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READY
FOR
OUR CLOSEUP Our favorites of 2004 |
| 1. The Incredibles
(Brad Bird). Genre-bursting, copiously entertaining, playing off all our pop culture superhero lore but 
vastly exceeding pastiche with its relevant and emotional family plot, and
taking the capacity of 3D animation to deliver human performance into the
stratosphere. Holly Hunter is the standout as the superhero mom trying to
hold the family together, checking her thighs in the mirror on the way to
busting up the bad guys, and somehow the movie enhances the details of her
work. A high-water mark for both Brad Bird and Pixar. As fantastic -- incredible
-- as this movie plays visually, there's something real going on underneath.
2. Primer (Shane Carruth).  The most
promising writer/director/actor debut of the year. With $7,000 and several
years of autodidactic preparation, engineer turned auteur Shane Carruth
turned in the most intriguing and original science fiction puzzle film in
years, a Kubrick-style modern noir vision. Overly intricate, perhaps, but
redeemed by the devilishly authentic techie atmosphere and show-stopping
twist. It's not hard to imagine this will be a DVD hit, building from fringe
cult status to a spot beside Memento and The Usual Suspects
on home entertainment shelves. 3. End of the Century (Michael Gramaglia & Jim Fields). The essential document. Twenty-five years ahead of their time, the Ramones do more than hold up musically, more popular than ever. This ridiculously entertaining recapitulation of their endless struggles is just like a Ramones show: jaw-dropping, hilarious, kick-ass. And just like a Ramones show, their story has to be seen to be believed. 4. The Aviator (Martin Scorsese). Don't be fooled by the tinsel -- Scorsese never makes easy films, and this one works more than it doesn't, taking us to literal heights and flipping the coin to show us the dark neurotic secrets that ultimately reflect our own. The  terrific
1930's Hollywood club scenes, with wired swing bands, seem a payoff for
the director's work on New York, New York. The ending, maybe the
best of the year, foreshadows the man Howard Hughes will ultimately become
with brutal economy. 5. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood). The best classical storytelling of the year, a heart-warming turned heart-rending chamber piece with deep emotional reverberations. Something very special, and who'd have thought. Cleaner (but smaller) than last year's Mystic River, another late-career triumph for Clint Eastwood nonetheless, who has somehow matured into our contemporary John Ford. Good luck on the next one, Clint. Please keep the streak going until they put you in the ground. |
6. Sideways
(Alexander Payne). The other great chamber piece of the year, built on flawless characterizations, remarkable for the choice of cast and their  superb
comic delivery. Cleverly constructing its resonance through different permutations
of the wine metaphor, and rewarding all of us long-standing Paul Giamatti
fans (yes, going back to Pig Vomit). 7. Maria Full of Grace (Joshua Marston). An effective social-issue film with a very pure, very real, very fresh centerpiece suspense sequence that carries the inevitability of a Wages of Fear. Newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno is riveting in the lead role, some sort of hybrid Audrey Hepburn elegance and Sophia Loren earthiness. 8. Baadasssss! (Mario Van Peebles).  As
a dad, I'm a sucker for father/son collaborations, and this one takes the
cake. Mario Van Peebles plays his father, Melvin Van Peebles, as he recreates
the making of Melvin's 1971 landmark blaxsploitation flick, Sweet
Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song. Lovingly written and directed,
with wildly funny moments, and a big cheer for the old man's accomplishment
at the end. 9. The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles). A highly engaging trip through South America in all kinds of weather and 
fortune, and an authentic movie star turn for Gael García Bernal. More successful
at capturing the joy of youthful travel than delineating the germ of Che
Guevara the revolutionary, but with a heart in the right place and a dollop
of courage. 10. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore). The movie I'd most like to forget, considering how the political year turned out, but an authentic theatrical event, generating lots of discussion and controversy like some films used to do when Johnson and Nixon were President. And if you've grown furious following the Administration's lies for the past four years, it's just plain convenient to have so many of them in one place. |
|
Great Scenes: |
| Mark Ashley |
Shaun of the
Dead (Edgar Wright). Excellent
film that, the more often you watch it, the more you see. Even better on
DVD with a phenomenal number of extra features - I especially like the "funk
you!" version of one the scenes showing how they changed some of the language
for cable TV. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore). A very powerful film, provoking a range of emotions. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry). Nice thought-provoking romance film. |
Sky Captain and
the World of Tomorrow (Kerry Conran). I like this mainly for it's look (let's face it, the story's not fantastic). It has a good feel for the old Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon serials.  Harry
