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Another
year, another so-so draw for movies, according to me. Even
as the year started, I didn’t particularly see many films that
we’re jazzing me up for 2004, but despite a few sleepers and
indies crawling into the woodwork, the year on the whole,
particularly its back-end…wasn’t as memorable as one would
have hoped. That said, I still managed to catch over 150
movies in theaters this year and still managed to enjoy quite
a number of them, 10 of which I considered as my “favorites”
of the year, and elaborated on below. It’s to note that my
runner-ups were also all very good movies, all of which I would
highly recommend in a heartbeat.
Note:
There are a handful of movies which I was not able to screen
before putting together this list, some of which might make the
list once screened, including THE AVIATOR, CLOSER, FINDING
NEVERLAND, OCEAN’S 12, FAT ALBERT (yeah, dassa joke) and
others...
post
your favorites of 2004 here
Runners-Up
(in alphabetical order):
Anchorman,
The
Assassination of Richard Nixon, The
Bourne Supremacy, The
Butterfly Effect, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fahrenheit
9/11, Hero,
The
Manchurian Candidate, Maria
Full of Grace, The
Motorcycle Diaries, The
Passion of the Christ, Team
America
10. COLLATERAL
I
could easily buy Tom Cruise as the “bad guy” and Jamie Foxx
was solid as the “average Joe” cab driver, but what ultimately
took this film to that other level for me was its intense
build-up, its psychological interaction between the two
characters, the late night palpability of the streets, the crooked
situation at hand, as well as the continually engaging
developments, as shit had to get done, and get done, quick! Cruise
proved, once again, that he’s a very capable actor, and director
Michael Mann showed us why he loves crime movies so much; he just
makes them so goddamn well! Kudos go out to Mark Ruffallo’s
goatee and the kinetic shootout in the discotheque.
9. The
Girl Next Door
I
still have issues with this film’s final 15-20 minutes, which I
believe veered further than was really required, but pretty much
everything before that was just a good ol’ throwback to the
innocent, sexy, fun, non-toilet-humor related teen fantasy flicks
from the ‘80s, all of which gave me a hard-on, including and
specifically, the lead fantasy woman of most men’s dreams this
year: the lovely Elisha Cuthbert! Major kudos go out to the
film’s soundtrack as well as its ability to make us give a shit
about the characters. I’ve literally watched this movie 4 times
already and had a blast each time.
8. Garden
State
A
pretty brilliant debut by actor/writer/director Zach Braff whose
trailer alone invoked in many, feelings of nostalgia and heartfelt
times. The film came through on both the melancholic and comedic
fronts, with Braff taking some of the very basics from one of my
personal favorite movies of all-time, BEAUTIFUL
GIRLS (including one charming Natalie Portman), and adding to
it, the anxious nature of many of those still attempting to
“find themselves”. Peter Sarsgaard is also a stand-out.
“Yeah, like DeNiro and shit.”
7. The
Notebook
We
rarely get any straight-forward “romance” movies these days,
which is why many and their mother-with-the-Kleenex-box were both
surprised and impressed by this old-school romantic drama
featuring a charismatic two-some in the lead in Ryan Gosling and
Rachel McAdams, as well as plenty of real-life connection,
nostalgia, flirtation and ultimately…love, baby! This film made
a ton of money, especially for its genre, but was either loved or
hated by most. I fell on the “love” side and so did the tears
in my eyes. A great film to cuddle up to with your better half.
Gorgeous scenery and cinematography only added to the film’s
unique splendor.
6. Before
Sunset
Wow,
two romantic movies in one top ten and only one featuring T&A
and one hot-ass girl?! I must be getting goofy in my old age. This
follow-up to Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE worked very
effectively despite an extremely limited amount of characters,
story arcs or anything beyond two people just walking around and
talking life and love. Of course, what makes the film work is that
we’re entirely invested in both these real characters,
particularly if you’ve known of their past, and either way,
because both Hawke and Delpy’s chemistry and obvious connection,
shares with the audience, a beautiful place where many of us would
love to inhabit. The film’s final line is genius.
5. The
Machinist
I
saw two of my five favorite movies at this year’s Cannes Film
Festival. I say that because, unfortunately for most audiences,
neither this film or my number one choice below, were seen by many
on this side of the ocean (although OLDBOY will apparently have a
release date in 2005). That said, despite seeing this movie in the
wee hours of the morning (at which time, my erection hadn’t even
gotten up yet), I was truly taken inside this dark, grungy,
Hitchcockian world of a man seemingly lost within himself and the
strange set of behaviors and actions around him.
