Best Films of 2004!
Yes, I'm completely unoriginal. But I felt like a top ten list was called for. Anyway, on to the list...
(Disclaimer: Although I tried to avoid it, minor spoilers may have sneaked in. Deal with it.)
10.
Passion of the Christ
Oh man. I can already tell that I'm going to get ridiculed about this by a couple of people in particular. But I stand by my decision in putting this as one of the best movies ever made. I'll admit that this is probably more due to the emotional context of the movie, but that's why I've place it at number 10 (and moved it down a bit on my top 100, incidentally, if you missed that). But I do think it was a good movie. I think it was beautifully done, if a little gut-wrenching.
Best part: All
the scenes with Mary. I've always been interested in the relationship
between Mary and Jesus, even though it isn't seen much in the Bible. I
thought it was done beautifully here.
Favorite quote: "Flesh of my flesh... Heart of my heart... My son, let me
die with you."
9. Mean Girls
What can I say? It's Tina Fey!
Now, I'm not as obsessed with her as a certain hobbit I know, but I have to
admit her brilliance. This is one of the funniest, most realistic, and
best teen movies I've ever seen. I can't think of a scene in it that
doesn't have me laughing to myself. The acting was seamless, for the most
part, as well. A very good movie all around. It does seem kind of
superficial to place it above The Passion, though... whatever, I'm getting
cheese fries.
Best part: It's a tough one, but
I'd have to say the random jungle scenes. It was so unexpected, but so well
done! Runners up include Regina George being hit by the bus, and the
gym scene with all of the girls. Priceless.
Favorite quote: "One time, Regina George punched me in the face. It was
AWESOME."
8.
Spiderman 2
Some have called this the best comic book movie ever made. Lots of people, in fact. Me? I can't exactly say that, seeing as I know absolutely nothing about the comic books that it came from, but I will say that it is one of the best sequels I have ever seen. And one of the few that by far surpasses the original (2004 seems to have been a good year for that... see the other movies below). Come to think of it though, it does stand out above all the other comic book movies I've seen (except the Hulk. Come on, that was just brilliance.), so I guess I would call it, if not the best, then one of the best. But most of the reason I like it so much is because we got to see much more of the human side of things, of the hero and even of the villain, in this movie as opposed to the first. A major improvement, in my book, since I didn't care for the first one all that much.
Best part: The entire train
sequence. I love how the people see Peter Parker's face at the end of it,
too.
Favorite quote: "I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us
honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with
pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want
the most. Even our dreams."
7. Kill
Bill Vol 2
Another amazing sequel (it's kind of getting redundant now...). It's hard to compare it with the first one, because they are so different, but this one definitely provided just as much gory appeal as the first. Here we get to finally see the infamous Bill, meet the awesome Pai Mei and find out The Bride's real name (although who didn't hear the spoiler about this one, seriously?). The visuals, as with the first, were striking and the dialogue was great (although I thought the superman speech was a little random. Good, but random).
Best part: The
fight in the trailer between The Bride and Elle Driver. For some reason
Cadbury eggs come to mind... ewewewew.
Favorite quote: "May I have a glass of water, please?"
6. Shrek 2
Another great sequel. Better than the original, though I say that with reluctance, since I loved the first one so much. But it is. I was wary when I first saw the trailers for this one, not wanting them to ruin Shrek for me. But from the beginning sequence to the end of the credits, I was hooked. The new characters won me over, and the old characters made me love them even more. And all the pop culture references killed me. Even the plot, which I thought could easily turn cheesy and fake, turned out to be excellent. All in all, a great movie that I will watch over and over.
Best part: The
musical sequence
towards the end of the movie, with the Fairy Godmother singing and Shrek
running to the rescue... it gave me chills.
Favorite quote: "It's a thong!"
5. Shaun of
the Dead
At the beginning of the year, I didn't know a thing about this film. Never heard of it, until a few weeks before we went to see it. But it was an incredibly original idea that I thought was done beautifully. I laughed and was grossed out all at the same time. I think this is one of the most refreshing movies (next to Garden State) to come out this year, and definitely one of the most innovative. And, though it was a zombie flick, it turned out to be surprisingly realistic and... human.
