This wasn’t a very good year for movies. There were not very many that I wanted to make an effort to see to begin with and even less that I kick myself for missing. I don’t even have that much to say about the ones I enjoyed. I think I need to just stop going to the movies or at least stop seeing current American cinema.
From worst to first:
Shrek 2 – Ok I saw this on a plane and only watched 10 minutes before I had to turn it off, so this really shouldn’t count. But I want those 600 seconds of my life back. Absolutely unbearable. I think Dan made it through 2 minutes.
The Dreamers – Idealistic American studying in Paris shacks up with eerie, incestuous brother and sister who claim they were Siamese twins at birth. I’m glad Bertolucci is an equal opportunist nudist, but if I ever see any more of Michael Pitt then I have to ever again, I’m going to throw up.
Team America World Police – Maybe if this were 30 minutes long, I would have enjoyed it a little more. The man behind me in the theater fell asleep, I wish I had done the same.
Napolean Dynamite – Saw this on DVD in Seattle. What exactly is the big fuss about this dumb movie? The characters were so uninteresting they needed to rely entirely on a series of gags and quirks to shape whatever ounce of personality they had. They weren’t even endearing quirks – just things I’m sure the husband and wife writing team thought were “wacky and craaazzy.” Moon boots! Tater Tots! Ligers! OMG! This was the movie version of totally normal, boring people who constantly refer to themselves as weird. I hate those people and I hate this movie.
Garden State – Oooh, Zach Braff is soooo cute. The Shins are awesome, New Slang will change your life! Oooh. Again, what is the appeal of this movie? Just as Napolean Dynamite tries so hard at being quirky and fails so miserably,Garden State tries too hard to speak for/to non-mainstream youth culture. Are we that starved for a film that acknowledges that twenty-somethings are depressed and fucked up too that we need to place this film on such a high pedestal?
I Heart Huckabees – Jason Schwartzman should have stayed in Phantom Planet if this is the type of work he left music for.
Bad Education – Gael Garcia Bernal, so handsome as a man, so not so handsome as a woman. I give Almodovar credit for creativity, but it just didn’t work out.
Mr. 3000 – You know how you know a movie is going to be bad but in a funny, good way so you still want to see it? Well Mr. 3000 was bad in a bad way. Not casting Rickey Henderson in a small role was a major oversight.
Kinsey – Couldn’t they have cast someone who kind of looks like Liam Neeson to portray Kinsey in his 20s? It was just so disconcerting watching him on screen trying to pass for a 20 year old.
Ray – Great performance by Jamie Foxx, but about an hour too long. Dan makes a great point about bio-pics. It’s impossible to fit an entire life into 2+ hours so why doesn’t Hollywood just focus on a smaller portion? It probably would have helped Ray and Kinsey. Also the epilogue with the collage of album covers was so cheap looking.
Osama
Tarnation
Born Into Brothels
Bright Leaves
Dig
I think I went to see these just so I could
eat some Film Forum popcorn.
The Incredibles - I should have known this was going to be mediocre by how lame the short that preceded the film was. Weak script and just not as original as Monsters Inc.
Fahrenheit 9/11 – It really bothers me that Michael Moore has become the liberal figurehead to so many Republicans.
Coffee and Cigarettes – Thought 1/3 of the vignettes were great, 1/3 were good and 1/3 just terrible.
Lost Boys of Sudan – I think I also just went to see this so I could eat Film Forum popcorn. Enjoyed this more than the other FF movies.
In Good Company - Relatively innocuous, but then again relatively innocuous really stands out in a field of subpar releases.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Was it me or did this just feel like one really long music video?
Ocean's 12
Mean Girls
Anchorman
I enjoyed all three of these because I wasn’t really expecting much from
them. Dumb and fun.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – How did this end up in my top 7? It was such a disappointment. Actually, scratch that. The preview made it look like a disaster and to be fair it exceeded my expectations. It was beautiful to listen to and watch but the Life Aquatic’s script was really thin. Missing were the complex and detailed characters of Wes Anderson’s previous efforts.
The Motorcycle Diaries – I was really gripped by Bernal’s portrayal of a young Che Guevara and loved the character of his best friend.
Kill Bill, Vol 2 – Highly entertaining and that scene where Uma Thurman is buried alive was amazing.
Tae Guk Gi - I found this a little long too but also incredibly emotionally gripping. I’m glad it wasn’t tied up with a neat bow at the end.
Sideways – The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I enjoyed this movie. Smart script, smarter casting.
Crimson Gold – There was just something so moving about this story of an Iranian cab driver who’s pretty much done with the world around him. I think this is how Garden State was trying so hard to make me feel.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring Again – This was one of the first movies I saw all year. I should have just stopped there. A beautiful meditation on the changing, complex stages of life. So elegant and artful, and my favorite film of the year.
2004
LISTS
dan
mitch
sujan
chris m.
amy w.
kaci
donovan
bill w.
jeremy