The
master at the center of this ceremony, along with the continually
impressive director Brad Anderson, was brilliant actor Christian
Bale, who after nailing the part of Patrick Bateman in 2001’s AMERICAN
PSYCHO, lost over 60 pounds and completely inhibited and
imbued the lead character in this film, which for all of its
darkness and mystery, ultimately turns out to be about a human
emotion, to which many of us have surely related. A gorgeous
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón comes through as window dressing, Jennifer
Jason Leigh flashes a boob and the always-fun Michael Ironside
wanders through the film as well. A very memorable score adds to
the film’s success.
4.
Sky
Captain & the World of Tomorrow
I’m saddened
that this film didn’t do as well as it could have, but I can
certainly understand why, especially since most people had simply
never seen anything like the vision that was this computer-based
WWII-era adventure film, and just didn’t know what to do with it
(including the studio marketing the picture). I say that because I
truly believe this movie to be one of the funnest, most
entertaining, all-out action/adventure comedic flirty flicks of
the year, one that most any of you who enjoyed either/or STAR
WARS, INDIANA JONES or those flirtatious back-and-forth pictures
from the 1940s, should get a kick from. I didn’t just enjoy this
movie’s country-hopping adventures though, I truly was breath
taken by its very unique and eye-catching visuals, the fun
interaction between its characters and its action sequences, many
of which were both tense-ridden and memorable. The chatty
interaction between Law and Paltrow were also brilliantly
conducted.
3. Saw
There
are very few Hollywood horror productions that seem to give me
anything but a cheap-ass woody between the legs and a penchant to
purchase one-day-to-garbage soundtracks, but when I watched SAW
for the first time in early summer, I was slapped across the face
like a man who hadn’t known what a visceral thrill was since a
little film back in the day called SE7EN. This film made a ton of
money for the little-studio-that-could named Lions Gate Films (who
unfortunately, has already penciled in a
more-than-likely-to-be-crappy sequel for next Halloween…slow
down, guys—think quality, not quantity!), but was also hated by
many who saw it.
I’m
not sure where we differed, but the motion picture that I
witnessed had me shitting my pants, tensed up during most of its
visually dynamic and stylish sequences, puzzled by the many
gruesome tasks associated to innocents by a killer who we did not
see -- save for a very creepy puppet and one f*cked-up voice --
and enough blood, kills, thrills and unbelievably stressed-out
moments, to remain engraved in my mind for the rest of the year.
And if the film’s final 10 minutes don’t tense up your tits
and blow your eye-sockets out, then I guess we differ in the
definition of suspense.
2. Man
on Fire
Looking
back over the year, I just couldn’t help but remember this movie
over and over and over again. Several bits about it just stick out
in my mind, including specific scenes like the one featuring
Denzel Washington’s character standing over a man bent over a
car with “something” up his butthole, specific cool lines like
“I got all the time in the world. *You* don't, but I do.”
and “I'm gonna take your family apart piece by piece, you
understand me? Piece by piece!”, one very specific and
special relationship between Washington and the brilliantly tiny
actress Dakota Fanning, who established a genuinely loving
relationship during the film’s first one-sided hour, only to
enrapture you even further into Washington’s precise acts of
revenge and investigation during the film’s more kinetic second
half. We also got many other slick elements like director Tony
Scott’s wickedly overdone text blogs on the screen (which may
annoy some, I could see that), a pounding soundtrack, a
wonderfully underplayed performance by Christopher Walken, a very
hot Radha Mitchell, plenty of jolting kills and action sequences,
but in the end, a story about heart, love, family and yeah…a
tiny bit about revenge. The film’s dying moments are also “for
the books”.
1. OldBoy
I
don’t usually like to put movies that haven’t come out in
North America during the year of my review list in my top 10, but
in this case, I caught this Korean thriller during my first stint
at the Cannes Film Festival this past summer (where it actually
won the second prize with Quentin Tarantino as the Jury’s head),
and was so impressed and smacked around by its sheer vitality,
original style, violence and creative story-letting, that I just
couldn’t help but include it at the very top of my list of
favorites, since no other motion picture truly knocked me upside
the head like this one did during 2004 (it will apparently be
released in North America in 2005—more
info on that here).
From
its opening sequence in which a man is forced inside a room for a
period of 15 years, for no apparent reason, to the film’s real
beginning, when the man is let out after all that time, with his
wife and kids murdered, with him as the suspect, and only a cell
phone and a bit of cash to figure shit out, this movie truly
inspired me to keep watching, as the inconceivable circumstance
and building psychoses and sheer anger within the man, barreled
the film along a variety of strange and unbelievable turns, all of
which helped make the film stronger, more exciting, more
thoughtful and ultimately, quite mind-boggling. This picture also
features a number of over-the-top gross/violence sequences that
some may not be able to stomach, so watch your steps.
post
your favorites of 2004 here
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