TBT #27: Top 10 Fims of 2004

I don’t know guys. I think this list was easier to do last year or the year before. Both years I had a DEFINITE number one film, and a sort of general idea of how to structure things beyond that. It’s not a science — it never is — but it didn’t require days of agonizing or anything. This year, however, I did not. I had no idea. Couple the lack of a REAL stand-out film with the fact that it took about nine years for the Oscar Screeners to hit the net (but at least there WERE Oscar Screeners this year! Last year’s VHS Screeners and Telesyncs really kind of sucked) means that this list is late. And fairly unofficial. But it’s here, at least. And I think that’s the most important thing!

These are the best films ever for 2004, presented on January 29, 2005.

Random Awards

Matrix Revolutions award for funniest bad film: National Treasure

Funniest line in National Treasure: It’s a kind of ocular device!

Biggest disappointment: Spanglish

Best Adam West Cameo, 2004 edition: That scene where he waves his penis at Mario Van Peebles, Baaaaadasssssss!

Best movie about mules: Maria Full of Grace

Worst movie about mules: Shrek 2

Best scene involving full-frontal nudity(male): That guy who chased Paul Giamatti, the chase scene, Sideways

Best scene involving full-frontal nudity(female): Neve Campbell, opening shower scene, When Will I be Loved

Best scene involving full-frontal nudity(Peter Sarsgaard): Peter Sarsgaard, right before he starts totally making out with Liam Neeson, Kinsey

Least hilarious use of a word that sounds like “Tootsie”: Hotel Rwanda

Most Impressive display of a bunch of jars of urine in a row: The Aviator

Best Documentary: Etre et Avoir (To be And to have)

Worst movie involving Danny Glover: Saw

Worst movie not involving Danny Glover: Jersey Girl

Honourable Mentions

• The Aviator
• Kinsey
• Collateral
• Hotel Rwanda
• The Assassination of Richard Nixon
• Napolean Dynamite
• Maria Full of Grace
• Sideways
• Baaaaadassssss!
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• In Good Company

The Top 10

10. Shaun of the Dead
This movie was a revelation. It combined my love of zombies (who walk slowly!) with my love of British people with my love of romantic comedies with my love for lazy slackers who play videogames all day. The result was a crazy amalgamation of a movie — a juxtaposition that should have never worked. And, yet, it does, in a beautiful and hilarious way. If you haven’t seen this, you owe it to yourself to get the fucking DVD. It’s 2004’s Gosford Park!

9. Garden State
This might make me emo, but I’m slowly accepting that maybe I am just emo, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I know there are some film snob types who have written this off because the direction is a bit amateurish and the script a bit too self-indulgent, but, while I can understand the criticism, the flaws only enhance the film for me. I like that it feels honest, like Zach Braff was trying to relate something to his audience, and not just make some sort of hip, ironic, post-post-post-modern film that revels in its subtlety. It’s a bit sloppy, but it’s sincere, and I really appreciate that. And, also, the soundtrack is brilliant.

8. Kill Bill Volume 2
For some reason I don’t associate this movie with coming out this year, but it did, right? In any case, I really liked it. I’m not sure it’s possible to really compare it to the first one, as it’s so wildly different it makes my head spin. There’s a lot to like, though: More Michael Madsen, more monologues, more superhero references, an eyeball-squishing scene — these are the elements that make film art. I still think Quentin Tarantino is a douche, of course, but he’s a talented douche — which is, really, the most annoying kind of douche of all.

7. Million Dollar Baby
Clint Eastwood is GRUFF! Hillary Swank is SWEET! Morgan Freeman is playing a role that ISN’T advice-giving sincere old-guy! It is kind of like Rocky if Rocky were a girl, only, by the end, not at all. A movie that blindsides you in the third act, but somehow pulls it all together by the end. I think this might be Clint Eastwood’s best movie since Unforgiven.