Potter and thePrisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón). Grittier than the previous films, much better look and feel. Like the books, the films seem to be becoming less juvenile as they progress. Girl With a Pearl Earring (Peter Webber). Great film, wonderful look, good performances. Every frame is a masterpiece. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Rawson Marshall Thurber). Nice comedy -- like Shaun of the Dead, the background detail can be funnier than the main action. |
| Don
Larsson As usual, there are too many possibilities and too many apples, oranges, walnuts, and lemon-meringue pies to make a complete list or even just rankings among the lucky ones, so here are 11 of the better films I've seen this year, in alphabetical order: The Aviator (Martin Scorsese).  In
the Year of the Biopic, this was one of only two good ones. Not as pure
a piece of cinema as Raging Bull, it is still a loving tribute to
the movies, to characters who rise and fall and rise again, and to obsession
in an almost Platonic purity. Leonardo DiCaprio continues to evolve into
an actor who can talk and not just perform. For pure scope, this is the
film of the year. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater). In a year of pretty good sequels, this is the only one to make the top of the list. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are a bit older, not much wiser, almost as naïve in some ways, and just as engaging. Before Sunrise was a film about walking and talking and falling in love with people, with Vienna, with youth. Before Sunset is a film about walking and talking and beginning to know people, Paris, and what it is to grow older. The last line is the best one of the year. Closer (Mike Nichols).  One
of the few films that actually seemed to be made by, for, and about grownups
(even though they act in abominably childish ways). Jude Law, Natalie Portman,
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen perform a complex and elegant but brutal dance
throughout the film, and Nichols keeps the screen balanced and filled with
nuanced touches. This is his best work since Carnal Knowledge, maybe
even Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, two other films involving an
intimate quartet of foul-mouthed characters. Collateral (Michael Mann). The best genre film of the year, a thriller that delivers what it promises with intelligence. Tom Cruise does very nicely as a villain, and Jamie Foxx begins his breakthrough year. Aside from Million Dollar Baby, this may be the best-photographed movie of the year, and there's a heartbreaking scene in a jazz club that is etched into my mind. The End of a Mystery (Miguel Hermoso).  I
may be one of only a couple of hundred people in North America to have seen
this Spanish film (featured at the Chicago Latino Film Festival last spring),
but I had to put it on the list. It is easily the best of the dozen or so
films I've seen at the festival over the years, but it also simply stands
well on its own. A young shepherd during the Spanish Civil War sees a man
shot in the head by fascists. Miraculously, the boy keeps the man alive
and delivers him to the safety of a convent. Decades later, the shepherd,
now a retired middle-class man, returns to search for the man he saved.
He finds him still alive but with no memory and not too many communication
skills. Slowly, however, he begins to believe that the man he saved just
might have been one of the war's most famous victims. It's funny, warm and
endearing, with great performances by Alfredo Landa as the old shepherd
and Nino Manfredi as the man he saved.Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry). The interest in films that bend time and memory seems to be peaking after Memento and its ilk, but this film continues the genre with wit and grace. Jim Carrey fills the semi-serious role with much less angst than he did in The Truman Show or too many other films. Kate Winslet continues to prove that she is one of the best actresses around. And you have to give an extra point or two to any film that uses a quotation from Alexander Pope for its title! Finding Neverland (Marc Forster). The year's other good biopic. Johnny Depp brings complexity to his portrayal of Peter Pan's creator, James Barrie, as a deeply isolated man (so isolated that he drives his wife away) in a very public profession, an adult aching for contact who creates a Neverland of his own that is a refuge from time's ticking clock. It helps to read or see the play before seeing this movie. Pan resonates throughout. Hero (Zhang Yimou).  This
is officially a 2002 film, but it got general release just this year. It
invites comparison to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Zhag's
other movie this year, House of Flying Daggers, but it rises above
both of these films with its symbolism and historical resonance--it is as
much a film about modern China as the ancient past, and raises issues that
seem to have even more relevance in the United States today. A friend who
knows Chinese culture was talking to a friend from China, who said, "Anyone
who has lived in China during the last century cannot see this film without
weeping." The Saddest Music in the World (Guy Maddin).  Certainly
