Ten Best Films of 2004

User avatar
OscarGuy
Site Admin
Posts: 13668
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:22 am
Location: Springfield, MO
Contact:

Post by OscarGuy »

****
1. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
2. Stage Beauty
3. Hero
4. The Aviator
5. Hotel Rwanda
6. Kinsey
7. Finding Neverland
8. The Motorcycle Diaries
9. Fahrenheit 9/11

*** 1/2
10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Closer
Collateral
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Incredibles
The Terminal

***
Jersey Girl
Shrek 2
Spider-Man 2
National Treasure
The Phantom of the Opera
Sideways
The Door in the Floor
De-Lovely

** 1/2
Troy
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Team America: World Police
Beyond the Sea
The Village

**
The Day After Tomorrow
The Stepford Wives
The Passion of the Christ
Home on the Range
King Arthur

* 1/2
Walking Tall
Van Helsing
Hidalgo
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
The Exorcist: The Beginning

*
Garfield
Catwoman
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10743
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Post by Sabin »

Lessee...I got The Sea Inside, A Very Long Engagement, and...I don't know. Something else probably.


****
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Before Sunset
3. Bad Education (NEW)
4. Million Dollar Baby (NEW)
5. The Incredibles
6. The Aviator (NEW)

***1/2
7. Kinsey
8. Sideways
9. Dogville
10. The Manchurian Candidate
11. Maria Full of Grace
12. Vera Drake
13. Hero (DOWNGRADED)
14. I (heart) Huckabees (DOWNGRADED)
15. Team America: World Police
16. Fahrenheit 9/11

***
17. Spider-Man 2
18. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (DOWNGRADED)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
20. Coffee & Cigarettes
21. Hotel Rwanda (NEW)
22. Mean Girls
23. Birth (NEW & UPGRADED--can't get it out of my head)
24. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
25. In Good Company (NEW)
26. House of Flying Daggers (NEW)

**1/2
27. The Bourne Supremacy
28. Super-Size Me
29. Kill Bill: Volume 2
30. Collateral
31. Garden State
32. Troy
33. Shaun of the Dead (NEW)
34. Starsky & Hutch
35. Shrek 2
36. Bon Voyage
37. The Dreamers
38. Anchorman: The Rise and Fall of Ron Burgandy (SLIGHTLY DOWNGRADED)
39. Ray (UPGRADED)
40. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
41. The Terminal

**
42. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
43. Hellboy
44. The Door in the Floor (NEW)
45. Closer (NEW)
46. The Ladykillers
47. The Day After Tomorrow
48. Saved!
49. I, Robot
50. The Passion of the Christ
51. Napoleon Dynamite
52. Finding Neverland

*1/2
53. Spanglish (NEW)
54. The Stepford Wives
55. The Village (NEW)
56. Jersey Girl

*
57. Van Helsing

NOT A MOVIE: Without a Paddle




Edited By Sabin on 1109213849
"How's the despair?"
Penelope
Site Admin
Posts: 5663
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 11:47 am
Location: Tampa, FL, USA

Post by Penelope »

Update:


1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – ****
2. Before Sunset – ****
3. Spider-Man 2 – ****

4. Kinsey – ***½
5. A Very Long Engagement – ***½
6. Spring Summer Autumn Winter and...Spring– ***½
7. Sideways – ***½
8. Maria Full of Grace – ***½

9. Fahrenheit 9/11 – ***
10. Mean Girls – ***
11. The Motorcycle Diaries – ***
12. Proteus – ***
13. The Dreamers – ***
14. Bon Voyage – ***
15. The Phantom of the Opera – ***
16. National Treasure – ***
17. Finding Neverland – ***
18. Garden State – ***
19. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 – ***
20. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – ***
21. The Mother – ***
22. Ray – ***
23. Beyond the Sea – ***
24. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – ***
25. Jersey Girl – ***
26. The Stepford Wives – ***
27. The Day After Tomorrow – ***
28. Ella Enchanted – ***

