbershop 2: Back In Business
• Bad Apple
• Catch That Kid
• Garfield
• Goodbye Girl, The
• Thunderbirds
• Walking Tall
• Welcome to Mooseport
• Without A Paddle

* ½
• Alien vs. Predator
• Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
• Envy
• Fahrenheit 9/11
• Godsend
• Home on the Range
• Suspect Zero
• Van Helsing

*
• Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
• Johnson Family Vacation
• Never Die Alone
• New York Minute
• Van Helsing: The London Assignment

ZERO
• Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
• Catwoman
• Roomies
• Sleepover

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Zach Braff's Garden State


On Deck: Zatoichi

~Edwin

 

[ZacharyTait]

Massive Update:

4 Stars: Hero, Collateral, Before Sunset, Spiderman 2, The Terminal.

3 1/2 Stars: Farenheit 9/11, I, Robot, Open Water, Shrek 2.

3 Stars: The Girl Next Door. (I also moved Secret Window from 3 1/2 to 3 upon further reflection).

2 Stars: The Village.

I'll try to keep my list more up to date as the fall rolls along.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Hero
8.5 of 10
Artistically beautiful but a bit too indulgent for my taste at times. Some of sequences just extend to long when they offer (to me) very little other than mood. Both the art direction and cinematography are often outstanding, with only slight dips into the cliches of style over substance. I found the last 15 minutes to be the most powerful when the film hit a few moments that were very Kurosawa in mise-en-scene and character choices (forget the more obvious connection to Rashomon).

My reaction while the comparisons to Crouching Tiger are natural, Hero was not as emotionally powerful in story as that film was. Part of that is simply due to the nature of the two stories, but some of it is in how they each engaged me with the central characters. Lee had me bought into the characters much quicker in CTHD than Zhang did with Hero.

I have little doubt that how I react to the film differs greatly from how people in the Far East do, so take my reaction with a grain of Marco Polo salt.

 

[Brook K]

Jersey Girl - The film is very conventional/cliche in structure and style, but once again Kevin Smith's writing finds emotional touchstones that provide a pleasurable movie watching experience. It's funny, charming and dare I say, sweet; though touched with sadness as well. The characters feel a little more human than Hollywood usually offers. The performances by Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, and George Carlin as well as the daughter and the smaller roles, are genuine and enjoyable. This may be Affleck's most likeable and honest role.

While there are times that Smith's use of the various cliche's of this sort of movie reach groan or unintentionally comic levels, any sins are more than made up for by the hilarious and warmly touching musical finale. Recommended for all Daddies who love their little girls. B+

 

[ChrisBEA]

Brook,
I agree on Jersey Girl, I really liked it too.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Late August/Early September roundup before the Boston Film Festival:

#85: Last Life In The Universe - :star::star::star:¼ - One of those slow, mood-piece movies, telling its story with hints.
#86: Code 46 - :star::star:¼ - Wants to be Gattaca, but doesn't have the heart for it.
#87: Open Water - :star::star::star: - Good little movie that uses despair rather than dread to create fear.
#88: End of the Century - :star::star:½ - Maybe fans of the Ramones would like it more.
#89: Garden State - :star::star::star: - Eventually recovers from its quirky overload to become a pretty good movie.
#90: The Machurian Candidate - :star::star::star: - Pretty good, but won't supercede the original.
#91: Danny Deckchair - :star::star:¾ - Cute, lighter-than-air comedy.

...Along with some scattered older/odder movies here and here.

 

[jian]

2004 Releases
Total To Date Count: 37
_______________________________________

List By Title
Title/Rating out of ****

Agent Cody Banks 2 **
Against The Ropes *½
Alien vs Predator **
Along Came Polly **½
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy *½
Bourne Supremacy **½
Butterfly Effect ***
Collateral **½
Connie and Carla ***
Dawn of the Dead ***
Day After Tomorrow **½
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story ***
50 First Dates ***
Godsend *½
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ***½
Hellboy ***
Hidalgo **
I, Robot ***
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 ***½
King Arthur **
Ladder 49 **½
Miracle **½
Passion Of The Christ ****
Punisher *½
Raising Helen **½
Resident Evil Apocalypse **
Secret Window **
Shrek 2 ***½
Spider-Man 2 ***
Starsky & Hutch **
Taking Lives *
Terminal ***
13 Going On 30 ***
Twisted **½
Van Helsing **
Village **
Whole Ten Yards *

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer (Hong Kong) :star: :star: ½ (out of four)

~Edwin

 

[Brook K]

The Punisher - A decent actioner that presents a palatable moviecized version of Frank Castle, but is no more true to the comic book character than the Dolph Lundgren version. John Travolta gives a good performance with little to work with as the villain. The film is also overlong, wasting time on a silly subplot involving Travolta suspecting his wife of cheating on him with an underling. Other than giving Travolta more screen time, it serves no purpose in telling Frank Castle's story. The action scenes are ok, but nothing to make you sit up in your chair and say WOW. C+

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Lars von Trier's Dogville

~Edwin

 

[Matt Stone]

Updated with the fun guilty pleasure Cellular (****/*****).

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Takeshi Kitano's The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (Japan)


At Bat: The Girl Next Door

~Edwin

 

[Jason Seaver]

Updated with the first half of the Boston Film Festival:

#92: Primer - :star::star::star: - A nifty boutique sci-fi movie.
#93: Easter Egg Escapade - :star:½ - Of course, being older than four, I'm outside this movie's target audience.
#94: The Almost Guys - :star::star::star: - A laid-back, enjoyable throwback.
#95: Easy - :star::star:¾ - Marguerite Moreau is really, really, good in this.

... and ...

#96: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - :star::star::star::star: - The real deal, an eye-popping, funny popcorn movie that has something for just about everyone.

(Oh, yeah, that blog's counter is finally going to break 100 for a day. Folks want to know about The Almost Guys)

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl

~Edwin

 

[Brook K]

I've added a number of films. I'm slowly putting reviews in the alternate film thread. I'll review mainstream films here. How do I link to other threads?

The Five Obstructions - A- (a look inside the mind of Lars Von Trier and a showcase for the talents of Jorgen Leth)
Mean Creek - B (but I keep vacillating between B and B-)
Baadasssss! - B+ (well done behind the scenes making of a landmark film)
Young Adam - C+ (a mostly dull, mechanical, and disjointed affair)
Silver City - B- (a disappointingly heavy-handed political film lacking in the rich characters Sayles usually provides)
The Brown Bunny - A- (a challenging structure that gives way to the soul-baring performance of Vincent Gallo)

On Deck: Coffee & Cigarettes, Mean Girls, Carandiru

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Luke Greenfield's The Girl Next Door - "Slimy yet satisfying".

~Edwin