the quirkiest film of the year, of an order that makes Wes Anderson and
The Life Aquatic look like a Stanley Kramer social drama. What can
you say about a blue-tinted film set in Winnipeg in the depths of the Depression
that features a beer baroness with glass legs, a Canadian father and two
sons (one American and one Serbian--don't ask!) vying to win a contest,
and the baroness, a submarine, and bagpipers, guitarists, aborigine didjiree
players and a score of others all playing "The Song Is You"? But for all
the apparent silliness, there are important themes of love, guilt and the
sad history of the Western World in the last century. Sideways (Alexander Payne). The Buddy Road Film is not dead. Two friends--one a carefree lout about to get married, the other an unhappy middle school English teacher and would-be novelist (played by Paul Giamatti) who happens to be a very good wine connoisseur--tour California's wine country before the marriage. Wine and lust flow in almost equal abundance while the Giamatti character struggles with his real desires, his need for security, and his mixture of affection and disgust for his friend the gadabout groom. Another film about childish behavior that is meant for grownups, but a lot funnier than Closer. The Woodsman (Nicole Kassell).  Maybe
it's the subject matter that's kept this one off the Oscar list, but this
is a daring film that deals with a serious topic and gives it more respect
than much more highly-touted films, including Kinsey. Kevin Bacon,
as a convicted child molester trying to start a new life, gives his best
performance in years, and the film--while settling on an ending that is
sure to displease some--does not hesitate to ask hard questions about a
person who in most regards is not a bad man, but in this one could be a
monster. The script builds layers of nuance, enhanced by camerawork and
setting that give the film additional texture. A remarkable debut for the
director, Kassell. |
| Honorable mentions: The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass). A thriller-sequel that works, maybe better than the first. Good Bye, Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker). Funny and touching about historical change, about parents and children, and about the need to hang on (but not for whom you might think).  The
Grudge(Takashi Shimizu). What can I say? It actually gave me the creeps--in a good way!--several times. The Ladykillers (Joel & Ethan Coen). Not on everyone's list, I'm sure, but I enjoyed the pure silliness and Tom Hanks' performance. Ocean's Twelve (Steven Soderbergh). Another sequel, better than the original because it's trying for a bit more than Rat Pack repetition.  Shrek
2(Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon). Perhaps above criticism? I laughed. |
Most Underrated Films: Guilty Pleasures: |
| James
Snapko 1. Sideways (Alexander Payne).  Another
fantastic effort by Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor. Paul Giamatti is one
of the best American actors that nobody really knows. The "drinking and
dialing" scene is a tour de force. There are a handful of classic scenes
like that. Perhaps Payne's best film yet. 2. The Fog of War (Errol Morris). Morris's subjects are usually marginal figures or topics that become decidedly more interesting because of his cinematic style. The Fog Of War is another example of the latter. 3. In this World (Michael Winterbottom). Winterbottom is one of the most interesting filmmakers working today -- he changes gears on each film. In This World is certainly topical and relevant, but it's also very moving.  4.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry).Didn't think Jim Carrey had it in him -- the Charlie Kaufmann's script helps. This film is more emotional than Adaptation or Being John Malkovich, and Carrey pulls it off. 5. The Incredibles (Brad Bird). Amazing. Pixar has really figured it out. Compare the look of this film to Toy Story and you can see how far they've come in 10 years. 6. My Architect (Nathaniel Kahn). Nicely rendered film about identity. Simple and elegant. 7. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Kim Bartley & Donnacha O'Briain). Another example of how the power of money and the media can control ideas. Frightening to know this goes on everyday, and not just in Venezuela.  8.
Red Lights (Cédric Kahn).Reminded me of Deliverance and Straw Dogs -- disturbing and mean-spirited, but purposefully so, and well done. So there, and it's French. 9. I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell) I laughed a lot during this film. It's like a cross between Charlie Chaplin and Ingmar Bergman--and it works. 10. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Mike Hodges). A methodical noir picture that works because its tone and atmosphere trump its plot, allowing you to focus on what it's about rather than what happens. 11. Spartan (David Mamet). Best Mamet film since his first (House Of Games). 12. Touching The Void (Kevin Macdonald). There's something about mountain climbing that gets to me. Reminiscent of Kracauer's novel Into Thin Air, this film is a harrowing story of survival, and the director does a nice job of communicating it. |
| Robert S. Jersak |
| 1. The Corporation (Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott).  It’s
too long, it’s a bit sterile, and its antagonist is waaay over the top.