29. The Aviator – **½
30. The Manchurian Candidate – **½
31. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – **½
32. Alexander – **½
33. Eurotrip – **½
34. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! – **½
35. The Prince and Me – **½
36. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – **½
37. The Notebook – **½
38. Secret Window – **½
39. Saved! – **½
40. Troy – **½
41. 50 First Dates – **½

42. Closer – **
43. Collateral – **
44. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – **
45. Vanity Fair – **
46. I (Heart) Huckabee’s – **
47. The Bourne Supremacy – **
48. King Arthur – **
49. The Terminal – **
50. Connie and Carla – **
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Cinephile101
Graduate
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 5:41 am
Location: Knoxville and Atlanta

Post by Cinephile101 »

Update 1/30. Only one post-early fall release has managed to earn anything above 3 stars.

**** stars
1. Before Sunset
2. Kill Bill Vol. 2

*** ½ stars
3. End of the Century: the Story of the Ramones
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. Maria Full of Grace
6. Kitchen Stories
7. The Agronomist
8. Shaun of the Dead
9. Touching the Void
10. Since Otar Left
11. I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead
12. Control Room
13. Spider-man 2
14. Hotel Rwanda
15. The Return
16. (Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut)
17. Code 46

*** stars
18. Intermission
19. Sideways
20. The Machinist
21. The Dreamers
22. The Story of the Weeping Camel
23. Supersize Me
24. The Motorcycle Diaries
25. Bright Young Things
26. Bad Education
27. I Heart Huckabees
28. Kinsey
29. The Corporation
30. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
31. Finding Neverland
32. Goodbye, Lenin!
33. The Incredibles
34. Riding Giants
35. Hero
36. A Very Long Engagement
37. Tarnation
38. Ray
39. Fahrenheit 9/11
40. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring
41. The Same River Twice
42. Broken Wings
43. Monsieur Ibrahim
44. Broadway: The Golden Age
45. Mean Creek
46. Undertow
47. The Ladykillers
48. Friday Night Lights
49. I’m Not Scared
50. The Bourne Supremacy
51. Hellboy

** ½ stars
52. The Aviator
53. The Saddest Music in the World
54. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
55. Grand Theft Parsons
56. In Good Company
57. Napoleon Dynamite
58. Silver City
59. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
60. The Mayor of the Sunset Strip
61. Festival Express
62. Criminal
63. Coffee and Cigarettes
64. Vanity Fair
65. Million Dollar Baby
66. Garden State
67. 50 First Dates
68. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
69. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

** stars
70. Young Adam
71. Japanese Story
72. Ocean’s Twelve
73. Troy
74. The Manchurian Candidate
75. Valentin
76. Closer
77. Open Water
78. Collateral

* ½ stars
79. The Notebook
80. The Stepford Wives
81. De-Lovely

* star
82. The Republic of Love
I've got to honest; I'd rather be sweeping the Pennines right now.
User avatar
Sonic Youth
Tenured Laureate
Posts: 8002
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:35 pm
Location: USA

Post by Sonic Youth »

****
1. Son Frere
2. Bad Education
3. Code 46
4. Shaolin Soccer

***1/2

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. Red Lights
7. Vera Drake
8. Crimson Gold
9. The Return
10. Control Room
11. In Good Company
12. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
13. Dogville
14. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
15. Before Sunset
16. Million Dollar Baby
17. Main Hoon Na
18. The Story of the Weeping Camel
19. I Heart Huckabees

***
20. Undertow
21. Maria Full of Grace
22. Sideways
23. Cowards Bend the Knee
24. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
25. Fahrenheit 9/11
26. Tarnation
27. The Incredibles
28. Zatoichi
29. Hum Tum
30. End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones
31. Hero
32. Spiderman 2
33. Osama
34. A Dirty Shame
35. Primer
36. Kinsey
37. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
38. The Day After Tomorrow
39. The Ladykillers
40. Goodbye, Lenin

**1/2
41. A Very Long Engagement
42. The Corporation
43. Mean Girls
44. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban
45. The Aviator
46. Intimate Strangers
47. Ray
48. The Motorcycle Diaries
49. The Notebook
50. Bon Voyage

**
51. Garden State
52. The Mother
53. Facing Windows
54. Outfoxed
55. The Manchurian Candidate
56. I'm Not Scared
57. Super Size Me
58. Coffee and Cigarettes
59. The Bourne Supremacy
60. Touching the Void

*1/2
61. Zelary

*
62. House of Flying Daggers
63. Ocean's Twelve
64. The Brown Bunny

No Stars
65. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

N/A
Strayed (Blurry projection, moron sat in front of me, evening ruined.)