Best Part: The choreographed
scene with the jukebox and the beating of the bar owner-zombie. Simply amazing.
Favorite quote: "Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?"
4.
Aviator
From the first time I saw the trailer, I was skeptical about this movie. I'm not a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and the subject of aviation didn't really thrill me all that much. But wow. I've learned that Brandon and Ryan were right, you can't really go wrong with Scorsese. This movie was intense from the first minute to the last. I was impressed by the acting, even from Leo. But my favorites, by far, was Cate Blanchett's role as Katherine Hepburn and Alan Alda as Senator Brewster. This didn't turn out to be a particularly touching movie for me, by any means, but I do have to admit that it is exceptional.
Best part: The
rapid fire investigation between the Senator and Howard Hughes.
Favorite quote: "If you let me testify at that hearing, the whole world will see
what's he become. They should remember him for what he was."
3. Incredibles
I have never seen an animated movie that seemed so human. It's not that the animation was particularly realistic, at all (as one critic put it, he hated the movie because they're ankles were too small... yeah). Don't get me wrong, I think the facial expressions were probably some of the best Pixar animation to date, but it was the dialogue, the relationships and the voices that put such life into the characters, for me. Seriously, can you think of a character that you didn't love? I can't. And making Jason Lee the villain was pure genius. I don't think there was a second of this movie when I wasn't involved in the story and laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Can we say "Best Animated Film?" I think we can.
Best part:
Another tough choice. I'd have to go with the family dinner scene.
Seeing the superpowers used in such a mundane and everyday situation is just
hilarious. A close second would have to be seeing little Jack Jack burst
into flame. I think I about died laughing at that point.
Favorite quote: "You can't! It's impossible! I'm far too busy. So
ask me now before I become sane."
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Now, if I had my own way, this movie and Garden State would be tied for first. However, because of some rule (that Brandon did NOT make, by the way), I have to rank them. And so it turns out that Eternal Sunshine drew the short straw. This movie, to me, is seamless. Every time I watch it, I get caught up in all the little intricacies and fall even more in love with the entire movie. Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, although I never would have thought them to be before I saw it, are perfect for their roles. The special effects used throughout the movie are subdued, but they leave me breathless everytime. In fact, this whole movie usually leaves me breathless.
Best part: The
memory scene in the bookstore, where, while Joel and Clementine have an intense
discussion, books in the background slowly begin to lose their titles and then
disappear altogether.
Favorite quote: "I could die right now, Clem. I'm just... happy. I've
never felt that before. I'm just exactly where I want to be."
1.
Garden State
Ah. Garden State. What can I really say here that I haven't told all of you probably a million times before. I think I've loved this movie ever since I first saw the trailer in the movie theater with that amazing song playing over it (Let Go, Frou Frou. Amazing soundtrack for this movie, as well, I might add.) I think that Zach Braff is one of the most talented people in Hollywood right now, and an underappreciated one at that. Making his debut effort in writing, directing, and acting for the big screen with such a beautiful and touching movie proves just how great he really is. And while I don't think that this was as smooth overall as Eternal Sunshine was, it has come to be a movie that speaks for our entire generation, which moves it up to number one in my book. It was so subtle and artsy and I just loved it. There's not much else I can say. I'm just in awe of this movie and of Zach Braff.
Best part: Does
"the whole movie" count? Hm, well then... the scream from on top of the
construction crane. And the kiss afterward.
Favorite quote: "This is your one opportunity to do something that no one
has ever done before and that no one will copy throughout human existence. And
if nothing else, you will be remembered as the one guy who ever did this. This
one thing."
Movies that I haven't seen, but think would have had a chance of making this list if I had:
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Maria Full of Grace
House of Flying Daggers
Before Sunset
Hotel Rwanda
Closer
I Heart Huckabees
Hero
Finding Neverland