Yet, despite the documentary’s few shortcomings, Canadian filmmakers Abbott
and Achbar deliver a provoking “people’s history” of the corporation --
an institution whose power has superseded the church, the government and
even the home. The film, however, keeps equal doses of reality and hope
available, using vivid sequences of clash and conference to remind us that
power belongs to those who work together, corporate lobbyists and community
activists alike. 2. Promises (B.Z. Goldberg, Carlos Bolado & Justine Shapiro). Think peace is impossible between Israel and Palestine? Bolado, Goldberg and Shapiro don’t. This trio of documentary filmmakers used the power of video to bring the children of this inherited war together, revealing hard wounds and awakening dormant hopes in the process. 
Technically, this film received limited U.S. release in 2001, but, technically,
it didn’t include the 2004 follow-up -- in which we see that, as the children
have grown into young adults, the call to arms has become incredibly strong,
but the memories of a fleeting friendship are stronger still. 3. Control Room (Jehane Noujaim). Control Room is a clear admonishment of U.S. unfair and unbalanced journalism, for sure, but it’s also a fascinating study of the workings of the media within the war machine itself. Two memorable characters emerge: Samir Khader, Al-Jazeera Senior Producer, who both abhors the U.S.-led occupation and deeply admires American values, and Lt. Josh Rushing, Central Command Press Officer, who sincerely struggles to balance the goals of the military operation with the concerns of the Arab populace. At the end, one wonders where this war will leave these men, both geographically ... and ideologically. |
4. Super
Size Me (Morgan Spurlock). I recently re-screened Spurlock’s greasy little opus, and I still feel the same way as I did in my full review: junk stunt, but a well-balanced argument. 5. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou).  What
can I say? Zhang has always had me at “Ni hao.” Just as with Hero,
his first attempt at a martial-arts epic, I found House of Flying Daggers
to be colorful, brisk and elegantly mythic. While I concede that this film
is a slipper-step backward in terms of story and performance, it still manages
to excite the senses in ways that CG-stuffed A-list blockbusters never will.
6. Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers (Erik Gandini and Johan Söderberg). What? You mean shopping won’t save us? More of a performance piece/political mix album than a documentary, Sweden’s Surplus spins together clips of Fidel Castro, George W. Bush, philosopher John Zerzan, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, along with locations of Indian scrap yards and American sex doll warehouses, among others, to create a wild techno-pop collage of global commerce gone amuck. Catch it at a local festival, if you can. 7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry). A challenge to director Gondry: put Jim “Ace Ventura” Carrey and Kate “Titanic” Winslet together and make them a believable couple, or even a couple that seems to somehow exist in the same film. Heck, throw in Frodo  Baggins
for a love triangle. I would have thought Eternal Sunshine to be
the quintessential recipe for disaster, but that’s why I’m sitting in Minnesota
reviewing films and not in Hollywood making them. This is a beautiful and
romantic film, a reminder that with a good script, a good effort and a sprinkle
of that something extra from all involved, actors are born anew and the
trip to the multiplex is still a joy. |
| 8. Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi). Hey, it’s hard for a film snob to put a non-Godfather sequel on a top-ten list, but fair’s fair. Director Sam Raimi’s second spidery romp through the rooftops of New York keeps its heart while striving to be even more fun than the first, with better visuals, better tension and a more menacing villain. Raimi must have “spidey senses” of his own, managing to keep hard-core comics fans, popcorn guzzlers, cult-film junkies (always good to see Bruce Campbell) and critics all happy with the same film. A little corny, sure, but so is your grandpa -- and you don’t hold it against him, do ya? 9. Chisholm ’72: Unbought and Unbossed (Shola Lynch).  Before
there was Carol Mosley-Braun, there was Shirley Chisholm. In 1972, Chisholm
joined the race for the presidency as the first African-American woman candidate.
