Some of these I saw on video, and some I saw in 2005. You don’t like those rules? Sue me, I live in cultural purgatory. I was lucky to see any movies at all that didn’t star Will Smith or The Rock.
*Not quite as good as I’d hoped:
Mean Girls: Man, I wanted this to be so much better than it was. I think I was expecting Heathers and got The Parent Trap instead.
*As bad as I expected (which is fine, really, as long as you know what to expect going in):
13 Going on 30: Amy thinks I’m weird because I think Jennifer Garner is a little too manly for my taste. Whatever. She was fine in this, but her goofiness was just a little too much for me. More than a female "BIG"? I’m not so sure. Judy Greer stole the show if you ask me.
The Day After Tomorrow: How awesome was it when they outran cold? Yeah, pretty great. I saw this on a bus, but I doubt it woulda been any better under even the best circumstances. Still, who doesn’t love a big disaster epic where rough and tumble climatologists get to throw around dossiers like they’re super-spies or something.
*Still leaving me confused about how I feel:
I Heart Huckabees: Marky Mark was great, but nothing else about this really held together for me. I must have checked my watch 50 times and by the end of the movie I was literally itching to get out of the theater as fast as possible.
Garden State: Hmmm…while I think I actually liked this more than most of the Balgavyites, it kept me wanting something more that it never delivered. What that something is, I have no idea, but it wasn’t there. Still, better than Huckabees.
*Pretty much what I expected, entertaining but not mind-blowing:
Saved!: I don’t care what Dan says, I’ll trade 15 subtitled films I’ve never heard of for this movie. High art it’s not, but surprisingly nuanced for a teen flick, and a fun ride while it lasts.
The Corporation: It’s no Fog of War, but it came to town, and it wasn’t horrible.
Fahrenheit 9/11: Moore could stand to get a new schtick, but until someone else steps to the plate (besides Green Day) and starts calling Bush on his crap, I’ll see his movies.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story: Sure, fine, whatever. This is what happens when you spend too much money and time on comedies. The best ones are kinda schlocky and rough around the edges, and Dodgeball was just too slick for it’s own good. Vince was sporting himself a nice selection of western shirts though.
Kinsey: Total big-time period biopic. Kinda ho-hum. Peter Saarsgard was busy this year.
In Good Company: This movie was worth seeing, if nothing else, for the Topher/Scarlett love scene in her dorm room. The rest of the movie was OK, but I don’t really think I was its target demographic.
Before Sunset: Having never seen the first one, I think I missed a few subtleties, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I’ve always been a sucker for Julie Delpy, and I can’t really find much to complain about. Maybe I should rent the first one…
Finding Neverland: A tidy, well made movie, but a Best Picture it’s not. Depp was solid, and he did a great Scottish accent. At times I felt like I was working at Matador again.
*The tops:
Closer: I still can’t decide exactly how I feel about this, and there are some obvious reasons to consider moving it to another part of the list, but given the fact that I was spellbound every time Clive Owen was onscreen, I have to suspect that it wasn’t a waste of time.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Sometimes I hate weirdness for the sake of weirdness. Other times I find it endearing, and this was one of those times. There are a million reasons to take issue with this movie, but I had a great time watching it.
Sideways: While I think it was over-hyped and too much loved (A.O. Scott nailed it with his diatribe against it as a movie that critics love because it’s about a critic), I did enjoy myself immensely in the theater, and I think Giammatti was pretty much flawless. Plus, it REALLY made me want to drink wine.
Maria Full of Grace: Some people thought this movie was a little too patently designed to tug at your heartstrings, and of course it was. But I also thought it was beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and even surprised me a few times.
Bourne Supremacy: Nonstop, slam-bang action from the first minute, cool locations, slick gadgets, realistic stunts (no CGI, no gravity-defying martial arts), a solidly complex plot, an everyman hero, what else do you need? I held this movie up as the standard by which I measured just about everything else this year. Genres aside, if it entertained me as much as B.I., I was satisfied.
Million Dollar Baby: This one really caught me off guard. After Mystic River I wasn’t holding out too high of hopes, and I’ve never really "gotten" Hilary Swank, but man was this a great movie. Acting, story, cinematography and that indefinable atmosphere that makes a good movie truly great, Eastwood captured all of it. Possibly the finest film I’ve seen in this now half-gone (!!!) decade.
2004
LISTS
dan
mitch
sujan
chris m.
amy w.
kaci
donovan
bill w.
jeremy