6. Spider-Man 2
I’d be embarassed to put this so high if Robert Ebert didn’t have it even HIGHER on his list! And if it’s good enough for Ebert, it’s good enough for me. Except when it comes to that cancer or whatever he had. That may have worked for him, but I’ll pass, thanks. I’m not going to say if it’s better than the first one (though it probably is) but rather that it’s near-perfect blockbuster filmmaking. Sam Raimi is like a younger Steven Spielberg who actually BUILT on the promise of his earlier films and made great mass-market stuff. I even grew to like that Dashboard Confessional song.

5. The Incredibles
Spider-Man 2 wasn’t the best superhero movie of the year, however. The Incredibles just edged it out, proving perhaps absolutely that superhero stories will ALWAYS translate better to animation. It’s just too hard to make a guy in a spandex suit look good in a live-action film. The Incredibles leaps past all that, with its gorgeous visuals. The only limit was the scriptwriter’s imagination, and they fucking imagined some crazy-ass shit. Brad Bird better be working on another Pixar movie, because I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

4. Before Sunset
I had never seen Before Sunrise before this year, so I’m not sure how seeing the two films back-to-back affected by enjoyment of them specifically, but I can tell you that I loved this movie. Ethan Hawke is awkwardly annoying; Julie Delpy is annoyingly French. In the first film, they made for a sappy, sometimes-sweet, sometimes-funny pairing. The sequel builds on that foundation, delivering a short little capper to their relationship that’s both weighted in cynicism and a quiet unrelenting true love. I don’t really know what to think about Richard Linklater (If I see Dazed and Confused one more time I may stab myself in the stomach) but he does great work with these actors. I could watch this film a few times in a row and not get too bored. That’s some sort of high praise.

3. I [Heart] Huckabees
I feel like the rest of my list reads too much like ALL of the critics’ Top 10 Lists, so I guess here is where I diverge. This film didn’t get a lot of attention, critical or otherwise, so maybe it was my low expectations that made me love it so much. Or maybe it’s just inspired, creative filmmaking. I think there’s a Mark Whalberg Rule of Cinema: If a director gets a good performance out of Marky Mark, he’s made a good film, and he’s probably a good director. So Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell — you’re good directors! Tim Burton — you fucking suck! See? It’s accurate. Regardless, this whole film could have been about Whalberg’s depressed fireman character and I would have loved it just as much.

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I don’t know what it is about this film, but I like it more everytime I see it. For some reason, I was pretty down on it the first time I saw it (in theatres). I’ve since seen it three or four times on DVD, and each time I find something else I really love about it. Even if it’s just the imagery director Gondry uses — the crack in the ice, the collapsing house, Joel searching through the blankets for Clementine — it all works for me. I’ve always liked Jim Carrey more than I should (I really like The Truman Show) so it’s nice to see him doing more great work here. Charlie Kaufman remains the best scriptwriter working today.

1. The Life Aquatic
See, this is where it gets confusing. I’m still not sure if I really LIKE Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic. It’s so different from his past work: it’s sprawling, unfocused and seems to trip over itself at times. It’s not as controlled or reserved as The Royal Tenenbaums or Rushmore and, I think, the cast is just way too big. And, yet, somehow, it resonates. I saw it, I thought about it, I saw it again, and I’m still thinking about it. There’s a lot more going on with the film than what’s there on the surface, and while there’s a chance that sort of filmmaking could come off as pretentious, The Life Aquatic does not. Probably because it has the distinct advantage of being funny as hell.

I’m still not sure, though. I feel like I could wake up in six months and hate it. But, right now, as I write this, it’s the film of 2004 that struck the most chords with me. Maybe I just need to watch it two or three or forty more times.

And that’s the list. What was YOUR favourite film of 2004? Send your answers and a self-addressed stamped envelope to “FAVOURITE FILMS” at my address! The first five entries received will win a free copy of my book (if I ever write a book).

Filmic,
Matt