And what a woman she was, ignoring neither her race nor her gender in her
quest to both be accepted and to spark great change. Lynch’s film tells
the full tale of the presidential run, allowing many of the key participants
of the campaign, including the candidate herself, to tell it in their own
words. A beautiful tribute to a political pioneer, who has just recently
passed on. Look for the film on PBS’s POV this fall. 10. Independent computer animation. We’re entering a new age, in which film requires no actual film, distribution means a $2.00 media mail stamp, and a studio is as small as a basement. Several animators unleashed remarkable  works
of art this year, and not one of them had to submit their film to a ratings
board or a test audience. Timothy Albee redefined the concept of anthropomorphic
animals with incredible renderings for his Asian-inspired martial arts drama,
Kaze: Ghost Warrior. Bit by bit, Andy Murdock completes work
on serial installments of Lots of Robots, in which an awkward
child awakes in a world of machines. Tom Neeley and Greg Saunders took a
shot at the culture of upper-class tax cuts in their Flash retro-toon, Brother,
Can You Spare a Job.  A
gentle giant searches for a better world amidst the rubble in Moon Seun’s
rhapsodic short, Henry’s Garden. Aristomenis Tsirbas named
his award-winning film after the main character -- a new anti-hero for our
Orwellian world: The Freak. There are certainly others to
mention, but little time. If you love animation, or even if you just love
the notion of an artistic revolution in film, check out the work of these
innovative directors. As they stretch out into this new freedom, the boundaries
of traditional animation stretch with them. |
 End
of the Century(Michael Gramaglia & Jim Fields). The story of The Ramones. For an hour or two, I was 21 again and ready to take on the world. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry). Kaufman continues to make me think outside of the realm of normal and makes it all very plausible. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón). The best of the HP movies so far. Hero (Zhang Yimou). Jet Li. Maggie Cheung. Tony Leung. What more could you ask for?? The Incredibles (Brad Bird). Loved it. Worth every penny and then some. |
Love Me If You Dare (Yann Samuell). The very best movies I saw this year were both 50 years old. I have to
wonder if any of the above will still be drawing an audience in 50 years.
|
| Ron Leming |
| Around the World in 80 Days (Frank Coraci). A film I genuinely enjoyed, like an old Saturday matinee adventure film. Just fun. Hellboy (Guillermo del Toro).  My favorite
film of the year, frequently watched and certainly on my list of all time
favorites. Graveyard Alive: A Zombie Nurse in Love (Elza Kephart). One of the best films I've ever seen. Filmed in spectacular black and white -- it's not only a loving hommage to B horror, but a new take on the zombie mythos as well as a film with genuine substance examining our obsession with appearance and issues of jealousy. Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder). A surprisingly good re-imaging of the original that doesn't disappoint fans of George Romero's trilogy. |
 Festival
Express(Bob Smeaton). A great film, though it would have been nice if they'd shown more complete performances. Ginger Snaps: Unleashed (Brett Sullivan). The rare sequel that's as good as the original and adds to the story. Plus, I'm a huge fan of Emily Perkins. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón). I'm an unabashed Harry Potter fan, and Hermoine is getting to me  Ju-on
(Takashi Shimizu).Another masterpiece from the Japanese horror industry, that seems to be leading the world in genuinely creepy and original horror these days. Zen Noir (Marc Rosenbush). May be the best movie of the year that no one saw. A genuine masterpiece |
| Others seen and heard in '04: The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass). A rare action film that doesn’t bother to insert a romance while keeping the hero’s ruthless nastiness intact. Are you paying attention, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson?  Finding
Neverland (Marc Forster) Johnny Depp is the best. He could’ve gone way too syrupy, but didn’t. Hellboy (Guillermo del Toro). Surprisingly fine action sci-fi, made memorable by Ron Perlman’s difficult performance under pounds of make-up. Miracle (Gavin O'Connor).  Kurt
Russell is one of the three most underrated actors working in Hollywood,
the others being Jeff Bridges and Dennis Quaid.Saved! (Brian Dannelly). Hit the right satirical notes that Mean Girls missed. Patrick Fugit impressed me again, after his performance in Almost Famous. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Kerry Conran). Gee-whiz, I really liked this movie. |
Sideways (Alexander
Payne). You see Paul, if you give a layered comic performance that doesn’t rely on fart jokes and pratfalls and one that speaks to adults on a mature level, don’t expect the Academy to notice. Unless you’re directed by Woody Allen. And you’re a woman. Named Dianne. Or Diane. The best movie star actor working today: Denzel Washington. He is a study in using the gait of your walk, the timbre of your voice, and  the
intensity of the eyes to make a part believable, even though you’re a star
with baggage. Denzel is the kind of actor Tom Cruise wishes he could be.