The Yes Men has been removed from the list in protest.
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Heksagon
Adjunct
Posts: 1229
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 10:39 pm
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Post by Heksagon »

I could finally post my first list this year. As usual, I have been a lot slower in seeing new films, partly because I live in periferium, but also because I don't much care about seeing new films as fast possible.


****

1. Twilight Samurai

***½

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Kill Bill, vol. 2
4. Zatoichi

***

5. The Incredibles
6. Evil
7. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
8. Hero
9. Super Size Me
10. Fahrenheit 9/11

**½

11. Mean Girls
12. Collateral
13. Running on Karma

**

14. Spider-Man 2
15. Outfoxed
16. Dogville
17. The Passion of Christ



18. The Ladykillers
19. Troy

*

20. The Terminal
21. Goodbye Lenin

½

22. Shrek 2

no stars

23. King Arthur
User avatar
OscarGuy
Site Admin
Posts: 13668
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:22 am
Location: Springfield, MO
Contact:

Post by OscarGuy »

I'll update my list next week after I've seen Motorcycle Diaries and Lemony Snicket.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
User avatar
Eric
Tenured
Posts: 2749
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 11:18 pm
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Post by Eric »

EDIT/BUMP: Eh, everyone here seems to use the half-star increments, so who am I to resist. Reordered accordingly, with the totally corrupt and inaccurate numerical rankings stripped away. Just pick ten from the top two tiers... oh, wait. There are only ten (and a half). New adds in bold, as always. And, yeah, my grading curve just got a whole world of tougher. I want stars to be earned, thank you.


Masterpiece
Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
Decasia (Bill Morrison) // Light is Calling (Bill Morrison; short)
Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

***½
Bad Education (Pedro Almodóvar)
Blissfully Yours (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Bus 174 (José Padilha)
Crimson Gold (Jafar Panahi)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
Los Angeles Plays Itself (Thom Andersen)
Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)
Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene)
Vera Drake (Mike Leigh)

***
Anatomy of Hell (Catherine Breillat)
Bright Leaves (Ross McElwee)
Cowards Bend the Knee (Guy Maddin)
Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Dogville (Lars Von Trier)
Kill Bill, vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino)
The Master and His Pupil (Sonia Herman Dolz)
Notre Musique (Jean-Luc Godard)
Raja (Jacques Doillon)
Zatôichi (Takeshi Kitano)

**½
Brother to Brother (Rodney Evans)
Cellular (David R. Ellis)
Empathy (Amie Siegel)
The Five Obstructions (Jørgen Leth & Lars Von Trier)
Hero (Zhang Yimou)
Time of the Wolf (Michael Haneke)

**
dig! (Ondi Timoner)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore)
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (Mamoru Oshii)
Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (Robert Stone)
House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou)
Mr. 3000 (Charles Stone III)
Primer (Shane Carruth)
Spiderman 2 (Sam Raimi)
Struggle (Ruth Mader)
Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette)
Team America: World Police (Trey Parker)


Alila (Amos Gitai)
Closer (Mike Nichols)
A Dirty Shame (John Waters)
Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau & Alan Lak)
Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess)
New Guy (Bilge Ebiri)
The Saddest Music in the World (Guy Maddin)
Sideways (Alexander Payne)
The Stepford Wives (Frank Oz)
Tishe! (Victor Kossakovsky)
The Village (M. Night Shyamalan)