Look at the way he slouches and keeps himself physically closed up in The
Manchurian Candidate to convey his character’s tenuous grasp on reality.
Then compare his slick, nasty, and predatory vigilante in Man on Fire,
and he’s like two different actors. This seems like an obvious point, but
there are few movie actors that can do this. |
| Josh
Timmermann (Films listed in ascending order) |
| 15. Napoleon Dynamite
(Jared Hess). When this came out, you couldn’t get through a review without reading accusations lobbed at Hess of ripping off Wes Anderson. Then everyone saw The Life Aquatic and shut up. 14. Ocean’s Twelve (Steven Soderbergh). "Better than the first one" doesn't even begin to do this justice. Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven was a more  or
less by-the-numbers heist movie livened up by some nice stylistic flourishes;
better than the classic-by-default original without hardly trying but not
even in the same universe as, say, Kubrick's The Killing. Ocean's
Twelve is not only a sequel that's vastly, almost incomparably superior
to its predecessor, but something even rarer than that: an event movie that
actually feels like an event! The heist(s) here are strictly MacGuffin material;
Ocean's Twelve is ultimately about nothing so much as itself--and
it's terrific! Here is a movie loaded with A-list celebrities that simultaneously
playfully satirizes and shamelessly revels in the very idea of a bunch of
movie stars (to borrow a line from Eddie Izzard, who turns in a great cameo)
just hanging out and being groovy in gorgeous, endlessly photogenic European
cities. This is E!: The Movie, but made by a filmmaker good enough (when
he feels like it) to out-Tarkovsky Tarkovsky. |
13. I Heart Huckabees
(David O. Russell). Before
now I wasn't entirely sold on the reputation of David O. Russell, but this
ontological farce, featuring some of the most deliriously surreal slapstick
sequences ever put to celluloid, is genius funny. It plays like Preston
Sturges meets Charlie Kaufman with a considerable dose of Eastern philosophy
added to the mix and a Shania Twain cameo thrown in for good measure. Color
me sold.12. Sex Is Comedy (Catherine Breillat). Sex Is Comedy is a dramatized, more-or-less reenactment of the filming of Breillat’s hugely controversial Fat Girl, somewhat in the spirit of films like Truffaut’s Day for Night and Kiarostami’s Through the Olive Trees. 
Specifically, it's a revealing look at the singular dynamic established
between a director and her actors, an ambiguously dichotomous relationship,
at once both trusting and manipulative. Breillat’s broader analysis, however,
is--as with pretty much all of her work--of the endlessly complex nature
of male-female interaction. While battle-of-the-sexes scenarios are, at
this late point, among the most potentially tired and trite in film, there’s
still no subject more inexhaustible when serious questions are being asked,
and no one right now is probing deeper than Breillat. No pun intended. |
| 11. Collateral (Michael Mann). It's not the best movie I've seen this year, but it's almost certainly the best-looking. Mann and Dion Beebe's spatially expressive employment of high-def DV captures night-time L.A. with a visual poetry pretty much unparalleled in contemporary Hollywood movies. 10-9. Control Room (Jehane Noujaim). Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore).  Two
compelling looks at media--and its manipulation--on opposite sides of our
constantly shrinking world. The former follows employees of the notorious
Arabic news channel, Al-Jazeera, as the United States wages its pre-emptive
strike on Iraq. It's full of poignant, telling moments, such as when a U.S.
military officer becomes visibly upset with himself when it dawns on him
that he's less disgusted by footage of dead Iraqis than by footage of dead
Americans. The slightly-more-prominent latter is, I’m pretty sure, the only
film to win both the Palm d’Or and the People's Choice Award. ‘Nuff said,
I think. 8. Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino). I find the Kill Bill installments more interesting as two separate films instead of as the epic masterpiece the Tarantino fanboys are clamoring for and that Tarantino himself had originally intended. Vol. 1 plays like Operation Iraqi Freedom, the optimistic version--the swiftly-executed coup pimped by Bush, Rumsfeld, & Co.; Vol. 2 represents the much messier reality of what we've since seen play out in Iraq. Even outside this hallucinated political context, Vol. 2 is, surprisingly, one of the most poignant and  heartfelt
films I've seen about what it means to grow up and, more specifically, to
become a parent. The film’s final shot, of The Bride and her daughter’s
faces framed together, smiling for the camera, is something decidedly more
beautiful than I’d have ever thought possible by the guy who made Reservoir
Dogs. 7. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood). With Mystic River and now this, Eastwood delivers his strongest one-two punch since Unforgiven and A Perfect World. While Million Dollar Baby is no less grim and possibly even more devastating an experience than Mystic River, it’s ultimately hopeful about the possibility of two lonely souls finding something of what they’ve lost in each others’ company, where the earlier film felt entirely pessimistic about human nature. 6. Crimson Gold (Jafar Panahi) It’s almost too obvious to declare Panahi “the next Kiarostami,” but after The Circle and this (based on a Kiarostami “script”), masterpieces both, he’s unmistakably the rightful heir to Iranian cinema’s throne. 5-4. Blissfully Yours (Apichatpong Weerasethakul). Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang). Two great examples of atmospheric minimalism--one set (mostly) in a Thai forest, the other in an 
old Taipei movie house. The former radiates erotic possibility, with nature
as not so much a convenient backdrop but as, somehow, an active participant
in all that spooning and swimming. The latter is not merely another eloquent
elegy for the death of cinema, but the most prescient ghost story of the
young millennium. 3. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai) This has been an uncommonly good year for that most dubious of filmic endeavors: the sequel. Even Hollywood's inevitable offerings mostly didn't suck: Spider-Man 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ocean's Twelve, and Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (not technically a sequel, I realize, but still) are all superior to their predecessors. The year's finest sequels- Richard Linklater's Before Sunset and Wong Kar-wai's 2046--accomplished the near-impossible: they completely  revitalized
the idea of the sequel. Whether or not they're better than the originals
is entirely beside the point because they so perfectly compliment, and complete,
the earlier films they're following. 2046 is Wong's hyper-romantic
aesthetic heightened to its breathless fever pitch. It's all tragic longing,
misplaced affections, buried secrets, and broken hearts, a Proustian reverie
for lost time. Tony Leung reprises the role of Mr. Chow, here the most ostensibly
self-reflexive presence in Wong's filmography, observing over the soundtrack
that he “made it as bizarre and erotic as possible”-- a boast that sounds
straight from the master's mouth. Zhang Ziyi is devastating in what is hands-down
the supporting performance of the year, and with a veritable who's-who of
Asian cinema (Faye Wong, Gong Li, Carina Lau, and, very briefly, Maggie
Cheung) turning up in bit parts, the film plays like the Hong Kong Ocean's
Twelve. 2. Dogville (Lars von Trier).  What
Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Passion of the Christ were for the
left-right culture pundits, Dogville was for film critics. Maybe
that’s because its politics are more incisive and galvanizing (and, of course,
polarizing) than the former and it’s a more provocative religious parable
than the latter. Or maybe it’s just because nobody else bothered to see
it. 1. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater). I love this film almost irrationally. I've watched it well over a dozen times since it hit DVD. Often since, I'll rent something I've been meaning to see, but then I'll opt to watch Before Sunset again instead. There are just so many perfectly wonderful moments: when Jesse first spots Celine out of the corner of his eye while speaking at Shakespeare & Co; when Celine realizes--  right
in the middle of demanding to know why Jesse didn't show up in Vienna--that
he was indeed there; the expression on Jesse's face when he says, "See?,"
after it dawns on him that it may well have been Celine that he saw in New
York on the way to his wedding; Celine and Jesse, by turns, finally spilling
their guts about the painful disappointments of their adult lives while
driving to Celine's apartment; and, of course, that entire final scene in
Celine's apartment, including what has to be the most sublimely romantic
movie moment since the kiss that stopped traffic in Sunrise (Murnau,
not Linklater). To hell with objective analysis. When it comes to Before
Sunset, far and away my favorite movie of the year and an instant all-time
fave, all I can do is gush. And swoon. |
Sky
Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Kerry Conran). 
The
credit sequences for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
The ending credits, a goth animated version of the movie with
cutouts for characters and a wicked sensibility, is far more worth watching
than the actual movie. And who doesn't love the Happiest Elf? Watching
the credits roll, it's possible to pretend they had made this into an
animated short, with Thomas Newman channeling Danny Elfman on the score,
instead of some debacle of a Jim Carrey vehicle, and the world is a much
happier place. 