*
Army of One (Sara Goodman)
Born Into Brothels (Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman)
Faster (Mark Neale)
The Hebrew Hammer (Jonathan Kesselman)
In the Realms of the Unreal (Jessica Yu)
James's Journey to Jersusalem (Ra'anan Alexandrowicz)
Miffo (Daniel Lind Lagerlöf)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Alexander Witt)
Sugar (John Palmer)
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (Bob Clark)
Testosterone (David Moreton)
Two Brothers (Jean-Jacques Annaud)
A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (Xan Cassavetes)
Zelary (Ondrej Trojan)

½
Adored: Diary of a Porn Star (Marco Filiberti)
Around the World in 80 Days (Frank Coraci)
Benji: Off the Leash (Joe Camp)
The Clearing (Pieter Jan Brugge)
Cowboys & Angels (David Gleeson)
Dutch Light (Pieter-Rim de Kroon & Maarten de Kroon)
Eating Out (Q. Allan Brocka)
Farm Family: In Search of Gay Life in Rural America (Tom Murray)
Garfield: The Movie (Peter Hewitt)
Good Bye Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker)
King Arthur (Antoine Fuqua)
The Machinist (Brad Anderson)
Ray (Taylor Hackford)
Taxi (Tim Story)

Zero stars
Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius (Rowdy Herrington)
A Cinderella Story (Mark Rosman)
Connie & Carla (Michael Lembeck)
Exorcist: The Beginning (Renny Harlin)
Grand Champion (Barry Tubb)
Ladder 49 (Jay Russell)
The Notebook (Nick Cassavetes)
Off the Lip (Robert Mickelson)
The Princess Diaries 2 (Garry Marshall)
Raising Helen (Garry Marshall)
Shrek 2 (Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon)
Sleepover (Joe Nussbaum)
Twentynine Palms (Bruno Dumont)
Penelope
Site Admin
Posts: 5663
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 11:47 am
Location: Tampa, FL, USA

Post by Penelope »

End of November update:


1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – ****
2. Before Sunset – ****
3. Spider-Man 2 – ****

4. Spring Summer Autumn Winter and...Spring– ***½
5. Sideways – ***½

6. Fahrenheit 9/11 – ***
7. Mean Girls – ***
8. The Motorcycle Diaries – ***
9. Proteus – ***
10. Bon Voyage – ***
11. Finding Neverland – ***
12. Garden State – ***
13. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 – ***
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – ***
15. The Mother – ***
16. Ray – ***
17. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – ***
18. Jersey Girl – ***
19. The Stepford Wives – ***
20. The Day After Tomorrow – ***
21. Ella Enchanted – ***

22. The Manchurian Candidate – **½
23. Alexander – **½
24. Eurotrip – **½
25. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! – **½
26. The Prince and Me – **½
27. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – **½
28. The Notebook – **½
29. Secret Window – **½
30. Saved! – **½
31. Troy – **½
32. 50 First Dates – **½

33. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – **
34. Vanity Fair – **
35. I (Heart) Huckabee’s – **
36. The Bourne Supremacy – **
37. King Arthur – **
38. The Terminal – **
39. Connie and Carla – **
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
User avatar
OscarGuy
Site Admin
Posts: 13668
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:22 am
Location: Springfield, MO
Contact:

Post by OscarGuy »

I've had a chance to catch a number of other films. I'm not in the least bit done but here is my new top 10 followed by my listing of stars for films:

1. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
2. Stage Beauty
3. Hero
4. Hotel Rwanda
5. Kinsey
6. Fahrenheit 9/11
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Collateral
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. The Incredibles

****
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
Stage Beauty
Hero
Hotel Rwanda
Kinsey
Fahrenheit 9/11

*** 1/2
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Collateral
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Incredibles