The
world of make believe in Finding Neverland (Marc Forster).
I am a sucker for well-blurred lines between fantasy and reality, so I
might have a bit of a soft spot for Finding Neverland, which so
gleefully dips from the staid to the fantastic. But really, you gotta
respect any film that takes a story as twee and precious as Peter Pan
and makes it feel relevant. Plus, it is so nice that Johnny Depp has gotten
comfortable enough with his career and has the respect he deserves and
can now shine in movies that are not unilaterally terrible and/or unseen
(even if he's still the best thing in them). 
Natalie
Portman in Garden State and Closer. Genuine
thanks to these two flicks for reminding us all that Natalie Portman can
act. Her engaging epileptic pathological liar Sam and her skewering, wounded
and manipulative Alice proved to be a one-two punch impressive enough
to nearly obliterate the horrors of the two Star Wars prequels.
Portman embraces both parts with enthusiasm and vigor, providing the volatile
and cruel Closer with the only thing resembling a moral core, and
is the sunshine and optimism of Garden State.
Without
reservation, one of the finest films of the year. It's the unmitigated
brilliance that can emerge when a stellar studio like Pixar cedes control
to and puts faith and resources behind an underappreciated auteur like
Brad Bird. Add to that vocal casting based on pure talent (rather than
star power) and the result is a kids' movie that understands adults, doesn't
sugarcoat the difficulties or mundanity of life, and is funny as hell.
It is a wonderful showing in any medium, and one that will only get finer
with age.
The
other standout of the year. A twisty, provocative, quirky script by Charlie
Kaufman is matched by the superb visual machinations of director Michel
Gondry. Jim Carrey proves himself to be a highly effective straight man,
Kate Winslet executes an excellent quirkball, and the adultery subplot,
Eternal's weakest spot, is stronger than most other films. But
it's offbeat, funny and original, and therefore the Citizen Kane
for the hipster crowd, and deservedly so.
Dennis
Quaid are each charming and compelling in their own right, and their surrogate
father/son relationship is awkward, confusing, and really lovely. Scarlett
Johansson is underserved and wasted, and it is a small movie that offers
little more than harmless entertainment, but it does so effortlessly and
flawlessly that it is a breath of fresh air. Paul Weitz directed. 
I,
Robot (Alex Proyas). 
Shaun
of the Dead
1-3.
Three films from last year deliver a fresh take on the idea of love and
each does so beneath the surface of its story. They all begin with a break-up
of some sort and then proceed backwards, downwards or forwards in the desperate
lives of their characters. 
a
uniquely constructed universe. Brad Bird’s animated fantasy is flawless
in its imagination, allowing for insuperable accessibility, enjoyment and
appreciation. Lars Von Trier contrarily detaches and distances his audience
with his misunderstood experiment in artificiality. Even those who deny
its excellence need to acknowledge the filmmaker’s daring recalcitrance.
entertain.
The Corporation (Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott) and Super
Size Me (Morgan Spurlock) are assertive arguments against our otherwise
overlooked evils. The former treats capitalism with casual disdain as it
subjects the common corporation to a psychological evaluation; the latter
showcases a playful study of common noxiousness resulting in a successful
assault against the fast food industry. 
love
it. Featuring one of my favorite bands would have gotten me into the theater
alone. The fact that it perfectly demonstrates the music business through
the eyes of two bands on separate sides of success makes for magnified approval.
The film is rich with all the characters that make for terrific storytelling
and many of them are at one time or another the hero, the villain, the jester
and the damsel in distress. And yet here the story is true. Also noteworthy
is another doc entitled Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (Mark
Moormann). While Dig! takes place outside the industry with dedication
to the touring part of music, Tom Dowd examines the inside, detailing
the aspects of recording and production. Both films are essential viewing
for anyone wanting to start a band or nostalgic about having been in one.
Collateral
(Michael Mann). 
In
Good Company (Paul Weitz).
A
gritty little film that doesn’t flinch from the ugliness of the drug running
culture, but also doesn’t refuse to offer some kind of hope. And in a recent
issue of EW, Catalina Sandino Moreno said, “Someone asked me what I thought
of Brad and Jennifer’s breakup. How would I know how they’re doing? I don’t
even know them.” That, dear readers, is the smartest thing said in Hollywood
all year. Can’t wait to see more of her.