***
Jersey Girl
Shrek 2
Spider-Man 2
National Treasure

** 1/2
Troy
The Village

**
The Day After Tomorrow
The Stepford Wives
The Passion of the Christ
Home on the Range
King Arthur

* 1/2
Walking Tall
Van Helsing
Hidalgo
Scooby Doo 2
Exorcist: The Beginning

*
Garfield
Catwoman

I currently have ready to watch but not reviewed yet:
Beyond the Sea, Door in the Floor, Love Song for Bobby Long, Sideways, This Old Cub, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession. I also have plans to see Closer, Lemony Snicket and Phantom of the Opera in the theater. Also, they are in the process of replacing my Sideways DVD.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
rain Bard
Associate
Posts: 1611
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:55 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Post by rain Bard »

Eric wrote:I think its saccharine effervescence is a perfect fit for what I see as the Rebirth/Paradiso epilogue to Decasia's Death/Inferno.
Dang! Wish I'd been able to see this sentence before I watched Light is Calling! Hopefully I'll watch it again sometime...
User avatar
Eric
Tenured
Posts: 2749
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 11:18 pm
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Post by Eric »

rain Bard wrote:Eric, somewhat coincidentally I count Decasia as 2002, as that's the year I saw it at the SFIFF. I saw Light is Calling at this year's fest and it would probably make my shorts list if I'd extended it to more than three. It didn't blow me away like Decasia did though, largely due to the score, I think.
Yeah, officially I will end up slotting Decasia in '02, but I believe that '04 represents the first screening of the film in Minneapolis, so I'll leave it in for the moment, especially since I can't quite justify having Light is Calling stand alone up at the top. You didn't like the music for Light, eh? I'll admit that it might come off a bit, well, light next to Gordon's score for Decasia, but I think its saccharine effervescence is a perfect fit for what I see as the Rebirth/Paradiso epilogue to Decasia's Death/Inferno. They compliment each other so well that I hate to separate them for the sake of filing the latter away with other shorts.
criddic3
Tenured
Posts: 2874
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 11:08 pm
Location: New York, USA
Contact:

Post by criddic3 »

Updated and moved.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
User avatar
MovieWes
Professor
Posts: 2019
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:33 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA
Contact:

Post by MovieWes »

****
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (d. Michel Gondry)
Tarnation (d. Jonathan Caouette)
The Incredibles (d. Brad Bird)
Touching the Void (d. Kevin MacDonald)

*** 1/2
The Passion of the Christ (d. Mel Gibson)
Ray (d. Taylor Hackford)
Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (d. Quentin Tarantino)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (d. Michael Moore)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (d. Alfonso Cuaron)
Hero (d. Zhang Yimou)

***
Troy (d. Wolfgang Petersen)
Miracle (d. Gavin O'Connor)
The Bourne Supremacy (d. Paul Greengrass)
Spider-Man 2 (d. Sam Raimi)
Shrek 2 (d. Andrew Adamson)

** 1/2
Hidalgo (d. Joe Johnston)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (d. Kerry Conran)
Man on Fire (d. Tony Scott)
The Day After Tomorrow (d. Roland Emmerich)
Mean Girls (d. Mark Waters)
Starsky and Hutch (d. Todd Phillips)

**
I, Robot (d. Alex Proyas)
The Ladykillers (d. Joel Coen)
Along Came Polly (d. John Hamburg)
Shark Tale (d. Bibo Bergeron)
The Alamo (d. John Lee Hancock)

* 1/2
Team America: World Police (d. Trey Parker)
"Young men make wars and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution." -- Alec Guinness (Lawrence of Arabia)
rain Bard
Associate
Posts: 1611
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:55 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Post by rain Bard »

Apichatpong's first feature is Mysterious Object at Noon and is available on US DVD. It was well-recieved at the 2000 Rotterdam Film Festival, and that basically first put him on the international film map. I was living in Thailand at that time, but I didn't hear about him until I was back in the states in 2001. (I only saw four Thai films while I was living in Thailand- due to my fear of unsubtitled movies and weak Thai language skills)

Blissfully Yours is not available on video in the US. There is a French disc with no English subtitles, and a Thai disc that's censored and, from what I hear, already rather rare. Keep your eye peeled for screenings, is all I can recommend.

Tropical Malady will have some kind of a wider release through Strand next year, supposedly.
Post Reply

Return to “2000 - 2007”